EQ Welcomes Anna Markland

 The Interview

EQ welcomes Anna Markland! Tell us a little bit about yourself, Anna.

I was born in England, but I’ve lived most of my life in Canada. I have a keen interest in genealogy and this has had a tremendous influence on my stories. I write medieval romance about family honor, ancestry, and roots. My novels are intimate love stories filled with passion and adventure. Following a fruitful career in teaching, I transformed my love of writing and history into works of fiction. One of the things I enjoy most about writing historical romance is the in-depth research necessary to provide readers with an authentic medieval experience. And I love happy endings!

EQ: Which of your characters do you connect with the most and why?

Caedmon FitzRam (A Man of Value) is my favorite character. At a point where all seems to be finally going right in his life, he discovers he is the epitome of everything he has always despised. Having grown up in exile believing he was the son of a Saxon warrior killed at the Battle of Hastings, he finds out he is actually the illegitimate son of a powerful Norman Earl.

The new found knowledge sends him off the deep end and he leaves his new wife, who is pregnant unbeknownst to him, to become a Crusader.

The plot revolves around his journey to find himself amid the perils and challenges of the ill fated First Crusade.

Because my books follow families though successive generations, Caedmon reappears in several books, both as warrior with his half-brothers (Passion in the Blood) and eventually as a father of adult children (Carried Away). I suppose this is why I got to know him so well! One of the difficult things about following a dynasty is that characters eventually have to die. I cannot read the passage describing Caedmon’s death without blubbering!

EQ: Describe how you create characters.

Following a family means you have no shortage of possibilities for the hero or heroine of the next book! The longer the saga goes on, the more you have to choose from! Usually, a certain character will “speak” to me. I don’t believe in woo-hoo, and that’s not what I mean. He or she simply keeps turning up in my thoughts. Then of course I have to match the appropriate age to some interesting historical event or period. There’s a danger that because they are related all the heroes might tend to resemble each other. I’ve made 3 of the female descendants heroines (Dark Irish Knight, Carried Away, Wild Viking Princess), but the majority of my stories follow the men of the Montbryce family.

EQ: What is the biggest risk you’ve taken in your writing?

I recently decided to tear myself away from the Middle Ages and write a contemporary romance. As if that wasn’t challenge enough, I made it a baby boomer romance about two mature people exploring the world of kink! I’ve established Anna Markland as a medieval brand, so I created a different pen name for the new venture. Hence Roxanne Rogerson!

To complicate matters further I chose two unlikely settings: Victoria, British Columbia (where I live) and Panama (where I have a condo).

On top of that, I made the hero an ex-cop turned private investigator who looks into cases of alleged elder abuse. Could I have picked a more obtuse topic? However, elder abuse is a growing problem worldwide and I thought it important enough to focus on. Difficult as it may be to believe, all the cases I have Michael investigate in the book are taken from actual police reports.

EQ: Tell us a little bit about your most recent release.

Boom! Listen to Your Heart is a humorous, tongue-in-cheek look at the world of kink as seen through the eyes of two people exploring cravings and desires they have suppressed for years. It’s also a romantic suspense. Michael Atherton is a private investigator whose work unwittingly puts Jessie’s life in danger.

Here’s a blurb:

A near-fatal heart attack changed Michael Atherton’s life. He learned from it, transforming his lifestyle. Healthier and in great physical shape, Michael tries to come to terms with long-buried cravings and desires unleashed by his near-death experience. His wife does not share his inclination to what she refers to as disgusting erotic shit, and they divorce. Now alone, he explores the emerging Dom side of his personality.

But a good Dom needs a Submissive to complete him.

Jessie Halliwell’s debut novel, His Willing Slave, catapults her to the New York Times Bestsellers List.(sigh) Only she knows that her knowledge of the Dom/Sub lifestyle comes entirely from research and avid reading of erotic novels. Recognizing she has suppressed her Submissive cravings through two unsuccessful marriages, she creates an ideal Dom/Sub relationship between the hero and heroine of her blockbuster novel. Will she find her own Perfect Dom?

