Category: Author Interviews

Today I am extremely happy to have the author of one of my favorite series, The Wolf Series stop by to do a Q&A with me. I am always excited when I can get a guest post or Q&A with Terry Spear. I have been fortunated enough to read and review almost all of her Wolf series books and to have her roughly a handful of times either guest posting or answering any questions I might have.

Terry is out and about promoting her newest book:

Her instincts tell her he’s dangerous…
While her overprotective brother’s away, Meara Greymere’s planning to play—and it wouldn’t hurt to find herself a mate in the process. The last thing she needs is one of his SEAL buddies spoiling her fun, even if the guy is the hottest one she’s ever seen…

His powers of persuasion are impossible to resist…
Finn Emerson is a battle-hardened Navy SEAL and alpha wolf. He’s a little overqualified for baby-sitting, but feisty Meara is attracting trouble like a magnet…

As the only responsible alpha male in the vicinity, Finn is going to have to protect this intriguing woman from a horde of questionable men, and definitely from himself…

If you read my review yesterday for A SEAL In Wolf’s Clothing then you already know how much I LOVED the book. I highly recommend all the books in the series because they are just that good.

So please help me welcome Terry Spear once again to Cindy’s Love of Books.

Cindy: If you could pick a favorite character from any of your books who would it be and why?

It’s really hard for me to pick a favorite. Whoever I’m working on is usually my favorite at the time because I have to put my heart and soul into each story and the characters and so while I’m working on those characters, I can’t think about those in earlier stories, unless they’re in the same pack I’m writing about. But I do have to say that when I was writing about Bjornolf (pronounced: “byorn-olf) in A SEAL in Wolf’s Clothing, he surprised me, and that’s all I’ll say about it! LOL Sometimes characters will do that to me! I have other plans for them than they have for themselves.

Taken from Terry Spear’s site. This is Bjornolf.

Cindy: You have a new book coming out in the fall from Sourcebooks called A Savage Hunger, will this be a new series?

A Savage Hunger is about jaguar shifters and we’re calling it “Heart of the Jaguar” as a series name. It was a lot of fun doing research about jaguars and incorporating that into the world of jaguar shifters. In the first story, we have Connor and his twin sister, Maya Anderson, who meet up with a human, Kathleen McKnight. Wounded during an Army mission gone wrong, Kathleen sees her knight in shining armor, bare chest, bare feet, wearing only a pair of khakis as he attempts to save her life. When she returns to the jungle a year later, she seeks to thank him for saving her, but here she thought her life was turned upside down the first time she saw him! Boy was she ever wrong!!!

Cindy: You have written quite a few books in the wolf series, how do you come up with inspiration for each book to make it different?

Sometimes setting can make a real difference, definitely plot, and then adding new characters can help to make the story different. In each one, I’ve tried to come up with something really unique. In Heart of the Wolf, the whole concept of red wolves and gray that are based on real wolves. In Destiny of the Wolf, a town run by wolves. In To Tempt the Wolf, that some humans are not what they seem, and it was the first story where humans were changed. In Legend of the White Wolf, the introduction of Arctic wolves, and a hero and heroine who begin as humans who have no support system when they’re turned. In Seduced by the Wolf, I based the story on a real wolf romance! In Wolf Fever, we had a heroine who was turned in a previous book, the first story where readers asked to see her get her happily ever after and she’s the first psychic wolf and it was based on the WHO issuing warnings at that time about a major flu epidemic. In Heart of the Highland Wolf, it’s the first Highland story, first poor werewolf story (because one of my coworkers challenged me to write about a poor werewolf!), and was based on the Madoff scandal. In Dreaming of the Wolf, again, by fan requests, I wrote the next oldest of the Silver brother’s story, but set him in a new location away from the pack where he gets tied up with a human female and the Mob. And now A SEAL in Wolf’s Clothing, back to Hunter’s pack and his sister, again, by readers’ requests. I just finished A Howl for the Highlander, which was the 2nd in the Highland wolf series, dealing with unfinished business—the stolen money in the first book, and what happens when the dark warrior, Duncan MacNeill, allows himself to be majorly distracted by a female wolf in an island paradise.

Cindy: When you’re not writing, what do you like to do for fun?

I make award-winning bears, love to garden, hike, swim, and tour castles. Since we don’t have any around here, that means I have to go elsewhere!!! Like to Scotland!

Cindy: How long did it take you to write A SEAL in Wolf’s Clothing?

That’s been a long time ago! LOL. Since I wrote that one, I also wrote A Savage Hunger and A Howl for the Highlander. I think it was 4 months for A SEAL in Wolf’s Clothing.

