Spotlight Author with Clare Austin

Good evening. Still spending all of my free time unpacking, organizing and cleaning. Thankfully, I get to take a break and spend some time with my guest, romantic suspense author, Clare Austin.

So Clare, tell us about your latest release, ANGEL'S SHARE.

ANGEL'S SHARE is a contemporary romantic suspense and the second book in the Fad Trilogy. It is set in Boston. The first book in the series introduces the Sloane family from Dublin, Ireland and features Flannery, the youngest sister and fiddle player in the family band. In ANGEL'S SHARE the heroine is the sister, Kerry. We find out this wise older sister has a painful secret from her past in Ireland. She has buried the truth successfully in her new life in Boston until the man from her past shows up at O'Fallon's Pub where Kerry sings.

Aidan Kennedy is a man who grew up in the war torn streets of Northern Ireland during the worst of the conflict between Catholics and Protestants. he is focused, dangerous and deeply in love with Kerry Sloane.

This is a novel about love, conflict, and the power of family ties. It is my first suspense and was a daunting project for me. I like to write romantic comedy. But, I've gotten good reviews and many readers have asked for more suspense and mystery in future projects.

What are you working on now?

I am about half way through the third and last book in the Fad. The working title is Selkie's Song. I've taken the story back to the west coast of Ireland in this one.

Tynan Sloane, brother to Flannery and Kerry, is called to Ireland to settle family business. he doesn't expect to be confronted by the mysterious and feisty Murren O'Malley, artist and political activist.

I read in your bio on your website that you wrote your first book, 400 pages none the less in a month! Tell me how you did that and have you done it again since?

I did the four hundred pager as a NaNoRiMo project a few years back. I'd never written a full length novel and I figured if i could get a 50k done, I'd have at least proven I could write something. My characters wouldn't stop t 50k. I wrote night and day, thought about little else and typed until I had such bad eye and neck strain my face went numb.

When I finished this tale, loaded with everything I thought I had to tell, I feared I hadn't anther story, so I wrote a second book. This one was slightly more focused and took maybe three months to complete. I liked it. It was romantic and fun to write. Again I feared that was it for my story telling.

By now you are getting the idea that I am a rather driven person. Everything I do is to the extreme. When confronted with a challenge, I rarely back down. This probably explains why I had a houseful of sons, competed in a totally intense horse sport, play the violin... well, you get the idea. I wrote a third book, HOT FLASH, available in July 2010.

Some writers say that they have a story that has to be told, other's say that the characters come to them and demand that their story be told... how does it work for you?

Both ways. BUTTERFLY was almost all character driven. Flannery Sloane would not shut up, she woke me in the middle of the night, rattled around in my brain while I worked, made e laugh out loud while I drove my car and rode my horse. She was so much fun to hang around with. It has been interesting to me that readers feel the same way about her. They write and ask me if she's going to have a baby, what her next music project will be, will she stay in Boston? Some of the answers I know--others she hasn't told even me yet.


ANGEL'S SHARE was a little different. I already had my ensemble, the Sloane family. Kerry was a known quantity. I had to create a plot to challenge her. I had always wanted to write a story that touched on the conflict in Northern Ireland, The Troubles. I used this theme as a background for my hero in ANGEL'S SHARE. Kerry and Aidan remind me of an Italian expression "vento nel vento." It means something link wind coming from different directions, joining and causing a cyclone. When these characters find quiet in the eye of the storm, it is a rare and tender time.

How long did it take before you got "THE CALL"?

I had been writing seriously for about two years when I finished BUTTERFLY. It sold quickly-- less than six months after starting to submit it. I don't want to give the impression that it was easy. I got my share of rejection letters in that short time. I had also been submitting HOT FLASH but nothing much was happening with it. I thought that since it is about an older woman, baby boomer readers would go for it and that would be the selling point for publishers. they didn't see it my way. I set it aside and concentrated on the Fad series. When my publisher, The Wild Rose Press, bought my trilogy they asked if I had anything else. HOT FLASH fit right into their "Last Rose of Summer" imprint.

What is your favorite thing about being an author?

I just love telling stories. It probably has much to do with my fantasy life. As far back as I can remember... maybe when I was four years old... I told stories in my head, had make believe friends, created complex scenarios of lives I wished to experience. It's not like my "real" life has been dull by any sense of the imagination either. It's always exciting in reality. Fantasy is like taking a vacation in my head. I can go anywhere, be anyone, experience life as a hero, villain, young or old.

