Oct 11, 2017 | Blog, Coffee With, Lynne Silver, October 2017
Rae: Thank you so much for hanging out with me today. If we were meeting at a coffee shop I’d be drinking a spiced latte with Coconut Milk. 🙂 ! What would you order?
Lynne: I’d order tea, but I’d want it to be hot cocoa.
Rae: As fall is finally here, do you have any traditions? Do you decorate the house with the change of season?
Lynne: My street tends to go all out for Halloween, and my family does also. We’ve got a lot of big decorations.
Rae: For those hanging out today that are not familiar with your work, you write about hot sexy nights in Miami, military romance, a few Alpha Heroes, standalone Contemporary and Historical. That’s a lot. How do you keep it all organized and prevent unexpected “visits” into other worlds.
Lynne: I tend to work on 1-2 projects at once, and all of them have a book bible to help me keep track of things.
Rae: Your Worthy Series has a realness to it, did you spend time in Miami to capture all those little details? Can we expect more books in this series? Other series?
Lynne: I grew up in Miami and my parents still live there. I go down several times a year. The Worthy series is really a love song to my hometown. I’m thinking that Javier and Gabriel will be getting stories. But not for a while.
Rae: I know that you love baseball, are you excited about where your team is heading into the playoffs?
Lynne: Of course I’m excited that the Nationals are NL East Division champs!!! Bring on October!
Rae: Can we expect to see any sports infused into your books?
Lynne: Unlikely. I like sports romances, but I think other authors have cornered that market.
Rae: When you are writing a book, do you plot it out page by page, chapter by chapter? Or, do your characters guide you?
Lynne: I plot out story beats and do character sketches. That’s about it.
Rae: What can we expect to see on the bookshelves in the upcoming months? Do you have any new series in the works that you can give us a tease?
Lynne: I have a story called The Breeder coming out in January with Carina Press’s Dirty Bits line. It’s set in a future dystopian America, and it’s definitely the dirtiest thing I’ve ever written. How’s that for a tease?
Rae: It was so much fun having you here today!
***** Tasty Tidbits *******
1. What is a must read book and why? One? Hah! Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh, The Scoundrel’s Soldier by Cat Sebastian, The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley, the entire Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole
2. What is one place that I should see if I visit your hometown? If you go to Miami, don’t spend the whole time on South Beach. Hit Wynwood, Coconut Grove, Calle Ocho, Vizcaya, get on a boat.
3. Do you take-in or cook? If so, what is your “go-to” dish? I cook almost every night. I’m in a cooking rut. I make the same rotation of meals every week.
4. What is one thing readers would be surprised to know about you? That I’m terrified of flying, but I love to travel.
5. Hard Rock or Classical? Favorite Band or Artist? I used to be a little punk rock girl, but as an adult I let my kids control the radio. I love Jane’s Addiction.
6. If you had an all expenses paid trip anywhere in the world for research, where would you go? It wouldn’t be for research, but I’d like to go to Australia & Japan.
7. What is your guilty pleasure? I eat a mint dark chocolate bar every day and I feel NO guilt! Oh, and I take really long hot showers. But I don’t live in a drought zone.
8. What are you afraid of? Failure. Watching my kids hurt.
9. Tats or No Tats? If tats, how many and what did you choose for your first one? No tats.
10. Organized or Free Floating? Organized by excel spreadsheets
11. Binge watcher or weekly viewer? Which show(s)? Binge & weekly- Odd Mom Out, I’m Sorry, The Flash, John Oliver.
12. What’s on your playlist? Nothing. See above
13. What play or musical do you want to see next? I still haven’t seen Hamilton. I have tickets to go see Mean Girls the musical next month.
14. Are you a crafter? I crochet, but I’m not very good.
15. What’s your favorite TV show and why? Don’t really have one. Depends on my mod.
16. If you could pick a book you’ve read and make it into a movie, which book would it be (besides yours 🙂 )? None. Movies tend to ruin books. e.g. Harry Potter.
17. What’s your favorite movie of all time and why? Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, An American President
18. Would you rather see a movie in the theater or at home on DVD and why? Home. I like bathroom breaks and organic air popped popcorn.
19. What is the one thing you can’t live without? My family
20. If you could invite 5 people to dinner (not friends and family – that’s too easy) who would be at your table? Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Issa Rae, Anna Kendrick, Ellen DeGeneres. We’d laugh our asses off.
21. If you could try any career for a day, what would it be? Librarian
22. Person you admire and why? Michelle Obama because she never lost her cool at all the haters. And her clothes.
23. Most memorable sports game? Nationals walk off with Werth hitting the home run to clinch.
24. Fangirl moment – athlete, actor, singer…who and where? Dave Grohl at the Hard Rock hotel in Vegas. I followed him around the casino. He’s teeny- like I’d break him in half.
Rae: Thanks again for hanging out! Time for another spiced latte 🙂
Happy Reading Dear Readers. Happy Writing Lynne
Oct 4, 2017 | Blog, Coffee With, October 2017, Terry Spear
Rae: Thank you so much for hanging out with me today.
Terry: Thanks for having me, Rae!!
Rae: If we were meeting at a coffee shop I’d be drinking a spiced latte with Coconut Milk. 🙂 ! What would you order?