Cindy: In A SEAL in Wolf’s Clothing, what would the reader be surprised to discover about the book?

Now see, if I told readers this, it wouldn’t be a surprise!!!

Cindy: If you were stranded on a desert island, what would be your top three things you would want to have with you?

A SEAL!!! They’re trained for any eventuality. That’s all I would really need. One hunky, hot SEAL.

Cindy: If you were to pick a favorite kind of wolf what would it be and why?

A SEAL-wolf. Have you seen those abs?

Thanks so much Terry for answering my questions. I love having you on my blog and reading your books. You are the best.

Thanks so much for having me here today, Cindy! As always, I enjoy visiting with you!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

USA Today bestselling author, Terry Spear has written over a dozen paranormal romance novels and two medieval Highland historical romances. An award-winning author, Terry’s Heart of the Wolf was named a Publishers Weekly’s Best Book of the Year in 2008. A retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry Spear is a librarian by day and spends every spare moment writing paranormal romance as well as historical and true life stories for both teen and adult audiences. Spear lives in Crawford, Texas, where she is working on new paranormal romances! For more information, please visit http://www.terryspear.com/.

Ways to connect with Terry:
www.facebook.com/terry.spear
www.terryspear.com
www.myspace.com/terryspear
http://terry-spear.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/#!/TerrySpear

The Books in the Wolf Series:

1. Heart of the Wolf
2. Destiny of the Wolf
3. To Tempt a Wolf
4. Legend of the White Wolf
5. Seduced by the Wolf
6. Wolf  Fever
7. Heard of the Highland Wolf
8. Dreaming of the Wolf
9. A SEAL in Wolf’s Clothing

Upcoming books:

• Savage Hunger-October 2012
• A Howl for the Highlander (book 10 in the wolf series) 2013
• A Highland Wolf Wedding (book 11 in the wolf series) 2013
• 2nd book in the Jaguar series – 2013
• Silence of the Wolf (book 12 in the wolf series) 2013

I just want to say thanks again to Terry Spear for taking the time out of her busy schedule to do this Q&A with me and for Danielle from Sourcebooks for allowing me to be a part of the tour and for arranging this Q&A, I truly appreciate you both for what you do.

Today I am honored to have author Brian Holers stop by for a Q&A. Brian is promoting his book Doxology.

Please enjoy this interview with Brian Holers, author of the literary novel, Doxology. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including $450 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book.

1. Why did you choose to write about characters who set out to rediscover their faiths?

The characters in Doxology don’t really set out to rediscover their faiths—they simply rediscover them when everything else is lost. My two central characters, Vernon and Jody, uncle and nephew, are just living life as the story begins. Jody has a pretty good, interesting life, he has a stable job working for a nice family, he’s in love with the daughter of that family and works for the son and father. He has totally inserted himself into this family, and his life has promise. Only when he learns that his father is dying does he decide to return home, deal with things he has successfully avoided, and discover the great role faith has played in making him who he is. Vernon, conversely, is making his way through life, but just barely; the tragic loss of his son has made him a mere shell of the man he once was, and the greatest joy of his current life is his ongoing endeavor to show his disdain for God. Only when he fails in the one pitiful thing he has left, when he is broken down to absolutely nothing, is a return to faith possible. The story is entirely fabricated, without really a shred of reality, though I can recognize parts of myself in many of the characters. Particularly Jody’s girlfriend.

2. What was the inspiration for this book?

The inspiration for Doxology was the longstanding concept of “my brother’s keeper,” superimposed on the Jewish concept of “dayeinu”. Dayeinu is what Jews say during the Passover seder in contemplation of the many things God has done for us—the concept of “it would have been enough.” “If only God had led us out of the desert, dayeinu, it would have been enough. But no, God did something more.” In 2005, when I finally started writing, I worked on short stories and met twice a month with a group of other writers. When my wife and I decided to leave the country for a year, I figured, well I won’t be meeting with a writers’ group anymore, maybe I’ll just write a book. And I wrote the first several drafts of that book while we were traveling, from a smelly dive-shop hotel in Zanzibar, where I had to drag a rickety wooden table into our room and kick my wife and son out for the afternoon, to a beachfront room in Phuket, to the lobby of a YMCA hotel in Jerusalem, to a coffee shop with stale cookies in Malaysia, where my family and I helped build a Habitat for Humanity house during the day. And really that trip cemented for me the idea that anywhere you go, the stories are the same. We all care most about our families. There are so many good things God does for us.

