Apr 19, 2024 | 2024, April 2024, Blog, Coffee With, Giveaway, Summer Hanford
Welcome to Books I Love A Latte where we provide spoiler free book reviews and share bookish content. If you’re new here, welcome. If you’re back for more fun – thank you for hanging out with us today.
Our ‘Coffee With’ is posted exclusively on our website and then shared across social media platforms by post links when we are having a cuppa and a chat in the lounge.
Continue to check the blog as we will be having new new additions to our chats, guests, and lots of fun surprises as we get ready to kick off celebrating our tenth year of bookish fun in the upcoming months. A gentle reminder if you want to make sure you don’t miss a single post please be sure to follow us on social media on your preferred platform here.
Today we are excited to have Author Summer Hanford in the lounge. Thanks for hanging out to chat about books and bookish tidbits. It’s time to grab a cuppa and settle in. My barista made me a Coconut Vanilla Latte with a drizzle of caramel.
Rae: What’s in your cuppa?
Summer: Hi Rae! Thank you so much for having me here with you. As to the content of my mug, I’m having Earl Grey tea to which I have quite scandalously added cream along with the sugar (even though I know that lemon and sugar are the only truly acceptable additions).
Rae: I find that reading is best when I have a beverage and a snack, what do you need to have for yourself when you are settling in to read?
Summer: I couldn’t agree with you more. I like to read with tea and a sweet. Generally shortbread cookies, or a slice of lemon cake.
Rae: Before we start can you tell everyone about the books you write?
Summer: I write in three genres, two of which seem similar but aren’t as much so as you would think. The dissimilar one is Epic Fantasy. The two similar ones are Regency Romance and Austenesque Variations. Regardless of genre, I love at least a bit of action and adventure, and in my two historical genres, I veer to lighthearted.
Rae: When was the moment you knew you wanted to be an author?
Summer: When I read my first novel, which was epic fantasy. I had a lot of trouble learning to write and to read. In fact, I repeated a grade because they couldn’t move me forward until I learned to do both. After several years of special classes, the letters on the page finally began to make sense. Once that happened, I was hooked. I love living inside a novel, and I can’t imagine a better way to spend my days than crafting stories that will, hopefully, be as entertaining and important to other people as many of the books I’ve read are to me.
Rae: How do you keep your historical, fantasy, classic fiction, and regency worlds from blending into the other?
Summer: There are small carryovers. There’s a lot of bowing and curtsying in all of them, as well as marriage contracts and dowries. Of course, in Regency Romance or Austenesque Variations, the marriage contracts are all about finding love, often despite the lack of a dowry. While in Epic Fantasy, marriages are born of forged alliances. For the most part, however, they are a foil to one another. Writing fantasy books about epic struggles of good and evil, punctuated by betrayal, murder, and heroism, allows me to fill my romances with the lighthearted, low angst fun my readers enjoy. I could never chop off Mr. Darcy’s head (and who would want to!), but I can cheerfully unleash a dozen wyverns on a besieged city.
Rae: Do you find it easy to switch your creative process when writing more than one genre? Is it difficult to keep your worlds separate?
Summer: I could say it’s easy but I’m not certain that’s true. Generally, I alternate book by book, meaning I don’t write more than one at the same time. When I first brought in the Austenesque novels, it was much more difficult. I recall that in two of the first books I co-authored, there was far more bloodshed than usual for the genre. That said, there’s plenty of room in the Regency and Austenesque worlds for wonderful sword fights, carriage chases, balcony scaling, and all sorts of action. It’s more in the nuance of how it’s described. Sort of like the difference between ‘closed door’ and ‘open door’ romance.
Rae: What are your writing rituals?
Summer: First, I make my tea and check my email and social media. I give myself thirty minutes for that, and then it all has to go away until lunch time, when I get another fifteen minutes. After that, it depends on the genre.
For my romance writing, I next ‘visit’ my Jacquie Lawson Country Cottage, because I have to play solitaire there. Regular solitaire simply won’t do. It’s not pretty or soothing enough. I like to win before writing but I also put a fifteen-minute time limit on that in case I’m having a terrible solitaire day for some reason.
If I’m going to write fantasy or even a fast paced, action-intensive historical, I listen to The Dragonborn Comes, performed by Malukah. If you don’t know it, it’s a wonderful, haunting piece written for a videogame. The sort with swords and dragons. The song never fails to fill my mind with the glory of how heroic individuals can reshape the world.
If for some reason none of that works, I get a second cup of tea, play a little more solitaire, and put Caribbean Blue by Enya on repeat, so softly that I can hardly hear it. I’ve mentally composed so many scenes in so many books to the sound of Caribbean Blue that it’s almost like hypnotism. In fact, all I really need to be able to write is to start playing that song in my head. I’m like Pavlov’s dogs with their bell.
Rae: Do you prefer pen and paper or type away?
