Welcome to the Champagne authors time-travel day!

Welcome to the Champagne Time-Travel authors to Love Romances and More, thank you for joining us.

Please introduce yourselves.

Regan: Hello! I’m Regan Taylor and this is my second blog day here on Love Romances and More. Danny, you are the hostess with the total mostest!

Melissa: Greetings from Big Sky Country everyone! Melissa Blue here author of “Without Regret My Love.” In addition to writing romance I enjoy a very fulfilling career as a Registered Nurse, hence being just a little superstitious.

Stacey: Hi! I’m Stacey Coverstone. Although I have four books published so far, I’m new with Champagne Books and very happy to be with this publisher. My novel, Delaney’s Crossing, will be released in August. It’s my first novel involving time travel and was a lot of fun to write.

Ciara: I write under the pseudonym of Ciara Gold, and to date, I’ve published seven books with Champagne Books. You can find first chapters on my website While I don’t have a time travel out now, I will come August. On the Silver Edge of Time will be my first time travel, and I’m so excited about the project. Here’s the blurb:

An eclipse yields a powerful force, an energy harnessed by those with magic in their souls. When the sun disappears behind the shadow of the Earth, a mighty wizard evokes the elements of nature. With ancient, Celtic incantations, he sends a mighty Viking jarl soaring through time to bring home his destiny.

Erik Lotharsson is sent to the future to find the mate his people have chosen. He has no idea the journey he travels will be one of heart and soul. Nor can he imagine the trials he must face in taming a modern woman to his point of view.

Keelin Haverland has experienced dreams of a Viking lover for several years and fixates her attention on an acquaintance with a striking resemblance to her dream lover. She soon discovers her dreams are of another, of a man who claims to be from the past. The magic of an eclipse transports her to another time where modern conveniences no longer exist, and love is but a heartbeat away.


How did you celebrate your first release? Do you have a special ritual for celebrating a book release?

Regan: That was a bit ago but I went to dinner with some friends and walked around with a goofy grin on my face. The day a book is released is one of mixed feelings – it’s exciting because it’s out, it’s real and now (hopefully) people will read it. On the flip side is that it is really time to say goodbye and thank you to my characters. I do a bit of that during line edits, but more so when I see it listed on my publisher site as available. It means that the characters have grown and have left the nest.

Melissa: Well, seeing as my first release hasn’t actually been released yet (June 2009, people, be there) I will tell you about my frantic text messaging, squealing, and attempts at dancing while sitting shotgun in my car when I received my first contract offer. I’m not a terribly ritualistic person – superstitious at times – but we pop a bottle of Champagne (yes, I know, cliché), and go to dinner for celebratory events.

Stacey: I celebrated my first release by smiling all day and emailing and calling all my friends and family. I haven’t established a special ritual.

Ciara: Until she moved to another town, another author, Kim Lenox and I would go to a local restaurant and order a round or two of Mojitos to celebrate. We started the ritual when she was offered her first contract. Shortly afterwards, I was offered my first contract and the rest is history.

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

Regan: My parents are both dead and I have no idea if my sister even knows I write. My 80-something aunt read Jason’s Accord and wrote me to tell me I used naughty words in it. My cousin wanted to know if Miranda, Jason’s woman, was a real woman because he wanted to meet her.

Melissa: My family thought it was really cool that I was having a book published regardless of the genre. My mom and sister are huge romance fans so I’m sure they and my grandmother will read them. My teenage brothers (15 and 18) have said they will buy the book in e-format where no one can see them but refuse to read it. My dad said he would buy it and frame it but I doubt he’ll read it either.

Stacey: My parents and my brother read my books, and my sisters-in-law. One told me she had a hard time believing I’d written the book when she first started it, because she had no idea I wrote romance, and she said it was as good as any romance novel she’s ever written, which made me feel great, because she’s read a lot of romance in her time. My husband has not read any of my books. He’s not a reader of fiction. My brother never read a fiction book in his life and now he reads all of mine and tells people he’s become a romance convert.

Ciara: My mother is my best promoter. Every acquaintance she knows has read one of my books. If they don’t buy one, she buys one for them. My husband is also very supportive and loves to brag of me to all his friends. I’m very blessed in this regard.

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?

Regan: Totally avid! I read 3-4 books a week in addition to writing. Alexander Dumas is my all time favorite – I love how he does revenge.

Melissa: I am an extremely avid reader starting with the American Girls Series’ when I was seven years old. Some of my current favourites include Clive Cussler, Micheal Crichton, Julia Quinn, Bobbi Smith, Kathleen Woodiwiss, Phyllis Campbell, Linda LaRoque, Candace Moorehouse, and the list could go on… and on… and on… I wouldn’t necessarily say any influence my writing because it is absolutely necessary to find yourself and your own style, but if I want to get in the mood to write I read Julia Quinn. She is hilarious.

