Welcome to Raine Delight's author day

Welcome Ms. Raine Delight to Love Romances and More, thank you for joining us.

RAINE SAYS: {Settles in the chair and sips some hot green tea} Thank you, Danny and Love Romances and More, for having me here. Lovely blog, by the way. I added to be a follower of it.

Did you always want to become a writer?

RAINE SAYS: *Smiles* I am an avid reader and frankly, always wrote something-be it a journal entry or a short story. I think after reading one of those TSTL characters had me steaming one day and I was encouraged by a few writer friends to give it a whirl. J I haven’t looked back yet on that decision.

What is the most, and the least interesting fact about writing?

RAINE SAYS: *Groans dramatically then sips some tea* that I am as rich as Nora Roberts or one of the more famous authors making news and such. *Sighs* I swear when a person hears that you are an author, they immediately *just my opinion mind you* that you are rich and have NY Times bestsellers. Unfortunately, you have to pay your dues and getting into NY Publishers is H.A.R.D. I know I am not ready for an agent or any of that but I love my publisher, Aspen Mountain Press. They work with you, help you grow in your writing and deliver a stronger story in the process. I can not say anything more positive about them in this. J

The least thing is how much promotion you have to do on top of writing and fulfilling contracts. I spend half my days sometimes, just sending out promotional material-be it in excerpts, weekly news flashes or blogging on other authors’ blogs on topics near and dear to my heart.

How did you celebrate your first release? What was it like to see your book in a bookstore? Do you have a special ritual for celebrating a book release?

RAINE SAYS: *Smiles warmly, takes a sip of tea* I screamed loudly then called my honey, Chris who helped celebrate with me later on *winks devilishly* I don’t have a print book in stores yet but hopefully in 2009 I will have some news on that regard. *Grins secretly*.

Special ritual? Let me think a minute…*Taps fingers on chin*…ahh yes, I text my honey to tell him the good news then when he comes home I either have dinner made for us, candles lit and whatnot or we sit and watch movies snuggled under the blanket-depends on how tired we are after our day is done. We don’t drink alcohol so no champagne or anything but I do get congratulations and good job from the one man who matters most to me. J

How did your family react to fact that you also write romance novels? Have your family read your books?

RAINE SAYS: Let me just say they think I am stark raving nuts. *smiles sadly* They don’t support me in this and I really don’t think they even understand what I write or even care to. Sad, really, as this gives me much joy but I try not to let myself dwell on their negative reactions and just enjoy all the positive support I get from online author friends like Sierra Dafoe, Celina Summers, Judith Rochelle and others who became really good friends the last few years. My honey, Chris is also a big supporter of my work and is my sounding board, research partner *He really likes this job* and all around cheerleader for me, especially if I get great contract news or bad rejections. My kids are too young (they are 7 and 9) to really know what I write but they know I write books. They can not quite grasp the idea of mom being an author yet.

Most authors are also avid readers. Is this the case with you? If so, who are some of your favorites? Have any influenced your writing?

RAINE SAYS: You got me…..I have so many books that when I say I have nothing to read, my honey just cocks a brow and asks me why I have three bookcases then. J I love reading. It is my escape into worlds gone by or even not discovered yet. I love JD Robb, Nora Roberts, Bertrice Small, Kelley Armstrong, Kim Harrison, LA Banks, Sherrilyn Kenyon, DN Simmons, & Keri Arthur…just to name a few New York House Authors I love. Some e-publishing authors I have to read are Jet Mykles, Judith Rochelle, Sierra Dafoe, Celina Summers, Celia Kyle, & Cynnara Tregarth, Lena Austin plus so many more that I would be here for days naming them all for you. J

One day I want to write like these wonderful authors and in the meantime, I read their beautiful stories, dream of yummy heroes and heroines and find my muse to kick around. Each author I love has me learning new techniques and maybe checking out if they have any advice for new authors as well.

Your characters come to life in your books. Do you feel each of your characters live with you as you write? Do their lives sometimes take over a part of your life? Can you name an example? Do you have living role models for your characters?

