Category Archives: Mermaids & Friends

Interview with Cover Model James Rizzo

This next few weeks will be an exciting time as I officially reveal the cover of my sequel to Wanted: One Ghost, Distilled Spirits. I knew I wanted the wonderfully talented Taria A. Reed to create my cover again since she’d done such a fantastic job on Wanted: One Ghost. As I anxiously awaited her design, I couldn’t even imagine what she’d come up with. When I saw the proof I was floored! I couldn’t have picked a better cover. She captured my characters Millie Taylor and Sean Lightfoot beautifully. See for yourself!DistilledSpirits-1600x2400

James Rizzo1

Those eyes are so captivating!

I asked Ms. Reed who the models were and she told me. I wanted to thank them for such a fantastic job. My ghost, Millie Taylor is portrayed by the lovely, Liana Young and her hero, Sean Lightfoot is portrayed by the very handsome, James Rizzo.

 

I’ve been lucky enough to have the gorgeous James Rizzo with me today. I still can’t believe he is the cover model for my latest novel, Distilled Spirits. How fantastic is that!! Taria Reed seemed to know what I had in mind for my hero, Sean Lightfoot, when she created the cover with James.

 

So James, I’m going to get right to the meat of this interview. I have an inquisitive mind. I love to research the characters in my books—so I figured it might be fun to ‘research’ the man who portrays Sean Lightfoot for my book cover. As a reader of romance, I like to think that the model actually is the character in the book. As a realist, I know that is not the case so I’d like to see what it is about James Rizzo that makes a perfect character for many romance books.

 

Loni Lynne: Okay…I need to know (I’m probably old enough to be your mother but humor me), just how young are you?

 

James:   I turned 35 on November 14th 

 

Loni Lynne:  Happy Be-lated Birthday, by a few days. 🙂

(Okay, maybe not old enough to be his mother–aunt maybe). I’ve lived all over the United States Michigan, Illinois, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, Hawaii and Maryland, where were you born and did you move around a lot growing up or did you stay in one place?

 

James:  I was born in Wilmington, DE, where I resided until I went to College in 1998.  My first big move was to Maywood, NJ to pursue modeling and acting in New York 12 years ago.

 

Loni Lynne: Since I lived all over the country growing up I ended up going to 13 different schools in 12 years. I loved English Literature, American History and Art. What were your favorite classes in high school?

 

James:  My favorite classes would have to be health and science- such as biology, and chemistry.  I’ve always been very creative and fascinated with the human body.

 

Loni Lynne: You’ve modeled for some great book covers. How long have you been modeling and what made you decide to pursue the career?

 

James:  I have been modeling since I was 20 years old.  I decided to pursue it after competing in body-building for almost 3 years.  I realized I didn’t want to be grotesque with custom clothes so I decided to trim down and pursue acting/modeling. My first transition from Body-building to modeling was when I participated in a Wilhelmina “South Beach Superstar Search”in Miami, Florida.  I won the 2003 top promotional model category and have been doing it ever since.

 

Loni Lynne: No doubt you won! You would’ve gotten my vote.

Fate has a funny way of leading us where we need to be, how did fate lead you to be a cover model? Do you see yourself modeling ten years from now? Where do you see yourself then? Or are you like me and ‘fly by the seat of your pants’ as far as life goes?

 

James:   I have always been a someone that believes in overcoming life’s obstacles through hard-work and dedication.  I can usually accomplish anything I put my mind to.  My persistence in a very competitive industry allowed me to become a cover model.  I see myself living in California as a working actor 10 years from now.  I will continue to model because it has always been a passion.

 

Loni Lynne:  We’ll definitely be looking for you in film and TV.

When you posed for Taria Reed (my fabulous cover artist), did you realize you would end up on the cover of Distilled Spirits? What’s the process for doing a photo shoot?

 

James:  I was not aware I would end on the cover but Taria did mention that she had a few covers lined up for me.  Taria originally discovered me through Model Mayhem, which is a great site for discovering new talent for any project. The process for doing a photo shoot usually consists of photographers and models sharing a mutual agreement as far as type of shoot, location, and time frame.  The shoot should be convenient for both parties and the details such as wardrobe etc. should be discussed beforehand.  I am very experienced and easy to work with.

 

Loni Lynne: Distilled Spirits is a paranormal romance based on a 200 year old ghost (Millie Taylor) who is brought back to life, kind of, by our hero (Sean Lightfoot). Do you believe in ghosts? What would you do if you were to encounter a friendly entity?

 

James:  No, I do not believe in Ghosts but if I encountered one, it would certainly change my outlook about the deceased.  I watch Horror movies frequently and they never scare me, just find them entertaining.

 

Loni Lynne: You’ve been on the covers of so many great romance novels, I am just going to come out and ask…Do you ever read any of them? If so, do you see yourself in any of the characters?

 

James:  Its funny you mentioned that. I tell my mother all the time, “I’ll keep making them, you read them.”  She’s a pretty quick reader and enjoys most of the novels.  My mother usually gives me her synopsis upon completion. Sometimes she mentions how certain characters relate to me.  I always tell her when I’m shooting another one because she likes to say “looks like I have some more reading to do!” haha

 

Loni Lynne:  I can imagine she’s delighted to see you on the covers. She must be very proud.

It took me a while to find my Mr. Right and live happily ever after for 25 years and looking forward to at least another 25. (Okay, yes…do the Math! Like I said…I’m old.) What about you? Have you found Mrs. Right? Or are you still looking for that perfect someone?

 

James:  I have not found Mrs. Right yet.  I will be honest; I’m extremely picky and want to make the right decision. With over 50% of marriages resulting in divorce, I certainly don’t want to rush and regret it later in life.

 

Loni Lynne:  Good thinking. When the right one comes along, it just clicks and you know they are the one.

My ideal date would be a quiet dinner with my hubby downtown and then walking around holding hands on a brisk fall night. (His though is different—he’s such a guy!) I need to know, are you more of a romantic kind of guy or do you prefer a simpler form of dating?  Any great romantic ideas to share? What would you consider the ‘perfect date’?

 

James:  I would consider myself very romantic for the right woman.  I have cooked dinner for Valentine’s Day before and surprised women with flowers.  I really need to be into the girl for my creative/romantic side to come out. The perfect date for me would have to be sharing a variety of favorite food- Italian dishes, seafood, and dessert followed by a lounge with a fireplace, sharing a bottle of wine.

James Rizzo4

A strong jawline–a dependable man.

 

Loni Lynne:  (Wow! That would be ‘perfect’. Fanning myself…)

Okay, now for random questions, shootin’ from the hip!

