Robyn Bachar Writes Magic and Mayhem

The Write Way Café welcomes Robyn Bachar, an author who loves to combine epic love stories with magic and mayhem.

Your first book is being re-released as part of a boxed set. Tell us about it!
Blood, Smoke and Mirrors is now available from Samhain Publishing as part of the Five Past Midnight boxed set. It includes five tales of suspenseful paranormal romance, each the first book of a series. It’s a really fun read! My favorite in the set is Veiled Target by Robin Bielman. It’s like an action-packed mashup of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Alias.

How did you come up with the title of your book or series?
For the boxed set we settled on Five Past Midnight because there are five stories and most of the paranormal shenanigans happen after midnight.

Tell us a little bit about your cover art. Who designed it? Why did you go with that particular image/artwork?
We have a Kanaxa cover! All of my book covers with Samhain have been designed by Kanaxa. She’s awesome to work with and always does a fabulous job.

Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre?
I love paranormal romance. It’s always fun to combine epic love stories with magic and mayhem.

If you could change ONE thing about your novel, what would it be?  Why?
Blood, Smoke and Mirrors was my first novel, and I’ve learned a lot since then. I’d definitely fix Lex’s dialogue. He tends to drawl and drop his “g”s, which drives readers insane. I know better now, I swear!

Do you have any writing rituals?
I need noise in order to write. If I’m on the couch with my laptop I’ll pick something bland to have on in the background like a nice, soothing cooking show, or something I’ve seen a million times. If I’m at my desktop I turn on one of my instrumental Pandora stations, otherwise I get distracted and try to sing along with the music.

What is your favorite part of the publishing/writing process and why? What is your least favorite part of the publishing/writing process and why?
Getting author copies! My copies for Sunsinger arrived in the mail recently, and it made my day. My least favorite part of the writing process is coming up with a synopsis, or even worse, the blurb. I have a hard time boiling my stories down into a few words.

Do you read your reviews? Do you respond to them, good or bad? Do you have any advice on how to deal with the bad?
My best advice is don’t read reviews! I only read reviews from review sites, like RT or Dear Author. I feel that readers are entitled to their opinions, and I expect that some of them will hate my books. That’s fine. I know I don’t like everything I read. I focus on the positive and don’t let myself get dragged down by the negative.

Do you have a favorite place or way to meet your readers?
It’s always fun to meet readers at book signings. I’m going to be signing at RT in Vegas!

What can readers who enjoy your book do to help make it successful?
If you like it, recommend it. I love finding new books and sharing them with my BFF Diana. The squee is better when you can squee together.

What question do you wish that someone would ask about your book, but nobody has? Write it out here, then answer it.
Oh geez, this is hard. Hmm… “Do you know who Harrison’s soul mate is?” Yes, yes I do. I’ve had a few starts and stops with writing his book, which will be the last in the Bad Witch series. It’s going to be tons of fun.




Falling in love has never been so deadly.
Five supernatural thrillers packed with action and romance, each introducing you to an exciting series. Honorable heroes, strong heroines and relentless suspense combine to bring you five page-turners you won’t soon forget.

Veiled Target—USA TODAY bestselling author Robin Bielman: Tess wants revenge, but thrust into an inconvenient alliance with her sexy enemy, she must trust the shifter she’s supposed to kill or risk losing everything.

Blood, Smoke and Mirrors—Robyn Bachar: Hunted by a powerful evil, exiled witch Cat must entrust her fate to the man who betrayed her. Now Lex faces the fight of his life to keep her safe. If they both survive.

Slayer’s Kiss—Cassi Carver: Fallen angels Gavin and Julian have been sent to protect Kara, but she’s determined to track down a killer, even when she realizes her target may be the creature hunting her.

Soul Bound—Anne Hope: Jace is no longer human. Something dark and powerful has taken root within him. Something that that could destroy the one woman he’d sacrifice everything to protect.

