Saturday, November 17, 2012

Meet multi-published author Linda Nightingale

Hi Linda, and welcome. Please tell us a little about your writing adventure.

When did you first consider yourself a writer? 

When I signed the contract for GEMINI RISING, which was released in print by Double Dragon Publishing, Inc.  The Wild Rose Press published Black Swan, a vampire short story, earlier in ebook, but I wanted to hold my book in my hands.  The day my book arrived I felt as if I were holding my new born child!

How many books have you written? 

I’ve written six:  2 vampire; 2 fallen angel and one about the horsy set—and then there is Gemini Rising—my first book released in print, by Dragon Publishing, Inc.  (Tag line:  Forbidden love.  One man...one woman—one heart, one soul—only together can they be complete.)  In August of 2013, my paranormal romance, Sinners’ Opera, will be released by Double Dragon as well.

Which is your favourite? 

Each one of them is my favourite when I’m writing it.  It’s difficult to decide between I, LUCIFER, a dark fantasy, and SINNERS’ OPERA, the book of my heart.  My favourite hero is in Sinners’ Opera.  His name is Morgan D’Arcy.  He’s a concert pianist, an English lord and a vampire.

In which genre do you prefer to write and why? 

I write paranormal romance and dark fantasy.  Gemini Rising and I, Lucifer are both dark fantasies.  I write these two genres (which aren’t that dissimilar) because I love the extraordinary.  My heroes are usually the paranormal element in my stories.  I have only written one romance novel, GAMBLER’S CHOICE, where the hero was a normal, human man!

Can you give us some details about your upcoming release/s? 

I mentioned Sinners’ Opera already, but here’s the short synopsis:

For centuries, Morgan D’Arcy has cherished a dream—a race of immortal crossbreeds possessing vampire strength and human morals.  Ambition is not his only motivation.  Love is.  When Isabeau, his chosen bride, was a child, he appeared to her as an angel and watched over her.  As the Angel Gabriel predicted, Isabeau is now a brilliant geneticist.  She has come of age, and Morgan is ready to marry her.  However, many forces oppose them, not the least of which is Vampyre law.  Mating between the human and Vampyre is prohibited.  The offspring or DarkeChildren carry a dangerous gene that causes them to go insane at puberty.

An enemy from Morgan's distant past is stalking him. Paul D'Alembert seeks eye-for-an-eye justice, intending to kill Isabeau as once Morgan killed his beloved.   In fact, his enemies are rapidly closing in on them.  Will Morgan have time and an opportunity to make his dream come true—to sire a child on Isabeau?  Will he outsmart his enemies, protect her and escape death himself?  For the first time in eternity, the clock is ticking.

In January of 2014, DDP will release CARDINAL DESIRES, another vampire paranormal.  Here’s the quick synopsis of Cardinal:

How can Katy McCaully resist Sterling Fox?  At fifteen, she fell in love with a man in a painting, and he looks exactly like that Novgorodian knight.  Even though he's got the keys to her chemistry set, she mustn't succumb to his charms.  She's a forensic psychiatrist working with Scotland Yard.  He's a high-profile journalist who invades the underworld for a story or broadcasts live at the scene of the world's worst tragedies.  Police and media do not mix.  They are both trying to capture the same animalistic killer whom newspapers have dubbed The Vampire Slayer.  Modern London doesn't know that the Slayer has also killed four vampires.  Katy doesn't know that Sterling is a vampire until too late—after she's fallen in love with him.

When you are not writing, what are your hobbies, passions, etc?

I am a sports car enthusiast.  I like to participate in car events.  In fact, I went on a Texas Hill Country drive (snaky little curves) recently  I also enjoy symphony, theatre, reading, piano and movies.  Though I don’t own horses now, I will always love them.  For 13 years I bred, trained and showed the magnificent Andalusian horses.

What historical person would you want to meet and why? 

Edward VIII.  He is such a romantic persona.  He abdicated the throne to marry “the woman he loved.”  Though he probably isn’t the epitome of the romance hero, I’d love to meet him—not to mention he was handsome, blond and blue-eyed—my fave!  If I did meet him, I couldn’t wear heels.  He was only 5’7.

Share three fun facts about you that most people don’t know.

My favourite cocktail is Bombay Sapphire gin and tonic with a twist of lime.
I love to wear wigs because I hate my baby-fine hair.
My horse laid his ears flat for relief when I sang to him.
My stallion Bonito was my soul mate, I think.
And that’s four, so the fifth fact is:  I can’t count!


