Author Spotlight: Barbara Monajem, Romance Author

Hello, Barbara!  Welcome to my humble patio garden.  Make yourself comfortable. Aren't the orchids beautiful this time of year?  I've made a special batch of Hibiscus/Green Iced Tea with a hint of mint from my own garden for us.  There are some wonderfully sinful double dark chocolate chip cookies as well.  Help yourself.

Tell me about yourself. What makes you angry, happy, sad, snoopy dance?

Angry and sad: People being mean and nasty to one another.

Happy and dancing: People being kind to one another.

It’s not complicated: never be mean and nasty, even if you’re hurt or upset. I’m not saying everything’s all sweetness and light; unfortunately, it’s not. Sometimes kindness backfires, and sometimes it’s misinterpreted, but as long as you mean well, that’s what matters.

I have to agree with your theory here, Barbara.  My basic rule of thumb is to treat people as I would want them to treat me.  I really strive hard to practice this no matter the situation as eventually it will come back in a positive light:) What inspired you to write your first book?

Reading. On my first day of school, I came back ecstatic, telling my parents, “I can read!!” In third grade I wrote my first story.

Wow! We've something in common. I began writing at a very young age as well. How many books have you written?


Hmm...
Long answer: One children’s book which was published long ago. One romance which is under the bed. I submitted it to Harlequin years ago, but they returned it saying to send it again later, as they were snowed under with submissions. Dummy me, I just put it under the bed and forgot about it. First paranormal, which I wrote twice and am now writing again. Hopefully this time it will be good! Then two more paranormals. Then three regency romances and a regency short story (which was released as an e-book by Harlequin in January).
Short answer: 8.25 or 9.25, depending on whether the same character’s story written twice counts. :)

What works best to keep you focused and on track?

A page count goal. It’s best if I have to report my progress to someone else. I first realized this when my local RWA chapter, Georgia Romance Writers, held a writing challenge. I promised 15 pages per week, and about killed myself to get there, because I didn’t want to confess to the coordinator that I hadn’t lived up to my pledge.

That's a very attainable goal and no stress! I like the way you think. Even I could do that if I put my mind to it:) You know? I'm think I may just work on utilizing that goal. Do you write to make money or for the love of writing?

Money would be useful, but I can’t help but write. It’s so much fun! (Oh, and it keeps me sane, more or less.)

What is your favorite holiday? And why?

Halloween. I love spooky stuff.

Something else we have in common *grin*  Everyone that knows me knows how I feel about Halloween. When do you write (daytime, nighttime, on your lunch hour, before the kids get up, after everyone is asleep? In large chunks of time or stolen snippets?)
Whenever, wherever. I get a lot done on road trips (with my husband driving) because there are no distractions. I’m a morning person, so I’m better at first drafts in the daytime. I can revise anytime.

Do you write every day? Or when the muse strikes?
Whenever I have time. Most days, I write something – original text, revision, blogs. The muse tends to wake up *after* I start writing. He (yes, my muse is male, and I adore him) shows up in mid-scene, being a pain in the butt sometimes, but he’s usually right. (I daren’t say always… can’t let him think he has control.)

Oh, I get that, LOL Are you someone who can write on demand? Or do you have to stew and coax an idea before you sit down and write? Or maybe you write when the muse knocks you upside your head, like me?
Both. If I have to write something right away, I do. However, once I’ve written something, I really *have* to let it stew for a while. A day, a week, maybe longer. I hope I never have a deadline that doesn’t account for “stew time.”

Me, too.  I once put a manuscript away for two years, pulled it out, blew the dust off and got to work again. Where do you go to think?

I have to go somewhere? LOL.

Maybe I should rephrase, LOL Where is your favorite place to mull over things?
I try to think all the time, but long walks are good.


How do you come up with your title and main characters’ names?

The title of my current release, Sunrise in a Garden of Love & Evil, came from my genius editor.
We brainstormed the next one, Tastes of Love & Evil. It was originally called Vamping the Chameleon, because I was entering a contest (this was several years ago) and needed a title, any title, right away. I really do need “stew time.” :)

Characters’ names tend to show up as I’m writing, so I guess my muse gets the credit, although sometimes I can’t stand his choices, so I change them.

What is your least favorite thing to do as an author? Allow me to clarify: query, write a synopsis, write a blurb, market, you get the picture:)

I loathe synopses. My muse deserts me, so they’re boring to write, a real chore. I can write a decent synopsis of a completed book, but as for writing one just on a concept – it’s torture. And it shows.

How long did it take you to get your first project sold? And was the project your first actual completed manuscript?

I don’t count the children’s book (because that was pure serendipity, and I wasn’t really trying to sell). Sunrise in a Garden of Love and Evil (my 5th finished manuscript, if you count the two versions of my first paranormal) finaled in the Daphne contest (under the title Love in a Twisted Garden). Chris Keeslar of Dorchester was one of the judges, and he requested the full. Three years after I sent it, he emailed to see if it was still available, and made me an offer the next day.