Terry: White Mocha latte (peppermint mocha when in season–sometimes some places will even have it out-of-season! I love those places. )
Rae: As fall is underway, do you have any traditions? Do you decorate the house with the change of season?
Terry: Yes! I decorate for fall. Love to do that, and then for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, 4th of July. 🙂 I usually 
decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving, but since my son and his girlfriend are coming, I’ll decorate for Christmas before they arrive. My daughter and son-in-law and now baby, always get together for a special Halloween.
Rae: For those who are not familiar with your work, your backlist includes Highlanders, Shifters and stuff in-between, please tell us a little bit your series. Where do you find your inspiration?
Terry: I’m an eclectic reader so I’m an eclectic writer. I write everything from straight romantic suspense to historical romance, shifter romance, vampire, romance, and teen paranormal romance.
My Highlanders were a result of my love of all things historical–books, movies, and we have Highland heritage, both MacNeills, Campbells as the main Highland Scots. So I was doing a lot of genealogy on them, and they were inspired by the Duke of Argyle’s daughter running off with a commoner MacNeill (family history).
With the wolf series, I had started out with vampires: everyone needs to be loved. And I felt the same way with werewolves. I had also loved reading Call of the Wild and White Fang by Jack London and loved the wolves when I was a kid. So I wanted to create a world where the werewolves were born that way, or turned, but they were wolves like the real ones, not monsters, yet still had their human sensibilities, and as humans, their wolf senses. Jaguar, cougar, and polar bear shifters have followed, and they’re like that too–I try to pattern their behavior after their wild animal, but at the same time, their human counterpart tends to override certain of their characteristics. For instance, wolves live in packs, Jaguars, cougars, and polar bears don’t. So to make it work they need to rely on their human half to be more family oriented.
I also have a popular teen fae series. If you have any trouble at all, blame the fae. They’re probably at the root of it. I have vampire teen romance also, but haven’t had enough time to write more sequels, but it’s on the agenda. 🙂
Rae: How do you keep all of your characters from crossing over into other books? Do you have a series “bible” or do you have files of notes?
Terry: I have a bible, but don’t keep up with it well enough. I either have to do find and searches, or I have a wonderful critique partner and good friend, Donna Fournier, who helps to keep me straight. I had just finished a book, she and others had proofread it and in the middle of the night she woke to remember one of the female operatives (wolf) was pregnant, and I couldn’t have her chasing down villains in the jungle. Oops. I had to write other characters and a bunch of new scenes to change that scenario, but she is an absolute godsend! lol
Rae: When you are writing a book, do you plot it out page by page, chapter by chapter? Or, do your characters guide you?
Terry: Absolutely my characters drive me. It drives me nuts when they go silent on me. If I try to force them to talk, it doesn’t work. And when they do, I have to hurry and write because they’re not going to repeat what they have to say.
Rae: What can we expect to see on the bookshelves in 2017? Do you have any new series in the works that you can give us a tease?
Terry: I’m hoping to have My Highlander available this year. Dreaming of a White Christmas is coming in October, and I hope to have another polar bear shifter story by Dec. But that’s a lot of writing and I’m running out of time. 🙂 I’m finishing up writing Billionaire Wolf Christmas for next October (2018), and I’ll be getting more edits on the other two books that are finished: All’s Fair in Love and Wolf, and Flight of the White Wolf.
Rae” You are a fabulous photographer posting images on social media, what do 
you use to take them? Your cell phone or a digital camera?
Terry: Thanks so much! I use my cell phone and a Nikon D750. I love taking photos!!! It’s like with writing. If I don’t get to take pictures every day, and write, I feel like my day isn’t complete! I’m not fulfilled. 🙂
Rae: It was so much fun having you here today!
Terry: Thanks so much for having me, and the mocha was delicious. 🙂
** All photos taken by Terry Spear and posted with permission
**** Tasty Tidbits ****
1. What is a must read book and why? I’m reading Tinderbox by Rachel Grant. I was in the military and the heroine is dealing with the military while she’s trying to collect fossils in the volatile region of Ethiopia. I love action, and she’s got plenty of it.
2. What is one place that I should see if I visit your hometown? They have the largest urban park in the States. You can walk it for miles. I love nature preserves and hikes.
3. Do you take-in or cook? If so, what is your “go-to” dish? Cook. A good steak and boiled potato and broccoli. M&Ms to top it off.
4. What is one thing readers would be surprised to know about you? I love playing RPGs. I’m working on Divinity: Original Sin, love the quests, the fights, solving puzzles and mysteries, and righting the wrongs. 🙂
5. Hard Rock or Classical? Favorite Band or Artist? Movie theme music, Game of Thrones
6. If you had an all expenses paid trip anywhere in the world for research, where would you go? I would go to Scotland for a month. 🙂 Absorb everything, see all the castles (I’ve seen about twelve, a few a couple of times), and then be able to sit and write by a babbling brook. 🙂
7. What is your guilty pleasure? Chocolate
8. What are you afraid of? Heights (Did rappelling, mountain climbing, slide for life, rope drop, but heights get to me)
9. Tats or No Tats? If tats, how many and what did you choose for your first one? No tats
10. Organized or Free Floating? * Organized!
11. Binge watcher or weekly viewer? Which show(s)? Binge watching then don’t watch anything for a long time, concentrate on writing. The Walking Dead, The Last Ship, The White Queen, Game of Thrones, Quantico.
