Hi, you’re just in time. Pull up a chair we’re just about to start. Here with me today is a new author Maire Beau.

Maire : Hi Janice, thanks for having me.

Janice: Tell us about yourself?

Maire: Well, I work full time, write part time, sing part time, write songs part time, take care of my husband and teenage daughter, and try to squeeze in time for breathing. LOL.

Janice: Lol, sounds like a lot of work.
When did you start writing?

Maire: I started writing about ten years ago. I’ve been an avid reader since I was a teenager, but the only thing I used to write was poetry. I actually had one poem published on a greeting card just after my college years.

Janice: Who was the biggest influence on your writing?

Donna: Definitely my daughter. I actually started writing because I would make up bed time stories for her. She found them more entertaining than most books I got her. So when I finally got around to writing them down, I also started writing a novel – that’s patiently waiting for a major rewrite.

Janice: Oh, that is sweet.
How do you go about your writing? Do your prefer pencils to pens or is it all straight computer work?

Maire: I can type so much faster than write (plus I can read it!), not to mention my hand cramping and ink running – it’s definitely straight to the computer for me.

Janice: Hey, me too. *Grin* What influences you in your writing?

Maire: Music, movies, reading, or straight research? You know, I honestly don’t know. I just suddenly have ideas that pop into my head so I’ll jot down a page or two (yes, this is sometimes, ugh, hand written), then type it into my idea file to be expanded on when the time is right.

Janice: You sound much more organized than I am, lol.
When do you write morning or evening, or are you a late into the wee hours of the morning person?

Donna: Since I refuse to get up any earlier than 6AM, evening is the only time I have available. So I take what I can get and squeeze in as much as I can.

Janice: I don’t blame you. Who in charge you or your muse?


Donna: Definitely my muse. For the most part, the story is as much a surprise to me as it is to any other reader. I’m just the conduit.

Janice: Use only one word to describe your writing style?

Donna: Character driven all the way. If you want a story that you can love or hate the characters, dive in. Or at least what you want your readers to take away from your writing. Just an enjoyment for the time they’ve spent with my characters.

Janice: Sounds good. I love character driven stories.
What other books have you written?

Maire: I have several others, but nothing else published as yet.

Janice: What influenced your recent book, the one you are promoting here today?

Maire: I have always loved shape shifter stories. I tend to go through certain categories of stories in large blocks. After stumbling across a really good one last year, I hunted up every shifter story I could find. And when I ran out, I wrote my own.

Blurb: Lyssa Merrick has no intention of ever being involved with a wolf, but when Wolfe Reardon seeks her wildlife services she realizes choosing a mate is not always a conscious decision.

The jingle of the bells over the door announced his arrival. Lyssa sighed and dropped the tea ball into the cup of water.

I can do this.

She stepped into the front of the store and looked toward the door. Where is he? I know it was him. She frowned, turned back toward the kitchen, and screamed when a hand landed on her shoulder.

Without thinking, she gripped the hand, stepped into his side, and flipped him. Her eyes widened when she realized what she had done. I guess it’s not all about size after all. She practically giggled until she looked down at him, lying there so still. Perhaps he got the breath knocked out of him when he landed.

She shifted from foot to foot, staring at him, waiting for him to move, to open his eyes.

“Wolfe. Wolfe, I‟m sorry. You scared me.” She ran a hand through her hair setting it all askew she was sure.

“Come on Wolfe, you didn‟t land that hard,” she whispered. She knelt down to check his pulse only to have her hand snared and drawn to his chest. His eyes popped open, a grin spreading across his face.

Lyssa jerked back, trying to get free. “Okay, joke‟s over. You can let me go now.” She struggled to straighten and pull her hand out of his grasp but instead found herself sprawled on top of him when he tugged her down.

“Easy kitty, no claws…”

I will be giving away a copy of Wolf! to the lucky commenter who leaves the most comments in my blog tour before October 9th. All of my stops have been posted on my blog. Feel free to go back and post to them.

Thanks for stopping by,

Marie

Visit me at: http://www.authormariebeau.blogspot.com/

Wolf!
New release 10/1/2010 from Whispers Publishing.
http://www.whispershome.com/book_pages/wolf.html

My book Windswept Shores now available at All Romance.

Romance Junkies – http://www.romancejunkies.com
Romance book reviews, contests, author interviews ans chats, and  more.

The winner to the last weekly contest is . . .

Cathy M.

Cathy you have won a free download of my new book, Windswept Shores.

Thirteen reasons why you should buy my book, Windswept Shores.

1. It’s awesome and I’m not saying that because I’m the author.

Oh yeah, I am too.

2. The hero is an Aussie and has a sexy accent.

What’s better than that?

