Q) What genres do you write in and why?
A) I have always enjoyed reading several genres and ended up writing historical, small town contemporary, western, and paranormal romance. Medieval life and castles are fascinating to me and I love learning about the times from my research and sharing it with readers through my stories. I started out writing medieval and to this day still have new medieval releases. I also like to bring aspects of my own life into my writing. With my Tarnished Saints Series (small town contemporary) I’ve incorporated memories of my life visiting my grandparents at the lake in Michigan, and woven them into my saga of twelve brothers, all sons of a preacher but far from saints. These men are nothing but trouble! A lot of the setting of the series really exists, such as the Bed and Breakfast in Doubting Thomas – Book 1. That is my parents’ house. The lake, the channel, the Blue Gill pond and some of the boys’ cabins are real, so when I give a description, I do it by looking around the actual surroundings where my parents still live to this day.
Q) Tell us about your current series.
A) My current series is medieval and called The Legendary Bastards of the Crown. It is about triplet bastards of King Edward III. Back in medieval times people were very superstitious. For example, twins were feared. The first born was accepted but the other was supposedly spawned by the devil and evil. So were left-handed people. (I am left-handed and would not have been accepted back then.) Rowen the Restless is my hero. He and his brothers, Rook the Ruthless, and Reed the Reckless, find out when they are ten years old that they’d been sired by the king. They also find out that the king ordered them killed, based on fear and superstition since the triplets are identical except they have blond, black, and red hair.
The story starts out during Burnt Candlemas which was a horrible attack on the Scots by the English and a lot of the land was burned. The boys get separated in the battle and Rowen is captured by pirates and raised by them. Ten years later, the boys find each other and are out for revenge against their father – the king. Lady Cordelia is a widow who happens to end up in the middle of one of the raids and abducted by Rowen and taken back to his ship.
As some of you might already know, I have twins in four of my other series. This time I took it up a notch and tackled triplets just for fun. Restless Sealord – Book 1 is available on preorder and will be released on Oct 3rd. It will be followed by Rowen’s brothers’ books, Ruthless Knight and Reckless Highlander starting right after the beginning of the new year.
Q) What is your next project and when will it be released?
A) After writing Restless Sea Lord, I decided readers are going to want to know and see what happened with the triplets as babies. This story is in the prequel, Destiny’s Kiss. It features the story of Annalyse and Ross, the couple who raise the boys. Annalyse was a twin and her sister died birthing the king’s bastards. It is available in Under the Kissing Bough – a multi-author boxed Christmas set that is now on preorder. The prequel will release as a stand-alone book this winter.
Q) How likely are people you meet to end up in your next book?
A) This question makes me laugh, because it is very likely. Actually, I take characteristics, fears, goals, and life happenings from people in real life and bring them into my stories. For example, you will see a lot of my family woven into the characters of my Tarnished Saints Series. Don’t tell my parents, but they are the elderly couple that run the Bed and Breakfast. Another character, Crazy Aunt Cappy, is based on a crazy sister-in-law of mine. Hee hee. Of course, no one will ever notice themselves in the books because how an author sees them and how they see themselves are normally very different.
Q) Tell us about your hero. Give us one of his strengths and one of his weaknesses.
A) Rowen is a pirate, but wasn’t always a pirate. For the first ten years of his life he lived with a normal family, had three sisters and two brothers. Of course, the girls were really his cousins but he didn’t know at the time his parents weren’t his real parents. He grew up having respect for his mother and sisters and even when he abducts Lady Cordelia, he respects her in a way that no real pirate would. He protects her from being ravished from his crew, and even from himself. His weakness – he stinks at playing chess. He and his brothers learned to play chess at an early age, and throughout each of the boys’ books, you will see an underlying thread of the game. The triplets are obsessed with chess because they think if they can master the game and get the king, they will be able to do so in their real lives as well. At the end of the book, Rowen has to play chess against the king for his freedom – thanks to the heroine who knows he is no good at the game.
Q) Tell us about your heroine. Give us one of her strengths and one of her weaknesses.
A) Cordelia is a strong woman and has tried not to show weakness. She’s barely cried even when her husband died, or when the only baby she ever had died in her arms. (However, once she meets Rowen, she starts to break down.) Another of her strengths is that she is great at playing chess, and irritates Rowen when she points out his bad moves. Cordelia’s weakness is Rowen. She’s hoping to be able to choose her next husband and has prepared to bribe the king, but Rowen has stolen the goods. He’s also stolen her heart and although she knows a lady and a pirate cannot be together, that does nothing to stop a romance from blooming. (So maybe she’s not that strong after all.)
Q) What did you want to be when you were a child? Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?
A) This is very funny, but when I was a child I wanted to be a nun, and now I write romance. Smile. I think wanting to be a nun stemmed from the fact that my father was and still is very religious. (This might have been where my sons of a preacher series originated too.) I started writing in high school. A few of my friends did so as well, and as we passed each other in the hall at school, we’d exchange notebooks. Then while in class, we’d read each others’ stories and write comments, or critiques. Of course, back then our heroes were the Bee Gees and the Cassidys (showing my age here.) I didn’t know I wanted to be a writer but I think the handwriting was on the wall, so to speak. And for those who might be wondering, it was a horrifying experience when my parents read my first published book – sex scenes and all! They’ve gotten over it now and are proud of me, but I think part of that stems from their friends (my elderly fans) raving about my books to them. My mother ended up prefering my paranormal and shapeshifting books over the rest. Life truly surprises you sometimes, so don’t ever think you know what will happen because life can take some crazy turns.
Q) Having achieved your goal of becoming a published author, what is the most rewarding thing?