RAINE SAYS: Each character holds a special part of my heart and leaving them at the end is like watching one of my kids take flight and leave the nest. *smiles, then sips some more tea* The only thing about my characters is that they are one very loud bunch, especially if they think I am not giving them enough attention. My muse is one of those guys who doesn’t think twice on jumping to an island, lying on the beach and sip fruity concoctions with umbrellas. J Drives me nuts, especially if I am in the middle of a mad dash to finishing up a project. But he always comes thru when I need it most and I think my muse can be the cross of Johnny Depp and Gerard Butler. Yummy, dashing with that wicked glint in his eyes that has you melt in a puddle with just one look.

Where do you get the inspirations for your books?

RAINE SAYS: No idea. It can be a variety of things. One day I was reading an article on Yahoo Science News about gamma rays and it got me thinking on what would happen if we ever experienced that. That was the basis of my Space Pirates series. Another inspiration was my hometown. It is a small one in Western NY and it is the loose basis of my Popular Devon Falls Series. It does have a candy shop, café and other places mentioned in the series.

Do you find it difficult at times to write love scenes?

RAINE SAYS: Oh man, nope. {Shakes head in laughter} The only thing I try is to keep it fresh which is a problem for all authors, in my opinion, when writing love scenes. You don’t want a story that has the same love scenes over and over again in each book you have out. That is not a good thing to have. I try to push the boundaries a little by adding a little kink (be it bondage, toys or something in that effect) or other stuff to make it fresh and exciting for the reader to enjoy. My honey loves when I go into research m ode and if I get stumped on something, I ask my author friends who are “experts” in certain areas to help me out or direct me to certain places on the web. Got to love the web….it gives you a world to explore and places to research. *grins wickedly*

What is your favorite book from the books that you have written so far? Who are your favorite hero and heroine, and why?

RAINE SAYS: My favourite book, huh? Is that like asking what kid is your favourite? *sighs* I can not say which one because all are my babies. At the moment I am caught up in an Urban Fantasy I am writing which also has some comedic elements as well. I guess that would be my “in the moment” favourite.

Favorite Hero would have to be Damien Dracon. He is the hero from Devon Falls: Fiery Magic and he gives his all to win back the one woman who he gave his heart so long ago yet broke hers in the process. It is an emotional story that, for me, had me wishing these two would make up and discover that love can be sweeter in the long run the second time around.

Favorite Herione would be Jaxon Sinclair. *smiles* She really delivers a round house punch to Rodrick Dracon in my upcoming book, Haunting Magic, the next Devon Falls Story. She doesn’t let Rod one inch on her unless he fights for it and frankly, he deserves to fight for that love and passion since he is a werewolf and all as well as being a ladies man on top of that. That reputation has Jax skittish and frankly, she takes him on merry chase.


Which book was the hardest to write and which the easiest?

RAINE SAYS: The hardest…hmmmm *sips the last of the green tea and curls up in the chair*, I think it would have to be Fiery Magic. There was so much emotional back story that it was hard not to tell it all at once and basically overwhelm the reader with it. I had to learn to give it in doses and expand on it to make it a satisfying story for everyone.

The easiest was easily Sticky Magic. I wrote the first Devon Falls book in one week and it was supposed to be just one book and it snowballed into five.

The real work is coming in 2009 when I start the final book in the Devon Falls series that will tie up all the loose ends and deliver something so wonderful and magical it will take your breath away.

*wags finger* Now don’t ask on it, Danny. I am not telling what it may be but you do get a hint of a part of it in Fiery Magic.

If you could change places with one character from your books, who would it be and why?

RAINE SAYS: Dang that would be hard. *thinks* I think I would like to be Raven DeMarco from Red Hot Magic. One she is blond, tall and has a Cajun temper. Two would have to be she is creative in the art of candy making. I am only 5 foot 2 in real life…very petite (though honey likes to rest his chin on my head) and I have auburn hair that reaches my shoulders; Very normal looking, in my opinion.

If you could travel through time to visit a special time period or famous person, what or who would it be and why?

RAINE SAYS: Hmmm, I was going to say the time of King Henry the VIII but then I remembered the women wore corsets and they didn’t believe in bathing. *shudders in horror*

I think I would like to visit Cleopatra and see if she really was how she is portrayed in history plus what woman doesn’t like being worshipped though I could do without the asp angle.

Do you listen to music while you are writing and if so what music is it?

