An Interview With Romance Author Donna Fasano

As you might have noticed, I don't often recommend writers or books on my blog.  Everyone needs to make up their own mind about what they choose to read and I'm not sure my voice in the mix makes a difference.  But...this book is different.  Donna and I wrote for Silhouette Romance in the day, and Donna's books are always quality, satisfying romantic reads that I will recommend.  We are both publishing in the indie world now and Donna's new release RECLAIM MY HEART was a pure pleasure to read.  I love strong heroes and Lucas is that.  I like heroines with flaws and Tyne is that.  I'm drawn toward the Native American heritage and this novel gives me a beautiful glimpse into that.  So here's an interview with Donna Fasano that I hope helps you get to know her a little better.

Donna, what attracted you to writing in the first place?
I came to writing from my love of reading.  While growing up, I lost myself in books in order to escape an unhappy childhood.

What genre are you most comfortable writing?
Romance.  I wrote for Harlequin for 20 years, writing sweet romance (as Donna Clayton) and women's fiction/contemporary romance (under my own name). I have self-published some of my back-list Harlequin books. The Merry-Go-Round was never published by a traditional publisher, so I guess that would be my first indie-published book. Reclaim My Heart is the second of my front-list indie-published book. Reclaim My Heart is the second of my front-list indie-published book. Reclaim My Heart is the second of my front-list indie-published titles.

How has your upbringing influenced your writing?
I think authors who face a lot of pain and anguish seem to write stories with great depth, with honesty and compassion.  It could be that dealing with trauma brings out the best (or worst) in people. I believe that losing my mother at such a young age had a huge impact on me, not just as a writer but as a human being. I became, I don't know, more maternal towards my family, my friends, heck, towards everyone I meet...more giving of myself. I'm not sure. But I know that the loss could have made me bitter and angry. I'm just so grateful that the exact opposite seems to describe me.

Where do you get your inspiration and ideas from?
My mind is always on the alert. I take ideas from everything I see, hear, read, experience. I have been known to take a snippet of conversation overheard in an elevator and turn it into a book (Return of the Runaway Bride), or from a location (His Wife For A While), or from a person I met (Taking Love In Stride). So be careful! If you interact with me, you might end up in one of my novels.

What's your favorite place in the entire world?
I have visited so many beautiful places.  The South of France, the rolling mountains of Italy, the Mediterranean Sea, the cobbled streets of Brussels, the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona, beautiful Morro Bay, California, and I spend lots of time in Ocean City, Maryland.  I obviously can't pick a favorite. Besides, there are so many places waiting to be seen!

What was your favorite part of this book to write? Which part was the hardest?
I really enjoyed writing the love scenes.  In my sweet romances, all the "spice" takes place behind closed doors. So this was very fun. And which part was hardest? The "kitchen love scene" (naughty pun intended!).

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you "grew up"?
I wanted to be a teacher. My aunt attended college and earned her teaching degree. I always idolized her.

If you couldn't be an author, what would your ideal career be?
Teacher. I love kids, and I often include them in my stories.  I always say that children are very honest and outspoken. Kids inject a great deal of fun into a book.

Give your fans three fun facts that they may not already know about you.
I love to cook! (I often post recipes on my blog.)
My reading tastes are crazy-eclectic. I read anything and everything.
I'm a little on the chubby side.

Chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry?
Depends. If we're talking ice cream, then vanilla...and I love mind topped with sliced banana and warm caramel sauce. If we're talking cake, then chocolate and don't forget the fudge frosting. If we're talkilng milkshakes, then strawberry.  Wow, now I'm hungry.

Please tell us in one sentence only, why we should read your book.
I put my heart and soul into RECLAIM MY HEART, and I think it shows...in the characters and in the story.

So what's next for you as an author?  Any last words?
I'm thinking of writing a book that revolves around three friends in different stages of marriage, but I'm not sure yet. I've worked very hard on RECLAIM MY HEART and I'm going to take a few days off. Then I'll get back to work!