Now tell us a little bit about Clare Austin. Who are you? what do you do when you're not writing hunky heroes and romantic love stories?


The real Clare Austin might be described as a neurotically private person. That may be why I have such a vivid fantasy life.


I have spent many years in and around the world of horses, competing in the sport of Three Day Eventing. This is the background in my book HOT FLASH. I am never a character in my own book. Bits of me, sure, but no, I'm not Flannery, as many people have asked. She does things that would scare me to death.

I love aviation and have had the privilege of flying the PT-17 trainer... a bigplane with an amazing history.

When I'm not writing, I am probably riding horses, swimming, hiking or hanging out with my "hero". I travel quiet a bit, go to Ireland every summer and have spent much time in Italy because I have family there.

I knit... socks mostly, play the violin and the Celtic harp. I think of my daily life as 'research'... listening to people as they tell their stories (Ireland is a great place for this).

Do you have any tricks of the trade that you are willing to share with us?

Write with your heart and then be willing to let it go. Your stories are like children. Raise them the best you can and let them go out into the world. I love my boys, but I didn't weep over my empty nest when they took off on their own. I rejoiced!

I have often been asked how I feel about criticism of my writing or when an editor says something must change or be deleted. My answer is simple... If you are writing your books to sell you must realize it is a business. No publisher, editor or agent is not going to buy, produce or endorse your book unless they can make money on it... it has to sell. you can write like the next Dan Brown, but you'll never get into print if you do not understand this is a business. It's as simple as that.

Some of what I write, I think is brilliant... I'm a wordsmith in my own mind. That's fine, but if a publisher doesn't buy it, a reader doesn't read it, recommend it, pass it on... I'm not an author!

Thank you Clare, for dropping by Micole Writes Romance and sharing your story with us. You can find Clare's books at www.clareaustin.com go to the books page and there is a link to get an autographed copy of any of her available books. She takes Pay Pal for purchases and shipping.

Her books are also available as electronic books, Kindle, Nook, and E-Book anywhere e-books are sold as well as from her website.

You can also purchase them from www.thewildrosepress.com

She loves to hear from her readers,. Her email is Authorclare@gmail.com.

Thanks again for spending your precious time with us here at Micole Writes Romance!

Hugs

Micole

Spotlight Author with Donna Hatch

This weeks Spotlight author Donna Hatch has been a very busy woman. She has not one but two books out this month from The Wild Rose Press. Let's see what she has to share with us about herself and these two new titles.

Tell us about yourself, Donna.

I guess I should say right off the bat that I am a certified loon. Not only am I an author, which means I hear voices in my head and my characters are more real to me than most "real" people, but I am also the mother of six children. And yes, I did that on purpose!

One word Donna. WOW!!!! You have two titles coming out in April, THE GUISE OF A GENTLEMAN, and QUEEN IN EXILE. Can you tell us a little bit about each of them?

THE GUISE OF A GENTLEMAN: A young widow's quiet world is shattered by a impulsive gentleman of many secrets. When she is dragged into his world of violence and deceit, she may not survive the revelation of his past... or still love him when the truth is revealed.







QUEEN IN EXILE: The last surviving member of her family, a princess must place her life, and the fate of her kingdom, into the hands of a trained killer. But accepting her destiny, and her own dark powers, will mean losing the man she loves.


They both sound amazing Donna. Thank you for sharing them with is. Now, can you tell us where your inspiration comes from?


Inspiration can come from anywhere, a song, a movie, a secondary character in another book. Sometimes I can't trace where the story actually began, it often just starts as a seed of an idea and then expands. I've yet to have started a story based on a dream, though;-)


Some writers say that they have a story that has to be told, others say that the characters come to them and demand that their story be told... how does it work for you?


Both ways, I suppose. A character usually comes to me and tells me the main idea of their story, and then I go to work fleshing out both plot and the characters. Once or twice, I've started with a concept of a problem, and then found characters to deal with it. Really, my characters that drive the story; the plot, or the problem, is just a hardship for them to overcome so that they can really grow and shine and ultimately triumph.

How long did it take you to write your first book?


Well, if by my first book, you mean my first book to have gotten published, it took only a couple of months to write the rough draft, and then a good year of revisions, submitting to contests and critique partners, then more revisions. After it was contracted, my editor and I decided to turn it into a series, so that meant more revisions to replace secondary characters with the hero's brother to bring them in to his story in preparation for stories of their own. That took a few more months. THE STRANGER SHE MARRIED is the final result.