3. What surprises did you encounter in writing Doxology?

The greatest surprise I encountered when writing Doxology was the way Vernon kept trying to take over. When the story began, it was all about Jody. The problem was, Vernon’s conflict was more immediate right from the beginning—dealing with the death of his only son, his constant drinking and self-destructive behavior. He just kept taking over—maybe Jody’s struggle was so much harder to portray, since he seems to be doing pretty well in his current life, unlike Vernon. I overcame this problem by letting go—I stopped fighting it. I let Vernon take over, and then struggled to really work my way inside Jody, which took a long time. I overcame the problem by deciding the book was going to be done when it was done, and I couldn’t rush it.

4. Why did you decide to become a writer?

I discovered my passion for stories at a young age—I have always been filled with stories. It took me awhile to begin to try and write them down. It also took me a few years to discover that trying to tell people the stories I imagined just made everyone think I was weird (which is a fair assessment) and that I talked too much. I’m glad it worked out this way though—if I had discovered my passion for writing at a young age, I would probably have struggled in a losing battle to make my living that way, and I’d be discouraged and burned out by now. What I discovered instead, in my twenties, is that for a guy so animated by imaginary stories, I’m surprising adept at negotiating the physical world. A dozen or so years of self employment allowed me to strip away a lot of detritus, have a lot of time alone to think. Once, a consultant I hired to help me manage my tree service told me that the world inside my head was more vivid to me than the world outside, and that’s when I decided I had to get serious about my writing.

5. What is the most effective resource you have found for writing?

The only effective resource I have come across to hone my craft is time. And the best advice I received is not to rush. Even when you think you’re done the first or the first several times, put the book away for awhile and come back to it. Don’t rush. I wish I had kept track of how much time I spent on this book—I would guess between 3,000 and 4,000 hours. For one little book! But the advice goes deeper—don’t rush, make a schedule and sit there and write. Give yourself the time and then sit there and do it. If you’re like most of us and have a job, don’t try to commit too much of your day to it. Give it an hour a day, two hours, whatever. Just commit to it. It’s so much easier to come home from work, have a few drinks, go to the bar, and sit and stare at the stories in your head and say “I’m a writer.” You’re only a writer if you’re writing. As for bad advice, I am totally self taught in this craft—the only bad advice I have received is regarding publishing. A lot of people told me even a year ago not to self-publish. However, I have one thing now I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t decided to self-publish, and that is a book.

6. What is your favorite writing ritual?

My favorite writing ritual is to go to my desk at night after my son goes to bed, have my wife put on her headset if she wants to watch TV or listen to music or whatever, just make it very quiet, and sit there until I really need to go to bed.

7. What do you like about writing?

My favorite part of the writing process is the feeling I get each step of the way, which comes from deciding what I can do that day is good enough. Lately I’ve been writing essays. I start with jotting down notes—I write a lot by hand, I think better that way. I’ll write down in my sloppy scratch all the ideas that come to mind on a subject. Then the next session, I’ll organize all those notes, expand a bit, put them all in order. Again, all on paper. Next time I’ll write a draft, and even as I’m writing I know there will be a lot I want to change. Then I’ll print it, make changes, and write again. But I decide each step, and each draft, is good enough for what it is. My least favorite part of writing is that it’s always late and I’m always tired and have to get through it, which I do by setting short-term goals. The greatest of which is brushing my teeth and going to sleep.

8. Why did you decide to self-publish Doxology?

The traditional, old-school publishing world is in total disarray, which is why writers like me have to take things into their own hands. For a lot of us, especially first time or unpublished writers, our hope to be published is simply that, hope. We look at getting a publishing contract as our best chance of being somebody. Now that I’m out here, I have a better sense of how books are sold, and I am here to tell you it is not easy. Possible, yes, but not easy. There are a zillion other forms of entertainment that require much less effort. A publisher really has to sell several thousand copies of your book before beginning to break even. And if you’re just a regular Joe like I am, and nobody’s heard of you, that’s a tall order. Then the other piece is, even if you do get published, you have to do all the work to sell the book anyway. There’s just not enough money in this equation for a publisher to do any real work for you, not until you’ve begun to prove yourself. Personally, as one with good business sense, I like this new model—there is no one between me and all my potential customers—no one saying it’s not good enough, no one saying we can release your book in 18 months.