Phoenix Rising—Corrina Lawson: Everyone looks at firestarter Alec Farley as a weapon. Beth is the only one who sees a hero. But proving that could be deadly.

Warning: Contains shifters, vampires, witches, fallen angels, a firestarter and troublemaking faeries. Watch out for gratuitous violence, gripping emotion, unconventional sex, some foul language, and a love triangle that gives new meaning to the term hot-wings.

Amazon       Barnes and Noble       All Romance eBooks      Kobo       Samhain


Robyn Bachar enjoys writing stories with soul mates, swords, spaceships, vampires, and gratuitous violence against the kitchen sink. Her paranormal romance Bad Witch series, historical paranormal romance series Bad Witch: The Emily Chronicles, and spicy space opera romance trilogy Cy’ren Rising are available from Samhain Publishing. Her books have finaled twice in the PRISM Contest for Published Authors, twice in the Passionate Plume Contest, and twice in the EPIC eBook Awards.

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The Next Big Thing

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop visits The Write Way Café today, thanks to an invitation from Mary Hughes, whose next big thing is Alphas Don't Wear Bows. Thanks, Mary!

What is your working title of your book?

Dancing with Detective Danger

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I had random thoughts of how fun it would be work with my sisters, which led to the concept of two sisters working together as private investigators. And I liked the idea of the romantic relationship of the main characters having a history and a breakup, but potential for renewal in the present.

What genre does your book fall under?

Dancing with Detective Danger is a contemporary romantic suspense.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

That's a tough one! I lean toward actors who I've watched for years but would be older than my characters. Both Ben and Sterling are fit and agile, strong willed and intense, so I could see Anne Hathaway and Alex O'Loughlin in the roles. That would be so fun to watch!

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Equally headstrong and devoted to being the best at solving crime, private investigator Sterling Aegar and detective Ben Kirby pit wills to crack a case, though all the while Sterling knows danger from thugs and murderers poses no greater threat than the peril she’d suffer if she lets daredevil Ben get too close.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

This book is scheduled for a January 21 publication by Crimson Romance. I do not have an agent.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I'm a pantser, so the first draft of this novel was very rough, but hammered out in about four months. Then it took much longer to revise, edit, and tweak to final draft.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I'd love to say Bitten, by Kelley Armstrong because of the suspense and intensity, but that would be wishful thinking and it's not a paranormal. High Society Sabotage, by Kathleen Long comes to mind.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

That's easy. Life. I love to write, so I'm always brainstorming story possibilities, exploring character possibilities. This particular book was an exploration of what characters who suffer from past wounding do in relationships and how those past experiences resonate in and frame the present.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Dancing with Detective Danger is very much a love story. It's about ordinary characters who are flawed and vulnerable, but don't give up. It highlights the love of sisters who are independent individuals who give each other space to be, but the central story is about Sterling and Ben making their way back to each other.

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop continues December 19 at the sites of these wonderful writers:

The magical Robyn Bachar http://robynbachar.com/books

The fascinating Cal Pomes  http://callanprimer.com

The memorable William Rosencrans www.dakotaaworkinprogress.blogspot.com.

An Interview with Robyn Bachar

Today, The Write Way Café would like to welcome Samhain author Robyn Bachar.

How long have you been writing?
According to my mother I wrote my first book when I was four years old, so I think it’s safe to say that I’ve always wanted to be an author. I started writing my first novel when I was in 8th grade. It was awful (there are unicorns, don’t ask), but I still have it stashed in my closet. Every so often I glance at it and wince at the writing. Still, finishing that novel gave me the confidence to write more, and even then I knew I wanted to write romance. It’s important to me to tell stories where the good guys win and love conquers all.

Do all of your books have magic in the storyline? What is your interest in magic?
To an extent, yes. I enjoy writing stories with swords and sorcery—I even have swords in my space opera. I like taking the mundane and giving it a dose of the extraordinary. In Fire in the Blood, Patience owns her own small business, All on Red Consulting. She has an office with an empty fish tank and a computer cluttered with spreadsheets and expense reports. And she has an invisible demon minion who enjoys playing Angry Birds on his iPad while she’s at her desk.

