Author Interview: Ashley March

Please join me in welcoming historical romance author Ashley March to the blog! Her new book, Romancing the Countess, was released earlier in the month.

Why historical romance? 


Thanks so much for having me today, Amber! The simple answer to this question is that it’s the type of romance that hooked me on the genre. I think my first year of reading romance mostly consisted of historicals checked out from my local library, and my favorite authors were Jude Deveraux and Catherine Coulter.

My love in reading historical romance has led me to a love for writing it. But now I realize that I also write it because I love exploring relationships in different time periods and countries. There are a lot of possibilities when the entire world’s history and cultures are open to you.

Are there other genres you're interested in exploring?

Yes! For romance specifically, my first contemporary novella will be released in the SWEET TALK ME anthology out in November of this year. I have plans for a contemporary series after that, but no finalized details yet on when it will be published. I also have a few ideas for YA romance… The funny thing about writing is that it seems the longer you write, the more your mind is open to all sorts of stories.

I also have a few mainstream ideas, although I’m not sure when I’ll have the time to write them. One’s a book of my heart, though, so I hope it’s soon. =)



How do you balance mom duties with writing?

I don’t sleep very much. In fact, as I answer this specific interview question, it’s currently 12:30am. But I’m having fun, and that’s what matters to me the most. =)

Apart from that, I have an absolutely terrific husband. We’re both staying at home right now, and we usually take shifts with the girls during the daytime so that we can each have time to work. At night after the kids go to bed, I work until early morning. He helps out a ton with the cooking and cleaning and other household chores so I can devote most of my free time to writing and the writing business.



Who is your favorite fictional character?


I’ve answered about literary fictional characters in the past, but I’m going to have to answer the question now with a cartoon fictional character. I LOVED Darkwing Duck. =) So much, actually, that I know I’m going to be buying the DVDs for my daughters when they get older.  (I have to admit, though, that Bugs Bunny is a very, very close second.)


Both your hero and heroine in Romancing the Countess have experienced unfaithful marriages. Did that create any special challenges when telling their story?


In my mind I knew this was a very special story right from the beginning. I didn’t want to treat it irreverently and gloss over the characters’ individual pain. But in the end, it’s still a romance, and the most challenging part was at the beginning, when I had to walk a very thin line between allowing the characters space to move on individually before the time came for their romance to start developing. I had to show that, even though they didn’t immediately fall in love, there was still something there between them, an awareness—not a sexual awareness, necessarily—but still something that made them take notice of one another.


You begin each chapter with an excerpt from letters written by the hero's unfaithful wife (and written to the heroine's cheating husband). And throughout the course of the novel, your heroine, Leah, reads them. I thought that a unique (and brave) idea. Did you start out with those epigraphs in mind or were they something you added as the novel progressed?

Thank you. To be honest it was something my editor suggested when the book was finished, so I went back through and added them after the story was already complete. And I think she’s a genius for the idea, because I believe it adds an entirely new depth to the story that we wouldn’t have without it. The deceased spouses become part of their own romance in a way, instead of the typical villains they would have been otherwise.



What are you working on now?

I’m currently hosting a reader-interactive online novella on my website each week (see www.ashleymarch.com/novella), where readers can read a new chapter every Tuesday and then vote for what they want to have happen next in the story. When the novella is finished it will be self-published, with 25% of proceeds going to a charity I choose (probably something to do with children).

I’m also finishing edits for my third Signet book. MY LADY RIVAL is the launch of a new Victorian series called A Belgrave Square Affair, and I’m so excited to share these characters with my readers! It is scheduled to release on May 1, 2012.

I also have a few other projects in the works for both 2011 and 2012. Readers can keep up with all the details for what’s coming next by visiting me at www.ashleymarch.com/coming-soon or by subscribing to my newsletter at www.ashleymarch.com/email.

Alright, I have to hear it. Whether you were born in the first half of the 20th century or the second half, I’m sure you watched cartoons. What is your favorite cartoon character?


One random commenter will be chosen to win a copy of my newest book, ROMANCING THE COUNTESS (open internationally)! Also, find out how to win the ROMANCING THE COUNTESS Book Tour Grand Prize of 50+ romance novels by visiting www.ashleymarch.com!  

Recipe: Fresh Peach Cake

Thanks to a generous neighbor, I had a few peaches to use up. This is a wonderful breakfast cake and goes together fairly quickly. I made it without the pecans, and it tasted just fine. Although I bet it would be way more delicious WITH.