Wow!  that's quite a long time between.  You must have been estatic and pleasantly surprised. Do you have an upcoming release?
Sunrise in a Garden of Love and Evil was just released.

You do! Oh please tell us all about it.

 Here’s a short blurb:
Dark secrets abound in the town of Bayou Gavotte, Louisiana, from blackmail to fetish clubs to murder, and when blood-and-love starved vampire Ophelia Beliveau calls in the police to scare away whoever is desecrating her garden, Detective Gideon O'Toole unearths more than he ever dreamed...
It’s the first in the Bayou Gavotte series, and is available at the usual places for books: bookstores, online bookstores, Amazon.com, and of course from Dorchester Publishing (www.dorchesterpub.com). The second in the series, Tastes of Love and Evil, will be a September release.

Sounds like a very interesting read, Barbara. I may just have to put that one on my TBR list asap.
Tell us about your Hero. Do you have a favorite, if you’ve written multiple books?

My absolute favorite hero is the one I’m writing now. He’s a part-Native American rock star with telepathic abilities. He appears in the first two books of the series as a secondary character, but now he gets his own book. I’m working on it now, and I’m totally intimidated trying to write him. I need my muse’s full support for this one!!

Contest info:

One lucky commenter will win a signed copy of Sunrise in a Garden of Love & Evil, and will also be entered in the contest I’m holding all through the month of April. I’ll be giving away signed copies of Sunrise in a Garden of Love and Evil and various other prizes. (Including socks. If I have a fetish, it’s for socks. But there’s lots of other stuff, too.) You can get extra chances to win by signing up for my newsletter, or by posting links to any of the blogs I’m doing this month (see the list on the Events page of my site, http://www.barbaramonajem.com/) on Facebook, MySpace, and/or Twitter. Just fill out the form on the Contact page of my site to sign up or to let me know where you've posted links.

Bio: Barbara Monajem wrote her first story in third grade about apple tree gnomes. After dabbling in neighborhood musicals and teen melodrama, she published a middle-grade fantasy when her children were young. Now her kids are adults, and she writes paranormal and historical romance for grownups. She lives in Georgia with an ever-shifting population of relatives, friends, and feline strays. Barbara can be contacted via her website at http://www.barbaramonajem.com/

Sunrise in a Garden of Love and Evil is available in your bookstore, or here:

www.tinyurl.com/sunriseingarden from Amazon
as well as directly from Dorchester Publishing: at http://www.dorchesterpub.com/

Notorious Eliza, a short regency historical e-book, is available here:
http://tinyurl.com/notoriouselizahhu from Harlequin,
or via Amazon for Kindle or Barnes and Noble for various formats.

April Blog Event coming April 1st to a blog near you:)

A TISKET A TASKET, PUT ROMANCE IN YOUR BASKET

Spring is in the air! Bees are buzzing. Children anxiously await the big morning where they can graze on candy all day. What about mom? We've got a treat for you! Come join a group of romance authors in celebration of spring. Enter to win a prize a day as well as enter to win the grand prize. All you need do is begin at Silver James' blog on April 1st. Silver will host the day's contest and provide the link to the next day's location. Don't forget to enter to win the grand prize! Here's the dirt...

A TISKET A TASKET, PUT ROMANCE IN YOUR BASKET Grand Prize:
To enter to win prizes from the authors donating treasures to the grand prize (see each day's post for what an author is donating to the grand prize), find the four Easter eggs in the A TISKET A TASKET, PUT ROMANCE IN YOUR BASKET blog event.



You will be searching for the pictured Easter egg. Just visit all of the authors' websites, locate the 4 eggs, make a list of their locations by pasting the urls to the website pages in an e-mail, then send the entry to happyendings2007@aol.com by midnight CST on May 1st, 2009. The winner will be randomly drawn and announced May 2nd at http://blog.skhyemoncrief.com. Tip #1, subscribe to http://blog.skhyemoncrief.com to learn if you're the winner! And don't worry. If you start in on the blog event late, just head back to Silver James' blog on April 1st at http://www.silverjames.com/ to begin your website search for the Easter eggs. Don't miss the fun! See you next to the burgundy tulips.

Please Welcome my guest and good friend, Pam Ridley, author Lies Too Long

Spreading the Word (literally and figuratively) or Marketing Basics

The last time you read a book by an unfamiliar author, what was the number one motivating factor triggering your selection?

I was going to ask this question in a survey, but the answer seemed too obvious to bother. Subject matter. The book’s subject was an area of interest. Beyond the genre being of interest, to sustain a reader past the first few pages, the characters must be engaging. In the midst of their dramatic circumstances they have sparked enough emotion to make us care what happens to them.

But here’s the big question for an author whose work hasn’t been discovered by Oprah or a big name publisher: how do I get my well-written, emotion packed book into the hot little hands of the reader?

