Michele Hauf

Michele Hauf has published over 25 novels in the historical, fantasy, action/adventure, and paranormal romance genres. France, musketeers, vampires and faeries populate her stories. And if she followed the adage 'write what you know', all her stories would have snow in them. Fortunately, she steps beyond her comfort zone and writes about countries she has never visited and of creatures she has never seen.

SEDUCING THE VAMPIRE

He was mesmerizing, a vampire like none other...but the fire between Viviane LaMourette and Rhys Hawkes would begin a centuries-long clash between two powerful vampire brothers.

In Marie Antoinette's Paris, the beautiful vampire Viviane seeks a male patron who will allow her to live on her own terms. Courted by two feuding brothers, Viviane succumbs to the handsome rebel, Rhys. She's unaware that Rhys has other, darker, motives. He seeks vengeance against his brother, Constantine—by stealing Viviane and tainting her with his blood.

But just as Rhys is realizing the depth of his love for Viviane, his brother takes his revenge.

Two centuries later, Rhys hears the urban legend of the Vampire Snow White, imprisoned deep in the tunnels under Paris. He must find her and set her free, but will he be able to save her from the evil still intent on destroying them?

I'm delighted to welcome the talented Michele Hauf to Get Lost In A Story. In addition to being a gifted and prolific writer, she is a fellow member of Midwest Fictions Writers, who voted her the 2010 winner of the 2010 LaVerle Spencer Mentor of the Year Award.

Cat: What’s your favorite fairy tale?

Michele: Right now it's Snow White. Which ties in nicely with my current release since the hero learns about an urban legend called the Vampire Snow White. Legend tells a vampiress was buried alive in a glass coffin under the streets of Paris in the 18th century, and she may yet still be there, waiting for release… I love all the details of this fairy tale, especially the glass coffin, the gothic overtones, the beautiful woman waiting for her true love to rescue her.

Cat: What’s your favorite cartoon character?

Michele: Oh heck, haven't watched it for a while, but I do adore Pinky of Pink and the Brain.

Cat: What turns you off like nothing else?

Michele: Drunk people.

Cat: Is there a playlist you’d recommend for reading your latest release?

Michele: Hmm, actually, I'd suggest finding some harpsichord music and cranking it to eleven. J

Cat: Where do you read and how often?

Michele: I don't often get to read for pleasure lately. Usually I'm either reading a book for review, for a contest, or to blurb. But I do read every night, in bed, for about half an hour or more. If I'm enthralled by story I can burn the midnight oil. J

Cat: What was the first story you remember writing?

Michele: That was my first published book, DARK RAPTURE.

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

Michele: A tie between Dangerous Liaisons and Legend.

Cat: Who’s your favorite villain?

Michele: Well, I'm going to pick one of my own—Truvin Stone, who was very villainous and dastardly in Kiss Me Deadly, but who I got to redeem in his own story, His Forgotten Forever. He's a vampire, and I gave him amnesia. Hee. Had fun playing with him!

Cat: Be honest, when reading 1st person...do you miss the hero’s POV?

Michele: Hmm, I write 1st person, and I tend to alternate between heroine's viewpoint and hero's viewpoint, so not missing much there. In other books with just the heroine's viewpoint? I guess it would depend on the story.

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

Michele: Story-telling.

Cat: What’s something you’d like to tell your fans?

Michele: I really appreciate their support, and hope to write stories they enjoy for a very long time.

Cat: What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in?

Michele: One where you learn so much about the characters that you feel like you'd know them if you met them on the street, and you want to go over to their house for a visit.

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

Michele: No music while writing; too distracting. But I do put music on when editing.

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

Michele: Brain surgeon. Seriously.

Cat: What’s the first thing you do when you finish writing a book?

Michele: Check the calendar to see what's due next!

Cat: If you were given a chance to travel to the past where would you go and specifically why?

Michele: Paris, 1750. The dresses! And the sexy fops in frockcoats and lace.

Cat: Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

Michele: How can you not read the reviews? I'm getting better at not reading them, but you know, reading a great review makes me feel good. And there's nothing wrong with that. Of course, no one is going to get all good reviews, so once in a while there's a bad review. That can be a downer, but I've learned not to carry it with me longer than a few minutes.

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

Michele: No more 9-to-5! I hate office jobs, and am not designed for sitting behind a desk.

Cat: Tea or Coffee? And how do you take it?