I bet this would be just as yummy with other fruit as well.




Fresh Peach Cake by Ina Garten
 Ingredients

• 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature 
• 1 1/2 cups sugar, divided 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature 
• 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature 
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
• 2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 3 large, ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced 
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans 

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar for 3 to 5 minutes on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, then the sour cream and vanilla, and mix until the batter is smooth. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix just until combined. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon.

Spread half of the batter evenly in the pan. Top with half of the peaches, then sprinkle with two-thirds of the sugar mixture. Spread the remaining batter on top, arrange the remaining peaches on top, and sprinkle with the remaining sugar mixture and the pecans. Bake the cake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Hey, Look! I'm at H&H

Today, I'm over at Heroes and Heartbreakers talking about single genre romance readers. I'd love for you to stop by and say hello! (It's my very first blog post there, so I'm a teensy bit nervous.)

Banned Books Week September 24-October 1

I'm always surprised by the books people choose to take issue with.  Here is a list of books challenged in May 2010-May 2011. 

(PDF) http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/ideasandresources/free_downloads/2011banned.pdf

Included in the list:

• Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
• The Catcher in Rye by JD Salinger
• Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

TBR Challenge Review: No Mercy by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Format: Hardcover (also available in mm paperback, ebook)
Pub Date: September 2010
Publisher: St. Martins Press
Length: 343 pages
FTC: Purchased myself

Once again, I'm squeaking in under the wire on the TBR Challenge post. This month's theme is series catchup...a book from a series you're behind in.  With the publication of Retribution, I was 2 books behind in the Dark-Hunter series. The last book I read, Bad Moon Rising, was so awful that I refused to buy another Kenyon book in hardcover. And since my library's romance selection sucks...well, it's been a year since No Mercy came out and I'm just now getting to it via a remaindered copy I picked up on clearance.

The good news? No Mercy doesn't suck nearly as hard as Bad Moon Rising did. It's a complete book (which BMR wasn't), the characters don't have a personality change mid-book (which BMR did), and the dialogue is far less sappy and more snarky. Which is something I had forgotten about the Dark Hunter series and really enjoyed while reading No Mercy.

Get Ready for Banned Books Week: September 24-October 1

Catcher in the Rye . . . Harry Potter . . . Captain Underpants . . .
Every year, there are hundreds of attempts to remove books from schools and libraries. Celebrate YOUR freedom to read and right to choose your book during Banned Books Week, September 24 to October 1, 2011. For more information, visit http://www.ala.org/bbooks.

Recipe: Blackberry Swirl Pound Cake

Blackberry Swirl Pound Cake
Recipe from Martha Stewart
(Photos and adjustments are mine)

I made this the other day to use some of the blackberries I had picked off of the vine. The berries are late this year, so I only managed to pick a few cups. Fortunately, this recipe only takes 1 1/3 cups (which means it won't cost you an arm and a leg if you have to buy your berries).

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
6 ounces blackberries (1 1/3 cups)
1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter (I use butter spray) a 5-by-9-inch loaf pan and line with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides; butter parchment. In a food processor, puree blackberries with 2 tablespoons sugar. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat to combine, scraping down bowl as needed. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Transfer half the batter to pan (smoothing the layer down) and dot with 1/2  blackberry puree. Repeat with remaining batter and puree. With knife or skewer, swirl batter and puree together. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 1 1/4 hours. Let cool in pan on a wire rack, 30 minutes. Lift cake out of pan and place on a serving plate; let cool completely before slicing. (Yes, you really do need to let it cool. This is a delicate, dense cake that slices beautifully when cool).

(My attempt didn't swirl as well as it should have, but tasted fine just the same. The blackberry ends up with a taste and texture similar to jam.)

Happy Holidays! Oh wait...

It seems like Christmas merchandise creeps onto the shelves earlier and earlier every year. I've spotted Christmas crafts in July, and the holiday decorations are popping up in big boxes as soon as the back to school promos come down.

And with the holiday decor comes the holiday romances. Many of them with publication dates of September and October. Before Halloween! And there are a ton of them coming out this year. (See pictures and links below the break.)

I personally love holiday romances, but they do seem kind of risky for authors. Their sales season is fairly short (although there are some, like me, who read them all year long.) And so many of them center around Christmas, which means they risk alienating those who celebrate other winter holidays like Hanukkah or Kwanza.


