Cate Masters on Going with Gravity

Emma: Today, I am featuring an interview with author Cate Masters on her newest release, Going with Gravity, available from The Wild Rose Press.

Blurb:

Publicist Allison Morris plans her own life – what’s left of it – around the life of her boss Michelle McCarter, the ex-wife of a famous rock star. When Michelle needs emergency public relations patchwork in Hawaii pronto, Allison arranges a flight to the dream destination. At the airport, she meets Wes Hamilton, a six-foot-three, sun-bleached blond whose blue eyes and dazzling smile rekindle her fizzled-out sizzle. A world-renowned surfer, Wes captivates her with his charm and wit, though his easy fame and on-the-edge lifestyle are the polar opposite of her own.

When their jet loses its fuselage in mid-air, she takes advantage of what she thinks are her last minutes alive with Wes. The plane lands safely. Wes takes care of her when her carefully constructed life begins to unravel. When Michelle accuses Allison of using Wes to gain fame for herself, Allison’s world falls apart in an explosive confrontation. Wes is waiting with open arms when she has nowhere else to go, but can Allison learn to stop planning and go with gravity?

Welcome, Cate! Congratulations on the recent release. I love the title and the plot.

Cate: Thanks so much, Emma! The plot was inspired by a real-life event in which a plane lost its fuselage mid-flight and managed to land with no one injured–a real feat. Reading the news article made me wonder who I could place in such a dramatic situation, and the story took off from there. I love to research, and learned a great deal about not only Hawaii, a place I’ve long wanted to visit, but the Hawaiian language, which is now endangered. Plus I always try to give my stories an additional positive spin, in that the hero and/or heroine find their true path in life. Not only do they find true love, but also follow their bliss.

Here’s the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9C0LCXFZww

Emma: I like the thought of the hero and heroine also finding their true path in life.

I know you have two other stories, The Duende and the Muse and Seventh Heaven, as well as a free read, Cinderella Dreams, also available from The Wild Rose Press.

But, you also have The Lure of the Vine available from Freya’s Bower, One Soul for Sale available from Eternal Press, and Liberation Via Pen available from Wild Child Publishing.

I’m in awe at the number of publishing houses you work with. What influences your choice of publisher when submitting your works?

Cate: Well, the other stories didn’t quite meet the strict TWRP guidelines for romance, although most have a heavy romantic element. So it all depends on the pub’s guidelines. It’s been interesting, too, to watch how other sites categorize them – for instance, some classified One Soul for Sale as horror, which I never would have guessed. Other stories were categorized as women’s fiction and fantasy, though there seems to be no clear distinction between urban fantasy and dark fantasy. I keep coming back to romance because I love the positivity of it, and romance writers are such a supportive community, I love that too.

Emma: I'm always interested in how works are classified. There are some books sold as Sci-Fi/Fantasy that to me are romances.

In addition to numerous stories published with various WebZines, you have numerous stories coming soon: Wilderness Girl and Angels, Sinners & Madmen from Freya’s Bower, Design for Life, Flower Basket Series from The Wild Rose Press, Picture This from Eternal Press, and Reflections from Shadowfire Press. Are these stories you wrote previously or do you spend 24 hours a day writing?

Cate: Sometimes it feels that way! I’m very lucky to have a wonderfully supportive husband who encourages me, so I do write in most of my spare time, only occasionally stopping to catch up on housework and gardening. But honestly, I’ve been writing for years, and submitted several novels to NY pubs with polite “no thank you’s” as the response. I kept writing stories of all lengths, and submitting to web zines with some success, but wasn’t fulfilled by that because there’s zero feedback, and the word limit’s usually fairly low. Once I discovered epresses, I met with more success, and began submitting like crazy. I’d caution against such a submission blitz, as now I struggle to give each story its rightful due as far as promotion. But I’m not complaining; it’s been an amazing year!

Emma: Well, you definitely inspire me!