Stacey: I’ve always been an avid reader. I have so many favorite authors, but I can’t say any have influenced my writing. It took me a while to find my niche and to realize romance was what I wanted to write, so the books I’ve enjoyed in my adult life have not been strictly romance. I love Larry McMurtry and Gary McCarthy, for instance. I also like Jane Candia Coleman, Judy Alter, Sandra Dallas, Barbara Wood, Alice Hoffman and Anita Shreve, just to name a few. I’m also enjoying stories by many of my fellow authors who are published by my publishers.

Ciara: I was twenty when I discovered romance and I couldn’t read enough. I read at least four books a week and favorites included Woodiwiss, Lindsay, Devereux, Brown, Osborn, Carroll, Johnston, etc. Seriously, I have a ton of favorites. And now that I read e-books, I’ve developed more favorites, and I can tell you, it’s a very long list.

Would you like to give another genre a try or have already done it?

Regan: I think through time travel authors have the opportunity to delve into other times and situations. I pretty much go where my muse takes me – although I just finished my first ghost story for eXtasy, Ghost of a Chance which will be part of the Café Nowhere anthology

Melissa: My brother (age 15) is begging me to write something other than romance preferably a fantasy. For him I will do it. Probably ancient times setting.

Stacey: I have two books for children that were published some years ago and I’ve written short stories in different genres.

Ciara: When I have more time to concentrate, I’d love to write a woman’s fiction book, but I’m saving those plot ideas for when I retire.

Where do you get the inspirations for your books?

Regan: My dreams.

Melissa: Everywhere.

Things and people I see, sometimes scenery, and most of the time I just don’t know what inspires me. I am a naturally upbeat person and usually just feel inspired. I usually get my best story ideas during 12 hour nightshifts the trick is finding the time to jot ideas down

Stacey: My inspiration comes mostly from traveling and through meeting people in my travels. I love the American west, particularly the southwest, and my favorite genre to write is the western romance, both contemporary and historical, so I’m inspired when I go on vacation.

Ciara: Everywhere! I just got back from a cruise on Carnival Ecstasy that gave me a great idea for a plot. I’m a people watcher and I’m also fairly active in my community, so finding ideas has never been a problem.

All of you are time-travel author, what made you choose this specific genre? What is your favorite time-period?

Regan: I’ve always loved reading time travels. I love the possibilities, the chance to make something better or right. I didn’t choose it as much as it chose me. My favourite period is ancient Egypt but I haven’t written it yet. The Spell has snippets of Atlantis and America’s Hero goes back to Troy.

Melissa: Time travel for me is the ultimate fantasy. I think it’s a trait I inherited from my Grandpa George, he always believed he was meant to be born in the old west. I have many favorite time periods, and all for different reasons (clothes, politics, etc…). My absolute favorite is the Civil War era, an interest reflected in “Without Regret My Love”.

Stacey: This is my first time travel novel. I didn’t specifically choose to write in this genre. My story just came to me and I had to write it. It’s set in 1888. I like writing about the 1800’s. The story after Delaney’s Crossing is also set in that time period.

Ciara: I’m fascinated by the Viking era, but also the1800’s through the early 1900’s. Then again, when I was on the Yucatan peninsula, I got to visit the Uxmal Pyramid, a Myan ruin and my muse thought of a great plot for this time period as well. I would love to find a unique situation that very few have attempted. We’ll see.

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

Regan: Actually I think it’s Mistaken Bride, a straight western because I fell in love with Kendrick Parker.

Melissa: That is a really tough question because I love all of my books and all of my heros and heroines. If I had to pick… I would say Craig and Marissa from “Without Regret My Love” are my current favorite. These two are my first and I spent a great deal of time cultivating them before I started writing the story. I also have a lot in common with the hero/heroine from this story. The idea for their story came about while doing a project/research on Civil War era medicine. I began thinking of how someone with present day medical or nursing knowledge would react in such third world conditions and the ideas cascaded from there.

Stacey: That’s a tough one to answer because my first published novel is, of course, near and dear to my heart. I love my heroine in that book, and one of the men in that story (yes, there are two men wooing Jordan) is a very sexy, rugged, handsome cowboy with a sense of humor and a heart of gold, which is why he’s one of my favorites. My novel coming out with Champagne Books in December, Outlaw Trail, has a hero and heroine who are also favorites of mine because they are two people who have suffered difficulty in their lives, and their lives get even more complicated when they meet each other, but they don’t let anything hold them back from making their dreams come true.

Ciara: Celestial Dragon holds a special place in my heart because it was my first contracted book and my most successful to date. As for hero and heroine, I’d have to say Tabor and Sarah from Sarah’s Brass Token because it was the first full-length novel I’d written (not including the one under the bed written twenty years prior.) Tabor is stubborn, kind, and just plain sexy.

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

Regan: Definitely Cass Winter! I flew the F/A-18 flight simulator and would love to actually fly in a real one. I’m also an avid watcher of the space shuttle launches and landings and the International Space station. I would love to fly on the shuttle. Cass gets to do that and more.