What do you think of holiday romances? Do you love them, hate them, or just feel kind of meh? And are you like me, and read them all year long or do you only read them close to the holidays?

Hump Day Classic Movie: The Last Starfighter

My husband did the snoopy dance in the middle of Safeway when he spotted this little gem on Blu-ray. He loves those early 80s space movies. Loves, loves, loves. Me? I like them in a campy way, but still make fun of the horrible special effects. I almost prefer the string method of spaceship effects in those 1950s movies to the early computer animated stuff.


In this movie, a teenager stuck in the middle of nowhere, living with his family in a trailer park, dreams of doing big things. But circumstances constantly force him to put others before himself. His only escape is a video game (a really primitive arcade style game!) called the Last Starfighter.

After one really bad day, he retreats to the game and manages to break the all time record. Little does he realize that the game was a test, and soon he's recruited by an alien(!) to become a Starfighter.

Yes, it really is that silly. But other than a few explosions and some mild sexual references, it's much tamer than anything but children's movies being put out today.

Stuck in a Rut: The Dreaded Reading Slump Hits

I've been a little quiet on the blog this last week. And that's due in part to the fact that I haven't managed to finish a book ALL WEEK. I normally read 2-5 books a week, depending on length and what else I have going on in my real life. Not getting even one book read? It's a horrible feeling.

It's not that I don't have plenty to read. I'm in the middle of 6 books right now. I seem to be getting to about the 100-150 page mark and then losing interest. I'm in the home stretch of summer, only 1 more week until school starts for the kids, but I just can't seem to finish *anything*. It's really annoying.

I'm reading all kinds of different genres, so I don't think that's it. Maybe I need a reread or a novella to break me out of this funk.  What do you do when a reading slump hits?

Waiting on Wednesday: Devil's Kiss by Zoë Archer (Hellraisers #1)

 Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted over at Breaking the Spine. It highlights books we just can't wait to get our greedy, book-loving hands on.

I adored the Blades of the Rose series by Zoe Archer. I love her writing, period. So, naturally, I can't wait to read her new series: the Hellraisers.


Pub Date: December 6, 2011
Publisher: Kensington
Format: mass market paperback, ebook
Length: 370 pages

The Blurb:

A Handsome Devil
1762. James Sherbourne, Earl of Whitney, is a gambling man. Not for the money. But for the thrill, the danger--and the company: Whit has become one of the infamous Hellraisers, losing himself in the chase for adventure and pleasure with his four closest friends.

Which was how Whit found himself in a gypsy encampment, betting against a lovely Romani girl. Zora Grey's smoky voice and sharp tongue entrance Whit nearly as much as her clever hands--watching them handle cards inspires thoughts of another kind...


Zora can't explain her attraction to the careless blue-eyed Whit. She also can't stop him and his Hellraisers from a fiendish curse: the power to grant their own hearts' desires, to chase their pleasures from the merely debauched to the truly diabolical. And if Zora can't save Whit, she still has to escape him. . .

Waiting on Wednesday: Dark Predator by Christine Feehan

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted over at Breaking the Spine. It highlights books we just can't wait to get our greedy, book-lovin' hands on.

This one is a shout out for my mom, the hopeless Christine Feehan addict. There's a new Dark series book coming out on September 6th. Which means only 2 more weeks of waiting for her. This is the story she's been waiting years for.

Dark Predator
Format: Hardcover, ebook
Pub Date: September 6, 2011
Publisher: Berkley hardcover
Length: 384 pages

The Blurb:

As brutal as the undead he hunted, Zacarias De La Cruz was a master executioner. Now his stark and savage journey has ended. For his brothers, Zacarias had walked to the edge of madness, but with centuries as a killing machine now left to the past and without a hunt to define him, Zacarias wonders, for the first time in his life, who he really is.
The answer awaits him back home, in Peru, in the betrayal of a woman who is readying her trap, in the vengeance of an old enemy, in the inevitable consequences of a bloody family legacy-and in the deliverance of a lifemate he never could have imagined...

Recipe: Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

Recipe by Tyler Florence (with a few adjustments by moi.)

Blueberry Scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks
1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing the scones
1 cup fresh blueberries

Lemon Glaze:
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 lemon, zest finely grated
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Sift together the dry ingredients; the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using 2 forks or a pastry blender, cut in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream. Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough. Fold the blueberries into the batter. Take care not to mash or bruise the blueberries because their strong color will bleed into the dough. (I usually end up moving the blueberries around by hand, as the dough is really stiff and not really amenable to "folding.")

Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 by 3 by 1 1/4 inches. Cut the rectangle in 1/2 then cut the pieces in 1/2 again, giving you 4 (3-inch) squares. Cut the squares in 1/2 on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape. Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops with a little heavy cream. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until beautiful and brown. Let the scones cool a bit before you apply the glaze.

Mix the lemon juice and confectioners' sugar together in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon zest and butter. Nuke it for 30 seconds on high. Whisk the glaze to smooth out any lumps, then drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones. Let it set a minute before serving. (The glaze has been halved from Tyler's original recipe. It is a thin glaze that disappears into the scone and leaves behind a tart/sweet shiny finish. If you want a thicker glaze, add more powdered sugar.)

These are tender, moist, and not too sweet. 

My self congratulatory picture at left confirms it! 
<--------

TBR Challenge Review: Mesmerized by Lauren Dane

Format: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Berkley Heat (Penguin)
Pub Date: April 2011
Length: 294 pages
FTC: Purchased myself

The blurb:

Andrei Solace delivers death on silent feet as an assassin for the Phantom Corps. Mercenary Piper Roundtree thought she was over him. But against the backdrop of an impending war, their passion is rekindled. Now the lovers must join forces- in more ways than one-to save the Known Universe before the Imperialist enemy hurls it into irreversible chaos.

I'm a little late today getting this review written because...um...I just finished the book. Which I started today. This month's TBR Challenge theme was "spicy." I picked this book up at the RT Convention signing back in April. (Along with about 50 other books from the signing and convention.)

I'm struggling to give a grade to this book. It was compelling enough to read off and on all day. I didn't feel the urge to walk away from it. But I also felt really disconnected from the two main characters. I didn't plug-in to their emotions in the way I prefer. I'm not sure if it's something about Lauren Dane's voice that didn't click with me or if I was just too hung up on the Star Wars/Star Trek parallels.

Waiting on Wednesday: To Wed a Wild Lord by Sabrina Jeffries

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted over at Breaking the Spine. It highlights books we just can't wait to get our greedy book loving hands on.

I've read 3 out of 4 of the books in this series and have liked them all. (I will probably go back and read the one I missed, too.) I have to admit, I'm not a fan of this cover, though.

To Wed a Wild Lord

Format: Mass market paperback, ebook

Pub Date: November 22, 2011

Publisher: Pocket

Length: 384 pages

The Blurb: 

Like everything daredevil Gabriel Sharpe does, pursuing Virginia Waverly is a high-stakes game. Ever since her brother Roger died racing Lord Gabriel, Virginia has yearned to take her revenge on the reckless lord by beating him at his own sport. But when she challenges Lord Gabriel to a race, the hellion who has always embraced his dark reputation as the “Angel of Death” counters with a marriage proposal!

Gabe knows Virginia's family is in dire financial straits—why shouldn’t she marry him and solve both their problems? She claims to be appalled by his proposal, but her response to his kisses says otherwise. So when the two of them begin to unravel the truth behind Roger’s death, Gabe takes the greatest gamble of all, offering the cunning and courageous beauty something more precious than any inheritance: true love.

Indie is NOT Self Pubbed

I'm a little irritated this morning. There's been a brief discussion on Dear Author and a lengthier one on Twitter about this issue, but I still feel the need to rant a bit.

Self publishing is the bastard stepchild of the book world. The only thing worse according to many is vanity press. Self publishing has a reputation that makes that term synonymous with a slush pile of unedited, poorly written dreck.

Now that publishing is changing, and self publishing is having a few successes, there are some self published authors who are trying to use the term "indie" to refer to themselves. The problem is that the term is already taken. If self pubbers want to use a different term to describe themselves, more power to them. But they shouldn't do it by preempting a term that has been in use in the publishing business for decades.


An indie author is someone signed with an indie press. An indie press is also sometimes known as a small press, but not always. An independent press is to publishing as an independent record label is to the music industry. It's not owned by a large conglomerate which is then owned by an even larger media company. It's a stand-alone business.

Wiki has several pertinent sentences as well:

The terms "small press", "indie publisher", and "independent press" are often used interchangeably, with "independent press" defined as publishers that are not part of large conglomerates or multinational corporation.

and this

The majority of small presses are independent or indie publishers, this means that they are separate from the handful of major publishing house conglomerates, such as Random House or Hachette. The term 'indie publisher' should not be confused with 'self publisher', which is where the author publishes only their own books.