Set in the intimate West Coast city of Victoria and the lush country of Panama, the story takes Michael and Jessie on a roller coaster ride of emotions as Michael’s work as a private investigator unwittingly puts Jessie’s life in jeopardy.

If you enjoy contemporary erotic romantic suspense with a touch of humor, you’ll love BOOM!

Anna's Titles:

Conquering Passion

If Love Dares Enough

Defiant Passion

A Man of Value

Dark Irish Knight

Haunted Knights

Passion in the Blood

Dark and Bright

The Winds of the Heavens

Dance of Love

Carried Away

Sweet Taste of Love

Wild Viking Princess

Hearts and Crowns

Roxanne's Titles: 

Boom! Listen to Your Heart

Facebook~Anna Markland Novels

Twitter @annamarkland

www.annamarkland.com

Visit Anna’s Blog to Subscribe to her Newsletter

The Genesis of a Book - E. Ayers ~ A Skeleton at Her Door

I think most of my stories are rooted in real life events. People touch our lives and bring their own stories with them. Sometimes I combine stories from several people to create the characters and the events. All but one story is well disguised. I'll tell you about the one that isn't another time. But when I sat down to write A Skeleton at Her Door, the opening scene came from personal experience. It was an uh-oh moment!

Many years ago when my girls were still young, I headed up a large community Halloween party. We wanted to keep the children safe and contained. We had a huge party planned in the clubhouse for the younger ones, and we created a haunted woods for the older children and teens.

I was lucky to have several very creative adults helping me. One gal was a makeup artist for a local amateur theatre group. She offered her services and I knew she was going to practice ahead of time so that she was ready for Halloween. Her idea was to do it once to create a palette of makeup for each person. Then on the big day, she could do each one based on that person's palette very quickly and without any guesswork.

Anyone who needed special makeup made an appointment with her in the late afternoon in the days leading up Halloween. I'd seen several of the jobs she had done and she was good! It wasn't the big silver screen and no one sat there for six hours. But nighttime, low lighting and special effects lighting…this was going to be incredible!

Several of the adults jumped into their "parts" with enthusiasm. Many bought or made costumes just for this event. They may not have been eight years old getting ready to trick or treat, but each tried to outdo the other. Toss in a couple of electricians and other folks with specialized trades, and I knew we were going to have a terrific haunted woods.

A few days before the big event, there was a knock on my door about 5:30 pm. I opened my door to a skeleton. Omigosh, he was awesome! I dragged him inside and called to my young daughters to come see him.

I knew about the platter with the head, the guy with the chain saw, the headless horseman, and the ghosts and witch that were strung on pulleys in the trees, but I didn't know about the skeleton or where he was. But from the size and shape of the man, I honestly thought it was my neighbor. For starters, he had on the most amazing black and white costume I'd ever seen. This thing must have cost a fortune. It was skintight - think of what an Olympic speed skater might wear. The bones were perfect, right down to the gloves that covered his hands. It was hooded and the face paint…unreal! His lips were painted to resemble teeth and he obviously didn't want to talk.

My twelve-year-old daughter walked around this man and it dawned on me that she was admiring more than just his costume. (He was worth a good drool.) His shoulders were this wide, and he tapered down to a slim waist with a high tight butt on his muscular backside. Even the muscles in his legs showed. Oh yeah, my daughter was way too young to be that appreciative of his physique!

Frustrated, I called the younger daughter a dozen times. She finally came down the stairs and sat there at about eye level with him. She looked at him and informed me that it was not my neighbor. The eye color didn't match.

Panic ripped through me. Who did I just drag into my home? Not that he could conceal a weapon in that costume. But based on muscles alone, he could have probably overpowered us in a heartbeat.

"You're not…?"

He shook his head and indicated that he wanted paper and pen. He wanted the house one block from me. A week later, I found out those folks, on the next block, had a grown daughter, and apparently this guy was her date for a big costume party. I never forgot that evening.

Thinking back on it, he probably never meet her parents, so he had no clue that he wasn't at the right house. It was bitter cold and windy. Without a jacket, he was probably freezing, and he was just as anxious to get out of the elements. The way he left makes me think he wanted to die of embarrassment when he realized he was at the wrong house.

