read a romance month Archives - Read-A-Romance Month

#RARM19 – Andrea Lochen – Time Traveling Between the Pages

August 20, 2019 Leave a Comment

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

🙂📚💜☀️🌈

A quick word from Bobbi Dumas, your host.

Hi everyone! Welcome to Read-A-Romance Month. You can find out more about this fun, month long event here. And check out all the great authors taking part this year on the calendar, here.

The theme this year is The Romance Of Reading, The Magic Of Books and we have an awesome assortment of writers – both romance and mainstream fiction authors – sharing about books, reading, romance & magic. I hope you’ll visit everyday.

(Also, be sure to check in to The Romance Of Reading FB page, where one of the RARM authors will be hosting the page each day in August. Today Karen Hawkins will also be on the page.)

Enjoy….

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

Andrea Lochen – The Magic of Time Travel

🙂📚💜☀️🌈

Before my husband and I got married on July 7, 2007, we had to meet with the priest who would perform our wedding ceremony. He was an incredibly sweet man, and he asked us several thoughtful questions about our relationship, including what one gift we would ask God for to help bless and strengthen our marriage. Since my husband-to-be and I were living in two different states at the time (Wisconsin and Michigan for different graduate school educations), I jokingly said I would ask for a “time-space portal” that would allow us to pop in and out of our different states to easily visit each other whenever we wanted to.

When the priest gave his beautiful homily at our wedding, he used this answer of mine to my great horror! He reported my husband’s lovely, insightful answer that he would ask God for “grace and patience,” and then the priest said, with a slightly bemused expression, that “Andrea asked for a time portal.” It was a pretty hilarious, embarrassing moment, and we have it forever recorded on our wedding DVD. I imagine my future grandkids one day, scratching their heads and wondering just what the heck Grandma meant by that. More like a space portal, my husband and I still like to tease each other to this day, twelve years later.

Okay, so apparently, I’m a little obsessed with time portals and space portals. In my first novel, The Repeat Year, the main character, an ICU nurse named Olive Watson, gets the opportunity to relive an entire year of her life to try to fix her many missteps. And in my recently published novel, Versions of Her, two sisters uncover a hidden door that allows them to time travel to their mom’s past. There’s just something very epic and romantic about time-traveling, don’t you think?

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

Andrea recommends:

Kate Morton – www.katemorton.com – @Amazon
Lush, sweeping historical novels full of fairy tales, romance, mystery, and beautiful British or Australian settings.

Marisa de los Santos – MdlS @HarperCollins – @Amazon
Lovely novels bursting with humor, warmth, and delightful characters. I wouldn’t mind living inside one of her books.

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

2019 RARM Questions:

Tell us about a time in your life that felt magical to you.

Every year, Christmas always feels magical to me, but even more so right now in my life, because I have a four-year-old daughter and a two-year-old son. Seeing the holiday through their wide eyes brings back all the magic of my own childhood—driving around to look at Christmas lights with my family, singing “Silent Night” holding our tiny candles at church on Christmas Eve, lying awake wondering if Santa and his reindeer had visited our house yet. I love starting these holiday traditions with my children and teaching them how acts of kindness and charity are what the season are all about.

Tell us about a book that was magical for you.

Honestly, every book is a magical experience for me in its own way. How wild is it that just by reading words on a page, a movie can play in your head, totally immersing you in another world and another person’s experiences? It’s mind-blowing and nothing short of magic! However, one of the most magical books for me as a child was Matilda by Roald Dahl. I loved that a small, vulnerable girl could use her intelligence and her love of reading to become powerful. It’s such a funny, heartwarming book too.

Tell us about a “magical moment” in your writing or your career?

When my first novel, The Repeat Year, came out in 2013, I was doing a bookstore event in my hometown. I saw a familiar face in the crowd, and it was my third-grade teacher, Mrs. Murphy. She was the first teacher to encourage me to be a writer. In her class, we had done something called “The Writers’ Workshop,” where we wrote stories, bound and illustrated them, and “published” them with contact paper covers to our own special library where classmates could check them out, and I had loved every second of it. Mrs. Murphy gave me a big hug, asked me to autograph The Repeat Year for her, and told me how proud of me she was. It was such a special, full-circle moment for me.

For writers who use magical aspects in their books, what attracts you to those elements? For those of you who don’t, are there specific themes or elements you’re attracted to and find yourself going back to? Why do these resonate with you?

