Simply Ali Salutes Erin Quinn (aka, me) Today!

Stop on over to Simply Ali where the Saturday Salute is all about the SDSU Writers Conference scholarship I've given away every year for the past seven years!  It's a great conference and not too late to enter.  For more information, go to http://www.simplyali.com/2012/09/simply-ali-saturday-salute.html.

It's Plotting Month

Over at Much Cheaper Than Therapy, we've been talking about plotting and the different approaches to it that we all have.  Stop by and listen in.  :)

Also, don't forget to enter my scholarship for the San Diego State University Writers' Conference.  I'm giving away a conference registration and 1 appointment to a lucky writer.  All you have to do is enter at www.ErinQuinnBooks.com.  The scholarship link is on the lower left hand side of the page.

Welcome Rhonda L. Print

You've heard me say it before, but I'll say it again.  I do love it when authors come to visit me on Quinn's Essentials. 

Today I have Rhonda L. Print stopping by--actually, we're getting a twofer, because one of her characters is here to tell us why she fell in love with the sexy hero of Nightwalker, one of the exciting Leah Wolfe SINS novels.  You can learn more about Rhonda and her books at http://rhondalprint.com. Make sure to leave a comment--there's a giveaway!

Without further ado.....

Why I fell in love with Ian Nightwalker... by Leah Wolfe

He wore all black. A tight black shirt highlighted his wide shoulders and was tucked into his pants at his narrow waist. The pants were of a thicker material than denim and they fit snugly over the curve of his ass, a very nice ass. The pant legs disappeared into tall leather boots that form-fitted his calves up to his knees, similar to the boots of a pirate or a musketeer. I thought his hair was short until the moonlight glinted on it. It was actually as black as his clothes, wavy and inches from the middle of his back. It was longer than mine, but his body was all masculine male. He stood over six feet tall…

He turned slowly. His front was even nicer than his back. He looked good coming and going. His face was pale in contrast to his hair and clothing. His eyes were partially hidden behind his hair and while I couldn’t tell the color, they were deep set and inquisitive through the veil of his hair. His somewhat aristocratic nose set well in his masculine features and his mouth was full and bow shaped, his lower lip jutting out slightly.

Just pouty enough to make you want to kiss it. Repeatedly.

While sex appeal is important; and Ian Nightwalker had it in spades; it doesn’t always translate to love. I’d found that out the hard way when my former fiancé Joaquin Wildhorse crawled into the bed of another woman.

I thought maybe love just wasn’t for me and told myself that was okay. As a federal agent for Supernatural Investigations of Non-Human Species, SINS for short, I had my work, my family and my friends to fill the void where love was supposed to be.

Then Ian Nightwalker came into my life and I quite literally swooned at his feet. 

Okay, so I passed out and hit my head on a rock but swooning sounds so much more romantic.

Ian seemed to love me from the start. Why, remains a mystery to me. I fought against it every step of the way.

I came with a lot of baggage. Among my plethora of gifts is the ability to feel the emotions of people around me. Empath is the official title. I also speak to the souls of the dead. Not exactly traits conducive to being good girlfriend material and exactly the things that came between Joaquin and I.

But Ian came with some baggage of his own. He was a centuries old vampire with a hidden agenda that nearly tore us apart. He is also sexy as hell.

Where Joaquin wanted to change me, mold me into his perfect little wife to fit in with his perfect little plan, Ian just wants me. He pursued me with the patience of a man who’s lived for hundreds of years. He stood by me while I fought, let me lean on him when I cried and sat silently when he knew that I needed to talk. He slipped into my life with vampire stealth and pushed me to let my battered heart love again.

The bottom line is that he loves me, just as I am. What more could I ask?

You can read more about Leah, Ian and Joaquin in NIGHTWALKER: A LEAH WOLFE SINS NOVEL, THE ORDER OF CHAOS and releasing October 1, 2012 – JUSTIFIED. Rhonda L. Print is also the author of GUARDIAN. 