Melissa: Which character to change places with would vary by the day! Presently I would change places with Lydia Covington (a project I am currently working on) and traipse across the 1816 Cumberland countryside with my Irish hero. I could swoon just listening to an Irishman talk **sigh** Do you think we could convince Colin Ferrell to do more movies with his real accent???

Stacey: I’d definitely change places with Delaney in Delaney’s Crossing because I’m completely fascinated by the Old West and would like to experience it for myself.

Ciara: I’d love to become Keelin Haverland from my August ’09 time travel release. She gets kidnapped and taken back in time to Normandy in 920AD. To experience the past would be a uniquely enriching experience. Throw in a sexy Viking and yeah, I could be Keelin in a heartbeat.

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

Regan: Definitely to the pyramids and who ever was Pharoh at that time. I’d want to know how and why they built them as they did.

Then again, I’d love to be there when Stonehenge came into being for the same reason.

Melissa: Abraham Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln is one of the most beloved presidents in American history and one of my personal heroes. History has portrayed him as a man with strong convictions who maintained said convictions amidst great controversy and I would love to travel through time to discover how much is historical/political hype and how much is true. I personally believe he is a great man.

Stacey: I don’t know a specific person I’d like to visit, but as I mentioned before, I’d like to travel back to the 1800’s. I know it was a difficult time, especially for women, but the West in that time period holds a special interest to me.

Ciara: My mother is big on genealogy and my dream would be to visit one of my ancestors. Of all the places, I’d most like to see Trélex, Switzerland in the early 1800’s or perhaps Ireland or Scotland. My ancestors owned a hotel in Trélex.

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

Regan: It depends on the story. For Mistaken Bride it was Enrique Igleses, particularly his song Hero. For my Spell series I listen to Melissa Etheridge.

Melissa: Music is an almost constant while I write (I personally keep the Apple company in business). I love all music (except country) and listen everything from Sinatra to Black Sabbath. My favorite bands include Styx, Nickelback, Def Leppard, and this list too could go on… and on.

Stacey: No. I must have complete peace and quiet to write. I share an office with my husband, and when he’s playing music softly or watching something on his computer, I have a pair of clunky headphones that we bought for wearing when we mow the grass, and I put them on to drown out the noise. I look silly, but they work.

Ciara: Sometimes and when I do, it’s usually folk music. I really enjoy Blackmore’s Night But I also love Peter, Paul, and Mary, Simon and Garfunkle, The Kingston Trio, The Celtic Women, The Irish Rovers, Godsmack, Dave Mathews Band, Enya, Enigma, and I could go on and on. Basically, folk, country and western, rock and choir music. I even listen to Gregorian Chants.

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

Regan: Definitely America’s Hero – I could see Brad Pitt as Austin Quinn.

Melissa: Seeing as only one of my books is contracted I would choose “Without Regret My Love” for a movie deal. Basically I would cast Christian Bale in any movie I was a part of making (love him!) as for female leads… I’m not really sure. I think I would have to meet some of the candidates in person to see how their personalities mesh with my characters.

Stacey: I’ve been asked this question before regarding my first release Lucky in Love. I’d cast Ashley Judd as Jordan, Kurt Russell as Wyatt and James Marsden as Cole. I’m sure all of us authors would love to see all of our books as movies, but I honestly haven’t thought about who’d I cast for my other books. That gives me something to think about now...

Ciara: I’d love to see my time travel, On the Silver Edge of Time as a movie. Jennifer Garner would make a great Keelin and either Ryan Wiik or Ryan Gosling for Erik. Now mind you, I had to do a search to find an actor that looked the part. I’ve seen Gosling act, and he’d do a great job with this part, but I don’t think I’ve seen Wiik in anything. He is Norwegian though, so Viking would be in his blood I’m thinking.

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

Regan: I just finished writing Ghost of a Chance for the Café Nowhere anthoholgoy with eXasy books due out in September 2009. I’m finishing up His Eyes, a time travel that is the sequel to Her Eyes and need to polish Amazonia.

Thank you Danny!

Melissa: I have a couple of manuscripts pretty well completed and undergoing a few final reviews with critique partners. Each story is historical romance subsequent to “Without Regret My Love.”

“Angels and the Unforgiven” – When murder suspect Cadence Jamison stows aboard The
Heavenly Mistress Curtis Langston may find his two prior occasions for rescuing
her more than he bargained for.

Stacey: I’ve started the sequel to Outlaw Trail, which will be released in December. It’s called Third Time’s A Charm and it stars a feisty redheaded heroine named Sabra. She leaves Boston in a hurry and ends up taking the first train out of town, which is headed to Colorado, where she’ll find herself in a lot of hot water with not one, and not two men, but three!

Ciara: Well, I’m working on a sequel time travel. In the first one, Erik goes to the future to find Keelin and bring her back to his past. In the sequel, Angel is propelled into the past to ease the way for Torin to travel to the future. A flip flop of sorts. I’m also working on a sequel to Celestial Dragon where an Earthling goes in search of dragons and winds up on a distant planet where he finds more than the fabled beast.