In my novels, magical occurrences are the precipitating events that get the ball rolling. In The Repeat Year, a woman wakes up on New Year’s Day and discovers she’s reliving the previous year. In Imaginary Things, a mom realizes she can see her son’s imaginary friends. In Versions of Her, two sisters find a hidden door that allows them to view their deceased mom’s past. Magic may be the vehicle that grants my characters the opportunity to see their lives in a different way, confront their problems, and hopefully learn and grow from the experience, but the emotional work they put into bettering themselves and their relationships is something that I hope all readers can relate to.

Creativity is a kind of magical experience. What inspires you, keeps you going, helps you when you lose focus, etc.?

For some reason, long drives on country roads work wonders for me for brainstorming or problem-solving (when I’m not sure what a character’s motives are or what should happen next). In fact, I came up with the premise for my fourth book while I was driving home one evening, and boy, was I eager to finally pull into my garage and access my laptop to type some notes!

Sometimes, however, there are “fallow seasons” where I’m not writing or even thinking about writing at all, and I try not to beat myself up about it too much. Because if I don’t give myself the down time to do other creative pursuits—like read, sew, bake, and just go out and experience life—I’ll be totally tapped out and won’t have anything to write about in the future.

DRAWING – is hosting The Romance of Reading page, and her giveaways will take place there.

However, all comments will also be entered to win a bundle of books from the Week 3 participating authors. You may enter by commenting on this original blog post and/or on the Read-A-Romance Month Facebook page post, here.

Each first unique comment at each space offers an extra chance to win, so check in with each author. Must comment by 8/28/19 11:59pm Eastern to enter.

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

Andrea Lochen is the author of three novels. Her first novel, The Repeat Year (Penguin 2013), was praised by Kirkus Reviews as “an engaging, satisfying read that explores friendship, love and who we really are when it truly matters.” A draft of the novel won the 2008 Hopwood Novel Award. The Repeat Year was also produced as an audiobook and translated into German and Hungarian editions. The film option was sold to Ineffable Pictures. Andrea’s second novel, Imaginary Things, was published by Astor + Blue in April 2015 and described as a, “a beautiful book, filled with vivid scenes, unforgettable characters, and oodles of heart. With a page-turning plot and an utterly unique concept, Imaginary Things entertains, inspires, and provokes thought.” Her third novel, Versions of Her, was recently published by Red Adept Publishing in July 2019.

Andrea earned her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and her Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Since 2008, she has taught undergraduate writing at UW Milwaukee at Waukesha and was awarded the UW Colleges Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Andrea lives in Wisconsin with her husband, two small children, and adorably fluffy dog, Maddy. In her free time, she likes to bake cupcakes and cakes, see musicals and plays, and read as much as humanly possible.

Listen to an interview with Andrea on Milwaukee Public Radio’s “Lake Effect.“

Connect with Andrea:

andrealochen.com | Facebook | Twitter

Discover all of Andrea’s books:

*Please note that the Amazon button, most cover images and text links connect to an affiliate portal. Thanks so much for your help & support!

#RARM19 – Minerva Spencer – Books: Magic That Saves Us

August 17, 2019 Leave a Comment

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

🙂📚💜☀️🌈

(Also, be sure to check in to The Romance Of Reading FB page, where one of the RARM authors will be hosting the page each day in August. Today Karen Hawkins will also be on the page.)

Enjoy….

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

Minerva Spencer – Reading, Writing & Magic Tricks

🙂📚💜☀️🌈

If you’re visiting The Romance of Reading and reading this post you’re probably already a member of my “tribe” and I don’t need to convince you that books are magic—especially romance novels!

I cannot envision a world without books. Or at least I can’t envision a world without stories. While I’ve only been a writer for five years I’ve loved reading from the moment I could decipher all those little black marks on the page.

It’s a little embarrassing to admit it, but books really were my best friends for many, many years. When I was a kid we moved a lot. In fact, we moved every six months or so until I was eleven. As an introvert, meeting new people every six months and trying to make a place for myself among my peers was hard work.

Being a stranger in a strange land meant I often turned to stories for both comfort and entertainment. I can still remember in 5^th grade when I discovered The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. It was the first time I read all night long, unable to go to sleep (and for months afterward I knocked on the back of all our closets and desperately wished for a wardrobe).