9. What advice do you have for aspiring authors?

Advice to aspiring authors—writing may well be the hardest thing you will ever do. At one time I had tons and tons of business debt, customers calling me daily, six highly-paid guys showing up at work every day looking at me for their instructions. I paid through the nose for liability insurance, workers’ comp, and every tool imaginable. Then I waited for the guys to start calling me to say why the jobs couldn’t be done, while I drove around scrambling for more work. All of that was downright easy compared to writing books. But there’s no joy like it. And while I am normal person who has made a lot of mistakes in life, I have found that the more my life is straight, the better my art. The old concept of the tortured writer or tortured artist with various addictions only goes so far. If you want to write clear, clean prose, make yourself as good a person as you can be, and the words will flow. Keep your head up. Be entertained by your writing. Rejoice in the little things. Ultimately writing should be something you enjoy, that gives you passion. I have read that 10,000 hours pursuant to any activity is required to make one an expert, and writing is no exception.

10. What can you say about this book that we wouldn’t learn from the synopsis?

I am grateful to say, Doxology is a beautifully written book, filled with symbols and layers of meaning. It is so much more than I set out to write, and I am proud to say it is so much better than even I thought it would be. It’s not Dostoevsky or the Holy Bible, no, but it is a sweet, moving, inspiring little story of love, loss, and redemption. All told in a Southern accent so thick it just oozes out of the pages.

As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Doxology eBook edition is just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes. The prizes include $450 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book.

All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment–easy to enter; easy to win!

To win the prizes:

1. Purchase your copy of Doxology for just 99 cents
2. Fill-out the simple form on Novel Publicity
3. Visit today’s featured social media event

Help my blog win:

The tour blogger who receives the most votes in the traffic-breaker poll will win a $100 gift card. When you visit Novel Publicity’s site to fill-out the contest entry form, don’t forget to VOTE FOR ME.

About the book: Fathers, sons and brothers reconnect over tragedy in this blue-collar Southern tale of love, loss, and the healing power of community and family. Get it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

About the author: An arborist by day and a novelist in every moment he can steal, Brian makes up stories from the treetops. Visit Brian on his website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.

As you can see you have a chance to win some great prizes. Please check out this link (click on it) and just remember to add my name so that I have a chance to win something to. (The Blogger Traffic Breaker Poll is where you vote for my blog) Thanks in advance.

Today I am honored to have M.J Rose stop by for an interview. Thanks to Meryl Moss Media for asking me to be a part of the book blog tour for her newest book The Book Of Lost Fragrances. So please help me in welcoming M.J Rose.

1. Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Write because you love writing, not because you want to get rich or famous. It’s a big lottery so focusing on the winning ticket means you’ll lose the magical journey that writing can be.

2.What draws you to the suspense genre?

It’s what I like to read.

3.What is your favorite part of the writing process?

Rewriting. I love doing drafts and fine-tuning.

4.Which author inspires you the most?

Everyone who doesn’t give up.

5.As a pioneer of the e-book industry, what do you think about the explosion in popularity of Kindles, Nooks, etc.

It’s exciting that readers have so many choices of ways to read – it doesn’t matter to many writers how readers read us, as long as they read us.

About the author:
M.J. Rose is the international bestselling author of eleven novels: Lip Service, In Fidelity, Flesh Tones, Sheet Music, Lying In Bed, The Halo Effect, The Delilah Complex, The Venus Fix, The Reincarnationist, The Memorist, and The Hypnotist. The Book of Lost Fragrances will be published in March 2012. Rose is also the co-author with Angela Adair Hoy of How To Publish And Promote Online, and with Doug Clegg on Buzz Your Book.

Rose is a founding member and board member of International Thriller Writers and the founder of the first marketing company for authors: AuthorBuzz.com. As well as the co-founder of Peroozal.com and the popular website BookTrib.com.

Rose has been profiled in Time magazine, Forbes, The New York Times, Business 2.0, Working Woman, Newsweek and New York Magazine. Rose has appeared on “The Today Show,” Fox News, “The Jim Lehrer News Hour” and features on her have appeared in dozens of magazines and newspapers in the U.S. and abroad, including USA Today, Stern, L’Official, Poets and Writers and Publishers Weekly.

M.J. Rose lives in Connecticut with Doug Scofield, a composer, and their very spoiled dog, Winka. To learn more about M.J. Rose and her work, visit her website at: www.mjrose.com.

As part of the blog tour I am also taking part in the scavenger hunt.

Now the twenty-nine-year-old Napoléon would have the privilege of being the first man to see what had lain lost and forgotten for millennia. It was no secret that he entertained dreams of conquering Egypt. But his grand ambitions went beyond military conquests. Under his aegis, Egypt’s history was being explored, studied and mapped.

At the bottom of the ladder, L’Etoile joined the assembled party in a dimly lit vestibule. He sniffed and identified limestone and plaster dust, stale air and the workers’ body odor, and a hint of another scent almost too faint to take in.

