Spotlight Author with Anna Campbell

October happens to be one of my favorite months of the year. I love Fall. The color’s of the fallen leaves, the cooler weather, all of the yummy food, and the awesome holidays. I spent all of last week trying to gather everything for my Halloween dinner table decorations. Maybe I will include a picture on my next blog. It is done after having disassembling it a couple of times. I have finally come up with something I am able to live with looking at for the next month! ;-) Enough about me… I have an awesome guest here with me today, Anna Campbell. You won’t want to miss this one. Anna has great advice and all of the info you will need to know about her latest and upcoming releases. Let’s not waste any more time. Here’s Anna…

Hi Micole! Thanks so much for asking me to be your guest today.

It is my pleasure Anna. So what’s the 411 on your latest release?

Right now, I’m in between releases so if it’s OK, I’ll talk about two books. Last June, MY RECKLESS SURRENDER, my fifth historical romance from Avon hit the stands. It’s the story of a dangerous seduction in Regency London and you can read an excerpt on my website: http://www.annacampbell.info/recklesssurrender.html Romantic Times Book Reviews chose MRS as a Top Pick and called it “quite a book!” In May 2011, MIDNIGHT’S WILD PASSION comes out. How’s that for a luscious title? It’s the closest I’ve ever come to writing a classic Regency romance. Sparks fly when rakish Nicholas Challoner, Marquess of Ranelaw, intent on revenge, meets opposition from spirited and mysterious chaperone Antonia Smith. It’s an immovable object and irresistible force romance – I always love them! It’s still too early to share the cover, the blurb or an excerpt, but all of those will appear on the website in the coming months.

What drew you to writing Regency Historicals?

I love the elegance and the wit of the period – and they have to be some of the nicest fashions. Yeah, I know, call me shallow! LOL. But there’s something to be said for men in boots!

What are you working on now?

Right now, I’m writing a short story for a forthcoming Mammoth anthology. In August, my extended short story ‘Upon a Midnight Clear’ appeared in the MAMMOTH BOOK OF REGENCY ROMANCE so I jumped at the chance to write another story for them. This one’s a bit off the beaten track for me. After that, I’m starting a new book which features a wonderfully tortured knight-in-shining armor hero and my first Scottish setting since CLAIMING THE COURTESAN.

What is your writing process? Plotter or Panster?

Definitely a pantser! I like to describe my process as ‘organic’. I start with two characters (and sometimes a villain), an opening scene and a problem and see where the story takes me. It’s messy and longwinded and I’m positive plotting would be more efficient but it seems to be the way I put a book together so I’m stuck with this process.

How long does it take you to write a manuscript?

I basically do a book a year.

What is your favorite thing about being an author?

Going to work in my pajamas? Oh, you want a serious answer! There’s a stack of wonderful things I love about being an author. I love being able to share my stories with people all around the world, I adore hearing from readers saying they’ve enjoyed the books, I love that I write full-time and I can set my own timetable.

Often times writers describe writing a love scene like being an intruder in something so very personal. Do you feel this way and how do you get through the dreaded love scene?

Actually, I’m not sure what this says about me but I really enjoy writing love scenes. I adore the way a really good love scenes strips the characters naked, not just physically but emotionally as well.

Pick one of your characters that is your favorite, which one will it be and why?

Oh, no, that’s like asking someone to pick their favorite child! Right now, and only because he’s my most recent hero, I think my heart belongs to Nicholas Challoner, Marquess of Ranelaw, the hero from my next release MIDNIGHT’S WILD PASSION. He’s such a delicious rake and he falls like a ton of bricks for the heroine Antonia. Gotta love a bad boy brought to his knees by love!

Do you have any advice on writing, getting published, or finding an agent?

Ha ha! How long have you got? People write books about this stuff. Here’s a couple of bits of advice I think are invaluable. One is sit down and write the book right to the end. You’ll hit a point where you think you’ve got a better idea and the temptation will be to abandon what you’re working on and pick up the new story. DON’T! It’s your mind playing horrible weasel tricks on you because it doesn’t want to face the hard work of finishing the current project. You’ll notice if you do listen to the voices of doubt and start the new book that about the same stage in the new project, that voice will start whispering with yet another new project. Repeat ad nauseam. I know how dangerous this is because it’s something I used to do and I have the numerous stumps of books under the bed to prove it. Another piece of great advice is once you finish a story, put it away for as long as you can (six months is good if you can manage it). When you come back to edit that manuscript, you’ll have some distance and you’ll be amazed at what you pick up in the way of mistakes and ways you can improve the story.

Give us a glimpse into your writer’s life.


When I’m home and writing, I get up really early, I check emails and do a bit of promotion. Then I have breakfast and settle down to writing or whatever else is urgent. I stop for an early lunch around 11:30, have a bit of a break, then I usually go back for a couple of hours in the afternoon. That’s usually when I do my serious writing. I spend a lot of time with my computer so I love stuff like Facebook and email that remind me there’s a real world out there!

I am so happy that you were able to join us Anna. I know you have been a very busy woman. Here’s to great success on your latest release MY RECKLESS SURRENDER . You can find out more about Anna and her books at…

My website: www.annacampbell.info

My Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anna-Campbell-Fan-Page/464724380503?ref=ts#!/pages/Anna-Campbell-Fan-Page/464724380503?ref=ts

My HarperCollins Author Page: http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/31961/Anna_Campbell/index.aspx

The Romance Bandits blog http://romancebandits.blogspot.com




Thanks for having me as your guest, Micole. I’d love to offer one commenter to your blog a signed copy of MY RECKLESS SURRENDER, my most recent release. Good luck!


You heard her friends. She’s offering up the goodies, so make sure you are the lucky commenter. Thank you for stopping by, Micole Writes Romance. Appreciate any and all views that I get. Make sure to tell your friends.

Hugs

Micole