Summer: I far and above prefer to type. I never did master writing with my hands very well, even with all the special classes. I can, when I’m working well, type as fast as I think the story. That said, I’m a terrible typist. When I edit, which is much slower, you wouldn’t believe the sentences I find. Actually, if you want to see some, just go to Facebook and search the hashtag #myproofreadingerrors. They’re a running joke.
Rae: When you start writing the first book in a new series do you plot out how many books there will be?
Summer: The short answer is yes. I’m a plotter through and through. I plot the number of books. I plot the number of chapters in each book. I do a brief, three-to-six-line outline of each chapter.
That said, adjustments are made along the way. Changes can happen. The opening outline is a line painted down the road, not train tracks the story is stuck on.
Rae: How extensive is your research before beginning a new story in a series?
Summer: Weirdly, more extensive for fantasy books than historical ones, at this point. I used to do a lot of historical research in the form of reading a ton in various Regency genres, going to all sorts of blogs, and buying books about the era. I’ve found that a lot of the information out there is directly contradictory. To combat that, I’ve established my norms for my novels. My readers are accepting of them. Within them, we can all enjoy the story.
For fantasy books, most of the research comes before the writing. I research languages. Ancient religions and cultures. Symbols. Plants and animals. All sorts of things. I like to do a lot of world and character building before outlining the story. Often, the world informs the characters and the plot. For example, are some of the nations landlocked? That’s often a good impetus for war, or for treaties (which brings us all the way back to marriages and dowries).
But I’m terrible about stopping my work to research. I’ve read all sorts of methods for overcoming that tendency. Now I just need a method to combat ignoring helpful methods.
Rae: What is next on the horizon?
Summer: I’m finishing the final book in my second Epic Fantasy series right now, with all the drama that goes into wrapping up six books worth of war, heroism, shifting loyalties, and treacherous gods. The first draft is exactly halfway done (plotter and all that). After that, there will be two new Austenesque books. A swashbuckling adventure and a murder mystery. Then, I have a Historical Fiction trilogy to finish and a Dracula retelling. Honestly, my to-do list writing-wise is super long. If someone likes my work and my writing style, they really don’t need to worry that they’ll ever run out of things to read.
As to events, my next in-person event will be Lori Foster’s Reader Author Get Together (RAGT) this June in Cincinnati, Ohio. I’m co-hosting the welcome party with Author Barbara Devlin Friday and Saturday, June 7th and 8th, from 3pm to 5pm, the book signings are open to the public.
Rae: Thank you so much for hanging out with me today.
Summer: Thank you again for having me. It’s been a true pleasure. I am so excited to be here.
Rae: Readers we’d love to know when you are settling in to read do you have any favorite snacks and beverages? Have a bookish question for Summer…leave it below.
1. What is your must read book? Why? I’m sure you know this is a very difficult question, and my answer is likely to change based on the day, my mood, etc. I can narrow it down to one of Anne McCaffrey’s Pern books, but I simply cannot choose amongst them. They have everything. An epic struggle to save the world. Politics. Romance. Coming of age stories. Books that will make you cry. Moments that will make you smile. A vivid, nuanced, and in-depth society that evolves throughout the history of their world. Dragons. Miniature pet dragons! As I said, everything.
2. If I visit your hometown, where are you taking me, and what’s the best place to grab a bite? I’m taking you to my family’s onetime dairy farm, now converted into a forty-acre garden. We can bring a picnic with us. We’ll want to bring food and water into the hedge maze, after all, in case we get lost.
3. What is one thing readers would be surprised to know about you? Summer is my real name. It’s my middle name, but no one calls me by my first name except telemarketers.
4. What is your guilty pleasure? Chocolate babka from Green’s in New York City.
5. What are you afraid of? Not having enough time and tidal waves.
6. Tats or No Tats? If tats, how many and what did you choose for your first one? Not a one. That’s way too much commitment for me. I can’t even commit to a genre.
7. Binge watcher or weekly viewer? Which show(s)? I like to watch The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, but a day late because I go to bed early. I watch Midsomer Murders while I’m cooking. If I’m doing goodie bags or giveaway items, I’ll put on an older film. Something funny like Clueless or Princess Bride. If I’m cleaning, I listen to Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!
8. Is there a book you have read that you would love to see made into a movie (besides yours😊)? So many! There are lots of Lori Foster or Barbara Devlin books that would make amazing movies. Also, any of the old classic fantasy books like Dragonlance, the Pern books, the Belgariad.
9. What is the one thing you cannot live without? Earl Grey tea (with cream and sugar).
10. What is the one career that gives you the shudders? Behavioral Neurologist.
11. If I opened your handbag/bag/briefcase, what item would I be shocked to see? The weirdest thing I carry around would be all the earplugs. I hate loud noise, so I almost always have earplugs. Although sometimes I’m carrying around chocolate babka.