My first book I wrote that later got published was QUEEN IN EXILE, my fantasy. I wrote the rough draft in high school, edited a bunch of times, then put it away when I started my family. Every few years, I'd get it out, do a little revising, and then it got put on the back burner. I got serious about trying to get it published about six years ago, but after a few rejections, I put it away to concentrate on Regencies. After my first two Regencies were accepted for publication, I started trying to get it published again. Several revisions later--and a lot f persistence--it was accepted. The entire journey took over 20 years.

That's a great story. Thank you for telling it. So many people don't understand the time, persistence, blood sweat and tears... it sometimes takes to get your work published.

What do Donna Hatch fans have to look forward to in 2010?

I'm finishing book three of my Regency Series and getting ready to submit it, it my not be released in time to make the end of the year, due to the lengthy publication process. Probably the only book to be released in 2010 are the two coming out in April, QUEEN IN EXILE, and THE GUISE OF A GENTLEMAN.


Hey that's nothing to blow off Donna. I would love to have two titles out in a year! :) If you had to choose one character from your books, who would be your favorite? And why?

Ouch, no fair! That's like asking me to choose a favorite child! But i think I'm probably more attached to my heroes than my heroines because I fall in love with the heroes. But Jared, the hero of GUISE OF A GENTLEMAN,took virtually no character development; he simply walked off the page. And I did dream about him when I had to put away the rough draft to finish final edits from my editor for the first book in that series. Jared wasn't happy I was ignoring him and paying attention to his brother. I decided there were worse things than gorgeous pirates who wanted my attention;-)

Those characters can be very temperamental can't they?

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Be persistent. most people have dreams of writing a novel, but never finish one. Most people who finish a novel never submit it, and most who submit, give up after a few rejections.

I agree. Rejection isn't something that most people are looking for1 ;-) How about tricks of the trade that you are wiling to share?

Be willing to accept criticism. have trusted critique partners give you feedback and really consider what they are telling you. I had one person reject everything I suggested, and she told me that all of her friends and family told her that her book was good just as it was so she had no intentions of changing it to please an editor. She decided to self-publish. And if that is what your goal is, go for it. But if you want to be published by a traditional publisher and have your books be read by a wide audience, you must be willing to accept that your book, however wonderful might need improvement.

What is your favorite thing about writing romance?

I love the happily ever after. If a book doesn't have a good ending, I feel like I've wasted my time because I read to escape my problems. I want to know good always triumphs over evil, and love conquers all, not be bummed because all was lost. I also love watching the romance unfold and, of course, the euphoria of falling in love.

Also very exciting news... in order to celebrate the release of her books she is giving away a free copy of THE GUISE OF A GENTLEMAN!!! Woo hoo!!! Gotta love those giveaways!!! Here's how you can win...

Okay, how to win your free copy (and you have four chances if you do all four):

1. go to my website http://www.donnahatch.com">and then find out what is the name of the hero of The Guise of a Gentleman (hint, read the backcover blurb underneath the book cover), then send me an email at donnahatch29@gmail.com, telling me the answer to the question and put "free book" in the subject line

2. Follow my blog, then send me an email at donnahatch29@gmail.com, telling me you're now following me and put "free book" in the subject line

3. leave a comment in my blog, www.donnahatch.blogspot.com. Then send me an email at donnahatch29@gmail.com and put “free book” in the subject line.

4. Friend me on Facebook, (http://www.facebook.com/people/Donna-Hatch/1053967713#!/profile.php?ref=profile&id=1053967713) then send me an email at donnahatch29@gmail.com, telling me you're now my friend on Face book and put "free book" in the subject line.

That’s it!

Remember, for each thing you do, you have another chance to win. Good Luck!!!

Thank you, Donna for joining us at, Micole Writes Romance. it has been a pleasure. You can find Donna's book at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and my website. QUEEN IN EXILE is also available at Costcos across the country and nay Desert Bookstore. THE GUISE OF A GENTLEMAN is also available at www.thewildrosepress.com
Here is a direct link to her book page.
http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&zenid=08917dd5881d0719ec4a916d602d56d6&keyword=donna+hatch


Thank you all for joining Donna and I. Good luck! I hope another one of my readers is the lucky winner of one of her books!!!!

xoxoxoxoxo

Micole Black