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ALL THE WORLD’S A PAGE Starring: Jacquie Underdown

3/27/2013

14 Comments

 
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Welcome and thanks for treading the boards with us today! 
You can also visit Jacquie on her blog



Are you inspired most by places, people or experiences and how do these work their way into your writing?

I am interested equally by all three. As an author of a number of manuscripts, not one thing alone - place, person, or experience - has inspired or moulded a story. My first ever novel was based on a personal ideal—a beautiful, pure and eternal love. My second, by the limitlessness of the mind and how much we still don’t know about the mind’s capabilities.

For my third novel, Beautiful Coincidence, where I wrote about a WWI soldier, I believe my inspiration came from beyond the grave. There were just too may unexplainable coincidences that occurred during the writing process—namely that the obscure main character’s name, which I made up entirely (or so I thought), ended up being the name of a real WWI soldier from the state where I was born. (I wrote about this further in my blog, if you are interested in the whole goose-pimpling story).

 Please share one of your favourite moments of inspiration with us.

Although I haven’t put finger to keyboard yet with regards to this idea, it has been the most exciting inspiration I have received yet. And it came from a dream. And boy, was I supposed to get this message.

I was sound asleep (an essential component to receiving dream inspiration) and began to dream (another essential component).

I am in a room, sitting at a table next to my sister. She pulls a book out from her bag, and says to me, “This is the best book I've read in ages.”        

Intrigued as I am hearing a comment like this, I ask her to tell me what the book is about. She says, “It’s about three sisters who all disappear on the same night and they each end up in different places, specifically designed for them, and each based on their true personalities. These places are so eerie, you’d think these sisters were mad. ” (I won’t give away more of the story line as I still need to write this sucker).

Next thing, I woke up and I repeated to myself, as I lay in my bed, remember this dream, please make sure you remember this dream. I soon closed my eyes and drifted back off to sleep, to awaken in the 1800’s.

I’m dressed in a beautiful, black dress with full skirts. I’m walking down a long hallway, upon plush red carpet, lit by wall-mounted candles. And I’m following three men in expensive suits. I end up at a timber writing desk with a quill in my hand and I’m dipping this quill in black ink so I can scrawl across paper a message to myself. I write how I have just received a story idea about three sisters who all disappear on the same night, etc., etc.

I woke up again and I took the hint, loud and clear, this time. I reached for my iPad on my bedside table and noted the whole thing down.

     How did you come up with the idea of The Paler Shade of Autumn?

The Paler Shade of Autumn began in one direction, an uncomplicated Mills-&-Boon-type story, but, whilst writing, I happened to watch an episode of Judith Lucy’s Spiritual Journey, where she visited the Bodh Tree in India (the tree under which Buddha obtained enlightenment). While there, she met a young woman from Melbourne who had given up her husband and life in Australia to volunteer at an orphanage in Bodh Gaya. Needless to say, my book took an entirely different direction to become a story about spirituality and the happiness derived from selflessly helping others.   

   How do you come up with your characters’ names?

I don’t really have a specific way in which to devise characters’ names. Originally, after I called my first ever heroine Lucy, I decided that all my characters’ name were to start with the letter ‘L’. But this mad method soon ended when I wrote about Autumn in The Paler Shade of Autumn. And good thing it did, because her name shaped her entire history and most of the story-line.

            Generally, I just roll through, in my mind, all the names that I can think of and like, and see which one suits the character I want to write about.

  What is your favourite holiday?

I love heading up to either the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast Hinterland. My husband and I often stay at secluded cottages, which offer views of gorges and rolling hills that extend all the way to the ocean. I appreciate the space, the cool climate and the silence.

      How many times were you turned down before you finally got published?

Blessedly, for The Paler Shade of Autumn, I had only submitted to one publisher—Escape Publishing. For my earlier novels, though, I was rejected at least 30 times by different agents and publishers. Thankfully, the publishing industry in Australia is changing, especially in the realm of romance publication. There are definitely more options now that didn’t exist even as little as one year ago.

 What reason(s) did the publishers give for their rejection of your manuscript?

I never received any feedback, only the stock-standard rejection letter. Although, when I look back on earlier work, I can see the errors that I made that would have made the publishers reject my submission.

 What do you need to set the mood for you to write? A good idea, my kids occupied, a laptop and a chair. I can’t be tired, or have body pain, or have any pressing problem in my universe that needs to be dealt with.

If there is one genre that you have not written in yet, but would love to try writing a book in that specific genre, what would it be? I think I was destined to write horror. My imagination, for as long as I can remember, has run wild with scary scenarios. I just haven’t been brave enough to let the ideas flow, because it scares me too much and I’m prone to nightmares.

 How many blurbs did you have to write before the final one?  Sometimes it seems blurbs and synopses are even harder than writing the actual story. I spend hours writing and rewriting blurbs.

 If you could bring one of your characters to life, who would it be? And why? Oh, definitely Nate from Beautiful Coincidence. He is the sexiest, most delicious, caring, yet masculine man I have ever written about.

 What are you working on now?

I’m attempting my first Novella and my first Erotica all at once. I’ve two chapters left and hope to target Harlequin’s Nocturne Cravings line. Once that is done, I thought I’d bring back the ‘witch’ in a romance series.

Would you like to share an excerpt from your writing or a photo or music link that inspires you?

This is an excerpt from The Paler Shade of Autumn, where Autumn has one of her first experiences in Bodh Gaya, India and where she meets her hero, Jet.

Ahead of her is a long, dusty path bordered by peddlers. She wanders along the narrow channel, towards the temple, to inspect the trinkets on sale. Some of the makeshift, transient vendors are seated on rugs, their goods laid out before them: rings with the plump, gold Buddha on their face, two-inch high metal and sandalwood statues, and Buddha pendants. Others stand behind benches swathed in dusty blankets holding their array of knickknacks.

