Why Do We Love Historical Romances? by Deanna Jewel

 

Why Do We Love Historical Romances?

By Deanna Jewel

Romance Author

     This genre pulled me in as a teenager and I’ve never quit reading them. My favorites are those set in England before the 1800s that show me the life of aristocrats at those wonderful balls where ladies of the ton are escorted by handsome, titled men. I know I’m not the only reader taken in by the intrigue at court with the kings and queens, as well as the love of castles, ships, pirates and royalty.

     This leads me to the reason I wrote No Turning Back! As an author, I wanted to take my reader inside those castle walls or aboard that ship fighting the pirates. All of that is created in the book and readers will be taken back to 1778 to meet my characters and their enemies! The theme in my books seems to be finding love a second time when many go into depression assuming they’ll never fall in love with another person after losing their soul mate. I hope my books change that thought for many readers and that they also fall in love with my characters. Below is a blurb from my historical set in England in 1778…the book is also on sale now for .99!

     I’m also doing a contest at the end so be sure to enter both!

Blurb from No Turning Back:

     While avenging the death of his fiancé years earlier, Nathan learns that he can love again but is he willing to chance another broken heart? Will the woman he wants also learn to love again?

     Vanessa is heartbroken over recent events in her life; she’s also headstrong, flaunts London aristocracy and takes on breeding horses, something unheard of in the society circles of London. She finds herself trying to put the pieces of her life back together, but can she do it alone? With a child on the way, she is forced to do just that - their future depends on her strength. Then a friend offers to help. Dare she trust a man sworn to carry out a vow taken on a death bed? She refuses to accept that his love is true when his honor of sticking to his word is also at stake.

Lyn:  Now let’s meet the author and get to know her book. Deanna, welcome to my blog and thank you for being here with us today.

      In No Turning Back, readers will feel an emotional pull toward Nathan because you have drawn such a good character, strong and full of emotion. I know as an author there are techniques on how to draw a character that we can feel, and not a cardboard character. Would you mind telling us what you did?

Deanna:  Thank you for having me here today, Lyn. Creating Nathan was a pure pleasure. I gave him attributes that I like in men and he respects women like he would respect his mother.

 I wanted a man who had felt love before; one who would know what and who he was looking for when he found her. Nathan already knew the qualities he wanted in his woman that would make his heart skip each time he glanced at her or held her in his arms. He wanted a woman to spend the rest of his life with, to watch his children grow up with, and to fall deeper in love with as each day passed. Ok, that’s plenty……he just gets me carried away!

Lyn:  Let’s discuss Vanessa, the heroine. Did she speak to you, or was she difficult to reach. Did you ever reach to that stage where a character refuses to talk to you?

Deanna:  Vanessa was not as easy to write as Nathan was. I did have a hard time figuring out just who Vanessa was. I knew who I wanted her to be, but it’s a bit more involved than that. *smile* 

      I wanted to create a woman who knew what she wanted in life and wasn’t afraid to go after it, to take chances, not caring what others might have to say about her. Vanessa is a risk taker and determination is what drives her. She wasn’t prepared for falling in love with Nathan at all. She already had feelings for her childhood sweetheart.

     When I wrote her into Whispers at Ghost Point, she made sure I knew right away what she wanted! That book was so much fun! So was the book trailer but I love creating those. They can all be watched on my website.

Lyn:  When I love a character and feel him/her, I really feel that the author loved that character and poured all her efforts in to make the character that he/she is. Is that true and was Nathan it? I have a feeling Nathan is coming back but don’t know how lol.

Deanna:  I wrote No Turning Back many years ago but didn’t really have a picture in my mind of how he looked until I found the photo of a young man who just jumped off my computer screen at me. I knew immediately he was Nathan and his photo is on the cover and my website. I was a bit surprised to find out he actually lives in London so to find a character that fit the bill AND lives where my story takes place just blew me away. Once I’d found the picture of Nathan, adding to his character was so easy to do. I won’t say anymore, it’ll spoil it for the readers. I’m still waiting for him to answer my email though…I know he’s read the email I sent him, he just hasn’t decided to reply yet…but one day he will.