Donna Fasano is a three time winner of the HOLT Medallion, a CataRomance Reviewers Choice Award winner for Best Single Title, a Desert Rose Golden Quill Award finalist, and a Golden Heart finalist. Her books have sold over 3.6 million copies worldwide and have been published in nearly two dozen languages. Her books have made the Kindle Top 100 Paid list numerous times, climbing as high as #17.

Book Blurb:
Sixteen years ago, Tyne Whitlock cut all ties to her past and left town under the shameful shadow of a teenage pregnancy. Now her fifteen-year-old son is in trouble with the law and she is desperate for help. BUt reaching out to high-powered attorney Lucas Silver Hawk will tear open the heart-wrenching past in ways Tyne never imagined.

Forced to return to the Delaware Indian community were Lucas was raised, Tyne and Lucas are tempted by the heated passion that consumed them as teens. Tyne rediscovers all the reasons she found this man irresistible, but there are scandalous secrets waiting to be revealed, disgraceful choices made in the past that cannot be denied. Love is a powerful force that could heal them both--if the truth doesn't rip them apart.

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WHAT CAN A COVER REVEAL? A new mystery series by Karen Rose Smith

Caprice De Luca is a sleuth with personality!  She's a home-stager and likes to use unique themes for the houses she stages so they sell faster and tempt house hunters from all over to her open houses.  But Caprice herself, at thirty-two is a retro girl.  With her hair style from the 70's, her vintage clothes from the 50's and 60's, and her gravitation toward unique pieces, her home reflects her likes and personality.  My cover for STAGED TO DEATH, the first Caprice De Luca home-stager mystery says it all.

It's like a treasure map that will tell you important details about Caprice and the book.  The colors are so 60's, Caprice's favorite decade.  In her 50's Pennsylvania Cape Cod house, you'll find an overstuffed fuchsia chair in her living room.  If you look closely, you'll see the name of the series on the laptop.  Her cat Sophia--named after her Nana's favorite actress, Sophia Loren--sits atop her turquoise-carpeted cat tree.  Could any cat be happier?  And Caprice's stray dog, Dylan, has decided being friends with Sophia pleases Caprice.

Besides spotlighting that Caprice's favorite colors are fuchsia, turquoise, lime green and yellow, this cover reveals her personality, her vocation for caring for stray animals and her desire to surround herself and her clients with a mood that suits their own lifestyle.

I'm so excited to reveal the STAGED TO DEATH cover to you.  Although December seems to be a long way away, you can preorder the mystery now.

Oh, and did I mention this series will include recipes?  Caprice comes from a large Italian family and likes to cook.

Soon I'll have an excerpt from STAGED TO DEATH on my mystery website.  Stay tuned for more blogs about decorating, cooking, dogs and cats and everything that makes this series unique.

©2013 Karen Rose Smith

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STAY UP TO DATE WITH YOUR AUTHORS

STAY UP TO DATE!!!                                                            

Do you want to know how you won't miss your favorite authors books ever again?  It's easy.  Search your favorite author in Amazon.  Her author page should pop up.  If it doesn't, simply go to one of your author's books, click on her picture under the product info and that will take you to her author page.  I have pasted mine below as an example.  After you have the author page, simply go to the top of the right column under the "like" button.  Click on the STAY UP TO DATE box and you should always know when a new book is released by that author!

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Zoie's First Birthday

My RESCUING A KITTY blogs have slowed down, it's true.  But that's because Zoie is growing up!  However, I couldn't let her first birthday pass without a blog.  She was born sometime in May, so we can celebrate the whole month!

Zoie took over the house and tried to take domination over London and Ebbie from the beginning.  London quickly put her in her place.  Zoie teases London, plays with her by running up and down the stairs and wrinkling throw rugs in a chase, and sleeps nearby her now and then.  Zoie and Ebbie have an entirely different relationship.  They both spend most of their day with me.  But Zoie likes to know where Ebbie is at all times.  She chases her to a little area I prepared for Ebbie under a window.  Since Ebbie has arthritic back problems, she has a set of steps we developed into a little platform to give her plenty of room to stretch and sleep.  That's where Zoie prefers Ebbie to be!