A few years ago, a friend suggested that I write a Halloween story. I rattled the idea around in my head. I don't write ghost stories, thrillers, paranormal, or even mysteries. I tend to think of Halloween as a holiday for children. Then I overheard someone talking about an upcoming charity auction. Single guys were auctioned off for an evening. Really! She pays a nominal fee just to attend and if she bids enough to win her man, she makes the donation to the charity. Then he takes her to dinner. It's a huge fundraiser. That got my mind spinning right back to the young man at my door.

That incident with the skeleton became the opening scene for A Skeleton at Her Door. Like every author, I asked myself what if…? What if the heroine (Angie) had been abused by her first husband and was afraid to trust another man? And what if the hero (Tom) had made his own fair share of mistakes, and every relationship he'd ever had failed? What if she has a daughter (Lissy) and he has custody of his two teen children (Zach and Emily)? What if he were dressed as a skeleton for a charity auction and came to the wrong door? Then I wrote the story.

I'd call it a fall romance. It starts right before Halloween and ends nine days after Thanksgiving. Besides, I love the autumn. It's a magically romantic time of the year.

 ~*~

A Skeleton at Her Door 
 
Amazon
http://amzn.com/B005MZ9X74

Barnes and Noble

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-skeleton-at-her-door-e-ayers/1105870513?ean=2940011509230

(Facebook) http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1297251502

(Twitter)https://twitter.com/ayersbooks 

(website) http://www.ayersbooks.com
(blog) http://authorsofmainstreet.wordpress.com

(group blog) http://exquisitequills.blogspot.com/

*** 

Books by E. Ayers

Wanting (A River City Novel)
A New Beginning (A River City Novel)
A Challenge (A River City Novel)
Forever (A River City Novel)
A Son (A River City Novel)
A Child's Heart (A River City Novel)

Coming Out of Hiding (novel)
A Fine Line (a novella) *
Mariners Cove (a novella)
Ask Me Again (a novella)
A Skeleton at Her Door (a novella)
A Snowy Christmas in Wyoming (a novella) *
A Cowboy's Kiss in Wyoming (a novella) *
A Love Song in Wyoming (a novella) *
A Calling in Wyoming (a novella) *
Sweetwater Springs Christmas (anthology)

* * sweeter reads

First Kiss Wednesday

Kisses are the mainstay of romance writing.  No matter how sweet or spicy our stories are, they usually involve at least a kiss or two.  And the first kiss is especially lovely - that first, soft touch of lips - or perhaps the kiss is fierce and hungry.  Maybe the characters murmur words of love or words of teasing while discovering the texture and taste of each other.  Maybe the only sounds they can emit are gentle, timorous moans or deep, throaty groans.

 

Okay, now that we've set the premise, here's what you can do for First Kiss Wednesdays.  In the comment box, give us a maximum of 300 words of the first kiss of a published work or a work-in-progress and one link to your website or blog or Amazon Author Page. 

 

Read and luxuriate in the glories of the first kiss...

Oh, and lips only...  ;-)

Set the Scene in Six Sentences - Sunday

One of the finest aspects of fiction writing is the ability to set the scene.  Characters act and react, but they don't do so in a vacuum.  In their world, they meet, fall in love, solve problems, sometimes horrendous problems.  Maybe it's a small town, maybe the big city, the green, humid jungle, dust-dry desert, a mountainous region.  On the sea.  Under the sea.  In space! 

Setting the scene is also done by using character dialogue to paint a picture of loveliness, danger, evil, trepidation, excitement, awe...

Give us six sentences that set the scene.  Set the Scene in Six Sentences - Sunday is a new opportunity on the Exquisite Quills! Blog to tout your talent.  How have you set the scene in your books?  How have you put the reader into the life of your characters?

Every Sunday, the blog will be open to six-sentence scene-setting.  Just post your six sentences, your name, and one link in the comment box.  We can't wait to read you!

Pass the word!  Open to all!