Multi-published, bestselling author Ruth Logan Herne loves God, her family, her country, dogs, chocolate and coffee! A country gal with a heart for the big city, Ruthy likes nothing more than to write the kind of books she loves to read, and she's even more happy that now she gets paid to do it! She's been married for a Very Long Time and she and her husband Dave live on a small farm in upstate New York where lake effect snow buries them on a regular basis in winter. But that's all right... it gives her more time to write!

​1. How did you get started as an author?  What or whom inspired you?
I think I’ve known all my life that I wanted to write books. As far back as I can remember I was a reader and a storyteller, so the urge came naturally to me. Realizing what I wanted to focus on, romance with women empowerment came as I got older and things began meshing in my head. I love stories that reach out to women and help lift them up spiritually and romantically with the joy and strength of faith and the quest to strengthen themselves to be all they can be on their own… the hunky hero is a bonus!
 
2. How many books have you written and in what genres?
I’ve written over thirty books now, with several releasing this year and next. I still PINCH MYSELF that this is real!!!!! Happy dancing! I love romance, so there’s romance in all of my books, but the longer books are more a single title romance with either stronger family issues or external conflict woven in. I can hint at these things in my Love Inspired romances, but I can delve a little more with an extra 25 thousand words. Having said that, I love my Love Inspired romances and the chance to reach readers at such a reasonable price. That means the world to me.
 
3. What does your writing process look like?
I’m a linear writer. I don’t skip around chapters, I weave a story like you would a tapestry, from beginning to end, and then I go in and add the embroidery… which is refining, editing, revising and tweaking. I get up between 3 and 4 in the morning and work until my before school kids come for breakfast around seven… and when they’re on the bus, I clean up the kitchen and go back to writing.  I try to get 2-3,000 words in every day now that I don’t have children here all day. (Until September, I worked full-time and wrote part-time. Now I’ve flipped that to writing full time and wrap around care part time)
And I try to hop online and connect with readers via Facebook and Twitter a few times a day. I love Facebook because it allows me to talk with people and see how they’re doing!
 
4. How long does it typically take you to write a novel?
This varies on the length and how much of the story I have in my head. But I think if you gave it a three-month window, you’d be accurate. That allows me time for self-editing, too.
 
5. What projects are you currently working on?  What can you tell us about these projects?
Right now I am working on a couple of Christmas projects, a novella collection for St. Martin’s Press in NYC and a historical Christmas collection that is only being whispered about right now because contracts are not signed as yet… So we’ll chat about that next month! I’m also doing some edits on next year’s books and developing a delightful romance series that’s got a quirky little town, a Christmas baby, and three women who pledged to never lose their way… but somehow have managed to do just that. So we help them find their way back to faith, hope and … of course!... love.
 
6. What inspired the idea for Back in the Saddle? How many novels are you planning for this series?
I’ve always loved cowboys and when Waterbrook editor Shannon Marchese asked for a cowboy series, two of the books were already in my mentally planned storage container. (Some people refer to this as their “head”.) I pulled them out, dusted them off and looked at these heroes… and then the third hero…. And decided that I wanted a “Bonanza” meets “Dynasty” style story line… So there are three motherless men and we get to see how that affected each boy/man differently. Woven into the stories is a really good look at how similar events can have grossly different effects on children and their later perceptions, and how often we push ourselves to make the same mistakes our parents did… while trying desperately to prove them wrong.  The FUNNEST part of all of this was creating heroines to match these guys and give them the wake-up call they needed! And all these cute kids, dogs, cows and horses, ramblin’ old cowboys and smokin’ hot young ones… This is a three-book series and contains everything you could want to make the reader smile… cry, maybe, just a little… and then sigh, happily. And that’s my recipe for a great story!
  
7. What other hobbies do you enjoy when you are not writing?
I love gardening and in upstate we only have a few months for that, so I enjoy it while I can…. And in winter I try to fix things in this old house, and when I fix one thing I usually break two others… but does that stop me??? It does not! J Mostly, though, I enjoy family. We’ve got six kids, plus my beautiful niece that I kind of stole from my sister… Five of them are married, and we have 14 grandchildren that we absolutely love. So hanging with kids comes naturally to me! I don’t know if you can call kids a hobby, but they’re a definite resource for book research! :)

Cindy Vincent, M.A. Ed., was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and has lived all around the US and Canada. She is the creator of the Mysteries by Vincent murder mystery party games and the Daisy Diamond Detective Series games for girls. She is also the award-winning author of the Buckley and Bogey Cat Detective Caper novels, and the Daisy Diamond Detective book series. She lives in Houston, TX with her husband and an assortment of fantastic felines. Cindy is a self-professed “Christmas-a-holic,” and starts planning and preparing for her ever-expanding, “extreme” Christmas lights display every year, sometime in the early Spring . . .

