Please help me welcome Lana Williams to my blog today. Lana has given us a wonderful interview and I hope you’ll leave her lots of comments.

Tell us about yourself.

Thanks so much for having me, Cynthia! I’m excited to share the excerpt for my latest release, Unraveling Secrets, set in Victorian London. This is my fourth book and begins a new trilogy. My previous three books (also a trilogy) are medieval romances, so this is a new time period for me, but so fascinating!

I live in Colorado with my husband, two growing sons, two labs, and have been writing for what seems like forever.  I love writing historical romances and thus far, all of my stories have a pinch of paranormal.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be, and why?

I think I would like to have 4-5 houses in different areas and rotate! Wouldn’t that be great? You could head toward the beach (love Nassau!) during the winter months, maybe hit Vermont in the fall. I do love Colorado and would have to spend time here, too. Perhaps a month or two in England or Ireland would work as well. After all, I need to do some research!

Tell us about your current series/WIP.

The Secret Trilogy tells the story of three young men who assisted their professor at university with an electromagnetic experiment that went terribly wrong. This accident leaves each of the three men with the ability to read auras. The first story in this trilogy is Unraveling Secrets and it opens with Abigail Bradford confronting the man who killed her father–a man she thought was dead. Stephen, the hero, comes upon them. With his ability to read auras of good and evil, he can see that Abigail has good intentions but why she’s in the dirty streets of London’s East End is definitely a puzzle. LOL

The heroes in each of the books read different auras. In the second book, Passionate Secrets coming out later this year, the hero reads auras of success and failure.

What is your next project and when will it be released?

Passionate Secrets is the second book in this trilogy and is a loose twist on My Fair Lady.  It follows Michael’s story, who we meet in the first book. He has the ability to see auras of success and failure. Someone from his past makes a reappearance in his life and he’s torn between trusting her, suspecting her, and helping her. It will be released in 2014.

How does your family feel about your writing career?

I’m very lucky as I come from a family of avid readers. My mom always has a book going and my sisters love to read as well. Even one of my brothers has read my books – twice! They are incredibly supportive of my writing. My husband and sons have grown used to me having my laptop out, typing away while we watch football. They are my biggest fans.

How much time do you spend promoting your books? What works best for you?

Promoting your books is tricky, isn’t it? What seems to work well one time only has moderate success the next. I am on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Pinterest. I have an author newsletter to share news with interested readers. I guest blog at several blogs when I have a new release. Promoting can take a lot of time and it’s difficult to determine what’s effective. While I am a firm believer that the best promotion you can do is write the next book, I do enjoy connecting with readers and authors on social media, as long as it doesn’t take over my whole day.

What advice do you have for other authors wanting to self-publish?

Self-publishing has been a wonderful experience for me. My advice would be to learn as much as possible as to what goes into the process, what your choices are and what resources are available. There are some great books out there by authors who share everything they did. One of the best ones is The Naked Truth About Self-Publishing.

Knowing that your book is going to be read by the public somehow helps you become more objective about your writing. It’s been easier for me to determine what’s working in the story and what isn’t. I now trust my instincts as I’m editing to help me know whether I need to go through a scene one more time, or whether it’s polished as much as I can. All that has definitely taken my writing up a notch. Self-publishing comes with lots of freedom. You are your own boss. You get to decide what you write next. You can write what you think the story calls for and revise as you see fit. You set your own deadlines. You have total control over the project. All that freedom doesn’t work for some people. I’m grateful that I’m surrounded by other writers who are very ambitious and that helps me to push myself. Learn as much as you can so you make the right decision for you. And remember, it’s not either or between traditional and self-publishing. You can choose to be a combination of both.

Do you have any words of inspiration for aspiring authors?

