Quick and Fun

Quick and fun questions, designed to introduce authors to readers.

  • Quick and Fun,  Romantic Comedy,  Small Town Romance

    Just Desserts and Other Stories by Vicki Batman @VickiBatman #RLFblog #romanticcomedy #sweetromance

    Just Desserts and Other Stories by Vicki Batman @VickiBatman #RLFblog #romanticcomedy #sweetromanceVicki Batman, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. I’m Kayelle Allen, author and owner of this blog. Happy to have you here! Please tell us about your book.

    Just Desserts…and Other Stories by Vicki Batman

    Genre: romantic comedy short story anthology
    Book heat level (based on movie ratings): PG
    Love blossoms in the small town of Sommerville in these clean and wholesome, heart-warming short tales, filled with fun and forever possibilities.
    Included are:
    Bug Stuff ~ An accountant unites with a co-worker to exterminate a pesky adversary.
    Just Desserts ~ A political dinner gone disastrous brings together a reluctant attendee and her handsome seat-mate.
    With This Ring ~ When a wife forgets the all-important little black dress, the evening turns into something utterly unforgettable.
    Good Girls Finish First ~ When men friends are challenged to fix breakfast if they lose a race, one woman leads the pack and discovers finishing first leads to romance.
    Ouch ~ Who knew a yoga class would be so dangerous…and romantic?
    Man Theory ~ When a geeky co-worker espouses his theory on love, a friend risks her heart.
    Tommy and the Teacher ~ A young boy steals from the school’s book fair causing interesting possibilities to arise.
    Absolutely Positively Lost ~ Helping a map-challenged young man find his way is truly serendipitous.
    The Little Birdie Who ~ A new town, a new friend, a new beginning. Who would have thought a little bird could bring two people together?
    Check Her Out ~ It’s a sticky situation, especially between a store manager and Auntie Caren when her nephew must pay for the gum he stole.
    This Is Not Working ~ One of those days at a new job when nothing is going right, and then the boss steps in.

    QUICK

    Do you write more than one genre? If so, what are they?
    Yes, I do! Humorous romantic mysteries and romantic comedy short stories.
    How do you come up with ideas
    ?
    With short stories, sometimes, people say things and my head goes bing! and the story takes off. It is so gratifying and fun when that happens. I did take a short story class early on and we were challenged to study a picture and create a story from it. It worked!
    What is the single most important part of writing for you?
    I love when the story is roughed and I can get to work to make it better. I’ll finesse until I’m sick of it.
    When did you write your first book
    ?
    I wrote my first book about fourteen years ago after a friend challenged me. Handsome was floored.

    FUN

    Leather or lace? Cotton, lolol
    Black or red? Wear black, love red
    Satin sheets or smooth cotton? Cotton
    Ocean or mountains? Mountains
    City life or country life? City life
    Party life or evening at home? Evening at home
    Dogs or cats? Both!

    Where to buy Just Desserts…and Other Stories

    Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Just-Desserts-Other-Short-Stories-ebook/dp/B07CT8XC5F/
    Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/just-desserts-and-other-short-stories-vicki-batman/1128592107
    Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/823338/

    Vicki Batman Social Media

    Vicki Batman has sold many romantic comedy works to magazines, several publishers, and most recently, two humorous romantic mysteries. Along the way she has garnered awards and bestsellers. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and several writing groups. An avid Jazzerciser. Handbag lover. Mahjong player. Yoga practitioner. Movie fan. Book devourer. Cat fancier. Best Mom ever. And adores Handsome Hubby. Most days begin with her hands set to the keyboard and thinking “What if??”
    Website: http://vickibatman.blogspot.com/p/more-about-me.html/
    Blog: http://www.vickibatman.blogspot.com/
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/VickiBatman/
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Vicki-Batman-sassy-writer-of-sexy-and-funny-fiction-133506590074451/
    Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/vickibatman/
    Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4814608.Vicki_Batman/
    Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/vickibatman/
    Newsletter: http://www.vickibatman.blogspot.com/

     

  • Quick and Fun,  Regency

    The Counterfeit Lady by Alina K Field @alinakfield #RLFblog #RegencyRomance

    The Counterfeit Lady by Alina K Field @alinakfield #RLFblog #RegencyRomanceAlina K Field, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. I’m Kayelle Allen, author and owner of this blog. Happy to have you here! Please tell us about your book.