 Autumn inspects thumb-sized Buddha statues; thinks she should buy one as a memento of her journey and, concurrently, support the local vendors whose sole income is what they sell to the pilgrims and tourists. It is evident during her short stay in India that foreigners provide a healthy percentage of sales. Her white skin and western clothes are to Indian beggars and vendors what the red cape is to a bull. They charge and plead, beg and bargain, to the point where polite no-not-todays and no-thankyous have evolved and transformed into blunt NOs! 

Today, around her shoulders, Autumn has strung a large scarf in an effort to not only blend in a little more, but to stave off the excessive ogling. In and around Patna yesterday, many, many men (the streets are abounding with them) would point and nudge to their fellow companions and glare as she walked past them. It has never occurred to her before that her meagre C-cups could produce such a stir; to an extent even David thought excessive. So far, the scarf hasn't proven to help her in quest for obscurity, but it does feel like a quasi-shield while David, her human swat, isn’t here to help her deal with the onslaught.

Autumn grasps the statue between her thumb and forefinger. She inspects it closer to her eye: a smiling Buddha painted in gold and robed in red. His swollen belly protrudes from the rest of his rounded body. Knowing what she knows about Siddhartha Gautama’s life; his years of self-denial, hunger and starvation. And knowing what she knows about his time under the ancient fig—fighting the demon of desire, where he eventually gained enlightenment and was elevated into Nirvana—this gold statue seems to contradict all of that. But where on earth has commercialism not bastardised something that is, in essence, quite pure? Regardless though, she bargains a fair exchange for the statue and continues down the sandy corridor of makeshift stores.

An old woman of no more than five feet stands behind a stall. Her head and body are draped in a green sari; wrinkled face the only skin exposed. Laid out on the table are saris of all different colours and sizes. Autumn stops at the table and runs her fingers along the silken materials in pinks, greens, yellows and reds. She stops on a sky-blue sari with gold brocade around its edges and raises her eyes to the aged woman. The woman is already peering at her, meeting her gaze directly, despite her eyes appearing blinded—the pupils faded from what once was brown to mother-of-pearl.

Autumn gasps at the sight, but collects her composure and smiles. “Namaste,” she says, a gentle tremor finding her voice. She points to the sari on the pile.

The old woman opens her mouth and crackles, “One thousand rupees.”

Autumn nods, a quick movement. This woman with pale eyes, wide and dead-like, scares her. She doesn’t dare to bargain—one thousand rupees seems like a fair deal for a silk sari and a quick getaway. She plucks the money from her bag and thrusts it towards the old lady. Autumn flinches as a wrinkled, brown hand appears from underneath the sari, twisted fingernails that are ten centimetres long. As she pushes the money into shaking hands, their skin collides and Autumn stumbles backwards a wobbly step. The contact, the imagery exchanged, is like being shanked with a dagger, the blade twisting and slicing as it pushes through her forehead and then out again.

Her heart is beating so hard she feels it in her ear drums. Autumn snatches at the sari, but is caught as she tries to retract her hand. The old lady clenches her hand in her steely grip and doesn't let go. Images, thoughts, emotions bleed from the old woman into Autumn: horrible, despicable images of death, murder, disease, trickery, painful debilitating hunger; the nadir of despair. Young babies floating along a river, bloated stomachs; women dying on the streets of filth and stench; children gripping their stomachs in ravenous hunger; young girls heartlessly, brutally raped.

Autumn twists and squirms; tries to pull away from this exchange of misery, the dross of humanity, where death is a release rather than something to be despaired. She feels the emotions impinge, the pain spread its insidious fingers, and the revulsion gouge at her and fester in her mind. Hot tears sting her eyes and she blinks; lets them roll down her face. Her hand throbs, as though her fingers are being crushed into oblivion.

Autumn cries out in pain, in fear. She twists her body, trying to break the connection of hand-on-hand. Now she is the one begging; begging the old woman to let go. The old woman with her vacant, bleached eyes, which contain the emptiness of a lifetime of dark and murky memories, every one of them flowing directly into Autumn’s mind to be assimilated and become hers for evermore. But the woman only glares and mutters in the common tongue, “Cursed. Cursed. Cursed.”

“Help!” Autumn screams. “Help me!” She tosses her head from side to side, looking for someone, anyone, anything.

 No one. No helping eyes meet her; they all look away.

She must fight. There is no other option. She raises her left arm to throw her fist at the old woman’s face and, if that doesn't work, to claw at her arm. But like a divine being sent from Shiva, a man is at her side, lashing the woman in the Indian tongue and she, at last, unclenches her bruising clasp. The image-flow disconnects and relief drops Autumn to her knees. She rests her head in her hands and bellows out long, hard sobs; tears dense, falling down her flushed cheeks and forming pools in her hands.

Her saviour lifts her from the waist and helps her to her feet. “Come on,” he says, voice urgent. “Let’s get you away from here.”

She doesn't fight him as he places his arm on the small of her back and pushes her through the hordes of people, away, until the faces grow less dense, until it is only her and him walking across a field towards the shade of a tree. Autumn gasps in air, tears still wetting her cheeks, unable to quieten the pictures the old woman thrust upon her and the words that spewed from her throat, “Cursed.”

The man is a silent companion until the tears subside and Autumn finally lifts her eyes from the browning grass below her feet and looks at him.

“Are you feeling better now?” he asks, widening his eyes.

She realises he is Australian and the recognition provides so much comfort in this country filled with strangers and unknowns. Her shoulders relax and she exhales a long lungful of air. That they are from the same country is something familiar, and familiarity she craves in this moment.

Autumn sniffles and pulls the scarf off her shoulders. She uses it to wipe her tears from her face and the dribble of snot below her nose.

She nods. “Thank you for helping me,” she says.

 “It’s o.k. Never mind about that. I’m more concerned about how you are?” He nods towards her hand. “How is your hand? Do you need medical attention?”

She lifts her hand, fingers out-splayed, and then balls them into a fist. She does this a few times, feeling her joints and muscles groan, but there is no real pain. He tentatively takes her wrist and inspects her hand, turning it this way and that.

“There are no cuts, which is what I was worried about when I saw the length of those finger nails.”