Four pink granite columns, their bases buried under piles of dirt and debris, held up a ceiling painted with a rich lapis lazuli and a silver astronomical star chart.

http://thephantomparagrapher.blogspot.com/

Today I am honored to have Jessica Park the author of Flat Out Love stop by to do a guest post for me today.

Jessica is going to talk about Writing Style Approach to YA.

Rules? What Rules?

So my approach to YA has been, um… well, essentially to ignore all the rules. Weird, right? I’m not a fan of following scripts, and convention, and doing what I’m supposed to. I don’t want to write what has already been done. I know that vampire books are selling like crazy, but I didn’t want to write those. I didn’t want to write something just because I thought it would sell or because it’s what the public demanded. Other people can do that better than I can. I wanted to write my book.

So I did. (Can you hear me singing? “I did it myyyyyy waaaaaaay!”)

And considering that Flat-Out Love sales have really started to take off (I’ve somehow sold over 200 books in a week!), and my Amazon rankings have been (for me) great. Not that my sales numbers are staggering, but I’m really pleased. I trust readers more than I trust rule makers. So perhaps my distaste for conforming is paying off.

Now, the publishing industry will tell you a different story. They will tell you that unique does not sell. They want more and more of what they know (or think they know) pulls in huge sales. Not one of the big publishing houses wanted to publish Flat-Out Love. Editors loved it and threw tons of compliments my way, but they all insisted that it wouldn’t sell. I was told repeatedly that “realistic fiction” had taken a dive in the YA market (meaning that I had no vampires, etc. in the book), and that my eighteen-year-old heroine was categorically too old for the market. I thought that both of those things were ridiculous. However, I was well aware when I outlined this book that that eighteen would be considered an “unusual” age by industry standards. But I ignored that standard. The NY publishing industry is dictating what plots and characters should be. I’m just not interested in playing that game.

My character, Julie, needed to be a freshman in college for the story to work. It’s not a high school story. She is at an age when so many changes are going on in her life and it’s really a pivotal time in terms of transitioning to adulthood, navigating romantic relationships, etc. And I refused to budge. It’s a unique story, and it worked the way it was.

I ignored a bunch of rules with Relatively Famous, too. It’s the story of a high school girl, Dani, who finds out that her father, Mark, is a B-list Hollywood action star, and she spends the summer with him in L.A. Yes, I did include a bunch of fun, over-the-top parties and some of the glitz and glamour that one would expect, but I also did a lot of things differently. It’s really about the relationship between Dani and Mark, and how the two navigate the really complicated transitional process of becoming father and daughter. Also, about one-third of the story is told from Mark’s perspective, a storytelling angle that might not be that popular among writers (er, or publishers). But I thought it was really important that readers witness what the father’s experience was, otherwise the story is a totally one-sided account from Dani’s viewpoint. Mark goes through so many changes during the course of the book, and so it adds an important layer of depth that would be otherwise be missing. YA readers are not stupid, and they can be trusted to appreciate an adult’s life.

So my approach to writing? Ignore rules; ignore what I think I’m supposed to do. And I try to tell a good story and trust that my audience will be there for me if I do that. Within that framework, I’ve learned that the more that I allow myself to be vulnerable, to put my heart and emotion into my writing, the more readers connect with the characters. It feels more risky to do that because if I do that and get hateful, scathing reviews, it’ll certainly hurt more! But the payoff is worth it. Nothing means more to me than to hear from a reader that she was up all night because she couldn’t wait to see what happened, or to hear that I made someone laugh, or cry, or feel something. So I’ll lay my heart out there again with the next book. Willingly.

Thanks so much for stopping by Jessica. I loved reading your book and I have to admit I am curious to read your short estory on Facebooking Rick Springfield. I am a huge fan of his.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jessica Park is the author of the young adult novel RELATIVELY FAMOUS, five Gourmet Girl mysteries (written as Jessica Conant-Park) and the e-shorts FACEBOOKING RICK SPRINGFIELD and WHAT THE KID SAYS (Parts 1 & 2). She grew up in the Boston area and then went to Macalester College in frigid St. Paul, Minnesota. During her freshman year, there was a blizzard on Halloween, and she decided that she was not cut out for such torture. So she moved back to the east coast where, she’d forgotten, it still snows. Oops. She now lives in New Hampshire with her husband, son, bananas dog named Fritzy, and two selfish cats. When not writing, she is probably on Facebook , pining over 80s rock stars, or engaging in “Glee” activities. Or some combination of the three. Probably with a coffee in hand.