Zoie has been turning her little nose away from kitten food the past six weeks.  She wants adult cat food.  We feed her Blue canned food in it's many varieties to keep her healthy and her coat sleek.  She has the feline herpes virus and still eats Lysine treats every day.  (Ebbie and London do, too)  I use Eagle dry food mixed with a Wysong brand but limit it for them all.  Zoie is nine and a half pounds now.  It's unbelievable that she was only 1 1/2 pounds when we found her.

In January we had Zoie spayed.  I was apprehensive about the surgery and possible changes in Zoie's personality afterward.  But we had a terrific veterinarian who treated her with respect and compassion.  Zoie came through surgery and aftercare even more affectionate than before.  Visit my blog about Zoie's spaying experience.

Zoie has been a sweetie from the moment I held her.  She likes to be in our presence and still gives us belly laughs frequently with her antics.  We freshened up the bedroom recently with a chenille spread and a kitty quilt my BFF gifted me with.  Zoie had to give the bed her seal of approval!  These photos say it all.  We love her to pieces and she brings us so much joy that I can't imagine our life without her.

©2013 Karen Rose Smith

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Mother's Day Memorial Garden -- How I Remember

Mother's Day is here again.  Spring is rich with memories as well as flowers.  When a mom is gone, the Mother's Day commercials, cards and sentiments are hard to watch.  So for many years, we've tended a Memorial Garden in our yard where lots of my mom's favorite flowers and bushes grow.  We started small at first.  Originally a circular ring surrounded three Canadian Hemlock trees.  We expanded to include spirea bushes which formed a privacy border around the backyard of my childhood home.  In following seasons, I found a statue of a little girl on a bench with a basket for flowers.  We surrounded her with forget-me-nots.  A border of hyacinths bloom with color and fragrance in early spring. 
 

Each year, some aspect of the garden changes.  Bleeding hearts, another of Mom's favorites, have grown tall.  We lost a hemlock and replaced it with an Alaskan cedar.  A yellow rose bush--my mom especially liked yellow roses--produces rose hips and we don't trim it back as much as our other garden roses.  For the past few years, I've been growing flowers from seeds.  In early summer, we plant geraniums I grow and sow zinnia seeds to replace the spring flowers. This year I'm adding Shasta daisies for two reasons. My mom liked them and...  I've named a dog in my second mystery "Shasta" to commemorate that.

Just as life continuously changes, the garden does, too.  Each bush that greens, each flower that sprouts, each blossom that blooms and gives off a glorious scent, brings back memories.  So on Mother's Day, as well as through the summer, I remember and relive a little of my childhood all over again.
 


©2013 Karen Rose Smith



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Mother's Day Memorial Garden

Mother's Day is here again.  Spring is rich with memories as well as flowers.  When a mom is gone, the Mother's Day commercials, cards and sentiments are hard to watch.  So for many years, we've tended a Memorial Garden in our yard where lots of my mom's favorite flowers and bushes grow.  We started small at first.  Originally a circular ring surrounded three Canadian Hemlock trees.  We expanded to include spirea bushes which formed a privacy border around the backyard of my childhood home.  In following seasons, I found a statue of a little girl on a bench with a basket for flowers.  We surrounded her with forget-me-nots.  A border of hyacinths bloom with color and fragrance in early spring. 
 

Each year, some aspect of the garden changes.  Bleeding hearts, another of Mom's favorites, have grown tall.  We lost a hemlock and replaced it with an Alaskan cedar.  A yellow rose bush--my mom especially liked yellow roses--produces rose hips and we don't trim it back as much as our other garden roses.  For the past few years, I've been growing flowers from seeds.  In early summer, we plant geraniums I grow and sow zinnia seeds to replace the spring flowers. This year I'm adding Shasta daisies for two reasons. My mom liked them and...  I've named a dog in my second mystery "Shasta" to commemorate that.

Just as life continuously changes, the garden does, too.  Each bush that greens, each flower that sprouts, each blossom that blooms and gives off a glorious scent, brings back memories.  So on Mother's Day, as well as through the summer, I remember and relive a little of my childhood all over again.
 

