This year: Be the change you want to see in the world.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

All of us here at Get Lost in a Story would like to share a

New Year's wish with our readers, so let's get the Times Square ball dropping!

A New Year's Wish: Can we make an effort to be just a little bit kinder to each other? A little more compassionate, and a lot less judging? Take bullying for example. Bullying is a serious problem. Bullying can happen anywhere: face-to-face, by text messages or on the web. It is not limited by age, gender, or education level. It is not a phase and it is not a joke. Bullying can cause lasting harm.

Let's make sure it gets better this year.

For more information go to stopbullying.gov

~ Jillian ~

My big wish/resolution this year is to participate in the Second Annual Zombie Marathon. For real! Held in Temecula, California every summer, participants can either be the ones who run from the zombies or they can get zombified and chase the marathoners. Can't wait! On a more serious note, we all have one or more book releases coming out this year, I say good luck to all of us and let's have a great year!

~ Angi ~

My hope for my friends and all of our readers is for each of you to chose what you

want

for 2012. Find out HOW to achieve it and then grab it. More sales all around for The Crew of course!

A special shout out of congratulations to Baylor University for a record-breaking, history-making 2011 Football Season.

 

 

~ Maureen ~

I wish for all of our 2012 book releases to go without a hitch! And for everyone to have a fabulous and successful 2012.

~ Simone ~

I wish for prosperity for everyone, in whatever form that takes - a job, a contract, or just a little financial security. I know that money isn't everything, but there are a lot of people doing without right now, and I wish for those worrisome days and sleepless nights to end. Happy 2012, everyone!

~ Cat ~

My biggest wish for 2012 is for family and friends to stay safe and healthy. I'm hoping for great debut releases for Jill, Heather and Simone and lots of sales for all of us. I want everyone to have a great 2012. May all your dreams come true!

~ Donnell ~

What’s more important asked a wise man?  Wealth, Success or Love?  The answer is simple he explained:  Without love, wealth means nothing, success is not enjoyed.  But with love, success and wealth can follow.  My wish for all in 2012 is that you’re showered with an abundance of love.  Happy New Year!!!

~ Heather ~

What's your New Year's wish this year? Please share with us!

READERS DON’T FORGET to follow us on Facebook & Twitter (#GetLostStories) for a daily update on who’s visiting GLIAS and what they might be giving away! Young Adult author Priya Ardis joins Simone on Monday. Wonderful, fantastic authors coming in 2012. Share us with your friends...the more visitors we have, the more authorswe can bring you!

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

Simone, Maureen, Jillian, Heather,
Donnell, Cat, & Angi

KILRONAN HEIRS GET LOST

HEIR OF DANGER

Book 3 Heirs of Kilronan

Pocket Books

ISBN:143917038X

A man too dangerous to live. . .

After seven years

outrunning enemies, friends, and his own soul-crushing memories, Brendan Douglas is risking everything on a desperate mission. He has vowed to thwart the evil mage Máelodor’s plans to unlock the past and reshape the future. . . unfortunately the precious treasure that is the key to success lies with a woman he jilted seven years before.

A woman determined to find a life of her own. . .

When her golden-eyed childhood hero abandoned her at the altar—disappearing in a storm of magic and mayhem, destruction, betrayal, and disaster—Elisabeth Fitzgerald struggled to overcome her humiliation and loss. Finally, she has found a new fiancé and a comfortable future. Then, the one man she thought she would never see again appears—among her wedding guests. Brendan Douglas has returned.

An inescapable destiny. . .

It’s not just that Elisabeth is promised to another; Brendan knows he is drawing her into terrible danger. But he cannot resist the bewitching, brave, wholly unexpected woman his youthful nemesis has become. He promised to sacrifice everything, but is he willing to sacrifice Elisabeth?