Michele: Have recently fallen in love with black tea (with cinnamon, vanilla, clove spice), and must have cream and Truvia in it. It's very chai-like, but without all the sugar.

Cat: What does it mean to love someone?

Michele: It means to understand that the other person does not complete you, and cannot be the only source of your happiness. It means that you take life as it comes, good, bad or ugly. It means that you will always have someone to hold hands with when you need it most.

GOTTA ASK -- GOTTA ANSWER

Cat: If you were a t-shirt, what color would you be and why?

Michele: Hmm. Purple. Because purple rocks.

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

Michele: Why vampires? Why do you read vampires? Have you ever read a story where the author did something to her characters that you felt was awful/unforgivable? State example (but don't mention author name).

Michele has offered to give away a set of SEDUCING THE VAMPIRE and ANGEL SLAYER to one winner.**

Michele, thank you for joining us today.

If you want to contact Michele or find out more about her books, please visit her at Michelehauf.com or Blog.michelehauf.com. Friend her at Facebook.com/michelehauf, or follower her on twitter: Twitter.com/michelehauf. She can also be found at Vampchix.blogspot.com and Clubscarlet.michelehauf.com

Join us tomorrow when Simone hosts Carol K. Carr.

**Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only. If an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) is available, the author may utilize that option for International participants. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants.

Mira Lyn Kelly

Mira Lyn Kelly grew up in the Chicago area and earned her degree in Fine arts from Loyola University. She met the love of her life while studying abroad in Rome, Italy, only to discover he’d been living right around the corner from her for the previous two years. Having spent her twenties working and playing in the Windy City, she’s now settled with her husband in rural Minnesota, where their four beautiful children provide an excess of action, adventure and entertainment.

With writing as her passion and inspiration striking at the most unpredictable times, Mira can always be found with a notebook at the ready. (More than once she’s been caught by the neighbors, covered in grass clippings, scribbling away atop the compost container!)

When she isn’t reading, writing, or running to keep up with the kids, she loves watching movies, blabbing with the girls and cooking with her husband and friends. Check out her website for the latest dish!–

FRONT PAGE AFFAIR

Payton hasn't seen Nate Evans in years—not since he used to hang out with her brother in high school. But now she and Nate are guests at the same wedding where the notorious millionaire offers her a wild proposal—a sexy, scandalous and irresistible affair!
Nate's outrageous proposition was supposed to stay only paper-thin; it was merely a ploy to distract the tabloids from another, all-too-real scandal. But neither he nor Payton expected such a very public affair to prove so very hot in private…
Or to have such lasting consequences….

Excerpt:

        

Today, I’m thrilled to welcome Mira Lynn Kelly, a fellow Midwest Fiction Writer chapter mate and Harlequin Presents Extra author.  With our love of alpha heroes and sexy, passionate stories in common, it's no surprise we hit it off right away.  I'm so glad she decided to share a little about herself with us.

CAT:  Where do you read and how often?

MIRA:  Since writing is now a full time gig, I do it every day. Which means every night I need a way to break out of whatever story I’m currently toiling over…and I’ve found getting lost in someone else’s polished to a high shine writing is the best way for me to accomplish that. So I read every night. Usually on the couch in the living room, while I do my best to ignore Hoarders or Tool Academy or whatever compelling reality drama my husband is currently hooked on. (Also explains why I turn to a book rather than TV, lol!)

CAT:  Do you write to music?  If so, what kind?

MIRA:  Sometimes, but it really depends on where I am in a story. When I’m fine tuning, or working through a particularly sticky scene I need SILENCE. But when I’m dirty drafting…a little dirty music (Maroon 5 is always good) can be a great mood setter.

CAT:  What was the first story you remember writing?

MIRA:  I started writing stories in high school and the first one was about a woman in a nursing home who believed the man visiting her was her husband, when in truth he was married to her daughter. It wasn’t a real romance, lol, that’s for sure.

CAT:  What’s your favorite movie of all time? Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Totally. MIRA:  Aside from Brad Pitt being one of my favorite flavors of man-candy, this movie is just sexy and hilarious and action packed.

CAT:  Be honest, when reading 1^st person...do you miss the hero’s POV?

MIRA:  Yes. I love to get a look inside the hero’s head. Guys have such a different way of looking at things, such a sexy and unique take on what’s happening around them. I always like to be a part of it…for at least a while anyway.

