Interview with Author Charlene Teglia and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome author Charlene Teglia to the blog. Charlene is celebrating the release of Cowboy Lust, which was edited by Delilah Devlin and features a short story from Charlene. Charlene has stopped by to answer some questions, but before we get to the interview, lets learn a bit about both Charlene and Delilah.

Charlene Teglia made her first novel sale in 2004. Since then her books have garnered several honors, including 2005 Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Erotic Novel, 2006 Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice nominee for Best Erotic Romance, 2005 and 2007 CAPA nominations for Best Erotic Anthology, and Romantic Times Top Pick. She's a current Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice nominee for Best Erotic Paranormal Romance. Her work has been translated into Spanish and German, excerpted in Complete Woman, and selected by the Rhapsody, Doubleday and Literary Guild Bookclubs. When she's not writing, she can be found hiking with her family or opening and closing doors for cats.

Places to Find Charlene:

| Site | Facebook | Twitter |

Delilah Devlin is an award-winning author of erotic romance with a rapidly expanding reputation for writing edgy stories with complex characters. Ms. Devlin has published over a hundred stories in multiple sub-genres and lengths with Atria/Strebor, Avon, Berkley, Black Lace, Cleis Press, Ellora’s Cave, Kensington, Kindle, Running Press, and Samhain Publishing.

Places to find Delilah:

| Site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter |

First off, can you tell us a bit about you?
I made my first novel sale to Ellora’s Cave in 2004. That book went on to win the RT Award for Best Erotic Novel and I’ve been writing hot romance ever since, for epublishers Samhain and EC and in print with St. Martin’s and Pocket. Lately I’ve dabbled my toes in the self epublishing waters while I took time off from deadlines to deal with a new baby

Did you always want to be a writer?
Since middle grade years, yes. I started writing every day at age 12, published my first short story at 14, and kept on going!

What kind of writer are you? Panster or Plotter?
Hybrid. I plot loosely and leave room for things to develop. I need enough of a framework to construct the story but enough flexibility to let it take shape organically. This means certain details aren’t planned in advance but the big shape of the thing is. For instance, with ROPED I started off wanting to write a Christmas cowboy reunion romance and that dictated the setting and theme but left room for character development and relationship twists as I wrote Regan and Jonas’ story.

Where do your ideas come from?
Everywhere. The idea for Two Knights in Camelot came from watching a movie trailer for a King Arthur film and thinking, “If this was an EC story, Guinevere could have them both.” I wrote it and sold it to EC. My Neuri series (Animal Attraction, Mad Stone) started with a what-if. A common adoption fantasy is that in your real family you’re secretly a princess. What if you actually were, and one day they came to put you on the throne but instead of a dream come true it was a nightmare? That gave me Chandra’s story arc as a character and the world all built from there.

Sadly, ideas are the easy part. Crafting a consistent, coherent story full of coherent sentences is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak.

A la Twitter style, can you describe your book (or series) in 140 characters or less.
A Christmas wish reunites a former rodeo star with the one who got away.

What are some of your favorite kinds of stories to read?
Fantasy, from kid’s stories like How to Train Your Dragon (I’m reading book 9 of that series right now) to urban fantasy. I especially love urban fantasy for the mystery and adventure, all the better if it has a strong romantic element.

Do you have a favorite book and if so what is it?
My favorite book of all time is A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. It was the first time I encountered a fantasy story with a female protagonist who wasn’t waiting to be rescued by a prince. Meg goes and does her own rescuing in this story, and she gets her prince, too.

What are the scenes that are the hardest for you to write?
Hands down, the erotic scenes. They have to do more heavy lifting and have to succeed on more levels than any other scene. Funnily enough the first kiss scene is often more difficult than, say, a full on ménage scene. Because every first kiss is unique and has to do justice to this couple in this situation and even if I’ve done it a hundred times as an author, it has to be brand new when I write it for them.

If you could have dinner with any three authors, who would you choose and why?

• Lois McMaster Bujold, so I could grill her about any potential future Vorkosigan stories and/or finishing the Five Gods series. (One of the best books I’ve ever read was her Paladin of Souls in that world.)
• Neil Gaiman to find out how he keeps his balance and stays so consistently productive and creative.
• Stephen King to find out how he makes the most ordinary object or act infused with menace.