Since that long ago night I’ve often gone to work or school bleary eyed and sleep-deprived, and I haven’t regretted a moment of it.

After I graduated law school I was offered a job at a prestigious law firm. It was an insurance defense firm and everything inside me cried out against defending insurance companies. But the money and status were too hard to pass up, so I took the job.

I often joke that books saved my life that year. While it was a year spent depositing nice paychecks into my account, it was also a year of dreading every workday and of being ashamed of the companies I defended and represented.

It was also a year of dodging senior partners who wanted to take lowly associates to lunch. Now why would I pass up a free lunch (and a chance to schmooze the boss)? Because I lived for my lunch hours, that brief slice of heaven when I could escape into a bookstore only a few blocks away—a place I was certain never to run into any of my employers—and devour my drug of choice: science fiction and fantasy in those days.

I don’t want you to think I’ve only turned to books during the bad times. I remember the joy of passing around Judy Blume and V.C. Andrews (teen girl contraband) in 6^th & 7^th grade, when I finally began to assemble a group of like-minded book lovers and we would swap these taboo books. I also used to hang out at a local drugstore where one of my friends worked after school and she’d keep lookout for me while I hovered by the book racks and speed read forbidden Harlequin romances.

I have good friends who don’t read fiction—or who might read a book every few years—and I’ve never stopped being amazed as to how they survive. I HAVE to read before I go to bed, even if it’s just for a few minutes. I’ll read print, on an ereader, and even (reluctantly) on my phone.

Over the past few years I’ve discovered yet another way to get more reading in: yes, the magic of audiobooks. Okay, so that’s technically not reading, but it is a great way to pack even more books into your day. It’s also a great way to pair two of my favorite activities: reading AND knitting.

As much as I love reading books, I have to admit that writing them can sometimes be even more magical.

While I don’t write books with actual magic in them, I do write books about love—which, you have to admit, is pretty magical.

My current series, set during the Regency Era, is called The Outcasts and features characters who don’t always fit in with society and there is definitely magic happening as my heroes and heroines journey toward their happily ever after.

SCANDALOUS, the 3^rd Outcasts book, tells the tale of an ex-whore-turned-privateer and the missionary woman who brings him to his knees (and other interesting positions). SCANDALOUS will take you from the pirate-infested waters off The Gold Coast of Africa to the ballrooms of London and you never have to leave the comfort of your PJs!

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

Minerva recommends:

Kaelan Rhywiol – kaelanrhywiol.com – @Amazon
Kaelan started writing when xie turned 11 and hasn’t ever stopped as evidenced by the massive amount of notebooks and digital files of xyr writing xie has hanging around

Chase Taylor Hackett – www.chasetaylorhackett.com – @Amazon
Chase writes funny, romantic stories about gay guys trying to build careers, amid the distractions of love lives, hormones, and the maze of the city.

Stacy Reid – www.stacyreid.com – @Amazon
Stacy writes super sexy historical romance

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

2019 RARM Questions:

Tell us about a time in your life that felt magical to you.

The day I received the call from my editor Alicia Condon about my book contract with Kensington was definitely a magical day. The weeks before the call had been very tough. I’d been reevaluating whether or not I had the emotional “chops” and resilience to be a writer. I had retreated pretty deeply into my cave when she called and I’m pretty sure I babbled mindlessly for the duration of the ten hazy minutes we spoke. I still feel the magic of that day and suspect I will for a very, very long time.

Tell us about a book that was magical for you.

The first book that comes to mind with this question is Kurt Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions. I know it is not considered his best (Even he gave it a ‘C’ grade!) but it really grabbed me and made me think. It made me question everything and formulate my own belief system, rather than just accepting those promoted by school, government, the Catholic church, and all of the other institutions I’d considered infallible.

Tell us about a “magical moment” in your writing or your career?

I write by the seat of my pants so I often have magical moments (both good and bad) I have to say my magical moments are when my fingers are just typing along and I look down at the end of a few hours and re-read what I’ve written and think, “Wow! This is great–where the heck did it come from??” I usually only meet my characters once they’ve shown up on the page, I don’t plot or plan or even know who they’ll be until I start typing, so I find that phase of writing very exciting.

For writers who use magical aspects in their books, what attracts you to those elements? For those of you who don’t, are there specific themes or elements you’re attracted to and find yourself going back to? Why do these resonate with you?