READ THE EXCERPT

EARL OF DARKNESS

Book 1 Heirs of Kilronan

Pocket Books

ISBN:1439170363

The magic she tries to hide…

Born a lady, but reduced to surviving in the slums of Dublin, Catriona O’Connell has been hired to steal a mysterious book from Aidan Douglas, Earl of Kilronan. ButCat is secretly Other, an age-old mixture of Fey and human—something Aidan recognizes immediately when he surprises the lovely young burglar in his library, about to steal a magical diary.

…is the magic he desperately wants.

From the moment Aidan sees her, Cat’s spirited beauty enchants him, but her uncanny abilities are what he truly needs, for Cat can understand the mystical language in the diary he inherited from his murdered father. So Aidan makes an offer: translate the book or be thrown in prison as a thief. And as Cat slowly deciphers each page, she and Aidan are drawn together by passion . . .and into the violence of the Other world that is the Kilronan legacy. Can they defeat those who seek the book, or are their lives in even greater danger than their hearts?

READ THE EXCERPT

LORD OF SHADOWS

Book 2 Heirs of Kilronan

Pocket Books

ISBN-10:1439170371

Who is working the demon arts . . .

Was it her murdered father? Her fugitive brother? It has been seven years since Lady Sabrina Douglas cloistered herself with the Sisters of High Danu, but the questions remain. She is Other—a mixture of Fey and mortal—quietly using her powers to heal. That is, until she saves a half-drowned man, his soldier’s body a roadmap of scars, his fathomless eyes filled with heartbreaking loneliness. The inexplicable connection overwhelms her defenses, touching her heart, mind . . . and body.

.. . and to what end?

A man with no memory, Daigh MacLir seeks his past, even as unknown threats fill him with monstrous rage and inhuman abilities. But as a desperate game of hunter and hunted is played out from ballrooms to bedrooms, what Daigh discovers is more chilling than anyone could possibly imagine. Defying death was only the first step in the task he has been set, and Sabrina his last hope. But dare he risk involving her? Daigh has been summoned to find an ancient king, and even the powers of love may not be enough to win the battle against the powers of darkness.

READ THE EXCERPT

MEET THE HEIRS CREATOR

ALIX RICKLOFF grew up with a family tree that included a knight who fought during the Wars of the Roses (his brassrubbing hangs in her dining room), and a soldier who sided with Charles I during the English Civil War (hence the family’s hasty emigration to America).With ancestors like that, who wouldn’t be inspired?

Alix turned this fascination with British history along with her love of storytelling to good use. She began writing, releasing her first historical-paranormal in 2007. Her books have been described as “sexy and intense”, “exciting and spellbinding” and “a universe you won’t ever wish to leave”.

You can visit her on the web or write to her.

 

ALIX’S Q&A

ANGI: How often do you get lost in a story?

ALIX: Constantly. There’s always a stack of books on my nightstand, and I’m always on the prowl for new reads and new authors. Right now I’m reading Liriael by Garth Nix and Lauren Willig’s The Orchid Affair plus novellas by Allison Brennan and Kate Douglas in hopes I can learn how to write short.

ANGI: What’s the first book you remember reading?

ALIX: One of my favorite childhood memories is sitting with my mother every night and reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. She would read a page then I would read a page. We still share books, and she’s been my biggest fan from the very beginning.

ANGI: What’s your favorite fairy tale?

ALIX: I love Beauty and the Beast story and the universal theme of love transforming the baddest of boys into Prince Charming. I’ve borrowed bits and pieces of this premise more than once and will probably do so again because while a good man may be what we need, it’s the bad boy we definitely want.

ANGI: What’s your favorite cartoon character?

ALIX: I’m a huge Dr.Doofenshmirtz fan—the “villain” from Disney’s Phineas and Ferb. This show is clever without being crass, and the music is catchy. It’s become a toss-up who enjoys it more, me or my kids.

ANGI: What sound or noise do you love?

ALIX: Spring peepers. When I hear their singing coming from the creek behind my house, I know spring isn’t far away. Although in the last month, my favorite sounds have been Christmas carols. I love holiday music and listen to it almost non-stop this time of year. It keeps me in a happy holiday mood even when I’m up to my eyeballs in trees and cards and shopping and baking…

ANGI: What was the first story you remember writing?