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

MIRA:  Hmm, I think I’d like to be a professional book reviewer, making six figures off it, and only reviewing romances…with happy endings…and no closed door love scenes.

CAT:  What’s the first thing you do when you finish writing a book?

MIRA:  Slump down in my chair and let out breath of relief that feels like it comes straight from my toes. Then there might be some aimless staggering around the house as I let go of all the million little details I’ve been trying to keep at the forefront of my mind for the past two months. A bit of delirium maybe. And finally, I pour a glass of wine and curl up next to the man and watch whatever he’s got on (at this point I’m sufficiently brain dead to tolerate the reality du jour). I usually wait until the next day to start the new project.  

CAT:  If you could interview one person (and it doesn’t have to be a writer) who would it be?

MIRA:  George Clooney. I figure an interview would be a legitimate means of getting within cheap-feel distance, right? Definitely better than just out and out stalking.

GOTTA ASK -- GOTTA ANSWER  J

CAT:  If you were a T-shirt, what color would you be and why?

MIRA:  Black because then I’d be versatile and go with everything. I love that I’d be a T-shirt though because I’m all about the casual…but in my mind a plain black T is sort of the dressier end of casual and can be spiffed up without too much effort…as opposed to the mustard yellow variety that says “I’m with stupid ===>”

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

Thank you very much to Cat and Get Lost In A Story for the opportunity to join you today and share a little bit about myself. But after answering all these questions for you, I feel like I kind of want to ask one of my own. So here it is…

What’s your favorite flavor of romance? Do your tastes run towards something light and funny? Heavy and heart-wrenching? Tart and fresh? Hot and spicy? Or super sweet?

Me? Most often I like mine fresh but with enough heat and complexity to maintain a slow burn throughout and keep me hungering for more…but the truth is I’m a sucker for any romance I can get! I’d love to hear what you crave when you’re looking for a HEA…and even who you think serves it up like no one else. (Yes, I read every night…which means I’m always looking for new authors to add to my must read pile!)

One commenter will be chosen at random to win a copy of my current release FRONT PAGE AFFAIR.**

Wishing all of you a wonderful year!

Mira

For more about Mira, visit her at:  www.miralynkelly.com

**Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America  addresses only. If an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) is available, the author may utilize that option for International participants. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants.

Join us tomorrow when Angi hosts Rebecca York.

Barbara Dunlop

USA Today bestselling author Barbara Dunlop sold her first book to Harlequin in 2000.  She has since written 29 novels for a variety of Harlequin and Silhouette lines.  Barbara is a two time RITA Award finalist and a two time winner of the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart.  Her next book, “The CEO’s Accidental Bride” will be released by Silhouette Desire in January 2011. 

I’m thrilled to interview Barbara Dunlop today.  As a new Desire author, I learned so much of my craft from reading Barbara’s wonderful stories.  No matter how distracting my surroundings, I always know when I pick up one of Barbara’s books, her characters will pull me into their lives with warm humor and passionate encounters.

THE CEO’S ACCIDENTAL BRIDE

There was no way multimillionaire Zach Harper would split his inheritance with a stranger. Even if she was his wife. What had supposedly been a prank Vegas wedding to Kaitlin Saville was very real. And now, according to his late grandmother's will, Zach's future was tied to Kaitlin…forever.

The CEO truly believed he could buy off his bride with a few million and a signed divorce decree. However, Kaitlin didn't want money. She wanted an opportunity only Zach could provide. So he offered her a job, vowing never to consummate their marriage. But some vows were meant to be broken.…

 

Exerpt:

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

BARBARA:  I get lost every time I read a good story.  There’s nothing better than diving into a great book with fun, compelling characters.  And when you have to take a break from reading, it’s wonderful to know the book is waiting for you to pick it up again.  I particularly enjoy comedies.  Janet Evanovich, Jennifer Crusie, Jane Graves and Susan Elizabeth Phillips are some of my favorites.  Recently I’ve been reading Lisa Kleypas contemporaries.  They’re terrific!

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

BARBARA:  As a young girl, I loved the “Little House” books.  As I grew into a teenager, I found myself gravitating toward books with strong romance plots.  I don’t think there were as many Young Adult romances back then.  But I’m sure I would have loved them.

CAT:  Where do you read and how often?

BARBARA:  Lately, I tend to read on airplanes.  I often save books by favorite authors for when I know I have a long flight coming up.  Nothing makes a day of traveling brighter than getting lost in a great story!