Learn more about the author at www.RhondaLPrint.com. 

Rhonda is giving away the readers choice of one of her backlists titles in e-format to one lucky commenter, so please talk to us!

Coming soon to a bookstore near you.....

I've been a busy girl lately!  You might have seen my announcement on Facebook and Twitter about my new series coming from Pocket Books next year.  The first book should be on shelves in Fall 2013 and I will be sharing excerpts through my newsletter so if you're not signed up, be sure to hop on over to my website and enter a contest or just sign up for my mail list at www.erinquinnbooks.com.  I promise not to bug you with a lot of updates--I only send out newsletters when I have something to say!

Hope your summer has been wonderful.  I took my baby to college this weekend so I've got a bit of the empty-nester blues, but she's not too far away so I'll get to see her!

All my best!

Erin

Welcome NYT Bestselling Author Karen Harper

It is always a pleasure to have talented authors on my blog and Karen Harper is definintely that.  She agreed to stop by and chat about her upcoming release, MISTRESS OF MOURNING.  I learn so much every time she is here!  I hope you enjoy this question and answer session as I much as I did!  After you read the interview, leave a coment and be entered to win a copy of MISTRESS OF MOURNING!

Erin:  Can you tell us about your current historical novel, MISTRESS OF MOURNING?

Karen:  As you know, I’m fascinated by the Tudor era—I’m a true “Tudormaniac.”  My husband and I love to visit the British Isles and historic sites I use in my novels.  MISTRESS OF MOURNING takes place in England and Wales.  Wales was then a wild place full of superstition, legends, and chieftains.  The fens, bogs and deep forests made a great setting for the developing love story between my hero and heroine and their desperate search for a murderer.

Erin:  So this is a historical mystery rather than a “straight” history with your usual strong romance?

Karen:  Yes, the characters and plot led me right to a murder mystery—as a matter of fact, the murder of three royal princes.  I had always wanted to do a book about the first Tudors, the parents of Henry VIII.  The book begins in 1501 as King Henry VII and his wife, Queen Elizabeth of York, try to strengthen their new dynasty after winning what we today call, “The War of the Roses.”

Of course, one way to do this is to produce male heirs.  Their heir is teenage Prince Arthur, who has just wed Catherine of Aragon (Yes, later Henry VIII’s first wife.)  The spare to the heir is the ten-year-old Henry, who is already showing signs of being devious.  But in Wales, Arthur suddenly dies.  The queen fears he may have been murdered by Tudor enemies, much as her young brothers, the so-called Princes in the Tower, were murdered years before. 

With the help of Varina, her candle-maker and carver of effigies for the queen’s two children who died young, she vows to solve Arthur’s murder, although she cannot leave London.  But the book’s other heroine, Varina Westcott, accepts the royal assignment and travels to wild Wales with the man she loves, her guard, a man close to the king.

Erin:  So MISTRESS OF MOURNING really has two heroines?

Karen:  Yes, so that meant a double love story.  The queen is wed to her former enemy, but they are managing to make a marriage of the ruins of the past.  Varina Westcott is a merchant-class widow who owns her own chandlery (candle-making shop) and has done special assignments for the queen.  Varina is in love with Nicholas Sutton, an ambitious courtier who ranks above her—but they cannot deny their love for each other.  What allows Varina to be the perfect undercover sleuth in Wales is that the wax chandlers of the day also made wax death shrouds.  So the queen can officially send her to Wales to oversee Prince Arthur’s burial preparation, but also to secretly learn if he was poisoned.

Erin:  Catherine of Aragon must be young in this novel.  Usually, we see her in the Anne Boleyn era books where she is fiercely Catholic, barren, stubborn and past her prime.

Karen:  It was fascinating to write about her when she was pretty and young.  From the first, the English people welcomed and adored her, which is one reason the masses detested Anne Boleyn later.  (Besides, of course, they blamed Anne rather than Henry VIII for the ruination of their Catholic church.)  Catherine is an admirable character who lived her sad live with what we would today call class.