Lyn:  It was wonderful to read about the London’s aristocratic society, and I enjoyed how detailed you were in describing the life. What research did you do and what was the best information that you found and said “This piece of info is perfect for my story?

Deanna:  I did so much research for this book because I wanted the city just right. I’m sure there are still items that might not be exactly correct but I tried my darnedest to get it right. I’m not a horse person but was lucky enough to meet a woman online who IS a horsewoman and she helped me immensely in getting that part of the book correct. I gave her credit for that in my dedication.

Lyn:  Tell us about the inside information of your next novel, Whispers at Ghost Point. We like to hear sexy stuff !

Deanna:  Well, I can’t write a romance without those warm sensuous sex scenes now can I! I’m bringing back Nathan and Vanessa in my next novel, but 100 or so years into the future from where they were and an ocean away! In No Turning Back, I never stated that he shipped items to the colonies because I just assumed the reader would know that it could happen. In my upcoming novel, Whispers at Ghost Point, the readers will recognize the characters and it isn’t necessary to read NTB to enjoy Whispers. I’ll let them figure out who the ghost in the lighthouse is!

      
 I won’t spoil things any further than that, just know it will be worth reading to find out how things work out. Can a ghost from Dana’s past ruin her future?

   
I also have to start work on the sequel to my Native American time travel, Never Surrender. Readers write me to find out when that might happen. I’ll be starting the sequel as soon as Whispers is out. I haven’t even begun to figure out a plot for that one! Just know that it will happen.

Lyn:  Thank you, Deanna, for being here with us; we’re wishing you the best of success. Hope to see more of your news. Until then, take care all and I hope you enjoyed this interview with author Deanna Jewel.

Deanna:  Lyn, thanks so much for allowing me this time with your readers. I do appreciate it. I hope they hop over to my website and surf around. There is a lot to do and several other links to visit. They can also sign up for my newsletter! I pick one winner a month from my newsletter subscribers and one from my blog followers.

Find me here:

My Blog Site

My Website

Read Chapter 1 of each book HERE

CONTESTS:  Get your entry into both contests below. My book tour contest winner will be picked on Dec 10^th - click that link below the banner and also click the Rafflecopter contest to be in the drawing for a $10 gift card - earn more entries by Tweeting and sharing. Thank you all for stopping in!

Click HERE to enter then choose the Whispers Tour Contest

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

if Rafflecopter doesn't load for you to enter the $10 GC contest, pls click HERE.










  'STARQUEST'    'CHILDREN OF THE MIST'  (The sequel to Starquest)  Dancing With Fate      'Freeread':'A BARGAIN WITH DEATH

                               Also available on Kindle

Interview with D Renee Bagley

Today my very special guest is D Renee Bagbee.

Good morning Renee, welcome to my blog, please tell us a little about yourself.

DRB: I am an Air Force brat turned Air Force wife—married 7 years with two cats. The last born of three children, all of us Capricorns. As a military kid, I have traveled all over the world. I was born in the Netherlands, spent a few years in Japan, and then moved back to the states where I traveled up and down the southern East coast.

I love writing, reading manga and comics, watching most anything with vampires in it (True Blood WOOT!), and collecting random things that appeal to me at the time. I think my current obsession is cover flats but staple is manga. I’m convinced I’m one of the main reasons DMP is staying afloat since I buy ever book in their June collection as fast they publish them. Did I mention I’m a boy’s love junkie?

HL: Well you certainly find plenty to fill your time, Renee! LOL. Tell us a little more about yourself and your writing - oh and is there a reason why you use your second name?

DRB: My full name is D. Renee Bagby - I go by Renee because most people butcher my first name. I also write under Zenobia Renquist. My specialty is black heroines with non-black heroes in fantastical situations. I’m a world builder who loves torturing her characters on the way to happily ever after. I’m currently published with Samhain Publishing and Red Rose Publishing and I hope to add a few more publishers under my belt in the months to come.

HL: What comes first: the plot or the characters?

DRB: Definitely the characters. Actually, with me, most of the time the argument comes first. I will have a hero and heroine going at it in my head, out of the blue, and then I have to figure out who they are, what they’re arguing about, and how it led to the argument.