A) I have achieved wonderful goals of not only being a bestselling author but an amazon all-star as well. Of course it is rewarding to be getting paid to do what you love, but I also love the fact I am my own boss and can write in my pajamas if I choose to do so. It is also very rewarding to see my hard work come to life in ebook, paperback, and even in audiobook form. But probably the best part is when I can touch the lives of readers. My favorite emails and reviews from fans are when they say my story made them laugh and cry both. Then I know I’ve touched their emotions. My readers get so involved in the lives of my characters that they don’t want the series to end. My Tarnished Saints Series is a twelve book series and I have readers telling me they are sad it ended and wished it would continue. Of course, I smile, but the thought of such a long saga continuing makes me want to bang my head against the wall. With the twelve brothers, their wives, kids, neighbors, etc. it was truly a difficult task to keep showing the previous characters in each book and entwining their lives with the current hero and heroine, but I did it! I will also never even consider doing a twelve book series again!
Q) What’s next for you?
A) I have so many books I want to write my head is spinning. Of course, I’ll finish up the Legendary Bastards of the Crown Series, and then I also want to finish up my Tangled Tales Series which is the twisted, tangled retelling of traditional fairy tales turned into romance. They are all very paranormal. I have a secret contemporary book I’m working on that will be part of a series that includes twelve authors. This will be released after the first of the year. I am also hoping to write some more westerns, as I haven’t done one in a while.
The best way for readers to get updates on what I’m doing is to sign up for my blog and my mailing list. Readers can do so on my website at http://elizabethrosenovels.com. Right now, if you sign up for my mailing list, you will receive a FREE copy of the Tarnished Saints’ Christmas – the prequel of my Tarnished Saints Series.
I have a few other specials running so readers can try my books. These specials don’t start for a few days yet, so please pay attention to the sale dates.
FREE Oct. 5 – 9th
The Baron’s Bounty – Book 2, Barons of the Cinque Ports Series
(Once you purchase the free book, you’ll have the opportunity to get the audiobook for only $1.99. This is a good chance to try an audiobook if you haven’t experienced one before.)
FREE Oct. 6 – 10th
Daughters of the Dagger Prequel
All Books in the Daughters of the Dagger Series only .99 cents from Oct. 5th – 11th
(Once again, after purchase you can pick up the audiobooks for only $1.99 each!)
Bio for Elizabeth Rose:
Elizabeth Rose is the bestselling author of 56 books, writing historical, small town contemporary, paranormal and western romance.
She is known for her series and cross-over characters. Her series are:
Medieval:
Legendary Bastards of the Crown
Legacy of the Blade
Daughters of the Dagger
MadMan MacKeefe
Barons of the Cinque Ports
Paranormal:
Tangled Tales
Elemental Series
Greek Myth Fantasy Series
Contemporary:
Tarnished Saints Series
Western:
Cowboys of the Old West
She also has stand-alone novels, short stories, and even a Viking novella.
Elizabeth’s first book was published back in 2000 by a traditional publisher and was actually multi-cultural with a Peruvian heroine that was based on her trip to Peru. She lives in the suburbs of Chicago but is a country girl at heart and loves gardening. She’s been married to the same wonderful husband for over thirty years and has two grown sons.
Please visit her website to find out more about her books and to see her video booktrailers. You can follow her on twitter @ElizRoseNovels and her facebook page is Elizabeth Rose – Author (don’t forget the dash.) She is also on goodreads and bookbub.
Buy Links:
Restless Sea Lord:
amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LDR7I3U
Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1159457795
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/restless-sea-lord-elizabeth-rose/1124645959?ean=2940153475356
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/restless-sea-lord
Excerpt from Restless Sea Lord:
“I’ll bet one of your parents was English and the other Scottish. Is that right?” asked Cordelia.
“Nay, you’re wrong,” Rowen said in aggravation.
“Then why don’t you tell me about your parents and how you became a pirate?”
In frustration, he moved the knight, and she looked down and shook her head, making a tsking sound with her tongue.
“What is that for?” he grumbled.
“You moved the knight when you should have moved the bishop instead. Because now the gold queen can take your silver knight like so.” She boldly reached out for the queen and slid it across the board, scooping up the knight in her hand in the process. “See what I mean?”
“Damn,” he spat, slapping his palm against the table and making all the pieces jump slightly. “Not my knight! Anything but my knight.”
“Sometimes the right move is one you might never imagine. That’s the thing about chess – there are so many ways to win.”
“And lose,” he said feeling that restlessness churning in his gut again. He needed to do something about his situation. He’d waited for ten years to get revenge on his father, and he didn’t want his raids to end yet.
“So . . . who sired you?” She ran her finger in small circles over the table, only managing to make him think of what happened earlier between them.
“You don’t need to know.” He snatched up the king as he spoke.
“My, you seem as if you’re going to choke the life out of that piece or perhaps smash it in your palm.”
“It has no life and is nothing to me. Do you hear me? It’s nothing but a piece in a game.” He slammed it down on the board, and when he looked up, her mouth was hanging open, and her eyes were wide.
“My God, you and your brothers are the English king’s bastards, aren’t you?”
“I’ll kill Brody for telling you,” he spat, furious that his secret had been revealed.
She smiled smugly and continued to run her finger in circles atop the table. “Brody didn’t tell me a thing, but you just did with your admittance.”
“How did you know?” he asked. “No one knows my secret but Brody.”
“I just figured it out by the way you grabbed for the king when I asked who sired you. And then you slammed it down with such vengeance, that I knew it had something to do with your life – not the game.”
“You know nothing so don’t even think you can figure out what I’ve been through.”
Thanks for having me as your guest Cindy!