Saturday, March 20, 2010

Member News: Lydia Dare book release

The Lady Scribes blog is buzzing this month because our very own Lydia Dare has her first book, A Certain Wolfish Charm, due for release from Sourcebooks.

The rules of Regency Society can be beastly—especially when you're a werewolf. Simon Westfield, the Duke of Blackmoor has spent his entire life creating scandal and mayhem. It doesn't help his wolfish temper that since he's rich, powerful, and sinfully handsome, the town is willing to overlook his outrageous behavior. Lily Rutledge has a wild streak of her own. When she turns to Simon for help, he falls for her immediately. For Simon is drawn to the fearless Lily more powerfully than the moon...






Ladies, thanks for joining me. It’s a poorly kept secret that there are two wonderful writers behind Lydia Dare. Could you each describe the other?


Lydia/Jodie: I used to think that I was shy. Then I met Tammy. She’s the sort who quietly sits in the back of the room and observes EVERYTHING. Her mind is always spinning and she’s very clever.


Lydia/Tammy: Jodie’s bubbly and friendly and social and... well... all the things I’m not. She has a quick wit and is easy to laugh. And she tells me off on a regular basis, which wins her tons of respect from me.


What inspired you to combine paranormal and regency romance?


Lydia/Jodie: Well, I was writing Regency era romance and had hit a brick wall with my then current work in process. And Tammy had run into a similar issue with her then Paranormal romance. Anyway, we were at an all day workshop offered by our local chapter and Tammy tossed out the idea of merging our genres and writing something together. Two months later A Certain Wolfish Charm was complete.


Lydia/Tammy: Regencies are my favourite genre to read, and I’d always wanted to try my hand at writing one, but had a hard time wrapping my mind around the history of the period. So, I started quizzing Jodie at a workshop about whether or not an idea would work and she told me all the reasons it wouldn’t, not in that era. It made sense to combine her Regency and my Paranormal worlds and see if they could merge. They obviously did!

Lydia, can you tell us more about the paranormal regency world you created?


Lydia/Jodie: Well, our world is a lot like many authors’ Regency worlds – elegance and refinement. Carriages and servants. Pretty gowns and handsome rakes. But we’ve added a darker element on the fringe of that world. Things that are talked about only in whispers. Werewolves. Witches. Vampires.


A Certain Wolfish Charm is the first of a growing series. What’s scheduled for release next?


Lydia/Jodie: The Westfield Wolves series are back-to-back-to-back. A Certain Wolfish Charm hits shelves April 6th. Tall, Dark, and Wolfish comes out May 4th. And The Wolf Next Door will be available June 1st. Then we have The Taming of the Wolf, which is scheduled for November 2nd. And next spring we have another trilogy contracted that we are currently working on.

I know you’re incredibly busy right now, new writing, editing, promotional gigs – tell me, what do you both do to unwind?


Lydia/Jodie: What does unwind mean? In all seriousness, I don’t have much time for that. In addition to my writing career, I also have a day job; I’m recently divorced and a single mother; I’ve re-entered the world of dating; I judge several contests; and I’m the President of my local RWA Chapter. But when I get a little time to myself – I love old movies, especially the Screwball Comedies of the 30’s and 40’s. I’m an author, but also a reader – and for me there is nothing like escaping into the world of Regency Era romance. Oh yeah, and a nice Sangria or Pomegranate Martini.


Lydia/Tammy: I am the quintessential sports mom. There’s nothing more satisfying than sitting on the bleachers and watching a kid knock one over the fence or even get their butt whooped on a wrestling mat. I love it all. It’s my all-time favorite thing to do. Aside from that, I probably read more than anything in the little bit of spare time I may have.


To be in the draw [U.S & Canadian residents only due to the cost of postage] for a copy of A Certain Wolfish Charm simply leave a comment describing the most devious steps you've taken to grab some personal time for yourself and include your email address. The winner's name will be posted to the blog tomorrow (Sunday). Best of luck!

 
**Lydia Dare is the author of A Certain Wolfish Charm, releasing from Sourcebooks Casablanca on April 6, 2010. You can find her at http://www.lydiadare.com/, follow on twitter and become a fan on her facebook page.

You can get other copies signed at the Spring Fling Conference April 23-24, 2010 and the RT Convention April 28 – May 2, 2010.

24 comments:

  1. I love this book. I don't usually go for paranormal, but this story with its historical setting won me over. You two are geniuses. I'm off to order copies for all romance reading relatives.

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  2. Hi, I'm with Gail on this. I don't usually go for paranormal (so many books, so little time). But I love Regencies, so I'll have to give these a try. They sound great.

    As for my most devious lie to get time for myself, I can usually get time for myself, so I don't need to lie about it. I do have a friend who told a lie about going to a scouting event so she could have some time alone.

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  3. I love paranormals & historicals, so I'd love to read this book!! When I want time to myself, sometimes I fake being tired so I can sneak upstairs to read.

    Diana
    bookofsecrets(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  4. Jodie:

    Thanks for stopping by today.

    Gail - I'm glad we were able to win you over as you critiqued the book while we were writing it. Capturing yours and Samantha's support was a huge achievement.

    Anna - I'm glad you love Regencies, I do too. They are my absolute favorite. I hope you'll enjoy this series.

    Diana - I have SO done the same thing!