ALIX: Meet The Fuzzy Family. No bragging here, but it was a fabulous story I wrote and illustrated in the 4^th grade. I went on to write an entire series starring these characters – The Fuzzy Family’s New Year, Fuzzy Family’s Valentines Day, Fuzzy Family’s Easter … you get the idea. The stapled notebook pages still live in a box in my attic, and yes, I’m ever hopeful they’ll be million dollar collectors’ items someday.

ANGI: What’s your favorite movie of all time?

ALIX: I change my answer from the last time I visited? The more I thought about it, the more Idecided that Local Hero starring Peter Riegert and Burt Lancaster is my favorite movie. I’ve watched this movie a million times and still find it as wonderful as ever. It’s a classic fish out of water plot, but the off-beat characters, the stunning Scottish scenery, and Mark Knopfler’s haunting soundtrack are pitch-perfect.

ANGI: Is writing or story-telling easier for you?

ALIX: Writing definitely! I’ve been painfully shy my whole life, and I’m still a declared introvert so conversation is always hard. What usually happens is that I come up with the sparkling, witty repartee a day after I’ve had the conversation. Not exactly helpful. Luckily, my characters don’t have that same difficulty.

ANGI’S GOTTA ASK: Hey Alix, your website’s banner states: Regency Romance Touched By Something Other. Paranormal Regencies…very cool. I absolutely adore books about the Fey. So I gotta ask…which of the HEIRS is your favorite? Do you have one?

ALIX HAS GOTTA ANSWER: I try not to play favorites, and maybe it’s because this one is freshest in my mind, but I have a definite soft spot for Brendan Douglas in HEIR OF DANGER. Even in the worst situations, he keeps his sense of humor, and I love the fact that he and Elisabeth are friends as much as lovers.

FIND ALIX & THE HEIRS OF KILRONAN:

Email Alix    Website    Facebook    Blog    Previous GLIAS interview

MORE PREVIOUS RELEASES

UP NEXT: I’m working on a spin-off series of the Heirs of Kilronan trilogy. Details are still sketchy, but you can check out my FB page or website for more information as it becomes available.

 

ALIX is giving away an autographed copy of HEIR OF DANGER to a blog commenter.

Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in atimely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, theauthor may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does notautomatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.

ALIX HAS A QUESTION:

While we’re all still aglow with the holiday spirit, I’d love to know what your favorite moment was this season – a dinner with family? Watching your kids open presents? Baking? Caroling?

READERS DON’T FORGET to follow us on Facebook & Twitter (#GetLostStories) for a daily update onwho’s visiting GLIAS and what they might be giving away! Young Adult author Priya Ardis joins Simone on Monday. Wonderful, fantastic authors coming in2012. Share us with your friends...the more visitors we have, the more authorswe can bring you! ~Angi

HAPPY NEW YEAR !! CLAIM 2012 AS YOURS !!

Simone, Maureen, Jillian, Heather,

Donnell, Cat, & Angi

HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR !

~ ~ ~

How many did you guess?

 7  ornaments and 7 on The Crew.

There's a free book for each person who guessed.
Winners should send an email to GetLostInAStory@gmail.com.

ORNAMENT # 01

ANGI MORGAN

ORNAMENT # 02

HEATHER SNOW

ORNAMENT # 03

CAT SHIELDS

ORNAMENT # 04

JILLIAN STONE

ORNAMENT # 05

SIMONE ST. JAMES

ORNAMENT # 06

DONNELL ANN BELL 

ORNAMENT # 07 

MAUREEN McGOWAN

Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.

READERS DON’T FORGET to follow us on Facebook & Twitter (#GetLostStories) for a daily update on who’s visiting GLIAS and what they might be giving away! Alix Rickloff will join us on Thursday. Wonderful, fantastic authors coming in 2012. Share us with your friends...the more visitors we have, the more authors we can bring you!