CAT:  What was the first story you remember writing?

BARBARA:  I wrote “How the Giraffe Got His Long Neck” when I was about eight years old.

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

BARBARA:  It’s hard to pick out a single film.  I loved “The Last of the Mohicans”.  In a completely different genre, I thought “Charlie Wilson’s War” was fantastic.  But I’m also a huge sucker for a romantic comedy.  Most recently, I laughed out loud through “The Proposal”.  I’m a Sandra Bullock fan.  I also loved “While You Were Sleeping” and “Two Weeks Notice.”  Obviously, I could go on and on!

CAT:  Be honest, when reading 1st person...do you miss the hero’s POV?

BARBARA:  My personal preference is third person, in part because I do enjoy having the hero’s POV.  But a well-written first person story is also enjoyable.  I mentioned Lisa Kleypas in an earlier answer.  Her contemporaries are first person, and they’re incredibly engaging.

CAT:  What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in?

BARBARA:  Comedies are my all time favorite stories to get lost in.  Even though the Stephanie Plum series isn’t really a romance, I still buy them all and laugh my way through.  I like snappy dialogue, particularly great banter between a hero and heroine.  There’s something energizing about a witty, intelligent debate.

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

BARBARA:  In addition to being a writer, I’m also a Film Commissioner.  That means I get to work with a huge variety of filmmakers and support the careers of other artists.  It’s a great job.

CAT:  If you could interview one person (and it doesn’t have to be a writer) who would it be?

BARBARA:  There’s a brilliant news commentator in Canada on the CBC, Rex Murphy.  I don’t know if I’d necessarily want to do a formal interview.  I’d rather have lunch with him and hear his views on world politics, or pretty much anything really.

GOTTA ASK -- GOTTA ANSWER

CAT:  If you were a t-shirt, what color would you be and why?

BARBARA:  I’d be dark purple, something different and mysterious, but not too flashy.

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

The Silhouette Desire line often features powerful heroes and glitzy settings.  What are your favorite hero professions, billionaires, cowboys?  What are your favorite settings?

Barbara can be contacted through her web site www.barbaradunlop.com.

Thank you, Barbara for blogging with us today.

Please stop back Monday, January 10^th when Maureen McGowan hosts Middle Grade and YA author Eileen Cook.

Liz Talley

Get Lost in A LITTLE TEXASHarlequin SuperRomance, January 2011
ISBN-10: 037371680X


"You did what?" Kate Newman asked, tossing aside the letter from the IRS and shuffling through the papers piled on her desk. Maybe she would find something to negate what she'd read. Something that would magically make the whole tax mess disappear. "Tell me this is some kind of joke. Please."

No sound came from the chair across from her. She stopped and looked up. "Jeremy?"

Her friend and business partner sat defeated, shoulders slumped, head drooping like a withered sunflower. Even his ever jittering leg was still.

She picked up the letter again. Only one question left to ask. "How?"

A tear dripped onto his silk shirt before he lifted his head and met her gaze with the saddest puppy-dog eyes she'd ever seen. Jeremy enjoyed being a drama queen, but this time the theatrics were absent. He shook his head. "It's Victor."

"Victor?" she repeated, dumbly. "What does he have to do with the salon? With paying our taxes?"

The small office at the rear of their salon seemed to rock as the reality of the situation sank in. IRS. Taxes not paid. Future in peril. Kate grabbed the edge of the desk and focused on her business partner.

He swallowed before replying in a near whisper, "He's got cancer. It's in his bones now."
"Cancer?"

"He's dying."

Her legs collapsed and she fell into her swivel chair. "Oh, my God. What kind?"

More tears slid down Jeremy's tanned cheeks. He closed his eyes, but not before she saw the torturous pain present within their honey depths. "He was diagnosed with testicular cancer two years ago. He underwent treatment, and the doctors said he was in the clear. We didn't think it was a big deal. We never even told anyone. But six months ago, the cancer came back. And you know when he lost his job, he lost his insurance."

Kate couldn't think of a thing to say. Her feelings were swirling inside her, tangling into a knot of sorrow and outrage. How could this happen? How could Jeremy's life partner be sick and her business at risk? The world had tipped upside down and now Kate was hanging on by her fingernails.