I didn’t realize it until I looked back on all my books, but I definitely favor the marriage of convenience trope. There is something about life throwing two people together against their romantic will that really must appeal to me!

Creativity is a kind of magical experience. What inspires you, keeps you going, helps you when you lose focus, etc.?

I do my best creative thinking while walking, driving on long trips with no radio, or sometimes in the shower. But sometimes there are those days (weeks, sometimes) when I just can’t seem to get down a single word. Those are the scary times but my family always reminds me it’s not over, I’m just “refilling my well.”

DRAWING – Minerva is hosting The Romance of Reading page, and her giveaways will take place there.

However, comments will also be entered to win a bundle of books from the Week 3 participating authors. You may enter by commenting on this original blog post and/or on the Read-A-Romance Month Facebook page post, here.

Each first unique comment at each space offers an extra chance to win, so check in with each author. Must comment by 8/28/19 11:59pm Eastern to enter.

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

Minerva Spencer is a Canadian transplant who now lives in the mountains of New Mexico. She began writing in 2013 after closing her 8-room bed and breakfast (a subject she will never write about. . . ) Minerva has been a criminal prosecutor, college history professor, and bartender, among many other things.

She currently writes full-time and operates a small poultry rescue on her four-acre hobby farm, where she lives with her wonderful, tolerant husband and many animals.

When Minerva isn’t writing or editing she’s playing with birds and dogs or doing a little DIY.

SCANDALOUS, Minerva’s third book in The Outcasts series, will be out September 24, 2019 and her anthology THE ARRANGEMENT with Sylvia Day and Kristin Vayden will be out January, 2020.

Minerva is represented by Pamela Hopkins of Hopkins Literary Associates.

Connect with Minerva:

minervaspencer.com | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Discover all of Minerva’s books:

*Please note that the Amazon button, most cover images and text links connect to an affiliate portal. Thanks so much for your help & support!

#RARM19 – Lisa Rae Roman – Romance, Magic & Fantasy

August 17, 2019 Leave a Comment

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

🙂📚💜☀️🌈

(Also, be sure to check in to The Romance Of Reading FB page, where one of the RARM authors will be hosting the page each day in August. Today Karen Hawkins will also be on the page.)

Enjoy….

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

Lisa Rae Roman – Lots of Magic & Romance

🙂📚💜☀️🌈

Why abide within the confines of reality when you can live in a world filled with magic instead?

I adore romance.

I cut my teenage teeth on my mother’s Harlequin Romances. Then Julie Garwood, Judith McNaught, and Johanna Lindsey introduced me to arrogant dukes, brave knights, kilt-wearing highlanders, and swashbuckling pirates, and I was hooked for life.

I’ve indulged in thousand-page Epic Fantasy where the farmer’s son triumphs over evil, gains a kingdom and wins the girl. The kickass heroes and heroines of Urban Fantasy have kept me reading until the wee hours of the morning, despite the promise of just one more chapter.

I swooned over Kristen Ashley’s alpha males and cried when they broke the hearts of the women who loved them before the eventual, hard-won HEA. Handsome aliens swept me into far off galaxies, while vampires and shifters captured my heart forever with a single word: Mine!

The magic of love can be found in the ballrooms of Regency England, a log cabin in the Colorado mountains, the deck of a brigantine, a private island in Greece, or the rugged hills of Scotland. But ancient myths, parallel realms, and fairytale beings have always caught my fancy and sparked my imagination.

Fans like me who consider the combination of fantasy and epic love the epitome of romance nirvana will always exist, but the paranormal subgenre had cooled considerably as Fae Touched neared completion. It was suggested a more popular genre might be the smarter choice for beginning my writing career. But, a wise-woman (aka Ella Quinn), whom I met at my first RWA conference in 2017, encouraged me to stick with what I loved. And since my heart was tugging me in the same direction, I forged ahead.

Here I am two years later, and my debut novel, Fae Touched, has finally launched. Fae Divided, a novella featuring James and Sarah, is scheduled to release sometime this fall. I have an entire series set in the Fae Touched world planned, each book focusing on a different couple. And of course, we will see more of Abby and Samuel down the road; their story isn’t finished.

