Welcome Renee Bernard

I am one of the luckiest people in the world.  Why?  Because I know so many really, really cool people and author Renee Bernard is definitely one of them.  Not only is she funny as hell, she's incredibly kind and giving.  And if you've not yet tuned in for her talk show, Canned Laughter, ya gotta give it a try. 

Aside from these great qualities, Renee is also a super talented writer.  And I mean super.  Her books are smoking hot and wonderfully emotional AND you'll always get that great sense of humor in there too.  Renee has a new book coming out in just a few days titled, REVENGE WEARS RUBIES and she was kind enough to stop by and chat with me.

Welcome Renee!  So glad to have you here today.  I read recently that you were once a stand up comedian.  Is it true?  How did that happen?

Renee:  I did stand-up comedy on a lark, after a friend said, Funny at parties, okay, but can you do it up there?" when we were at a local comedy club. So amateur night rolls around, and you guessed it, I'm up there. I never got paid, but they asked me to come back so what can I say, I was the community theatre of comics -- doin' it for the joy (and keeping my day job). So, writing was almost the same track. I wanted to prove that I could do it. That all those scribbles in a notebook on my lunch hours meant more than murdered trees. I was very unsatisfied staring at cubicle walls and winning sales awards and I just dared myself to be the person I wanted to be and do what I really wanted to do with myself. And just like stand-up, I thought..."Even if no one pays me, I'll just be happy if they ask me to come back."


Erin:  Well I'll vouch for the funny at parties part.  I still remember meeting you at the Berkley cocktail party and you making me almost pee my pants from laughing.  :)  Okay, next question:  What does a day in the life of Renee look like? I know you have a newborn, as well as another child (right?) and I know from experience how busy your life must be. When do you find time to write?

Renee:  I keep looking for the hidden cameras! As the mother of two little girls (a toddler and a newborn), there are surreal moments where I'm sure that every mother throughout the ages is looking in on me and laughing hysterically (or crying, but I hope they're laughing). Fiona tried to take one of my books to preschool in her backpack (imagine my horror!) but only because the book was purple--her favorite color. Not because I had anything to do with it. So, to this point, my strange pursuit of writing is still under the radar.

It's chaos. We're helping with my husband's aging parents, so between senior duty and child care, there are days when the only thing that seems sane and stable is the imaginary universe I try to play in whenever I can. I write whenever the baby is asleep and Fiona is occupied, whenever I can really...mornings, evenings, middle of the night if I happen to be up anyway for monster duty. I've learned to improvise with notepads in my purse and recorders on my phone. The dream, (oh, yes! I have a dream!) is to be able to dedicate a scheduled block of time every day and to be able to take all that advice on time management and put it to use. The reality (oh, man! Do I have a reality!) is that Geoffrey has sworn to build me an office so that I can have a room of my own and make all my dreams come true. And in the meantime, I'll just keep plugging away because this girl has a goal to write Faster, Better, and Hotter!

Erin:  Oh, I so remember those days.  I wrote my first 3 books on lunch hours at work.  In my job now, there's no such thing as a lunch hour so I fit it in everywhere else.  All I can say, my friend, is this too will pass.  My kids are all growed up--or almost--and I wonder how I ever survived the years when they were little.  If I did (and my wee bairns) then so, too, shall you and yours.  :) 

Next question.... Plotter, Pantser, or Conjurer. (Plotters=planning, Pantsers=no planning, just take off and run, Conjurer=a little of both and a lot of magic).

Renee:  I think it's eighty percent Plotter and twenty percent Pantser, but I think that twenty is where I try to step back and let the characters make the call. Imposed decisions that aren't true to character are killers for me and can kill the joy fast. So, I map out the arc of the story, the chapters, the path and then I make sure that if the characters step forward with a better idea, I'm open to it. And frankly, it always seems to make for a better story. I'm a terrible dictator, but I love to improv!

Erin:  Improv has become my middle name, although I'm not loving it quite so much.  :)  Okay, last and most important question:  Tell us about Revenge Wears Rubies and what’s in store for the Jaded Gentleman series . . . .
Renee:  I'm having waaay too much fun with the Jaded Gentlemen and I hope the readers will enjoy the boys as much as I do. They are all very different from each other, so their stories will each be distinct to honor my heroes. I have my fingers crossed that my editor won't mind just how different as things unfold... ;--) Set in Victorian London, the Jaded share a past having been in India during the Sepoy Rebellion and are now trying to reclaim their "normal" lives in England--with a few twists.

"Revenge Wears Rubies" is the first in the new series and sets the stage. I confess, I enjoyed torturing both hero and heroine so that they could earn their happy endings. Galen Hawke is a personal favorite. I think I have a weakness for good guys who try to play the villain. Or is it villains that end up being good guys?

"Seduction Wears Sapphires" will be out in August, and it will be Ashe Blackwell's turn to meet his fate. What can I say? The heroine of "Sapphires" is American, independent, out-spoken and not impressed by Englishmen with silly fashions--just what my lady-killer needs! Ashe has to learn the difference between passion and love, and naturally, I insisted he learn it the hard way.

And then it's Emeralds and Diamonds and Opals.... oh, my!

Erin:  The whole series sounds great.  I loved your Mistress Trilogy and I can hardly wait for your new ones!

Readers, as a special treat, Renee is giving away an autographed copy of one of her Mistress Trilogy books-- Readers Choice! to a lucky winner.  Tells us what you think is most important in a romance--hero, heroine, sex, meaningful looks, pepperoni pizza--oh wait, did I say that out loud?  :)  Just tells us what you love about romance.  Don't forget to leave your email or check back later to see if you won!

For more information about Renee Bernard and her fabulous books, go to http://www.reneebernardauthor.com/index.html

Happy Reading!