"I didn't know what to do. He was so sick…is so sick, and there was all that money sitting there in the bank. I thought I could pay it back in time. Kate, he's my life." Jeremy's last words emerged as a strangled plea before he broke into gut-wrenching sobs. "Please forgive me, Kate. I needed the money for his chemo. To stop the cancer. It didn't work."

She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the leather chair. She wanted to cry, to express some emotion, or punch Jeremy in the mouth. But all she felt was emptiness. Then fear crowded her heart, choking her with the sour taste of failure. How could she have let this happen? Why had she assumed Jeremy was taking care of their taxes?

"I don't know what to say, Jeremy. I'm seriously contemplating murder."

His shoulders shook harder.

Shit. As angry as she was with him, she knew she'd have done the same thing.

The sunlight pouring in the window seemed way too cheerful for such a day. It pissed her off, so she jerked the blinds shut. "Why didn't you tell me? Let me help you before it came to this?"

His sobs subsided into an occasional sniffle. She knew he hurt badly. His partner meant everything to him. The two men had been together for four years—they'd met at the launch of Fantabulous, Jeremy and Kate's high-energy salon located on the outskirts of Las Vegas. Jeremy and Victor had hit it off immediately, acting like an old married couple almost from the beginning. They were the happiest couple she knew.

"I couldn't. Victor is so private and didn't want anyone to know. He was adamant about it. You're my friend, but he's my partner. I promised, and until now, I kept the promise."

His eyes were plaintive. He could offer no other explanation and Kate couldn't blame him. She'd felt much the same way her whole life. Private. Elusive. Never one to offer up a motive.

"I don't expect you to forgive me, Kate, but there was nowhere else I could go for the money. I even called my parents." Jeremy's long fingers spread in a plea.

"They wouldn't help you," she said, shifting the colorful glass paperweight her friend had given her for Christmas. She wanted to yell at this particular friend, get it through his gel-spiked head, that somehow she would have helped, but it was too late.

"No. Didn't even return my call."

"So what are we going to do? Can't we stop this? Put the IRS off somehow?" Kate knew she sounded desperate. She felt frantic, sick. Vomit perched in the back of her throat. Although Vegas had taken a huge hit economically, they'd been making it, but money wasn't flowing the way it had when they'd first opened.

"I talked to my friend Wendell. He's a bankruptcy lawyer. He said if we could scratch up ten thousand, we might hold them off then see where we stand. He also said we might cut a deal with the IRS and pay a lesser amount on the back taxes."

"Ten thousand?" she echoed. She only had about three thousand in savings and she'd been dipping in to cover extra expenses for the past few months. She didn't own anything she could use for collateral, and they'd put a second mortgage on the salon for an expansion right before the economy tanked. She looked down at the three-hundred-dollar boots she'd bought before the holidays and thought she might be ill on them. She felt stupid. Dumb. She should have been better at saving her money.

Jeremy dropped his head into his hands.

"That feels like a fortune. I don't have it right now. No one does in this economy. The banks won't give us free suckers anymore, much less a loan," Kate said.

"I don't have the cash, either," he said. "I mean, obviously."

She pushed her hands through her hair and looked at the IRS letter. It ridiculed her with its tyrannical words. She wanted to rip it up, pretend it was a silly nightmare. Lose her business? Ha. Ha. Joke's on you, Kate, baby.

But no laughter came. Only the heavy silence of defeat.

Like a bolt of lightning, desperation struck. Once again she was a girl lying in the small bed inside her grandmother's tinfoil trailer, praying she'd have enough to make the payment on her class ring. Praying she'd have enough to buy a secondhand prom dress. Praying no one would find out exactly how poor Katie Newman was.

Her unfortunate beginning had made her hungry, determined to never feel so insignificant again.
She had to get out of the salon.

She snatched her Prada handbag from the desk drawer.

"Where you going?" Jeremy's head popped up. He swiveled to watch her stalk out of the small office.

"Anywhere but here," she said, trying to keep the panic from her voice. She felt as if someone had her around the throat, closing off her oxygen. She could hardly take in the temperate air that hit her when she flung open the back door.

"Kate! Wait! We have to tell Wendell something."

"Tell him to go to hell. I'll rot before they take the salon," Kate managed to say through clenched teeth. And she meant it. She didn't care what Jeremy had done. She wasn't going to lose her business. She'd go Scarlett O'Hara on them if she had to. The image of her clutching a fistful of deposit slips in the bank lobby crying out, "As God is my witness, I shall never go hungry again!" popped into her mind. She saw herself sinking onto the bank's cheap Oriental rug, tears streaming down her face.