12. What app on your phone/ipad gets the most use? Sadly, my email, and the list goes on from there, work wise. If we eliminate work related apps, since it’s spring, it’s Merlin. Merlin is an app from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that listens for birdsong. It tells you what birds it hears around you, with images, so you can identify them, and it reports what birds are around you (if you let it, which I do) to help them keep track of what birds are where. I’m a little obsessed with birds, something you may notice here and there in my work. Someday I want to see the raptor migration.
ONE Grand Prize winner will be randomly selected to receive a Black Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 16 GB (This model does not have a trial of Kindle Unlimited) AND an ONE Amazon e-book of Mr. Darcys Bookshop by Summer Hanford **International winners will receive a gift card in lieu of kindle since they can’t receive a kindle**
FIVE Winners will be randomly selected to win an amazon e-book of Mr. Darcys Bookshop by Summer Hanford
FIVE Winners will be randomly selected to win a Signed Paperback of Mr. Darcy’s Bookshop by Summer Hanford **open to International readers**
GIVEAWAY is open 4/19/24 -4/27/24/ at 11:59 PM
Good luck to all!
Be sure to follow Summer Hanford on all social media platforms and Books I Love A Latte for announcement of winners.
Winners will be randomly selected and announced on the blog. An attempt will be made to contact the winners.
It is the winners responsibility to respond to notification.
If winner doesn’t claim prize within 24 hours a new winner will be drawn.
** For all giveaway rules read here.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Summer Hanford writes swashbuckling Historical Romance, best-selling Pride and Prejudice retellings, and gripping Epic Fantasy. She lives in the Finger Lakes Region of New York with her husband and compulsory, deliberately spoiled, cats. The newest addition to their household, an energetic setter-shepherd mix, has been trying for six years to gain acceptance from the cats but is adored by the humans.
Since the moment she read her first novel, Summer’s passion has always been writing. As a child growing up on a dairy farm, she built castles made of hay and wielded swords made of fence posts. She is also passionate about animals, travel, and organizing her closet. Nothing pleases her more than a row of tops broken down by sleeve length and ordered by color…except working on her latest novel with her cats in her lap, her dog lounging on the rug, and a cup of tea.
For more about Summer, visit www.summerhanford.com.
Social Media Links:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Follow Links:
Amazon
Goodreads
BookBub
Email: summer@summerhanford.com
Mar 14, 2024 | 2024, Blog, Coffee With, Craig Richards, Evie James, March 2024
Welcome to Books I Love A Latte where we get to share books and bookish content. If you’re new here, welcome. If you’re back for more fun – thank you for hanging out with us once again. Go grab a cuppa while we settle in. Our ‘Coffee...
Jan 26, 2024 | Blog, Coffee With, Eva Siedler, January 2024
Rae: Welcome to the blog. With the cold days of winter still upon us I have a Mocha Almond Coconut Milk Latte with a drizzle of chocolate and caramel in my mug. What is in your cuppa?
Eva: I am still in my peppermint mocha era. One packet of peppermint hot cocoa in a huge mug of coffee with a mountain of whipped cream. I need my coffee to taste like candy and rainbows.
Rae: I find that reading is better when I can pair my book with a beverage and a tasty treat while in my cozy nook. What do you need to have for yourself when you are settling in to read?
Eva: My absolute must is my emotional support water bottle, but a truly great reading binge requires the gooseneck holder for my kindle and the little miracle device that allows me to turn pages without lifting my arm.
Rae: When you start to craft your book do you prefer pen and paper or type away?
Eva: I need a keyboard for drafting. It’s the only way my hands can keep up with my thoughts. But for editing, I go old school with printed pages and a kaleidoscope worth of colored pens and tabs and highlighters. I am an absolute office supply junkie.
Rae: Do you have any particular rituals while plotting, or writing partners while you get all the words in?
Eva: I am, much to my chagrin, a total pantser. What my little nerd heart wouldn’t give to lay out a detailed plan with all those color-coded tabs and actually stick to it. Alas, If I know exactly how the story unfolds, I lose the will to write it. But I have been lucky enough to have the same two amazing critique partners for the past fourteen years. They are the ultimate sounding boards, and just reading their writing makes me better. But owing them pages helps me remain focused.
Rae: How extensive was your research while plotting out this book adventure?
Eva: This particular book is an interesting mixture of a ton of research and yet not much at all, depending on how you look at it. I have done exhaustive research into POTS and many of the commonly co-occurring conditions in the decade since my diagnosis. I also spent six days a week in a handful of private gyms during a five-year period. Those experiences were for me, though, to help manage my chronic illness. By the time I started this book, I felt comfortable that I could to do it justice. Though I did have to google a few things about caring for a pet pig.
Rae: Congratulations on your debut novel Work It Out. It is so refreshing to read a book with chronic illness represented, I think this book is going to connect with readers. What inspired you to write
a book with a character who has POTS?
