Welcome special guest: author Judy Duarte

Today we have author Judy Duarte visiting. Judy sold her first book in 2002 and has published more than forty more novels since then. A two-time Rita® finalist with MULBERRY PARK (2009) and ENTERTAINING ANGELS (2010), she was awarded two Maggies and a National Reader’s Choice Award for her heartwarming stories. Judy lives in Southern California.

So, Judy, what inspired you to become a writer?
I’m an avid reader. Back in 1996, I began wondering if I could write a book of my own. So I purchased a computer and played around with a story idea. Before long, I was caught up in creative process. I found Romance Writers of America, and the rest is history.

When did you attempt your first story? What length was it? What's become of it?
In 1996, I began work on LEGACY OF THE HEART, a historical romance that takes place on a wagon train. That 90,000 word manuscript was my very first attempt at writing. It’s now under the bed, hiding amidst the dust bunnies.

How many stories did you complete before you sold your first?
I wrote three more historical novels after LEGACY OF THE HEART. And I’m hopeful they’ll eventually be published. In fact, one of them was a Golden Heart finalist in 2001. I recently revised that manuscript, and my agent is currently trying to sell it.

What genre(s) do you write in? What drew you to write in it/them? What’s your favorite genre of all to write in?
I write contemporary

romance for Harlequin Special Edition, one of their home and heart lines. I also write inspirational women’s fiction for Kensington. If my historicals take off, I’ll be writing in that genre, too.
Writing different stories for different publishers allows me a change of pace sometimes, while still providing the readers with heartwarming reads.

What are the best and worst pieces of writing advice you ever received?
The best was: Never give up on your dream. It will happen, but not if you quit writing.
The worst was… Hmm. I can’t say that I’ve ever gotten any bad advice… Well, if I did, I filed it away as unimportant and kept dreaming and writing and submitting.

How do you celebrate/deal with acceptance/rejection letters?
Selling a book leaves me with a high that lasts for days. Even after more than forty sales, it’s still a thrill to learn that a publisher wants to buy my book.
As for rejections, I’ve found that putting them aside for a few days or a week gives me a better perspective. I usually revise with the rejecting editor’s comments in mind and resubmit a better proposal the next time around.

In regard to the book you’re promoting, which actor and actress do you envision playing the roles of your hero and heroine? If there’s a villain or other characters who are pertinent to the story, who would play those parts?

In THE RANCHER’S HIRED FIANCEE, I described the hero, Ray Mendez, as looking enough like Antonio Banderas to be his younger brother. The heroine, Catherine Loza, could be played by Katherine Heigl.

The book you’re promoting, is it a stand-alone story or part of a series? If it’s part of a series, please list the order the books need to be read in for maximum reading enjoyment.
THE RANCHER’S HIRED FIANCEE is book 2 in a series called Brighton Valley Babies. The first book, A BABY UNDER THE TREE, was released in December of 2011.
This series is a spin-off of the Brighton Valley Medical Center series and The Texas Homecoming series. But this book—and the series—all stand alone.

*** Now for some fun info… ***
What’s your favorite color?
Green—at least, these days.

What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?
Strawberry—especially if it’s homemade!

Are you a cat, dog or both kind of person?
Both! Sadly, Tina, our cat, hates dogs with a passion. So we haven’t had the heart to adopt a new pet.

Would you/have you own(ed) a snake or some other exotic pet?
No, I haven’t wanted any kind of scaly or exotic critter.

Which do you prefer: rain or sun & warm weather or cold weather?
I love cold, rainy days, especially if I can stay inside.

Are you a morning person or night owl?
I love the wee hours of the morning, when the household is quiet.

What’s your favorite day of the week?
Sunday, which is a day for church and family.

What’s your favorite number?
Ten.

If you could live anywhere in the universe, where would it be and why?
Heaven would be awesome. Other than that, I’m happy just where I am. :)

If you were stranded on a desert island and were only allowed to have five modern conveniences with you, what would they be?
Wow, that’s tough. All the important modern conveniences need batteries or electricity or some kind of power source! So how about a lighter, a knife, a spear, a hammer and nails…

*** About Judy's book(s)… ***
Fake Fiancée…True Romance!
    The Antonio Banderas look-alike standing on the porch in Western gear wasn’t at all what actress Catherine Loza had expected. But when the tall, dark and totally irresistible rancher asked her to play the role of his fiancée to get the local matchmakers off his back, well…it was an offer the actress couldn’t refuse.
    Brighton Valley mayor Ray Mendez thought he’d come up with the perfect plan. But as his fake engagement awakened stirrings of real romance—and real passion—he soon found himself wondering if he could persuade his costar to make their arrangement of convenience permanent. A proposal from the heart—and a baby on the way!—might just convince her that he was for real…
    Brighton Valley Babies—A new generation of cowboys—and cowgirls!—is on the way.
The Rancher’s Hired Fiancée
Harlequin Special Edition
By: Judy Duarte
Coming out ~ June 2012
ISBN: 978-0-373-65675-2
Pre-order here: Amazon.

***Find Judy here***
WEBSITE

Thank you for joining us here today, Judy! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your work.

You're welcome! I'd also be happy to host a contest. I'll give autographed copies of my backlist--including MENDOZA'S MIRACLE, book 3 in the Fortunes of Texas, a Harlequin Special Edition, March 2012--to three lucky commenters.

Welcome special guest: author Tina Gerow @TinaGerow

Today we have author, Tina Gerow, who also writes as Cassie Ryan, visiting. Tina Gerow has always had a passion for romance and anything paranormal. Her first book, Into a Dangerous Mind, won the award for Romantic Times Best Small Press Contemporary Paranormal for 2006.   