 

Favorites:

  • Color:  Blue
  • Food:  Steak
  • Movie:  Anything Inspirational – last movie was “Fury” with Brad Pitt
  • TV Show:  Married with Children
  • Actress and Actor:  Scarlett Johansson/Denzel Washington
  • Holiday:  Christmas

 

Loni Lynne: Okay back to some pertinent questions again—If you had your way, where would you like to live? Cabin in the woods/Penthouse apartment in the big city/or a bungalow by the shore? And why?

 

James:  I love the summer months and growing up I would go boating on the weekends with my family.  We use to go to Maryland and make a whole day of it- barbecues, water-skiing, jet skiing, and tubing. I enjoy a warm climate all year round so I would probably want to live in Malibu, CA or Hawaii in a beautiful beach house.

 

Loni Lynne: In your own words, describe yourself (internally—we know you are extremely good looking on the outside) J.

 

James:  I am a very good-hearted person and my friends and family know I am dependable. Loyalty is the biggest attribute my family and I share.  Italians are known for this.

James Rizzo3

Look at that smile…it’s in his eyes, too!

 

Loni Lynne:  I agree. I think those attributes show through in your photos. It’s the strength in your jawline and the smile that reaches your eyes that tells the truth.

If you could pick one thing to change the world, what would that be and why?

 

James:   I wish I could stop the violence in our society and raise more awareness about gun control.  There are entirely too many shootings in schools. Children should stay more active in sports and extracurricular activities.

 

Loni Lynne: A very real issue in our society. It breaks my heart to hear and see it so often in the news.

 

Thank you so much James for being here today and sharing with us. I know you are very busy and taking time out to talk with us means so much. And again, thank you for being such a great cover model! My book really looks great with you on it!

 

If you have time to stop by and answer questions from my readers, we would love to hear from you!

 


 See more of James Rizzo at Taria Reed.

Mermaid & Friends: Vanessa Barneveld Swims with the Mermaids

Friends, I had a very special day planned for the lagoon today. I was all set to welcome the fabulous Vanessa Barneveld, whose YA novel, THIS IS YOUR AFTERLIFE, debuts in four short unnameddays, on October 21. I’m a huge fan of this book — not only is it fun, fresh, and touching, but it’s all delivered in Vanessa’s smooth-as-butter voice.

So you can imagine how excited I was when Vanessa agreed to dip a toe in the lagoon. But alas, due to travel difficulties (Vanessa lives in Australia, after all), she couldn’t make it. But not to worry. She promised she would send a replacement. Ah, here comes someone now…

KEIRA: Hi. I’m Keira and I’m clairvoyant. But I’m not your interview guest today. I’m just here as a ghost interpreter.

PINTIP: Ghost interpreter?

KEIRA: Not everyone can see, hear or talk to ghosts, but I can. I’ll relay everything Jimmy says and does for you and your readers. (Whispers) He’s a shameless flirt, so watch out.

JIMMY: (Coughs) I can hear you, Keira.

KEIRA: Whoops.

PINTIP: OMG. You mean you’re Keira and Jimmy? From the book?!

KEIRA: Where else? Why are you so surprised?

PINTIP: (Stutters) No reason. I was just expecting someone, you know, real. In more than one sense of the word.

JIMMY: Do I get a say in what you call this article, Pintip?’Cause I’ve got some ideas. How about Ghost Host? Ghost Host with the Most? Ghost Host Post?

KEIRA: Enough with the rhyming.

JIMMY: Interview with a Vampire Jock?

KEIRA: You’re a ghost, not Dracula.

PINTIP: Uh, those are very…nice suggestions, Jimmy. I’ll give them serious thought. (Clears throat). Why don’t we get on with the interview? So, Jimmy. Wow. I’ve never talked to a ghost before. What’s it like in the afterworld?

JIMMY: Can’t say I was thrilled about dying at seventeen, but now that I’ve gotten used to it, the ability to walk through walls is kinda cool. I had to learn how to get around. After a while, I figured out all I have to do is think of a location and I’ll be there in seconds.

(Long silence)

KEIRA: (Squints, looks around) Jimmy?

(Crickets chirp)

JIMMY: I’m back! I went to Antarctica just then. Pretty cool. Okay, what was I saying? Oh, yeah, travel. I plan to hang around for the Super Bowl. Gatecrash a luxury box.

KEIRA: You could sit on the goal posts if you wanted to. The horizontal bar thingie.

JIMMY: (Laughs) Glad you clarified that, Keira.

PINTIP: Can ghosts taste or touch?

AfterlifeKEIRA: Weirdly—and I never understood this—Jimmy felt a lot of physical pain in the early days of his afterlife. I likened it to phantom pain that amputees get. It’s something to do with nerve endings. Don’t ask me why ghosts get it.

JIMMY: I’m all healed now, in case you were wondering. I can’t feel a thing.

PINTIP: I’m so glad you’re no longer in pain! What do you miss the most about being alive?

JIMMY: Playing football in front of a home crowd. Hearing everyone stamp their feet on the bleachers. I miss the entire cheerleading squad. My car… But, you know what? None of the material stuff really matters. What I miss most is my family and friends. And I especially miss my brother, Dan. We fought in the days before I died. I loved him. I wish I told him when I was alive.

KEIRA: (Chokes up) He knows.

PINTIP: (Blinking back tears, too) I bet he does. So, out of all places, why did you show up in Keira’s bedroom?

JIMMY: Hey, I had no choice. Another ghost, an old lady, found me, said she knew someone who could help. Before I knew it, she was pushing me through a wall and into Keira’s bedroom.

PINTIP: Did you know Keira before you died?

KEIRA: We were in different classes. He was a senior and I’m a junior. The awful irony is that I was invisible to Jimmy when he was alive.

JIMMY: That’s not true! I noticed you. (Lowers voice) Keira with the long black hair and sexy silver eyes—

KEIRA: They’re gray.

JIMMY: Whatever color they are, they’re pretty.

PINTIP: Very smooth, Jimmy. What were your first moments like being a ghost? Did you know you’d been murdered?

KEIRA: Hold it! I don’t think Vanessa wants us to talk the murder.

JIMMY: Who’s Vanessa?

KEIRA: She’s that author I told you about. Our story—your story—wouldn’t be out there for everyone to read if it weren’t for her. Or her incredible critique partners. Or her agent. Or her editor—

JIMMY: Ha! I get it. No spoilers. Well, the afterlife was confusing for the first few days. When I “woke up” after dying, my head just killed.

KEIRA: That’s a really unfortunate choice of words.

JIMMY: Okay, I had a huge headache. Pain that was worse than any concussion I’d ever gotten playing football. There were big gaps in my memory. It felt like I was living a dream.A very intense, confusing nightmare. My death really hit home when I saw my buddies at school and they walked right through me. Keira helped me deal with all of that.

