Welcome to our Author Ask and Tell in which the published authors of Coeur de Bois Romance Writers of America Chapter respond to the questions of inquiring minds! This month we’re excited to bring you an Ask and Tell with Angela Abderhalden!
Watch for her newest release, Unintentional Victim in 2009.

Available now: Questionable Ethics: http://astore.amazon.com/coeurduboisch-20/detail/1934520004/104-5926588-7633542
“There’s a new PI in town–insightful and clever “Mel” Addison will win your heart as she pulls herself from the depths of grief to confront a ruthless murderer.
Angela Abderhalden has penned a mystery with emotion and intensity. I can’t wait for the next installment!”
–Joanne Pence, Author of the Angie Amalfi mysteries

1. Please describe your latest project.

My latest project is another mystery series, this one in the competitive world of chess. I have a manuscript under consideration from Ellora’s Cave and an erotic mystery that I am editing and will have out to publishers by the end of October.

2. What ONE other author do you think readers should read?

I don’t have just one author. I think writers should read lots of
classics. Most of them are classics for a reason. And from each one figure out why they are labeled ‘classic’ and try to incorporate that into your own writing.

3. Please share a passage from a favorite author of yours, and what do you like about it?

“We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness. It was kind of solemn, drifting down the big, still river, laying on our backs looking up at the stars, and we didn’t ever feel like talking loud, and it warn’t often that we laughed-only a little kind of a low chuckle. We had mighty good weather as a general thing, and nothing ever happened to us at all-that night, nor the next, nor the next..” Ch. 12 ‘Huckleberry Finn’. This I feel is Mark Twain at his best. His imagery is awesome (the river as a metaphor for freedom from oppression, social injustice, broken family life, etc.) and you really do feel like you’re drifting on the Mississippi.

4. Who would you love to invite to dinner (living or not) and why?

I would love to sit down and talk with Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain). I love his wit and the way he said what he thought. He’s always been a
favorite of mine since I grew up in Quincy, IL., which is just fifteen miles upstream from Hannibal, MO. Yes, I’ve been to the cave in which Tom and Becky get lost, at least the one that inspired him to write about it.

5. What’s on your playlist right now (music)?

I’m a very eclectic listener, so it really depends on my mood. Here’s what I’ve played in the past couple of days. Paramore (new age rock), Rascal Flats(one of the very few country groups I listen too), Don McClean, Billy Joel, AC/DC, Styx (am I showing my age here?), Tran-Siberian Orchestra’s Beethoven’s Last Night (rock/classical), Blue Man Group, Thelonius Monk (jazz) and Oscar Peterson(jazz). I don’t have a favorite. When I’m writing certain genres, I’ll play a certain style. Or a particular story will ‘require’ a certain kind of music. For example, when I’m writing on my erotic mystery, I play jazz and on my chess mystery I usually play new rock such as Paramore.

6. Have you had any interesting experiences with one of your readers– via blog, book signing, conference, correspondence?

I met a lady in Quincy, IL (this is where my book ‘Questionable Ethics’ is based, my hometown) who asked me questions about getting published. She wrote a book about caring for cats. Oops, sorry her ‘cat’ wrote the book. As part of my book tour there, I held a drawing for a free meal at a diner mentioned in my book. She won. I received a letter shortly after arriving home thanking me. Oops again. Her cat wrote me about how happy his owner was. I’m still thinking about sending her cat a small present of catnip!

7. Is there anything about being a published author that you wish you’d known before you were published?

I wished I’d have known how much work goes on after the book gets
published. I would have studied more about marketing along with learning the craft of writing. As it was I had to do a crash course in
marketing/promoting. I know I’ve made mistakes. (I’m still learning.) Being with a small publisher, all of marketing fell to me. I’d have done a whole lot more research a lot earlier so I would have been better prepared.