She yanked open the door of her cute-as-a-button powder-blue VW Bug, plopped her purse on the seat and slid her sunglasses into place. "Screw 'em. I ain't giving in. Even if I have to sew a dress from my stupid-ass curtains, I'll get that money."

She wasn't making sense. She didn't care that she wasn't making sense. She needed money. She needed it fast.

And there was only one way for her to make money fast in Vegas. Blackjack.

Three hours later, Kate slid onto a leather stool in the casino lounge. For all the clanging and clinking going on outside the bar, it was eerily quiet in here. Curved lamps threw soft light on the polished dark walnut tables scattered around the room. Kate had chosen the nearly empty bar over a cozy table. She needed to be close to the liquor.

Blackjack had not been her friend. In fact, blackjack had taken her last hundred dollars and bitch slapped her.

"What'll it be?" said the bartender. He wore an old-fashioned white apron that suited the Old World ambience of the place. Soft music piping from the speakers settled over the few patrons.

Kate pursed her lips. "Grey Goose, twist of lime, three cubes of ice."

"Nice. I like a woman who drinks like a man." The voice came from her left. She glanced over at the guy.

"I wasn't aware vodka was a man's drink," she responded with a lift of one eyebrow, a move she'd perfected in junior high school.

"Touche," he said, sliding a predatory smile her way. He looked good. Toothy grin, disheveled brown hair, five o'clock stubble designed to make him doubly irresistible. Any other time and Kate might bite.

But not tonight.

She gave him a flashbulb smile and turned ever so slightly to her right. Stay away, buddy.

But he was like any other man—couldn't read a woman's body language. She felt him scoot closer.

The bartender set the glass in front of her. Without hesitating, she picked it up and downed the vodka in one swallow. It felt good sliding down her throat, burning a path to her stomach.

"And you drink like a man, too," her unwanted companion said.

Kate turned toward him, not bothering to toss him a smile this time. "How do you know I'm not a man? We're in Vegas."

His eyes raked her body. "I can see you're not a man."

Kate narrowed her eyes. "Good vision, huh? Well, don't trust your eyes. Don't trust anybody, for that matter."

She didn't say anything else, just turned from him and studied the way the light illuminated the bottles lining the mirrored bar. It made their contents glow, made them seductive.

Bars of "Sweet Caroline" erupted from her purse and she rifled through it until she found her cell phone. A quick glance at the screen and she knew her friend Billie had finally got around to returning her earlier call. Finally. She could seriously use a sympathetic shoulder. And not of the rumpled, sexy, "can I buy you a drink" variety.

She punched the answer button on her iPhone. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Oh, my God, I'm like so having an emergency here." Billie's normally sarcastic tone sounded like neurotic chicken. A whispery neurotic chicken.

"What's going on?"

"He freakin' proposed!"

"Nick?" Kate asked, picking up the fresh drink in front of her.

"No, the Easter Bunny," Billie huffed into the phone. "I'm in the bathroom. Oh, God. I don't know what to say…I think I'm hyperventilating."

Kate pulled the phone from her ear and stared at it. Where was her calm, self-assured friend? The one she needed now that her business was doomed? "Okay, first thing, head between your knees."

"The toilet area's not real clean. I'm gonna stand."

Kate wanted to scream that she'd lost everything today and didn't need to hear about Nick and his damned proposal. But she didn't. Instead she said, "Okay."

"Kate, he has a ring and everything. He actually got down on one knee." Billie's voice now sounded shell-shocked. "I didn't know what to do."

Kate picked up the vodka and tossed it back. It felt as good going down as the first one. "So you said."

"I said I had to go pee," Billie whispered.

Kate couldn't help it. She laughed.

"Don't you dare laugh, Kate Newman!" Billie snapped. "This is not funny."

Kate sobered. Well, kinda sobered. The vodka was working its magic. "You're right. It's not funny. It's sweet."

"You can't be serious," Billie whispered. "He's talking marriage. Marriage, Kate!"

Kate heard something muffled in the background, then Billie's quick intake of breath. Then she heard Billie call, presumably to Nick, that she'd be right out.

"Okay, stop chewing your hair."

"What?"

"Do you love him?" Kate asked.