PINTIP: Sounds like Keira has a lot of wonderful qualities. Your brother Dan certainly noticed. Did you suspect any attraction between these two while you were still alive?pintip

JIMMY: (Shakes head) I was too wrapped up in sports and my own life. I had no clue about those two. Dan keeps to himself. But now that I know Keira a lot better, I think the two of them would be great together. He’s an artist. She’s a creative type, too. And she’s got sexy silver eyes.

KEIRA: (Fidgets nervously) No comment.

PINTIP: What about you? Any cute ghosts in the afterworld?

JIMMY: Hey, forget ghost girls. These Waterworld Mermaids are freakin’ gorgeous. Can I have your number, Pintip?

KEIRA: Nuh-uh-uh, Jimmy! Pintip’s gorgeous and smart and talented, but she’s married. With kids. Go find a mermaid your own age. I know one called Ariel. She really wants to be part of your world.

JIMMY: Under the sea?

PINTIP: Unfortunately, I think she might be taken, too.

JIMMY: (Sighs) I guess ghost girls it is.

PINTIP: I’m sure you’ve got them lined up along the pearly gates already. Thanks so much for being here, you two! And give my love to Vanessa!

KEIRA: Thanks, Pintip! We will!

Aren’t they adorable? If you want to know what Keira and Jimmy look like, click here to see the book trailer.

Vanessa will be giving away a digital copy of THIS IS YOUR AFTERLIFE and a $10 gift card from Amazon to one lucky commenter.

IN ADDITION, because we are so proud of our awesome CP, Kimberly-Mermaid and I will also be giving away another copy of THIS IS YOUR AFTERLIFE, along with a lavender-themed gift basket. The gift basket is in honor of Keira’s grandmother, also a ghost, whose presence is always preceded by the scent of lavender.

Four awesome prizes! Two lucky winners!* One amazing book! Comment away!

*restricted to U.S. and Australian residents.

BLURB: When the one boy you crushed on in life can’t seem to stay away in death, it’s hard to be a normal teen when you’re a teen paranormal.

Sixteen-year-old Keira Nolan has finally got what she wanted—the captain of the football team in her bedroom. Problem is he’s not in the flesh. He’s a ghost and she’s the only one who can see him.

Keira’s determined to do anything to find Jimmy’s killer. Even it if means teaming up with his prickly-yet-dangerously-attractive brother, Dan, also Keira’s ex-best-friend. Keira finds that her childish crush is fading, but her feelings for Dan are just starting to heat up, and as the story of Jimmy’s murder unfolds, anyone could be a suspect.

This thrilling debut from Vanessa Barneveld crosses over from our world to the next, and brings a whole delightful new meaning to “teen spirit”.

BIO: Vanessa Barneveld lives in Australia. She has one husband, two cats, and three Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® nominations. When she’s not writing, devouring chocolate or dreaming of going into space, Vanessa works as a closed-captioner for the deaf and audio describer for the blind.

Social media

http://www.vanessabarneveld.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Vanessa-Barneveld/185502258167596

https://twitter.com/vanessab73

Bloomsbury Spark  Amazon | iTunes Australia | iTunes US | Google Play | Kobo | B&N

Mermaids & Friends: Piper Huguley

PreacherI met Piper Huguley in Atlanta at the 2013 Romance Writers of America National Conference. I can’t remember our first meeting, but I do remember running into her several times and doing what you do at conferences — talking about books, the conference, the workshops, the speakers, the authors. Everything you can chat about in five-minute encounters that take place waiting for elevators or chilling at the bar or a restaurant.

Oh, and I also knew she was a 2013 Golden Heart® finalist (now also a two-time finalist with her 2014 Golden Heart® finalist nod), so some stalking on my part might have been involved:)…

But she was always gracious and chatty, and funny, and we’ve been buds ever since. I may not be a regular inspirational romance reader, but I enjoy a good book, first and foremost, and I love her books, but also her marketing savvy, and her commitment to her Sunday blog posts! If you haven’t checked them out, please do — you’ll be wiser for reading them:)!

So, I invited her here to the Waterworld Mermaid pond to answer some of my questions about her newest release, The Preacher’s Promise, and in general share some of her awesomeness!

1). Denny asked: Tell us about your setting – time and location – how does setting help you tell the story of your protagonist?

Piper said: The Milford College series starts in 1866 Georgia. This is the Reconstruction Era that follows the end of the Civil War. It’s a time of great change, unrest and uncertainty.   I think it’s a lot like the Wild West where great opportunity existed alongside of turbulence and change. So when these forces of an educated African American woman comes in contact with a former enslaved blacksmith, there is bound to be conflict. They wouldn’t have come in contact at any other time.

2) Denny asked:  Pick a line from your book that you’d say ’nails’ the personality of your heroine and/or hero?

Piper said: Virgil says: “Don’t address people I don’t know by their first names. Especially not young women. I got manners.”

He won’t have anyone, not even the newly arrived schoolteacher, treating him as if he doesn’t know the rules of society. The line shows his pride, but at the same time highlights his vulnerability.

3)  Denny asked: You are a two-time Golden Heart finalist entering the world of indie publishing with two books debuting in six weeks, what’s next?

Piper said: Hopefully, people will be engaged in my series and I can continue to release Milford College stories. I’m still shopping my single title 20th century series and people will be able to learn about the Bledsoe Sisters.

4)  Denny asked: Name two books on your must-read shelf.

Piper said: Gone With the Wind.- Despite all of the difficulty with the way African Americans are portrayed, Mitchell still tells a captivating story. For me, the book serves as motivation—to tell a different kind of captivating story.Piper Huguley GH photo

Mules and Men – Hurston captures pertinent stories/reflections in the speech patterns of her fellow Floridians from the 1920’s and 1930’s and gives them their human dignity.

5)  Denny asked: What’s hot in historical women’s fiction and/or romance (besides your new book:)!

Piper said: The whole genre of “wife of” books seems to have cooled for the moment. I see a hopeful shift in readers being more receptive to a wider variety of time periods in historical romance. The genre will have a hard time continuing to thrive if people are not exposed to a greater variety of stories.

Thank you, Piper!

Now readers, Piper will be around all day so please ask away!

Piper Huguley is author of the “Home to Milford College” series, and to keep in touch, you can visit her blog, http://piperhuguley.com, or follow her on @writerpiper on Twitter, or find her at Piper Huguley on Facebook.The Preacher’s Promise (in print and on iTunes)

PreacherAmazon: The Preacher’s Promise (Home to Milford College Book 1) – Kindle edition by Piper Huguley. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Nook

Kobo

 

LawyerThe Lawyer’s Luck (in print and on iTunes)

Amazon

Kobo

Nook


 

 

 

 

Mermaids & Friends: Larynn Ford

Can you believe it’s August already! We, Mermaids, are spending extra time splashing around the lagoon to cool off and enjoy this last month of summer. So we thought we would invite one of our friends to join us today. Let’s welcome, Larynn Ford!!!

