From your parents you learn love and laughter and how to put one foot in front of the other.  But when books are opened, you discover you have wings.

- Helen Hayes

An Interview with Karen Sue Burns

The Write Way Café welcomes author Karen Sue Burns. Learn why she suffers from pounding her head on her desk and turning to her dog Dexter for answers. 

What was your path to getting this book written and published? What type of research did you do?
Research wise, this was an easy book for me. The stories are straight contemporary romance with all the stories located in a small Texas city (Sugar Land, named after Imperial Sugar) just a few miles from my home. Thus, I didn’t have to research the setting or places to hide/find a dead body, which is the norm for my stories.

Where did the idea for your story come from?
I’m like most writers and get ideas from everywhere—talking to people, the news, dreams, outer space, thin air—you know, the usual places. The key is to translate that idea into a decent character or a doable plot.

Are your main characters completely imaginary or do they have some basis in real people? Do they reflect aspects of yourself?
At times it’s difficult for a writer, especially a new writer, to separate themself from their characters. However, the more I write the easier it is. My first published book, In Hot Pursuit, is the story of the controller of a liberal arts university in Houston and the theft of $25 million. Yes, it was based on my job and the settings were places I’d travelled to, Las Vegas and Rome. I followed that old saying of “write what you know.” Now that that’s out of my system, I have characters that are imaginary and no doubt have characteristics of people I know…that’s hard to get away from.

Did you face any blocks while writing the book, and if so, how did you handle them? If not, what's your secret?
I suppose my biggest block is what will happen next in the plot. I’m a pantster, cannot write out a detailed plot outline, just not in me. So I suffer from pounding my head on my desk or repeatedly asking my dog, Dexter, what should happen next? Of course he looks at me with his head cocked and a cute look that says “Figure it out yourself, human.” And, of course, I do figure it out.

What have been surprises you've encountered while writing the book and after?
In writing the four stories for Christmas in Sugar Land, the most surprising thing for me was how much fun I’d have in writing straight contemporary romance. It was a nice break to write a story without a theft or a dead body. Of course, I’m itching to get back to my cozy mystery series coming up next…The Coyote Cove Series.

Tell us about your writing space and how or why it works for you.
My writing space is a small desk set up in the breakfast room. I have a very cool bedroom I call the Bookroom that would be perfect for a study. Nope, not for me. I do not like to be closed off in a room while I write. Don’t know why I’m like that…just the way it is. Maybe I was stuffed in a car trunk in a former life.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently finishing the second book in my Texas Ghost Stories series, Crazy for Home. It will be available on December 26th for all those Kindles given as Christmas gifts. It’s set at a B&B in Brenham, Texas. The next book is Death by Merlot, the first in my cozy mystery series, the Coyote Cove Series. Coyote Cove is a fictional town set on the Texas Gulf Coast with an eclectic group of residents.

Would you like to try your hand at writing a different genre?  Which one and why?
I’ve thought about writing paranormal—vampires, especially if a male looked like Edward Cullen/Robert Pattinson. Plus I think living forever like the Cullen clan would be cool. But I only have so much time and I need to concentrate on my first love, mystery and suspense for novels and contemporary romance for short stories.

If you were not a writer, what would your dream job be?
This is an easy one—a chef. I enjoy cooking and absolutely love the process of creating new recipes and tinkering with an old one. Honestly, having a TV show on the Food Network would be a dream come true! Note: All my heroines cook and my books have recipes. Christmas in Sugar Land has Enriched Content with button links to recipes, pictures, and author links.

Who is your favorite hero/heroine?
Heroine—the usual, Elizabeth Bennett and Scarlett O’Hara
Hero—John Corey, hunky detective first introduced by Nelson Demille in Plum Island


Christmas in Sugar Land
Christmas in Sugar Land is a collection of heartwarming Christmas themed stories featuring fictional residents of Sugar Land, Texas and includes Enriched Content—pictures, recipes, and author notes for each story with a touch button (Kindle) or a notation (print) access to the content throughout the text. If you enjoy Romance and Christmas, this is the book for you!

THE CHRISTMAS STAR – Under the glow of a magical Christmas star, two lonely people find each other and learn that the true meaning of the holiday does indeed entail family and love.
A HOLIDAY SURPRISE – After divorcing fifteen years ago, can two mature and successful adults overcome the differences that forced them apart and then succeed together at love a second time?
CHRISTMAS BY CANDLELIGHT – With the company of a clever puppy, a widowed freelance writer falls for a hunky landscaper as feelings of loyalty to her dead husband threaten her chance at happiness.
ROCKIN’ JINGLE BELLS – Can high school sweethearts now in their mid-thirties, a coffee café manager and a famous rock singer, overcome the dissimilarities in their lives and build a relationship based on love and trust?

Christmas in Sugar Land is available at Amazon as an E-book or in Print.

