12/15/2010

Patricia Rosemoor

PATRICIA ROSEMOOR GETS LOST IN A TRILOGY

I've read Patricia Rosemoor books for years, loving the paranormal element that ran through a lot of her stories. She's written over 65 books for Harlequin and just celebrated her 50th book with Intrigue this past spring. Just after Thanksgiving I visited with her at her almost 100 year old home. I noticed a love for cats, horses, stained glass, Tucson, and books. Then there's the office...Two bookcases of her books, on a bright yellow wall. In the window hangs a stained-glass picture of cats playing (it's her favorite).

Patricia Rosemoor has written over eighty-six books, fifty (yes, that’s 50) which are Harlequin Intrigues. Today we’re going to get lost in three stories from the beginning of her career. The McKenna series are being re-released in e-format this month. A rare treat that shouldn’t be missed. So let’s hope in that time machine to the past and find out a little more about Patricia and THE McKENNAS.

ANGI: HOW DID YOU GET LOST IN THIS SERIES?
PATRICIA: Two members of my family decided to do a family tree at the same time–a second cousin and an uncle by marriage. A large part of those family trees were McKennas. My maternal grandmother and her siblings were all McKennas. I’d always loved the name. My very first book, Silhouette Young Love, was A CHANGE OF HEART by RoseAnne McKenna–RoseAnne being my middle name. At any rate, I was looking for inspiration for a new series and those family trees provided that for me.

In my original The McKenna Legacy trilogy – SEE ME IN YOUR DREAMS, TELL ME NO LIES, TOUCH ME IN THE DARK, all newly re-released digitally at Amazon and other outlets via Smashwords – I used some family names for various characters, but, more importantly, I used family traits and stories as an homage to my McKenna relatives.

Originally, I also created nine characters–three sets of three siblings, all with very different backgrounds to keep things interesting. But to my surprise, after the first three, my editor asked me to write something else. Then the numbers came in and they thought maybe I should write another McKenna. Then I did another series and surprise, I was asked to write two more McKennas. Eventually, I was asked to concentrate on McKennas–including a new branch with a different legacy--because readers were so invested in the characters.


ANGI: Which McKenna book is your favorite?
PATRICIA: I don’t have a favorite, but I have several books that mean more to me than others. I loved the first in the series, SEE ME IN YOUR DREAMS, because it was new and different and I got to put a bit of the old sod (Ireland) in it. I loved TOUCH ME IN THE DARK and MYSERIOUS STRANGER because they were truly horse stories, and I love animals. NEVER CRY WOLF and WOLF MOON, same reason, but they were wolf stories. And the upcoming BRAZEN (Feb 2011) because again, it’s a horse story, but maybe more importantly because it’s the most romantic book I’ve every written.

ANGI: Have you ever thought about writing more about the historical McKennas? or time travels involving the family?
PATRICIA: I wouldn’t be able to write either for Intrigue. I did one time travel when they were letting us experiment, and I was never able to write the partner book.

ANGI: What question are you never asked in interviews, but wish you were?
PATRICIA: Interesting, but I’m never asked why I do this crazy thing. Writing isn’t crazy. Being determined to make a living from writing is. And I have. Readers and friends and family often think if you write one book, you’re set for life. Very few authors are set for a year. More like a few months. Staying in the business was a bigger struggle than most people know. And now when I hear younger authors talking about doing the same thing I did years ago, I want to tell them: Don’t forget to have a life away from writing. It consumes you if you let it.

ANGI: Is their a favorite McKenna tradition that you passed through the stories or came from your own family?
PATRICIA: The McKenna tradition is to curse my lovely heroines and stalwart heroes with a curse they must overcome to be together. There is no love without danger. I certainly hope no one in my family has suffered from that curse.

ANGI: Which of the McKenna characters would you most/least to invite to dinner, and why?
PATRICIA: I would love to have them all for Christmas dinner. Don’t know where I would put them all in a city apartment, but I’d figure out something...

ANGI’S GOTTA ASK:
I was fortunate to visit with you and you gave me a tour of some of the “real” Chicago. Is there something about your city that you’d like to share?

PATRICIA’S GOTTA ANSWER: That Chicago isn’t second to anyplace, IMO, but then I’m very prejudiced in favor of my city. The food is fabulous–both ethnic and upscale–the theater is alive and well, and the museums are top shelf. What’s really special about the city is the amount of parkland we have. Most of the lakefront is park. And we have a chain of very large parks more than a hundred years old connected by boulevards. I recently took a tour of four of those parks and saw things I didn’t even know existed in my own city, like an old horse stable now a small museum in one, a waterfall in another.

GOT A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?
I’m always curious about what readers would like to see in Intrigues. Lately we’ve had a lot of horse operas – books set in the west, mine included. Are you happy with that or are you looking for more variety, and if you are, what would you like to see?

WILL YOU HAVE A DRAWING FROM THOSE LEAVING COMMENTS?
Sure. I’ll offer my 50th Intrigue – SAVING GRACE.

You can find and ‘friend’ Patricia:

DON’T FORGET to friend the Get Lost Crew on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and to leave a comment today for Patricia’s drawing. Stop by tomorrow and get lost with guest CJ Lyons. THANK YOU for joining us today, Patricia. Can’t wait for you to come back in January for your newest Intrigue release, Brazen.