Besides being one of my fellow Soul Mate authors, Larynn has a new release, Rescued, she’d like to talk about. Plus, she’s giving away one copy – details below. Take it away, Larynn….

**************************************************************************** Continue reading

Mermaids & Friends: Deborah Harkness

Hello, all — Alethea Mermaid again here, in the lagoon with an author celebrating the release of her new book tomorrow: Deborah Harkness!

We’re all very excited about THE BOOK OF LIFE, the highly-anticipated final installment of her bestselling All Souls Trilogy.

Deborah joins us in the lagoon today to answer some questions about writing, and her new book. Take it away, Deborah!

******************************

In your day job, you are a professor of history and science at the University of Southern California and have focused on alchemy in your research. What aspects of this intersection between science and magic do you hope readers will pick up on while reading THE BOOK OF LIFE? There’s quite a bit more lab work in this book!

There is. Welcome back to the present! What I hope readers come to appreciate is that science—past or present—is nothing more than a method for asking and answering questions about the world and our place in it. Once, some of those questions were answered alchemically. Today, they might be answered biochemically and genetically. In the future? Who knows. But Matthew is right in suggesting that there are really remarkably few scientific questions and we have been posing them for a very long time. Two of them are: who am I? why am I here?

Much of the conflict in the book seems to mirror issues of race and sexuality in our society, and there seems to be a definite moral conclusion to THE BOOK OF LIFE. Could you discuss this? Do you find that a strength of fantasy novels is their ability to not only to allow readers to escape, but to also challenge them to fact important moral issues?

Human beings like to sort and categorize. We have done this since the beginnings of recorded history, and probably well back beyond that point. One of the most common ways to do that is to group things that are “alike” and things that are “different.” Often, we fear what is not like us. Many of the world’s ills have stemmed from someone (or a group of someones) deciding what is different is also dangerous. Witches, women, people of color, people of different faiths, people of different sexual orientations—all have been targets of this process of singling others out and labeling them different and therefore undesirable. Like my interest in exploring what a family is, the issue of difference and respect for difference (rather than fear) informed every page of the All Souls Trilogy. And yes, I do think that dealing with fantastic creatures like daemons, vampires, and witches rather than confronting issues of race or sexuality directly can enable readers to think through these issues in a useful way and perhaps come to different conclusions about members of their own families and communities. As I often say when people ask me why supernatural creatures are so popular these days: witches and vampires are monsters to think with.

From the moment Matthew and a pregnant Diana arrive back at Sept-Tours and reinstate themselves back into a sprawling family of witches and vampires, it becomes clear that the meaning of family will be an important idea for THE BOOK OF LIFE. How does this unify the whole series? Did you draw on your own life?

Since time immemorial the family has been an important way for people to organize themselves in the world. In the past, the “traditional” family was a sprawling and blended unit that embraced immediate relatives, in-laws and their immediate families, servants, orphaned children, the children your partner might bring into a family from a previous relationship, and other dependents. Marriage was an equally flexible and elastic concept in many places and times. Given how old my vampires are, and the fact that witches are the keepers of tradition, I wanted to explore from the very first page of the series the truly traditional basis of family: unqualified love and mutual responsibility. That is certainly the meaning of family that my parents taught me.

While there are entire genres devoted to stories of witches, vampires, and ghosts, the idea of a weaver – a witch who weaves original spells – feels very unique to THE BOOK OF LIFE. What resources helped you gain inspiration for Diana’s uniqueness?

Believe it or not, my inspiration for weaving came from a branch of mathematics called topology. I became intrigued by mathematical theories of mutability to go along with my alchemical theories of mutability and change. Topology is a mathematical study of shapes and spaces that theorizes how far something can be stretched or twisted without breaking. You could say it’s a mathematical theory of connectivity and continuity (two familiar themes to any reader of the All Souls Trilogy). I wondered if I could come up with a theory of magic that could be comfortably contained within mathematics, one in which magic could be seen to shape and twist reality without breaking it. I used fabric as a metaphor for this worldview with threads and colors shaping human perceptions. Weavers became the witches who were talented at seeing and manipulating the underlying fabric. In topology, mathematicians study knots—unbreakable knots with their ends fused together that can be twisted and shaped. Soon the mathematics and mechanics of Diana’s magic came into focus.

A Discovery of Witches debuted at # 2 on the New York Times bestseller list and Shadow of Night debuted at #1. What has been your reaction to the outpouring of love for the All Souls Trilogy? Was it surprising how taken fans were with Diana and Matthew’s story?

It has been amazing—and a bit overwhelming. I was surprised by how quickly readers embraced two central characters who have a considerable number of quirks and challenge our typical notion of what a heroine or hero should be. And I continue to be amazed whenever a new reader pops up, whether one in the US or somewhere like Finland or Japan—to tell me how much they enjoyed being caught up in the world of the Bishops and de Clemonts. Sometimes when I meet readers they ask me how their friends are doing—meaning Diana, or Matthew, or Miriam. That’s an extraordinary experience for a writer.

Diana and Matthew, once again, move around to quite a number of locations in THE BOOK OF LIFE, including New Haven, New Orleans, and a few of our favorite old haunts like Oxford, Madison, and Sept-Tours. What inspired you to place your characters in these locations? Have you visited them yourself?

As a writer, I really need to experience the places I write about in my books. I want to know what it smells like, how the air feels when it changes direction, the way the sunlight strikes the windowsill in the morning, the sound of birds and insects. Not every writer may require this, but I do. So I spent time not only in New Haven but undertaking research at the Beinecke Library so that I could understand the rhythms of Diana’s day there. I visited New Orleans several times to imagine my vampires into them. All of the locations I pick are steeped in history and stories about past inhabitants—perfect fuel for any writer’s creative fire.

Did you know back when you wrote A Discovery of Witches how the story would conclude in THE BOOK OF LIFE? Did the direction change once you began the writing process?

I knew how the trilogy would end, but I didn’t know exactly how we would get there. The story was well thought out through the beginning of what became The Book of Life, but the chunk between that beginning and the ending (which is as I envisioned it) did change. In part that was because what I had sketched out was too ambitious and complicated—the perils of being not only a first-time trilogy writer but also a first time author. It was very important to me that I resolve and tie up all the threads already in the story so readers had a satisfying conclusion. Early in the writing of The Book of Life it became clear that this wasn’t going to give me much time to introduce new characters or plot twists. I now understand why so many trilogies have four, five, six—or more—books in them. Finishing the trilogy as a trilogy required a lot of determination and a very thick pair of blinders as I left behind characters and story lines that would take me too far from the central story of Diana, Matthew, and the Book of Life.