12. What’s on your playlist? Movie themes like the Bourne series, and game themes like Halo and others. I like the adventure, suspense music for mood when I’m writing.
13. What play or musical do you want to see next? Nutcracker
14. Are you a crafter? Award winning teddy bears!
15. What’s your favorite TV show and why? I loved The White Queen and hated that it only had the one season. Adventure, intrigue, paranormal, historical, romance, it had it all.
16. If you could pick a book you’ve read and make it into a movie, which book would it be (besides yours 🙂 )? Karen Moning’s The Immortal Highlander.
17. What’s your favorite movie of all time and why? Romancing the Stone–he was so cocky and she was such a fun character, a romance writer who had fans even among the bad guys.
18. Would you rather see a movie in the theater or at home on DVD and why? I have Netflix now, yay! Where I lived before, we didn’t have powerful enough internet. But I LOVE to see movies with my kids when we can do it.
19. What is the one thing you can’t live without? A computer and internet
20. If you could invite 5 people to dinner (not friends and family – that’s too easy) who would be at your table? Christine Feehan, Karen Marie Moning, Sandra Brown, Sean Connery, Gerald Butler
21. If you could try any career for a day, what would it be? I had the hardest time with this. And then I thought it’s the simplest thing ever: A world class photographer!
22. Person you admire and why? Stephen King. He threw Carrie in the trash and his wife retrieved it for him. He’s an excellent writer and speaker. One of the scariest movies I ever saw was The Shining, and I’m going to see that hotel when I go to the conference in the area.
Rae: Thanks again for hanging out! Time for another spiced latte 🙂
Terry: Thanks again, Rae!
Rae: Happy Reading Dear Readers. Happy Writing Terry
Author Info: Bestselling and award-winning author Terry Spear has written over sixty paranormal romance novels and four medieval Highland historical romances. Her first werewolf romance, Heart of the Wolf, was named a 2008 Publishers Weekly’s Best Book of the Year, and her subsequent titles have garnered high praise and hit the USA Today bestseller list. A retired officer of the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry lives in Spring, Texas, where she is working on her next wolf, jaguar, cougar, and bear shifter romances, continuing with her Highland medieval romances, and having fun with her young adult novels. When she’s not writing, she’s photographing everything that catches her eye, making teddy bears, and playing with her Havanese puppies and grand-baby.
For more information, please visit www.terryspear.com, or follow her on Twitter, @TerrySpear. She is also on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/terry.spear. And on WordPress at: Terry Spear’s Shifters Terry Spear’s Shifters
Oct 2, 2017 | Blog, Coffee With, October 2017, Samantha Chase
Rae: Good morning guys, let’s just jump right in. What’s your favorite Christmas Memory?
Darcy: Oh my goodness! There are so many! Christmas morning is one of my favorite days of the year!
Quinn: That’s because you always got the most stuff…
Darcy: (rolls eyes hard) That’s not even a little bit true.
Riley: Actually…
Aidan: Hold on. Before this turns into some sort of argument, I think we can all agree that Darcy did get the most stuff because she was the youngest…
Quinn: And the only girl…
Aidan: (sighs wearily) Yes, she was the only girl, but because of the age difference, it just seemed like there was more for her.
Quinn: Or she was just spoiled…
Darcy: Any-way…My favorite Christmas memory is making breakfast on Christmas morning with my dad. As soon as I was old enough to help him, we’d stand side-by-side in the kitchen while my brothers would clean up all of the wrapping paper from our gifts and Dad would share stories about Mom and how much she loved Christmas.
Hugh: Yeah. She really did. But Christmas breakfast was always the best. Mom had a way of making each of us feel special and she was able to have a one on one conversation with us even over all of the other conversations going around.
Everyone nods in agreement.
Rae:Â What’s your favorite Christmas Recipe? Darcy you love to bake – where do you find your inspiration for your
unique ingredient combinations.
Darcy: Baking is a serious obsession. I love following a recipe and thanks to Pinterest, I find all kinds of inspiration for baking. Some recipes are keepers, others I just chalk up to curiosity.Â
Riley: But we are all seriously thankful for her baking skills. Dad has never been a great cook, but we all knew we could choke down a home cooked meal as long as Darcy baked dessert.
Darcy: Awww…it’s official. You’re my favorite brother.
Hugh, Aidan, Quinn and Owen:Â Hey!Â
Quinn:Â How is that fair?
Hugh: I was just going to say…you know…all the stuff Riley said.
Darcy: (laughing) So my favorite Christmas recipe? Hmm…I don’t know if I have one yet. I love making cookies the most. All kinds of cookies. I have the most fun with a simple sugar cookie but I make them in different shapes and then decorate them. Decorating makes everything better.
Quinn:Â And more delicious.
Rae: When it’s time to find a tree, do you head out to a special place or the street vendor down the road?
Aidan: We are creatures of habit and there’s one particular tree lot that we’ve gone to for easily the last twenty years. It’s a family-owned lot and we always have good luck there.
Hugh:Â It was hard when Aubrey and I finally settled into our place and I had to find a lot to get a tree since we live a little over an hour away from all of you.