Eva: I wanted to see someone like me, someone who goes to the gym knowing the chances they fall off the equipment and end up a meme are never zero, but who goes anyway. I also wanted to push back against the classic fitness industry toxic standbys that scream things like “No excuses!” That thinking make me very sick and very hard on myself for years before I was able to accept that accommodating my body and her needs was not an excuse and the fact that I will never be able to run a marathon or even climb a flight of stairs without feeling dizzy does not make me less than. I am enough just the way I am wherever I am in my journey. It’s time I own that. Also, with POTS diagnosis on the rise, particularly in long COVID patients, I wanted to shed more light on the possible cause of symptoms women especially are told far too often are “just anxiety.”
Rae: Both Jake and Rayah have had to worth through a past layered with pain and perception from others in their community. The tenderness and care to your characters allows readers to experience the highs and lows on an intimate level while enjoying plenty of banter, scorchin heat, and a satisfying happy ever after. Were there any unplanned events or characters that you did not anticipate while crafting this story? I feel there is always one character who decides to do something unexpected 😉.
Eva: The most entertaining part of being someone who writes by the seat of my pants is how frequently my characters surprise me. With Jake, as strange as it sounds, I never quite knew what outrageous thing was going to come out of his mouth next. But I think the scene that surprised me most was when the team gathers in the kitchen for a staff meeting. I always intended for them to be a family, but the way they teased and taunted and just obviously love one another in all their own weird, awkward ways—and the seamless way Jake had slipped into the family—hit me hard.
Rae: What was your biggest obstacle while writing this book and the series?
Eva: I wrote the first draft of this book during COVID shutdown. With my chronic illness and how medically fragile other members of my family were, it was a terrifying time. There were a lot of days that it was laugh or cry. Sometimes I did both. But spending time Jake and Rayah, and sharing their antics with my critique partners, was a great way to get through.
Rae: What hero or heroine do you connect with most?
Eva: There is always more of ourselves in our characters than we intend. I expected to connect most with Jake and his potsie struggles. But I walked away more than a little obsessed with Blaine too. 😉
Rae: What is next on the horizon? Will there be more fun from Explosion?
Eva: Book two has me back in Bigbone and loving it, with possibly the last two characters you’d expect.
Rae: Thank you so much for hanging out with me today and I can’t wait for everyone to read Work It Out.
Eva: What fun questions! Thank you so much for having me.
Rae: Readers be sure to check back later today at 1PM for my review. Then, at 3 PM I’ll have an exclusive excerpt from Work It Out! Mark your calendar and be sure to check back later today.
1. What is your must read book? Why? Saving Grace by Julie Garwood. I read it for the first time over fifteen years ago, but the twist at the end of the first chapter still gives me goosebumps.
2. If I visit your hometown, where are you taking me, and what’s the best place to grab a bite? My hometown is a tiny blip, nothing but fast food for miles. My high school was literally one hundred years old and surrounded on three sides by corn fields. But Columbus is close and has so much to offer! Our zoo is one of the best in the country. For a casual lunch, you can’t go wrong with wings from Rooster’s.
3. What is one thing readers would be surprised to know about you? I am probably the shiest person you’ll ever meet. I usually blame it on growing up as an undiagnosed autistic. I love having new friends, but I’m still learning how to put myself out there to make those connections. So, if you see me out in the world or on social media, please take mercy on my poor, omnivert soul and say hi!
4. What is your guilty pleasure? Amusement Parks. It’s an entire production now with my POTS, but I love the rides.
5. What are you afraid of? Letting people down. That part of Rayah, her need to care for all her chicks in all the ways, very much comes from me.
6. Tats or No Tats? If tats, how many and what did you choose for your first one? I have one that I got on a whim right after I turned 18. Since that was in 2002, of course it’s a butterfly, though I opted for hip placement rather than lower back (thank goodness). I’m not opposed to getting more. I just have a hard time choosing!
7. Binge watcher or weekly viewer? Which show(s)? Binge! I have to know the whole story. Cliffhangers are actual torture. My all-time favorite comfort watch has to be Lucifer, though I love all things Bridgerton too.
8. Is there a book you have read that you would love to see made into a movie (besides yours 🙂 )? I am dying for the Black Dagger Brotherhood series to finally come to Passionflix! I’ve been wishing for that one for years. #ZsadistForever
9. What is the one thing you cannot live without? Writing retreats. A couple times a year, my girls and I sneak away for a weekend to work and gab and eat amazing snacks. Prioritizing that part of my life makes me a better human all the way around.
10. What is the one career that gives you the shudders? Public speaking. It sounds so cliché, and I do it sometimes. But as a daily gig, it would leave me hallowed out and stressed.