Other Ways to get in touch with Jessica:
Twitter: JessicaPark24
GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22159.Jessica_Park
http://flatoutlove.blogspot.com
http://yaauthorjessicapark.blogspot.com
http://whatthekidsays.blogspot.com

If you are interested in buying the book you can use either of these links:
For Kindle users and for Nook users.

I am super excited to have Michael D. Beil stop by Cindy’s Love of Books today. If you remember yesterday I reviewed his book The Mistaken Masterpiece.

Recently I was lucky enough to interview him. So without further hesitation please help me welcome Michael D. Beil.

Thanks so much for stopping by Michael and allowing me to interview you.

Why did you decide to write a series of detective books for girls?

I teach at a girls’ school in Manhattan, and the idea for the first book (which opens with Sophie looking out the classroom window and screaming) grew out of an actual incident. Before The Red Blazer Girls, I had written a couple of (unpublished) novels for adults, but my wife convinced me that my “voice” was a better fit for a younger audience. She was right, of course. The detective part came out of my own love of mysteries – everything from Encyclopedia Brown to Sherlock Holmes to Kurt Wallender.

Are you currently working on anything new? If so anything you can share with the readers?

At the moment, I’m working on the fourth Red Blazer Girls book, set during the two weeks before Christmas. I’m also very excited about the non-Red Blazer Girls book that’s in copy editing as I write this. It’s more of a coming of age/adventure story about a boy who spends his summer vacation at the lake where his dad spent his summers. He learns a little about himself, about his dad, and about life. I would tell you the title, but my editor and I still haven’t settled on the final final title. I can tell you that the working title was The Seaweed Strangler, which is the name of the movie the protagonist is making . . . which also happens to be the name of the movie I made when I was 12.

What was your favorite part of The Mistaken Masterpiece?

That’s a tough one. The big “switcheroo” scene at the end was a lot of fun, and putting those crazy words in Prunella’s big mouth was a total blast, but I would probably choose the scene where Sophie and Livvy are stuck in the elevator. That was one of those rare scenes that worked out just the way I’d imagined it back in the outlining phase.

What would be one thing you would want a reader to take away from your book?

One word:

What would be the one book and movie you would recommend that one has to read and watch?

I know it’s the pat answer, but I think everyone should read To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus Finch is one of the greatest characters (and human beings) in all of literature. Since I picked an “old” book, I’ll go with new movie: Super 8, which is in theaters right now. It’s the first “big” movie since The Lord of the Rings that I really enjoyed. I just love the way it portrays the excitement, innocence, hopefulness, and anything-is-possible-ness of youth.

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my all time favorite books. I remember having to read it in high school and I feel in love with the book. I ended up buying my own copy. If you were stranded on a deserted island what would be the top three must haves you would want?

A copy of Great Expectations, my cello (I’m guessing that I’d have time to practice as much as I should), and a fountain pen and a mountain of paper.

I have never read Great Expectations but I am thinking I will have to pick it up one day soon to read. I am going to NYC again next year and what would be your top three things to see and do would you say I should see and do?

If you’re a dog person like me, I recommend a stroll through Central Park early in the morning. Before 9:00, dogs are permitted to be off-leash, and you will be amazed at how many dogs live in Manhattan – and how well they get along. Usually. If you’re really ambitious, walk up to the Conservatory Garden and find the Secret Garden statue from the final scene in The Mistaken Masterpiece.

And even if you’re not an art lover, you have to go to the Metropolitan Museum. (You can go right after your walk in the park!) Every time I go, it’s all I can do to keep myself from walking out with a Winslow Homer tucked under my arm.

Finally, find a “real New York” restaurant (away from the Midtown hotels) where the tables are so close you have no choice but to have a conversation with your neighbors. That’s a quintessential New York experience!

Michael. I didn’t make it to Central Park last year but that is on my to see
list along with the museum next year. I have seen pictures of Central Park and I
just love them. Now I will have to go and visit the Secret Garden.

About Michael D. Beil:
He grew up in Andover, Ohio (pop. 1200), where he learned to sail, milk cows, tell the difference between hay and straw, and many other important lessons. He worked as a sailmaker and lawyer before finding his true calling in 1997: Teacher. Since 2001, he has taught English and drama at an all-girls Catholic high school in Manhattan, where he also wrote and produced Aftershocks, a play based on the challenges facing the immigrant families of some of his students. He lives in Manhattan with his wife Laura, dogs Isabel and Maggie, and cats Cyril and Emma.

When he is indoors, he loves cooking (anything French, especially!), playing the cello (not nearly as well as he’d like), and sinking his teeth into a really great book. Outdoors, he loves skiing, sailing, and hiking and camping.