Darcy: Admit it. You considered driving the hour to look though.
Riley: Don’t even try to deny it!
Hugh: What can I say? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Owen: I don’t think that phrase particularly fits in this instance. And I don’t think ‘ain’t’ is what you meant to say and…
Darcy:Â Moving on!!
Rae: Darcy, how do you select your ornaments? Is there a theme each year?
Darcy: There really isn’t! I tend to find ornaments a lot of times when I’m traveling to visit one of my brothers – or at least that’s how it used to be – so most of the ornaments represented places I’d been to. I have a real thing for snowmen, though. I love a good snowman ornament! (adds a wink) Because I am just fascinated – for lack of a better word – with ornaments, if I find a shop that is selling them, I try and look for ones that have a special meaning or reflect something about my life or my family.
Rae: What is it about ornaments that makes the holidays so special?
Darcy: For as long as I can remember, whenever we put up our Christmas tree, my dad and my brothers would share some sort of story or memory for so many of the ornaments on the tree. I used to love sitting and listening to them talk about them and couldn’t wait for the year when there was a story about me to include. Those few hours while we decorated, no one fought, no one argued, it was just a great time to sit and share some happy thoughts. Plus, it was another time where they would talk about my mom and it made me feel a little bit closer to her.
Rae: You have a tree in your room that you decorate. How come you don’t include your ornaments on the family tree?
Darcy: (Laughs) To be honest, the first few I collected did make it onto the tree. That’s how I got to have a story about me when we decorated. But then I sort of got a little…shall we say…obsessed with collecting them and my dad is very particular about our family Christmas tree. He likes that he’s carrying on the tradition that my mom started with one new ornament a year and having these sentimental ones, and there I was coming up with things that didn’t go! So in order to make me happy, he surprised me with a tree of my own that I could decorate however I wanted. That first year that I did that, I had so many lights on it and there was maybe only a dozen ornaments, but to me it was the most beautiful tree in the world!
Rae: Any new traditions for the brothers now that you are all married? How do you find the time to visit all the family?
Riley: Christmas has always been a bit chaotic for us and now that we’re all married with kids, it’s gotten a little crazier. Luckily with Aidan and Quinn both still living close to Dad’s, we can spread out and still be at home for Christmas morning.
Darcy: I still have my own room so not much has changed for me. Except I sometimes sneak one of the kiddos in with me to snuggle and read Christmas stories.
Aidan: Like with the tree, we’re big on keeping with tradition. I know there’s going to come a time when someone’s not going to make it for Christmas – especially since we all have in-laws now – but even if we don’t get to celebrate all together on Christmas Day, I know we’ll find time to do it on another date.
Darcy: And then we’ll all get to celebrate twice! How cool is that?
Rae: How has Christmas changed the most now that you are all grown? 
Aidan:Â As the oldest, I think I can answer that the best.
Riley: For the love of it…
Quinn: You’re not that much older, Aidan. It’s not like we haven’t noticed the changes.
Hugh: And you and I are close enough in age that I think I’m a pretty good authority too.
Darcy:Â I think we can all agree that Christmas got way better with the addition of all the girl stuff, right?
Owen: I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much pink in one place as we had on Christmas mornings after you were born. 
Aidan: You have no idea how clueless we all were about that. The girl stuff. When you were old enough to give us a list, it helped. But before that, I think Dad would break out in a cold sweat when he prepared to go shopping.
Darcy:Â Okay, dramatic much?
Hugh: it’s true. Dad was great about picking out sports equipment and video games, but he had no clue about dolls.
Darcy: I didn’t only play with dolls…
Aidan: Well, that’s what he thought.
Quinn:Â And who knew there were so many of them.
Owen: I think what’s changed the most about Christmas as we’ve grown up is…nothing.
Aidan: What does that mean? Of course things have changed!
Owen: (Shakes his head) Christmas has always been about spending time together. Just us. Mom, Dad and the six of us. That hasn’t changed. We still have a traditional Irish dinner on Christmas Eve…
Quinn:Â Thank God Zoe and Anna took over cooking it though.
Owen: We still all get together on Christmas morning to open gifts, then we clean up while Dad makes breakfast…
Hugh: And our lovely wives assist with that now too…
Owen: And even though Mom isn’t there with us…she is. We spend the day not only making memories, but remembering all of the Christmas’s we had with her.
(Everyone grows quiet)
Aidan: There weren’t enough of them.
(They all nod)
Darcy: I think what’s changed is that we all appreciate one another more. I’m the luckiest girl in the world to have such an amazing family and even though they all share memories of a time that I never got to experience, they have made sure that I always had a great Christmas. (looks at her brothers) And I love you all for it. So…thank you.
Rae: Thank you all. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and can’t wait to meet up again soon.
Holiday Spice is out tomorrow. Click on the cover and pre-order your copy now:
Coffee With Samantha Chase and The Shaughnessy Crew
Coffee With Samantha Chase
Author Info:
New York Times and USA Today Bestseller/contemporary romance writer Samantha Chase released her debut novel, Jordan’s Return, in November 2011. Although she waited until she was in her 40’s to publish for the first time, writing has been a lifelong passion. Her motivation to take that step was her students: teaching creative writing to elementary age students all the way up through high school and encouraging those students to follow their writing dreams gave Samantha the confidence to take that step as well.