My mind is buzzing with new ideas. Ideas that are keeping me up at night. And all of them are jam-packed with spell-casting witches, the legendary Sídhe and their halfblood descendants, predatory wolf shifters, blood-sucking vampires, and lots and lots of magic!

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

Lisa Rae recommends:

Hard to narrow it down, so many wonderful authors out there. Since the theme is magic, I’ll give you a few of my favorite paranormal romance authors.

Nalini Singh – nalinisingh.com – @Amazon
The absolute queen of plotting. I bow down to her greatness.

Ilona Andrews – www.ilona-andrews.com – @Amazon
This husband and wife team really know how to write a strong heroine and a yummy hero.

Jeaniene Frost – jeanienefrost.com – @Amazon
This author doesn’t pull any punches in her Night Huntress series—there will be blood—and love.

Heather R. Blair – facebook.com/heatherrblair – @Amazon

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

2019 RARM Questions:

Tell us about a time in your life that felt magical to you.

My husband and I went to Italy a few years ago for our anniversary, visiting Rome, Venice, Florence and the Amalfi Coast. It was the trip of a lifetime. We loved it all, but Florence was my favorite by far. We stayed in a fabulous hotel in the heart of the city, our room overlooking the Piazza della Repubblica. It was a beautiful morning—warm and sunny—and I opened the shuttered window in our bedroom wide. The cobblestoned square was vibrant and teeming with people, their laughter and chatter melding into a pleasant white noise. I swear I could smell the coffee and pastries being served in the outdoor cafés lining the plaza. And then a woman started to sing. Opera. In Italian, of course. It was like a scene from a movie. Truly magical.

Tell us about a book that was magical for you.

(It doesn’t seem to be in Kindle, but is in audio.) amzn.to/2ZelcZM

Over thirty years ago I read the Belgariad, which are a fantasy series written by David Eddings. The adventures of Belagrath, Polgara, Durnik, Ce’Nedra and Garion opened my eyes to the enchanted world of sword and sorcery. My love of all things magical started with the Pawn of Prophecy (book 1) and has never waned.

Tell us about a “magical moment” in your writing or your career?

The night I typed “the end” on my Fae Touched manuscript was a momentous occasion for me. Was it the end? Not even close! My wannabe debut novel was worked and reworked. It was edited to death. Scenes were cut, the grammar was tweaked. I agonized over the storyline more times than I can count and still found new plot holes to fill. It took another eighteen months after finishing the book before it was finally ready to publish. But I remember typing those two little words and feeling an overwhelming sense of accomplishment—the realization of the lifelong dream years in the making.

I’d done it; I’d written a book.

For writers who use magical aspects in their books, what attracts you to those elements? For those of you who don’t, are there specific themes or elements you’re attracted to and find yourself going back to? Why do these resonate with you?

Freedom, the only restriction: my imagination. I can create worlds where societal rules, traditions, niceties, and politics are whatever I choose them to be.

When heroes are not bound to preconceived notions of human behavior, they can act outrageously possessive, dominant, protective—alpha, and we can chalk it up to the primal nature of their species. No restraining orders are required.

Magic is a great equalizer. The presence of magic negates an individual’s physical strength, gender, and age. Anyone can be powerful. Anyone.

And soulmates. Epic love that will last lifetimes—maybe an eternity if you’re an immortal. Sigh. What’s not to like?

Creativity is a kind of magical experience. What inspires you, keeps you going, helps you when you lose focus, etc.?

Silence. Which is probably incredibly surprising to people who know me. I always have the TV on when I’m at home, although I rarely watch it. And if the car is running, so is the radio. Reading at night? Sound machine. But if I’m stuck on a scene, the quiet settles my thoughts and I can focus.

Drawing – Lisa Rae is generously giving away a digital copy of her book, Fae Touched, through Amazon (kdp restricted/no paperback) to one US and one international reader.

To enter, leave a comment below, responding to something in her post. Open until August 24, 2019 11:59 PM EST.

Comments will also be entered to win a bundle of books from the Week 3 participating authors. You may enter by commenting on this original blog post and/or on the Read-A-Romance Month Facebook page post, here.

Each first unique comment at each space offers an extra chance to win, so check in with each author. Must comment by 8/28/19 11:59pm Eastern to enter.