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!  CLAIM 2012 AS YOURS !!

Simone, Maureen, Jillian, Heather,

Donnell, Cat, & Angi

CHRISTMAS GUESS WHO

MERRY MERRY

CHRISTMAS

~ ~ ~

Let's play guess who.

We have 7 pictures of ornaments and 7 on The Crew.

Can you guess which ornament belogs to each Crew Member?

There's a free book for each person who matches up all 7.
Feel free to post your answers here...or send them in an email to GetLostInAStory@gmail.com. We'll repost on Wednesday and let you know Who's Who.

ORNAMENT # 01

ORNAMENT # 02

ORNAMENT # 03

ORNAMENT # 04

ORNAMENT # 05

ORNAMENT # 06

 

ORNAMENT # 07

Contest ends Tuesday.

Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.

READERS DON’T FORGET to follow us on Facebook & Twitter (#GetLostStories) for a daily update on who’s visiting GLIAS and what they might be giving away! Alix Rickloff will join us on Thursday (her interview will be posted both Wednesday & THursday).  Wonderful, fantastic authors coming in 2012. Share us with your friends...the more visitors we have, the more authors we can bring you!

AND AGAIN, HAVE A BEAUTIFUL, SAFE, HAPPY, FILLED-WITH-MEMORIES CHRISTMAS !!   Simone, Maureen, Jillian, Heather, Donnell, Cat, & Angi

TWO DAYS WITH ROBIN KAYE

WILD THING

Sourcebooks Casablanca

ISBN: 1402257279

Whitewater-rafting guide Hunter Kincaid lands his dream job–guiding sportswear models through Idaho's rugged wilderness for a week-long photo shoot. When he meets Toni Russo, the goth New York manager of Action Models, there are enough sparks to set the forest ablaze.

When Hunter finds Toni's book on how to marry the man of your choice, he studies it as a joke. Before long Hunter realizes he's never cared enough for a woman to bother working this hard to get her. But the last man in the world this city girl wants is a Survivor Man wannabe...

~ ~ ~

Toni Russo stood on the porch of the Sawtooth Inn ignoring the mountains cutting the bright blue sky, concentrating instead on Hunter Kincaid’s very confused, very green eyes. She recognized him from the photos on the River Runners’ website. They didn’t do him justice, probably because there was no way to transmit the pheromones rolling off the man onto an image.

Hunter stared at her the whole way from his old Land Cruiser to the porch. He stopped, tipped his baseball cap back, and then put his hands on his hips. “You’re not who I expected to see.”

Well, no. “Yeah, I guess you’ll have to learn to live with the disappointment. I know I have.”

“Toni?” A look of relief flashed across his face then a smile ticked up the right side of his mouth as he made a slow perusal of her from head to feet and back again.

She waited, knowing it would take awhile. Ever since she’d landed in Boise, she’d experienced the same thing. No one quite knew what to make of her. Holding her clipboard to her chest, she wondered if it would have been better to have spent her time in Boise shopping for less interesting clothes. She mentally shook her head and knew it would never have worked. You could put her in a sack, and she’d do something to stand out. She’d long since given up trying to rein herself in. As Catherine Aird said, “If you can’t be a good example, then you’ll just have to serve as a horrible warning.” So far, it had worked for her.

Blowing her bangs out of her eyes, Toni looked down at her outfit. The short, red plaid kilt wasn’t too offensive. She pulled her clipboard away to see she had on her Stay Away T-shirt. Maybe he had something against the collage of pistols, brass knuckles, knives, and bullets. But really, he didn’t look like a pacifist, not that she wasn’t—it was a T-shirt for goodness sake, not a personal manifesto. The kitty-face Mary Janes and red skull-and-crossbones knee-socks were a bit busy. Okay, Hunter’s thirty seconds were up. She fingered the D-ring on the studded collar around her neck and cleared her throat. “Do you mind?”

Hunter took a sip of whatever was in the travel cup he held. “Not at all—just wondering if you were going for that naughty-schoolgirl-fantasy look.”