​1. How did you get started as an author?  What or whom inspired you?
 It's funny, but I started writing creatively just as soon as I learned to read and write.  I wrote my first real "work" in the First Grade, in the mid-1960s.  That's when the Charlie Brown specials had come out, and I wrote my own version as a puppet show.  Of course, I added a commercial, which I spelled out — using my phonics — as Kamershell.  Ha!  I still have a copy of this.  I made sock puppets and my wonderful teacher let my friends and me perform it in front of the class.  I'm sure it was pretty bad, but our teacher was wise enough to just let us do it ourselves and learn from it, rather than taking over and making it perfect. 
 
In later grade school years, I wrote class plays and short stories and on and on.  Now, as a grownup, my happiest days are the days I get to spend writing.  When I'm not writing, I'm thinking about writing.  Writing for me is right up there with breathing and eating and sleeping.  (Okay, maybe not sleeping so much . . .)  It's a necessity, and not an option.  I'm sure lots of writers feel the same way.
 
2. How many books have you written and in what genres?
 Since humorous mysteries are what I love to read, that’s what I tend to write.  I have four books in my Buckley and Bogey Cat Detective Capers series, including the one I have on this blog tour now.  The first in the series is The Case of the Cat Show Princess, where Buckley and Bogey go undercover at a cat show to save an animal who has been abused by her owner.  Buckley enters in the Cutest Family Pet category, while Bogey enters the Agility Competition. 
 
The next in the series is The Case of the Crafty Christmas Crooks, whereby Buckley experiences his first Christmas and fights to uncover some crooks who are trying to ruin the season for everyone.  And the third book is The Case of the Jewel Covered Cat Statues, which is loosely my spoof on the Maltese Falcon, done Buckley and Bogey style.  But instead of a jeweled bird statue, Buckley and Bogey are in search of a jeweled cat statue.  Naturally.  (Did you expect anything different?)
 
I also have two books out from an earlier series, my Daisy Diamond Detective novels.  The Mystery of the Missing Ming and The Case of the Rising Star Ruby are middle-grade novels that went along with a series of mystery party games that I created for ‘tween girls.  And . . . speaking of games, for twenty years I owned and operated Mysteries by Vincent, where I wrote and sold over forty different murder mystery party game titles.  It was a lot of fun, and my games were shipped all over the world.  And, I might add, they went to more interesting places than I did!
 
Plus, sixteen years ago I wrote a grown-up’s mystery novel — Makeover for Murder.  This was a spoof on the door-to-door cosmetics industry, and is available on Kindle today.  Finally, as a complete departure from what I usually write, I put out a Daily Biblical Devotional book a few years ago, called Cats are Part of His Kingdom, Too.  In this book, not only do I chronicle many of my personal experiences with some of my own cats, but I also parallel the love a pet owner has for a cat with the love that God has for his people.  Much like we humans work in many behind-the-scenes ways to make the lives of our cats better, God works in behind-the-scenes way for us, in ways that we can't even comprehend.
 
As for current projects, I’m right in the heart of writing the first book of a new mystery series set in the 1940s.  Since I enjoy studying history so much, I especially loved doing all the research for this series!
 
3. How long does it typically take you to write a book?
 This varies greatly, and it really depends on what else I have going on in my life at the time.  For instance, when I ran a full-time business, I was somewhat limited on writing time.  But typically it takes me about six months to write a Buckley and Bogey book or a middle-grade novel.  Grown-up novels are a different ballgame, and can take up to a year to write.  I love those times when I can fully immerse myself in a novel and write without interruption.  That’s when I can really burn rubber on the keyboard. 
 
4. When did you write your first book and how old were you?
 I wrote my first book in my early thirties.  It was a romance novel that made the rounds in New York, but never went anywhere from there.  But the truth was, I’m not a romance reader and only wrote a romance novel because someone advised me it was a good way to break into the industry.  But I think editors spotted this right off the bat, and no doubt, readers would have, too.  It was a good lesson for me, and I’ve learned to be true to my own voice and write the kinds of books that I would like to read.
 
5. What suggestions would you give potential author to help them become a better writer?
 First, I would suggest that you never, ever quit learning, and read everything you can on the craft of writing.  Then, I would advise that you keep practicing and write something every single day.  It’s so important to keep your little gray cells active and fired up.  After that, I would strongly recommend that you guard your gift zealously.  That means taking good care of your brain.  Make sure you feed it enough healthy food (blueberries are my recommendation), get some aerobic exercise, and stay away from alcohol or any drugs/medications that might impair your thinking ability long term.  And last, I would suggest that you be very careful in choosing the people who critique your work.  Your grandma or your best friend will probably just tell you what you want to hear, and that nasty neighbor across the street will be critical purely for the sake of being critical.  Instead, seek out other writers and authors who know what they’re doing, and seek out people who read your genre.  Don’t get offended because someone suggests an improvement, and be sure you get a few opinions before you officially put anything “out there.”
 