A Discovery of Witches begins with Diana Bishop stumbling across a lost, enchanted manuscript called Ashmole 782 in Oxford’s Bodleian Library, and the secrets contained in the manuscript are at long last revealed in THE BOOK OF LIFE. You had a similar experience while you were completing your dissertation. What was the story behind your discovery? And how did it inspire the creation of these novels?

I did discover a manuscript—not an enchanted one, alas—in the Bodleian Library. It was a manuscript owned by Queen Elizabeth’s astrologer, the mathematician and alchemist John Dee. In the 1570s and 1580s he became interested in using a crystal ball to talk to angels. The angels gave him all kinds of instructions on how to manage his life at home, his work—they even told him to pack up his family and belongings and go to far-away Poland and Prague. In the conversations, Dee asked the angels about a mysterious book in his library called “the Book of Soyga” or “Aldaraia.” No one had ever been able to find it, even though many of Dee’s other books survive in libraries throughout the world. In the summer of 1994 I was spending time in Oxford between finishing my doctorate and starting my first job. It was a wonderfully creative time, since I had no deadlines to worry about and my dissertation on Dee’s angel conversations was complete. As with most discoveries, this discovery of a “lost” manuscript was entirely accidental. I was looking for something else in the Bodleian’s catalogue and in the upper corner of the page was a reference to a book called “Aldaraia.” I knew it couldn’t be Dee’s book, but I called it up anyway. And it turned out it WAS the book (or at least a copy of it). With the help of the Bodleian’s Keeper of Rare Books, I located another copy in the British Library.

Are there other lost books like this in the world?

Absolutely! Entire books have been written about famous lost volumes—including works by Plato, Aristotle, and Shakespeare to name just a few. Libraries are full of such treasures, some of them unrecognized and others simply misfiled or mislabeled. And we find lost books outside of libraries, too. In January 2006, a completely unknown manuscript belonging to one of the 17th century’s most prominent scientists, Robert Hooke, was discovered when someone was having the contents of their house valued for auction. The manuscript included minutes of early Royal Society meetings that we presumed were lost forever.

Shadow of Night and A Discovery of Witches have often been compared to young adult fantasy like Twilight, with the caveat that this series is for adults interested in history, science, and academics. Unlike Bella and Edward, Matthew and Diana are card-carrying members of academia who meet in the library of one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Are these characters based on something you found missing in the fantasy genre?

There are a lot of adults reading young adult books, and for good reason. Authors who specialize in the young adult market are writing original, compelling stories that can make even the most cynical grownups believe in magic. In writing A Discovery of Witches, I wanted to give adult readers a world no less magical, no less surprising and delightful, but one that included grown-up concerns and activities. These are not your children’s vampires and witches.

******************************

Deborah Harkness is the number one New York Times bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night. A history professor at the University of Southern California, Harkness has received Fulbright, Guggenheim, and National Humanities Center fellowships. Her publications include works on the history of science, magic, and alchemy.  Her most recent scholarly book is The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution.  She lives in Los Angeles.

Mermaids & Friends: Corinna Smith

Corinna Smith & Adam Ezra

Corinna Smith & Adam Ezra

I have a huge girl crush on Corinna Smith. She’s incredibly talented, kind, a great teacher, and loves kids…and she’s gorgeous to boot! I admire this woman down to my toes–er–fins. Really…she’s just magic. (She’s even a mermaid. I swear!) And her birthday was July 5th — happy belated birthday, Corinna!

Corinna had her violin stolen shortly after she joined up with the Adam Ezra group, who launched a successful Indiegogo campaign to raise the funds to buy her another one. She plays like a dream and is a phenomenon on stage…you just have to see her to believe it.

So hie thee to an Adam Ezra Group concert if they happen to be playing in our area. In the meantime, feel free to friend Corinna on Facebook…and check out her awesome interview, right here, right now!

[Edited to say: I think I always knew making music was like writing…but I wasn’t quite sure JUST how much until I read Corinna’s answers here. See? Magic.–AK]

*****************************

Little Corinna...

Little Corinna…

When did music first inspire you?
Music was always part of my life- my mom used to sing me lullabies, and I grew up listening to my dad play his guitar every evening as a way to relax. I got a toy piano for my 3rd birthday and used to “compose” songs for my stuffed animals, and began real piano lessons a few years later. But the first time I remember realizing I HAVE to play music was at an Alison Krauss and Union Station concert when I was 13. Her voice and her fiddle playing were so sweet but so powerful, and I wanted to be just like her.

How many instruments do you play?
That’s a tricky question- I studied music education in college, which means that technically I can play any instrument that’s found in schools… but I’m pretty sure nobody would be happy to hear me squawk away on the bassoon or pass out trying to play a note on the tuba!
Instruments I can actually play some songs on would be violin, viola, piano, guitar, mandolin, and banjo… and I sing a little, too.

What’s the most frustrating thing (for you) about your job being something you love?
I feel pretty lucky that I get to do the thing I love most in the world every single day, but because I am so passionate about it, I can also be very self-critical. Some days we’ll play a set where the humidity makes my violin lose tuning, or there are issues with our sound and I can’t hear my voice while singing, or I just space out for a second and make a really obvious mistake… there’s a little voice in my head that will say “see? you’re not good enough! you can’t do this!!” in those moments and I have to be careful not to let it take over my thoughts.

Conversely, what’s the most rewarding thing about your music?
There’s a moment in every live performance where I can feel everyone in the room connecting to the same energy. It’s my favorite thing about playing music for people, and the only way I can describe it is to say it’s magic. This can happen no matter where we are, how many people we’re playing for, how tired/hungry/cranky I might have been before the moment… It’s as if the entire outside world melts away and it’s just us being bathed in music. It’s such a crazy honor to get to help create that experience, and it still mystifies me every time it happens.

Tell us a little bit about writing your own music. Like…what comes first, the music or the lyrics?
For a long time, I wanted to write songs but was so paralyzed by that little “you’re not good enough” voice that I didn’t write at all. In the last few years, I’ve decided that for me, songwriting is not about writing something good or creating songs with any intention of sharing them… it’s just a personal form of expression, like keeping a journal. Once I made that distinction, I was able to let go and write, but I don’t really have a process… Sometimes it’s a phrase that sticks in my head, sometimes it’s a little fragment of melody, and sometimes it’s a chord progression I’ve heard elsewhere that I decide to steal for myself! The most important thing for me has been to withhold all judgment, be ok with writing “bad” songs, and use the whole process as a cathartic way to release whatever I’m feeling at the time.