Karen Sue Burns has been a writer since 8th grade. She recently retired from her day job as a CPA and now spends her time writing romance and mystery novels along with contemporary romance short stories. She enjoys cooking and creating recipes so her heroines do the same. All of her indie works include at least one of her favorite recipes. In Hot Pursuit is her debut romantic suspense novel and The Liberation of Mr. Delaney is her first indie published novel. Christmas in Sugar Land is her first collection of short stories with Enriched Content. Readers may contact Karen via the Bio/Contact tab on her website. Check out the Recipes tab while you’re there!

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Finding My Corner of the Sky

Years ago, a traveling musician performed at our high school.  I’ve long forgotten his name, but some of the lyrics from his song “CORNER OF THE SKY” often surface from my memories.

Everything has its season, everything has its time... 

Priorities change throughout the seasons of our lives.  Our wants and needs as children were very different than they are as adults, and they change yet again depending on our stages of adulthood.  Priorities are also different for each of us.

My family and my job have been priorities for me for years.  Sprinkled in among them were my wants and needs to be creative – also a priority but one often masked by familial responsibilities.  I could have chosen differently, but that’s not who I am.

Now, as a mature adult, I hope I have learned how to better balance my life.  My family and my work are still priorities in my life, but I’ve learned that my creative wants and needs are also important to my health and well-being.  The key is finding and keeping a balance between them.

During a recent conversation with my 22-year-old daughter, I was complaining that there aren’t enough hours in the day.  Everyone has the same 24 hours, Mom, she told me.  How I wish I could have recorded those slightly patronizing words to play back to her some day!

Around the same time, I read several posts about authors who have faced overwhelming difficulties and yet they still found time to write.  They still found time to pursue their dreams and obtain success.

Their stories have been quietly churning in the back of my mind, reminding me that I have no excuse for not writing.  I have the same 24 hours they have.  Now, it’s my season, it’s my time to pursue my dreams.

And the song continues in my mind:
... RIVERS BELONG WHERE THEY CAN RAMBLE
EAGLES BELONG WHERE THEY CAN FLY
I'VE GOT TO BE WHERE MY SPIRITS CAN RUN FREE
GOT TO FIND MY CORNER OF THE SKY...
– CORNER OF THE SKY, written by Stephen Schwartz
http://www.musicalschwartz.com/pippin-corner-of-the-sky.htm#corneroftheskylyrics

How did you find your season, your time to write?  Please share!

One must be a little crazy to write a good novel.

- John Gardner

An Interview with Paty Jager

The Write Way Café welcomes author Paty Jager, whose books for the holidays take readers back to times that were romantic in their own way.


When did you first have the thought you'd like to write a book? Was that first thought related to writing romance?
I’ve been writing since I was a youngster. My first attempt was writing plays for my stuffed animals to act out. It was when my children were small that I thought about writing books. The first books I wrote were children’s stories. I attended a Highlights for Children writer’s conference and was told I wrote too adult. Since my first love is mysteries, I wrote two mysteries. I had trouble finding help with the craft of writing through any mystery groups. I started reading Nora Roberts and then LaVyrle Spencer and that’s when I decide to try and write western romance. I found Romance Writers of America. They helped me hone my craft and learn the business of writing.

What was your path to getting this book written and published? What type of research did you do?
This novelette is a compilation of two short stories that started in two different ways. The first story, The Christmas Promise, started as a paragraph using five words that Maggie O, the manager of a Western Romance Kindle Forum, tossed out for the authors on the forum to write a western paragraph. The second story, New Year’s Eve Kiss, was written as a short free read on the website Free Reads from the Genreistas. This blog has a new free short read up every month by the authors of the Romancing the Genres. This book is a self-published book.

Why did you pick the setting you did?
I’ve found writing historical western romance stories not only gives me a chance to do research on a time period I am interested in, but it is easy for me to get into the character’s POV because I’ve lived rural my whole life.

Are your main characters completely imaginary or do they have some basis in real people? Do they reflect aspects of yourself?
Many of my characters either main or secondary have something that I’ve witnessed in others or found interesting in other people. They depict the good and the bad people that I’ve ran into during my lifetime. I tend to make my heroines more bold and outgoing than I am but there is usually a bit of me in them.

What have been surprises you've encountered while writing the book and after?
There wasn’t any surprises while writing, but trying to get the book free at Amazon took much longer than I thought it would. I don’t understand why an author can’t make their book free if they want to give it as a gift to readers.

What did you learn? For instance, what did you learn about yourself, your process, the writing world; about historical western romances, the holidays, and wedding proposals?
I enjoyed finding a game that was played in the late 1800s that would work like the current “Spin the Bottle” game.  It was a rather risqué game for the time.

What are some of your favorite books and why?
I enjoy Lauri Robinson’s historical westerns. Her characters are unique and the humor is subtle. Kathy Otten’s historical westerns are always unique with main characters with foibles and downtrodden lives. Diana McCollum’s fantasy romance stories have good witches as the main characters. I’ve always been interested in good witch stories since reading Mary Stewart’s Witch of Blackbird Pond.