6. How frequently do you hear from your fans?
 I get wonderful letters and photos from fans probably on a weekly basis.  While my books appeal to both kids and cat lovers of all ages, most of my fan letters come from elementary school kids.  And let me tell you, those letters are wonderful.  I usually get a nice long story about their own cats who seem to have plenty of adventures themselves.  It sometimes amazes me that children see aspects of my books that I didn’t even realize I’d put in there.  In fact, one little girl wrote me about the third book in the series, saying how she loved that the final scene took place in a church, because she just knew that God was watching over Buckley and Bogey.  And helping to save them from the bad guys.  To tell you the truth, I hadn’t even considered that when I wrote it.  Some of their comments bring tears to my eyes.
 
7. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?  Did becoming a writer ever cross your mind?
 Ha!  As a child, I had so many interests that I had a million different ideas for a career.  I remember going through a phase where I wanted to be a private detective and I believe I also wanted to be a fashion designer for a while.  I thought being a flight attendant would be pretty fun, but I think by junior high school, I was determined to be a doctor, mostly because I had a fantastic Biology teacher who pushed me in that direction.  Later, I believe I thought about being a journalist for a time.  In a nutshell, I think I wanted to do it all because so many things interested me!  As for writing, I think I always saw it as more of a sideline career, probably because I had never actually met any authors.  I honestly never dreamed I’d be doing this fulltime and I feel so incredibly blessed to be doing this!
 
8. What hobbies do you enjoy when you are not writing? 
 Hobbies are a bit of an issue for me, since I have more hobbies than I’ll ever have time for.  I dabble in painting, photography, gardening and interior design.  But my absolute faves are art quilting and apparel sewing.  I have art quilts all over my house, (and a few other people’s, too) and I’m forever making a new dress or top or jacket.  A few years ago, I took a weeklong couture sewing class, and since then I’ve been addicted to sewing evening gowns.  (Of course, there is no logical explanation for this — it’s just something that I like to do.  Maybe it hails back to my Barbie® days as a kid?)  Thankfully, my husband and I take a lot of cruises, so I always get a chance to wear my latest creation on formal night. 

Check out my reviews for
THE CASE OF THE CAT SHOW PRINCESS (coming soon)
THE CASE OF THE CRAFTY CHRISTMAS CROOKS (coming soon)
THE CASE OF TEH JEWEL COVERED CAT STATUES (coming soon)
​THE CASE OF THE CLEVER SECRET CODE (coming soon)

Kaki Olsen is always on the brink of another adventure. If she couldn't be a writer, she'd be a full-time musician or travel guide and she would take her lunch breaks at Fenway Park. Until that happens, she speaks both Spanish and English at her every-day office job, but she has vacationed enthusiastically in such places as Istanbul and Ireland. She has lived in five states, but will always refer to Boston as home.
She regularly contributes academic papers on zombies or wizards to Life, the Universe and Everything, a sci-fi/fantasy symposium originated at her alma mater, Brigham Young University. Her published works have appeared in such magazines as Voices and AuthorsPublish.She is a doting aunt and librarian of two bulging bookshelves.

1. How did you get started as an author?  What or whom inspired you?
 I started as an insomniac 6-year-old who would retell fairy tales in her head in order to fall asleep.  Then I graduated to school assignments (I still have my first "book," "The Princess Who Never Smiled") and short stories in the style of various authors.

2. What writing project are you currently working on?  What can you tell us about these projects?
My main project is currently "The Matchmaker's Apprentice," though the title is likely to be more catchy in the future.  It's the story of a prince finding himself a princess, a la most Disney movies from the 20th century, but this prince was third in line for the throne until his brother started a war and the next-youngest brother died in battle.  Now this prince, who suffers from PTSD and has banished all fairy godmothers from the kingdom, is expected to have a happily-ever-after.  Enter the local matchmakers, whose function has recently been to talk parents around to the idea of who their children wish to marry.
I'm also finishing "Check-in," a mystery novella about a kidnapping victim whose phone is possessed by a benevolent ghost bent on getting the police to find her before the kidnapper decides to dispose of her.
"Just One Catch" is a short story involving an android, the dragon egg she must smuggle off of Earth and the bad timing that befalls them.
And finally, "Scions and Saints" is the story of an orphan fighting against the people who killed her parents and the very-much-alive mother who has been leading the revolution that her daughter is determined to stamp out.