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

Lisa Rae Roman: Originally Northerners, my husband of almost thirty-seven years and I have spent the last twenty-five in Memphis, Tennessee raising three daughters while learning the Southern way of doing things. The girls are adults now, with babies of their own; five at last count with another on the way! The only princess left in the house—I’m the queen—is an Aussiedoodle named after the Roman goddess, Diana, who answers to Ana most days.

A homebody and voracious reader (an awesome combination), I’ve had stories rattling around in my head forever. It’s only taken the better part of four decades to launch my first book, but now I’m on a roll!

Connect with Lisa Rae:

lisaraeroman.com | Facebook | Instagram

Discover Lisa Rae’s books:

*Please note that the Amazon button, most cover images and text links connect to an affiliate portal. Thanks so much for your help & support!

#RARM2019 – Tara Sheets – Magic, Essential Books

August 2, 2019 Leave a Comment

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

🙂📚💜☀️🌈

(Also, be sure to check in to The Romance Of Reading FB page, where one of the RARM authors will be hosting the page each day in August. Today Tara Sheets will also be on the page.)

Enjoy….

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

Tara Sheets – Voracious for Books & Romance

🙂📚💜☀️🌈

Books have always been a huge part of my life, but I didn’t really discover the romance of reading until I checked out a romance novel from the library when I was in middle school. My best friend, also an avid reader at the time, pulled me aside and whispered, “Those books over there. That’s what we want.” She pointed nervously to the wire round-about rack of paperback romance novels, and we descended upon those books like raptors, voraciously reading everything we could get our hands on over the next several months.

That was it for me. I was transformed by the magic and became a romance novel junkie, hooked for life with no cure. And why would I want one? All of my fairy tale fantasies came to life inside those pages, from swashbuckling pirates to knights in shining armor to charming outlaws and scandalous dukes. Even now, decades later, my tastes might change and my subgenre preferences may ebb and flow, but romance novels will always be my catnip.

When my daughter was born, I fell in love with books all over again, but for a different reason. Instead of being romanced by the stories, myself, I became entranced watching her grow to love them. I’ll never forget the time she was fussy and teething, and I held her in my lap and opened up Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton. Within the first two pages, my grumpy baby was smiling and laughing, and I thought, “This book is worth its weight in gold.” We called it the magic book. My husband and I ended up memorizing several of her favorite books; we read them so many times. On long car trips we could just recite them, and the stories still worked their magic, even without the pictures.

Now that my daughter’s much older, it’s fun to be able to share book recommendations with each other. She’s an avid reader who has grown to love and understand the magic of reading and the romance of books. In two weeks she’s heading off to summer camp. The camp guidelines said to bring “only the essentials.” Yesterday I walked past her room and noticed several books crammed Tetris-style into her already jam-packed suitcase. I just smiled and thought, “Yup. My work here is done.”

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

Tara recommends:

Melonie Johnson – meloniejohnson.com – @Amazon

Her books are charming, sexy, witty—the perfect recipe to warm your heart and put a smile on your face!

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

2019 RARM Questions:

Tell us about a time in your life that felt magical to you.

I’m a native of Guam and most of my extended family now lives in Hawaii, but I haven’t lived on the islands for a long time. Whenever I think about that lifestyle, there’s a magical aspect to it that will never leave me. The rhythmic sound of the ocean waves, the scents of coconut oil and saltwater and plumeria trees in bloom, the easy, laidback culture. I now live in a city that’s several hours from the coast, and it’s been quite an adjustment. Sometimes I miss seeing the ocean. Island life will always be a bit magical to me. It’s one of the reasons I chose a fictional island for the setting in my Holloway Girls series.

Tell us about a book that was magical for you.

When I was little, my mother bought me a giant book of fairy tales from all over the world. I read that book incessantly, pouring over the illustrations and imagining myself inside each story. When I got old enough, I began to rewrite some of my favorites, or make up stories to go along with the originals. To this day, the book sits in an honored spot on a shelf in my office. It was my first introduction to fantasy and magic, and it’s where my love for this genre began.

Tell us about a “magical moment” in your writing or your career?

When I was writing Don’t Call Me Cupcake, the first book in my series, I had a character who breezed into the story unexpectedly, which was not part of the plan. Sam, the old man who later acts as a mentor for the main characters, initially had no role in the book. I’d be writing and suddenly he’d show up in a scene, and I’d think, “You again? What are you doing here?” It wasn’t until much later, toward the end of the book, when I realized how important his role was to the overall story. It’s happened to me with other books, too, so I’ve stopped questioning it. I’m learning more and more to trust the process and accept that it’s just the “magic” of writing.