Autumn shivers and closes her eyes; fresh memories flash across the movie screen in her mind. When she opens her eyes, she can see the man is about to take her hand in his. She flinches away. “Don’t, please.”

He lifts his hands in the surrender position, eyes cautious. “I’m sorry. I was just going to see if there was damage.”

She nods, tears rimming again. “I know. I know. It’s just... I can’t... ”

“I didn't mean... I’m sorry. I won’t touch your hand. I promise.”

She nods as her shoulders slump. “I am cursed,” she whispers.

“I’m not sure I’d give such credence to a strange, old woman like her.”

She looks at him. “I am.”

“You’re not cursed. I’m certain of it.”

“You don’t know me.”

He looks away for a moment and then turns back to face her. “No. I don’t know you. But even so.”

Autumn takes her bag from her back and flings it onto the grass. She plonks down beside it, the man following suit, and retrieves a bottle of water. She gulps it down, not bothering that water is dribbling down her chin and onto her lap.

“That woman is cursed,” he says adamantly.

Autumn nods. “Yes. She is cursed. To have a life like hers, to see the things she has seen, the destruction, the agony… the pain. She is cursed.” She allows some silence before she asks, hushed, “Because I am able to see all that she has seen and now have made that part of her a part of me, do I share the curse as well?”

The man peers at her for a long moment, his eyebrows lowered, eyes probing, then shakes his head. “You are not cursed, because you can rest easy as it is not a life you have had to bear, only see.”

 Autumn takes a deep breath in and brings her shaky hands to her water bottle, downing another mouthful. She stares at her feet, trying to push the memories away from sight.

The man picks a piece of grass from the ground and spins it between his fingers. “Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

His voice reminds her of his presence, and when she raises her head, she actually sees him as though for the first time. Before he was a solid shadow, a nebulous structure of strength who had taken her from the lifeless eyes of the old woman, and led her, unseeing, to the refuge of this quiet space under a tree. Now, as her mind begins to restore a vague sense of equanimity, he has substance, takes on form, which shocks her because he is utterly gorgeous. She opens her senses to him, seeing his buttery brown eyes, dark brown hair hanging loosely around his ears and neck, long overdue for a cut. His face possesses a strong, square jaw with a long, masculine nose and broad lips. He is tall and lean, shoulders broad, skin tanned an Australian copper and complimented with a few freckles.

“Um...,” she answers, shaking her head. “What did you say?”

“I want to know how it is you could see that lady’s life?”

Autumn’s eyes widen.

“You said that you can see all that she has seen and I want to know how that is possible?”

She lowers her eyes to her drink bottle and internally berates herself for having even given the hint that she has such ability. Her gift of insight is not something she shares with people, especially men she doesn’t know one thing about.

“Bloody old witch,” she whispers, focus still on her water bottle.

“Are—are you o.k.?”

She nods and finally lifts her gaze to his. “I didn’t mean to share that information with you.”

“I see,” he says, eyes narrowing.

She can’t quite look away from those eyes, compassionate and warm, the colour of melting caramels. “I don’t even know your name,” she says.

His lips curl up slightly at the corners. “My name is Jet.” He extends his hand. She glares at it, outstretched before her, but after all that has happened she cannot take his hand in hers. He retracts his gesture after the moment passes.

“And you are?” he asks.

“Autumn.”

“Autumn?” he questions.

She nods.

“That’s a beautiful name.”

She lowers her eyes feeling her cheeks prickle.

“It suits you,” he continues.

She inclines her head, eyes narrowed. “How so?”

“You share the shades of autumn, your hair, your eyes...”

Jet is right. Her hair shares the colour of fallen autumn leaves: a luminous russet. And her eyes are of faded grey and blue, like a cloudy autumn sky. Her skin is pale, possessing colour only in her cheeks and in the pink of her plump lips.

“Anyway, I’m sorry,” he says. “That’s appearances—rather off topic.”

Autumn nods and takes in a deep, courage-drawing breath and reaches for his hand. Why? She doesn’t know. Perhaps because he is a stranger in a strange country, and she will never see him again after today. She first takes his wrist and slowly brings her fingers to the palm of his hand, crawls her fingertips along the length, letting splashes of colour and imagery, all belonging to Jet, to saturate her mind.

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14 Comments

ALL THE WORLD’S A PAGE Your MC: Susanne Bellamy (White Ginger) Starring:_Anna Campbell

3/22/2013

24 Comments

 
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Anna won five out of five categories at the recent ARRA convention in Brisbane, including favourite author. She’s certainly one of my favourites and her Gideon still ranks as my favourite hero. I’m delighted to welcome Anna to my blog.

1.      Are you inspired most by places, people or experiences and how do these work their way into your writing?

Hi Susanne! With THESE HAUNTED HEARTS, my latest e-novella, there were a couple of major inspirations. THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR is one of my favourite movies - I wanted the chance to explore similar territory within the context of a historical romance. The story is set in the beautiful Norfolk countryside, a county I’ve been lucky enough to visit several times.

Yes and yes. I loved that show when I was younger! And bh and I visited Norfolk where he was born on one of our trips. It is a lovely area.

2.      Please share one of your favourite moments of inspiration with us.

For THESE HAUNTED HEARTS, the story started to take shape in my mind when in 2007, I visited Calke Abbey, a magnificent National Trust property in Derbyshire. When the Trust explored the cellars, they came across a set of magnificent cedar chests which ended up containing a perfectly preserved early 18th century Chinese bed with the most magnificent silk embroideries. All the evidence pointed to the fact that the bed, a wedding gift from the royal family, had never been assembled. Now the bed sits in a specially climate and light controlled glass case inside Calke Abbey. I didn’t need to go far to come up with the idea of a tragic Chinese princess cursing any newlyweds who slept in her bridal bed.