Cinderella Dreams is about a wedding photographer and Picture This has a photographer on the cover. Are you a photographer in addition to being a writer? What other creative endeavors occupy your time?

Cate: Only an amateur, though I love it! I like to use my original photos in my trailers, though that’s not always possible. My jobs have always centered around the media, too, from ten years at the state press association to being an editorial assistant with an online news company owned by the AP, to freelancing as a journalist, something I’d always dreamed of, to jumping the media fence during a stint as a deputy press secretary for the PA Dept. of State – quite an interesting experience from that perspective.

But if there’s a hobby out there, I’ve probably tried it – from beading to needlework to (really awful) guitar and piano to painting and sketching. These days, I concentrate mainly on writing. It’s a complicated craft, and I still have so much to learn!

Emma: I won’t keep you much longer. Do you have any other works in progress that you’d like to share?

Cate: I have several WIPs, but one in particular has really gripped me this summer – a contemporary romance, which I think will be a novel. The idea had been rattling around in my head for awhile, and one day I had the notion to dedicate it to a friend of mine who lost his battle with brain cancer. The hero’s named for him, and in the end, he gets to go back to my friend’s hometown to live. Although my friend left many wonderful legacies, it’s my small way of helping him live on.

Emma: That's a very touching dedication.

Thank you for your time, Cate, and good luck on your future books!

Cate: Always a pleasure to spend time with you, Emma! Thanks so much for having me as a guest, and for your good wishes – all the best to you as well!

Only Two Days Left

Only two days left to enter the Getting to Know the Roses of Houston anthology give-away.

The rules are simple. Visit the Roses of Houston blog at http://rosesofhouston.blogspot.com to find out who the Roses are. Then send me an email at EmmaLaiWrites@gmail.com with a fun fact on each to enter. I'll be giving away two paperback anthologies containing the works of Skhye Moncrief and Anna Kathryn Lanier in addition to your choice of three anthologies from The Wild Rose Press.

And the Winner is...

Congratulations to Mary Ricksen! You've won an eBook written by Hywela Lyn!

Let me know which copy you'd like...

Starquest
Children of the Mist
Dancing with Fate

Where Am I?

I'm being interviewed by Hywela Lyn at her blog...http://hywelalyn.blogspot.com/

Stop by and leave a comment for a chance to win one of her books and to enter my Release Party!

And the Winners are...

So, I said I would offer one of Eliza Knight's stories (reader's choice) for every visitor to her author interview. There were 164 visitors yesterday, which translates to 8 winners. And the winners are...

Susan Macatee
Jennifer Ross
Tricia Schneider
Skhye Moncrief
Sarah Simas
Elizabeth Pina
Nicole North
Writerlynne

Please send me an email at EmmaLaiWrites@gmail.com to claim your prize. Let me know which title you want and what email to send it to!

Eliza Knight on Love Will Bloom

Emma: Today, I am featuring an interview with author Eliza Knight on her newest release, Love Will Bloom, available TODAY from The Wild Rose Press!

Blurb:

After the death of her parents, Miss Lillian Whitmore travels to London to live with her aunt and uncle, the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk. Sick with grief, guilt and loneliness, and shunned by her aunt and cousins, Lillian is constantly reminded of her ignorance of society customs. Forced to find a husband, she encounters two men who vie for her affections--handsome, poised Lord Dominick Wade and the sensuous rake, Sir Trenton--but the skeletons in Lillian's closet keep her from making a choice. Expectations are high for Lord Dominick Wade to marry a woman of social stature, but the American beauty has literally wreaked havoc with his senses. Lillian is everything Dominick wants in a companion, lover and wife. Even more rankling is his competition, Sir Trenton, and the influence he holds over her. Fate will decide this season which love will wither…and which will bloom.

Welcome, Eliza, and congratulations on the new release! Okay, I’m hooked by the blurb. I’m going to have to add this to my collection of your works.