3. How long does it typically take you to write a book?
A first draft takes about 3-5 months.  I've done NaNoWriMo and not been satisfied with the result.  The editing will, I hope, be quicker in the future now that I know about word limits and what my editor likes in pacing.

4. What authors inspire your writing?
Most directly, Marianna Roberg and Julie Berry.  Marianna writes fascinating murder mysteries that just make me laugh at the oddest places, which is something I feel I channel into my books.  And Julie has the most delightfully quirky characters.  Further out, I love Gail Carson Levine and J.K. Rowling.

5. What period of history interests you the most?  Does this influence your writing?
I am addicted to the US Civil War and can bore you tears with stories about the 20th Maine and Robert E. Lee.  I even wrote my admissions essay for my high school on how I would like to have dinner with General Lee, which should tell you something.  I would love to write a piece in this period, but so far have no ideas with what to do.  

6. What inspired the idea for Swan and Shadow? 
 I have loved Swan Lake since at least the age of eight because I remember dancing the finale with my best friend in the ice cream aisle of Safeway when I was nine.  When watching the American Ballet Theater production, I had the thought, "Well, sure, in this version, a guy stumbles across a girl and they live happily ever after.  What if the girl never saw anyone but the all-night convenience store clerks?"  All of a sudden, I could see her leading the kind of lifestyle that I enjoyed as a high school student who often stayed late in the city before heading home.  I knew where in Boston she could hit an all-hours CVS or get a late pizza on Kenmore Square and I absolutely HAD to write the story.  The quirks--especially the 40-page introduction to the original first chapter that I envisioned--came much later.  A lot of the ideas came as a result of questions my roommate would ask and that is why I dedicated the book to her.

7. What other hobbies do you enjoy when you are not writing?
I am a compulsive traveler and have been to seven countries in the last four years.  I'm also a violinist, violist, cellist, pianist, organist and play the hand bells when I can.  When I need a break from my books, I turn on Netflix and watch anything from The West Wing to Doctor Who.

Check out my review for
SWAN AND SHADOW

Camille Eide writes romantic, inspirational dramas about love, faith, and family. She lives in Oregon with her husband and is a mom, grammy, bass guitarist, and a fan of muscle cars, tender romance, oldies Rock, and Peanut M&Ms.

​1. What authors have inspired your writing?
I admire many authors, and I learn from them all, but—and this may come as a surprise—some of the authors who literally inspire my writing are men who write miles out of my genre. I think it has to do with smart, engaging style. I used to read a lot of Stephen King as a teen, which was when and why I first took up writing. The way he wrote dialog inspired me to write stories told by nothing but dialog. Charles Martin is a huge favorite mainly because he’s simply an engaging storyteller. His style is so smooth I haven’t really stopped reading long enough to analyze what charms me so much.
The writing styles of Dale Cramer and Athol Dickson are like brain candy to me. Dickson’s writing paints sheer beauty that stuns and makes me think. Cramer’s delightful turns-of-phrase and elegant hyperbole entertain me into a stupor before I realize there is much more story and symbolism going on between the lines. Susan Meissner(yes, I also like female authors) has a quiet, intelligent voice that leaves me thinking long after the book is finished. When I need a boost of killer wit, I read Jenny B. Jones. I am inspired and a bit influenced by the work of Jane Austen. I adore her subtle irony. I do have to watch myself for paragraph-length sentences after reading her work, though. I appreciate the fact that her characters fall in love based on growing esteem of character rather than simply physical attraction. As a tribute, I often tuck some token of Jane into my stories.
 
2. What is your current WIP?  Can you tell us a bit about it?
Because I had three novels release in the span of 15 months, I’ve been tied in a knot with launching and marketing those, which put my writing on hold. I’m researching a couple of heart-wrenching love story ideas now and amhoping to work them into a series.
 
3. Who designs the covers of your books?
My three Ashberry Lane book covers were all designed by Nicole Miller-Miller Media Solutions. I love her work and think she did a fabulous job!
 
4. How do you come up with the names for the characters in your novels?
I like to keep names simple, not too attention-drawing or unusual. Sometimes I want to give an impression, like “Emily” in Like There’s No Tomorrow. She’s companion to her elderly aunt, and her pen-pal, Ian, has the mistaken idea that the companion is also elderly. So her name needed to sound a little old fashioned. Sometimes, I choose a name based on its meaning. “Aunt Grace” is named after a relative who was an inspiration for a few of both Maggie and Grace’s traits.
I look into names common to a region, as in the case of my Scottish characters. I also look for names common to an era. “Johnny Devine” seemed like the kind of stage name an up-and-coming film star would adopt in the 1930s. “Eliza” and her sister “Betty” also came from common names of the era.
Mr. Darcy, the enigmatic cat in The Memoir of Johnny Devine, was absolutely intentional, as he is a motif in the story—and, of course, a nod to Austen.
One departure from my selection process is the hero’s name in Like a Love Song. Joe Paterson’s name is symbolic on two levels: his first name is literal—he is a biblical allegory. His last name is a compound (pater= father, and son) tribute to who he is, his core values, and who he becomes in this story.
 
