Hey loverlies new and old. Welcome to We heart Historicals, a celebration of Historical Romance. Today’s special guest was the soon to be appearing The Bump but since he’s currently tucked away in a safe place, his spokesperson and author extraordanaire, Amy Ruttan will be here instead. The Bump has given Amy permission to give away a copy of Enchantress, the Fey. All you have to do is pledge your undying devotion and allegiance to The Bump leave a comment and you’ll be entered to win but remember in order to enter or win you must be 18 years or older. The winners of the book give aways from May 16th to June 1st will be announced in the next couple of days. And don’t forget to join us next week during the FINAL week of We Heart Historicals! It’s been a blast but all good things must come to an end!

EMMA & JACKIE: Amy, thank you so very much for joining us in our celebration of historical romance and all of its authors and genres. Before we start talking about books and writing, tell us a little bit about Amy Ruttan.

Amy Ruttan: Oooh if I told you that then I would have to silence you. LOL. Just kidding. Well, I’m Canadian, which I’m sure explains a lot. I’m a mother of soon to be three kids, married and I love writing, love history and have a very overactive imagination.

EMMA & JACKIE: (*Whispers to Jackie* I told you she was The Bump’s silencer too.) When did you start writing and what made you start writing?

Amy Ruttan: I started writing when I outgrew playing with dolls. Seriously, my imagination was very overactive and I found it a good outlet, and it kept me out of trouble. I started to take my writing seriously after the birth of my second child. My son almost died, and as I looked at him lying in the NICU I thought why am I not pursuing my dream? Life is so fragile and precious and we’re only given so much time. Just like Eminem’s song Lose Yourself, “If you had one moment to seize everything you ever wanted, would you capture it or let it slip through your fingers.” In 2006 I decided to capture it.

EMMA & JACKIE: You have a long history of writing for epublishers, in your opinion what is the best thing about epublishing? And what is the worst?

Amy Ruttan: Cost for the readers, number one. It’s also good for the environment. E-publishers also will take a risk on stories which traditional publishers may not. A downside, not enough people know about it or understand it, but I think with the advance of Kindle and Sony E-readers the e-publishing is starting to take off.

EMMA & JACKIE: You write contemporary and paranormal romance as well as historicals, which did you begin writing first?

Amy Ruttan: Historical, although that was not the first thing I published. I love reading historicals, love history and historical romance will always be my number one passion. And I quite like combining history with the paranormal.

EMMA & JACKIE: What drew you to historical romance?

Amy Ruttan: My favorite authors were historical romance writers. I love history and I love being swept into the past without having to go there.

EMMA & JACKIE: What do you find most challenging about writing historical romance, and what do you find most fun about it?

Amy Ruttan: Research. Oy, but I love research but it can be daunting for those starting out, yet it can be the most fun.

EMMA & JACKIE: What do you think makes a good hero for a romance novel, one your women readers fall in love with?

Amy Ruttan: This is different for everyone. Some readers enjoy a good Alpha hero, like a Mr. Darcy (just like me), others prefer the reformed rake, or the beta. So I don’t think this something that can be pinpointed down, for women I think fall in love with so many aspects of a man. It’s different every time.

EMMA & JACKIE: What do you think is the most important element of an unforgettable romance novel?

Amy Ruttan: Being swept away, forgetting everything and being absolutely absorbed in a story. To the point that I can’t stop turning the pages and I can’t stop reading.

EMMA & JACKIE: It’s no secret that you’re expecting, between writing, parenting, and the million other things that you have to do, your days must be pretty hectic. What’s a day in the writing life of Amy Ruttan like?

Amy Ruttan: Hectic is an understatement. LOL!! Well, since I’m nearing the end of this pregnancy, and we’re talking a matter of days, writing comes hard. I can’t balance my laptop on my belly any longer without it getting kicked. Before I would take my daughter to school, then do emails and Twittering (my crazy new obsession). After I pick my daughter up, since she’s only half day, I make them lunch and spend some time then I write. My kids are only small once, so I want to spend time with them first before I write. I used to be able to stay up later, and I’m sure that ability will return. I often write after my kids go to bed, until midnight. I was a nighthawk before I became “confined” with The Bump. LOL!!

EMMA & JACKIE:What do you have in store for lucky readers in the future?

Amy Ruttan: Well, there is the release of my series, and a few other things up my sleeves. I have lots of books plotted and planned, I just need to be able to sit down and write them.

EMMA & JACKIE: Is there anything else you’d like to share with your readers? New releases? Special projects? Signings, etc?

Amy Ruttan: On June 12th Tarot by Arwen is going to be doing a reading of Alfwyn, the hero in my most recent release Enchantress The Sorceress. On August 10, 2009 I’m giving away a print copy of Enchantress The Fey on The Romance Studio Book a Day Give away. Right now my summer is pretty open and will be busy catching up with my word count and dealing with a newborn. J

EMMA & JACKIE: Thank you so very much for allowing Amy to visit us The Bump. And readers, don’t forget to comment and you’ll be entered to win a copy of Enchantress, the Fey. Wanna learn more about The Bump, Amy and her novels? You can visit their website here and their blog here.