Eliza: First off, thank you so much for having me here today Emma! I’m so glad you like the blurb, and I hope you enjoy the story. Love Will Bloom, has a special place with me. It’s the very first novella I ever wrote. I tucked it away for awhile, brought it back out and revamped it into what it is today. I also chose the cover, which is a painting, APRIL LOVE, by Arthur Hughes, and was an inspiration for the story.

Emma: Great cover and inspiration!

You and I share a love of the Regency period in England. Here’s a fun fact. I don’t know if you’ve googled your name, but one of the top hits is a genealogy hit on a woman, who lived from 1844-1878 in England. I know it’s a couple of decades after the Regency, but do you think your channeling her spirit in some form...given your fascination?

Eliza: LOL! I have seen that when I’ve googled my name before. I had never thought about whether I was channeling her spirit though... There was another woman who used the alias Eliza Knight when swindling people, in the late 1800’s and she was once named as one of the most notorious swindlers. Honestly, my name comes from a couple places. Elizabeth I is one my all time favorite heroines of history, and so I shortened it to Eliza for my own name, and Knight reminds me of knights in shining armor, which I try to make all of my heroes into.

Emma: Ah...so your pen name is actually more medieval.

I know you have another release, Her Captain Returns, available from The Wild Rose Press. It’s part of your Men of the Sea Series, which also consists of Her Captain Surrenders (coming in October) and Her Captain Dares All (coming in 2010). Love the titles!

You also have some hot reads in your Highland Jewels Series: Warrior in a Box, Lady in a Box, and Love in a Box, all now available in the Scarlet Rose line of the The Wild Rose Press (18 and older only, please).

So, ‘fess up…which do you like writing better, erotic or more traditional historical romance?

Eliza: That is a tough question!!! I really enjoy both. And those of you who read my historical romances will notice that the sex scenes are sizzling hot as well. I guess you could say I enjoy writing on the spicier side. When I’m writing romances, I try to focus more on the actual romance and a subplot. With my erotic romances there are those two things, but also the sex is a big part of the story too.

Emma: I like your exploration of different subgenres!

You’re quite a prolific writer. How do you find time for everything?

Eliza: I have no idea… lol… Okay, honestly I have a set schedule. I do certain things on certain days, and I have a minimum weekly word count that I try to make.

Emma: See. Writing isn't quite as glamorous as people think.

I won’t keep you much longer. Do you have any other works in progress that you’d like to share? How far along are Take it Off Warrior and A Lady’s Charade?

Eliza: Both are completed and in the hands of editors as we speak, so I’m hoping to have news on those soon. Take if Off Warrior, is another Highlander erotic time travel, although a little longer this time. A Lady’s Charade, is a full length medieval novel. In addition to those I’m working on two other medieval romance novels, a medieval erotic romance, a Regency erotic romance, and I’m collaborating with an author friend of mine on a western romance novel. My hope is that all of those are completed or nearing completion by the end of 2009/early 2010.

Emma: Can't wait for more news!

Thank you for your time, Eliza, and good luck on your future books!

Eliza: Thank you Emma! It was great to be here! Happy Reading!

Find out My Pet Peeves

Stop by the Roses of Houston blog to find out my pet peeves.

http://rosesofhouston.blogspot.com

One Lovely Blog Award

Thank you Mary Ricksen for awarding me the "One Lovely Blog" Award on your blog...http://www.maryricksen.com/pages/blog/blog.html.

There are so many great blogs out there to pick from, but I'm passing this award on to...

1) Helen Hardt and her lovely Helen's Heroes Blog
2) Sarah Simas and her lovely The Lovestruck Novice Blog
3) Skhye Moncrief and her lovely Skhye's Ramblings Blog

Congratulations! The baton has been passed. The rules of acceptance are simple...
1) Accept the award and don't forget to post a link back to the awarding person.
2) Pass the award on.
3) Notify the award winners.

And the Winner is...

First, I have to say thanks to everyone who stopped by yesterday and left such beautiful comments to Kerri Nelson regarding her situation!