Erin:  You mentioned that Varina owned her shop.  Was that common in this era between the Medieval and Tudor periods?

Karen:  Sadly, it was uncommon for a woman to own her shop.  Varina controls hers only because her husband left it to her in his will.  Except for embroiderers, women could not belong to the powerful guilds nor own their businesses unless they had inherited them through a father, brother or husband.  Another shocker to me was that if a widow remarried, the control of her shop, her finances and any minor children went immediately to her new husband—not a good time to be a single mom or female entrepreneur!  Varina is being courted by another chandler owner.  It would make commercial sense for her to unite their two shops, but she’s in love with Nick, who ranks above her.  Ah, nothing like forbidden love.

Erin:  I see this novel had two different titles.  How did that come about?

Karen:  My British publisher, Random House UK, decided to retitle the release of the novel THE QUEEN’S CONFIDANTE.  It has a quite different cover also.  My historicals are making the bestseller lists in the UK, and I’m sure it helps in this royal Jubilee year to have the word  queen in the title.

Erin:  Thanks for a glimpse into your new novel and for giving away two copies of it to winners who leave a post.  By the way, are you still writing contemporary romantic suspense too?

Karen:  Yes, and that’s been a real stretch from ‘Merrie olde England,’ since I’ve set my most recent rom-sus novels in Amish country.  My latest trilogy is FALL FROM PRIDE, RETURN TO GRACE and in November, FINDING MERCY.  I’m currently writing another HOME VALLEY AMISH romantic suspense which is a Christmas novel, but that won’t be out until autumn of 2013.  

Thanks, for the interview, Erin.  I always like to touch bases with your readers, as I have really enjoyed your Irish historical romance novels.

Karen Harper is a NY Times bestselling author published since 1982.  A former university and high school English instructor, she won the Mary Higgins Clark Award in 2006.  Please visit her website at http://www.karenharperauthor.com/ .  You can find MISTRESS OF MOURNING wherever books are sold or at Amazon, Barnes & Noble or your favorite online book seller.  For more information about MISTRESS OF MOURNING go to:  http://www.karenharperauthor.com/historical.html 

California here I come....

The countdown is on.  T minus 7 days will find me on a plane heading for Anaheim, California where I'll be part of the RWA National conference.  I love this particular conference for many reasons.  The first is the chance to catch up with my friends and fellow writers.  Writing is such a solitary profession that I relish the chance to be social and talk with people who understand me and my passion for putting words on a page, even when I hate it.

Lucky me, I'll be rooming with my good friend and talented writer, Calista Fox.  We've torn up a few towns at this conference so I'm sure there won't be a dull moment.

I'm also giving a workshop at Nationals.  If you plan to be there, please add me to your schedule.  Of course I have nightmares about no one coming and me in a big room with my laptop, projector and one lone attendee blinking myopically at me.  Workshop details?

SOS (Simple Organic Structure) for Writers (CRAFT)
Speaker: Erin Quinn
Multipublished author Erin Quinn teaches an innovative method for creating page-turners that even a panster can follow.
Presentation Date: Saturday, July 28
Presentation Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Room: Platinum 7

Also, don't miss the 2012 "Readers for Life" Literacy Autographing.  I'll be there (at table 903) along with amazing bestselling authors Nora Roberts, Nalini Singh and dear friend Sylvia Day whose new book, Bared to You is burning up the bestseller lists!  You can see the layout where everyone is at:  http://www.rwa.org/galleries/rwa2012/RWA2012%20Literacy%20Layout.pdf.

You'll also find me in the Berkley Authors signing on Saturday, so there's no excuse for not saying hi!

Stop by, leave a comment, be entered to win. Easy peasy.

Today I'm blogging in a couple of places.  I'm talking about writing, my books and other fun things.  There's a giveaway, so stop by and see me!

http://deannajewel.blogspot.com/
AND
http://rhondalprint.com/