    The Counterfeit Lady by Alina K Field

    Genre: Regency Romance
    Book heat level (based on movie ratings): R
    Freedom!
    Vowing she’ll never submit to an arranged marriage, an earl’s daughter bolts for the remote seaside cottage that should be hers upon marriage.
    But instead of a quiet respite from her controlling family, she finds her refuge occupied by the last man she ever wants to see again—an American artist, who’s also a thief.
    And quite possibly one of her father’s spies.
    This story includes a rebellious heroine, a determined spy, a meddling father, a vicious villain, a cast of free-thinking free-traders and possibly a ghost or two!

    QUICK

    Do you write more than one genre? If so, what are they?…
    I have a contemporary romance story published in the anthology, Romancing the Pages, plus several contemporary romance manuscripts on hold for when I someday move on from the nineteenth century!
    How do you come up with ideas?…
    I love to read nonfiction, especially biographies, diaries and memoirs of historical figures.
    What is the single most important part of writing for you?…
    Getting the motivation right for every character, every action, every bit of dialogue.
    When did you write your first book?…
    I started many, many stories over the years, but I never typed “the end” until 2009.

    FUN

    Leather or lace? Leather
    Black or red? Both!
    Satin sheets or smooth cotton? Smooth cotton
    Ocean or mountains? Mountains
    City life or country life? Both!
    Party life or evening at home? Evening at home, definitely!
    Dogs or cats? Both!

    Where to buy The Counterfeit Lady

    Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Counterfeit-Lady-Regency-Romance-Sons-ebook/dp/B07BJ39CVV
    Barnes and Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-counterfeit-lady-alina-k-field/1128249478
    iBooks https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-counterfeit-lady/id1361801023
    Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-counterfeit-lady-1
    Google https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Alina_K_Field_The_Counterfeit_Lady?id=yetTDwAAQBAJ

    Alina K Field Social Media

    Award winning author Alina K Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature, but her true passion is the much happier world of romance fiction. Though her roots are in the Midwestern U.S., after six very, very, very cold years in Chicago, she moved to Southern California and hasn’t looked back. She shares a midcentury home with her husband, her spunky, blonde, rescued terrier, and the blue-eyed cat who conned his way in for dinner one day and decided the food was too good to leave.
    She is the author of several Regency romances, including the 2014 Book Buyer’s Best winner, Rosalyn’s Ring. She is hard at work on her next series of Regency romances, but loves to hear from readers!
    Website https://alinakfield.com
    Blog https://alinakfield.com/blog
    Twitter https://twitter.com/AlinaKField
    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/alinakfield
    Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/alinakf/
    Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7173518.Alina_K_Field
    Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Alina-K.-Field/e/B00DZHWOKY/
    Newsletter https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/z6q6e3

     

  • Quick and Fun,  Regency

    King of Swords by Anna Durbin @TheAnnaDurbin #RLFblog #RegencyRomance

    Anna Durbin, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. I’m Kayelle Allen, author and owner of this blog. Happy to have you here! Please tell us about your book.

    King of Swords by Anna Durbin

    Genre Romance
    Book heat level (based on movie ratings): R
    A fiercely independent spinster who desperately needs assistance…
    Lady Cassandra Gardner will inherit fifty thousand pounds when she turns thirty—and just in time. She has a special purpose for her money, one no man could understand. But when her brother the duke tries to cheat her out of her fortune, she has no choice but to accept the help of the man who shattered her heart years ago.
    A gallant nobleman who can’t resist rescuing a damsel in distress…
    Lord William Poniard is looking for a wife, but the last woman he should consider marrying is his archenemy’s sister, the woman who hates him with a vengeance. Yet, when she is compromised by her brother’s nefarious scheme, he sees an opportunity not only to rescue the lady by marrying her but also to exact revenge on the duke for his past betrayal.
    Will she accept his offer of help and at what cost?
    Despite the long-standing animosity between Cassandra and William, sparks fly when their attraction to one another ignites into a passion neither saw coming. Will one night of rapture unite them or drive them apart? Can she forget past wounds and let him back into her heart? And can he convince her that she is the only woman he wants?