3.      How did you come up with the idea of THESE HAUNTED HEARTS?

The people at Mammoth anthologies approached me to write a story for their book of ghost romance (released June 2012). I’ve always loved ghost stories, especially those with a romantic turn to them like A PORTRAIT OF JENNIE or PANDORA AND THE FLYING DUTCHMAN and I’d never before written a story with a touch of the paranormal about it. So I leaped at the chance to stretch my wings in a slightly different sky. The result was a Regency ghost romance called “The Chinese Bed.” Of necessity, the Mammoth people limit each story to 13,000 words and I always thought that the characters in “The Chinese Bed” would benefit from a little bit more room to breathe. The story of THESE HAUNTED HEARTS is the same as the story in “The Chinese Bed” but with added oomph, so I think of it as a director’s cut!

4.      How do you come up with your characters’ names?

Names are very important and sometimes it takes me forever to come up with that right name for a character. If I don’t have the right name, the story usually won’t proceed. I try to stick with names that are popular in the period or at least extant!

5.      Who would you cast for a movie/TV series as your main characters if given the chance?

I love playing casting director! Josiah is a man of the 18th century which means he needs to maintain his masculinity while dressed in a wig and peacock silks and high heels. Perhaps a young Rupert Everett who always looked like a hero in a Barbara Cartland to me. Isabella would have a touch of the Ava Gardner about her. Miles is one of those gorgeous aristocratic English blonds. Perhaps Rupert Penry-Jones with his sculpted bone structure (I seem to have a Rupert fixation on heroes for this one). Calista is a plain woman with a radiant smile so a little harder to cast. Perhaps a gawkier, less glam version of Keira Knightley.

6.      If you could pick a soundtrack to match your main character’s life, what would it be?

Josiah and Isabella would have rocked to a minuet!

7.      What is your favorite holiday?

I love to travel so discovering new places really inspires me. Having said that, right now, I’m dreaming of two weeks by the sea with nothing to do but eat, drink and read wonderful books.

8.      How many times were you turned down before you finally got published?

I had a very long journey to publication. I wrote my first full-length novel (a medieval romance) after I left high school and sent it off to meet rejection from the one publisher I tried. After that I kept writing but didn’t submit anything until I tried to write for Harlequin Mills and Boon in my late 20s. Eight rejected manuscripts later, I retired to lick my wounds and rethink my publication strategy. After that I didn’t submit for another thirteen years, although again I kept writing. The next book I submitted was CLAIMING THE COURTESAN in 2006 which sold at auction to Avon in America.

Whew! That’s determination! Thank goodness you kept subbing. I like to imagine a bidding war over the Courtesan.

9.      What reason(s) did the publishers give for their rejection of your manuscript?

I used to get the dreaded “lacks emotional punch” rejection from Harlequin. Looking back, I know what they mean, although I didn’t at the time. By the time I sold Courtesan, I’d learned how to write emotion.

10.  Who is your literary hero?

Charlotte Bronte. She always strikes me as such a strong woman.

11.  What is your favorite book of all time that you can reread a hundred times, and it still feels like the first time?

A book I re-read a lot because it’s my go-to comfort read is A COUNTESS BELOW STAIRS by Eva Ibbotson. The world is always a brighter place after I’ve read that lovely story. In terms of classics, I’d probably say PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Jane Austen.

12.  What do you need to set the mood for you to write?

I listen to classical music when I write – anything with words distracts me but I find the right music really gets me into the mood for my story.

13.  If there is one genre that you have not written in yet, but would love to try writing a book in that specific genre, what would it be?

I’m toying, very vaguely, with the idea for a mystery series with an overarching romantic plot. I love to read those. At the moment, though, I’m perfectly content exploring the historical romance genre.

14.  If you could bring one of your characters to life, who would it be? And why?

My next full-length release is A RAKE’S MIDNIGHT KISS (out 27th August, from Grand Central Publishing). The hero of that one has a touch of the Scarlet Pimpernel about him and I love how he uses wit to hide his wounded soul. So the answer to your question is Sir Richard Harmsworth from Rake.

Ah, bliss! Another rake to take to bed! (Naughty, I know!)

15.  What are you working on now?

I’m busily writing the first draft of the third book in the Sons of Sin series featuring Camden Rothermere, the Duke of Sedgemoor. That should be out some time in 2014.

16.  Would you like to share an excerpt from your writing or a photo or music link that inspires you?

This is the lead-up to the love scene in THESE HAUNTED HEARTS:

Calista watched Miles at the window. The moonlight limned him, turned him into a being from another world. The magnificent sight made the breath catch in her throat. He wore a loose white shirt and breeches. She’d never been so aware of his height or the lean strength of his body.

He turned and at last she saw the smile that tilted his mouth. His eyes focused on her and the smile faded, replaced by an expression that looked like awe. He tautened into stillness as he surveyed her from her loosened hair to her bare toes peeping beneath the white hem of her simple night rail.

The moonlight was so bright, she saw his Adam’s apple bob when he swallowed. She could almost imagine that he found her as breathtaking as she found him. His expression smoothed the sharpness from her uncertainty. The clamorous babble of thoughts in her head quietened to a low hum of need.

“You’re undressed,” he said huskily.

It seemed foolish to blush when they both knew she was in this room to offer herself to him, but heat flushed her cheeks. “I wasn’t sure what to wear.”

His joyous smile made her toes curl against the Turkish rug at her feet. “Or not as the case may be.”

“Or not.”

She waited in an agony of pleasurable suspense for him to seize her, ravish her into delight so that she had no chance to remember the dictates of propriety. But he approached slowly, as though afraid if he moved too abruptly, she might vanish. By the time he stopped in front of her, she trembled with apprehension and desire. Her body felt too small a vessel to contain the storm of emotions raging inside her.

He reached out to smooth her hair away from her face. His touch always turned her knees to custard. Now, when the bed and all it portended filled the shadows behind him, the glance of his hand set her burning. If such a seemingly innocent touch had this effect, she’d most likely combust into ashes before they were done tonight.

Calista bit her lip and stood in shaking stillness as he trailed his hand across her neck and shoulders. His touch felt like a discovery rather than a seduction. Although of course she was seduced.