RAINE SAYS: Yep {hums happily for a minute}. I love music be it on the radio in the background or on my CD player on the computer. Sometimes the music influences my writing. In Red Hot Magic, I was listening to Andrea Bouchelli and it was mentioned in the story. It is the same with Fiery Magic (Bon Jovi) and Fairy Kisses and Magical Dreams (Josh Groban).

Lately it is Nickleback’s new CD, Christmas music on the radio (I know…way too early for that) and just random songs on my computer.

If you could choose of your books for a movie, which one would it be and who would you as the cast?

RAINE SAYS: Ohhhhh let me think….*taps foot*…..I think the Manuscript I am working on now called Falling to Pieces. Its hero is a cross of Johnny Depp’s Capt. Jack and Gerard Butler. It has funny moments and some really “OHMYGOD” hot moments.

Hmmm Either Gerard Butler or Johnny Depp for my hero, Darius St. Cloud and the heroine would be *thinks hard* Melinda would be either Angelina Jolie (Sorry I really admire this woman) or Drew Barrymore. I think. I would have to figure that out if I am ever asked again. *laughs softly*

Are you working on anything right now, and can you tell us a teaser about these projects?

RAINE SAYS: Yep and I hope you enjoy them when they come out.

First up is Devon Falls: Haunted Magic. It is Rodrick Dracon’s story and he finds himself lonely for the first time in his life. After being foot loose and fancy free, his wolf wants his mate, regardless what Rod wants. So with much grumbling he finds himself drawn to the one woman who thinks he is pond scum….Jaxon Sinclair. She is feisty, has a very low opinion of Rod and is sexy as hell in Rod’s eyes. The sparks fairly fly between these two and man, I was afraid the computer would start on fire. J

Here is a sneak peek into a scene where Rod finds himself pushed to the edge when Jax starts on him about cooking.

Rod felt relieved that she wasn’t meeting anyone but was surprised all the same at the thought of her being alone tonight made him want to cuddle with her. Her eyes held faint purple shadows underneath and she looked like she hadn’t had a good nights rest in ages. “I am sure my mom would love to give you something since everyone knows you can burn water without trying.” The smile that tugged at his lips surprised him as he watched her eyes go a little wide then narrow in annoyance.
“What the hell would you know about cooking, you jackass? I bet you couldn’t make something if your life depended on it.” Jax said as her lips practically snarled at him. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought there was a smile lingering on his smug face.
“Oh are you challenging me Jax? Can’t take the fact that I may actually know something you don’t? Want to take that to a test?” Rod felt a quickening in his blood that had him wondering if he was absolutely flaming insane. Why the thought of making dinner for her had him wanting something more and though if he had to say, he was enjoying the play of emotions on her face; it was fun to watch and damn it, he wanted to prove to her that he could actually do something besides what she thought he was: a playboy that flitted from woman to woman, though he was unsure why it mattered what Jax really thought of him. Needling her a little more just for the sake of being annoyed, Rod leaned forward and stroked a finger down her nose and smirked a little as he said softly, “Afraid Jax that maybe I can do something that will make you readjust your opinion of me?”
Jax was stunned by the clenching of her pussy as he traced his finger down her nose. If she didn’t know better, she could have sworn there was a flare of interest in his eyes; though it could have been that she was moon mazed or something. Jax tried to still the weak kneed response to him touching her as she tried to form a snarky and annoying response.
******
Another project is my first ever Romantic Comedy Paranormal called Falling to Pieces. Here is the blurb: What do you get when you wake up and find your life has changed forever? That is what happens to Darius St. Cloud and frankly, he wished he never met that witch who just made him one of the walking undead. Add in renegade demon worshippers, a woman hell bent on helping him and a love that will take them to the edge of hell and back before all is said and done, Melinda and Darius will find that love indeed conquers all!
This is a labor of love as I laugh, smile and push myself in ways that I never had before. I plan to get this finished this month and send out to publishers in December.

Here is a sneak look into it:

Darius St. Cloud should have known something was wrong when Bud didn't come dashing around the garden to welcome him home. The small beagle never failed to come yelping around the ranch style building, leap up at him, then proceed to cover him with large dusty paw prints—all in an effort of canine loyalty and affection.