The best thing you can do is keep writing. Do it daily, if at all possible. I feel like my writing really improved substantially when I started making a concerted effort to write every day, even if it was only for 15 minutes. Though I thought I needed longer periods to really get into my story, those did not come often enough with a day job and a busy family. By writing daily, the story stays in your mind and your subconscious seems to work out scenes and provide you with ideas when you finally get a chance to sit at the keyboard. Get a kitchen timer and set it for 15 minutes. Smile. Write. Repeat. Most writers I know can get a page written in that length of time. Everybody has 15 minutes, right? And when you do have longer blocks of time, that productive habit will really pay off.

Why have you become a published author?

Books have been such a lovely treasure throughout my life. When I was in college, reading a book was my reward for studying all night for a test. When I was sad, I could pick up a book, learn something new, and travel to someplace different. There was nothing I looked forward to more than diving into the pages of a book. Being published means I have the chance to give that gift to someone. I have never had a job I loved as much as I love to write. It is the most challenging thing I’ve ever done, and the most rewarding. I can’t imagine doing anything else.

Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do to combat it?

If I’m struggling with a particular scene, that usually means there’s something wrong with it. I’m coming at it from the wrong point of view or at the wrong time. When that happens, I step back and try to think of other ways to approach it and list the reasons why I think the scene needs to happen. If I’m having a problem trying to decide what should happen next, then I think of 3 choices of what could happen next and pick one. And sometimes I go back to setting my timer for 15 minutes and force myself to type something, even if it seems like crap. Often that loosens up the log jam in my mind.

Where can readers find you?

Website: www.lanawilliams.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LanaWilliamsBooks
Twitter: www.twitter.com/LanaWilliams28

Where can readers find your books? Print/Ebook?

Amazon: http://amzn.to/18wWuV3
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1cyNx9I
Kobo: http://bit.ly/IVk4zl
Paperback: http://bit.ly/1ji9DpW

Excerpt:

The dim glow cast by the carriage lamp created an intimacy he would’ve preferred to avoid. After the events of the evening, a part deep inside him strained to be closer to her, to absorb her golden light and soothe his darkness. The temptation of her surrounded him until he could hardly breathe. Her face was hidden in shadows but he didn’t have to see her expression to feel her displeasure. Perhaps that would help him keep his distance.

“My apologies for interrupting your evening of drinking and brawling, but two days have passed since I’ve heard anything from you.”

“When I have something to tell you, I’ll contact you. Following me serves no purpose.”

She huffed in response. “Are you telling me you still don’t know of Simmons’ whereabouts?”

Stephen’s frustration pushed him to the edge of his seat. “I’m sure you remember me mentioning other problems that have arisen which occupy my time. Perhaps you could consider for a moment that the world does not revolve around you.”

She sat forward as well until her face was mere inches from his, not backing down. He tried his best to ignore the fact that her reaction was exactly what he’d hoped for. That she’d push him beyond the bounds of gentlemanly behavior, and he’d be left with no choice but to touch her.

“My family’s safety is at stake. I have difficulty believing anything you’re doing in some disreputable pub could be more pressing.”

Her gaze dropped to his lips, and the fragile restraint he had on his desire for her snapped. Before he could think twice, he took her mouth with his.

She tasted so sweet, as though she’d just drunk a golden elixir blended specifically to entice him. Her lips curved to fit his. They were soft and supple, and he lifted his hand to caress her cheek. Her skin was just as smooth and silky as he’d remembered.

She responded to his kiss tentatively at first, as though uncertain what she should do. He’d caught her by surprise, of that he had no doubt.

He waited, expecting her to shove him back and put him in his place. Instead she tilted her head and deepened the kiss. Desire speared through him, almost painful in its intensity. It had been so long since he’d felt like this, since he’d been with a woman who stirred him so.

Her hand touched the back of his neck, curving around the sensitive skin at his nape, her gloved fingers running through his hair. Her touch was pure magic, at once soothing him and making him yearn for more.

He opted for more, plundering, parting his lips to taste her more fully. She stilled at his sudden invasion then opened her lips to return the favor. Her ardor added to his own until his head swam with her sweetness.