Whew! And I’m fanning myself after that introduction to the love scene.

 

17.  Please share your favourite cocktail recipe or celebration photo.

I love champagne. There’s something magical about those bubbles!

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Thanks for hosting me today, Susanne! 

I’d love to give away a download of THESE HAUNTED HEARTS: A REGENCY GHOST ROMANCE to someone who comments here. I’d love to know what book your readers would choose as their favourite comfort read! 

You can also visit Anna on her website www.annacampbell.infoThanks for hosting me today, Susanne! 

I’d love to give away a download of THESE HAUNTED HEARTS: A REGENCY GHOST ROMANCE to someone who comments here. I’d love to know what book your readers would choose as their favourite comfort read! 

You can also visit Anna on her website www.annacampbell.info

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24 Comments

ALL THE WORLD’S A PAGE Starring:_Imogene Nix

3/16/2013

7 Comments

 
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Welcome and thanks for treading the boards with us today!

1.      Are you inspired most by places, people or experiences and how do these work their way into your writing?

I find inspiration kind of sneaks up on me, like a thief in the night.  It can be driving along a road, talking on the phone and sometimes a challenge laid down by others.  Being a punster, I honestly have no idea until I write a scene whether it’s going to work or not, so I let those ideas roll out as they come.

2.      How did you come up with the idea of The Plan?

The Plan was a throw away idea, one of many that you have as an author.  I was sitting in my office chair pondering something or other (I think it was while I was working on Starfire) and I had an idea with I just felt compelled to write down.  A chief of police and a small time smuggler who has only taken on the mantle because she was forced to.  The scenes evolved in my head as I started writing... What if it happened in space?  And so The Plan was born!

3.      How do you come up with your characters’ names?

I’m fairly traditional with the names.  Jonah was easy, he just felt like a Jonah, but Kadie was so much more difficult.  So I sat down with my trusty baby names book and flicked until I found something that felt right.  Which is pretty much how most of my characters get their names.

Got to love those baby name sites!

4.      Who would you cast for a movie/TV series as your main characters if given the chance?

Gee that’s tough.  Umm Jonah would most likely be Jonathon Rhys Meyers from The Tudors and Kadie would be Rose Leslie from Now Is Good.

5.      If you could pick a soundtrack to match your main character’s life, what would it be?

That’s the easiest because it would be heavily influenced by Enigma.  Probably Mea Culpa or Return to Innocence. Ultimately, Kadie is innocent in the beauty that can exist in the world, yet is fairly street hardened.  While Jonah thinks he understands the privations and lifestyle many of the criminals have chosen, but with Kadie he has to re-evaluate everything.

6.      What is your favourite holiday?

I don’t really have a favourite as such.  I love Easter and Christmas... Probably Christmas edges out Easter because both my daughters were born at that time so it’s ten days of celebrations for us.

7.      Do you read reviews of your books? What do you do when you read a not-so-nice one?

I do!  It’s really scary because you can never expect everyone to love your books the way you do.  As an author it’s tough when someone doesn’t like one aspect or another.  I sit down and read them.  Turn the comments over in my mind, and try to understand why they would make such comments.  Thankfully, so far, I haven’t had any particularly bad reviews.

8.      How many times were you turned down before you finally got published?

Twice.  But I think I was in the right time at the right place with something that people are starting to become interested in.  And yes, I’ve even had a couple since then.



9.      What reason(s) did the publishers give for their rejection of your manuscript?

Mainly that it didn’t fit their lines (pretty much they were “too hot” for them).  They were mostly kind rejections, so they didn’t hurt too badly.

10.  Who is your literary hero?

Nora Roberts.  When I grow up I want to be as famous as her!  Or at least, as successful.

11.  Who do you most admire and why? OR  If you could meet anyone and spend an hour with them alive or dead who and why?

Only an hour? Hmm that’s difficult because there really are a few.  Joss Whedon would certainly be up there, I wouldn’t mind delving into his mind.  I love his reivers (they are fascinating) and River & Mal (Firefly)because they are such damaged characters yet he is charismatic and she is so innocent and lost in so many ways.

12.  What is your favorite book of all time that you can reread a hundred times, and it still feels like the first time?

Jane Eyre.  The brooding Master, Jane and how she rises above everything.  I love it!  Of course that’s quickly followed by Pride and Prejudice and Naked in Death. 

13.  What do you need to set the mood for you to write?

I write most days.  So for me, it’s a matter of getting back into the story.  Either thinking it over after dropping the kids to school or music and a quick re-read.  No two days are ever the same.

14.  If there is one genre that you have not written in yet, but would love to try writing a book in that specific genre, what would it be?

I’ve dabbled in contemporary, rural (still have a half written manuscript waiting for me to come back to), paranormal and science fiction.  I’ve also got a short romantic suspense that I’ve looking to find a home for.  But the one I’m trying to clear space to work on is an F/f just to see if I can do it. 

15.  How many blurbs did you have to write before the final one?

Lots.  My blurbs tend to be quick and off the cuff.  Then they need a darn good tidy up.  They really aren’t my strong point. 

16.  If you could bring one of your characters to life, who would it be? And why?

Jemma from Starfire.  Because her journey is pretty difficult and even once she’s found her forever match, she still has a long way to go before she realises that she has worth.

17.  What are you working on now?

I’m currently working on the sequel to Blame The Wine, a contemporary with paranormal themes.  This one is grittier and darker than the first, simply because that was the mood I was in when I started writing it.

18.  Would you like to share an excerpt from your writing or a photo or music link that inspires you?

Sure, here’s a piece from The Plan. 

The man that arrested her, Captain Jonah Fielding, she had heard of. A straight man, everyone agreed. He didn’t associate with the old, corrupt Authorities. But at this point that’s cold comfort. How can I possibly explain that I have nothing else except my little Sugar Plum Fairy and that’s why I took the chance? Her stomach rebelled and she dry heaved right there in the cells as catcalls and laughter from other prisoners filled the air. Thank the Lights at least I am in a single cell. Her head ached brutally and she wavered slightly, waiting for Captain Fielding to send for her.