You can find out more about Michael D. Beil by visiting his site.

Thanks so much again Michael for stopping by and allowing me to pick your brain. I know I stumped you on one of my interview questions. It was a pleasure to read and review your book and I am looking forward to reading your other books.

Give Away Time

I have to thank Knopf and Diane for allowing me to give away a copy of Michael’s latest book

Due to the current Canadian postal lockout I will have to allow this contest to be US only since nothing is coming into Canada.

The only thing that I require is that you have a valid mailing address (no PO Boxes) because the sponsor is shipping the book, not me. Please leave me a comment with a way to contact you and please note that you will have 48 hours to reply back to my email with your mailing address. Failure to do so will result in me picking another winner.

Title: Heart of the Highland Wolf
Author: Terry Spears
Pub Date; June 2011
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Today on Cindy’s Love of Books I am very honored once again to have the amazing Terry Spears stop by for a interview.

If you know me and this blog you will know I don’t read very much romance, the exception to this rule is Terry Spears. I absolutely love her books and I am so happy that I discovered them two years ago.

I want to thank Danielle at Sourcebooks for arranging this interview for me and for Terry taking the time out of her very busy schedule to this interview with me.

Here is the link for my previous interview with Terry Spears.

What would the reader be surprised to discover about Heart of the Highland Wolf that they might not know about?

TS: I’ve read about a lot of castles in Europe, and one that stuck in my mind was where a king had the hidden entrance to his chamber sealed off because he would lose his golf balls down there. When an assassination attempt was made on his life, he tried to escape through the secret tunnel, but he realized too late that he couldn’t and was murdered. But there are several stories about the use of secret tunnels, even one where the tunnels were used during WWI, I believe, at one of the castles. So when I wrote Heart of the Highland Wolf, I wanted to have full use of a secret tunnel. 🙂

If your main characters Ian and Julia had a theme song what would it be and why?

TS: It would be anything Celtic. I watched River Dance in Las Vegas and it was awe-inspiring.

As I was reading Heart of the Highland Wolf I discovered that you mention Prince Edward Island in the book (I’m from Canada!) was there was a reason behind that?

TS: We may be related! Never know! The MacNeills settled there. The duke of Argyll’s daughter married a commoner MacNeill and she and he paid for passage to the Carolinas. The captain of the ship was the brother of the man who owned land in PEI and desperately needed settlers to keep the land. So he diverted his passengers to PEI. The ship landed, wrecked, there, and Lady Elizabeth died because of the harsh conditions. But she and Malcolm MacNeill had two sons and a very young daughter, and we descended from the youngest son. So my mother’s family on her mother’s side had settled in PEI, then moved to Ontario and then onto Manitoba. My mother was born in Alberta. 🙂

You never know about us being related. LOL When you’re not writing your own books, what do you read? Current read? Favorite read?

TS: I read everything from true stories to fantasy and romance, time travels and historical romance. Right now I’m listening to Amanda Quick latest audiobook. I love all her books.

I have never read anything by Amanda Quick. I think I might have to pick up something of hers and read it. Are you working on anything currently? If so are you able to share with us?

TS: I’m always working on something “currently!” Right now it’s Heart of the Jaguar, the first of the three jaguar stories contracted with Sourcebooks Casablanca. So it’s been hot and steamy in the jungle and other locations. Did you know jaguar shifters can be as hot as wolf shifters?

I did not know that but after hearing about jaguar shifters I am dying to read about it. I was super excited to read that Sourcebooks bought five more books from you, what was getting that news like?

TS: Oooh, 6, Cindy! 🙂 Three more wolf books, and three new jaguar books. I was in shock! I had pitched the blurbs for the three wolf books, then my editor, Deb, asked if I had a new idea to pitch. So I came up with the general idea of a jaguar shifter series and she pitched both to the staff. I thought she wasn’t pitching the wolf stories and was disappointed. But when she came back with an offer to buy all six stories, I was totally in shock! She probably wondered why I didn’t act more excited. I was in shock! 🙂 Truly. But of course in a very good way!

Terry I am so sorry, I misread that. I am super excited to hear that it will be six books. If you could have dinner with any of your characters from any of your books who would it be and why?

TS: Well, I can’t help it, but a Highlander in a kilt. Actually, I wouldn’t mind having dinner with the whole clan!!! In kilts. 🙂

I would love to be invite to that dinner. How much research went into Heart of the Highland Wolf?

