Spotlight Author with Vaness Kelly

Hello Vanessa, it is so nice to have you back. I am so excited to announce the arrival of your newest release, MY FAVORITE COUNTESS, which was released on May 3, 2011. We would love to hear a little bit about this book.

MY FAVORITE COUNTESS is the third book in my Regency-set historical series, and I had a great time writing it. The heroine is a bit of a departure for me—Bathsheba was the villainess of my previous book, SEX AND THE SINGLE EARL. I always liked her, even though she is a bad girl, and I thought it would be interesting to reform her. It was! But I wanted to pair her with someone a bit different from your average duke or earl, so I came up with Dr. John Blackmore.

John is a physician who practices midwifery—an obstetrician by our definition. Even though he has a flourishing practice among the aristocracy, his real passion is caring for the impoverished women and children of the slums. He and Bathsheba want very different things out of life, so they both have quite a journey to reach their HEA. But I had a wonderful time creating a strong yet compassionate hero who would challenge Bathsheba’s values and way of life.

I also really enjoyed bringing back the hero and heroine of my first book, MASTERING THE MARQUESS, to appear in this novel. Stephen and Meredith are now two years into their marriage and they play rather prominent roles in MY FAVORITE COUNTESS, facing almost as many challenges in this book as John and Bathsheba do.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on the fourth and final book in this series. It’s untitled right now, but the hero is introduced in MY FAVORITE COUNTESS. He’s Major Lucas Stanton, a career soldier who is forced to give up his commission when he inherits an earldom. The really fun thing about this book is that it’s a Christmas story. The entire Stanton family will appear in it because when I think of Christmas, I think of families!

Do you have other releases expected out this year?

I have a Regency-set short story called His Wicked Revenge, which will be e-published this month. In February, I had a novella appear in an anthology with Jo Beverley, Sally MacKenzie, and Kaitlin O’Riley. The antho is called AN INVITATION TO SIN and it’s still in stores. I think all four stories are great, and it was a thrill to be in a collection with Jo Beverley.

What is your favorite thing about writing romance?

I love making up exciting stories which are passionate and sexy, and always have a happy ending. I really enjoy being able to give my readers books that can transport them to a fun place, and perhaps even give them a break from a tough or annoying day. Nothing is better than getting an email from someone who tells you that you made a difference in her life.

What type of hero do you find irresistible?

I love the classic alpha male, and by classic I mean strong and heroic in the traditional sense. My heroes are very masterful, but I also want them to be loving and protective toward their women and basically worship the ground my heroines walk on. I like big, sexy guys, too, who are uber-competent and confident and who know what they want.

If you had to pick a favorite character that you have created or one that you wish you had created who would it be and why?

I have to say, I really love Bathsheba. She was nothing more than a throwaway line in my first book, but she just kept growing in my head. Not that she’s easy to love—she’s not. Frankly, she was pretty awful in SEX AND THE SINGLE EARL, and she had to go quite a ways to redeem herself. But I just knew she had an interesting story to tell and a good reason for being who she was. Discovering that backstory was a really cool process, and I had a great time developing a flawed heroine who is also smart, courageous and, at the end of the day, has a very big heart. I think she is by far my most interesting character. As a runner-up, I would pick Meredith Burnley from my first book, MASTERING THE MARQUESS.
Where can we find out more about your writing?

Three places:

My website: http//www.vanessakellyauthor.com
My blog: http://vanessakellyauthor.wordpress.com/

You can also find links to Twitter, facebook, and Goodreads on my website.

Finally, you can find me at my other website, VK Sykes. That’s the pen name for the contemporary romances that I write with my husband for Carina Press: http://www.vksykes.com/

Thanks for stopping in and sharing your book. Can’t wait to get my hands on it. ;-) Next week I will have Joan Swan as my guest.

See you then.

Hugs

Micole

Spotlight Author with Vanessa Kelly

I know I have said this already, but I LOVE the fall. October is especially one of my favorite months. And so far October has turned out exactly the way I have hoped. Now that we are no longer country folk, we are closer to everything in town. And though I greatly miss the country, I am also happy that our new closeness to everything has given us the extra time to do the things we have missed out on the last few years. So far I have decorated the house, taken the kids to the Corn Maze, hand picked our pumpkins and just last night had a great pumpkin caving party! Everyone’s pumpkins turned out amazing!!!