For writers who use magical aspects in their books, what attracts you to those elements? For those of you who don’t, are there specific themes or elements you’re attracted to and find yourself going back to? Why do these resonate with you?

I am a lover of fairy tales and a staunch believer in Happily Ever After, so mixing magic with romance seems like the perfect recipe to me. I like the whimsy of fantasy elements—the unexpected predicaments that can occur when something magical pops up or goes wrong. To me, it adds a little bit more oomph and fun to the underlying love story.

Creativity is a kind of magical experience. What inspires you, keeps you going, helps you when you lose focus, etc.?

Whenever I lose focus or feel like my writing is stalling, I do different things depending on my mood. Sometimes I step away and go outside to people watch and just breathe fresh air. Or I’ll go to the local nursery and add new plants to my home collection, praying that they survive my black thumb. Sometimes I watch fun romantic comedies make me walk away feeling warm and fuzzy and ready to write again. Other times I bake something sweet, usually involving chocolate. I also like to do craft projects like sewing or embellishing costumes. Oh, and baths! I take a lot of “procrastibaths” until I figure out what to write next.

DRAWING – Tara is hosting The Romance of Reading page, and her giveaways will take place there.

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

Tara Sheets is an award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. Her debut novel, Don’t Call Me Cupcake, is a winner of the 2016 Golden Heart® award sponsored by Romance Writers of America®. Tara began her career as an author in the Pacific Northwest, inspired by the rain and the misty mountains and the rivers of Starbucks coffee. She now lives in the warm, wonderful South where she can stand outside with no coat on, and she finds that pretty inspiring too. When not writing, Tara enjoys life with her book-loving family and a book-eating dog named Merlin.

To find out more about Tara, check in with her:

tarasheets.com | Facebook | Twitter

Discover all of Tara’s books:

*Please note that the Amazon button, most cover images and text links connect to an affiliate portal. Thanks so much for your help & support!

#RARM19 – M.J. Rose – Magic Everywhere

August 2, 2019 Leave a Comment

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

🙂📚💜☀️🌈

(Also, be sure to check in to The Romance Of Reading FB page, where one of the RARM authors will be hosting the page each day in August. Today Karen Hawkins will also be on the page.)

Enjoy….

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

M.J. Rose – Magic In Books & In Life

🙂📚💜☀️🌈

I grew up in New York City mostly in the labyrinthine galleries of the Metropolitan Museum, the dark tunnels and lush gardens of Central Park and reading my mother’s favorite books before I was allowed.

The two books of hers that had the biggest impression on me were The Search for Bridey Murphy — a nonfiction story about a woman in therapy who regresses and discovers a previous life, and A Portrait of Jenny, a time travel romance written by Robert Nathan which was also made into a movie starring Joseph Cotton and Jennifer Jones.

Both the novel and the book on reincarnation informed my life and influenced what I love to read and write. I fully and completely believe that mystery and magic are all around us but we are too often too busy to notice. Books that exaggerate mystery and magic draw attention to it and remind us to look for it and revel in it. That’s why they are so important to me as an author and reader.

Bobbi here. Want to read more about M.J. Rose and magic? Check out the interview I did with her for Kirkus, La Vie & La Magie, here.

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

M.J. recommends:

Karen White – www.karen-white.com – @Amazon

I’ve read every book Karen has written – and love them all. But since we’re talking magic, her Tradd Street Ghost Series is just perfect for readers who love gently occult stories. I literally pant for each one.

Lucinda Riley – lucindariley.co.uk – @Amazon

Another author whose books I’ve read every one of. Her Seven Sisters Series is laced with subtle magic. Each sister has slightly different talents and abilities and the love stories are breathtaking.

Alice Hoffman – alicehoffman.com – @Amazon

Alice Hoffman – can you talk about magic in fiction without featuring Alice Hoffman? I don’t think so. Each beautiful story touches your heart and soul.

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

2019 RARM Questions:

Tell us about a time in your life that felt magical to you.

The first novel I wrote that had a magical element in it – The Renicarnationist – was inspired by a mystical event that still doesn’t seem real when I think about it.