11. If I opened your handbag/bag/briefcase, what item would I be shocked to see? You’d be most shocked that I don’t carry one. I’ll carry a bag when I work away from home, but I stress too much about losing things. Most days I only carry the bare essentials.
12. What app on your phone/ipad gets the most use? Tiktok. I get sucked in to book reviews and puppy videos, and before I know it, hours have slipped by.
Eva Siedler and her sexy aircraft mechanic husband have built a crazy home in Central Ohio filled with almost as much neurodiversity as love. By day she wrangles two teenage boys with the supernatural ability to misplace anything, her POTS symptoms, and carpools. By night she writes funny, spicy love stories packed with strong, sassy heroines, big-hearted heroes, and tons of wacky small-town shenanigans.
Represented by Jordy Albert of The Booker Albert Literary Agency.
For more info on Eva Siedler you can find her here
Sep 29, 2023 | Blog, Coffee With, Dirty Dozen, Regina Kyle, September 2023
R
Rae: Welcome to the blog. With fall just around the corner I’m having a Spiced Almond Milk Latte with a drizzle of caramel in my mug. What is in your cuppa?
Regina: Well, I’m kinda weird in that I love to drink iced coffee year-round. Decaf, with 2% milk and more artificial sweetener than I care to admit LOL.
Rae: I find that reading is best when I have a beverage and a snack, what do you need to have for yourself when you are settling in to read?
Regina: I’ve been on a health kick this past year, walking more and eating healthier. Right now one of my favorite snacks is coconut chunks. Sweet and tasty and easy to snack on without making a mess while I read (or write).
Rae: In a few words, can you describe the type of books you write?
Regina: I think Kristan Higgins said it best when she inadvertently gave me my tag line: fast, sassy, and laugh-out-loud funny.
Rae: When was the moment you knew you wanted to write “steamy romance with heart and humor?”
Regina: I had just gotten an e-reader and was devouring free books on Amazon and from my local library. One of the books I got from Amazon was Leslie Kelly’s Slow Hands, a Harlequin Blaze.I was like wow, this is so not my mother’s Harlequins LOL. I read through her backlist and a lot of other Blaze books by authors like Jo Leigh, Tawny Weber, Samantha Hunter, and Sarah Mayberry. I knew then that those were the kind of books I wanted to write, and I was lucky enough to get a contract writing for the Blaze line two years later.
Rae: What are your writing rituals? Do you prefer pen and paper or type away?
Regina: I’m definitely a typing kind of gal. I write in a program called Scrivener which lets me organize my scenes into chapters and has a corkboard where I can pin inspirational pictures. I’m almost attached to my MacBook Air, which, sadly, is in the shop right now for a few days. Meaning I’m typing this in Word on a PC and it’s killing me!
Rae: The attention to details in your books provides a reader with a story filled with adventure, drama, and yes, a bit of spicy heat. If you could go back and chat with your 2014 self when you released your debut book, what words of wisdom or advice would you offer?
Regina: So much has changed in publishing in the just over ten years that I’ve been writing. I think I’d tell myself to not take anything for granted and celebrate every victory, no matter how small, because some days it seems like they are few and far between.
Rae: When you start writing the first book in a new series do you plot out how many books there will be?
Regina: Sometimes yes, sometimes no. My first series for Blaze was always four books. My Worthington Sisters series for Entangled was originally three books, but we couldn’t agree on the plot for the first book, so we ended up contracting for just two. I have a single title series that I’ve been noodling for a while that started as three books in my head, but then one of the second characters I hadn’t intended writing a book for started screaming for her own story, so now it’s four.
Rae: How extensive is your research before beginning a new story in a series?
Regina: That depends. My first book Triple Threat was set in the world of theater, a world I’m very familiar with having performed on stage since I was ten years old and then being the parent of a professional child actor (my daughter was in the national touring production of Mary Poppins). One of my two current works in progress, Close Quarters, is set in the world of Formula One racing, and I’ve had to do a lot more research for that one than I typically do. I did some before writing, but as I write I always find that more questions pop up in my effort to be as true to the real racing world as possible.
Rae: What is next on the horizon? I hear you might be working on a new series that involves Formula One and is a M/M romance? Perhaps a Mediterranean Millionaire? Can you share more with us?
Regina: Yes and yes. The second book in the Mediterranean Millionaires series has been a long time coming, I know. Truth be told, I had a very difficult couple of years mental health wise, but thankfully am back on track again thanks to a great therapist and supportive family. Side note: if you’re struggling, don’t be afraid to reach out for help. By far one of the best things I have ever done. Anyway, long story short, I turned in Miguel’s story, How Not To Marry A Millionaire, to my editor, and now we are in the process of doing some extensive revisions that are painful but I know is going to make this book better and exactly what I want it to be. Meanwhile, I’m also in the final stages of drafting Close Quarters, a MM romance set in the exciting, fast-paced world of Formula One racing. This one is proving to be a blast to write and has definitely helped me regain my mojo. It’s a grumpy/sunshine age gap romance between a rookie driver and his grizzled crew chief, and it’s part of a shared world with two other amazing authors that I met while writing in Sarina Bowen’s Vino and Veritas world, Victoria Denault and Leslie McAdam. We hope to release in October or November.