“No, I was going for my not-quite-sure-what-to-wear-for-a-meeting-with-Davy-Crocket look. How’s it working for you?”

Hunter’s mouth worked its way into a full smile. Great teeth. She had a thing for nice teeth, and yeah, his mouth was full of them.

“Really well, thanks. Over the phone, it sounded as if you wouldn’t be caught dead out here. When Bianca came to scout for photo shoot locations, she said something about you having a phobia. What changed your mind?”

Toni took in the rustic porch wrapping around the log cabin lodge and decided to sit on a rocking chair. There was nothing else to sit on except the steps, and they needed a good sweeping. “You asked Bianca about me?”

Hunter leaned against the rough-hewn post holding up the corner of the porch. “I didn’t know it was a federal offense.”

“Bianca was involved in negotiating a big deal so she sent me.” Toni placed her clipboard on her lap and clicked her pen a few times in rapid succession. “I had no choice.”

Hunter’s big hiking boots filled her line of sight. Her gaze wandered up to where neatly rolled, rag-wool socks met hard, tanned calf muscle with just the right splattering of leg hair—not so much you’d be tempted to take a brush to it, and not so little you’d wonder if he routinely waxed. He wore khaki shorts low around the hips, his green River Runners T-shirt pulled tight against his chest and abs. She’d seen him without a shirt thanks to the picture on the website, so she knew if she poked him it would feel like poking a brick wall. She’d bet dollars to doughnuts he didn’t get that hard body in a gym.

When her eyes hit his stubbled chin, she encountered another full-toothed grin. Damn, she hadn’t meant to be so obvious.

The slap of an old-fashioned screen door broke the tension. “Sorry.” James, Bianca’s right-hand man, appeared with two cups of coffee. He handed Toni hers. “That’s decaf. Maybe you’ll be able to sleep tonight.”

Not likely.

READ MORE    

GET TO KNOW ROBIN
Robin Kaye was born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge next door to her Sicilian grandparents.

Living with an extended family that's a cross between Gilligan's Island and The Sopranos, minus the desert isle and illegal activities, explains both her comedic timing and the cast of quirky characters in her books.

She's lived in half a dozen states from Idaho to Florida, but the romance of Brooklyn has never left her heart.

She currently resides in Maryland with her husband, three children, two dogs, and a three-legged cat with attitude.
THE WILD SIDE OF ROBIN
ANGI: How often to you get lost in a story?

ROBIN:  I try to get lost in a good story every time I sit down to write and to read. If I don’t, it’s not a good day. 

ANGI: What’s the first book you remember reading?

ROBIN: I don’t remember the first book I read, just the first book I couldn’t read. I was about three years old when, for some strange reason, my mother bought Dr. Seuss’s One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish in French. My mother didn’t speak French and neither did I. I remember opening the book, expecting to see words that made sense, and completely freaking out when I couldn’t read it. It was as if someone had stolen the gift of reading from me.  

ANGI: Can you tell us about a real-life hero you’ve met?

ROBIN: My youngest daughter. She’s defied the odds and has surpassed every expectation. She works harder than anyone I know and takes almost nothing for granted. She runs when they said she’d never walk, and she never allows anyone to put limitations on her. She’s the bravest person I’ve ever met. She’s my hero. 

ANGI: Where do you read and how often?

ROBIN:  I read everywhere. People in town call me the book lady because no matter where I am, I have a book (or my Kindle) in my hand. I’ll be waiting for a school bus, in line at the grocery store, at Starbucks, in my kitchen boiling pasta, and I have a book in one hand. Before I was writing under deadline, I was a book-a-day reader. Now I’m more of a binge reader. When I sit down to read, I sometimes find myself not stopping until the book is finished.  

ANGI: What sound or noise do you love?

ROBIN: The sound skis make while going through virgin snow. 

ANGI: What was the first story you remember writing?