BIO:

Angela Abderhalden is a first time novelist who lives in Meridian, Idaho with her husband, two kids and a rascally beagle. She has been writing for fifteen years and is a member of several writing groups in the area. She is the 2008 President of Partners in Crime (a local chapter of Sisters in Crime), a Member-At-Large of the Popular Fiction Association of Idaho (who sponsors the annual Murder in the Grove Writers Conference) and a member of the Idaho Writer’s League and Romance Writers of America.
Visit her website at: www.angelaabderhalden.com

Welcome to our Author Ask and Tell in which the published authors of Coeur de Bois Romance Writers of America Chapter respond to the questions of inquiring minds! This month we’re pleased to present Annalise Russell.   

THE PLEASURE OF HIS BED, September ‘08 Kensington,  available from Amazon on August 26, 2008

http://astore.amazon.com/coeurduboisch-20/detail/0758228546/002-9469168-1963245

1. Describe your latest project.

My latest project is actually two. Currently I am working on re-editing, extensively, a book I wrote quite a few years back. This book sold two years ago, however it was never released due to the fact that the publisher folded. I’m very hesitant to give up on this story – it is one of my very favorites.

I am also working on another historical erotic romance, this one with some paranormal elements. The concept of this story is one I’d like to use for a series.

2. What ONE other author do you think readers should read? 

Hmm, I can’t imagine choosing just one. There are so many talented authors. If I had to pick a particular favorite of mine, though, it would be Diana Gabaldon. Her Outlander series not only draws the reader in to fall in love with the characters, but she leaps across the lines of taboo subjects we are told never to write about. And does it artfully.

3. Please share a passage from a favorite author of yours, and what do you like about it?

“But this dream of love, though beautiful, is only one scene in our play. In the procession of the soul from within outward, it enlarges its circles ever, like the pebble thrown into the pond, or the light proceeding from an orb.” R. W. Emerson

This particular passage is from one of Emerson’s essays titled, Love. As a collector of old leather bound books, I’ve read many of the classic authors, yes for fun, but for some reason Emerson’s writing has always spoken to me. His imagery and style of prose tend to sneak up on you with such surprise and layered meaning, that I pull one of his books off my shelf every so often and find a quiet corner for a while.

4. Who would you love to invite to dinner (living or not) and why?

Do I have to cook and clean the house before they come? Okay, assuming they are coming to see me and not my floors, I’d have to say Leif Eriksson and William Wallace, both very important historical figures. And as I write historical stories, who better to get first hand evidence of what life was like when they lived.

5. What’s on your playlist right now (music)?

I don’t listen to music while I write. I find my mind wanders with the notes. I will on occasion listen to music before I sit down to write. To get into a particular mood to write a scene, I mostly listen to Celtic music. As a writer of historical romance, today’s pop music doesn’t have the feel of battle and blood, desperation, love or necessity, which I find Celtic music captures. As far as which Celtic bands I listen to, they would be The Wicked Tinkers (great battle music, lots of drums) and The Chieftans (amazingly haunting melodies). There are also several other CDs I use that have songs by various artists. Oh, and my husband plays the bagpipes, so personal concerts are always welcome. And I often get the opportunity to listen to the local pipe bands practice and play events.

6. Have you had any interesting experiences with one of your readers– via blog, book signing, conference, correspondence?

Well, as my book has not been released yet, I can’t say as I’ve had experience with readers – unless you count my blog. As a new author, I don’t expect strangers to recognize me, or my name. However, at a function I attended a few months back, I did have a young woman who apparently reads my blog recognize me and blurt out “Oh, you’re that author! I love reading those kinds of stories.” Needless to say, I was caught more than a little off guard.

7. Is there anything about being a published author that you wish you’d known before you were published?

Well first, I’d have to say that the one thing I’m glad I didn’t know before I started this journey is just how hard this business really is, on so many levels.

That said, I can’t imagine not writing. I’m such a romantic at heart that stories about love and heartache swirl around inside my head all the time. But I’d have to say that the biggest lesson I’ve learned so far is to follow my own instincts about a story. Input and opinions are great, rules are good to know, but listen first and foremost to your gut. Know that not everyone will read and fall in love with your story, or your voice, or your style. And that’s okay. If your story truly touches your heart, it will touch others.