When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading contemporary romances, playing way too many games of Scrabble or Solitaire on Facebook and spending time with her husband of 25 years and their two sons in North Carolina.
For more information, please visit Samantha’s website – www.chasing-romance.com
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Facebook – www.facebook.com/SamanthaChaseFanClub
Twitter – https://twitter.com/SamanthaChase3
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/samanthachase31/
Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Samantha-Chase/e/B006CZWRGC/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
Instagram – https://instagram.com/samanthachaseromance/
Â
Aug 29, 2017 | August 2017, Blog, Coffee With, Rebecca Yarros
Rae: Thank you so much for hanging out with me today. First, if we were meeting at a coffee shop I’d be drinking an iced latte with Coconut milk and a drizzle of chocolate. What would you order?
Rebecca: I’m usually a white chocolate mocha girl, extra sweet with an extra shot of espresso. Hot in the winter, iced in the summer!
Rae: We met at RT in Atlanta when I was lucky enough to find a seat at your table for the Entangled Spoons event. You have mad card skills and made my first time playing fun and memorable.
Rebecca: LOL! Candy & Spoons is INSANE. It’s fast-paced and gets a little crazy. But hey, at least no one dumped a table this year, lol!
Rae: While I had not read any of your books prior to RT I was introduced to Wilder at a Facebook party where you had a link to read the first chapter. I knew at that moment I had to get my hands on not only the book but the entire series. Since then, I have happily read all three books in the Renegades series and hope that we might see a novella for Nitro. Any chance?
Rebecca: That’s amazing to hear! I’m so glad it hooked you. I’m so sorry to say, but the Renegades will end with Rebel. I have so many projects coming up in this next year that there’s really no way I could work that into my schedule.
Rae: Where did you come up with the concept? This summer I took
my family on our first cruise and can’t wait to sail again. I can only imagine how much fun it would be to travel for school, follow your passion, and find love at the same time. These stories combine adventure, love and serious heat. While I never studied abroad during college I wish I had applied for the Semester at Sea program and after reading your books, I’m sure many will be inspired too. My review of all three Renegade books can be read here.
Rebecca: Well, my best friend did Semester at Sea while she was in college, and I got all these crazy post cards from all over the globe. Then my husband and I spent 18 days cruising the Mediterranean for our 10 year anniversary and the idea just took hold and wouldn’t quit.
Rae: How much exposure to extreme sports did you have before sitting down to write Wilder? How did you research for each character? The introduction to Wilder was an adrenaline rush as a reader, would you ever do what he did? (I’m trying not to give a spoiler to readers 😉 )
Rebecca: NONE. Ohhhh my goodness, I did SO much research! I even took one of my sons and flew with him to Salt Lake City to watch the Nitro Circus World Games live to get a better idea of how it all worked. So much YouTube, so much reading, and that live event really tied it together for me!
Rae: For those not familiar with your books, can you tell us a bit about your backlist?
Rebecca: Sure! My Flight & Glory Series is military-based and follows a group of friends from college into flight school and eventually to war. My Legacy Series is made up of novellas (for now) and is about a team of hotshot firefighters rebuilding the their small town hotshot team ten years after their fathers were all killed in a wildfire.
Rae: You are a huge advocate for the foster community and post on social media bout your personal connection. What can you say to anyone reading this who has thought about becoming a foster family? We have family friends who have changed lives and some of those children have gone on to find their forever family. I admire what you do and the sacrifices that you and your family make to help those who are too young to advocate for themselves.
Rebecca: We absolutely advocate for the foster community. We fostered our youngest daughter for two years, and were blessed to be able to adopt her two years later. Our thoughts in being so public about our daughter, and her autism, was to open the discussion among those who follow me on my social media platforms, and really normalize foster parenting and adoption. We’re getting our own non-profit started to help kids in care and foster parents, and I can’t wait until it’s up and running!
Rae: Writing is challenging enough, how do you find the time to write with six children? You must be super organized 😉 Are you a digital planner or paper planner? I have a spiral planner for my Blog and a Bullet Journal for my family life and it’s still a challenge. Do you have one system or many to keep everything sorted?
Rebecca: Oh my gosh, I’m actually a hot mess, lol! I use a Day Designer to keep my day to day organized, along with my kids’ school schedules, soccer, cross country and hockey schedules, and of course anything going on with my husband. The military keeps him pretty busy! Because I also have ADD, I work really hard to keep everything in one central location, or I get WAY too distracted.
Rae: What can we expect to see in 2017?
Rebecca: Rebel and Nova will be my only 2017 releases, but I’m hoping to publish a passion project after Christmas, and then I have a couple super fun, but super secret projects coming up in 2018 that I’m waiting for the OK from my publisher to chat about!
`
Rae: If readers want to find you, where will you be in the upcoming months?
Rebecca: Oh! Great question! I’m so busy lately, and I LOVE to meet my readers!
September 2017 – Indies Invade Philly
October 2017 – Love N Vegas
January 2018 – 1001 Dark Nights Cruise (Cozumel)
February 2018 – Holidays with the Belles (Texas)
March 2018 – Apollycon (Washington DC)
Rae: I am thrilled you were able to join me today and look forward to your next release.