5. What inspired the idea to write Like a Love Song?
The initial spark came from a Christmas letter from my niece who was a care-staff counselor at a foster group home. She wrote about her ministry to kids who lived with people who would probably be the only family they would ever have. It touched my heart. I was able to visit the home while I was working on this story. The funny thing is, not long after I met the director, she married her sweetheart who also worked there. I had nothing to do with that. J Of course, the actual story draws inspiration from life and God-truths and so much more. The story is set in the wide expanse of Central Oregon’s high desert, a place I’ve visited many times over the past 30 years and have grown to love for its quiet, rugged beauty.
 
6. What was the hardest part of writing Like a Love Song?  What was the easiest part?
Susan Quinn is a bit tough. If you’ve read Like There’s No Tomorrow, you met her briefly when Emily was at work. She’s not hard-hearted, not at all. She’s just very guarded, and with good reason. In early stages of writing this story, before many rounds of revisions, some critique partners had a hard time liking Sue on first meeting. I needed to go back and make sure she was sympathetic on introduction without making her too “sweet” since that’s not who she is. That was tricky.
Also: research for me is always a challenge. Finding that exact bit of critical information takes some doing, and there were a number of things that needed to be accurate. And getting the more emotional scenes just right can be difficult. You want the depth of emotion without going overboard. The more emotional scenes were revised again and again until they felt natural and balanced within the scene.
The easiest part wasn’t all that easy. On one hand, it was easy to describe a moment when the Lord’s presence felt very real to Sue—I was writing from experience. The difficulty was to describe the experience in a way that rang true and did such a moment justice.
Also, sarcasm is not a challenge for me. It flows rather easily, I’m afraid. 

1. What genre are your books?  What draws you to this genre?
The Order of the MoonStone series falls under the general genre of YA Inspirational Speculative fiction, but if you want to get technical about it, the books fit into dystopian, romance, futuristic fantasy and steampunk (though I'm not a fan of the work “punk”).

Fantasy/Sci-fi/Speculative has always been my favorite genre to read AND write. I am drawn to the infinite possibilities that come with speculative fiction. There is nowhere you can't go... nothing you can't do in the fantastical worlds and adventures that await you there.

2. Do you write full-time or part time?  How many days a week do you write?
I write full-time – often seven days a week. If I take off more than one day at a time, it interrupts my flow, making it difficult for me to get back into the story the next day.

3. Do you ever get writer’s block?
Every author, whether they call it writer's block or not, has parts of their story that may hang them up. I hit brick walls in my stories all the time, but I don't let it block me. I simply move to another part of the story until I find my way past the section that is giving me difficulty. Often, I find that the reason it was giving me trouble, was because it didn't need to be there to begin with.

4. What book are you currently reading?
“Storm Siren” by Mary Weber

5. What tips would you give a potential writer?
WRITE! Pray! Read! NEVER stop!

​A PERILOUS ASSIGNMENT
A RELUCTANT ASSASSIN
A CUNNING MASQUERADE
A TREACHEROUS DECISION
A DANGEROUS LOVE

Catherine Lanigan is the bestselling author of over thirty published titles in both fiction and non-fiction, including the novelizations of Romancing the Stone and The Jewel of the Nile, as well as over half a dozen anthologies, including “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living your Dream”, “Chicken Soup for the Writer’s Soul”, “Chocolate for a Woman’s Heart”, Chocolate for a Woman’s Spirit”. Ms. Lanigan’s novels have been translated into over a dozen languages including German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Chinese, and Japanese. Ms. Lanigan’s novels are also available on audio-cassette, CD and on electronic format. A prolific writer, she is always writing wonderful stories. She has several titles only available in ebook format on Amazon.com Several of her titles have been chosen for The Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Clubs. Her novel, The Christmas Star, won the Gold Medal Award Top Pick from Romantic Times Magazine for December, 2002, and has also won Book of the Year Romance Gold Award from ForeWord Magazine as well as Book of the Year Romance from Reader’s Preference. In March, 2006 Divine Nudges: Tales of Angelic Intervention and the second in Lanigan’s Angel Watch series of books, was published by HCI, the Chicken Soup for the Soul publisher.