Dayana offers the following suggestions:

(1) Keep a blog and website updated.
(2) Contests are a big way to get your name out there.
(3) Business cards, magnets, bookmarks plus brochures to offer with prize bags, baskets, and promo packages are all good ideas.
(4) Networking. Get active with peers, loops, writing groups, community; anywhere to get your name and brand(that's clearly another subject) out there.

Author Sharon Wildwind (www.sincguppies.org/authors/a.wildwind.html) shares what works for her:

(1) Since my books have a veterans' theme, I do a targeted post-card mail out to all military
libraries, veterans' hospitals' patient libraries, and a list of people who have said, "Let me know when the next book comes out."
(2) An Internet presence through lists, a blog, a web site, etc.
(3) Donations to conventions and to individuals. This is where I combine art with promotion. There's always something hand-made with the book, even if it's only a card. The things I make most frequently are tea cozies, book bags, and decorated pencil tins.

So what strategies will I personally pursue in advance of my new book coming out in December 2009? Who exactly is my target audience? Readers of romantic suspense, yes, but I decided to take a more careful look and came up with this answer to who would want to read this book:

Read Another Memory if you believe the lines between this world and the next can blur. Read this book if you believe life can steal every shred of joy, and still the human spirit refuses to give up hope. Read this book if you believe our elders teach us to celebrate life. Read this book if you believe in love.

Now my audience is even more defined and
(1) I can direct my advertising dollar accordingly, which would be largely devoted to an Internet presence; ads, guest blogging, writing stories for sites and ezines that will link to my site, as well as making a book trailer.

(2) I will keep in touch with my fan base who read my previous books and trust they would want to read this one.

(3) It’s always a good idea to keep copies in the car trunk because you never know when an opportunity will present itself. I have no problem giving away copies because the important thing is that the book gets read to support word-of-mouth advertisement. That’s the best way to spread the word.

Pamela Ridley
www.p-ridley.com/

And now please welcome the talented Judith Gilbert, author of Blood Hunt, newly released at TWRP

WHO SAID LIFE HAD TO BE FAIR?

If there’s one thing life has taught me, it is that life is anything but fair, but then whoever told us it has to be fair?

The last four months have been tough. One of the sweetest men I’ve ever known, my younger brother, had a massive heart attack. During surgery, the heart surgeon accidentally nicked a vein in my brother’s neck and he almost bleed to death. They had to call in a cardio-vascular surgeon to repair the vein. In the meantime, my brother used every pint of blood the hospital had that matched his blood type. Thank, God, my brother survived. He’s still in rehab, back working part time, but I had no idea that if a blood donor contracted AIDS ten days before they gave blood, it will not show up in the tests, so he had to undergo AIDS testing, another scary ordeal.

My brother is two years younger than me. This scare reminded me of the times we were left alone as kids and I was told by my parents to look after my brother. I made sure nothing happened to him as we were growing up. But when this entire thing happened, all I could do was call and send e-mails to ask friends to add my baby brother to their prayer lists. Deep within my heart I know there’s very little we actually do control in our lives. As Martha Stewart would say, “That’s a good thing.” I know that when I kneel and pray each night that God will do what I can’t, keep my baby brother in the palm of His hand and protect him, just as God did during that terrible heart surgery.

My brother, who served in Vietnam, was one of the research sources for my bestselling vampire/witch paranormal, BLOOD HUNT: THE LEGEND under J Gilbert. I had spent a lot of time on the Internet researching the Army—uniforms, ranks, vehicles, weapons. You name it—I studied it because I had scenes where the Army Special Forces go up against a vampire. I wanted to make sure how the scenes unfolded and played out were accurate. Who did I call? My brother, of course.

When I called my brother and told him I needed help with some battle scenes involving the Army Special Forces, which is right up his alley, he asked, “Who are we fighting?”

“Vampires,” I answered.

He laughed for several minutes. “Give me a second. I need to put on my imaginary hat.”

He helped me with everything from how many men would go on the mission, how they would divide up, how to search a building, surprise the enemy and answered my question about what weapons to use on the vampire. When I wrote those scenes I had confidence that they were accurate because my baby brother had helped me with them.

I would like to invite you to visit both my websites, www.authorjudithgilbert.com OR
www.authorjgilbert.com. Both websites have $15.00 Gift Certificates from The Wild Rose Press that I’ll be drawing lucky winners from on October 31. Go to either website, double click on the Judith Gilbert button or J Gilbert button and fill out the Contest. Once you complete that contest, double click on GATEWAY button to get back to the double doors, enter the other one and complete that contest. Good luck in the drawing.

Thank you so much for reading my blog. For those of you who leave a response, I’ll draw one name for the following prize: Vanilla Cream 8 Pack Scented Tea Light Candles.

Judith Gilbert, J Gilbert, the dark side of Judith
A PERFECT AFFAIR by Judith Gilbert Buy paperback at http://tinyurl.com/4qal75
BLOOD HUNT: THE LEGEND by J Gilbert
E-book at The Wild Rose Press
Paperback coming January 09, 2009