Rebecca: No problem! Thank you for having me, and for taking the time to read and review my books! I truly appreciate it!
***** 8 Tantalizing Tidbits *****
1. What is a must read book and why? The Hate U Give – It is truly eye-opening and made me ask myself uncomfortable questions, especially since I’m raising a biracial daughter.
2. What is one place that I should see if I visit your hometown? Garden of the Gods. It’s a geological wonder and truly beautiful to behold.
3. Castles or Beaches? Beaches
4. What is one thing readers would be surprised to know about you? I went to college on a vocal scholarship, but I only sing in the car. 😉
5. If you had an all expenses paid trip anywhere in the world for research, where would you go?
Bora-Bora…and I’d find a reason, lol!
6. What is your guilty pleasure? Sleeping. Hands down.
7. What are you afraid of? Class A’s at my front door. That’s pretty much every military wife’s worst fear.
8. Tats or No Tats? If tats, how many and what did you choose for your first one? Tats. My first was a heart with wings and a halo on my hip. I was 17, lied about my age, and I have no regrets. It really symbolized how I felt that love was a gift sent by God, and worth every sacrifice.
Rebecca: Thank you for having me!!!!
Rae: Happy Writing!
Author info:
Rebecca Yarros is a hopeless romantic and a lover of all things coffee, chocolate, and Paleo.
She is the author of the Flight & Glory series, including Full Measures, the award-winning Eyes Turned Skyward, Beyond What is Given, and Hallowed Ground. She loves military heroes, and has been blissfully married to hers for fourteen years.
When she’s not writing, she’s tying hockey skates for her four sons, sneaking in some guitar time, or watching brat-pack movies with her two daughters. She lives in Colorado with the hottest Apache pilot ever, their rambunctious gaggle of kids, an English bulldog who is more
stubborn than sweet, and a bunny named General Fluffy Pants who torments the aforementioned bulldog. They recently adopted their youngest daughter from the foster system, and Rebecca is passionate about helping others do the same.
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Aug 24, 2017 | August 2017, Blog, Coffee With, Elle Boon
Rae: Thanks so much for hanging out with me today. We met at First Base with an author in Atlanta during RT. It was my first time at RT and one event I hope they have next year. As a reader and blogger I was introduced to so many “new to me” authors. Did you find that event overwhelming? I only wish we’d have more time with everyone, our time was not long enough. It’s a great concept, speed dating for readers ;).
Elle: I had a great time at RT and First Base With The Authors was one of the best events I had the pleasure of being a part of. I didn’t really find it overwhelming, but probably because I got to just talk, and talk, and talk. I sort of talk a lot LOL.
Rae: Congratulations on your recent release of Rescuing Miami in Kindle Worlds. I’ll be sharing my review on the blog tomorrow. How did you become involved in this crossover book project?
Elle: I had written Miami Inferno over a year ago and had introduced the hero in Rescuing Miami. I hadn’t really thought I’d write his story next until Paige asked me to write in her world. You see, Ando had a really terrible thing happen to him, which put him on a downward spiral. I decided I was going to redeem him and send him to Dallas to be “Rescued” by a female. I love strong women as well as strong men in my books.
Rae: You write contemporary, paranormal and erotic, which is the most challenging to get all the smells and feels down?
Elle: My Navy SEALs I think are the hardest to write, only because I want to be as factual as I can, while still writing a really good romance story. Yes, they all have great love scenes…I mean I love steamy LOL. But, in my paranormal worlds I get to create worlds, and my characters can do magical things, like regenerate when they’ve been shot, or stabbed etc LOL
Rae: You currently have five series and anthologies, can you tell us a little about them?Â
Elle: My first series was my Ravens of War, which I love and will go back to once I get my rights back at the end of 2019. They are paranormal menage and are my twist on the Greek Gods and the 12 men Zeus created to help him defeat his father Cronus. Once they were no longer needed, he sent them to Earth to find their happily ever afters. Fast forward to present day, and Zeus needs those men to help him find his stolen daughter who Cronus has somehow taken and hidden on Earth. That is book 1 Selena’s Men.
Next came my Mystic Wolves. I love shifters, and bad boys with tattoos and bikes. They just sort of popped up in my head. First Zayn and Cora, who I loved. I introduced the little Nolan who was Zayn’s nephew and the alpha’s son so of course Niall needed a story, especially since he’d lost his mate. From there Jett, who was like the shifter version of Magic Mike came. I then was asked to write for a antho sort of with some other ladies. They wanted another “Accidental” shifter.
So, I thought how could I write another without it being like Zayn’s. BAM Lyric’s Accidental Mate came to me. I mean, how cool to have a female shifter save the big bad guy who just happens to be an ex-SEAL. Now we move into a whole new world. I had no clue I’d find myself writing the Iron Wolves and crossing them with my Mystic, but with my crazy FEY QUEEN, and yes you have to capitalize her, one just has to go with it.
Now, from Lyric there was Rowan’s SEAL Team who clearly needed stories LOL. Oh, and let’s not forget they don’t know about paranormal, so I decided to make them completely non-para. (OH MY GOD) that is so hard, but I did it pretty seamlessly after Delta Salvation “I think”.