Til next week,
~~Angi

17 comments:

  1. Sorry about the technical difficulties getting posted this morning...

    Patricia, welcome to Get Lost In A Story! I'm so excited to have you here. As I stated above, you are one of the authors that made me want to write for the Intrigue line.

    It was a sincere pleasure to meet you and visit in your home. It's an experience I'll treasure.

    ~~Angi

    ReplyDelete
  2. What would I like to see in Intrigues? Well...uhm...that's a loaded question for me (big grin). So instead... I'll ask another question: Are you planning on writing more paranormal elements into Intrigues soon?
    ~~Angi

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello Patricia, thanks for visiting us today.

    I love your blend of intrigue and paranormal.

    As much as I love horses, my favorite intrigues are urban stories. In books, not in real life, I love stalker stories. There's nothing like the fear of not being safe in your own home to keep me turning the pages.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for coming to our blog! I love what you said about how hard it is to make a living as a writer and also how consuming it is. I can't tell you how many people I've met assume one book sets you up for life. Ha!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Patricia: I've always been a fan of your writing. I also have to say that is one gorgeous publicity shot. What a wonderful picture. Further I'm relieved to know your family members don't suffer the curses of your characters. Agree that you should save that for your writing. Welcome!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Argh, I hate the cursor on this Toshiba -- I just was in the middle of a very long post and it somehow brought up another page and I lost everything I wrote. So I'll break it up this time. First of all, I finally woke up, but it's earlier here than on the time stamp on the posts. I did enough Christmas shopping yesterday that I needed an extra hour of sleep. Someday, I'll actually get myself to bed at a normal hour.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Angi -- the afternoon we spent together was fun. I always like getting to know other authors more in depth than saying hi at a conference.

    And by the way, thanks for the nice welcome. This is a fun site. Great idea. I hope it gets a lot of traffic from readers so they can get to know authors as people.

    Maureen, yes it really is true that so many people think we're set financially if we sell even one book. I make sure my fiction writing students know that it's a struggle, but if you have to write, then you just have to write.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cat --

    I'm glad to know that readers look forward to urban books, as well. My next one, Brazen, is a ranch book, but the summer book, Deal Breaker is set partly in Chicago but mostly in Lake Geneva--no horses in sight!

    Donnell --

    I agree--let's save the danger for the books!

    ReplyDelete
  9. So your instincts were right about the McKennas, and the sale numbers proved it. Love hear more or your thoughts about trusting your writer/story instincts.

    The McKenna Legacy sounds terrific! Jillian

    ReplyDelete
  10. I loved your blog and about living in Chicago, I lived their all my life until I moved to south fla. in 1986 and now living in a country town near Tallahassee,fla. I loved chicago and found so many neat things to do but i hated the cold winters. I love your books and looking forward in reading the McKenna Legacy. Have a wonderful holiday and hope the New Year is a joyful one!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Gjillian -- Yes my instincts were correct about the McKennas -- a big, noisy, loyal, do anything for you family with various psychic abilities. The editor was wary of that last part (a period when paranormal tanked), but readers were craving it at least in small amounts. I have had other projects that I really loved that didn't go anywhere. I think you need to know your targeted audience -- what appeals to them and what they care about. And you need to work something specifically for your audience into your story. All the better if it's something that really strikes your heart, as well.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Carole --
    Winter here is not my favorite season either. I try to get through it by making myself comfortable inside so that if there's a snowstorm or the sidewalks are icy or if the wind chill is 25 below, I don't have to leave the house unless I have to teach or go to a meeting. I love Peapod and use them several times in the winter. I order online and they get the groceries and deliver. A small indulgence.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Welcome Patricia!

    Wow, 50 Intrigues! You must be doing something right! That's a huge achievement.

    Personally, I like the urban settings better than the cowboys. But perhaps Harlequin's sales numbers would disagree with me. I think a lot of readers out there love cowboys :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Patricia! Welcome to GLIAS today :)

    Chicago is a fascinating city, and lakefront parkland is, indeed, unique and fabulous. I think it's great you recently discovered new things (like a waterfall? how cool!) right in your own backyard.

    Thanks for inspiring us with your incredible career!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I like both Urban and Cowboys & Urban Cowboys. (Remember the Urban Cowboy movie? Not so popular with my crowd.) I did a tiny bit of barrel racing in a couple of "play days" (much smaller than a rodeo, no prizes, no entry fees) and used to unofficially race my horse for my dad winning him an occasional case of beer (she was much faster than she looked).

    Of course, Patricia, you used to ride. Do you miss it?
    ~~Angi

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks, Heather, and yes, isn't it amazing when we learn something new about the place we've lived all our lives. When my husband Edward was alive, we used to take at least one weekend day a month to explore a neighborhood we didn't really know, both city and suburban. There are some fabulous "small towns" now suburbs on the North Shore.

    And Angi, you bet I miss riding. And barrel racing, though I'm probably beyond that now. Edward and I used to go up to the Double J Ranch in Rothbury, MI, back when it was an "adults only" vacation spot. No fancy digs, but beauty all around. We took the horses (the advanced riders) into the Manistee forest. So cool. And Fridays were rodeo night with the guests as competitors. I LOVED barrel racing, even when I didn't win.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wow.
    Thank you for the great interview.
    I am ashamed to admit I hadn't heard of Patricia Rosemoor or her writing before this. I'm definitely going to check her out now!
    All the best,
    RKCharron

    ReplyDelete