3. It has a spunky heroine.

4. It’s set in the Bahamas

5. The setting is a romantic deserted island.

Did I mention its in the Bahamas?

6. Its not all fun and games when they go against–Wild cannibal boars

7. Meat eating crabs

8. Attacking sea birds

9. Dangerous brittle trees?

Yes, you heard me. The trees are dangerous.

10. Two strangers living in close proclivity fight against their growing attraction for each other.

11. But of course they loose that fight or it wouldn’t be a romance.

12. When they finally do get together the sex is red hot.

13. Hey! Hot SEX on the beach!

***Contest announcement***

This is the last one people.

Guess a number between one and fifty.

And the winner gets a free download of my book.

I will announce the winner here on Sunday, August 29th.

The winning number is #15.

And the winner is . . . .

Darla has guess the winning number and wins the poster.

Hi, your just in time, pull up a chair and get comfortable.

Today I’m interviewing my mentor, the fabulous Faith Bricknell-Brown. She’s a multi published writer, editor, artist and mom.

Janice: *turns to Faith, sitting on couch* Please, tell us about yourself?

Faith: I making my living editing, writing ebooks, non-fiction, and fiction geared for print magazines. I have four children, three stepchildren, and one grandson who turned a month old on August 12. I live smack in the middle of Ohio’s Appalachian foothills, raise a big garden every year, and I’m an artist as well as a writer and editor. I also like to make jewelry and crochet.

Janice: Sounds like a lot of work. When did you start writing?

Faith: When I was six. I wrote a story on brown wrapping paper with a green crayon about a turkey that was in danger of being Thanksgiving dinner.

Janice: I bet that was a fun read. *chuckling* Who was the biggest influence on your writing?

Faith: Oh, wow…that’s a toughie. Someone asked me this very same question the other day and I was stumped on how to answer it. My grandfather was a schoolteacher from the age of seventeen until well into his eighties. He thought I was an unusual child, so he took a lot of time out of his life to work with me and inspire the need to read, write, and learn. He didn’t get along with a lot of the family, but we were good friends and I miss him to this day.

Janice: Wow. It sounds like you had an amazing mentor in your grandfather.

How do you go about your writing? Do your prefer pencils to pens or is it all straight computer work?

Faith: I sometimes jot ideas in a notebook. I have several, believe me, lol. But nowadays I type all my work out as it comes to me and then make notes to keep things straight as I go along.

Janice: What influences you in your writing? Music, movies, reading, or straight research?

Faith: All of the above! My mind is a sponge and it never shuts off! That’s probably why I don’t sleep well at night, lol.

Janice: All those images going though your mind must make a rocky pillow.

When do you write morning or evening, or are you a late into the wee hours of the morning person?

Faith: Most of my writing is done from early morning until late afternoon.

Janice: Who in charge you or your muse?

Faith: Definitely my muse. However, once I get several WIPs going, my muse quiets enough to let me complete them before torturing me too much to start others.

Janice: That’s good.

Use only one word to describe your writing style? Or at least what you want your readers to take away from your writing.

Faith: I can’t label my work, but I’ve had countless readers and colleagues compare my work to Nicholas Sparks (and believe it or not, I’ve never read any of his titles) where others label my style as lyrical.

Janice: Lyrical good. What other books have you written?

Faith: Gah! Too numerous to list! However, the new works I have coming out in the next few weeks to a few months are The Darkness of Sable from Passion in Print, several erotica stories from Breathless Press, and a re-release called Feathers of Silver from Silver Publishing.

Janice: What influenced your recent book, the one you are promoting here today?

Faith: That would be The Darkness of Sable. It’s coming out in both print and ebook from Passion in Print. I have this intense fascination with anything paranormal, supernatural and all sorts of things that relate to faerie lore and the magical side of life, including witchcraft. Add some mythology and history to that mix and my muse goes bananas and I’m just along for the ride. I read everything about these topics I can get my hands on and watch every move and TV program of the same.

Janice: What brought SABLE into becoming a novel?

Faith: A biography I saw about Lenny Kravitz. LOL! He cut his dreadlocks, and BAM! I had an idea for a story. I bashed it out one afternoon and that 8K story has gradually turned into the 104K novel it is now. It has faeries, gods, goddesses, the paranormal, supernatural, lore, sex, action, psychological thrills and much, much more all wrapped up into one book!

The book will be available at all distributors but when it first comes out it can be purchased at www.passioninprint.com

Blurb:
Struggling to deal with the disappearance of her daughter and in a creative slump, sculptress Sable Hendricks-Tade travels to Florida for rest and relaxation only to find herself thrust between divided paranormal worlds. One side wants her dead and the other will do anything to keep her in its “wicked” embrace. Determined to get answers, she searches for her missing daughter and spirals into the realm of immortals and goddesses where she quickly realizes her agent is her only anchor to reality. But can she trust him to keep her safe?