Then there is my SmokeJumpers series which is a series of the elite Firefighters who go out to the big fires in forests and such. My guys are a little bit of everything, with each story being different. I plan to finish the trilogy by the end of the year (fingers crossed) I have books 1 and 2 FireStarter and Berserkers Rage, plus A SmokeJumpers Christmas which is a follow up to the first two that’s a free out now.
I also wrote Wild and Dirty in Mari Carr’s Kindle World which so far is a stand alone ménage, but I may write another later in 2018. Um, I think that’s it…Oh, my latest book in my Iron Wolves just released on 8-22-17 so I officially have 25 books out plus a freebie <3
Rae: Where can readers find you in the upcoming months?
Elle: I’ll be home writing my fingers off with my next book in my SEAL Team Phantom hopefully releasing on time in October, followed by the first of my spin-off from my Iron Wolves The Dark Legacy series with the Fey Queen’s story in November.
Rae: Where can readers find you on social media?
Elle: Links for where they can find me are right here <3
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****** Tasty Tidbits *****
1. A Must read book and why? Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon. I love all her books, but this is one of my all time favorites. It answers questions, and gives us more. Plus it’s ASH LOL.
2. What is one place that I should see if I visit your hometown? Oh, wow. Well, I live where the Pony Express started and Jesse James ended so you can do a two-fer.
3. Best vacation destination? Disney World. I love that place even as an adult.
4. What is one thing readers would be surprised to know about you? I carry a blanket with me everywhere I go. I’ve had it since I was a baby. It has a silky edge all the way around it and I can’t go anywhere without it.
5. Hard Rock or Classical? Favorite Band or Artist? I love all music, but my all-time fav is Metallica. James Hetfield is soo sexy.
6. If you had an all expenses paid trip anywhere in the world where would you go? Hawaii. I so want to go there and just take in the beautiful islands and experience the waterfalls, and island life.
7. What is your guilty pleasure? Reading.
8. What are you afraid of? Spiders, snakes, and losing my kids. Okay, my kids for real…but creepy crawly and slithering things too LOL
9. Tats or No Tats? If tats, how many and what did you choose for your first one? I have many tats. My first one is actual a bunch of falling books on my back with different symbols on them.
10. Organized or Free Floating? Totally organized. I might be a wee bit OCD. Like everything has a place or I get a little panicky LOL
11. Binge watcher or weekly viewer? Which show(s)? I don’t watch much TV, but when I do, I prefer to NetFlix it all in one go.
12. What’s on your playlist? Oh, my playlist is crazy. From Metallica, to Lady Antebellum, to Avenge Sevenfold. All the way back to Eagles and Justin Bieber. Yeah, I am soo weird.
13. What play or musical do you want to see next? I’d love to see Wicked again. I loved it.
14. Best tip for relaxing? Meditation. Best thing in the world to do. Anytime. Anywhere. Take a few minutes and do it.
15. What’s your favorite TV show and why? Don’t really watch, but if I do, I prefer senseless things like the Real House Wives. (Trainwrecks)
16. What’s your favorite movie of all time and why? Hmmm, I love action movies, but I love Dirty Dancing and Road House. Patrick Swayze was amazing.
17. Would you rather see a movie in the theater or at home on DVD and why? Theater…hands down. I love to go, watch, eat popcorn and leave. It’s def a guilty pleasure as well.
18. What is one thing you can’t live without? COFFEEEEE
19. Do you love to cook or go out to eat? I am not big on cooking so I’d rather go out, or have hubby cook. Either way is a win win LOL
20. Motorcycle or bicycle? Motorcycle for sure.
21. If you could try any career for a day, what would it be? Actress LOL Of course, it would be on the day I get to be with the Rock <3
22. Person or persons you admire and why? My hubby because he puts up with me and is so supportive of my career choice and is the best dad to our kids without complaint.
Rae: Thanks again for hanging out! Time for another Iced-Coffee 🙂 Happy Reading and Writing Elle!
Aug 2, 2017 | August 2017, Blog, Coffee With, Eliza Knight
Rae: First, if we were meeting at a coffee shop I’d be drinking an Iced Coffee with Coconut Milk. 🙂 What would you order?
Eliza: It depends on the day and hour, lol. If its morning, I’m getting a hot coffee. In the afternoon, I tend to go with ice. I am seriously into cinnamon lattes. I prefer coconut milk, but if they don’t have it, I’ll go with cream.
Rae: Thanks so much for hanging out with me today.
Eliza: Thank you so much for having me! I’m thrilled to be here–I do LOVE coffee! Yum!
Rae: Congratulations on the release of Destination Love, how did this project come about?
Eliza: Thank you so much! I’m so thrilled to be a part of it! So, about 4 years ago, I started to write my novella, Wherever You Are, for fun, after a trip to the Caribbean. I’d showed some beginning chapters to Christi and she loved them, but then deadlines got in the way, so I never finished to story. Last year, she approached me about doing an anthology and wanted me to finish that story, so I said yes!
Rae: It’s a change from the historical romance stories that you’ve released. How did you collaborate for this?
Eliza: It’s definitely a shift from my usual historical, but it is connected with another contemporary I wrote about five years ago, The Rebound Pact. Those of us involved in the set came pretty naturally. We all belong to Maryland Romance Writers, and once a month, a few of us get together for dinner, and at some point, all of us have had dinner a couple times over the years.