“Kadie Frost? Captain Fielding wants to see you.” The clank of the cell door told her someone was coming; she struggled to her feet, lifting tired, sore eyes.

A young man, little more than a boy really, with a freshly pressed uniform marched in, unfastened her from the restraint loop, and pulled her out the door and into an anonymous corridor.

Hoots and hollers met her ears as she allowed herself to be paraded down the long walkway. As if cattle in a moon-cow yard, she thought, closing her eyes as the Authority man pulled her toward a heavy, metal door at the end of the corridor. He stopped there and she opened her eyes, reading the sign on the door.

Interrogation Room One. What a great name, she thought snidely. Really inventive.

The door opened slowly and she was quickly thrust inside. The door snapped shut behind her as she looked around the bare room. A table and two chairs sat, scarred and ugly, in the middle of the floor. The metal was cold and glittering in the cool air as the air circulators pushed currents around the frigid room. She made her way over and sat down, waiting for the captain to enter. Her head drooped to the table and she let it rest, seeking the refreshing cool on her overly hot skin.

Her hands stung and her eyes burned. She felt sorry for herself as she thought about the mess she had gotten into, and she turned her stinging hands to check the damage. They were bright red and radiated heat. The deep scratches were swollen and weepy; sticky drops of goop coated the raw skin. Never a good sign, she already knew that.

“Kadie Frost?”

She started. Obviously, the woolly, heavy feeling in her head had overtaken her and she had dropped off to sleep as she waited. Her skin burned against in the coolness of the room.

“That’s me.” Her head hurt viciously, but now she realized her throat burned too.

“Captain Fielding is my name. I believe you and I can discuss BXM parts?” He lifted an eyebrow and she noted the captain had the most amazing blue eyes she had ever seen, teamed with long, black hair fastened at the back of his neck, high cheeks, and impossibly chiseled features. He had full, pink lips that would make a woman cry when they moved over hers. Huh? Where did that thought come from?

She blinked, dazed by the thought, and considered her plan of attack. “What? Oh, the BXM parts.” She swallowed and felt the razor blades she was sure were in her neck slashing from the inside which then proceeded to burn. “They aren’t mine. They never were.”

 

19.  Please share your favourite cocktail recipe or celebration photo.

This picture is our card making night.  I come up with the design and get everything ready, then as a family we sit down and make all the Christmas cards that go out.  This year was a simple plum pudding layered card.

 

Author bio:

Wife, mother and nutty bookstore owner all describe Imogene Nix, but the real secret is Science Fiction, Paranormal Romance with a hefty dose of Romantic Suspense is what she adores. Dedicated to high quality romance, with a dollop of erotic interactions, Imogene has dipped her toes into Science Fiction, Contemporary Rural Romance and Paranormal Romance featuring feisty headstrong female leads.

Links—where to find Imogene Nix:

Facebook    Twitter   Goodreads   Google+ page Blog Website   Hotter Than Hades

Blurb:

What happens when a former orphan, now illegal parts runner Kadie Frost falls for the new head of the Department of Authority?

Jonah Fielding has been brought in to clean up the department on Centauri, but in the course of his work, he also captures Kadie, the sprite who got away.

But what happens when work and pleasure collide?

Buy Link:

Beachwalk

 


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ALL THE WORLD’S A PAGE Your MC: Susanne Bellamy (White Ginger)Starring:_Alissa Callen

3/9/2013

7 Comments

 
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Alissa is the author of Beneath Outback Skies and what Love Sounds Like. Welcome and thanks for treading the boards with us today!

Thanks so much for having meJ

1.      Are you inspired most by places, people or experiences and how do these work their way into your writing?  

Inspiration for my stories surrounds me, whether it is the brown snake stealing water from the dog bowl, the sun setting over the cattle yards or the resilience of local communities in times of drought or flood. So a combination of people, places and experiences all trigger story scenes and plot ideas. 

2.      Please share one of your favourite moments of inspiration with us.

            Perhaps a not so favourite, but nonetheless inspiring experience was the January bush fire we had in our front paddock. With two water-bomber helicopters over head and twelve fire trucks on the ground it was a spectacle of colour, scents and sound.

3.      How did you come up with the idea of Beneath Outback Skies?

The title Beneath Outback Skies stems from the years I lived overseas. I always missed the brilliant blue skies that we are lucky enough to have here.

4.      How do you come up with your characters’ names?

            I form mental pictures of my characters and then a name will attach itself to them like a sticky note. Then just have to check don’t end up with names that sounds similar, begin with same letter or are connected to real people. I once thought Verity Firth was a perfect fictitious name until realised there is a politician called that very name!

That could be very interesting if she was a romance reader too! lol

5.      Who would you cast for a movie/TV series as your main characters if given the chance?

            They would be Aussie actors/actresses (of courseJ) so Alex O’Loughlin (when he is smiling) and Isla Fisher (with a slight hair-colour change)

6.      If you could pick a soundtrack to match your main character’s life, what would it be?

            For the heroine Paige Quinn it would be Taylor Swift’s ‘I knew you were trouble’. Paige knew as soon as Tait walked into Banora Downs this is exactly what he’d be.

7.      What is your favourite holiday?

LOVE holidays – so am not fussy – anywhere is perfect – it takes me all of two seconds to pack. And then another two days to pack for the rest of the familyJ

8.      What is your favourite book of all time that you can reread a hundred times, and it still feels like the first time?

The iconic Pride and Prejudice. Then after I’ve read it, yet again, have to put on the BBC series.

9.      What do you need to set the mood for you to write?

Music – depending on what scene am writing it will vary from the soundtrack to Persuasion (Rupert Penry-Jones version) to Train’s 50 Ways to Say Goodbye.

10.  If there is one genre that you have not written in yet, but would love to try writing a book in that specific genre, what would it be?

            Have attempted to write western historical so that is a genre would love to focus on more and finish an actual book.