    And I guess since Heather is asking everyone that question, I should answer it myself. Tammy got me hooked on the Twilight books. I read each book in a day. So for four days I did nothing else. My husband at the time, was a little fed up with the constant reading, but I HAD to finish the series. I told him I'd stop after reading Eclipse (book 3). But I just HAD to know what happened next. So I took the book jacket off Eclipse and slipped it over Breaking Dawn (book 4) so it would look like I was still reading the same book.

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  5. Clever idea. The dark handsome aspects of the Regency hero would be well served by this combination character. Watch out for that first kiss!

    Linda Glaz

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  6. I love this whole series. With each book, I think I love that hero the best then a new one comes out, and I love the next hero even more. I'm not much on paranormal, but "A Certain Wolfish Charm" won me over to the darker side. :)

    When I want time to myself, I suggest to my kids that it's time to clean the basement. They disappear quick, and I don't see them again for at least an hour.

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  7. Hmmm, the most devious thing to get alone time? Well, there is the usual call-in-sick-to-work-when-you're-really-fine routine, but everyone does that. I guess I'd have to say that I just simply took off. I'd been laid off from my job and was depressed, and I wasn't ready to look for a new job yet, and I didn't want to see my friends and family and have them either pity me or tell me to suck it up and go work at Wal-Mart--so I took a vacation and didn't tell anyone I was doing it until I was already halfway there. Then they couldn't stop me.

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  8. Jodie:

    Linda Galez - Thanks! 'Watch out for that first kiss!' LOL

    Samantha - Like I said earlier, winning you and Gail over was a huge accomplishment. When we did, I knew we had something great on our hands.

    And hilarious about cleaning the basement. I think my son would clutch his heart and fall to the ground if I tried that on him. :)

    Catherine - An unannounced vacation! Way to go. I may consider that one myself.

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  9. I absolutely cannot wait for this book to come out! I just finished reading a couple of manuscripts that had wolves in them, and I had never really read the genre before. Needless to say, I am hooked! Can't wait to read this book.

    Thanks for posting this!

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  10. Jodie:

    Rebecca - Thanks so much! We're excited for it to come out too. I hope you enjoy it. :)

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  11. Lydia,

    I love you both! I'm so excited for you and can't wait to see your books climb the best seller charts!

    As for alone time, It's not too hard for me to get a little time to myself. My infant loves her swing and my hubby is home alot...not to mention, I have a manny 2-3 days a week. I know, I'm spoiled - something I think Jodie knows a little bit about ;)

    Great interview, ladies! Best of luck on the big release!!

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  12. OMG!!! my two favorite genres together--heaven! AND a trilogy?? My daughter and I cannot wait to get our hands on these books--we both love werewolf books.

    Ruth and Kaat Molenaar

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  13. Jodie:

    Jerrica - You're so sweet! (And I hope the same things for you too.)
    I think you just called me spoiled. ;) All right. I admit it, I'm probably just as spoiled as you are.

    Ruth - Yay! I'm so glad we've merged your two favorite genres. (I'm a little partial to werewolves too.) I hope you enjoy the books.

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  14. Hmm...the most devious thing I've done for writing time? I once told my husband I was going to work out then to the grocery store. Instead, I went to Starbucks and wrote for several hours then stopped by the store and picked up a few things. He commented when I got home on my impressively long work out. If I rememeber correctly, I just shrugged and said somthing like, "you do what you have to do."

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  15. Having been a single mother, I applaud all single mothers, but for you to keep the pace you do, and manage single motherhood, Brava! But do, take time for yourself.

    As for stealing time for myself, when my son was with his father, I told my assistant I was locking myself in my home for the weekend. Instead, on a whim, I left the office, drove to the airport with only the clothes on my back, caught a flight to Santa Fe and checked into a hotel. I had the best time taking me to dinner, taking me to a spa for a massage and hot tub outdoors in the mountains at midnight...everything by myself. It was glorious.

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  16. Jodie:

    Julie! - That's hilarious. "You do what you have to do."

    Kathleen - That sounds like heaven. A hotel, dinner, a massage, and a hot tub? I don't know if I would have ever gone home! :)

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  17. Congrats on the new release! I really love the cover and the fact that your cover model has something I really like -- hair on his chest! LOL

    Sidney

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  18. Jodie:

    Sidney - You crack me up. (I suppose he should have hair on his chest. He is a werewolf. LOL)

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  19. Great interview and I am not telling you the most devious thing I have done. In private perhaps, but not a public forum ;). These are great books and I cannot wait to pick up my very own signed copy at the Spring Fling Conference. I was not a paranormal fan until I read these.

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  20. It never would have occurred to me that Regency and Paranormal could go together, but I have to admit I'm intrigued. I'll have to check it out!

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  21. Jodie:

    Amy - I will most certainly make you tell me the most devious thing you've done when I see you at Spring Fling.

    Jenny - Please do check it out. I hope you'll really like them. :)

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  22. I know this is a day late but I couldn't resist commenting. Lydia I am looking forward to your release.

    Now for stealing time for myself: I asked my mom to have the kids over for the night since I had an important "meeting" in the morning, and I let her know that I have been working late so I wouldn't be able to pick them up till 8pm the next night. Then I called into work and told them my children were ill and that they all had doctor appts the next day. Then I spent the whole day to myself reading and relaxing. It was the best me day ever!

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  23. Congratulations to Diana Owen-Emerson for winning a copy of A Certain Wolfish Charm!

    Thanks to everyone else who commented!

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