Rae: How are each of the stories connected?
Eliza: Every story in our anthology has characters traveling somewhere, so when readers pick up the set, they can take a journey with our characters as they fall in love.
Rae: You currently have eight series in historical romance and also write contemporary. Can you tell us a little about each? How do you keep all of your characters straight? Do you have a “Bible” or file with all the details?
Eliza: I definitely have a series bible, its important, especially for series that end up with as many books as my Stolen Bride series has, and its spin-off the Conquered Bride have (17! and another on the way!). For historical, I mostly write sexy Scottish. I have a few Regencies, westerns and ancient history as well.
Rae: When did you know that you wanted to write historical romance? Did anything from that trip wind up in your book?
Eliza: I would say I knew I wanted to write historical romance in high school. I used to write fan-fiction using characters from my favorite romance novels. But I did it for fun and shared with friends. I continued to write throughout college, developing my own stories and characters, but only for myself, until about 2006 that I started to seriously pursue a career as a novelist. I joined Romance Writers of America in early 2007.
Rae: Have you had a chance to take a research trip to Scotland?
Eliza: I have taken two research trips to Scotland and have a 3rd coming up this fall. I have also traveled to Ireland and France, and the islands. Every time I go, I have a purpose in mind, and every one of my books is laced with information or experiences I’ve had overseas, whether its the way the bark looks on a tree, how drafty a castle is, or the shape of the stones, or the smell of the ocean, it will find its way into the story.
Rae: How often do you have to travel for research to make that you have all the smells and feels down?
Eliza: I travel every 1-2 years. I take a lot of pictures/videos and I take notes. On my trip this fall, we’re immersing ourself in a coastal village with a castle up on the hill. It’s going to be amazing.
Rae: What is the biggest obstacle of publishing as an Indie author?
Eliza: I am lucky because I have a great team on the indie side of publishing, which is key. If you don’t have a good team, your job gets a lot harder. I think its important to have people who are experts in certain areas like cover design, publicity, advertising, copyrights, editing, copyediting, formatting, distribution. I want to be able to concentrate on writing. And though the business side still takes up a lot of time, its not nearly as much as it would be if I didn’t have those people in place to help me. The thing is, when you go indie, you’re not only an author anymore. You’re now a publisher, and you have to treat your business that way.
Rae: Your covers are fantastic, do you design them?
Eliza: My cover designer has been with me since the beginning–and I’ve been with her since she started out. She’s phenomenal.
Rae: In addition to writing you also manage two blogs, your Author Blog and History Undressed. When do you have time?
Eliza: One blog gets a lot more attention than the other! History Undressed is my baby, and I started it in 2009. I used to post weekly, but now I only get to write on it much more sparingly. However, I do have regular bloggers that post on their slotted days, and they are seriously awesome!
Rae: RWA has just ended, what were your favorite moments?
Eliza: RWA is one of my favorite times in the year! My favorite moments… there were so many!!! Rooming with one of my dearest friends (who goes with me to Scotland!), dancing at the dance party, meeting up with colleagues, sharing in the excitement of friends who won awards, chatting with first time attendees and seeing the excitement in their eyes! Best of all? It fills the well! I come home inspired and filled with an intense energy.
Rae: What was your favorite panel and why?
Eliza: My favorite panel was done by Mark Dawson on social networking. It was a wealth of information, and I learned a lot of about Facebook that I didn’t even know about.
Rae: Can you tell us when and where you will be in the upcoming months?
Eliza: In September, I will be signing my Tudor series at the Maryland Renaissance Festival on September 9th. Also from September 27-Oct 1, I will be at the Historical Romance Retreat!
***** 8 Tantalizing Tidbits *****
1. What is a must read book and why? I have a few on my list right now. Historical Fiction: The Alice Network by Kate Quinn, because it is FREAKING AWESOME, and it was chosen for the Reese Witherspoon book club. For romance classics, I just finished listening to the audio book, Pride and Prejudice read by Rosamund Pike, and it was the best version I’ve read so far because of all the voices she did. My favorite historical romance, The Bride by Julie Garwood!
2. What is one place that I should see if I visit your hometown? Vineyards! In the town where I live, we have THREE wineries!
3. Best vacation destination? Scotland! Are you surprised?
4. What is one thing readers would be surprised to know about you? I had to have a reading specialist in first/second grade, because I just didn’t get it! Look at me now 🙂
5. Hard Rock or Classical? Favorite Band or Artist? Everything and Everyone! I love music of all kinds. I literally don’t have a favorite…
6. If you had an all expenses paid trip anywhere in the world where would you go? Scotland! Are you surprised?
7. What is your guilty pleasure? Wine and chocolate
8. Tats or No Tats? If tats, how many and what did you choose for your first one? I have two tattoos. A rose on my back (I call it my Tudor rose), and on my wrist I have a one in type-set font that says, Nevertheless, she persisted, a reminder to myself to keep moving forward, to never give up in the pursuit of my dreams and happiness. This one is especially dear to me, because I got it along with four other author friends at a conference. We are now forever tat sisters 🙂
Still want to know more about Eliza? Head over to her webpage and explore!
