Meet the Author - Sophie Pembroke

On Meet the Author this week I've been joined by romance author Sophie Pembroke. Her latest book, Heiress on the Run, has just been released, so, to find out a little more about that, and about Sophie herself, read on! 

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Bio:

Sophie Pembroke has been dreaming, reading and writing romance ever since she read her first Mills and Boon as part of her English Literature degree at Lancaster University, so getting to write romances for a living really is a dream come true! 

Sophie lives in a little Hertfordshire market town with her scientist husband and her incredibly imaginative five-year-old daughter. She writes stories about friends, family and falling in love, usually while drinking too much tea and eating homemade cakes. Or, when things are looking very bad for her heroes and heroines, white wine and dark chocolate.

She keeps a blog at www.SophiePembroke.com, which should be about romance and writing, but is usually about cake and castles instead.

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What made you want to write romance?

As a child and teenager I read very widely, with no real appreciation for the difference between genres. It wasn’t until I was perhaps twenty or so and studying English Literature at university that I read my first romance and realised that this was a genre all of its own. Suddenly it became abundantly clear that the reason my favourite books were my favourites was because of the romantic subplots! From then on, I read a huge amount of romantic fiction in many guises, and when I came to writing my own books it was just a given that they had to have a love story in them somewhere. 

Was it always your intention to find an agent/publisher, or did you ever think about, or indeed go down, the self-publishing route?

I always knew I’d work best with an agent and/or publisher. Self publishing is a hell of a lot of work, especially if you want to do it well, and I am full of admiration for those who manage it. But for me, I just want to write my stories. I enjoy looking after my website, chatting and doing promo on social media and such, and I’m perfectly capable of keeping my accounts up to date… but the business side of self publishing doesn’t excite me. As a result, the learning curve (or expense) required to put out a professional level book just doesn’t seem like the best use of my time right now.

What was the inspiration for your current book?

Heiress on the Run starts when Faith, the heroine, discovers that the tour company she works for has gone bust and there’s no plane waiting to take her, and her clients, home to London. The idea for it came to me a couple of years ago, around the time a lot of travel firms were folding suddenly. I remember reading an article about passengers on a plane who had been asked to contribute cash to pay for fuel to fly home. I started thinking what might happen if my heroine didn’t have any cash, or a place to stay, and how she might find another way to land on her feet… and Faith was born!

Do you have a designated “work space”, and if so, can you describe it?

I do! When we moved house, just over a year ago, one of the main considerations was finding somewhere with a room we could use as a study. When I saw the floorplan for our current home, with its converted garage room slightly separate from the rest of the house, I knew it would be perfect for us. I write full time at home, and my husband is studying part time for a PhD after work, so we share the space. Originally I tried to find a way to fit two desks in the very small room, but soon realised it wasn’t necessary – we can’t ever work in the same room at the same time anyway, as he talks to himself when he’s working! Drives me batty. Anyway, we settled on one long desk against the far wall, and lots of shelves for books. We also splurged on a beautiful patchwork armchair that is perfect for curling up and reading in.

Do you get nervous reading reviews of your books?

Absolutely! Every single time. As an author, you want everyone to ‘get’ the story you were trying to tell, to love and understand the characters as you do. But the hard truth is that not everyone will. Different people look for different things in stories and characters and, try as you might, you can’t satisfy everybody. So I’m trying to settle for giving as much pleasure to as many people as possible through my books.

Do you put any of yourself into any of your characters?

I didn’t really think so but, according to my friends and family, yes! One friend complained that my heroines always drink white wine (my favourite) so I purposefully wrote one that only drank red. I think every character has their own little quirks and, perhaps inevitably, often they stem from me or people that I know. But characters are always a composite of many different things – backstory, beliefs, desires… and no one character could ever be based on one real person.

Is there a particular time of the day in which you prefer to write?

This mostly depends on how disciplined I’m being! I know that my best writing days are the ones where I get up early and get 500 words down before the rest of my day starts. Just having that little head start makes it easier to write all through the morning, and gives me a higher word count for the day as a whole. If I wait until after the school run to start writing, I find it harder to get going. And I always start to flag after lunch, so the more I get done before then the better. 