Thomas Valimar, a highly trained marshal working with a network of humans to maintain the line between the paranormal and human worlds, is assigned to protect Sable from the magic she doesn’t realize she possesses. Operating undercover as her agent, his duty soon turns to passion as he falls for the beautiful artist.
Drawing Sable into their world of sex, magic, and intrigue, the dark forces will do anything keep Sable in t heir clutches so they may feed from her emotions and mysterious ability. Only through sheer determination and Thomas’ love can Sable walk through other realms and not only battle the paranormal creatures that wish to destroy her live but save her daughter as well.

EXCERPT:
The Darkness of Sable
by F.L. Bicknell
Published August 2010 from Passion in Print. Print and ebook (release date pending).

Upon hearing Sable’s scream, Thomas’s blood ran cold. His startled gaze met the lovely woman’s next to him, and then he spun on his heel, facing the chaos at the dais.

Flash bulbs bombarded her with their brightness, and camera phones clicked repetitively. She scrambled to her hands and knees and then shielded her face with her hands.

Nearly everyone around him moved closer to the embarrassing scene. He scanned the crowd for anything unusual and found only the Paranorm posing as an officer. For an instant, Thomas thought he saw something else standing in the cop’s place, something tall with big, curling horns sprouting from its head. He blinked. Had he imagined it?

He took a step toward the dais, but the woman next to him grabbed his sleeve.

“Don’t.”

“I have to protect Sable,” Thomas whispered and shrugged her off.

“Protect her from what?” the beautiful black woman replied, her gaze stern. “There’s nothing there.
Discretion is a big part of protecting your ward.”

He returned his attention to Sable, who accepted Isa’s proffered hand to help her up.

“Valimar, have you fallen for the woman?” she asked.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Yasmine,” he snarled. His heart flailed so hard he felt faint. Again, he glanced across the gala, taking in all the faces, looking for movement in shadowy corners. “What good am I as a Paranormal Marshal if I can’t protect her?”

“You forget that The Golden is with her.” She patted his arm. “Only a fool would make an attempt on Sable’s life in The Golden’s presence.”

“See that guy over there?” He inclined his head in Officer Delmont’s direction. “The one with the coal-black hair.”

“Yes.”

“What or who do you see?”

“A nice-looking man, why?”

“He’s a Paranorm, but for a moment I thought I…”

She focused jade-green eyes on Thomas.

Feeling silly, he shrugged. “Never mind. I think stress is messing with my mind.”

“Isn’t he the one assigned to help you guard Sable?”

“Yeah, but I don’t trust him.”

Yasmine snorted derisively. “Few Paranorms can be trusted, Valimar, you know that.”

“Come on.” Thomas took Yasmine’s hand and drew her toward the onlookers. “Let’s see what we can find out.”

As they shouldered through the crowd, Thomas waved to Sable, showing her he was on his way. Fear for her stomped in his heart. By the Judges power, how the hell do I protect her from something I can’t see?


He pushed past a man in a hideous green suit jacket, who wore enough cologne for twenty men. Behind him, Yasmine sniffed abruptly and then sneezed. Pausing a few feet away, Thomas witnessed unshed tears glimmering in Sable’s eyes. A lump that felt like the size of a cinder block formed in his throat. Oh, how he wanted to comfort her, to chase away her embarrassment and fear.

Drawing within earshot of the dais, Thomas heard Isa ask, “Are you all right?”

Sable bit her trembling lower lip and then nodded to Isa.

“Bless you, child.” Isa motioned, and security personnel rushed to the scene.

Thomas kept watching for stealthy movements, twinkles in his peripheral vision that denoted magic about to be used by someone, and odd nuances in a person’s eyes or form. However, nothing out of the ordinary hinted at its presence.

Officer Delmont moved closer to the scene.

If he touches Sable, I’ll beat him to death with a champagne bottle.

As if the policeman sensed Thomas’s thoughts, Officer Delmont turned toward him and smiled.

Okay, buddy. Thomas offered the cop a challenging gaze. Make one stupid move and it will be your last.

“Once you’re sure Sable is all right,” Yasmine said, her voice low, “we need to find a place to discuss some things.”

“Damn, Yasmine. This isn’t a good time. I can’t leave her here unprotected.”

“She’s with The Golden, and the Paranorm is nearby too. She’ll be fine.”

He sighed. It’s not The Golden who worries me.

The winning number is #35.

I looked over my list of participants, and Debra came the closet with #32.

Congratulations Debra, you are the winner of the mini surfboard, ankle bracelet, toe rings, and incense.