Also, please provide a short bio or a link to one on your website if you have one.

www.annaliserussell.wordpress.com

Annalise Russell is a true romantic, right down to her toes. She’s been an avid reader of romance novels since she started sneaking them out of her mother’s closet as a teenager. Writing, in one form or another, has been a way of life since high school, thanks to the encouragement of teachers and professors along the way. Now, she spends her days writing for others what she loves to read most, romance.

Thank you!

“If you haven’t heard of Charlene Teglia, you soon will…An absolute winner.” –Romance Divas

“Charlene Teglia has a knack for creating wonderful stories with characters that will keep readers coming back for more.” –Romance Junkies

This month we’re excited to bring you an Ask and Tell with Charlene Teglia.

Just released in July: Wicked Hot (St. Martin’s)

and Naughty Nights (Pocket).

Also available: Satisfaction Guaranteed (St. Martin’s)

1. Describe your latest project.

If by latest project you mean the book I most recently finished, it’s Animal Attraction, St. Martin’s 2009. Chandra Walker always hoped to find out who her birth parents were; she just didn’t expect the truth to put her in the middle of a shapeshifter war with the power to determine the outcome, complicated by a forbidden love for two mates. Or if you mean the book I’ve just started, it’s a spin-off, Wolf’s Touch, St. Martin’s.

2. What ONE other author do you think readers should read?

You realize there’s no way to answer that, right?

3. Please share a passage from a favorite author of yours, and what do you like about it?

I can’t retype all of “Snowcrash” by Neal Stephenson. I love everything about it.

4. Who would you love to invite to dinner (living or not) and why?

Einstein, because he’d be fascinating to listen to.

5. What’s on your playlist right now (music)?

Build Me Up Buttercup – Nofx (punk remake)
I Can Wait Forever – Simple Plan
Take My Hand – Simple Plan
Save You – Simple Plan

6. Have you had any interesting experiences with one of your readers– via blog, book signing, conference, correspondence?

Everybody is polite and lovely, which is plenty interesting for me.

7. Is there anything about being a published author that you wish you’d known before you were published?

If I’d known, I might’ve given up, so it’s probably good that I didn’t.

Charlene Teglia made her first novel sale in 2004. Since then her books have garnered several honors, including 2005 Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best Erotic Novel, two CAPA nominations for Best Erotic Anthology, and Romantic Times Top Pick. When she’s not writing, she can be found hiking with her family or opening and closing doors for cats.

To learn more, visit her on the web at www.charleneteglia.com.

Welcome to our Author Ask and Tell in which the published authors of Coeur de Bois Romance Writers of America Chapter respond to the questions of inquiring minds! Our first author to “tell all” is Robin Lee Hatcher. 

On Shelves Now: Home to Hart’s Crossing and The Perfect Life

Wagered Heart, an historical romance set in 1880’s Montana, just arrived in bookstores. The link on Amazon.com is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310259266/novelistrobinlee

Upcoming: Bundle of Joy

 

1. Describe your latest project.

I am currently writing the first of three books about women with unusual jobs for their time (1915 for the first book). In A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE, Gwen Arlington (a determinedly single young woman) is running for mayor of Bethlehem Springs against the relative newcomer to the area Morgan McKinley, a wealthy businessman who is building a health spa (fed by the hot springs) near the town. Problems and romance ensue.

 2. What ONE other author do you think readers should read?

Oh, this is an impossible question. There are too many wonderful novelists who should not be missed.

However, I’ll choose James Scott Bell, not just because he writes wonderful legal suspense novels (Try Dying is my current favorite of Jim’s; it has a film noir feeling which I adore – “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.”), but because he also writes some of the best writing books offered by Writers Digest today in their Write Great Fiction line. Plot and Structure has been around since 2004. Jim’s new book, Revision & Self-Editing, came out this year.

3. Please share a passage from a favorite author of yours, and what do you like about it?

Since I already mentioned James Scott Bell’s Try Dying, I’ll share the opening of that novel. It’s an unusual opening, a terrible series of events being described in such a matter of fact way — and then boom, it becomes personal. Each following scene sucked me in deeper and deeper to the mystery behind what actually happened on that freeway.