Do you plan your stories before you start writing them, or do you just “wing” it?

A bit of both, really. I usually have a vague idea of what I’m doing, but I need to write the first chapter or two to get a real feel for the story and the characters. After that, I can sit down and write a proper outline to follow – although some of my best scenes never appeared in an outline, but rather came to me during the writing. But if I don’t have a plan at all I tend to flounder for a while then go and make another cup of tea.
  

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Latest release:

Heiress on the Run (Harlequin Romance)

   
Once a Lady…always a Lady? 

Having barely survived the scandal of a very public betrayal, Lord Dominic Beresford needs his luck to change. But with his business on the rocks, it’s not looking good.

Three years ago Lady Faith Fowlmere left her painful past and her identity behind, but life on the run has left her jobless, penniless and alone.

When fate throws the two of them together, it seems they’re the answer to each other’s prayers. But Faith is finding it harder to keep her identity secret, and as she gets closer to Dominic she realizes that this time, if she runs, she might just leave her heart behind…. 

Amazon US: Heiress on the Run  

Amazon UK: Heiress on the Run

Links:

Website: www.SophiePembroke.com

Goodreads~  Facebook ~ Google+  ~ Twitter

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Thanks for a brilliant Meet the Author, Sophie! Wishing you loads of success with Heiress on the Run! 

The countdown to Unbreakable's release begins here!

Cassidy Cooper lives an ordinary life in north east England, bringing up her son and working in the office of a local college.

But when her American granddad dies, and her Kentucky-born mum insists they travel over to the US, to Glenville, the small town she was born and brought up in, to attend his funeral, Cassidy suddenly has to face up to a past she’s deliberately tried to push aside. Because the last time she’d visited that town things had happened; things Cassidy hadn’t dealt with very well. She hadn’t really dealt with them at all. Was she going to have to deal with them now?

Ethan Everett is the Sheriff of Glenville. Hot, handsome and slightly maverick in his ways, his life is carrying on the way it always has done, until Cassidy Cooper walks back into town. They have history. They have a past. And that past is something they all have to face.

As secrets buried within this small town threaten to tear lives apart, and change then forever, can love really be unbreakable?

 

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That's the blurb for 'Unbreakable', and I'm on the very last leg of editing now. That book is about to wing its way onto my Kindle for that all-important read-through before I finally let it loose onto those virtual bookshelves. But I thought, because it's still at least a week away from release, I'd leave another little taster. Another teaser. And explain again, for those who don't already know, just how this bonus book of mine came about. And why it's seeing the light of day now. Because that wasn't originally the plan.

I was in the middle of writing the final installment of my hot, edgy, football-themed 'Striker' trilogy when I made the decision to put that to one side and write 'Unbreakable'. I'd just started watching a show called Justified, fell completely in love with it, became slightly obsessed with both Timothy Olyphant's ass-kicking character of Raylan Givens, and the incredible Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder - probably one of the best TV criminals ever. Such a clever, clever character. Love him...

Boyd and Raylan in 'Justified' - the inspiration behind the characters of Beau and Ethan in my book 'Unbreakable'.

Anyway, this show kick-started something in my head. A new idea. Because that's the way I work. I can get a new idea just like that, triggered by something I'm watching, or a song I'm listening to. That's how it happens for me. And when a new idea takes hold I have to get it down on paper, make a start on turning it into a full-blown book. I have to work on it. Especially when the words just fall onto the page, as they did with 'Unbreakable'. That's when I knew I just had to put 'Final Score' on hold and work on this new, totally unplanned book. 

And even though quite a lot of my books usually involve a little bit of glamour somewhere along the line, this book had none of that. No glamour at all. I wanted to create my own little world far away from the one I really live in; far away from the kind of worlds I usually write about, even. I wanted to escape to a world where denim rules, where they drink bourbon and everyone knows everyone else's business. I wanted to create a small town run by one hot, sexy Sheriff. And so Ethan Everett was created. Six weeks later the first draft of 'Unbreakable' was finished. And now, just three months after putting that manuscript away to get back to the 'Striker' trilogy, I've pulled it back out, re-edited it, and I've made the decision to self-publish it. In about a week or so. And some people may be wondering why my next book isn't going to be the final installment of that sexy soccer trilogy, and that's a fair question, seeing as the first two installments are already out there. But there is a reason why 'Final Score' is going to take a little while longer to see the light of day than originally planned. Bear with me on that one, all will be explained soon. I promise.