1. How did you get started as an author?  What or whom inspired you?
 As a child I was pretty creative with storytelling to my younger brothers and sister.  We didn’t have a television, only a radio because my father thought television was an “idiot box”.  My mother was ill quite a bit and to keep our hyper-active brood quiet I told stories about fairies and elves, snow queens and evil wizards. Whose plots  probably weren’t all that far from reality, now that I look back on it. By the time I was six, I knew I wanted to be a writer. A journalist, actually.  I didn’t write so much as read everything in sight. Reading opened worlds beyond this planet. I loved adventure books the most. My first romance was “A Gay Charmer” which was written before WWI and was my grandmothers. I was hooked. Once I discovered Jane Austin, I was toast.  Once I got into college, I was told by my creative writing professor (this is a really long story, but I won’t bore you with all the details), that I had “no writing talent whatsoever.”  He told me, “Frankly, Miss Lanigan, your writing stinks.” He advised me to switch majors because I’d never earn a dime as a writer. I’d written my first short story for him.  He’d tossed my “manuscript” on the desk and it skidded across to me. I took that manuscript to the roof top of my dorm that night with a metal waste basket, matches and a broken heart and burned the pages. I promised God I would never write again. If I couldn’t see it, feel it, taste it, spit it out, I would never believe in dreams again.
 
For 14 years I didn’t write a thing. All my friends were getting poems published, not that I was any good at poetry, but this was the age of Jonathon Livingston Seagull. Anyone could get published in a college newspaper. Then in 1979 I was at a hotel in San Antonio, Texas with my family. (Another long story.)  I met a journalist who listened to my story about the professor. He said, “I’m ashamed of you. You haven’t even tried. I know guys who have manuscripts piled to the ceiling with rejection slips all over them and they’re still writing.”  Well, that did it. My mother could always get me to do anything she wanted me to do by saying, “I’m ashamed of you.”  I went home and started writing, in long hand, in my son’s first grade notebook.  I didn’t own a typewriter so my girlfriends in my cul-de-sac typed my pages at the end of every day for me. I sent the pages to the journalist. A month went by. He called one day and told me he’d gotten the manuscript, which wasn’t finished, read it and thought it was “damn good.”   He sent it to his agent. “She’s going to call you in half an hour.”
The agent did call me, and after an embarrassingly uniformed and naïve conversation on my end, she asked me to sign with her company.  I had to finish the book in three weeks.  A month later, she had two publishing houses bidding on the book.  I haven’t stopped typing manuscripts and screenplays since.
 
2. How many books have you written and in what genres? 
I’m closing in on 50 at this writing.  I have several books that I may publish myself this year. In addition to romance, romantic suspense and romantic action/adventure, I have three books in my ANGEL WATCH non-fiction series.  Angel Watch, Divine Nudges, Angel Tales have all been published.  A fourth, Angel Guides, is finished.  I also have written several other non-fiction books.  I’ve written several historical multi-generational sagas.
 
3. What writing projects are you currently working on? 
I’m fabulously and deliriously immersed in my Harlequin Heartwarming series, Shores of Indian Lake. I have the next top seven in my head and even the grand finale book which will be MRS. BEABOTS’S SECRETS.  That book will be bittersweet to write because it will be at the end of the series. From the beginning I always envisioned 26 books in the series.
 
4. What does your writing process look like?
Even my agent comments that by the time I finish my chapter by chapter outline and the first three chapters of a proposal, I might as well write the book.   The stories come to me at seemingly odd ball times, but in actuality,  most right-brain creative thought occurs when one is doing mindless work such as driving, washing dishes, mowing the lawn. Or in the middle of the night, when we aren’t worrying about the kids, the dog, the grocery list and bills.  I write out log-lines of stories. Then expand, expand and let the characters tell me their story. By the time I hand in my proposal, I’m half-way through the book.
 
5. Where is your favorite place to write?
I have a beautiful English writing desk I bought 37 years ago and I’ve written nearly every book on this desk. It’s situated in my living room with my back to a golf course view. The golf course was built just after WWI, so the pine trees and Walnut trees soar to heaven. It’s so gorgeous and inspiring.  I have found I need a lot of nature to keep the “spirit” moving through me.

​6. How important are the names in your novels?  How do you choose the names for the characters?  Do you have any resources you would suggest?
Perhaps because I’m wired very differently from others, I let the characters tell me their names. Sometimes, I have to cook up a batch of soup to get my mind into their head to get that last name from them, but it always comes to me.  Three years ago I woke up in the middle of the night and a man’s voice said, “Her name is Jazz.”  I went to my computer which I never do in the middle of the night, I’m too old for that kind of thing anymore, but that night I was wide awake. I wrote six pages of the plot and backstory for my character for a three book series.  In the story, the kids at summer camp called the heroine, “Jazz”, but her name was Jesse.  Naming animals is tough for me.
 