You play primarily with the Adam Ezra Group — how do you collaborate with Adam and the rest of the group?
I’ve been with the Adam Ezra Group for about a year and a half, and although the songs start in Adam’s head, he is a really generous and collaborative artist, so everyone in the band has lots of room to contribute ideas when we’re working out a song. When Adam brings a new song to the band, we usually spend some time talking about it, listening to demo recordings he’ll make, and then devote a few rehearsals to experiment with it together. Sometimes we’ll do this with older songs of his too, which can give them a new life. My role as a fiddler/violinist is primarily to provide texture, and I’m often one of the last to create my parts because it allows me to find spaces within all the other layers of the song.

Corinna and Brandon

Corinna and her brother Brandon

How much are you on the road? What do you miss the most when you’re away from home?
We’re constantly on tour these days–over 200 shows a year, plus travel days to get to those shows–so our big messy van has kind of become my home at this point! I don’t really miss a particular place, but I do miss people. Most of my family is in Michigan and I don’t get to see them often… and my brother has an awesome band of his own called the Appleseed Collective… they tour all the time too, and it’s particularly hard to be away from him – he and I have been best friends our whole lives. We send handwritten letters to each other from the road, and we’re constantly scheming ways to get our two bands together (hint: it’s about to happen later this summer!!)

When you are on stage, you seem so lost in the music…and yet you still manage to engage not only the audience, but also each member of the band on stage (your enthusiasm is so contagious!). What I want to know is: What goes through your mind when you’re up there? How do you keep from losing the crowd, or the flow of the song?
That’s the magic feeling I mentioned! It’s such an amazing experience for me. I’m not sure there’s anything describable actually going through my mind… what I feel at those times are love, gratitude, and incredibly intense joy.

I’ve seen photos and articles about some of the teaching that you’ve done — can you tell us a little bit about that and why you do it?
Teaching is my other great love besides playing. I was so lucky growing up to have amazing teachers myself- my piano teacher, Carol Franklin, and my orchestra director, Bob Phillips, were two of the most influential people in my life. From the very first day, they each supported not only my budding musical skills, but encouraged me and made me believe that I had valid and important creative ideas–even as a beginning music student who could barely play her instruments. I think it’s vital that adults take children’s creative work seriously and see it as an expression that is just as honest and meaningful as a professional artist’s expression, even if the execution isn’t skilled yet. I’ve taught all ages from 2 1/2 years old to retired adults, spent some time teaching music in Singapore as well as lots of places in the U.S., worked with classes as big as 200, first-day beginning students, and even spent a few hours consulting with one of my classical music heroes who was a legendary performer but had never improvised… every single person I’ve ever taught or played music with has had beautiful, creative ideas. It fills me up and inspires me to be a part of that. Fortunately, teaching is a passion for Adam and the rest of my bandmates as well, and our nonprofit organization RallySound includes educational outreach in its mission, so I still get some opportunities to teach even while touring!!

Professor Corinna, hard at work!

Professor Corinna, hard at work!

Oh my gosh…I could ask you so many more things…but this one I ask everyone: If you could have any superpower (or be any superhero) what/who would it be and why?
I sometimes have dreams where I’m not myself (I might be a child, or an animal… once, I dreamt I was the ocean!) and those are always fascinating to me. I think if I could have a superpower I would love to be able to experience life as other living things do. How cool would it be to become an elderly woman for a day, or an octopus, or a tree? And to be serious for just a moment, if such a superpower existed, and there was a way to make people live for a day in each other’s worlds, it might prevent a lot of the senseless violence caused by humans’ inability (or unwillingness) to see other perspectives…

What projects are you working on that fans can look forward to?
Right now my main project is playing shows every day with the Adam Ezra Group and being a part of the team, which takes a lot of behind-the-scenes work but is completely worth it. An event that AEG is hosting which I’m particularly excited about is our annual Ramble, which will be August 23 on Salisbury Beach in Massachusetts. It’s a festival put on by our nonprofit RallySound to support a really important cause, all while hanging out on a gorgeous beach all day sharing great music. Last year we raised enough funds to house 15 homeless veterans in New England, and this year we’ve partnered with some amazing, independently-owned farms to provide CSA shares of fresh, healthy produce to our veteran families on a weekly basis for a year! I’m also personally excited because my brother’s band is coming out to play at the Ramble, and my whole family is road-tripping to share the weekend with us… And of course, as a mermaid, I never turn down an opportunity to spend time at the beach! 🙂

*********************

 

Mermaids & Friends: Samanthya Wyatt

Welcome to another edition of Mermaids & Friends. I’m so excited to have this author with us in the Mermaid Lagoon today because not only is her new book, SOMETHING MORE, amazing, but she is a fellow Soulie. That’s right, we’re both authors over at Soul Mate Publishing. Welcome, Samanthya Wyatt!

Hello Kerri. Thank you for inviting me to the lagoon. I’m so excited to be here on the very day my book, Something More, is to be released.

Tell us a little about your writing journey.

Ever since I can remember, I have loved curling up with a book. When I was young I wrote poems and short stories. I signed everything UNKNOWN AUTHOR. I guess even then I feared rejection. When I graduated, my life changed. I married a military man, traveled across the US and abroad, then settled in the Shenandoah Valley and had a family. My children were in high school before I started writing again.

About fifteen years ago, I wrote to Catherine Coulter and was amazed that she wrote back. I couldn’t believe it. She was very encouraging and told me to join RWA. She said to write everyday even if it was only one sentence. I am a RWA member, joined several chapters including Contemporary Romance Chapter, and I’m a member of Savvy Authors.

I started writing again. I entered a lot of contests, workshops, and made some good friends via e-mails. I finally finished my historical romance, the first of a trilogy, and I completed a contemporary romance “Something More”. I contacted more publishers, sent my MS to editors, and continued to hope. A pitch opportunity with Savvy Authors resulted in two books being published. An editor asked for my contemporary, and another asked for my historical. Both books will be released this month. I’m over the moon.

How exciting! Tell us a little about your current release: your inspiration, main characters, setting, etc.

Something More

Something More

On his way to an important meeting, a light flirtation turns into more than Matthew expects. The alluring beauty does not need his money, and makes it clear she does not need him.

Carrie trusts no man. Until a pair of mischievous eyes melts her defenses, and has her second guessing her convictions.

Infatuation and excitement spark a journey of passion and forbidden emotion where two people must overcome their earlier convictions to find an everlasting love.

Why did you choose to write in this genre? Have you ever written any other genre? Do you plan on doing so in the future?