The wonderful Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder in 'Justified', my inspiration for the character of Beau Bennett in 'Unbreakable'.

In the meantime, though, 'Unbreakable' will be the next self-published release from me. And one of the main elements in this book is the relationship between two of the male characters - Sheriff Ethan Everett and his one-time best friend Beau Bennett. A relationship that was influenced quite heavily by the relationship between Raylan Givens and Boyd Crowder in Justified. Their relationship, as anyone who watches the show will know, is a complicated, complex one and that's what I love about it. And it's one of the reasons why I wanted to carry the story started in 'Unbreakable' through into a second book, because there's still so much to be explained and explored between the characters of Ethan and Beau. They're both involved in Cassidy's life, in very different ways, and I think I've only really scratched the surface of what lies beneath for those three main characters. So there will be a follow-up to 'Unbreakable'. Definitely. Already got the plot outlined and a very rough draft scribbled down. 

Timothy Olyphant rocking that notoriously tricky double-denim look as Raylan Givens, my inspiration for Sheriff Ethan Everett in 'Unbreakable'

Oh, and another thing that's quite important to remember in this book is that the characters of Cassidy and Mason are probably the only two characters that speak with a (northern) English accent. The books is set mainly in a fictional small town in the state of Kentucky, so, everyone else speaks quite differently to Cassidy and her son. Check out the trailer I've posted below for Justified, and be aware that when the characters of Beau, Ethan, Ava... and probably everyone else in the book, to be honest; when they speak, this is how they sound. I've tried to write it as best I could, with that accent in mind. And it's one of the benefits of being completely obsessed with Justified, actually, because those accents are constantly in my head at the minute!! 

Anyway, all I can really say is, making the decision to put 'Final Score' to one side (even though that book actually is almost finished) to concentrate on 'Unbreakable'  was something I just had to do. It was, for me, too important to forget about. And it's now turned into a book that means the world to me, because it came completely out of nowhere. When, as an author, you start writing something that just literally pours out of you, you don't ignore that. You can't. This book may have come from out of left field for me, but I knew when I was writing it that it was going to be a book I was going to adore working on. I'm in love with every single one of the characters, and I hope some of you will fall in love with them, too, I really do. And I also I hope you'll all understand why this book is appearing now, before the final part of the 'Striker' trilogy. There are, as I mentioned before, reasons for that, and I'll explain all soon. But, more than anything, I just hope you'll enjoy 'Unbreakable'. It's a book that came from my heart. A romance that has it's fair share of hot sex, of course, because that's what I write, but it's also a love story, pure and simple. 

And before I run the risk of rambling for Britain, I'm going to leave you with another little excerpt from 'Unbreakable' - a slightly steamier, sexier excerpt. A little taster of what's to come, although, maybe I should have worded that slightly differently...

"She threw her arms above her head, stretching out and closing her eyes as his hands held onto her hips, lifting them up to meet his as his lips brushed the base of her throat, sending those glorious tingles shooting right through her. Tingles that only intensified the second she felt him gently push into her, that beautiful feeling of his body joining with hers sending her stomach into overdrive and her heart beating so fast it was all she could hear. That, and the sound of music and voices drifting up from the party outside, but she could blank all of that out, she could forget it was happening. With every gentle thrust of his body deeper into hers reality was being pushed further and further away until all she was aware of was his breath on her skin and his voice whispering promises in her ear that she believed; she believed him. Now.

She felt his fingers intertwine with hers, their eyes locked together as that beautiful endgame drew closer. Already her body was preparing itself for his release, ready to accept him and all he had to give her, even though she wanted it to last forever, this desire to just totally lose herself in him."

'Unbreakable' - small town secrets, unbreakable love.  