Do the books follow well known information about magic, so to speak, or do you completely create the worlds?
I draw heavily from the magic system in the first edition of Dungeons and Dragons. No, not really, but one day I am determined to have a character attack the darkness with magic missile. One of the nice things about building your own paranormal world is that you don’t have to do heavy amounts of research. (Unless you want to try your hand at summoning demons, though I don’t recommend it. The stains are just murder to get out of your carpet.)

What is different about your latest release?
In a word, demons. Fire in the Blood was a story that flowed for me from beginning to end. It was born out of a single line that came to me while in the shower (most of my random inspiration happens in the shower, apparently my muse enjoys washing her hair). It was a play on a line from the movie “Army of Darkness,” in which my heroine announced, “Good. Bad. I’m the girl with the demon.” And thus Patience Roberts was born, the newest addition to the Bad Witch books. Patience is a summoner, and demons are her business. Patience started stealing scenes in the second Bad Witch book, Bewitched, Blooded and Bewildered, so I knew I wanted to give her her own story. I love writing her, and I love writing her hero, Faust. He started stealing scenes in the very first book. And they’ll both continue to do for the foreseeable future.

Are your main characters completely imaginary or do they have some basis in real people? Do they reflect aspects of yourself?
I think each of my heroines has my voice to an extent. My girlfriend beta reads for me, and she once expressed a suspicion that I have multiple personalities. (I don’t. I only write what the voices tell me to. That’s normal, right?) I do have characters who are inspired by friends of mine. In the Bad Witch books the character Mac was inspired by my buddy Scott. He often asks me how Mac is doing.

Do you face any blocks while writing, particularly your latest book, and if so, how did you handle them? If not, what's your secret?
This was a story that I was very excited to tell, and the only block I had while writing Fire in the Blood was that I started it just before NaNoWriMo last year and had to put it on hold during November. I stopped, wrote the second Emily book, Poison in the Blood, for NaNo, and then picked up again during December. It helped that despite the difference in time periods both books have characters in common (it’s so useful to have immortal characters sometimes).

What have been surprises you've encountered while writing the book and after?
Actually there weren’t a lot of surprises with this book. It went rather smoothly, despite the shenanigans that went on in my personal life while I was working on it.

What did you learn? For instance, what did you learn about yourself, your process, the writing world, your characters?
I learned to never fight a land war in Asia. Just kidding. ;) I learn something new with each book I write, because each experience is different. This is the book where I became enamored with Tom Hiddleston, who is my dream actor for Faust.

What are some of your favorite books and why?
I become obsessed with new books on a regular basis. I’m always updating what I’m reading on Goodreads, so that’s a good place to see what my latest favorite is. Currently I’m in love with Tiffany Reisz’s Original Sinners series, especially The Siren. I’m also addicted to Sylvia Day’s Crossfire series. And Sheryl Nantus’ Blaze of Glory series. And Keith Melton’s Nightfall Syndicate series. Beyond Shame by Kit Rocha is also very good. (Seriously, I could do this all day.)

What are you working on now?
At the moment I’m working on the next Bad Witch book, Blood, Book and Candle, and the next book in my Cy’ren Rising series.

About Robyn Bachar: Robyn Bachar was born and raised in Berwyn, Illinois, and loves all things related to Chicago, from the Cubs to the pizza. It seemed only natural to combine it with her love of fantasy, and tell stories of witches and vampires in the Chicagoland area. As a gamer, Robyn has spent many hours rolling dice, playing rock-paper-scissors, and slaying creatures in MMPORGs.

You can buy Fire in the Blood from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Samhain Publishing.
Website: http:// robynbachar.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorRobynBachar
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobynBachar
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/iamtherobyn