ROBIN: It was a fan fiction of a Don Knotts cartoon/movie The Incredible Mr. Limpet—about a guy with big glasses who turns into a fish. I was about four years old and my parents had just separated. I didn’t want my dad to be lonely, so I wrote him stories using a big old manual typewriter. It took two hands to push down the keys. 

ANGI: Who’s your favorite villain?

ROBIN:  The Joker—ever since I was a little kid. I remember running into Adam West when I was a kid and the first thing I asked him was if the Joker was as cool in person as he is on TV. 

ANGI: Is writing or story-telling easier for you?

ROBIN: Story-telling is always easier. It comes naturally to me—there’s nothing I love more than telling stories. Writing them down is work. 

ANGI’S GOTTA ASK: “Living with an extended family that's … Gilligan’s Island…minus the desert isle.”  So, Robin… uhm, can you share more details? Like…who’s Gilligan? *grin*  Or maybe just let us know who the quirkiest character is that you’ve ever written?

ROBIN’S GOTTA ANSWER: In order to keep peace in the family, I’m going to take the easy way out. The quirkiest character I’ve ever written would probably be Aunt Rose—she’s Rosalie, Rich, and Annabelle Ronaldi’s psychic aunt and a great cook. She loves them for who they are, but she’s not afraid to get them a smack on the back of the head and tell them when they’re being stupid. Aunt Rose always tells it like it is. I adore that about her.

ROBIN's DRAWING from those leaving comments for a TWO copies of WILD THING.

Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.

FIND ROBIN

Website  Facebook   Email   Twitter @RobinKayeWrites

Catch Robin at CasablancaAuthors   Blame It OnThe Muse   KillerFiction Writers  

UP NEXT from ROBIN:  CALL ME WILD, Fisher Kincaid’s book. It should be out in August or September of 2012.

READERS DON’T FORGET to follow us on Facebook & Twitter (#GetLostStories) for a daily update on who’s visiting GLIAS and what they might be giving away! Join us Friday for a GUESS WHO GAME--there will be prizes. Hopefully Robin will get to stop by and join us.   ~Angi

GOT A QUESTION FOR ROBIN?
Ask away...... or answer Robin's question for you:
What are some of the characteristics that make up a great heroine?

Get Lost Again with Emma Wildes!

Get Lost in This Story…

Twice Fallen is the second book in the Ladies in Waiting series, finally featuring Lord Damien Northfield (yes, Emma listens when readers ask!) from Lessons From a Scarlet Lady. Damien meets his match in Lady Lily Bourne, a disgraced beauty with a scandalous past. Just the perfect woman for a wily spy who specializes in secrets, isn’t she? When Lily proves to be the key to catching a ruthless killer, he decides fate might just have brought them together…

Welcome to Get Lost in a Story today, where I am excited to welcome back my friend and fabulous historical romance author, Emma Wildes!

Emma Wildes is an author of numerous Regency and other historicals novels. Twice nominated for an RT bookLover’s Reviewer’s Award (An Indecent Proposition, 2009, Our Wicked Mistake, 2010), An Eppie winner for best erotic historical, Winner of the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, she writes for NAL’s Signet Eclipse line. Emma lives in the Midwest with her husband, three children, and a temperamental cat named Poot. You can visit her at www.emmawildes.com

So, let’s get to the Get Lost Interview!!!

Heather:  What’s your favorite “love” word?

Emma:  I like captivated. It implies intelligence and sexual pull.

Heather:  What turns you off like nothing else?

Emma:  A person without a sense of humor.

Heather:  Where do you read and how often?

Emma:  I read EVERYWHERE. In my office while I’m working, on vacation, on the place, in bed…

Heather:  Do you write while listening to music? If so what kind?

Emma:  Classical, preferably Baroque. Very soothing.

Heather:  Is writing or story-telling easier for you?

Emma:  I think writing. I like to play with how the words sound together. But, of course, a good story is important!

Heather:  If you couldn’t be a writer anymore, what profession would you take up?

Emma:  If I couldn’t be a writer I would be bereft.