Fantasy Cast Friday - Say it with Sequins: The Rumba by Georgia Hill

For Fantasy Cast Friday this week it's time to dig out those dancing shoes, spray yourself a nice shade of orange, and slip into the most glamorous, sparkly dress you can find because today Georgia Hill shares her dream cast for Say it with Sequins: The Rumba! 

So, are you missing Strictly Come Dancing? Looking for a little bit of glamour and romance out there on the dance floor? Something to sweep you off your feet this Friday? I'll let Georgia take it from here...

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Say it with Sequins: The Rumba

Blurb:

Who Dares Dances is a reality TV show with a difference. Not only do contestants have to learn to dance, they also face a series of bizarre challenges. When Julia Cooper signs up, all she wants is to revive her flagging acting career. When she meets dare-devil Harri Morgan, though, the attraction is instant – and hot! Forced to perform a sexy rumba together, the sequins really start to fly. Will they score the perfect ten, or is their romance destined to be a dance disaster? Find out in Say it with Sequins, the first in a series of three novellas from Harper Impulse.

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The Cast

Casting involved a lot of searching through pictures of hot actors. Such hardship!

Harri

Gethin Jones

Alistair MacKenzie

It was so hard to come up with an actor to play Harri. He’s dark-haired, boyish and Welsh. He’s also sporty and a bit of a dare-devil. Whoever I cast had to have a twinkle in the eye. When writing Harri, I always had Gethin Jones, the TV presenter in my mind – but I don’t know if he can act! So, I settled on Alastair Mackenzie, as he was when playing Archie in Monarch of the Glen a few years ago. Here he is, just after a tough dance rehearsal with Julia!

Julia

This was easier. When looking up ‘hot Welsh actors’ (yes, you really can google that) I came across this picture of a young Catherine Zeta-Jones. Perfect!

Bob Dandry

The producer plays a big part in The Rumba and the subsequent novellas. I love Adrian Scarborough and thinks he’s a genius actor but if anyone can pull off Bob’s comic-sleazy style, it’s Adrian. Brilliant actor.

Daniel

Without giving too much away, Daniel features in all three novellas. Who better to play the kind, tall, blonde, talented and gorgeous dancer Dan, than the utterly lovely Tom Mison? He’d have to wear contacts though; Daniel has green eyes!

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Bio:

I used to live in London, where I worked in the theatre. Then I got the bizarre job of teaching road safety to the U.S. navy – in Marble Arch!

A few years ago, I did an ‘Escape to the Country’. I now live in a tiny Herefordshire village, where I scandalise the neighbours by not keeping ‘country hours’ and being unable to make a decent pot of plum jam. Home is a converted oast house, which I share with my two beloved spaniels, husband (also beloved) and a ghost called Zoe.

I’ve been lucky enough to travel widely, though prefer to set my novels closer to home. Perhaps more research is needed? I’ve always wanted to base a book in the Caribbean!

I am addicted to Belgian chocolate, Jane Austen and, most of all, Strictly Come Dancing. Keep dancing, everyone!

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Links:

http://www.georgiahill.co.uk/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Say-Sequins-HarperImpulse-Contemporary-Romance-ebook/dp/B00GWG5EHK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390583168&sr=8-1&keywords=say+it+with+sequins

https://www.facebook.com/georgiahillauthor

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Thank you so much for a fantastic Fantasy Cast, Georgia!  

And remember, if you want to take part in Fantasy Cast Friday, and share your dream cast for one of your books, just get in touch!  

Meet the Author - Wendy Lou Jones

On today's Meet the Author, Wendy Lou Jones has stopped by to talk about her first book, released through HarperImpulse, The Songbird and the Soldier, what makes her laugh, and Richard Armitage! Want to find out more? Read on...

Biography

I spent a happy childhood in West Sussex, where I avoided reading at all costs, so much so that my English teacher fell off her perch when I told her I was given an A for my English Lit O-level (showing my age there!) “How did YOU get an A?” she remarked. I studied the sciences at A-level and managed to get through the university years without so much as a peek at a library (not entirely true, but pretty much.)

