E.E. Burke's Best of the West featuring Rebecca Paisley

For all you lovers of Western romance, I’ve recently added another favorite author to my Best of the West collection: Rebecca Paisley. 

Her recent release, RAINBOWS AND RAPTURE, had me laughing and crying at the same time. And the uber sexy hero gives a whole new meaning to "tall, dark and handsome." You'll still be dreaming about him long after you turn the last page. 

RAINBOWS AND RAPTURE is being published for the first time as an eBook by Amber House Books, and is one of six western historical romances Rebecca has written, along with several western novellas. Here's an excerpt: 

   Russia, feasting on an ear of corn while in her bath, squealed loudly when the door opened and banged against the wall. Her corn splashed into the water, then bobbed up again and floated next to her breasts. Immediately conscious of her nakedness, she slid deeper into the steaming water, her eyes never leaving the tall, black-garbed man in the doorway.

   Santiago stood motionless, as if someone had nailed his boots to the floor. Santa Maria, she was beautiful, sitting there with water and candlelight splashed all over her. Droplets shone on her creamy skin and shimmered through her strawberry-gold hair. One even twinkled from the tips of her long tawny lashes.

   He could see nothing but her heart-shaped face and delicate shoulders, but God, it was enough. It was almost too much.

   Taking a deep, cleansing breath, he swiveled, closing and bolting the door. “Are you over your crying spell?” he demanded, trying to sound harsh but detecting a note of concern in his voice. “Because if you’re not, tell me right now. I’ve no intention of dealing with any more of your tears tonight.” 

   “Oh, is that so?” Irritation overthrew the last fragment of Russia's grief. “Well, let’s do somethin’ fun, then. We’ll play horse. I’ll be the front end, and you jist be yourself.”

Meet Rebecca

Since her debut novel was published, bestselling author Rebecca Paisley has become known for creating her very own unique brand of magic on the page.

She decided early in her career to write the sort of books she wanted to read. Her determination earned her a slot on the Publishers Weekly bestseller list and the Romance Writer's of America Honor Roll. She's been a RITA finalist, won the Romantic Times’ “Lifetime Achievement Award” and “Career Achievement Award,” a Reviewers’ Choice Award for “Historical Romance Fantasy” and a “Best Love and Laughter” Award.

Rebecca currently lives in North Carolina with her menagerie of beloved pets, still believes in magic, and still relies on “pixie voices in her head” to inspire her as she works on a brand new book.

Visit Rebecca’s website http://www.rebeccapaisley.net
Join Rebecca on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/RebeccaPaisleyAuthor
Follow Rebecca on Twitter twitter.com/Rebecca_Paisley
Learn more about Rebecca's books at http://www.amberhousebooks.com

Now on to some questions...

E.E. Why Western romance?

Rebecca: It’s not like I watch hundreds of western movies or read westerns that are not romance novels.  But I tend to sway toward western romance because I lived in Texas for about 27 years, and I like to include Mexico in my stories.  Since I write historicals, it only made sense to set some of my books in the Southwest so I could satisfy my love for Mexico and its men. 

My husband, Sergio, was born in Puebla, Mexico.  I had applied for his U.S. residency papers after our wedding, but they took a really long time to come through, so I lived in Mexico with Sergio for about a year and a half. I was already in love with my Mexican husband, but I also fell in love with the Mexican culture.  I didn’t speak Spanish when I first got there and made many mistakes as I learned the language.  Sergio and his brother were absolutely NO help as I struggled with Spanish.  In fact, the worst things I said, the better they liked it.  I once saw my mother-in-law struggling to get a car door shut, and I told her to shut it “con huevos” – which I thought meant to shut it really hard.  Turned out “con huevos” is a naughty thing that means “with balls (or testicles).”  Can you imagine saying that to your brand new mother-in-law, who wasn’t real happy with you in the first place?  Sergio and his brother almost had strokes laughing.  It’s okay, though, because when Sergio finally got his residency papers and we moved to the U.S., I got back at while he tried to better his English. Ha! 

E.E.: Life with Sergio sounds like something out of a romance novel. Did you have a fairy tale wedding?

Rebecca: Our wedding was in Carthage, North Carolina, a little town right outside Southern Pines. Sergio and I had a real wedding in a church a few months later, but our first wedding was in Carthage because that’s where the courthouse was, and I needed a fast marriage certificate to send in with my petition for Sergio’s Green Card. 