7. What authors/novels that you enjoy would you recommend?
I read every Heartwarming book that comes out and am never disappointed.  We have the most incredibly talented group of authors and editors who make our books a cut above the rest.  I enjoy Anne Rivers Siddons, Stephanie Laurens, Susan Wiggs, Sandra Brown, Debbie Macomber, Heather Graham and of course, Jane Austin.
 
8. Where is your favorite place to read?
In the winter by the fire.  In the spring and summer, in the yard. 
 
9. If you could choose someone famous to star in one of your books made to a movie, who would you choose and for what character? 
Boy! What a question. Of course, I would choose Michael Douglas, who chose me to write Romancing the Stone.  I have always envisioned him as Jefferson Duke in my super-sage WINGS OF DESTINY (which is available as an ebook on Amazon and BN. Com.)  I would choose George Clooney for just about anything. I met him and he’s one of the nicest guys ever.  I dearly loved Patrick Swayze but he’s on the Other Side now.
Ryan Reynolds is a favorite as well as Tom Hardy, but mention Simon Baker, and you have to scrape me off the ceiling. He was the inspiration for Austin McCreary in KATIA’S PROMISE.

10. What period of history interests you the most?
The turn of the previous century.  It must have been so exciting. Automobiles were coming into use. Man was inventing airplanes. The romance of horse s and carriages was still there. Gas lighting was giving way to electricity. Cities were being lit. I love writing about that era the most.
 
 11. What inspired the idea for Fear of Falling?
When I first put together the bones of the series for Shores of Indian Lake, Olivia Melton’s character rolled around in my head daily. I wanted her to be a photographer though terrified of trying her talent. (Much like I was.) My sister, Nancy, had always wanted to go to classes and learn photography, but she died before she’d had the chance or believed in herself enough to do it.  Because addictions of all kinds touch nearly every family in America, I wanted to incorporate gambling.  There are so many casinos around us all today that weren’t available to us thirty years ago. The lure of “easy money” of a “quick win” instead of hard work to pay the bills is prevalent in too many lives. Gambling destroys whole families. I wanted Olivia to have lived with that pain and shame from a father who gambled away even her college savings at the horse track. Then she falls for the one man in the world she knows she should never be with. Rafe Barzonni is determined to fulfill his father’s dream of running their Thoroughbred in a race. He wants to stand in the winner’s circle and give his father, who has recently died, that one last thrill.
 
12. What other hobbies do you enjoy when you are not writing?
There was a day when I had a lot of athletic hobbies as well as crewel work, sewing and playing bridge.   These days I’m happy for an extra hour of sleep.  I garden a lot and give quite a few dinner parties and holiday parties.  Cooking for my friends is high on my list. It also helps me to write. When I’m stuck for an idea I head for the kitchen. I still ride my bike if the day is pretty, but with a full time job, writing and promoting two or more books a year and taking care of life….my days are full. 

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​FEAR OF FALLING

​Joyce DiPastena dreamed of green medieval forests while growing up in the dusty copper mining town of Kearny, Arizona. She filled her medieval hunger by reading the books of Thomas B. Costain (where she fell in love with King Henry II of England), and later by attending the University of Arizona where she graduated with a degree in history, specializing in the Middle Ages. The university was also where she completed her first full-length novel…set, of course, in medieval England. Later, her fascination with Henry II led her to expand her research horizons to the far reaches of his “Angevin Empire” in France, which became the setting of her first published novel, Loyalty’s Web (a 2007 Whitney Award Finalist).

When she’s not writing, Joyce loves to read, play the piano, and spend time with her sister and friends. A highlight of her year is attending the annual Arizona Renaissance Festival .

Joyce is a multi-published, multi-award winning author who specializes in sweet medieval romances heavily spiced with mystery and adventure. She lives with her two cats, Clio and Glinka Rimsky-Korsokov, in Mesa, Arizona. 

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​1. How did you get started as an author? What or whom inspired you?
 I suppose two authors inspired me the most as a beginning writer. Regency author Georgette Heyer inspired my love for words and characters and dialogue and all the ingredients that go into creating a joyful novel. And Thomas B. Costain inspired my love for the Middle Ages. I know I can never aspire to be as great an author as Georgette Heyer or as great a historian as Thomas B. Costain, but during my high school and college years, they kind of inspired me to mix and match and experiment until I eventually found my own writer’s niche and voice.
 
2. How many books have you written and in what genres?
 I’ve written six novels and three short stories/novellas, all medieval romances. And a little non-fiction book about medieval names.