Working as a doctor in my twenties, I later dropped out to have kids. Having read about only one book a year through

my teens, I was, by then, up to the dizzying heights of perhaps three? How on Earth did I end up here? Did I take a wrong turning somewhere in life? You may be right. But what really happened was in my late 30s I had a dream. As simple as that. A dream that inspired me. And I’ve been reading and writing ever since.

   

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When did you first realise you wanted to be a writer?  

It was 5 years ago. I had woken up from a dream and it was early, so I just lay there thinking…What would have happened if I’d stayed asleep? & How had she got there in the first place? The dream just captured me and I found myself thinking  about it more and more. In the end, I started writing it down so that I could work it out and I wrote every night, until gone midnight, for about 6 months. Then I thought, well, I might as well try and do something with this. That was how it began.

What was the inspiration behind your current book?  

My first book, The Songbird and the Soldier, was about soldiers in Afghanistan and that was just me trying something different. Lots of research, I can tell you. I may have an MI5 file because of that one now! My only tangible background to help the whole writing process was having written to a soldier in the Kuwait conflict, many years before.

Do you listen to music while you write, or are you someone who needs complete silence to work?  

I sometimes need the right music to put me in a certain mood for a piece, but silence is better once the creative bit is written.

Do you put any of yourself into any of your characters?  

Good God no; that would make them far too dull! 

Do you plan your stories before you start writing them, or do you just “wing” it?  

I wing it, mostly. I have a plan, but it changes and develops as the characters develop. It just means I have to go over and over it adding and changing many times. My stories tend to grow like an onion, in layers.

Can you tell us anything about any future projects you’re working on?  

I’m currently working on a love story told to a sad girl at a funeral. Hopefully not as depressing as it sounds! 

Favourite TV character, past or present.  

John Thornton played by Richard Armitage in North and South – Elizabeth Gaskell. No explanation necessary.

What makes you laugh?  

Observational humour. I’m not a laugh out loud kinda gal normally, but watching Michael MacIntyre I’m sitting there chuckling away saying ‘Yes, I do that!’

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Contact Info

Website/Blog  – www.wendyloujones.weebly.com

Twitter - @WendyLouWriter - https://twitter.com/WendyLouWriter

Facebook – www.facebook.com/escapeintolove

Harper Impulse - http://www.harperimpulseromance.com/authors/wendy-lou-jones

Amazon UK – www.smarturl.it/songbird

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Thank you so much for a brilliant Meet the Author post, Wendy! And so glad to meet yet another "winger" - there seems to be a lot of us about...

 

Meet the Author - Caroline Storer

It's a bonus 'Meet the Author' this week with the lovely Caroline Storer, who released her first book 'The Roman' through Harper Impulse last week! Want to find out more about Caroline? Read on...

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What was the inspiration for your current book? 


General Maximus Decimus Meridius – a.k.a Russell Crowe in The Gladiator.  I’ve watched this film about 10 tens now and I’m still bowled over by his gorgeousness!  He is the typical alpha male Roman hero IMHO.

Do you have a designated “work space”, and if so, can you describe it? 

I’ve actually got 3 writing places. One, sitting in my arm chair in the living room with the laptop on a small laptop table and with a footstool elevating my feet.  The second, is a recliner chair that sits in the corner of our bedroom (with another footstool), and thirdly, the spare bedroom where I’ve got my own little office with desk and computer chair.  But I seem more productive in the bedroom (that sound rude doesn’t it!) as I can type away quite happily for hours while hubby watches what he like on the TV in bed.  The only thing I need to block out interruptions are my earplugs, then I can pretty much tap away to my heart’s content!

Is there a particular time of the day in which you prefer to write? 

I’m always in awe of the productivity of some writers, and wish I could be as disciplined at they are.  But I’m not.  I do try to write every day except Wednesdays when I have other commitments.  I find the weekends and evenings work best for me.  Not having young children around means I’m not as constrained by the hustle and bustle of life as some writers are.  I have learned by trial and error as to what works for me productivity wise.  I did try once to get up at 5am to write before I went to work to try and increase the word-count but that was a disaster – Facebook and Candy Crush - but no writing!  I’m definitely more productive the late afternoons and early evenings.