Today though, coming through the freshly painted picket fence, Darius was greeted with an unusual silence. A silence intermingled with an odd sense of foreboding from his normally welcoming house—as if it had somehow inherited an evil presence.

Which meant Nita must be here.

Darius now regretted the trip into town to buy the Armani suit he was wearing. The journey had delayed his return home and left Bud at the mercy of a self-styled Neo-Witch with a perchance for practicing strangely named spells that seemed to never go the way she wanted.

He tucked a strand of hair back behind his ear. Deep black and lanky, the eighteenth century pirate look was often frowned on in board meetings but fitted in perfectly with the nightclub Goth crowd. With it, he was able to mingle freely with his customer target base and research what the latest craze would be in Goth gear and accessories. As for the board meetings, well, he owned the company; he'd just fire anyone who complained too loudly.

A muffled whimper from the basement set him in motion again. Nita, one of the people who had acquired him on a nightclub research trip, had a habit of doing torturous things to his dog. Bud was already scarred emotionally because of it and the poor hound was in a constant frenzy whenever Nita was around. It was, Darius thought regretfully, time for Nita to move on—in spite of the great sex and good times they'd had, though if he really though on it, the good times meant sex instead of movies, dinners and other things couples do. No one could hurt his dog and be forgiven.

The atmosphere in the house was even heavier and wafted out with a sickly purple hue. Darius coughed softly; whatever she was doing in the basement, Nita must be burning at least a ton of incense to cover it up. Bud began to whimper even louder, Darius realized he didn't have much time left to act.

He threw his jacket on the wall hook by the door and walked quickly through the kitchen to the basement stairs. He almost ran down the wooden steps, incense smoke billowing around him as he moved. Covering his mouth and nose with a handkerchief he pulled from his pocket, Darius stormed towards the game room, then stopped, shock etched over his chiseled face.

Nita stood at one side of the room. Darius's brand new black satin bed sheet that if he remembered correctly was on his bed this morning—daubed with white painted occult symbols—was draped over her shoulders, face and arms which she waved, windmill like, through the incense burning before her. Every now and then, she'd stumble in her chanting to hitch the slipping sheet back up. Black, red, green and gray candles had been lit at various parts about the room, making the basement more like an ancient dungeon than the simple game room it was.

In the middle of the room, Nita had drawn an occult pentagram and circle. Bud lay in the middle of this, subdued and whining meekly. He quickly stood up, barked and began wagging his tail sadly—scrabbling madly against some invisible wall—when Darius moved closer to him.

"Nita this is enough," Darius snapped. Taking a bottle of water from the refrigerator he poured it over the incense burners, strangely the smoke grew more intense rather than diminishing. "Stop it this instant," he demanded. "And leave my house. You've done one too many 'experiments' on Bud and I'm finished with you."

Nita said nothing but continued with her ragged chant, head lolling forward, hands gesturing wildly.

"Nita," Darius reached forward and pulled the sheet from her. "I said…"

What happened next, Darius could never explain. He could tell Nita was in a kind of transubstantive trance. Yet before he had time to consider what it meant, Bud, finally free from the strange trap he'd been placed in, bounded forward with a hearty howl, and leaped into Daruis’s arms.

Then the light hit.

Bright blue light, more like a tunnel really. A long, chilly, let's get this over with and the hell out of Dodge kind of tunnel.

I hope you like the sneak peeks. J I am having a blast with these projects plus others mentioned on my website (http://authorrainedelight.com). I always try to update my blog each week or share sneak peeks on my loop, SinfuL Seductions (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rainedelight)

Thank you Danny and Love Romances for having me here. I will let Danny pick a name of all the people who post and they get one of my backlist titles off my website. J

You can find me at these places:

Website and blog: http://authorrainedelight.com
My Space (Come be my friend)- www.myspace.com/raine_delight
Sinful Seductions Loop- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rainedelight
My Monthly newsletter only loop: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RaineDelightNewsletter

I also enjoy hearing from readers as well so they can email me at either rainedelight@yahoo.com or rainedelight@gmail.com


Reviews of Ms. Delight's books:

Babes in Toyland 2

Devon Falls: Fiery Magic

Devon Falls: Red Hot Magic

Contest:

One lucky winner will receive an ebook from Raine Delight, so stop by and say hello. The winner will be anounced here by tomorrow.