Dashing Lords and pirates seemed so romantic, so my first book was written in the historical genre. One day I was playing around to get my mind off edits and I wrote a scene with two women bantering back and forth. I had so much fun and the words seemed to flow. So I ended up writing my first contemporary Something More. Modern day women have more freedom, and my wit seems to come out more with contemporary. I have started several stories including a hunky fireman series. Station Eight. Can’t wait to get those published.


Who is your favorite character in your book and why?
I love my hero, just because hunky men are sexy and dark hair has always been my favorite. However, I love a strong heroine and Carrie is strong. Her assistant may deserve a book of her own. And her friend is a no-nonsense, anything goes sort of girl. I guess I like all my characters. I’m so indecisive. About everything in my personal life, too. It takes me forever to pick out a pair of shoes.

What do you do in your spare time?

What spare time? LOL. I keep the road hot. I go to soccer ball games, baseball games, cheer competition, or just babysit the wee ones. Can’t wait till July when I retire.

Any final thoughts you’d like your readers to know about you or your books?

I enjoy penning a story with strong characters, a bit of humor, and active scenes.I invite you to lay the worries of the world off your shoulders and get lost in the pages of a romance, where you embark on a journey with the hero and heroine, become involved in a dream, plunge into a world of fantasy, live an adventure your heart can share.

 

Thank you so much for joining us today, Samanthya, and good luck with your book!

Bonus: The interview’s not over yet. If you would like to read more of Samanthya’s thoughts on the writing process and a special excerpt from Something More, hop on over to my website here.

If you would like to learn more about Samanthya or either of her new books, please visit her webpage. You can also find her on Facebook, Goodreads, Amazon, and SMP Authors.

Mermaids & Friends: Avery Flynn

Guess who’s back in the Lagoon today? That’s right, it’s our very own Avery Flynn. Yay! *Throws Glitter!* (Man, I’ve missed throwing glitter at Avery!) Anyhoo, Avery has a new book out and she stopped by to share an excerpt and get everyone entered in a $500 – that’s what I said, $500 – giveaway.

I won’t take up any more time. Welcome back, Avery Flynn….

Hola Waterworld Mermaids! The lagoon is looking awesome, I don’t mind if I do dip a toe back in. 😉

Thanks so much for letting me swim with you and share an excerpt from my latest, This Year’s Black. It’s the second in my Killer Style series, but don’t worry it can be read as a stand alone. It’s about a private investigator who only wears black, Allegra “Ryder” Falcon, and her client, Devin Harris – an ex-MMA fighter turned fashion guru who just happened to have an amazing one night stand with Ryder before she blew him off. Now they have to work together to find an embezzler.

Here’s the excerpt! This Year's Black

If she hadnt run a background check on Devin, Ryder would have sworn hed grown up, like her, in the working class neighborhoods of Waterberg, far from the ritzy urban enclaves of Harbor City. Talk about being dead wrong. Even if she had a hundred dollars for every pasta noodle shed eaten in her life, she wouldnt put a dent in his trust fund.

Devin cleared his throat, never pausing his pounding on the keyboard or bothering to look her way. Youre staring.

Yeah, so damn hard her eyeballs were about to fall out. Blinking rapidly, she straightened in the bucket seat and picked an invisible piece of lint from her black chiffon tank top while running through a mental list of shitty ex-boyfriends to remind herself of why she needed to stop ogling her client. No matter how hot he was.

I was wondering how a white-bread, private-school-attending, eating-Sunday-brunch-at-the-club dude like you ended up with a healthy start to a tattoo bodysuit. There. That should put him on the defensive.

His fingers paused on the keyboard. Ten years as a carny. The clickity clack revved back up to full speed.

Score one for the rich kid. Tilt-a-Whirl?

The clacking ceased. He leaned back in his seat and arched his neck from side to side in a move natural to every jock shed ever dated. Next, he rolled his shoulders under the perfectly-tailored shirt and leveled a heated gaze at her. Appraising and full of dark promise, the look made her clothes too tight to contain her suddenly aching boobs, and her lungs too small to hold the proper amount of oxygen.

Kissing booth. He turned his attention back to his laptop.

Years ago, Ryders mother had warned her never to poke a bear with a stick. While shed always remembered her mothers advice, she hadnt taken it then and she wasnt going to now.

Big, grumpy bears didnt scare her. She liked hearing them growl.

Ryder tsk-tsked. Funny, I figured you for a big draw at the dunk tank.

His fingers froze.

A shiver of anticipation danced down her spine. Picking a fight with a client might not be the smartest move, but it was so much better than sprinting across the aisle and jumping his bones at five thousand feet. The butterflies in her stomach disagreed, but what did they know about anything?

Oh yes, there is trouble ahead for Ryder and Devin! 🙂 Now I’m going to swim on over to that cute mer-bartender but before you join me be sure to enter the This Year’s Black $500 Escape giveaway! (See below.)

This Year’s Black by Avery Flynn

“Incredible writing with witty humor and scorching sex scenes. This Year’s Black belongs at the top of everyone’s TBR list.”– New York Times bestselling author, Gina L. Maxwell

A fighter since birth, Allegra “Ryder” Falcon would rather trade in her all-black wardrobe for head-to-toe hot pink than let anyone ever see the cracks in her tough exterior. But one night with a stranger changes everything.

Devin Harris may have given up his MMA fighting dreams for high fashion, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t always in control. So when someone embezzles millions under his watch, he isn’t going to let the private investigator working the case go it alone–even if she is the woman who blew him away in bed and then blew him off.

Just when it seems like it couldn’t get any hotter between Ryder and Devin, the case takes them to a tropical paradise where the danger increases. From the catwalk to the pineapple fields, they have to work together to track down the missing millions before the thief finds–and kills–them.

About Avery:

Avery Flynn has three slightly-wild children, loves a hockey-addicted husband and is desperately hoping someone invents the coffee IV drip. Find her here: WebsiteTwitterPinterestFacebook page, Facebook profileGoodreadsBookLikes

Rafflecopter Giveaway

 

Mermaids & Friends: Sandra Tayler

Today, the Mermaid Lagoon is proud to host the fabulous Sandra Tayler!

I had the honor of being a backer of Sandra’s Kickstarter campaign for her second picture book, The Strength of Wild Horses. I asked Sandra if she might stop by and share a little bit about her experiences, both as a writer of books for headstrong young girls, and as the proud owner of a successfully funded Kickstarter campaign.

Take it away, Sandra!

**********************************

* What inspired you to write picture books?

My daughter was in the middle of a particularly difficult kindergarten year. It was the kind of year that has visits to the principals office and lots of conferences with teachers. Through it I watched my daughter start coming to the conclusion that she was a bad person because she was always in trouble. I knew she needed a story that let her see that ideas are separate from ourselves and that they can be steered in good ways or bad. I couldn’t find that story, so I wrote Hold on to Your Horses. My latest book The Strength of Wild Horses elaborates on the ideas and characters in the first story.

