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6/20/2016

Take a GAMBLE on Joanna Bourne!

Today, I'm thrilled to welcome RITA-award winning author Joanna Bourne to the blog!  Joanna wrote one of my all-time favorite romance heroes, Adrian Hawker (The Black Hawk).  Today, she's here to talk about her latest release, a short story in the anthology Gambled Away.  Without further ado, here's Jo!







Gideon and the Den of Thieves in the anthology Gambled Away

Publisher: Indie Published

AISN: HB01FCYQ3V8

THE STORY BLURB:

London, 1793 – Soldier of fortune Gideon Gage has come home from halfway around the world, fully prepared to face down a ruthless gang to save his sister. But there’s one member of the gang he could never have been prepared for: fascinating Aimée, driven from her own home by the French Revolution and desperately in need of his help.

Check out an excerpt!

Meet Joanna!

Joanna lives in the foothills of the Blue Ridge with her family, a medium-sized mutt and a faux Himalayan cat. 

She writes Historical Romances set in England and France during the Napoleonic Wars. She's fascinated by that time and place - such passionate conviction and burning idealism ... and really sexy clothes.

Lara: How often to you get lost in a story?

Joanna: One I’m writing?  All the time. I just fall into the scene I am putting down in words. I see all around me in detail in full color and exact detail. I live the scene. If it’s something funny, there I am smiling. And sometimes I’ll be there crying at the keyboard because the scene is so sad.

Lara: What was the first story you remember writing?

Joanna: We wrote stories in school, I know. I imagine I still have some  of them, written out on wide-lined paper. But I started writing stories I wanted to sell someday when I was about fourteen.

The first one I remember was a science fiction story about a fourteen-year old girl detective in the future.

Lara: What is your biggest vice?

Joanna: I get distracted. I’ll be working along and I think of another story altogether and my mind goes scampering down that primrose path or I’ll decide I should go make chicken pot pie for dinner or -- this is the worst -- I’ll wander onto Twitter. [Lara: I can empathize with you--I'm very easily distracted as well!]

Lara: Is writing or story­telling easier for you?

Joanna: It’s hard for me to say because I don’t make a distinction between the two of them. Writing is just capturing the details of the story in my head.

I started out storytelling. I used to line my dolls and fluffy toys up and tell them stories. Or I’d build a little world all across the floor with blocks and mirrors and scarves and have my dolls act out a story inside that world I’d literally built.

The word-wriggling part of writing doesn’t have much to do with a story at all. I mostly consider it the editing.

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

Joanna: Now here I differ from a lot of writers. I don’t particularly want music, especially music I like, in the background when I’m writing.  Noise is okay. It actually helps me concentrate. Good music distracts me. 

Lara: Which of your characters would you most/least to invite to dinner, and why?

Joanna: Okay. I’ll admit it. I’d like dinner with my character Hawker. I think he’d be fun to talk to about most anything. He is insatiably curious. [Lara: Hawker is one of my all-time favorites!]

Lara: What three things are, at this moment, in your heroine’s purse, satchel, reticule, weapons belt or amulet bag (whatever she carries)?

Joanna: Oh. Leesee. Right now, in the story I’m writing, my heroine Sèverine is headed across town to look at the scene of a murder/kidnapping. On various parts of her person she’s carrying a magnifying glass, a measuring tape, picklocks, a large white handkerchief, some empty muslin bags, a notebook and pencil, tweezers, and a knife. [Lara: She sounds like a intriguing woman!]

Lara’s GOTTA ASK: What are the next five books on your ‘to be read’ pile?

Joanna’s GOTTA ANSWER: These are scattered all over for when I have a spare minute. By my bed, by the bathtub, on the kitchen counter, on the dining room table, in my knapsack ... Some I’ve started a little. Some are still waiting their chance.

The Game of Kings, Dorothy Dunnett. (This is actually a re-read)

Mirror Kingdoms, Peter S. Beagle

The People of Paris: An Essay in Popular Culture in the 18th Century, Daniel Roche

Thomas the Jaded Gentleman, Grace Burrowes

Why Kings Confess, C.S. Harris

Where can you find Joanna?

Website                         Facebook
Twitter                          Goodreads

What's next for Joanna?

My next release, after Gideon and the Den of Thieves in Gambled Away, will be the Sèverine Story. Sorry I don’t have a date of release or cover for that. It’s still in progress.

Joanna's previous releases:



GIVEAWAY ALERT!

I’ll send somebody a copy of one of my books, their choice. Only US, though.

Thanks so much for joining us today, Joanna!  I love your covers--readers, which one is your favorite?

6 comments:

  1. There's no gamble when you read something by J. Bourne. Rest assured it's going to be good and the characters linger in your head. She writes fascinating stories. Absolutely. Fascinating. Airieanne on FB.

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  2. I love Jo's writing -- Gideon and the Den of Thieves sounds like a great introduction to it! Also, she's a hoot to follow on Twitter.

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  3. My eyes keep going back to her cover for The Black Hawk. Enjoyed reading your answers to the Q&A! Thanks for sharing! greenshamrock ATcoxDOTnet :)

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  4. I'm going with The Black Hawk, but I might be completely biased because I'm currently reading it right now.

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  5. the Forbidden Rose

    bn100candg at hotmail dot com

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