Rae: Were there any unplanned events or characters that you did not intend on while crafting these story?
Regina: Well, there are always unplanned events in my stories, as I usually plot out only the major plot points and let a lot of the stuff in between happen organically as I write. For example, in Dirty Work, one of my favorites of the books I have written, the whole Ferris Bueller theme was not originally planned. What I did plan was that they would attend Hudson River Flicks, where they show movies in Hudson River Park in New York City. When I researched what kinds of movies were typically shown, I learned that they show a lot of family-friendly 1980s flicks, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was the first movie that came up when I Googled 80s movies. Then when I went to write Jake and Ainsley’s interaction in that scene, I realized that their reaction to the movie would be very different and essentially a reflection of the main conflict in the book: workaholic Jake would view Ferris as a slacker, while reformed workaholic Ainsley would view him as a role model. That wound up leading to an argument that foreshadowed the black moment and even changed what the grand gesture was going to be.
Rae: What was your biggest obstacle while writing these books?
Regina: Well, to be honest, my mental health struggles. As a major extrovert, the pandemic was particularly hard on me. Combine that with day job pressures and family changes (my daughter moved across the country), and I found it hard to write for a time. And what I did produce was not up to the standard I wanted. I’m happy to say that I’ve rediscovered the joy in my writing and am regularly getting words down again, and I have several projects in various stages of development for once Close Quarters and the final two Mediterranean Millionaire books are done, including a super-secret single title series and a gay holiday romcom.
1. What is your must read book? Why? Rachel Reid’s Heated Rivalry. Textbook example of enemies to lovers. And Ilya Rosonov is one of the most well-developed characters I’ve ever read. A complex chaos gremlin who just sticks with you. He and Shane get a second book, too, The Long Game. Both are must reads for me, and I reread them often. No cliffhangers: they get their HFN in one book and their HEA in the second.
2. If I visit your hometown, where are you taking me, and what’s the best place to grab a bite? You’ll definitely have to come in the summertime so we can take you out on our boat, Casting Call, to the Thimble Islands. After a day of relaxing, noshing, drinking, swimming, and gawking at the beautiful island homes, we’d go to our favorite Italian place, Rosso Vino, for a fabulous meal including the best Caesar salad I’ve ever eaten. I swear, I don’t know what they put in their dressing, but it is the best!
3. What is one thing readers would be surprised to know about you? I don’t know about surprised, as I’m pretty much an open book online LOL. Some people are surprised to learn that my day job is as an assistant district attorney. I’ve been an amateur actress since the age of ten, and after a long hiatus have started performing again in the past few years. (Favorite show to be in: Mamma Mia. I played Rosie, one of the Dynamos.)
4. What is your guilty pleasure? I don’t really have a pleasure I feel guilty about. Although I have watched Red, White, and Royal Blue way more times than I want to admit. And it’s entirely possible that all of my heroes in the foreseeable future will bear a striking resemblance to Taylor Zakhar Perez.
5. What are you afraid of? Any and everything creepy and crawly. Bugs. Spiders.
6. Tats or No Tats? If tats, how many and what did you choose for your first one? None, but I’m not ruling out getting one.
7. Binge watcher or weekly viewer? Which show(s)? Binge when I can. Right now hubby and I are working I way through Good Omens and Only Murders In The Building. I also recently binged Heartstopper and Young Royals, and I’m reliving the 1980s and 1990s by rewatching LA Law, which was big when I was in law school.
8. Is there a book you have read that you would love to see made into a movie (besides yours)? Well, since I’ve been reading a lot of MM romance lately, and since I think there needs to be more queer representation in media, I’m going to say Nic DiDomizio’s The Gay Best Friend. Super fun romcom that I can totally picture on the big screen.
9. What is the one thing you cannot live without? My MacBook Air LOL. As I said earlier, I’m dying here without it!
10. What is the one career that gives you the shudders? Teaching. Not because I think badly of it. To the contrary, it’s an honorable and amazingly difficult and challenging profession. My husband is a high school psychics teacher, and honestly I don’t know how he does it. It takes a lot of patience and understanding, especially in today’s environment. I just know I don’t have the temperament for it.
11. If I opened your handbag/bag/briefcase, what item would I be shocked to see? A stash of Royal Caribbean pens and highlighters. I love cruising, and am the queen of cruise trivia, where they give pens and highlighters as prizes. I’m also the proud winner of Dancing With The Stripes on my last cruise, where they paired passengers with crew members. My partner was a lifeguard from the Maldives, and we totally rocked it! I didn’t get a pen for that one, though, but I did get dinner for two at one of the specialty restaurants and a bottle of champagne.