"Yes. I totally love him," Billie whispered. "Then say yes."

"Are you joking?" Billie said. "Did you just tell me to say yes? You don't believe in marriage."

It was true, she didn't—well, at least not for herself. Love was fairy-tale bullshit. She shouldn't be giving relationship advice to a dead cockroach, much less a living, breathing friend. "I don't. But you do."

The line remained silent.

"Can you imagine waking up with him every morning even when he's old and wrinkly and…impotent? Can you imagine watching your grandchildren together? Filing joint taxes? Painting a nursery?" Kate couldn't seem to stop the scenarios tumbling from her lips. "How about picking out china patterns or cleaning up your kids' vomit—"

"Okay. I get it. Yes," Billie said.

"Then hang up, open the door and take that ring."

Kate punched the end button and tossed the phone on the bar. If Billie was so stupid as to reject a man who loved her despite her seriously weird attributes, then she deserved to stay locked in Nick's bathroom. With pee on the floor.

When she looked up, the bartender and her previously pushy friend stared at her as if she'd lost her mind. Well, she had. And her business along with it. And now Billie wasn't even available to her. Kate was on her own.
Like always.

Before she'd hit the ATM machine several hours earlier, she'd contemplated borrowing the money she needed from Billie. As a successful glass artist with international acclaim, her friend had steady cash flow even in a bad economy. But Kate never asked for help. And to do so now, with a friend, felt not cool. With a possible wedding on the horizon for Billie, ten thousand would be hard to spare. Besides, if she were going to borrow money, it would be from her absolute best friend who lived in Texas and was loaded to the gills with old oil money. But Kate had never asked Nellie to help her before, not even when Kate had dropped out of college her freshman year to go to beauty school and spent three months eating bologna and ramen noodles.

She couldn't bring herself to do it. Kate had always relied on herself to make it through whatever problem arose, and this was no different.

But what would she do? There was no way the salon could generate extra income in the coming months. It was post-Christmas and debt squashed unnecessary services for regular customers. Many spas had closed their doors and many friends had gone from esthetician to cocktail waitress in the past few months.

ABOUT MY FRIEND, SUPERROMANCE

AUTHOR LIZ TALLEYFrom the time she learned to read to the present, Liz Talley has always had a fascination with books. As a child she read Little Golden Books instead of napping. And, oh, the first time she read a romance - The Thornbirds – she was hooked. She ate up the Superromances on the shelves of her aunt's used bookstore, borrowed her grandmother's medical romances, and poked through her dad's westerns for the "romantic parts" (which lasted about a page).

Of course, it never occurred to Liz to write a book until her college roommate said, "You read so many of those things, why don't you write one?" The idea stuck with her. After a stint as an English teacher and stay at home mom, Liz found writing a great way to avoid an ever-growing pile of laundry. After a Golden Heart final with a Regency romance, Liz started her career in contemporary romance on the same day she met her editor. Coincidence? She prefers to call it fate.

Liz lives in North Louisiana with her high school sweetheart, two beautiful children and a menagerie of animals. She serves as the president of her local RWA chapter and Vice-president of the Golden Network. She loves strawberries, fishing, retail therapy, and is always game for a spa day. When not writing, she can be found working in the flowerbed, doing laundry or driving carpool.

ON THE RIGHT: Liz at the 2010 Harlequin Author Party. 
BELOW: Liz & me at the 2010 RWA Golden Heart/RITA Awards. ~ ~ ~ ~ANGI: What’s the first book you remember reading?
AMY: The first book I remember reading was The Little Engine That Could, which is a great first book to remembering reading. It’s a great book for writers to keep beside them because the “tracks” to publication are fraught with all kinds of crazy turns and steep hills, but if you can remember to just keeping going, reciting in your head “I think I can, I think I can” then you’ll reach the top before you know it. Great analogy for writers…okay, and people everywhere. The first romance I remember reading had a nurse, an doctor and a fast little convertible. I have no idea what the name was, but I was hooked.

ANGI: What’s your favorite fairy tale?
AMY: Beauty and the Beast. I love finding something beautiful and unexpected beneath the surface, and that fairytale delivers. I particularly love the Disney version with dancing candlesticks and French maid dusters. I try hard to portray the same elements in my stories. I think my upcoming January release has that “beneath the surface” element in that my heroine Kate is one tough cookie on the surface, but underneath she’s lonely, scared and hurting. A Little Texas is her story of emptying her heart of anger and filling it with the love of family and one particularly sexy man.