Happily, as a reader I can study all of the above even if I never get the chance to meet them in person. A novel by a master of their craft is a master class in fiction if you pay attention.

Last question, are you working on anything right now?
Right now I’m putting the final touches on Visiting Hours, which will appear in The Mammoth Book of ER Romance, and then it’s back to work on Red Queen (Neuri series).

These cowboys ride hard...

There's a reason Western romance novels never go out of fashion. The cowboy is an iconic figure embodying the dichotomy of the fiercely independent, earthy alpha male crossed with the male as a nurturer and protector. Cowboys take care of their women in every possible way. Wild and wayward women are gentled by the scent of horse and cow and the sight of sun-kissed skin, the feel of work-hardened thighs and arms, and the sound of a deep-voiced Texas drawl.

Contributors at the top of the Western romance genre, including Charlene Teglia, Randi Alexander, Cat Johnson, and editor, Delilah Devlin, have corralled strong and memorable characters ranging from ranch hands to cattle barons, to a rodeo star and a feisty female gunslinger. Traversing romantic settings from Montana, Texas, California, Mexico, and the Outback of Australia, the stories in Cowboy Lust are risky and risqué, full of studs in spurs hot enough to send you to a vacation on a dude ranch!

Places to Purchase:

| Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository |

“Roped” by Charlene Teglia:

“Whoa, cowboy.” Regan started to roll away, but he caught her in a firm grip and started winding rope around her wrists with a speed that proved he deserved all his calf-roping wins. “Bondage? Really? What happened to hello?”

“Hello, Regan.” Jonas continued his work without pausing, making knots and securing the rope to the headboard. “This is my way of making sure you don’t run off before I’m finished with you.”

“I didn’t run off the last time,” Regan said, exasperated. “You’re a heavy sleeper.”

“Not that heavy.” Jonas took her shoes and after a quick glance around the room, opened the window and threw them outside into a snow bank.

“Hey!”

“Can’t run off in the snow barefoot,” Jonas said, crossing muscular arms over his broad chest as he stared down at her.

“Those weren’t mine,” Regan moaned. “They were Nancy’s. They didn’t come from Payless.”

“Nancy? That friend of yours who went off to become a supermodel before marrying the cowboy next door?”

“Yes.”

“She won’t miss them,” Jonas stated, the problem of the shoes moved off the table.

That was probably true. Regan switched to a topic that might actually get her somewhere. “What are you doing here, Jonas?”

“It’s my ranch.” He didn’t miss the surprise in her eyes. “Nancy didn’t tell you?”

“No.” Regan had assumed he’d left forever when he’d gone away and onto achieve whatever the town bad boy was destined for. The vague vision made her realize she hadn’t thought much about an adult Jonas; he’d stayed eighteen in her brain, the dangerous boy all the girls wanted, an impossible dream for a bookish, flat-chested girl.

Her impossible dream continued to stare down at her, but Regan was used to courtroom tactics and refused to let it intimidate her. She attempted to settle into a comfortable position, difficult with her wrists bound together and the length of rope allowing her minimal room to maneuver.

“Okay. You wanted to talk. Talk.”

Want to win some goodies? Check out what's for grabs if you comment.

Up for grabs:

• 1 lucky commenter will from the ENTIRE tour will win a $50 Amazon Gift Card.
• 1 lucky commenter will win ALL of the following items:

             *Cowboy Bad Boys (digital) by Randi Alexander

           *Reader’s Choice of any backlisted ebook by Lissa Matthews

           *Reader’s Choice of any backlisted ebook by Charlene Teglia 
           *Reader’s Choice of any backlisted ebook by Cari Quinn (x4)
           *"I'll show you my e-reader if you show me yours" T-shirt (Large size) from Kimber Vale
           *Reader’s Choice of any backlisted ebook by Delilah Devlin during her stops (x2)
           *Signed copies of Cowboy Fever by Delilah Devlin to two winners
           *Love in Short Order (digital), a romance by Michael Bracken writing as Rolinda Hay
           *Stud (digital), an erotic romance by Michael Bracken writing as Rolinda Hay

To Enter:

• Leave a meaningful comment or question. 
• Please leave your email address along with your comment to be entered. No email address, no entry.
• Giveaway ends August 24th.

Good Luck =)