3. How long does it typically take you to write a novel?
 I think the fastest I’ve ever written a full-length novel (from start to publication) has been about 9 months. Some of my early books took me years to finish and polish and publish.
 
4. What writing projects are you currently working on? What can you tell us about these projects?
 Right now, I’m working on a novella that springboards off some references I made about my hero Gerolt’s past in Courting Cassandry before he met my heroine, Cassandry. I’m going back in time to explore how some of these events happened, but through the eyes a knight named Nick Ryder, who was picked to mentor Gerolt when he was a rather reckless young man. And yes, Nick is getting a romance of his own. :)
 
5. What inspired the idea for your Courting Cassandry or Hearts in Autumn Series?
 A couple of years ago, a writers group I was in challenged us each to try to write an autumn-themed story. While I was trying to come up with an autumn theme, the thought came to me, “What if I wrote a story about falling in love during the characters’ ‘autumn years?’” So I wrote a romance about an older couple and enjoyed it so much, I decided to turn it into a series called “Hearts in Autumn.” Courting Cassandry is the second title in the series. (The first was Loving Lucianna.)
 
6. What other hobbies do you enjoy when you are not writing?
 I love to read, play the piano, eat chocolate, and play with my cats. :)

Check out my reviews for
LOVING LUCIANNA
COURTING CASSANDRY

Professional coffee drinker, Jaime Wright, resides in the hills of Wisconsin. She loves to write spirited turn-of-the-century romance, stained with suspense. Her day job finds her as a Director of Sales & Development. She’s wife to a rock climbing, bow-hunting Pre-K teacher, mom to a coffee-drinking little girl, and a little boy she fondly refers to as her mischievous “Peter Pan”. Jaime completes her persona by being an admitted social media junkie and coffee snob. She is a member of ACFW and has the best writing sisters EVER!

5. What does your writing process look like?
I am not a conventional writer. I can’t be. I have a full-time job and two littles. :) Oh yes, and a husband. SO my writing process is usually 15-30 minute snippets of writing throughout the day, writing while I watch a TV show with my husband, sometimes getting up early to write before the sun comes up (I really hate that!), or dictating the chapters into my phone that converts it to text I can format later.
 
6. Do you have a favorite place to write?  I love writing at my coffee shop. I think Starbucks is going to ask me to be their spokesperson soon. :) Where?
 
7. How important are the names in your novels?
You know, my characters usually name themselves. It’s sort of creepy. LOL  How do you choose names for your characters?  Their names sort of pop into my head as though they’ve always existed, so sometimes I have to argue with them if their name is too common, too weird, or not time appropriate. Do you have any name resources you would suggest? I love googling names, but usually only do that if I’m lost and my characters won’t tell me their name. lol. I do resource old genealogies, social security sites, and census sites to make sure the name isn’t too modern for the time period.
 
8. What authors/novels that you enjoy would you recommend?
Well I love the classics! So the Bronte sisters are sufficiently delicious for my reading enjoyment, and Nathaniel Hawthorne also satisfies my need for some of the dark, creepiness I love in stories. But I also really enjoy anything Colleen Coble, Ronie Kendig, Kara Isaac, Erica Vetsch, and Dani Pettrey.

9. What period of history interests you the most?
I love the late Victorian/early Edwardian era.  Does this influence your writing? Totally. Very much so. I find my brain lives in the days when cars were crank-started, women wore silk and lace, and men were chivalrous. ;)
​
10. If you could choose someone famous to star in one of your books made to a movie, who would you choose and for which character?
Oooooo fun question! Well, the hero in my current split-story is played by Stephen Amell who in real life plays The Arrow. I mean, who wouldn’t pick him for their hero?
 
11. What inspired the idea for your novella in the Cowboy’s Bride Collection?
Really and truly, my cowboy uncle inspired so much of it. I used to visit his horse ranch when I was a kid and watched him wrangle horses and steers. I was also inspired by what I envision my strong-willed, sassy daughter to be one day. So CJ, my heroine, bears my daughter’s intials because really, she is my daughter.

12. What other hobbies do you enjoy when you are not writing?
I drink coffee. :) Lots of coffee. I also enjoy shooting bow with my husband – yes, bow and arrow. Probably another reason Stephen Amell is a hero in my book. The whole Green Arrow thing. Yeah. Sweet. My husband and I also rock climb, or used to, pre-littles. So as the kids get older, we’re pulling out our harnesses, chalk bag, and ropes and getting ready to gear up. But I need to lose about 30 lbs now so yeah …. That’s brutal honesty for ya! J

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​The Cowgirl's Lasso from "The Cowboy's Bride Collection"