ANGI: What was the first story you remember writing?
AMY: The first story I remember writing where I got that writer’s high was in 10th grade English. We were to write a creative writing piece. I wrote one about a prisoner who’d escaped and was being chased in the woods. I remember writing about his heart racing and the hounds barking. Then he stumbles upon a serene old chapel in the woods. He takes refuge there and instead of hiding, he is compelled to sink to his knees and pray for the first time in a long time. When I finished the three page short story, I remember thinking, “Man, this is good.” I got an “A” on it, too.

ANGI: What’s your favorite movie of all time?
AMY: Hmmm…that’s tough. I truly love Sense and Sensibility. I also love Notting Hill. Bridget Jones Diary ranks up there, too. Can you sense a pattern? Yeah, I love Hugh Grant. But, he’s not my type. I just like him. Like I want to hang out with him.

ANGI: What’s something you’d like to tell your fans?
AMY: Do I have fans outside of my mother? LOL. If I have any, I think I’d like them to know how dear my characters are to me. I feel like I know them. Like really know them. Oak Stand feels like my hometown. I wish I could get my hair trimmed at The Curlique and roll my buggy down the aisles of the Shop and Save. I want to sip tea with Margo on Tucker House’s front porch and swap cookie recipes with Ester. I think we writers get so attached to our characters it feels real. Which is why I get defensive when careless reviewers post things like “I don’t get her” or “I think the name of the town is stupid.” It feels like someone calling your baby ugly to your face. It hurts. So we authors are a bit vulnerable when it comes to our “babies.”

ONE OF LIZ'S YOUNGEST FANS READING HER BOOK.

ANGI: Do you write while listening to music? If so what kind?
AMY: Nope. I can’t. I get so distracted, even by instrumental music. I do, however, get inspired by music when I’m plotting. Which is usually while I’m driving, or showering, or sitting in carpool.

ANGI: What’s the first thing you do when you finish writing a book?
AMY: Type “The end,” push back my chair, and give it a Rocky double fist pump. It always feels good.

ANGI: If you were given a chance to travel to the past where would you go and specifically why? AMY: Definitely the Middle Ages. I love castles and knights and crofters and Scottish Lairds and those stiff collars the ladies wore. But, maybe the later Middle Ages/Early Renaissance. Put me in London. I’d want to be a Lady’s maid at court. Just let me take a bar of soap, some antibiotics and a razor with me. Okay, and maybe some deodorant. And a toothbrush. You know, I’m really happy with where I am right now. LOL.

ANGI’S GOTTA ASK -- AMY’S GOTTA ANSWER
QUESTION: Is there a real Bubba in your life?
ANSWER: Absolutely. My brother Blake serves as my inspiration for Bubba. Blake stands 6’3” and a good 320lbs, if not more. He’s huge, strong and has a sweet heart. His beard is red and his head mostly bald. He has bright blue eyes and hands the size of a small chicken. He drives a gooseneck trailer for oil and gas companies making deliveries. He hunts, he fishes, and he loves dogs. He’s getting married on January 15th. He’s a wonderful Christian man who had given up whiskey and honkytonks, for a family and horses. Every time I write Bubba, he talks, acts and says things like my brother.

GOT A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?I’ve told you about a real life person I based a character on, so if you could write a character based on someone in your life, who would it be and why?

BE CERTAIN to leave a comment today. Liz is graciously drawing for a copy of Vegas Two Step (the first book set in Oak Stand and Liz's debut SuperRomance) along with a $10.00 gift card to Barnes and Noble.

You’ll want to look at more of Liz’s books on her website: Liztalleybooks.com and to “friend” her on Twitter and Facebook: amyliztalley. Be sure to add GetLostInAStory to your FB LIKE pages and receive notification of today’s winner of VEGAS TWO STEP & the Barnes & Noble gift card.

A VERY BIG THANKS TO CYNTHIA D'ALBA for gathering the initial interview from Liz. I failed to mention that Cynthia will be conducting some guest interviews but had to leave town during Liz's. Cynthia will be with GLIAS on Wednesday, January 5th with Vicki Lewis Thompson.

Krista Davis will join us tomorrow and Angi will be blogging throughout New Year’s weekend about CLAIMING 2011 AS YOUR YEAR. So be sure to join us again. ~~til this weekend, Angi