HL: Tell us about your latest release and what you think readers will enjoy about it (Here are a few details first)

Acknowledging Meirion by Zenobia Renquist
Red Rose Publishing
Science Fiction Interracial/Multicultural Romance (Mainstream)
Available in eBook and Print
Learn More: http://dreneebagby.com/ZR_Books_Meirion.html

DRB: This is my second book written under my alter ego. I wanted to write about a reality show that had a nature television twist. What did I come up with? An alien culture observing humans much the same way humans observe animals in the Sahara. It’s the most watched nature show in the universe and the star of the show just wants to be left alone.

Meirion is one of the few humans chosen to be observed. It’s not a bad gig except she has absolutely no privacy (unless she’s on the toilet), but the silver lining is that her cameramen are pretty too, especially Kiar. She’d love to get to know him better but his company has a strict no acknowledgment policy. He could lose his job and be sent back to his home planet if he breaks it. That doesn’t deter Meirion from trying. It’s a test of wills and neither Meirion nor Kiar wants to lose.

EXCERPT: (PG RATING)

The clock signaled time and he teleported.

Meirion stood in her bedroom with Eiliv and Niets watching her.

“Why are you here, Niets?” Kiar asked. Keeping the surprise off his face was a monumental task but he did it. He also kept his gaze on Meirion. She didn’t look angry, only determined.

“Based on a hunch, Eiliv summoned me. Meirion hasn’t protested my presence, so here I stay,” Niets answered.

Eiliv said, “For the first time, all three of us will be needed.”

“You know what she has planned then? I didn’t see anything on the footage.”

“I can guess and so can you. The superiors agree or they would have called Niets back.”

“Nothing will happen. Niets’s presence isn’t needed.”

“Are you three done talking?” Meirion asked. “I know you’re talking. Now, at least. I’m grateful I met Jor. He cleared up a lot. Not as much as I needed, but I can always email him later.” She looked at pointedly at Kiar. “Or I can ask you?”

She would have to email Jor, because he wouldn’t speak.

“We can do this the easy way, Kiar, or we can do this the hard way. It’s up to you. Just talk to me.” Her voice was pleading as she said the last.

He wouldn’t be swayed. Meirion may love him but that love was without understanding. She wouldn’t ask this of him if she did.

“Talk to her,” Niets said.

Eiliv said, “I agree. Even you are taking this too far. There are other options.”
“Not for me,” Kiar said in a growling voice.

Meirion stalked over to him and grabbed his hand. “Fine. If you want to be stubborn, we’ll do it your way. Just remember, I gave you the option.”

She pulled him over to the bed. Subjecting him to another round of masturbation, while torturous, was bearable. He had worried over nothing.

“Last chance, Kiar. Say something.”

“Don’t let her do whatever she has planned, Kiar,” Eiliv said.

Kiar ignored him and continued performing his duty, as he should.

Meirion rolled her eyes then shoved him hard. He fell back onto the bed, unable to stop himself because of the unpredictability of her action. She snapped a handcuff onto his wrist and then connected it to the bedpost.

“I love you, damn it, and some feeling—women’s intuition, gut reaction, whatever—says you love me, too. I’m going to make you admit it whether you like it or not.”

She undid his pants. Kiar knew he’d like whatever she did. He was already hard. But, he wouldn’t relent… he hoped.


HL: Powerful stuff Renee. So, have you a favourite actor/hunk?

DRB: Vin Diesel!!! You gotta love a man who can kickass and take names the way he does. I loved him in Chronicles of Riddick. I will watch that man in anything and doing anything—including reading the phone book. :P

HL: LOL! And here he is:

(There is a long pause for Renee and countles of Vin's fans to indulge themselves in drooling.)

HL: OK Renee, if you can bear to tear your eyes away from Vin, what have you learned about writing since you were published that surprised you the most?

DRB: I have to do more than write? O.O??!! No one warned me about all this promotion madness. And what do you mean I have to write a synopsis? I just signed on to write. I don’t remember reading a part that said “and other related duties”. *slump*

HL: *Grin* Yes, I think most of us can relate to that! :)


HLE: . What is your personal definition of success?