12. What app on your phone/ipad gets the most use? It’s a three-way tie between Kindle, Hoopla, and Libby.
Rae: Thank you so much for hanging out with me today.
Regina: Thanks for having virtual coffee with me!
Regina Kyle knew she was destined to be an author when she won a writing contest at age 10 with a touching tale about a squirrel and a nut pie. By day, she writes dry legal briefs, representing the state in criminal appeals. At night, she writes steamy romance with heart and humor. She is a three-peat winner of the Booksellers’ Best award: in 2016 for Triple Dare, 2018 for The Billionaire in Her Bed, and 2020 for Dirty Work.
A lover of all things theatrical, Regina lives on the Connecticut coast with her husband and a highly destructive cat with an unfortunate (read: profane) nickname. When she’s not writing, she’s most likely singing, reading, cooking, rooting for her beloved Pittsburgh Penguins, or watching bad reality television
For more info on Regina Kyle you can find her:
Website: https://reginakyle.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ReginaKyleauthor
Instagram: www.instagram.com/romancebyregina
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@romancebyregina
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8144022.Regina_Kyle
Apr 25, 2023 | April 2023, Blog, Coffee With, Janna MacGregor
Rae: Welcome to the blog. With the cold days of spring still upon us, I have an Almond Coconut Milk Latte with a drizzle of chocolate and caramel in my mug. What is in your cuppa?
Janna: Puerto Rican blend double espresso.
Rae: I find that reading is best when I have a beverage and a snack; what do you need to have for yourself when you are settling in to read?
Janna: I try not to eat when I read, but it never fails that I get the munchies. My go-to? Popcorn.
Rae: In a few words, can you describe the type of books you write?
Janna: I write historical romances set in the Regency period. I describe my characters as compelling and powerful heroines who meet and fall in love with their equally matched heroes.
Rae: When was the moment you knew you wanted to write Regency Romance?
Janna: I was in an email chat with Eloisa James, and she said I should write a romance. That totally convinced me to try and write a book.
Rae: What are your writing rituals? Do you prefer pen and paper or type away?
Janna: I try to write on my Mac between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. I can’t write past that. But many times, I will use pen and paper to sketch the next day’s scene or chapter. It makes my writing go way faster if I do that.
Rae: The attention to details in your books provides a reader with a story filled with adventure, drama, and yes, a bit of spicy heat. If you could go back and chat with your 2017 self when you released your debut book, what words of wisdom or advice would you offer?
Janna: Don’t sweat the small stuff. Everything works out for a reason.
Rae: When you start writing the first book in a new series do you plot out how many books there will be?
Janna: Yes, I do. My publisher wants to see what my plans are for the new series. I need to decide early on what the character and story arcs are for each book. For instance, in the Widow Rules series, I had decided that it would be a three-book series featuring three women who were married to the same deceased man. I’d been working on the series concept for a couple of years before presenting it to my publisher.
Rae: How extensive is your research before beginning a new story in a series?
Janna: It depends upon the series. For my first series, the Cavensham Heiresses, I researched everything, then double-checked it after I’d written it. In the Widow Rules series, I did some pretty thorough research on the Regency-era bigamy laws and the punishment if a person was found guilty. Plus, I had to reread my research on the marriage laws to ensure that the two “illegitimate wives” marriage ceremonies were not legal. But the rest of it? I researched as I wrote. Sometimes, I find all sorts of tidbits that I can incorporate into the series. Plus, it always helps to have author friends who are experts on the subjects!
Rae: I devoured How to Best a Marquess in one sitting. Without giving too much away, you know I hate spoilers 😉, this series was exciting and suspenseful in the way you took the reader through the ups and downs of all that happened. Three strangers are thrown together due to the unthinkable actions of one person, and now they must help each other to avoid scandal and public humiliation. How do you develop such unique characters to make them so different from each other to move the story along as plotted?
Janna: This is a great question! I had to start with the concept of a man who married three women practically at the same time. Why would he do that, and what was he looking for? From there, that gave me the idea of three strong women from different social and economic ranks in society. It would be easier to hide whom the trigamist married if they weren’t from his same social circle.
Rae: While each book is deliciously written as a standalone, I love the way you weave these three characters in and out of the other books. It is so refreshing as a reader to revisit familiar characters, especially when the story ends, and we want to know more. Were there any unplanned events or characters that you did not intend on while crafting this story?
Janna: There was, actually. A reader asked me early on if I planned on writing the age-gap romance between A Duke in Time’s Katherine Vareck’s maid and Christian, the Duke of Ranford’s valet. (The valet is younger than the maid.) I hadn’t planned on putting them in the other books. But the couple had their own ideas. Hence, their romance is mentioned throughout all three books. I’ll let your readers discover what their HEA is.