What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on a mystery series. The first two books are written and I’ve started the third. The amateur sleuth is a Native American Potter who lives in a resort community. The handsome county detective who catches her at a scene of a murder become interested in her for more than a suspect. The first book, Double Duplicity, will be out in pre-order November 15th and will release January 10, 2015.

What aspect of writing gives you the most trouble?
Promotion! It takes so much time away from writing and uses a completely different set of creative skills.

I hope you take advantage of my FREE novelette. My Western Holiday Duets is free on all ebook outlets.

Western Holiday Duets
Two historical western romance short stories.

Christmas Eve Promise
Sheriff Jubal Denton promises Suzie Harper they’ll marry Christmas Eve. Two weeks before Christmas a breakout at the Willow Bend jail sends Jubal across the state in an attempt to capture the outlaw. Christmas Eve arrives. Other members of the posse have returned, but where is Jubal?

New Year’s Kiss
Edda Rae Bartlett is pacing back and forth on New Year’s Eve waiting for her beau, Cort Haywood. He said he had something important to tell her before the end of the year. And there are only a few hours left to this year. Her best friend arrives, dragging her to a party and into a game her friend learned while traveling. Edda Rae likes the fact she is elbow to elbow with Cort, but soon learns everyone in the room knows something about the game but her.

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Taylor Nash Releases Wicked Moon

The Write Way Café welcomes author Taylor Nash, whose book Uncharted Depths serves as a commemoration to the support and love she enjoyed with her now-deceased favorite fan, her husband.

Thank you for the invitation to participate in your blog.

My name is Taylor Nash.  I write contemporary romantic suspense with paranormal undertones.  I’m a GRITS at heart (Girl Raised in the South) but have lived in the Midwest for over fifty years.  Champaign, Illinois is home.  My son and his family live in Springfield, so my granddaughters (ages 4 and 6) are close enough Grandma can spoil!  I’m an avid golfer (I didn’t say I was good) and love to travel to golfing destinations where beaches are at the end of the rainbow.

There is a true romance behind my novels.  My husband, Bill, was diagnosed eleven years ago with esophageal cancer and given three to six months to live.  We were devastated.  He was my biggest cheerleader and encouraged me to pursue my dream of writing when I was consumed with self-doubt.  I was writing Uncharted Depths, my first novel, at the time of his diagnosis.  I wanted to dedicate it to him, but time was my enemy.  I published a family cookbook, Ida Kay’s Favorites, in time for him to see the dedication.

It took three years before I was emotionally able to work on Uncharted Depths because many of the locations we visited while on vacation.  I was of the mindset I had to get one novel published to honor his wishes and published less than a year later.  It won a Reader’s View Award.  Three years later The Apparition was published.

The timing of this blog could not be more perfect.  I just returned from Cape Cod where I released my third novel, Wicked Moon.  This novel is very dear to my heart and a labor of love.  The backdrop for Wicked Moon is a real mansion, The Simes House, located in the wonderful coastal village of Manomet, Massachusetts.  The rare Italianate Victorian was built in 1863 and over years fell into disrepair.  The house and remaining acre of land were taken for taxes in 2010.  The Simes House Foundation was formed to save the mansion and restore it back to its original glory.  The outside has been restored, which is breathtaking, and now they have put the inside out to bid.

Wicked Moon was inspired by the aura of the old home and the grass roots effort to save her.  While it is a work of fiction, many businesses in the community allowed me to use their names to make the novel more realistic to this coastal town.  Local photographers not only donated photos for the book trailer but one photographer created the cover.  Profits from Wicked Moon are being donated to The Simes House Foundation.

I’ve been asked if I have a favorite character in Wicked Moon.  I’ve spent three years researching and writing Wicked Moon, so I’m in love with all of my characters.  If I had to pick one, it would be Kelli Goddard.  Kelli inherited the mansion after her aunt passed away and found it in total disrepair.  The mansion had been passed down generations.  A wealthy developer complicates matters claiming his company owns the mansion.  Of course, the two have internal and external conflicts immediately.

I loved Kelli’s character because, against all odds, she stood up for her beliefs.  Not only had she lost her husband tragically, but was forced to declare bankruptcy due to a Ponzi scheme discovered after his death. To complicate her life, she inherited a dilapidated mansion her aunt insisted she keep in the family.  Kelli had to persevere through financial and emotional issues—even multiple threats on her life didn’t scare her away. I admire her fortitude to never give up, even when at her lowest.

How many secrets does the mansion hold?  Did Captain Eldridge hide rare coins on the property? Was the house inhabited by ghosts?  Will Kelli falter under the pressure of selling the mansion for millions?  Or, will she stand her ground, risking her life to hold on to her beloved Manomet Mansion?  You’ll have to read Wicked Moon to find out!

Will there be a sequel?  Stay tuned!


Wicked Moon (and all my books) are available from my publisher and wherever books are sold, both in print and e-book format from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.

Wicked Moon trailer

Learn more about Taylor at www.taylornash.com

There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.

- Ernest Hemingway