TS: I always do a lot of research—in this case about the area, weather for that time of year, flora and fauna in the area, talked with lots of people who either visit Scotland on a regular basis or live there. There’s a scene where they remove their shirts to soak up the sun, and that came from one of our library patrons who said on a visit to Scotland, guys were resting on a grassy area, all with their shirts off. So the comments that were made in the story, were really made in real life. I actually visited several castles in Scotland, took the guided tours in some, marveled at the ruins in others. I always find the research fascinating and often in doing it, I pick up things I didn’t know to add to the story—like the sunbathing Scots. It’s just too much fun!

After reading Heart of the Highland Wolf I was suddenly wishing I was in Scotland. Thanks so much Terry for doing this interview with me. I love your books and I can’t wait to read your upcoming books. I truly appreciate the time you take out of your schedule do do these with me.

Thanks, Cindy! I love visiting with you and your readers! I just wish we could get together in person, and I could bring along some Highland hunks so that we could have a cup of tea together. Although they might add a little whiskey to theirs. 🙂 Thanks so much for loving my books and for having me here today!!

HEART OF THE HIGHLAND WOLF BY TERRY SPEAR – IN STORES JUNE 2011

Each holds a secret they can’t possibly overcome alone…

Julia Wildthorn is sneaking into Argent Castle to steal an ancient relic, but reluctant laird Ian MacNeill may be the key to unlocking the one answer she really wants discovered…

From brilliant storyteller Terry Spear, modern day werewolves meet the rugged Highlands of Scotland, where instinct meets tradition, and clan loyalties give a whole new meaning to danger…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry Spear has an MBA from Monmouth College. An eclectic writer with a PW Best Book of 2008 (Heart of the Wolf), she writes paranormal romance as well as historical and true life stories for both teen and adult audiences. Spear lives in Crawford, Texas. For more information, please visit

http://www.terryspear.com/

http://www.facebook.com/#!/terry.spear

https://twitter.com/#!/TerrySpear

http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/tspea

Check back tomorrow for my review of Heart of the Highland Wolf.

Today I am very honored to have Robert Rotenberg the author of Old City Hall and The Guilty Plea stop by for a little Question and Answer with me.

As I was sitting down to do my questions I quickly went over to Robert Rotenberg site to see what kind of questions I could ask him and loved his answers in his FAQ section.

So without further hestiation please welcome Robert to Cindy’s Love of Books.

Cindy: Being a struggling writer in the beginning how did it feel to finally get published?

Robert: Really impossible to put into words. The other day I walked into the Simon & Schuster office and the new book, The Guilty Plea had just arrived. It’s an overwhelming emotional moment. All the work, all the setbacks, all the people you miss who won’t be able to share it with you.

Cindy: I was reading on your site about this being a long series and that they can be read as standalones, do you have any ideas how long this series will be? Are you working on something now?



Robert: Book Three is due July 1, 2011. Book Four July 1, 2012. My goal is twenty books in twenty years. I mean it.

Cindy: I am so happy to hear that you are planning on having book three out this summer. Just in time for my summer vacation reading. How much of your everyday life as a criminal lawyer is in this book? I loved reading this book because it actually felt like I was a part of the book.

Robert: The number of calls and emails and demands on your time and emotions. The sleepless nights and court nightmares. My great friend Douglas Preston says: “only a criminal lawyer could have written that.”

I am thrilled you felt a part of the book. Boy that is really what I’m hoping for. In the second book, The Guilty Plea, the defense lawyer has to make the most difficult decision of all. Should he call his client to testify. It drove me nuts as I was writing, what should he do?????

Cindy: I think you did a fantastic job with the book and I am sure its soemthing that you struggle with all the time as a lawyer. If you could offer one piece of advice to a struggling writer what would it be and why?

Robert: Set your alarm for 5:00 a.m. Seven days a week. Twelve months a year. For twenty years. Why? This is work.

Cindy: I have to say I agree with you on this. When I was a student and just starting out I worked in a coffee shop and I had to get up at 5am and I agree that was work in itself. As you were writing The Guilty Plea what one thing stood out for you the most in the book and why?

Robert: The quandary of Samantha – the defendant. How to defend a client who is so…complex, challenging, difficult.

Then of course there’s Ari’s various struggles, Kennicott and Jo Summers on and off relationship, DiPaulo dealing with his children growing up, Raglan trying to stay in her marriage. And I’m wondering how Fernandez and his wife did on vacation in Chile, what Nancy Parish has been up to lately, and…well you’ll have to wait for Book Three.

Cindy: Robert I want to thank you for this chance to interview you. I truly appreciate you taking the time out of your very busy schedule to do this. As I know you are a very busy man especially now with all the book tours happening.

Robert: My pleasure. Now back to work.

If you haven’t already picked up Robert’s books you really need to.