* What age group are your books for? Who is your target audience?

I think the sweet spot for enjoying these picture books is children ages 4-8 and their parents, but I’ve heard of much younger people enjoying them and much older people too. They’re for anyone who is bursting with creative ideas.

Sandra Tayler's HORSES series

* Tell us a little bit about Amy and the importance of horses!

Strength of Wild Horses begins with the line “Amy was a girl with ideas like wild horses” and I think that really summarizes her well. She is bursting with energy and creativity. Those things combine in ways that get her into a lot of trouble, but by imagining her ideas as horses, Amy learns that she can steer them. Then in Strength of Wild Horses she sees that creative ideas can rescue other people.

* Be honest, how scary was it to launch a Kickstarter?

Terrifying. I did not want to do it. Hold on to Your Horses came out before Kickstarter existed and I kind of wanted to do the same thing again, but it meant coming up with all the money for printing ourselves. I’d have done that if I had to, but there is real power in Kickstarter. I’d seen how it works and I knew that the best promotional push I could give Strength of Wild Horses was to run a Kickstarter project to fund it. I’m so glad I did. Setting it up and running it was lots of work, but I was overwhelmed by the kindness of my backers and friends. They really came out to support the book and show me I was creating something that others cared about as well as me.

* How did you feel once you hit that goal? Was the pressure better or worse?

My project was timed a little bit strangely. The last week of the funding drive began on Thanksgiving weekend, which is not an ideal time to run an internet promotion. People are off with their families or shopping. We hit the funding goal on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend with five days to go. With so few days left, I knew we weren’t likely to hit the sort of stretch goal that would fund a second book, which left me with small stretch goals that weren’t particularly compelling. It felt like the pressure was off. The world was distracted by the holidays and the Kickstarter didn’t get a huge rush at the end as many projects do. I was just really glad I’d get to do the book.

* How did you find your illustrator?

When I was seeking an artist for the first book, we put out the word to my husband’s readers. He does a daily webcomic and has pretty good internet reach. Angela’s husband saw the call and encouraged Angela to submit. I’m so happy she did. Her art is perfect for these stories and truly beautiful.

* Will The Strength of Wild Horses be made available to non-Kickstarter folks?

Yes. It’s available now through our online store
Or through Amazon.com

* What’s next for you?

I’m working on some books of essays, and a middle-grade novel. After that there are at least two more picture books pinging around in my brain. You can keep up with all my thoughts an work by following my blog One Cobble at a Time, or by signing up for my mailing list!

************************

Sandra Tayler began writing her first story at the age of 6. It wasn’t a good story, but she loved it. She continued to love writing stories all the way through high school despite scattered encouragements and discouragements along the way. At the age of 20 Sandra met and married Howard Tayler who at that time was a musician. Together they had 4 children, 2 houses, and one failed record production business. Somewhere along the line Howard realized that he really wanted to be a cartoonist and Sandra realized that she wanted to start writing again. Now Sandra spends her time as the distribution half of the Schlock Mercenary comic business, a mother of four kids, and in the spaces between everything else she writes. Her other work can be found at http://sandra.tayler.com.

Mermaids & Friends: Lynne Silver (Giveaway!)

Good morning, everyone — Carlene and Kerri Mermaid here with a special introduction.

Kerri: Guess who’s here in the lagoon today? Our critique partner and friend to the Mermaids, the fabulous Lynne Silver!

Carlene: Oh! After someone tall, dark and handsome, that was going to be my next guess! I can’t help it, I have Rowan from her new book, “Desperate Match” on my mind.

Kerri: I understand – Rowan’s hot and sweet! Is he your favorite of Lynne’s characters?

Carlene: Yes! He’s a total smarty pants but backs it up with a big heart…

Kerri: I love that about him – although you know I’m partial to Adam in the first Coded for Love book!

Carlene: Ohhhhhh…Adam. Why do you love him so?

Kerri: He’s alpha and yummy!

Carlene: All the Coded boys are alpha and yummy! It’s like an alpha yummy buffet.

Kerri: True that, boo! We should probably stop drooling and let Lynne talk now. Want to introduce her?

Carlene: Yes! Tall, fair and beautiful…Lynne Silver! Author of yummy alpha boys, some really bad guys and some pretty awesome girls too!

Kerri: Welcome to the lagoon, Lynne! We hear you wanna know what type of readers we all are AND that you’ve got a copy of Desperate Match to give away! Let’s get this chat underway…

************************

Lately it seems there are a rash of bloggers and readers out on social media talking about their newfound love of reading. Some of them haven’t read much sinceLynne Silver high school or college, and they can all credit a book special to them for getting them back on the reading bandwagon. Welcome back. We authors are thrilled to have you.

So yes, I’m an author, but I’m a reader first. To say I’m voracious would be an understatement. In kindergarten, students got a star sticker on their name strip for every book they read. My stars went off the strip and around the room.

I get lost in books. My husband says it’s as though I’ve left the room. And I have. My body is present, but my mind is in the world of the book.

And I’m a re-reader. There are certain “comfort” reads that I go to again and again. I can’t find a pattern in which books are my comfort reads. They run the gamut and include: Little Town on the Prairie & These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder, All of the Wallflower series by Lisa Kleypas, Caressed by Ice by Nalini Singh, Night Play by Sherrilyn Kenyon, He She & It by Marge Piercy, and the whole Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace.  See an eclectic mix.

There are other books I adore, yet I’ve never re-read them. So what makes a comfort read? I obviously have no idea, judging by my crazy list. The only thing in common is that I own all those books in print. I don’t read them on an e-reader. I love certain things about e-readers, but I hate that Candy Crush and Facebook is one easy click away.

Have you noticed your reading patterns change depending on the medium? Do you have comfort reads? What are they?

Thanks for having me!

Lynne

****************************

Thanks so much for swimming with us today, Lynne! For all our fishy friends, Lynne has generously donated an e-copy of “Desperate Match” and so we will be picking one random winner from the comments section to take Rowan home with them.

More About Lynne:

By day, Lynne Silver lives the suburban soccer mom life; volunteering with the PTA, doing laundry and working. By night she enters the sensuous world of alpha males and passionate heroines.

She calls the nation’s capital home and lives in an old fixer-upper with her husband and their two sons. When not writing romance, she reads it. Lots of it. Over and over and over again, preferably with a bag of M&Ms in hand. She is represented by literary agent, Jessica Alvarez of Bookends LLC http://bookends-inc.com/index.htm

Visit Lynne at her website http://www.lynnesilver.com/

And be sure to check out her sizzling hot and heartfelt new title, DESPERATE MATCH.

Desperate Match