As for this week's winner of a *.pdf copy of Mary Ricksen's Tripping Through Time...

Congratulations Jennifer Johnson!

Starting today, you can leave comments to any of my posts for a chance to win either Hywela Lyn's Starquest or Children of the Mist!

Help a Special Child...Win a Promo Package

One of the sweetest people I have had the fortune of meeting since becoming an author is Kerri Nelson, the author of Miss Taken. Despite the hurdles of life, she keeps on pushing forward. Unfortunately, life has thrown her too many hurdles lately and her beautiful daughter, Brooke, is in need of some new medical equipment. The following letter from Kerri explains the situation best. I hope you can find it in your hearts to help out! Thanks!


Dear friends & authors:

As some of you already know, my 8 year old daughter Brooke suffers from a life long chronic illness known as juvenile diabetes. Currently, there is no cure and she must receive daily insulin injections (4 to 6 per day) and daily finger sticks (5 to 8 per day) to control her blood sugar. Type 1 diabetes is different from the much more publicized Type 2 diabetes in that Type 1 is not treatable by diet control and/or oral medication. It is a chronic, life threatening illness that requires daily use of insulin as a means of life support.

My daughter was diagnosed at age 2 and is a six year veteran of the disease. She is the toughest, bravest soul that I've ever known. She doesn't let this monster keep her down.

Just over a year ago, we were able to get her on an insulin pump. This is a replacement for the daily injections in that she actually wears a portable device on her body 24 hours a day and it administers insulin into her body via a catheter. It is not a simple as it sounds and there are many challenges with having an 8 year old wear around a medical device all the time but it has improved her quality of life tremendously.

Recently, we received the unfortunate news that the company who manufactures her pump has discontinued the pump and will no longer provide supplies or service for the pump. Therefore, if we want to keep her on this treatment protocol, we must purchase a new pump.

Due to the time period involved, and other circumstances. ..this will NOT be covered by her medical insurance. This has come as a huge blow to our family in that these new pumps cost in the neighborhood of $6000! So far, we've managed to raise 1/3 of that amount with help from family and our church.

We still need to raise around $4000 for a new pump. So, what I'm offering is a huge author promotional package (valued at over $500) in exchange for the purchase of raffle tickets.

Here is what the winner will receive:

* Custom Designed Book Trailer for your Book
* Critique of a Full Manuscript
* 1 Free Online Class of your Choice (up to $20)
* Custom Designed Newsletter
* New Novelist Software (CD-Rom valued $60)
* 3 months of E-Mail Promotion for your Book
* Author Spotlight & Interview on my Blog
* 250 Personalized Business Cards (as designed by me)


All you need to do to enter the drawing is to purchase at least one raffle ticket. The tickets are $2.00 each and if you buy 2 you get 1 free! Any little bit that you can do would be greatly appreciated.

You can send the payment to Kerri Nelson at the following address: P.O. Box 680871 Prattville, AL 36068.

The raffle will run from now until the August 31st and the winner will be drawn via random draw by my daughter Brooke and announced on my website and blog. Thank you in advance for your kind generosity and thoughtfulness.

Please know that asking for help is very difficult for me, but I as a mother I have do everything possible to help my daughter have the best quality of life.

Ashley Ludwig on All or Nothing

Emma: Today, I am featuring an interview with author Ashley Elizabeth Ludwig on her story All or Nothing now available from White Rose Publishing.

Blurb:

A widow finds love.
A soldier seeks redemption.
A murderous bandit threatens to destroy them both.

RuthAnne Newcomb, a young widow starting over, nearly dies on the perilous winding road to Tucson, Arizona in 1876. The accident is a cover-up for a heinous crime at the hand of the murderous bandit El Tejano. Robbed and left for dead, all that remains for RuthAnne is her faith and her God-given talents. She needs both to endure the handsome, vengeful cavalry captain who saves her life.

