BEST EVER SUMMER READING BLOG TOUR! Meet our Second Guest Lynn Hones!

Thanks for this opportunity to meet you and your readers. It’s always fun to make new friends. I thought I’d talk about my love of writing paranormal romances. This emotional affair began with the old black and white movie The Ghost and Mrs. Muir starring Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison. The misty trail of old-fashioned romance it created swirled through my head and settled in my heart forever.

My book, Those Who Wait, has that dreamy quality inherent of nineteen-forties movies with the gauze enhanced complexions of stars from the past. The handsome, strong, silent type heroes and the beautiful, but always hurt by men, heroines, who fall in love after fighting some type of obstacle blocking or forbidding their union come alive once more. At least I like to think so.

Although I adore watching old, romantic movies, and writing romantic books, I don’t tend to read them. I enjoy reading non-fiction. I love anything about history, particularly local history.

The Lake Erie Islands are scattered between Canada and the States. Most of these islands are a place for boaters to go party, or families to go sightseeing or camping. Johnson’s Island, however, is solemn in its character. During the Civil War the captured Confederate officers were much sought after by their men. To keep these men from being freed, they were kept on this island making escape extremely hard. The story I mentioned above is written around this cemetery, but I read extensively and visited the island before I wrote my fictional account.

I’ve recently moved to a little historic harbor town. During its heyday it was compared to the ports of Calcutta and Shanghai with bars down one side of the street and brothels down the other. The fights were so bad that instead of cleaning the bloodstains off the floors, they’d simply put down another roll of linoleum. Now these buildings are cute eateries and fancy boutiques. I’ve started a romance story about the Finnish immigrants who came to this town and found such horrible conditions.

The interesting thing is that although I don’t read romances, my love of history has created so many different scenarios in my mind that the two genres go hand and hand in my mind. I couldn’t write the paranormal romances I do without my knowledge of these historic places. If I did read a romance, and I read quite a few when younger, they’d have to have a paranormal element to them. History and ghosts go hand in hand, so do history and my fiction.

Thanks so much for having me. I’m enjoying our little summer reading tour so much and am enjoying getting to know all of you, my fellow authors and our dear readers, too. Have a lovely summer. All you mom’s out there with kiddies, remember to pamper yourself every now and then. A shady spot, under a tree, a cool blanket spread out, a glass of something cold and refreshing…and of course, a Kindle. These things make the hot days a little nicer and remind us that we are important, too.

Remember, you can qualify to win a free book this week and get entered to win a $50 Amazon gift certificate on July 29^th just by answering a question about my book, Those Who Wait. Answer the following question. What is the name of the island the book takes place on?