Paperback or ebooks – do you have a preference? 

Before I got my Kindle I swore I would always buy books.  But once I got my Kindle (a surprised Christmas present) I was totally converted to eBooks.  I’ve discovered so many new authors (mainly as they are US based and their books were never released over here.)  And once I’ve discovered them I often read all their backlists too!

Do you plan your stories before you start writing them, or do you just “wing” it? 

For many years now I’ve suffered from insomnia.  To get to sleep I normally make up stories in my head.  The beginning of a love story between two individuals set almost anywhere!  Then by the end of the first chapter I’ve normally fallen asleep.  (My hard drive is full of “Chapter 1” ideas!).  I also get ideas from reading voraciously.  In my debut book for HarperImpulse – “The Roman”, the idea came from reading a children’s book about Herculaneum that I found in the library one day.  I often find children’s history books (lots of pictures) spark an idea much more readily than a weighty historical tome!  In this particular book there was a villa discovered at Herculaneum which had lots of bronze statutes.  Justina, my heroine in “The Roman” is a sculptress and she lives and sculpts in a huge villa in Herculaneum.  But when it comes to writing the whole book I’m definitely a “pantster” though.  The idea starts and just flows from there.  I’ve tried to plot out books, but to no avail – the characters just take over and demand their story to be written. 

What advice would you give to anyone just starting out on their writing journey?

Learn your craft.  Like any job, unless you are Superwoman, you have to learn and be trained to do it right.  I’ve been an Environmental Health Officer for 25 years now and I’m still learning on the job all the time.  Writing is very much like that.  Beg, borrow or buy as many “How To” books as you can.  If you want to write Romances, then Kate Walker’s 12 Point Guide to Writing is a must, and the one thing that stuck when I read Kate’s book is “…emotion, emotion, emotion…”

Can you tell us anything about any future projects you’re working on? 

I’m finishing off my second contracted book for HarperImpulse that has to be with them by the end of February.  I’ve also got a “dirty draft” of another “Roman”, along with a “Viking”.  Ideas in development include a “Regency” along with a “Futuristic” romance.   

Social media – friend or foe? 

Foe.  But we are currently at the cease-fire point.  I’m not very good on all things tecci, I’m afraid.  I can handle the basics such as Facebook and Twitter, but I’m not good at anything else.  But I’m also a realist.  If I’m published as an eBook author then I need to embrace technology!  I’m due to have some lessons soon with a computer geek, so finger’s crossed I’ll soon be a whiz on the social media front!

You’ve just won £5 million on the lottery, what’s the first thing you do?

Buy my long suffering husband what he wants.  He’s put up with my procrastination for years now,  he deserves a treat!  I would also give up the day job and write full time.  And I would love to visit Herculaneum where I’ve set my debut novel “The Roman”!

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The Roman

Famous charioteer, Aulus Epidius Marsallas wants revenge against Justina Philipus - the only woman he’s ever loved, but who’d betrayed him by becoming his uncle’s mistress.  Forced to meet Marsallas for the first time in six years, Justina is shocked at the changes she sees in him.  Gone is the carefree youth she once loved, now replaced by a hard muscular stranger.  But there is no denying the attraction that still flows between them, and when his uncle dies, Marsallas offers sculptress Justina a challenge – a bronze stature of himself, and his four horse chariot, to be displayed at the Circus Maximus.  Justina knows that this commission is just what she needs to make a name for herself, and give her the freedom she covets, so she accepts Marsallas’s challenge.  However, Justina is unprepared when Marsallas states one further condition – she must become his mistress.  But Justina has a secret, she’s still a virgin, she just hasn’t told Marsallas yet…

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Thank you so much for a fab Meet the Author, Caroline! Wishing you loads of success with The Roman! 

The Roman is available to buy now from:- 

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com

And visit the Harper Impulse website to find out where else it's available to purchase. 

You can also find Caroline over on her blog at -   

http://carolinestorer.blogspot.co.uk/

And on Facebook and Twitter