11.  What are you working on now?

Am currently working on a small town series based in a bush town that holds an annual Elvis festival. I also have another full length rural novel underway.

           

12.  Please share your favourite cocktail recipe or celebration photo.

When Escape Publishing launched last year they had a fabulous event held at the ECQ Bar in Sydney. The four launch authors had signature cocktails designed to represent their books. Ainslie Patton’s cocktail for Grease Monkey Jive consisted of:

1 ounce Cognac, 4 ounces chilled champagne, 3 drops bitters and a sugar cube. Place sugar cube in champagne flute, drop bitters onto cube, pour in cognac and top with champagne.

For the other launch book cocktails please visit Escape Publishing face book page and scroll down to the November 15th post for pictures and recipes.

I’d love to see my local barman’s version of Grease Monkey Jive! I swear he’s got all the moves to go with it too!
And it sounds delish!


Beneath Outback Skies

Book/buy link: http://www.randomhouse.com.au/books/alissa-callen/beneath-outback-skies-9780857980397.aspx

What Love Sounds Like

Book/buy link: http://www.escapepublishing.com.au/product/9780857990129

Face book page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alissa-Callen-Author/355366704552838

Website:  www.alissacallen.com

            


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ALL THE WORLD’S A PAGE Starring:_Lily Malone

3/3/2013

5 Comments

 
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Welcome and thanks for treading the boards with us today!

1.      Are you inspired most by places, people or experiences and how do these work their way into your writing?

I think places Susanne. I’m not sure if that’s what most of your ‘guest stars’ say, but currently it seems to be places that inspire me most, and then probably experiences. I was born in the Margaret River area of West Australia and then 12 years ago I moved to the Adelaide Hills; and in the last month I’ve moved back to Margaret River. Wine is a common industry in both those areas, and vineyards are a great landmark of these regions. So far, all the stories and WIPs I have relate to the wine industry in some way. I am partial to a nice white, (or red) err… (or rosé) wine. And did I mention my love of Sparkling?? That’s Sparkling whites and, Sparkling reds…

We are kindred spirits, Lily! I fully understand how the Adelaide Hills and the fabulous wineries inspire.

2.      Please share one of your favourite moments of inspiration with us.

Well. Having just said ‘places’ are my inspiration, the most recent inspiration was an ‘experience.’ Hubby and I were driving with the kids through the great little tourist town of Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills when Hubby hit the picks (slang for sending all of us through the windscreen as he braked rather violently) because a Ducati bike for sale in someone’s front yard had caught his attention. Lo and behold, a week or so later I saw a Call for Submissions from Carina Press for novellas with a theme of ‘Harleys and Holidays’. The bike didn’t have to be a Harley, and I made it a Ducati. But I thought to myself, what if the hero braked to check out the motorbike just as the heroine was walking down the road to buy it… what would happen then. So that event is the inspiration behind my current WIP, Goodbye River Road.

Oh, did I mention I once used all my raffle tickets to try to win a ride on a Harley? I did (win it that is!) and it was fantastic.

3.      How did you come up with the idea of [Goodbye River Road]?

See above!

4.      How do you come up with your characters’ names?

I don’t know. They just come to me. In another book, I called my hero Dexter (Dex) the entire way through and then changed him with a global change to Seth. I think that was in my Deadwood phase where I had a crush on Seth Bullock. (That crush remains! Timothy Olyphant is hot!)

5.      Who would you cast for a movie/TV series as your main characters if given the chance?

Err… why do I keep answering the next question with the previous answer??? J

Actually, it wouldn’t be Timothy Olyphant as Owen in Goodbye River Road. Owen is more broad/stocky and Timothy is fairly lean. For Owen, I have a picture of Sam Worthington (Avatar) in my head. For Olivia (Liv), someone a bit more pixie-like. Maybe the girl who plays Alice in Twilight, Ashley Greene.

6.      If you could pick a soundtrack to match your main character’s life, what would it be?

Well, Liv has a gay brother who died several years back (the Ducati bike I mention earlier will turn out to be the gay brother’s… and Liv wants to buy it back). So, there’s a wonderful song out at the moment called Same Love, by Mackelmore. The lyrics are excellent.

7.      What is your favourite holiday?

Susanne you are making me laugh! There is some dialogue in my debut book, His Brand Of Beautiful released this month by Escape Publishing where my hero, Tate is asking heroine Christina, this same question. She gives the same answer I would, namely: “A good hotel, a good book, a swimming pool, and some type of exotic drink with a fluffy umbrella stuffed in the top. I do nothing, really well.”

You’ll  be joining Juanita Kees and me for a Fluffy Duck then?

8.      Do you read reviews of your books? What do you do when you read a not-so-nice one?

I am such a babe in the woods, I really can’t answer this question. On 19/2 I saw my first review of His Brand Of Beautiful by a book blogger who gave it 4 of 5 stars and called it ‘captivating’… so I was thrilled with that. What I hope to do when I read the ‘not-so-nice’ ones is grow a very thick skin, take it on board if there is anything constructive and forget it fast, if not.

9.      How many times were you turned down before you finally got published?

I’m not exactly sure, but I know there was no Agent who was ever even remotely interested in it. It was only once I started querying publishers direct that I got any attention. Kate Cuthbert from Escape was the first editor to ever request a Full. Since then, I’ve had four more requests for Fulls, and two offers for publication for His Brand Of Beautiful, one of which was Kate at Escape.  I’ve literally (Saturday night) just submitted Goodbye River Road to two publishers. So I’m on that train again.

And best of luck with it – can’t wait to read about the Ducati!

10.  What reason(s) did the publishers give for their rejection of your manuscript?

The only two pieces of feedback I remember were from an Agent: “The story lacked depth and characterisation.”  That was a long time ago and it gave me good feedback to work on. And from Harlequin in the US, also a very long time ago: “While parts of the story were intriguing, the POV switches were jarring at a time when we mostly want to get to know and concentrate on the main characters”… something like that anyway. They were both good bits of feedback and they were done very ‘nicely’… even though I still felt rather… err… crushed at the time.