We don't consider an indie music artist as someone putting out records in his or her basement. We consider them musicians signed with an indie label instead of one of the big music companies like Sony or Warner.  The same concept applies with indie authors and indie pubs.

Why does it matter? It matters because conflating indie with self publication confuses the reader. And confusing/deceiving the reader is a bad thing. I don't care how many extra sales you think you'll get, once deceived, a reader will not only NOT buy your book, they'll tell every other person they can not to buy your book.

Indies are true publishing houses. They are a PRESS. They publish more than the work of a single author. They have editors who acquire or reject based on taste and quality. This is an entirely different thing from self publication.

Most writers I know are aware that words have power. How you use them is important. Using a term that means something specific to many people in the industry and pretending it means something else is a choice. And I'm not going to have a very high opinion of those who engage in that practice.

Don't like the self-pub label? Fine. But don't steal a well known industry term and use it to mask what you're really doing.

It's Fair Time!

If I've been MIA on the blog and Twitter lately, it's because I've been spending all week at our county fair. In the small town universe, the fair is a big deal. Sure, it's old fashioned, but it's also THE place to see everyone. Like a mini reunion. And then there's the bragging rights. We have an "art barn" where everyone enters their paintings, drawings, and photos. There's the Home Arts area that showcases the baked goods, jellies, and quilts. And there's the animal area where local 4H members show off their various animals.

Like this smug guy here.

Our fair is actually a 2 county fair. My county is small (only 20,000 people), but the neighboring county is even smaller. And although we live in the mountains, it's also a big agricultural area with ranches just about everywhere.

And then there's the fair parade which starts with the firing of the anvils. Basically two anvils stuck on top of each other with a little gunpowder or  accelerant in the middle. Then a long pole is heated up in this forge-type thing. Put the super heated pole end on the anvils and BOOM! The sound can be heard over a mile away where the parade starts. (You can tell the veteran parade goers by the fingers in their ears).

Review: Good Girls Don't by Victoria Dahl

Format: Mass market paperback; ebook
Length: 384 pages
Publisher: HQN (Harlequin)
Pub Date: September 1, 2011
FTC: digital review copy courtesy of the publisher
 *Mild spoilers*

Good Girls Don't is the first full length book in Dahl's new Donovan series. In typical Victoria Dahl fashion, it's filled with snappy dialogue, hunky guys, and a heroine that elicits some divisive reactions among readers.

I had some issues with the heroine in this book. I didn't dislike her, but failed to understand the source of her never-ending mistrust and need for keeping secrets. For me, being scared of a rift in the family didn't seem sufficient motivation to go behind her family's back and "fix" something by making a deal that threatened her financial security. And her insistence on covering for her adult brother seemed more than a little bit unhealthy.

Maya Banks Book Video by Tessa Dare

As part of Operation Auction, Tessa Dare offered up a book video (in a similar style to those for her Stud Club trilogy). I laughed myself silly watching this. Congrats to Tessa on a fabulous job and to Maya Banks for an awesome book video. And I say that as someone who doesn't like book videos.

Hump Day Movie: Mr. Frost (1990)

It's hard to believe that this movie is NOT available on DVD. I personally find it one of Goldblum's creepier movies. And it highlights both his appeal and his incredible skills with dialogue. Parts of it are available (potentially infringing) on Youtube. You can find used copies on VHS, if you happen to still have a VCR laying around.

Here's a brief synopsis from wiki:
A police detective named Felix Detweiler visits the palatial French estate of Mister Frost, whose first name is never given, to investigate a report of a dead body. Frost, with very little prompting, cheerfully admits that he has many bodies buried in his yard.Frost is arrested and ultimately placed in an asylum, not having spoken a word for two years. During this time the police are unable to establish his identity. The detective leaves his job and becomes obsessed with Frost and the 24 corpses dug up from his garden. Frost's long silence is broken when he encounters Sarah Day, a doctor at the asylum. Frost refuses to speak with anyone but her, then tells Dr. Day that he is, in fact, Satan. He reveals that he plans to goad her into murdering him.

This came out about a year before Silence of the Lambs, but it is similar in style.  It's a dialogue-driven film, filled with philosophical discussions between doctor and patient. It has a very early 90s/late 80s aesthetic, though, so be warned.


You can watch the trailer here. It's really awful, though, so it's no wonder the public's reception of this movie was tepid.