Captain Bowen Shepherd offers aid in exchange for information leading to the criminal's capture. El Tejano is bound to strike again, likely against the only living witness to his crimes.

Bowen and RuthAnne must work together and risk everything to unmask the bandit. Will their newfound love, or their lives, be the cost of bringing a murderer to justice?

Welcome, Ashley! What a great blurb, and I love the trailer you did for this story!

Ashley: Thanks a lot! I had a blast making it, and have had many favorable comments. Looking up the images, finding the song, and setting it up to tell the story in 2 minutes or less! It’s a challenge and so much fun when it works.

Emma: From reading your bio, I see your field of study, Anthropology, challenged your beliefs, and I find it admirable that you found a way to consolidate your faith with your interests. And, now you use both in your writing!

I see All or Nothing has received some great reviews. How does this inspire you?

Ashley: I blogged on my site just recently about reviews on my site: www.ashleyludwig.com . I feel it’s important to learn from the not so sparkly ones as well as the good. Of course, the good ones are far more fun to read!

I do my google searches as often as I think of them, and it’s so exciting when a new review pops up! Especially when you’re not expecting one.

Our stories are, after all, a labor of love, and it inspires me to keep writing when I hear that I have people who have read and enjoyed the book, and are looking forward to the next one. Makes me think I should get back to my WIP, and fast!

Emma: I can't wait to get my first review, good or bad. It's nice to see how people receive your work.

You do freelance writing on a variety of topics. I’m in awe. Every time I contemplate writing an article I wonder why anyone would want to read what I have to say about x. Do you have the same fear, and if so, how do you overcome it?

Ashley: Well, first step I guess is to write about things that interest you. I post to a content web site, and people can shop around for articles of mutual interest. I write about everything from recipes, to housekeeping articles, to the latest uses of technology for authors, book lovers, and libraries. I haven’t written as many lately, as I’m focusing on my creative writing, and my current WIP that’s taking up all of my brain-space!

Emma: I know you have another release, By Another Name, and a free read, Tessa Takes a Chance, available from White Rose Publishing.

I don’t know if you remember, but back in February I was lucky enough to win a copy of By Another Name. I happened to mention that I loved Tessa Takes a Chance and my desire to see more of the story. You told me it was a story in three parts and you had submitted a proposal for the remainder. Did you ever hear anything back on it?

Ashley: You know, I tabled that read, due to another story that the editor wanted to see. So, I shifted focus to finish that one—turned it in, and am waiting until mid August for her reply on whether it’s ready or not.

One thing about the editors at TWRP, they are a busy bunch! Even though I’ve published with them four times (I have another free read for readers of the White Rose Publishing Yahoo Group – called “Sparks Still Fly”) – it still makes you nervous waiting to hear the word “Contract.”

Emma: I know what you mean! I'm waiting on two stories at the moment. It's nerve racking!

I won’t keep you much longer, but I have to ask if you have any plans to branch out from inspirational romance? Do you have any other works in progress that you’d like to share?

Ashley: Funny you mention that. The current project under review is a “Sweet Romance” and not an Inspirational project. It just didn’t suit the story. My current WIP is a romantic/suspense/thriller, and the main character is a marine archaeologist. I’m having a lot of fun with it, but there are so many plot twists, I have to keep moving sticky notes around to keep up with the red herrings and threads so nothing gets lost!

I have a drawer full of plotted pieces that I’ll get to as soon as time allows. Being a working mama, there are only so many hours in a day! Prioritizing family time, writing time, working time, and housekeeping – something has to give. It’s usually the house! Thank Heaven for takeout, for a hubby that likes to do laundry, and kids that are getting old enough to entertain themselves for at least an hour while I do an interview with lovely ladies like you!

Emma: You sound like you're great at juggling!

Thank you for your time, Ashley, and good luck on your future books!

Ashley: Thank you, Emma – and I’m a new fan of yours, too! This is a lovely venue for authors of all genres – you’ve really done a great job of making your interview site a home. Thank you for having me.