11.  Who is your literary hero?

I love John Sandford books. I love his hero, Lucas Davenport, in the Prey series.

12.  Who do you most admire and why? OR  If you could meet anyone and spend an hour with them alive or dead who and why?

Can I pick an animal? I am absolutely enamoured with Black Caviar at the moment. I admire her greatly for having a great big butt and a big heart and running dang fast and I’d love to spend an hour just watching her do her stuff.

13.  What is your favorite book of all time that you can reread a hundred times, and it still feels like the first time?

Okay, at the risk of ruining any cred I never had, I have a few here. These are all books that I’ve owned for many years and that I re-read over the years. First is the series of Earth’s Children by Jean M Auel. I’ve read all of these, although I only own the first four books. Clan of the Cave Bear, Valley of the Horses, The Mammoth Hunters and Plains of Passage. This story of Ayla’s journey was just fascinating from both when I was a teenager, and right through my early adulthood. It’s probably five or so years since I read them now, but they’re all dog-eared and crinkled with use. Her last two books didn’t do it for me at all. They were so long-winded and repetitive, I almost gave up. Second: Raymond E Feist and Janny Wurts collaborated on a series of fantasy books called The Empire Series starring Mara of the Acoma. They fascinated me twenty years ago and they’re also books I’ve re-read. And last, but not least, I got suckered into Twilight in 2008-2009. I was pregnant with my second son and I’d just seen the Twilight movie, before I’d read any of the books. I just fell in love with the whole concept and about that time, got diagnosed with gestational diabetes… this meant I had to keep having two-hour glucose tolerance blood tests in a doctor’s surgery where I had strict instructions to ‘sit quietly and read’… Oh! Joy! Permission to read! So I started devouring the Twilight series in between having a nurse legally remove my blood! Kind of suitable dontcha think? So I’ve read and re-read the Twilight books too. I think the story is wonderful and I don’t care if critics think Meyer can’t write.

Loved the early Jean M Auel books too, and there is a certain irony in ‘giving’ blood while reading vampire characters. Lucky it wasn’t True Blood!

14.  What do you need to set the mood for you to write?

Quiet! And permission to write. (I feel constantly guilty that my writing takes time away from my kids and my husband.)

15.  If there is one genre that you have not written in yet, but would love to try writing a book in that specific genre, what would it be?

Probably fantasy or paranormal. As I said in one of the answers above, as a teenager, I devoured Fantasy books. I’d like to create a world one day.

16.  How many blurbs did you have to write before the final one?

Not that many. I had trouble initially making sure I wasn’t writing a mini synopsis. The blurb is more about the ‘sizzle’ isn’t it, not a synopsis telling everyone what happens.

Great distinction between blurb and synopsis!

17.  If you could bring one of your characters to life, who would it be? And why?

I’d love to see Seth Lasrey in the flesh (WIP – Fringe Benefits) – he’s the one I’ve channelled Timothy Olyphant for and if Timothy burst into my kitchen one day, I’d be stoked. I’d also feed him tomato and oregano pizza with feta and thinly sliced pumpkin. (But that’s another story!)

18.  What are you working on now?

Right now, it’s the novella for Carina Press (if I can get it finished and write a synopsis and a query by 15/3). If I can’t, then I’d likely submit this to Escape Publishing and/or others and see how we go. When that’s done, it’s back to my second WIP optioned to Escape, loosely called Fringe Benefits.

19.  Would you like to share an excerpt from your writing or a photo or music link that inspires you?

This is from Goodbye River Road.

Chapter 1.

Olivia Murphy had brass in pocket, as the song goes. One thousand dollars’ worth of brass to be exact—all hers and all hard-earned. Technically, the money was in her handbag not her pocket, but Liv was in a hurry and she wasn’t about to split hairs.

The Lang’s house wasn’t far—just another few hundred metres heading out of town along the Hahndorf main street. She couldn’t see the gleam of red, not yet. There were too many hedges in the way, too many neat brush fences, and her prize was set back from the road. Luke’s bike. Her brother’s Ducati Pantah 650. The bike she was about to give Dean Lang ten thousand dollars to buy back.

Her chin rose. If there’s one oak leaf stain on that paintwork, Mr Lang, you better get ready to knock another few hundred bucks off your asking price.

Liv checked over her shoulder, just as she’d checked every thirty seconds since she’d left the bank carrying ten hundred-dollar notes crisply folded in a plastic bag. The odds of getting mugged in Hahndorf weren’t high, unless it was by Japanese tourists who wanted their photo taken. But then again, why tempt fate?

She quickened her pace.

 Nice set up!

20.  Please share your favourite cocktail recipe or celebration photo.

Oh no! I knew this question would bamboozle me. Did I mention I’m a wine drinker way up the top somewhere??? I don’t make cocktails. I don’t know how to make cocktails. I don’t know a cocktail recipe. The only names I can think of are Fluffy Ducks (and I’m sure Juanita Kees snaffled that one a few weeks back); and Tequila Slammers, and isn’t there somewhere, a drink called “A Long Slow Screw Against The Wall?” Or is that showing my 80s naivety? Tell you what – if you can make up a drink for me Susanne and call it the Lily Malone – I’d be stoked!

Absolutely, Lily! I think we’ll use sparkling wine and some sort of Vok – Parfait d’Amour sounds about right for a romance writer. I’ll work on it and get you over for taste testing soon! Thanks for treading the boards and best wishes for wonderful sales on your debut release, Lily.To find out more about what makes Lily tick, visit:

www.lilymalone.wordpress.com

To buy His Brand Of Beautiful,click here


Thanks for having me on All The World’s A Page Susanne, it’s been my absolute pleasure!

 

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    Author

    Story elements surround us every day, from new places to a favourite piece of music or an odd moment witnessed in passing that becomes a scene in our work. On this weekly post, fellow authors will share some of what inspires their stories and their lives. Sit back and make yourself comfortable with the drink of your choice as the curtain rises. 

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