Born in South Carolina, Linda has lived in England, Canada, Miami, Atlanta and Houston.  She’s seen a lot of the US from the windshield of a truck pulling a horse trailer, having bred, trained and showed Andalusian horses for thirteen years.
With Cardinal Desires, a vampire paranormal to be released in 2013 by Double Dragon Publishing, Linda won the Georgia Romance Writers Magnolia Award.  She works in the legal field and has two wonderful sons.  She loves Andalusian and Lusitano horses, her snappy little sports car and her parlor grand piano.  Visit her at http://www.lindanightingale.com for a free vampire story starring her favorite hero Morgan D’Arcy.
Also, check out Black Swan, a spicy vampire story, available from The Wild Rose Press.

Thank you for joining us today. Here's wishing you many sales

Jean

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Up, up and away…

 My blogging guest went AWOL this week. I hope she's OK. So I hope you will forgive the break in interviews and a little self-promotion. Interviews resume next week. But this author had her own adventure many years ago and couldn’t resist turning into a book.

* * * *

My husband went to a great deal of trouble to wrap my Christmas present.

A massive box, but not too heavy, all wrapped up in festive paper. When I opened the box, inside was another box, also wrapped in Christmas paper. And, yes, you guessed it, inside there was another, then another, and another, right on down to an…
 
…envelope.

Inside there was a ticket for something I had always wanted to do—take a flight in a hot-air balloon.

I’d often seen them floating gracefully over the hills and dreamed of taking a ride in one. Now I could.

On a Sunday morning about two weeks later, I took that ride and it was truly magical. Several weeks after that A MAN LIKE SAXON became the first twinkle in my eye.

I wasn’t a scaredy-cat like my heroine, (she has good reason to be), but I have to admit to a few moments of trepidation mixed with the excitement as we approached the launch-site on the cold, but windless, dark morning.

I’ll let my characters take over the story from here.

EXCERPT
     
       “I’ve got a surprise for you.”  Saxon sounded excited.
Danielle frowned and propped herself up on one elbow. “A surprise?
“You’re going to love it.”
“What kind of surprise? It’s the middle of the night.”
“It’s just after five. It’ll be light in an hour.” Still beaming from ear to ear, he indicated a glass of orange juice on the nightstand. “I’m taking you up in the balloon.”
The smile froze on her lips as terror took hold. Her stomach knotted. The balloon! Dear God, no.
       She tried to swallow, but nothing happened. They had shared a wonderful two weeks of fun, laughter, and lovemaking, and now she could see it all ending with them plummeting to earth in a ball of fiery nylon.
“Now?” was all she managed to squeak through her closed throat.
“Best time of day.”
       Did he have to keep grinning like a dog with two tails? She pulled the bedclothes around her body in a futile attempt at protection.
       “This is a joke, right? It’s pitch dark out there.”
       Saxon laughed. “It’ll be light by the time we’ve had breakfast and driven to the Eastons.”
       “David and Susan’s?” she croaked inanely. “What have they got to do with it?”
       “They and some of the crew helped me set this up. It may be the only chance I’ll have to take you up ‘til filming’s done. By then, the weather will probably have packed in.”
Everything fell into place. The covert conversation last night that ended abruptly when she appeared. They had been setting up her “surprise”. The phone calls downstairs just now. Probably to the Met Office, then to David.
Bile rose in her throat. Saxon had misinterpreted her idle curiosity about ballooning as interest. Why hadn’t she kept her big mouth shut?
“Let me get this right,” she choked. “David and Susan, and some of the crew, got up early on a Sunday morning especially so you could take me up in the balloon?”
His grin refused to be shaken. “Yeah. Terrific of them, huh?”
“Terrific,” she repeated miserably, her heart racing. The thought of going up there made her feel sick, but they’d all gone to a lot of trouble to do this for her, given up part of their one day off in the week.
He inclined his head at the nightstand. “Drink your juice. I’ll get breakfast while you dress. Warm clothing. It can get pretty darned cold up there. We have just over a half hour.”
To live? “Until?”
       “Until we have to leave.” He started for the door, then turned to face her. “Scrambled eggs okay?”
       The eggs would probably end up a lot more scrambled if she tried to force them down her throat. She stared after him in wide-eyed disbelief as he went out the door.


Nothing to do with the book but I couldn't resist the picture
Was this the divine retribution she’d been waiting for after all?

If you want to find out what happens next, A MAN LIKE SAXON is free on Kindle this weekend (Nov 10/11).

What follows is an almost verbatim account of what happened on my balloon flight, from arrival at the launch site, to the champagne breakfast afterwards, (good thing I kept all the notes). The only difference is that we were eight passengers and the pilot, rather than just one.

Until next time

Jean