    QUICK

    Do you write more than one genre? If so, what are they?…
    Right now, I only write in the romance genre, and specifically, the Regency romance sub-genre, but I have written other stories outside Regency romance.
    How do you come up with ideas?…
    Most of my ideas come to me as “what ifs.” For instance, what would happen if you put this woman with this man in this time period under these circumstances? For my Kings of the Tarot series, I created each of the heroes to represent a king card in the tarot deck and the heroines to represent the corresponding queen.
    What is the single most important part of writing for you?…
    The single most important part of writing for me is that it allows me an outlet to express my creativity. Though I like the work I do in my real world job, it is, quite frankly, dry and boring with absolutely no opportunity to be creative. I have fun in world-building and creating plots and scenes and characters with my writing.
    When did you write your first book?…
    I wrote my first book when was 8 or 9. It was a story about a girl who discovers that the guy she thinks is her brother is actually a space alien. The first book I wrote as an adult was a ghost story that falls more under the umbrella of Women’s Fiction than paranormal or romance, although there is a strong romantic element running through it.

    FUN

    Leather or lace? Lace
    Black or red? Black
    Satin sheets or smooth cotton? Cotton
    Ocean or mountains? Ocean
    City life or country life? Country
    Party life or evening at home? Evening at home
    Dogs or cats? Both—but I only have a cat these days.

    Where to buy King of Swords

    Amazon https://www.amazon.com/King-Swords-Kings-Tarot-Book-ebook/dp/B072KFYXQV/

    Anna Durbin Social Media

    Anna Durbin is the author of charming tales of the Beau Monde. Having grown up reading sagas of chivalry and romance, she began crafting her own elaborate stories in her imagination at a young age. It was only natural that she would one day write them down. Her first novel, King of Swords, was a 2012 Golden Heart® finalist.
    Despite years of study in the biological and physical sciences, her true love has always been the literary arts. Inspired by her favorite author, Jane Austen, Anna adores the Regency Era and writes period pieces set during that time that show love conquering adversity. Oddly, for all her love of science and history, she is a faithful devotee of the New Age. She discovered tarot cards in a New Age shop in Minneapolis during a high school class trip one year and has been enchanted with them ever since. She enjoys weaving the symbolism of the tarot deck into her storylines.
    Anna has lived in ten different states throughout her lifetime, from California to New Jersey. A Midwesterner at heart, she was born in Kansas and raised in Iowa. Currently, she lives in Wisconsin with her husband and works as a technician for local government.
    Website https://annadurbinauthor.com/
    Twitter https://twitter.com/TheAnnaDurbin
    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AnnaDurbinAuthor/
    Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16946965.Anna_Durbin
    Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Anna-Durbin/e/B072N25NR4/

     

  • Quick and Fun,  Suspense

    Hidden Danger by Jennifer Pierce @JennPierce82 #RLFblog #RomanticSuspense

    Jennifer Pierce, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. I’m Kayelle Allen, author and owner of this blog. Happy to have you here! Please tell us about your book.

    Hidden Danger by Jennifer Pierce

    Genre Inspirational Romantic Suspense
    Book heat level (based on movie ratings): G
    All Maggie Jones wants to do is sell her late father’s property and get out of Whitehaven, Texas as fast as possible—before she runs into the one man she’s spent the past six years avoiding. Someone has other plans for her, though. Sinister plans. And when a seemingly harmless act of vandalism turns into a series of menacing threats, she has no choice but to turn to last person on earth she wants to see for help.
    Sheriff Cody Smith never expected to see Maggie again, especially after he’d broken her heart all those years ago. Maybe this is the second chance he’s always wanted. But when he realizes Maggie’s in grave danger, he intends to keep her safe at all costs. With lines from an old nursery rhyme as their only clue, he needs to find out who’s behind this deadly game before the rhyme ends and Maggie’s time runs out. Can he protect her, catch the bad guy, and make amends for past wrongs? Or will old wounds get in the way?

    QUICK

    Do you write more than one genre? If so, what are they?
    Officially, no. I have two contracts for romantic suspense books. I do have a couple plain romance ones started and an idea for a science fiction type.
    How do you come up with ideas?
    They just pop in my head. Hidden Danger started with a small scene, the part where Maggie sees Cody again after running from town. The story developed from there.
    What is the single most important part of writing for you?
    Telling a story and making my characters real and relatable.
    When did you write your first book?
    Hidden Danger is my first book. Unless you count the children’s book I had to write in the 6th grade for an assignment.