Speaking of amazing, I don’t think I’ve had the chance to introduce this weeks Spotlight Author, Vanessa Kelly. So enough about me, let’s see what Vanessa has to share with us.

What is it about the Regency era that made you decide you wanted to create your stories and characters there?

What I love most about the period is that fascinating combination of glamour, glitter, and wit exemplified by London’s elite society, co-existing alongside a truly gritty and flourishing underworld. The beauty and culture of the Mayfair mansions was only a few blocks away from the worst stews of London. But those worlds often intersected in a strangely democratic way in places like Covent Garden and Vauxhall. Throw in the danger and intrigue of the Napoleonic Wars and you have a killer combination. I also studied the writers of the Georgian and Regency era in grad school, so it was natural that I would be drawn to writing about that particular and very vibrant period in history.
What makes your voice different from others?

That’s a tough one, because what we think of as voice can be so ephemeral. Several readers and reviewers have told me that my voice combines elements of the traditional Regency with the “steamy passion” of today’s Regency-set historical romances. That’s certainly the effect I want to achieve. I love the wit and storylines of the trads, but I also like the more sensual stories of today’s historical romances. I try to bring the best of both those worlds into my stories.

Tell us about your latest release.

My latest release is called Sex And The Single Earl, which is the second book in the series that I started with Mastering The Marquess. It’s a classic friends-to-lovers story with a dash of suspense thrown in. Book three in the series is due out in May, and it’s called My Favorite Countess. It’s got a bit of a twist – the villainess of Sex And The Single Earl is the heroine of this book. It was a challenge to reform her, but I really enjoyed it.




What are you working on now?

I’m starting work on the fourth book in my series, which is a Christmas story, and I just finished wrapping up copy edits on My Favorite Countess. My other project is something completely different. I write contemporary romance with my husband under the pen name of V.K. Sykes. We published our first book together this past July with Carina Press. It’s called CaddyGirls, and it’s a very fun and sexy read. Right now we’re working on another book.

When you are not writing, what do you like to read?

Naturally, I read a lot of historical romance, especially Regencies. I love Loretta Chase, Teresa Medeiros, Anna Campbell, and Eloisa James. I’m also a huge fan of Kris Kennedy, who writes fantastic medieval romance. And I’m a big fan of romantic suspense and contemporary romance. One of my favorite writers these days is Toni Blake, who writes wonderful contemporary and erotic romance, and I also love Karen Rose and Cynthia Eden, who both write spine-tingling romantic suspense. As you can imagine, I read a lot of history and biography, which is a necessary but very enjoyable element of my research. It never feels like work!
You have an anthology coming out in February 2011. How do you get chosen to be part of an anthology?

My editor asked me. Since I’ll be featured in that anthology with Jo Beverley, Sally MacKenzie, and Kaitlin O’Riley, it was no hardship to say yes! The anthology is called An Invitation To Sin, and the stories are just great.
What steps did you take to make your dreams come true?

The first thing I did was to join my local Romance Writers of America chapter. RWA is an invaluable resource to writers just getting started. I also took my time writing the best book that I could, and then I set the goal of acquiring an agent. Getting published can be a frustrating experience, but I did my best to be patient. We still have to live our lives and take care of ourselves and our families while we’re waiting to get the call, so it’s important to keep a balance and not get overwhelmed by the process.
Do you have any advice about finding an agent or getting published?

Join RWA, get a good critique partner, work on your craft, and be patient. Writers feel so much pressure today to get published and stay published, that I think they sometimes forget why they do it in the first place – to write and to share stories.
Vanessa, thank you so much for being a guest on my blog. Where can we find out more about you and your books?

You can visit me on the web at http://www.vanessakellyauthor.com/ and http://www.vksykes.com/. Thanks for having me on!

It has been a pleasure, Vanessa. I wish you many sales on all your tittles. Readers as a special treat, Vanessa has offered one lucky commenter a copy of her book MASTERING THE MARQUESS. So friends, make sure to leave her a comment.

Thanks for stopping by. See you next time!

Hugs

Micole