Since then, Tina has published several more books, including the popular Maiden series, the Seduction Series for Kensington’s Aphrodisia line as Cassie Ryan, and the Sisters of Darkness series with Berkley, also as Cassie Ryan.

* So, Tina, what inspired you to become a writer?
I grew up reading everything I could get my hands on and I think it was just natural that I started dreaming about one day seeing my own stories that constantly streamed through my brain up on a bookshelf with my name on the spine of the book.  The rest, as they say, is history :)
* When did you attempt your first story? What length was it? What's become of it?
I wrote several short stories as a kid and was told by teachers how great they were, but that I needed to tone down the sarcasm and stop writing the “weird stuff” – which are both what I’m known for writing today!  Lol….  Ah, talk about foreshadowing!  I think my mom may still have those old ones in a box somewhere in her garage, but I don’t know where they are.
* How many stories did you complete before you sold your first?
Actually I sold the first full length novel I wrote.  I don’t know how many dozens or hundreds of short stories I wrote…lol!
* What genre(s) do you write in? What drew you to write in it/them? What’s your favorite genre of all to write in?
As Tina Gerow I write paranormal romance and paranormal romantic suspense.  As Cassie Ryan I write smoking hot erotic paranormal romance.  I love writing in either genre and it keeps me fresh to switch back and forth :)  I suppose I was drawn to write what I enjoyed reading the most, so that was just a natural progression for me.
* What are the best and worst pieces of writing advice you ever received?
The best advice was to write every day and to learn everything I can about the genre and the business.  The worst?  Only one in a million people get published, so don’t be too disappointed if you don’t make it.  Screw that!!  My attitude was, “Why can’t I be that one in a million?” And I was published six months after I received that very bad advice! NEVER stop believing in yourself and your dreams – that’s the advice I give everyone! :)
* How do you celebrate/deal with acceptance/rejection letters?
I usually go to dinner/drinks with my friends…after dancing around the house like a total and complete fool and posting it to alll my social networks :)  yeah – I’m a geek :)
* In regard to the book you’re promoting, which actor and actress do you envision playing the roles of your hero and heroine? If there’s a villain or other characters who are pertinent to the story, who would play those parts?
I wrote Levi with David Tennant in mind and my heroine could definitely be played by Sandra Bullock :)  The Villain could be any number of good looking, yet slightly evil looking/dark actors :)
* The book you’re promoting, is it a stand-alone story or part of a series? If it’s part of a series, please list the order the books need to be read in for maximum reading enjoyment.

The Demon & The Succubus is book 2 in the Sisters of Darkness Series.  The first book is Seducing the Succubus.  I’m still writing Taming the Succubus.  Berkley didn’t pick up book 3 & 4 in the series even though it received amazing reader feedback and reviews, so I’ll probably end up self-publishing it so I don’t disappoint my fans. :)
*** Now for some fun info… ***
* Would you/have you own(ed) a snake or some other exotic pet?
NO!  I was bitten by a rattler when I was five and my brother chopped off its head and tossed it in a burlap bag.  Then he tossed both me and the twitching bag in the back of his truck and took us to the hospital.  I still have nightmares about that damn twitching bag :(  It took several nurses and doctors to hold me down to give me the anti-venom because I saw them stick the needle in the snake to take it out and no one bothered to tell me what they were doing so I thought they were giving me its poison…lol.  I think I even bit one of them :(  Sorry!  Lol…
* Are you a morning person or night owl?
Oddly enough, I’m both.  For work I prefer to get in uber early so I don’t have to stay and hit rush hour…lol.  The office is quiet early on and I can get more done :)  But once I’m home and hanging out – I can burn the midnight oil and enjoy staying up or going out for a late night swim under the moon.
* What’s your favorite number?
4, and it’s my son’s too.  When I was little, we had a pool table and I would play underneath it and organize the pool balls.  Well, my favorite color was and still is purple and the purple ball had a 4 on it, so it just stuck :)  In fact my son and I will yell across the house “It’s 4:44!” and both whoop and holler – which annoys my husband and makes us both laugh :)

*** About the book and series… ***

The Demon & The Succubus is the 2^nd book in my Sisters of Darkness Series written as Cassie Ryan.  The series is about 4 Succubus in Hell’s Version of the Witness relocation program.  It’s got archangels, demons, succubus, incubus and a whole host of other supernatural beasties along with some smoking hot sex scenes and some great suspense and action :)  It’s available on Kindle, iPad as well as print at any brick and mortar book store – except Borders since they are no longer…
     I got the idea for the series when I was watching a Discovery Channel Program on the Garden of Eden.  They said that a lot of scholars consider Lilith the first “succubus” and I started thinking how lonely that must be for her to be considered the one who toppled that whole empire when it was really the free will of both Adam and Eve that got us to this point.  I wondered how someone with that kind of a past could survive and even thrive and the story started to come together inside my head :)  I pitched it to my agent and she loved it and the rest is history :)

***Find Tina/Cassie here***

http://www.cassieryan.com; http://www.tinagerow.com; http://www.facebookcom/tinagerow; http://www.twitter.com/tinagerow  I’m very active on Social Media and try to keep my websites updated with the latest and greatest.  I’m very behind on getting out newsletters, but I’m working to correct that.

Thank you for joining us here today! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your work.

Tina/Cassie is holding a contest! For a reader's choice between The Demon & The Succubus or Seducing the Succubus all you have to do is comment and leave an email and you’ll be entered. International readers are allowed to enter as well! Contest will close on Thursday 9/29 at 5:59 pm Pacific time after which a winner will be randomly drawn and notified.