So, we got to the courthouse and, daft person that I am, I wasn’t aware I was supposed to have two witnesses.  (This factoid should show y’all why most of my heroines are also on the naïve side.  Write what you know, right?)  Anyway, we got to the courthouse with no witnesses.  And the judge/Justice Of the Peace was out having lunch somewhere.  The courthouse people told us he would be going to the jailhouse after he finished lunch. Sergio and I went on over to the jail to find him. He came along shortly, and the deputy sheriff was there as well.  But we still needed one more witness besides the deputy. So a prisoner stood as our second witness.  If I remember correctly, the prisoner was in jail because he had tried to steal someone’s pine straw. He got caught because he was drunk and couldn’t get away fast enough. Do not let anyone tell you Mayberry doesn’t exist. I did, indeed, have Sheriff/Justice Of the Peace, Andy Taylor, Deputy Sheriff, Barney Fife, and prisoner, Otis Campbell at my wedding.  

E.E.: How often do you get lost in a story?

Rebecca: If the story is something I’m writing, I am completely lost in it because you never know when an idea is going to come smashing into your mind.  Some of my friends and family think I’m a bad listener because I have to ask them to repeat themselves.  I do get taken away by my own thoughts when I’m writing.  As for being lost in someone else’s story…Yes, I can and have read entire books in one sitting. I love the world of fiction where anything can happen.  I think I might have been born in a story, and then I jumped out of it and became Real.

E.E.: What’s your favorite “love” word?

Rebecca: Cherish.  I love the way it sounds when spoken, the way it looks when written, and the fact that it makes me feel like something wonderful is going to last forever.  You can love something to pieces, and then it ends, but you can always summon the same feelings you had for it to begin with. So it never really ends, and you can cherish it all the hours of your life.

E.E.: Be honest, do you put yourself in the heroine’s role?

Rebecca: Of course!  I have to be them in order to see and feel the story.  Goldie Mae from DIAMONDS AND DREAMS is probably the heroine who takes after me the most.  But I had a lot of fun being Russia Valentine in RAINBOWS AND RAPTURE, too.  Her cat, Nehemiah, was my real cat at the time, and the real Nehemiah had just as many nicknames as the Nehemiah in the book.  Also, Russia’s hero, Santiago, was from Mexico, just like my husband, Sergio.  And a lot of things Russia does that irritate Santiago are things I’ve done to poor Sergio, too.

E.E.: If you could interview one person, who would it be?

Rebecca: Probably Mary, the Blessed Mother. I’ve always tried to imagine what Jesus was like when He was a little boy. I reckon He was pretty much like most little boys, but I’d love for Mary to tell me about some of her memories.  What food was Jesus’ favorite? Did He have a pet? Did He ever sneak away and go skinny-dipping with his friends, or catch minnows in a little creek?  What was His bedtime?  And it tickles me to think of having an interview with Mary.  “Hello, Mary, Mother of God.  Won’t you please have a seat?  Would you like some water or something else to drink before we begin?” Ha!  Just makes me laugh.  And I was able to write a scene kind of like that in RAINBOWS AND RAPTURE, when Russia goes into a church and tells Mary to please not come floating down on a cloud.  Russia was a prostitute in a church, and she was afraid and didn’t know how to act.  But she faced her fears and doubts anyway because she wanted to say a prayer for Santiago. It was a very meaningful scene to me.

E.E.: Which of your characters would you most like to invite to dinner?

Rebecca: Santiago Zamora from RAINBOWS AND RAPTURE.  I would drool over him instead of my meal, even if my food was lobster!  He remains my favorite, sexiest, most wonderful hero.  I have tried to kind of duplicate him in other books just because he was so awesome to me, but no other hero I’ve ever created has come close to him.  And I can’t really hit dead-on as to why I love him so much.  I just do.  From the very instant he came to be, my heart has belonged to him.

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

Rebecca: I have learned who I am. Yes, people are constantly changing, but our deepest, most curious selves are there for life, I think.  And unless you are a serial murderer or the like, you are okay the way you are.  The most magnificent people I have ever met are people who are not afraid or embarrassed to give free rein to their truest selves. I believe that is one of the main reasons I write.  The hero and heroine teach me or remind me of who I am. My sub-characters REALLY allow me to delve into all kinds of personalities. It’s so fun to create people. 

Gotta Ask: Is there a “Blooper” in your story (it may have been changed before printing)?

   

Gotta Answer: Oh, Lord.  Yes.  In RAINBOWS AND RAPTURE there was an awful blooper. A reader caught it, and my editor, Teresa Medeiros, changed it immediately. The hero, Santiago, wanted to put his arms around Russia, the heroine, but that’s not what the sentence said.  It actually said something like, “He wanted to slip his anus around her.” It was a heart-stopping error caused by a scanner. I’m not sure how many readers were offended to death, but I can tell you that Teresa and I laughed about that mistake for weeks.  We even changed the book title to SEVEN SHADES OF SPHINCTER. I can’t remember any book by any author that contained a blooper that bad! 

Rebecca is giving away copies of her eBooks THE BAREFOOT BRIDE and DIAMONDS AND DREAMS to one lucky reader. Enter the raffle and leave a comment.

Who would you vote for as "sexiest hero" in your favorite romance novel? 

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