Rae: What was your biggest obstacle while writing this book and the series?
Janna: The biggest obstacle was with book 2, Rules for Engaging the Earl. I had to write it twice. The first draft was a very dark story. I was in a bad place because of the pandemic. So, I asked my editor for more time. She graciously said yes, so I rewrote it. Frankly, I’m in love with how Jonathan, the Earl of Sykeston, and Constance Lysander’s story turned out. It’s heartfelt, and there is a lot of humor in it as well.
Rae: What hero or heroine do you connect with most?
Janna: I love all the women in this series. They’re strong and independent, and through no fault of their own, they were duped. But they all came together to help each other out. Their friendship is better defined as a sisterhood, in my opinion. They created their own family, and I love that about them.
Rae: What is next on the horizon?
Janna: I’m currently writing two books at the same time. One is for my new publisher, and the other is a series I’m creating based on a character in How to Best a Marquess. His name is the Duke of Pelham, and I’m having a blast writing his story and his sisters’ stories.
Rae: Thank you so much for hanging out with me today, and I can’t wait for everyone to read How to Best a Marquess.
Janna: Thank you so much for having me here. Thank you for all your kind words!! xoxo
1. What is your must read book? The Takeover by TL Swan. I laugh and cry every time I read or listen to this story by TL Swan. Why? I’m a sucker for bad-boy billionaire romances, and this one hits my sweet spot sooo much. This is another age-gap romance where the woman is older, and she is a widow with three boys. The trials and tribulations that the male protagonist has to go through to win her heart are perfection!
2. If I visit your hometown, where are you taking me, and what’s the best place to grab a bite? Minneapolis-I’m taking you on a walk around the Mississippi River trails that wind through the heart of the city. Our restaurant is Bar La Grassa. It’s the best Italian restaurant around.
Kansas City-We’re heading to the Liberty Memorial Museum, the only WW One museum in the nation, then we’re heading straight to the Negro Leagues Museum. Here’s a quote from the organization: The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) is the world’s only museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich history of African-American baseball and its impact on the social advancement of America.
The late, great Buck O’Neil was a huge part of that history.4/
You can’t visit Kansas City without tasting great barbeque. Around the corner from the Negro Leagues Museum, we’re going to Arthur Bryant, the home of burnt ends.
3. What is one thing readers would be surprised to know about you? I’m turning into a football fan. Always before, it was baseball all the way for me!
4. What is your guilty pleasure? Fletcher’s ice cream in Minneapolis.
5. What are you afraid of? Wasps
6. Tats or No Tats? If tats, how many and what did you choose for your first one? No tats, but I wish I did.
7. Binge watcher or weekly viewer? Which show(s)? Can’t claim to be either. I don’t watch a lot of tv except news shows.
8. Is there a book you have read that you would love to see made into a movie (besides yours😊)? Kerrigan Byrne’s The Highwayman
9. What is the one thing you cannot live without? Coffee
10. What is the one career that gives you the shudders? Epidemiologists – They always seem to be delivering bad news.
11. If I opened your handbag/bag/briefcase, what item would I be shocked to see? 3-4 tubes of lipstick. Love the stuff and I always want variety in my colors.
12. What app on your phone/ipad gets the most use? Kindle
Rae: Thank you for hanging out today. Readers for more info on Janna MacGregor you can find her at the links below in her bio.
Janna: Thank you, Rae! Thank you to your readers as well!!! Xoxo
** Closed **
Congratulations Brenda D. Your name was randomly selected. Please e-mail your snail mail address.
Thank you.
I hope everyone has now had a chance to read all of the books in this series!
***
ONE lucky reader in the U.S. will win a fabulous giveaway from Janna MacGregor.
The prize is one finished mass market paperback edition of the first book in the series, A Duke in Time.
To be entered, comment on the blog and tell me…
What is your favorite destination for a road trip?
Good luck to all!
** GIVEAWAY CLOSES APRIL 28, 2023 AT 11:59 PM. WINNER WILL BE POSTED ON THE BLOG.
BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE BLOG SO YOU DON’T MISS THAT POST! **
**WINNER MUST CLAIM PRIZE WITHIN 24 HOURS OR ANOTHER WINNER WILL BE RANDOMLY SELECTED. **
Prize provided by the Author.
Check out our GIVEAWAY RULES and PRIVACY POLICY
Janna MacGregor was born and raised in the bootheel of Missouri. She credits her darling mom for introducing her to the happily-ever-after world of romance novels. Janna writes stories where compelling and powerful heroines meet and fall in love with their equally matched heroes. She is the mother of triplets and splits her time between Kansas City and Minneapolis with her very own dashing rogue, and one smug, but not surprisingly, perfect pug. She loves to hear from readers.
Twitter
Facebook
Ladies of Langham Hall Facebook Group
Instagram
Bookbub
Or sign up for Janna’s Newsletter