Heather:  What do you do to unwind and relax?

Emma:  Actually, I take a glass of wine and go sit by the lake. I tell my children I am going out to contemplate life, but I doubt it is really that cerebral <laugh>. I just go out and enjoy that there is really a lot of beauty in this world. Water, blue sky, birds, a warm breeze…

Heather:  What is your favorite tradition from your childhood that you would love to pass on or did pass on to your children?

Emma:  Swedish Christmas dishes. Just a few days away!

Heather:  What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?

Emma:  We have a second country home now and really love it. No lake like our other house, but two small ponds and fifteen acres of woods with deer and wild turkeys wandering through. It is pitch dark at night, and so quiet you can hear every creak and rustle. I keep telling my husband a rabid badger <very unlikely, that is my vivid imagination> is living under our front porch because I do hear whatever it is come home each morning at dawn. Lots of thumping. A growl or two. This creature and I have an understanding that no sighting is mutually good for both of us. I don’t want to see him, and he doesn’t want to see me. Perfect.

Heather:  What would you say is your most interesting quirk?

Emma:  I don’t know if it is a quirk, but I hate loud noises. Music? Please keep it very soft. I went to about two concerts as a teen and then gave it up. I don’t even like the fan on in the bathroom. No wonder I live in the country.

Heather:  Have you ever written a character who wasn’t meant to be a hero/heroine but he/she wouldn’t go away?

Emma:  Well, now that you mention it, Damien Northfield from Twice Fallen (January 3^rd, 2012, Signet Eclipse). He is a middle brother and he didn’t really have that big a role in Lessons, but readers loved him. I have seven current mass market paperbacks with NAL, plus two eSpecials out there with NAL (Spanish Lullaby just came out on the 5^th of December), 29 books with Siren Publishing, four with Samhain, and he is hands down the character that has gotten the most fan mail! I found it all so astonishing. So I wrote his story, and honestly, he and Lily were just perfect for each other.

Heather:  Dog person or cat person?

Emma:  Love dogs, and love cats. I adore Poot. So handsome. But he is an exceptional cat <laugh> At our country house the neighbors have the most fabulous dog who comes to visit…Blue is an English Spaniel and he is so sweet. He’s gentle as can be but just barges in if you open the door. One night he watched a movie with us on the couch <invited himself> and his “parents” came looking for him. I felt a little guilty when he was sacked out on my lap. They were worried.

Heather:  What is your favorite thing about you?

Emma:  I think I’m extremely calm in a crisis, emotional, physical, etc. I immediately go to the “it-happened-it-needs to-be fixed” mode. It probably says something weird about me…please don’t tell me what it is, but at least I don’t go to pieces.

Heather’s GOTTA ASK – Emma’s GOTTA ANSWER  J

Heather:  What has been the most unexpected thing about being a published author?

Emma:  I don’t think I expected ever to be this busy. It is such a lovely gift. I write books and people actually want to read them <seriously?>. Heaven on earth.

GOT A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?

Emma:  I am so curious to know if readers like it when authors switch paths and cross into other genres. For instance, I have a new series coming with Tor/Forge to be released next year that is thriller/suspense as Kate Watterson. The books are contemporary and the first one involves a serial killer…quite a switch for me. Thoughts? I will still write historicals, of course, since I love them, but I am quite a mystery buff also, so this was just a delightful challenge. I’d really like to hear what you all think!

WILL YOU HAVE A DRAWING FROM THOSE LEAVING COMMENTS?**

Emma:  A signed copy of Twice Fallen since I JUST got my copies yesterday.

Thanks so much for being with us today, Emma!

Emma:  Thank you for having me here at Get Lost in the Story. I have really enjoyed it!

Best to all, Emma

If you missed Emma’s previous visit to GLIAS, learn more about her here!

** Please follow us on Facebook & Twitter (#GetLostStories) for a daily update on who’s visiting GLIAS and what they might be giving away! Join us tomorrow as Maureen hosts Marley Gibson.

Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize.