Tantalizing Tamara Monteau Visits LTR

LTR: Welcome to the blog. We all want to know what’s going on right now with your writing career. What’s simmering in the pot, and what have you recently finished.

TM: My fourth novel, Haven’s King, is currently in editing. Once that one’s launched, I’m going to take a breather before resuming work on book five. Launching four books in six months time is quite a load! Book five, which I have yet to name, will delve more deeply into the inner workings of Haven and the histories of the creatures who inhabit it. I’m weaving all of this into Vincent’s story, and we will learn why he’s been so enigmatic.

LTR: How in the world did you get all those books out at once? You’re making me tired. I’m honored you could make an appearance today!

If you could date one of the heroes in your books, which would it be? What features make you like him the most?

TM: O-o-oh. Tough question. I guess it would depend upon the mood I’m in and what kind of date. If I’m looking for a light-hearted good time, I’ll pick Jason hands down. He is very much like my husband – both cock-eyed optimistic, both handling stress with humor, inspiring those around him. He likes picking on people and making them laugh. So, he’d be a fun date.

Now, if I were more interested in (blushing here) seduction and surrender, I would absolutely melt in Ronan’s arms. He has a tendency to be dark and mysterious. His power is phenomenal. To be overwhelmed, just once, to that kind of seduction would… (trails off dreamily)

LTR: Don’t feel you have to trail off on my account. I’d be more than happy to hear more about both men. And no blushing in romance darling! 

Can you give us an excerpt from one of your books?

TM: Sure you can.

*****

The light came from the kitchen, just a single bulb burning over the sink. She thought about pilfering from the ‘fridge, but it wouldn’t be polite, so she ignored the sudden cramp in her stomach. A door at the other end of the kitchen probably led to either a utility room or the backyard. Or both. A second door to the right stood ajar. More light glowed dimly from below. She stepped quietly to the opening and heard the sounds of conversation. The first voice she heard clearly was Jason’s, and his words made her pause.

“I’m in love with her. Every moment I spend with her makes me more sure of that.”

A sudden rush of emotion stole her breath. He was in love with her! Suddenly everything she’d sensed, everything she’d been feeling about him, made sense. He had been pursuing her after all. Maybe his motives with the station were honorable, but what about his motives with her? When she heard the word ‘danger’, she snapped back to reality.

“I’ve been watchful, but I can’t provide her adequate protection without compromising my promise.” Jason again.

“The enforcers have kept special watch on her apartment and her partner’s home in town. I doubt even the cleverest of their numbers could find a way past them.” The speaker had a soft tenor voice with an almost musical lilt.

“They can’t watch my back and discover the source of this wave. No. Obviously, there is some force out there opposed to my interest in her.”

“You could be right,” a man with a distinctive British accent said. “After all, you have some very powerful enemies.”

“All the more reason I should call off the hunt.” Jason’s voice sounded thick with sorrow. “She is my true and perfect mate, the other half of myself in every way. I must protect her, even if it means I have to let her go.”

The conversation stopped, but she wouldn’t have heard more if it continued. Her head whirled over what he’d just said. She felt confused, frightened. She was thrilled. Okay, so they’d only just met, but once she’d let her guard down and started to get to know him, she realized she did like him. More than she wanted to. Less, maybe. She couldn’t tell. Then the silence downstairs was broken by the mysterious Englishman.

“Have you ever thought she might be a potential ally in this new threat? After all, the citizens of Carrington are at risk, at least at present.”

“Dev, you know better than to ask that question. The police can’t be involved.”

“No, not the whole department, my boy, just her. After all, if we start finding casualties—”

“Sh-sh-sh!” Jason’s shush was sharp. A warning. “Mirissa? Is that you up there?”

LTR: Love, mystery and intrigue, I love it.

This is an age old question that every author has to answer about 20,000 times. What got you into writing, and how old were you?

TM: When I was a child, I was very shy and introverted. I spent more time with my nose in a book than playing. But of course, reading after hours was prohibited, so when I couldn’t sleep, which has always been frequently, I would make up stories in my head to pass the time until the sand man got around to me.

I’ve always loved fiction. I read Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women (the full version) when I was eight years old. Then (and this dates me) Dark Shadows made its appearance in my life, forever transforming me from innocent wanderer to dark dreamer. I dabbled a bit here and there, picking up steam during high school, but didn’t really get serious about exploring the craft until 1992, when Dan Curtis once again visited Barnabus Collins on my dreams. I was left aching for the poor, reluctant vampire, and thinking of ways I could help such a creature. Lost Hopes was written in 1993. It was pure donkey poop, but I keep one copy around for laughs. The characters and plot evolved after I completed work on Twilight Destiny and self-published it in 2008. I picked up Lost Hopes, and by the time it was finished, The Darker Path was born. After that, I couldn’t stop myself from writing if my life depended upon it.

LTR: I envy you. I still can’t seem to get past Little Women. But I have read Steven King’s The Stand. **3 times @ 900 pages** 

If you couldn’t be a writer, what would you do with your life?

TM: The only way I couldn’t be a writer is if I were to become hopelessly disabled or mentally impaired. That’s like telling the average mortal he’s no longer allowed to eat. So long as my mind is free, my stories will continue. If I can’t write them down, I’ll find someone who can. (determined grin)

LTR: Determination is such a wonderful thing. Do you have a day job that interferes with your ‘real life’ as an author?

TM: Nope! When the kids were ready to move on, my husband retired from the Air Force and found a second job. When he felt our finances could handle the change, he asked me to quit and stay home for a while because the stress of working, going to school, and preparing girls’ for weddings had crippled me. That was… six years ago? So I spend most of my days as I will, depending on the time of year. When the need to write hits, everything goes on the back burner. I sit on the sofa with my laptop, put up my feet, and let Haven’s Realm take me over. And if (blushing again) my imaginary lovers get too playful, my husband doesn’t seem to mind. Ah, what a wonderful thing imagination is! LOL

LTR: Imagination is great. My fiance loves when I read/write erotica since it spices up his life a little too! Tell us something unique about yourself that we don’t know.

TM: As hard as this may be to understand, I am a devoted Christian. I know, the average religious or truly spiritual would roll their eyes at that. My writing has nothing to do with my faith. On the other hand…

…My faith has a lot to do with my writing. When I began work on Haven’s King, I truly didn’t know where I was going with it. Before I knew it, I had written in a unique vampire culture, one which has an understanding with Heaven’s Forces, be they Christian or (grinning broadly) Greek. This is why I will not go hotter than three flames. My love scenes are necessary to my stories, not the other way around, and the few really satisfying parts are handled with the greatest of care. The main premise of my new culture is the firm belief that all creatures, be they mortal or no, deserve to be judged on their own merits. They limit their interaction with humanity, and wish only to explore their gifts and live in peace.

I wish I could let them.

LTR: Peace would make for a boring book I fear! 

How about another question (I swear I’m almost done!) Bacon or ham?

Um…both.

LTR: Chocolate or Jelly Beans?

No-o-o! Not the Jelly Beans! LMAO This is a joke between my husband and myself involving the crystal bowl of jelly beans I kept on top of my bookcase headboard, which chose the wrong moment to fall and break over the bridge of my nose. Brings a painful new meaning of coitus interuptus! After that, it’s been strictly chocolate…

And more chocolate…and…

LTR: OMG – you are hilarious! I will never look at jelly beans the same way again! Now that we’ve gotten to know you, we need to know where to find you so we can stalk, I mean visit you.

My website is http://www.havens-realm.com

My blogsite is http://havensrealm.wordpress.com

My facebook id is Tamara Faye Rudkin Monteau

You can buy my books from Secret Cravings Publishing.

Remember: Tomorrow Never Comes with AJ Best

OK, here’s the deal, tomorrow will never come.  That sounds like a very philosophical statement coming from me and I’m not normally a philosophical writer, but hear me out.  To prove my point check out my waistline.  I know, what does that have to do with writing!?  EVERYTHING!  I keep telling myself that I will diet, and I will exercise, but I’ll do it tomorrow. I’ll do it tomorrow because I’m too tired, or that roast beast (beef) looks too good to only have one helping.  I can’t diet today because that Almond Joy cake Momma made for dessert can’t possibly be left for her to eat!  She’s a diabetic for crying out loud.  I’m saving her from herself.  I must save her and I must do it twice TODAY!  So TOMORROW I will diet.  But for some strange reason it is always today.  Today is the only day that we have to think about, so let’s make the most of it.

You need to make yourself write sometimes.  At first it will come easily.  You are going to be so stoked by a great story. You are going to do nothing but write, write, write.  They ideas are going to flow from your fingers.  The sparks will fly, and your significant other will be standing nearby with a fire extinguisher to make sure that no fires are started.  Then your darling child comes up to you and says, “I’m hungry!” or my personal favorite, “I’m bored!” So you get up quickly and run to the kitchen to make a quick PB&J and then you are headed back to write.  You then see the mail on the table that has to be put away.  Dang is that the credit card bill that was due last week?  Why didn’t that get paid?  Now you are making a mad dash for the check book to pay it before too many late fees get added.  Hold up, the check book’s not balanced?  It’s always balanced, do you have enough to pay the bill?  By this time, you have forgotten that you were writing in the first place. 

It’s especially hard on a nice sunny day.  But you need to set a goal, even if it’s small. 

• My goal for today is 400 words, in other words, you can set a word count goal!

So if you decide that you are going to write that 400 words act like the Nike commercial and Just Do It! Sit down and write 400 words.  It needs to be something.  It doesn’t have to be the most wonderful thing you have ever written and if you are stuck on the story that you are writing, start on something else.  Don’t force the words to come that makes for something that will only frustrate you and drive a very painful and potentially LONG writers block into your near future. (I hate writers block!  In the infamous words of my children, “It sooooo       sucks!”)

• My goal is 5 pages, I’m sure you get where this is going, a page goal right!?

It’s time to be selfish.  Have your spouse watch the kids.  Go somewhere quiet, or semi-quiet if you live in my house and close the door.  Put several full laundry baskets in front of the door and sit down to write.  You have to take the time to do this.  If you don’t take the time to be selfish with your writing, no one else is going to do it for you.  If you don’t take care of this child, (Yes, your writing is your baby too!  Don’t believe me?  Wait till your first not so good review when you want to beat the heck out of some reviewer for having an opinion.  And do remember folks, it’s just an opinion.  OK?) no one is going to do it for you.  So you need to get off your duff and take time for it.  You can not blame anyone but yourself if you don’t get it done. 

• My goal is to write for 30 minutes and last but not least…a timed goal!

 

I know you’ve heard it before but use a timer.  The advice is sound, tried and true guys.  If you don’t have an egg timer, a timer on your microwave, your stove, your phone, or an alarm clock, I do have solutions.  I absolutely love this site: http://www.nakedalarmclock.com/ because you are able to set it and have it go off whenever your goal time is complete. Besides, the name is fun.  (I bet over half of you have already clicked on the link thinking you would find something naked on there, HA fooled you.)  Make sure that when you set a timer for yourself, you are not punishing yourself.  Try not to make this a time out like you would give your child.  So, don’t do it for 3 straight hours in a row.  When I tutored college Accounting, I always told students never to study for more than an hour at a time, take a 10-15 minute break and then go back to studying.  That way your brain doesn’t go into overload.  If you force your brain to work non-stop for 3-4 hours then you may end up resenting the time that you are sitting there, and won’t enjoy what you are doing. Another fun thing that I can tell you about is http://lab.drwicked.com/writeordie.html.  You can go to that site and put in your word goal, a time limit, and if you would prefer the program it to go easy on you, be strict or just be plain evil.  It’s a little difficult to explain, so you may want to go there and play with it just for fun!  If nothing else, it kicks you in the butt and gets your mind working and breaks the monotony of a brain fart or writers block.

Spending time with Abbey MacInnis

I want to thank April Dawn and the other contributing authors of Let’s Talk Romance for having me here today.

I love reading books in several genres. My favorite genre, obviously, is romance. Within romance, I love contemporary, paranormal, erotic, and everything in between. Historicals though, have always held a special place in my heart.

As a teenager, I fell in love with authors Julie Garwood, Judith McNaught, Johanna Lindsey, Elizabeth Lowell and many many many others, and the fabulous historical romances they penned. There’s just something about historicals that I absolutely love. It’s a combination of the characters, the story, and the setting that reel me in.

It’s easier for me to get swept away into a story that’s an historical than any other genre. There’s so much that an author can utilize to up the conflict between the characters that simply wouldn’t work in any other genre. It’s fun to see how a regency miss will get herself out of a compromising position with London’s most notorious rake. Or how a Medieval damsel will rescue her knight in shining armor. LOL

For years, I always said I’d write an historical someday. It’s extremely daunting and fun to finally do it. I love doing research, and could get sucked into it all day. I’m a stickler for accuracy, so when I finally pinned the bull by the horns, and decided to write one, first thing I did was the research. His Fifth Avenue Thief isn’t set in a setting or time readers are probably familiar with. I didn’t plan on setting it in NYC in 1850. I was aiming for twenty years prior, but once I did the research, I knew that time would be perfect. The big famine in Ireland in 1848 killed millions, and sent thousands from their homeland and turning to America as a place where they could make a new start. My hero and heroine were no different. Congress passed the compromise of 1850, or the Fugitive Slave Law, making it a crime to aid a runaway slave. This act, and the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin a few years later, would send the country down the inevitable path to war. I wanted to capture a time of peace.

I love writing books that I’d want to read. I got the idea for this book, in part, from Jenny’s character from the movie Gangs of New York. As a refresher, Jenny’s a turtle dove. She dresses as a maid, sneaks into mansions, and robs their occupants blind. Other than that commonality, that’s all my heroine, Cathlene has in common with her.

Once I established the setting, Aaron and Cathlene took over. It was their story, so I let them tell it. And boy did they. I was just along for the ride.

I have several more historicals planned. I had to get over my initial fear of writing one. LOL I had fun, and I feel my voice is more suited for historicals, but I’m not ditching contemporaries. *g* I’m so glad I confronted that fear. If you’re a writer considering writing something different, go for it. Things might turn out better than you anticipated. If you’re a reader, what’s your favorite type of Historical to read? What would you love to see more of?

I’m continuing my blog tour on Tuesday at the

Mystery World of P.A. Brown

Where I’ll be giving away an Amazon gift card. I’d love it if you stopped by.

Bio:

Abbey MacInnis is a published author of Contemporary Western romance. Along with Contemporary, she writes Historical, Paranormal and erotic romance. Whether she’s being swept off her feet by a Medieval knight, regency rake, or cowboy or cop, her heroes are always strong men who’ll love their women unconditionally.

On most days, Abbey can be found at her computer, penning her latest tale. A tale where love, respect, and passion combine to create a satisfying and happy ending. She invites you to step in to the pages of her romances, to leave your worries behind and get swept up in her world.

His Fifth Avenue Thief blurb:

Two years prior, Irishman Aaron O’Connel took his life from rags to riches. Chance and wits have kept him alive in 1850’S New York City. But no amount of money or success can bring his love Cathlene back from the dead. When a thief sneaks her way into his mansion, the last woman he expects to find absconding with his belongings is his long lost wife.

Abandoned on New York’s shores, a widowed, penniless, and ruined Cathlene O’Connel was left to fend for herself in an unfamiliar world. Fear and circumstance drove her to a life of thieving in order to survive, but her heart risks the biggest danger of all when Aaron hands her a scandalous proposition: A son in exchange for her freedom.

Now that he has her back, Aaron doesn’t intend to let Cathlene slip between his fingers. He’ll do whatever it takes to regain her trust and love. But when an enemy from Cathlene’s past resurfaces, Aaron not only faces battling for Cathlene’s heart, but also her life.

To read an excerpt, go

here.

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