    FUN

    Leather or lace? Lace
    Black or red? Black
    Satin sheets or smooth cotton? Smooth cotton
    Ocean or mountains? Ocean
    City life or country life? Country life
    Party life or evening at home? Evening at home
    Dogs or cats? Dogs

    Where to buy Hidden Danger

    Publisher Anaiah Press
    Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07937X2SX/

    Jennifer Pierce Social Media

    Jennifer Pierce currently lives in Arkansas with her husband and two children. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and River Valley Writers, where she serves as secretary.
    Blog https://lovereadwriterepeat.wordpress.com
    Twitter https://twitter.com/JennPierce82
    Facebook https://facebook.com/JenniferPierceauthor
    Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Jennifer-Pierce/e/B0794R6C1J/

     

  • Quick and Fun,  Sports

    Home on Anna Maria Island by Elley Arden @elleywrites #RLFblog #sportsromance

    Elley Arden, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. I’m Kayelle Allen, author and owner of this blog. Happy to have you here! Please tell us about your book.

    Home on Anna Maria Island by Elley Arden

    Home on Anna Maria Island by Elley Arden @elleywrites #RLFblog #sportsromanceGenre Sports Romance
    Book heat level (based on movie ratings): R
    Pittsburgh Privateers third baseman Gavin Sullivan is home on Anna Maria Island with a lot on his mind: his mother’s recent battle with breast cancer and, now, the surprising news his oldest brother, Colby, is a twin. Gavin has a sister he’s never met, and worse, he’s sworn to secrecy while his parents try to find her. Is it any wonder he shows up to spring training thirty pounds heavier than last season? Armed with a complicated diet and a warning from Coach Zee, Gavin feels wrecked, until he finds a half-naked goddess on his parents’ stretch of beach. Funny how the body that has been making him feel so miserable lately suddenly has him flying high.
    Curve model Emerson Raye wants to prove the naysayers back home in West Virginia wrong. Big is beautiful, too. All she has to do is land a spot in the Sports Unlimited Swimsuit Edition by convincing America to vote for her. When pro athlete Gavin Sullivan stumbles onto her oceanfront photo shoot and asks her out for drinks, Emerson and her assistant concoct a plan to leak photos of the date to the media and create the vote-getting buzz Emerson needs. Soon, Emerson realizes there’s more to Gavin than meets the eye, and their temporary, no-strings relationship heats up. But can something lasting survive under harsh media scrutiny when secrets threaten to sabotage everything?

    QUICK

    Do you write more than one genre? If so, what are they?…
    I write strictly contemporary romance but not always sports romance. One of my most popular series is a small-town romance.
    How do you come up with ideas?…
    I get ideas from everywhere: dreams, news, real-life experiences, and even music. I’ve been daydreaming stories to music since I was a little kid.
    What is the single most important part of writing for you?…
    The single most important part of writing for me is purveying hope. I believe there is always a happy ending, whether we recognize it or not. If I can give my readers a reason to feel good or a way to escape into a happy bubble for however long they are reading, then I feel like I’ve done what I’ve been put on this earth to do.
    When did you write your first book?…
    I wrote my first book more than fifteen years ago, but it remains unpublished because it’s not very good. It was a sports romance (baseball), and I wrote it in the basement playroom while I monitored my little boys, who were shooting hockey pucks off the cement-block walls. It was just a way for me to pass the time back then. I’m not sure I ever would’ve believed I would have actually published romance novels fifteen years later. I love that about life.

    FUN

    Leather or lace? Lace
    Black or red? Red
    Satin sheets or smooth cotton? Smooth cotton
    Ocean or mountains? Ocean
    City life or country life? City life
    Party life or evening at home? Party life
    Dogs or cats? Both. (I have both!)

    Where to buy Home on Anna Maria Island

    Amazon http://a.co/b0lFdQp
    Barnes and Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lost-on-anna-maria-island-kristina-knight/1127803791
    iBooks https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1336209575
    Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/lost-on-anna-maria-island-1

    Elley Arden Social Media

    Elley Arden is the author of the groundbreaking and critically acclaimed Cleveland Clash series. She previously worked for The Walt Disney Company and spent over a decade as a non-fiction writer and editor. When she’s not writing, Elley can be found reading, watching sports, redecorating her house, or kicking her husband’s butt in Words With Friends. She lives in Pennsylvania with her high school sweetheart and their three crazy (in a good way) kids.
    Website http://www.elleyarden.com
    Twitter https://twitter.com/elleywrites
    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ElleyArdenAuthor/
    Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Elley-Arden/e/B00BSDUBWK/
    Newsletter http://www.elleyarden.com/sign-up-for-elleys-newsletter-list/

  • Quick and Fun,  Shapeshifter

    Drakon’s Past by NJ Walters @njwaltersauthor #RLFblog #PNR

    NJ Walters, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. I’m Kayelle Allen, author and owner of this blog. I’d like to get to know you better. After we talk, I’ll ask for your bio and social media. Let’s jump in to a Quick and Fun answer session.

    QUICK

    Drakon's Past by NJ Walters @njwaltersauthor #RLFblog #PNRDo you write more than one genre? If so, what are they?
    I write romance, but have written in many sub-genres. These days it’s primarily paranormal romance with the occasional contemporary thrown in. I can’t get enough werewolves, shifters, and vampires.
    How do you come up with ideas?
    Ideas come from everywhere–TV shows, magazine articles, snippets of overheard conversation, non-fiction books, songs. There is no end to possibilities. It’s all in the combination of the ideas.
    For example, my Hades’ Carnival series all started with an online quiz about carnival rides. I was a carousel. *g* No surprise there. But it got me to thinking about the carousel animals. What if they were real? How did they get there? Were they cursed? How can they escape? What will happen to them when they do? I was hooked and the Hades’ Carnival series was born.
    What is the single most important part of writing for you?
    The characters. I’m not a plotter when I write so for me it’s all about the characters. I write mini bios for them, getting to know them better before I start to write. What do they want? What motivates them? What do they like or dislike? What makes them who they are? Once I know that, the story tends to evolve organically. As soon as I have the first scene locked down in my head, I start to write and let the story unfold from there.
    When did you write your first book?
    I wrote my first book back in 1995-96. I’d always been a voracious reader. At the time, I was unemployed for a short while and decided to try my hand at writing. I wrote 2 books and submitted them to a couple of publishers, but they were rejected. I put the books away and didn’t start writing again until 2003. I wrote a short novel and submitted it to one of the early e-publishers and had it accepted. Annabelle Lee was released in October of 2004 (it’s since been rereleased as Uncovering Annabelle).
    And the two books I wrote back in the 1990s…they were rewritten and Discovering Dani and The Way Home became the first two books of my Jamesville series.

    FUN

    Leather or lace? Leather
    Black or red? Black
    Satin sheets or smooth cotton? Smooth cotton
    Ocean or mountains? Ocean
    City life or country life? Country life
    Party life or evening at home? Evening at home
    Dogs or cats? Dogs
    Tell us about Drakon’s Past
    Constance Owens has a gift for finding unique items in the most unlikely places, which comes in handy since she buys and sells artifacts and antiques for a living. When she purchases a set of four dragon statues, she has no idea just how unique they are, or that finding them will thrust her into a world of secret societies, men who think nothing of kidnapping and murder to get what they want, and dragon shifters.
    Nic hasn’t survived for four thousand years by letting his guard down, and he doesn’t trust anyone except his drakon brothers. The loneliness haunting him has been getting worse since all his brothers have found their mates. And when he finds the woman his drakon recognizes instantly as his fated mate, he doubts he’ll ever have what his brothers have, because it seems she’s involved with the secret society of hunters who have been hunting and capturing his kind for hundreds of years.
    Genre PNR
    Book heat level (based on movie ratings): R

    Where to find Drakon’s Past

    Publisher https://entangledpublishing.com/drakon-s-past.html
    Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0786R7LSM/
    Barnes and Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/drakons-past-nj-walters/1127620047
    iBooks https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/drakons-past/id1324091386
    Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/drakon-s-past

    NJ Walters Social Media

    NJ Walters is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.
    Website http://www.njwalters.com
    Blog http://njwalters.blogspot.ca/
    Twitter https://twitter.com/njwaltersauthor
    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/NJWaltersAuthor
    Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/NJWalters
    Amazon Author Page http://www.amazon.com/author/njwalters
    Newsletter https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/awakeningdesires/info