“On a wet Tuesday morning in December, Ernesto Bonilla, twenty-eight, shot his twenty-three-year-old wife, Alejandra, in the backyard of their West Forty-fifth Street home in South Los Angeles. As Alejandra lay bleeding to death, Ernesto proceeded to drive their Ford Explorer to the westbound Century Freeway connector, where it crossed over the Harbor Freeway, and pulled to a stop on the shoulder.

Bonilla stepped around the back of the SUV, ignoring the rain and the afternoon drivers on their way to LAX and the west side, placed the barrel of his .38 caliber pistol into his mouth, and fired.

His body fell over the shoulder and plunged one hundred feet, hitting the roof of a Toyota Camry heading northbound on the Harbor Freeway. The impact crushed the roof of the Camry. The driver, Jacqueline Dwyer, twenty-seven, an elementary schoolteacher from Reseda, died at the scene.

This would have been simply another dark and strange coincidence, the sort of thing that shows up for a two-minute report on the local news — with live remote from the scene — and maybe gets a follow-up the next day. Eventually the story would go away, fading from the city’s collective memory.

But this story did not go away. Not for me. Because Jacqueline Dwyer was the woman I was going to marry.”

4. Who would you love to invite to dinner (living or not) and why?

Abraham Lincoln, the most written about President of all presidents. I am currently reading (on my fabulous Kindle ebook reader!!) Abraham Lincoln, a Man of Faith and Courage: Stories of our Most Admired President. It is impossible to read about this man without wishing you could know him and ask him about his life and the people he knew and the decisions he made. I admire him on numerous levels.

5. What’s on your playlist right now (music)?

In my office while working, I’m currently listening to violin music by Joshua Bell and Andre Rieu plus Vienna waltzes by the New 101 Strings Orchestra.

In my iPod, I’m currently listening to the audiobook of Philippa Gregory’s The Virgin’s Lover (after having already completed the same author’s books about the wives and lovers of Henry VIII: The Constant Princess; The Other Boleyn Girl; and The Boleyn Inheritance).

In my car stereo, I’m listening to Found by Travis Cottrell (a voice very similar to Josh Groban).

6. Have you had any interesting experiences with one of your readers– via blog, book signing, conference, correspondence?

I have lots of stories that I could tell, but one that was special was hearing from a childhood friend of my oldest daughter about 27 years after she moved away from our neighborhood. She inquired if I was the Robin Hatcher who was mom to Micki, and then told me who she was. She retold a story about a time she stayed overnight with us and the girls got scared (a lightning and thunderstorm, I think) and what I said that had calmed their fears. Of course, that moment hadn’t made as big of an impression on me as it did on a ten-year-old. It was great fun connecting with her, and it never would have happened if she hadn’t seen one of my books (I knew her before I wrote my first book).

7. Is there anything about being a published author that you wish you’d known before you were published?

I wish I’d known that writing actually gets harder, the more books you write. Yes, you learn more all the time, but the expectations get higher and higher. I probably wouldn’t have believed it if someone told me, but I still wish someone had told me. However, when I started writing, there wasn’t email. Writing groups for novelists didn’t exist either, at least not in Boise. Although I joined RWA as soon as I heard about it, that was after my first two books had been sold. So whatever I learned, I learned from how-to books that I checked out of the library or bought at the bookstore.

Robin Lee Hatcher discovered her vocation as a novelist after many years of reading everything she could put her hands on, including the backs of cereal boxes and ketchup bottles. The winner of the Christy Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction (Whispers from Yesterday), the RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance (Patterns of Love and The Shepherd’s Voice), two RT Career Achievement Awards (Americana Romance and Inspirational Fiction), and the RWA Lifetime Achievement Award, Robin is the author of over 50 novels, including Catching Katie, named one of the Best Books of 2004 by the Library Journal.

Robin enjoys being with her family, spending time in the beautiful Idaho outdoors, reading books that make her cry, and watching romantic movies. She is passionate about the theater, and several nights every summer, she can be found at the outdoor amphitheater of the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, enjoying Shakespeare under the stars. She makes her home outside of Boise, sharing it with Poppet the high-maintenance Papillon.

To learn more about Robin and her work, please visit her web site at www.robinleehatcher.com