I was in the Metropolitan Museum of Art walking through the small Tomb of Perneb that the museum imported from Egypt. I was standing inside the first small chamber when I had an otherworldly experience – I was alone one minute and the next a little girl was standing there with me looking at the inscriptions on the wall. She turned to me, smiled and then disappeared. I walked out the other end of the tomb, shaking. I sat down on a bench, pulled out my notebook and sketched out the idea for the whole series in less than 30 minutes.

Tell us about a book that was magical for you.

The Secret Garden was a magical read for me. I was eight and became totally immersed in Mary’s world. It was also the first time I realized that writing books – making up stories – was something that you could do. That make-believe was an occupation. And that was a magical moment for me. And set me on the course I am still on today.

The most recent example of a book just as absorbing and magical to read is The Clock Maker’s Daughter by Kate Morton which stunned me with its story and imagery. I can’t stop thinking about it and I read an advanced copy over a year ago.

Tell us about a “magical moment” in your writing or your career?

I was writing The Secret Language of Stones – a story that takes place at the end of World War I, about a young jeweler with psychic abilities who falls in love with a ghost. I went to Paris to research the novel and walk each of the major scenes in the novel. One takes place at the very evocative cemetery, Père Lachaise. I thought I was going to have a scene at the oh so romantic tomb of Eloise and Abelard and wound my way there. As I was taking photos, a crow landed on the tomb and cawed at me. Over and over. Twice he flew off and then came back. As if to get me. The third time I gave in and followed the crow who led me through a twisting path over rocks and tree roots and broken tombstones to an out of the way grave that wound up being so much more romantic and perfect for the novel. The grave of Colonel P. Legay d’Arcy became the very symbol of the love story in the book. I finished taking photos while the crow waited. He never left my side and followed me back to the cemetery’s exit.

For writers who use magical aspects in their books, what attracts you to those elements? For those of you who don’t, are there specific themes or elements you’re attracted to and find yourself going back to? Why do these resonate with you?

I truly believe that when I am writing I am channeling a story that someone needs me to tell and that one of my readers need to hear. There’s not just magic in the book in some way but the whole book is, in effect, magical. Magic gives us hope. It gives us courage. I wear talismans and think books are very similar. They protect our souls, they enlarge our imaginations and they help us to dream — and in our cruel world those efforts are so very needed and their importance can’t be overestimated.

Creativity is a kind of magical experience. What inspires you, keeps you going, helps you when you lose focus, etc.?

When I lose focus I search out beauty. As pure and undiluted as possible. I go to the museum. Or walk in a forest. Or listen to a Beethoven symphony. Or buy a single rose to smell its perfume and touch its velvety petals. Or I re-read Ithaka by Cavafy — my favorite poem.

I am in awe of everything that is beautiful in the world, be it man made or created by nature, and find the most inspiration there.

DRAWING:

M.J. is generously giving two lucky readers a talisman necklace like one she wears like from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

U.S only – apologies to our international friends.

Must enter by 8/4/19 11:59pm Eastern to be entered to win the first one.

Must enter by 8/10/19 11:59pm Eastern to be entered to win the second one.

All commenters will also be entered to win a bundle of books from the Week 1 participating authors. Must comment by 8/14/19 11:59pm Eastern.

💜 💜 💜 💜 💜

M.J. Rose is the NYT bestselling author of more than a dozen novels and several books on marketing. In 1998, her first novel Lip Service was the first e-book and the first self-published novel chosen by the LiteraryGuild/Doubleday Book Club as well as the first e-book to go on to be published by a mainstream New York publishing house.

Rose has been profiled in Time magazine, Forbes, The New York Times, Business 2.0, Working Woman, Newsweek, and New York Magazine.

She has appeared on The Today Show, Fox News, The Jim Lehrer NewsHour, and features on her have appeared in dozens of magazines and newspapers in the U.S. and abroad, including USAToday, Stern, L’Official, Poets and Writers, and Publishers Weekly.

Rose was the Creative Director of Rosenfeld Sirowitz and Lawson and she has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. She is the founder of AuthorBuzz.com, the first marketing firm for authors and the co-founder (with Liz Berry) of 1001DarkNights.com

To find out more about M. J., check in with her:

mjrose.com | Facebook | Pinterest ( <—– beautiful ~ Bobbi)

Discover all of M.J.’s books:

*Please note that the Amazon button, most cover images and text links connect to an affiliate portal. Thanks so much for your help & support!