©2013 Karen Rose Smith



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The Personal Side of Narrating Audiobooks

What happens when a narrator narrates a love scene? And other burning questions!

My first audiobook TOYS AND BABY WISHES is narrated by Johnny Peppers. My first interview with Johnny was about his background and the technical side of narrating.  I enjoyed working with him and his style of narrating so much that he recorded a second romance for me WHEN MOM MEETS DAD. Both books are romantic comedies so I decided to explore with Johnny more details about a narrator's everyday life--from recording love scenes to favorite books.

So about those love scenes....   Here we go with my interview with Johnny Peppers.

The topic of love scenes surfaced when I asked Johnny--What is the funniest thing that happened to you while you were recording?

The funniest thing that has happened to me is when I recorded my first "love scene" for my first romantic novel, TOYS AND BABY WISHES.  My wife was listening at the door, and I had to stop recording because of the noise she was making on the other side.  It's not what you think--she was laughing at me.  I suppose she has never heard those words come out of my mouth in that order, and she was a little embarrassed and blushing outside the door.

If you could have lunch with one famous person, who would that be?

If I could have lunch with one famous person, it would be Henry Clay.  He ran for President four times and lost.  He is the Buffalo Bill of Presidential Elections.  He was a statesman and a smart man, but just didn't have the political clout to win.

What is your favorite all time book?

I don't really have a favorite book, but I love reading Johnathan Kellerman, Dean Koontz, J.D. Robb and similar authors who write thrillers.

How about a favorite theater production?

My favorite theater production has to be Father of the Bride.  I played Stanley Banks (the father) in the play.
It was my first leading role on the stage, and I could perform that play 100 times without getting bored.  My favorite play I have directed is Mrs. John Marsh--The World Knew Her as Margaret Mitchell.  This was a one-woman play that ran in Atlanta, Georgia during the summer of 2012, discussing the life of the author of GONE WITH THE WIND.  My wife, Kandace, played the role of Mitchell, and I was the technical director on the project to start.  A month before we left for the run, the playwright fired the director and asked me to step in and finish it up.  I did, and my wife and I had a marvelous time working on this project together.  And, Kandace received high praise from the local community of theater goers and critics for the work.  By the way, she is a former Miss Mississippi and has a new jazz album out now on ITunes and Amazon and Spotify as Kandace Rachelle (ON MY MIND). We are a performing family!!!

Do you read through a manuscript before you narrate it?

I do read through the chapter before recording.  I don't read the whole book, though, because I don't want to give anything away thorough my vocalizations.  I want to know what happens chapter by chapter like the readers do.

How do you create different voices?

As an actor and generally silly human being, I have been creating voices since I was a kid.  I simply change pitch, placement of the voice, accent or whatever else to make it different.  I usually channel a family member or character voice that I love.  My favorite voice is "Toby", a character I created that is sweet, innocent, has a slight lisp, talks in the back of his throat, and love life.  I have yet to find a place for Toby in my narrations, but I hope to soon!!!

How do you keep the characters straight?

I use Markers on the audio tracks the first time a character appears.  That way, I can go back and listen if I need to.  Also, if there are a lot of characters, I create a separate character file and keep lines form each character on one line (using markers to keep them separated).

If you had to name TV shows that hold your interest, what would they be?

My favorite TV show of all tiime? Has to be Quantum Leap.  Of course, favorites change.  I love Friends, Seinfeld, King of Queens, Big Bang Theory, Dexter, 24, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and Survivor!

Do you have a snack that you prefer above all others?

My favorite snack is Banana Chips. I am a muncher, and those are healthier than potato chips and oh, so good.

Do you have any pets?

I have two dogs that I love!  Ella is a 6 year old white Toy Poodle and Gilly is a 2 year old red Teacup Poodle.  Ella and Gilly weigh 8 pounds total. (Ella 6 lbs. and Gilly 2 lbs.)

I just want to repeat again what a joy Johnny is to work with--a talented narrator, professional and a great technician. His contact info is jpeppers02@gmail.com

Copyright by Karen Rose Smith 2013

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