My personal definition of success is the fan who writes and lets me know they enjoyed my book and can’t wait for the next one. That makes me want to write more.

HLE: Is there any advice, as a new writer, that you were either given, or wish you had been given?

RB: As a new writer, I was told to vary my autograph from my signature and that is something I always pass on. You wouldn’t believe how many people don’t think of it. Heck, I didn’t until I was told.
To new writers I say, learn to take criticism. Agents, readers, editors… whoever. You may not like what they say but every little bit helps to make you a better writer. Especially listen to what your editor says. They are actively trying to make your book better.

HL: Wise words, Renee, and I hadn't thought about the signature being different to an autograph either, but then I use a penname, which even though it's comprised of my real first two names, doesn't include my signature so it's different anyway.

HL: Being an animal fanatic myself, I have to ask - if you were an animal, which one do you think you would be, and why?

DRB: I’m kind of biased at the moment since my current WIP is about dragons. :D So I would love to be an Asian dragon. Their majesty and beauty and power is so awe-inspiring to me. Now if you mean “real” animals, then I would have to choose a tiger. I love tigers. Probably for the same reasons that I chose a dragon. Matter of fact, I have a tiger-shifter story planned. :D

HLE: That sounds fascinating Renee, dragons and tigers - two very powerful animals, and the tiger-shifter sounds a bit different to the usual shifter stories. Well, I've loved having you as my guest, but it's nearly time to wrap the interview up. Thank you so much for giving some of your valuable time to be with us - and before you go can you tell readers where to find your books please?
RNB: To learn more about me and my books visit me here:
http://dreneebagby.com
http://zenobiarenquist.com

Wondeful, Renee, and thanks again

SWEET SURPRISE ...

...or villains we love ... to love!

Well, I'll come to that in a minute, but I just wanted to mention that I'm honoured to be taking part in the 'Sweetest Romance Authors' Blog hunt. This is a group of writers who strictly adhere to the ''sweeter" side of romance, and they have their own loop at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/The_Sweetest_Romance/

Anyway, what was I saying? Ah yes, villains we love to love!

I'm sure I'm not the only one who watches a film or tv series, only to become completely enamoured of the villain, while the guy who plays the hero seems far less attractive.

For instance:

There was a cult futuristic science fiction series in the seventies, entitled 'Blakes 7', about a group of freedom fighters and their adventures in space. I have the complete series on DVD, and in the second episode a young man by the name of Kerr Avon appears. Avon is a high class thief, brilliant, selfish, and ruthless. He becomes the sidekick of the main character, Roj Blake, although by the third series Blake has disappeared and Avon is in charge. I was never that keen on Blake, a thoroughly good, righteous man, interested only in doing battle with evil and fighting for what is right. By contrast, Avon was self centred and out for what he could get - a far more interesting character! Watching him give one of his enigmatic smiles can still make my toes curl He never made a secret of the fact that he cared for no-one but himself, but you always had the sneaking feeling he'd probably risk his life for his friends if he had to - especially if there was money involved!

Then - still on the subject of TV series - take Robin Hood. Yes, you're welcome to take him, as long as you leave me Guy of Gisborne (played by Richard Armitage)

(Excuse the slight pause while I fan myself furiously and mop my brow with a delicate lace hanky) Now I know Robin Hood (played by Jonas Armstrong) is a real nice guy, and he's pleasantly good looking and great with a bow - but he just can't compare with Richard Armitage's smouldering good looks. We know Guy of Gisborne is hard and cruel, on the outside, but really, all he needs is the love of a good woman to warm his heart. He should have had Marian, how could she not have fallen for him *Sigh* Things could have been so different!

Of course this is the foundation of many a good romance, isn't it. The bad guy redeemed by a woman's love, the man who could so easily take the wrong path, but who, at the last minute, reforms when he realises the most important thing in the world is the woman who has stolen his heart!

I'll leave you to ponder on this philosophical thought, and direct the 'Sweet Romance' contestants to the next blog:

http://laureanslore.blogspot.com/