Hey loverlies new and old. Welcome to We heart Historicals, a celebration of Historical Romance. Today’s special guest is the amazing Anthea Lawson. They’ll be giving away a copy of her awesome Kensington Zebra debut title, PASSIONATE. All you have to do is leave a comment and you’ll be entered to win but remember in order to enter or win you must be 18 years or older. The winners of the book give aways from May 16th to June 1st will be announced in the next couple of days. And don’t forget to join us next week during the FINAL week of We Heart Historicals! It’s been a blast but all good things must come to an end!

EMMA & JACKIE: Anthea, thank you so very much for joining us in our celebration of historical romance and all of its authors and genres. Before we start talking about books and writing, tell us a little bit about Anthea Lawson.

Anthea Lawson: Anthea Lawson is the pen-name of Anthea and Lawson, a wife-husband writing team. The two of us met when Anthea showed up on a dial-in computer system (BBS) and started participating in the writer’s special interest group that Lawson was moderating. (Yes, it was the early days of internet.) The first time we met in person we each came bearing a stack of favorite books to share with each other. We had to get married so we could get back those books we had loaned! Seriously, we take a lot of joy in collaborating on creative projects, be it performing and recording together in a band, raising a daughter, or learning how fiction works and crafting novels together.

EMMA & JACKIE: When did you start writing and what made you start writing?

Anthea Lawson: We both have always been avid readers, and like so many others we each dreamed of someday writing a novel. Anthea got serious about poetry in high school when she was mentored by the New Mexico poet, Pat Smith. (You can see Anthea’s poet side shine in our evocative love scenes.) Lawson, almost always the practical one, wrote articles, tech manuals, and wryly humorous short pieces. Writing fiction, particularly romance, took us both by surprise. We started writing PASSIONATE after Anthea read a historical romance that promised travel, love, and adventure in exotic places, but failed to deliver. “We could do better than that!” she said, and leaped immediately into a sea of words, pulling Lawson headfirst in after her.

EMMA & JACKIE: Can you tell us about your first sale or big break?

Anthea Lawson: Finaling in the 2006 Golden Heart with our first manuscript gave us a huge boost. It made it easier to find an agent and sell the novel after receiving that recognition, especially since part of our book takes place in unconventional locations—a tough sell to the publishing industry. (PASSIONATE features a botanical expedition from England to Tunisia) Now we’re doubly thrilled, since the novel is up for a RITA award in the Best First Book category.

EMMA & JACKIE: Why historicals?

Anthea Lawson: Horses, carriages, manor houses, sailing ships, really great clothes, servants, estates, duels, handsome rakish dukes (not necessarily in that order). Historical romance takes place in a world apart. Just reading the words London, 1847 at the start of a first chapter signals that the writer is taking you far away from the hectic modern routine of business meetings, grocery store lists, and PTA fundraisers. As writers, the two of us love to do the research and learn about life in the past. Plus, historical notions of propriety are great for adding sizzle to a story. There is so much built in to keep the soon-to-be lovers apart. A careless moment alone with a man could ruin a woman’s reputation. Naughty is sexy, and in the Victorian era there was oh-so-much that was naughty.

EMMA & JACKIE: What do you find most challenging about writing historical romance, and what do you find most fun about it?

Anthea Lawson: The biggest challenge is writing a strong heroine that the modern reader will enjoy, while still remaining as true as possible to the conventions of the time. When our hero and heroine first meet, she is mortified because her skirts are kilted up above her knees. We had to make sure the reader realized that the modern equivalent to what our heroine experienced would be getting knocked over by a wave at a crowed beach, standing up to rub the salt water out of your eyes, and only then realizing that the sea had carried your bikini top away.

The most fun thing is putting in all the rich details that make a period come alive, and getting to live there in our imagination.

EMMA & JACKIE: What do you think makes a good hero for a romance novel, one your readers fall in love with?

Anthea Lawson: Certainly we like the romance hero archetype: Handsome, charming, sure of himself, loyal (whether he admits it to himself or not), engaged, sensual, protective. A hero should have some combination of good qualities, but what really makes a reader (and a writer) fall in love with him is not his strengths, but the weaknesses he struggles with and overcomes.

EMMA & JACKIE: What’s a day in the writing life of Anthea Lawson like?

Anthea Lawson: Anthea has a few uninterrupted hours in the middle of the day (hopefully) to write (and valiantly refuse the temptations of the internet). In the evenings Lawson brainstorms plot points and scenes, and on weekends we go over the newest chapter/scene together, both of us rolling up our sleeves and re-writing as much is necessary. Sometimes writing happens late into the night as well, depending on deadlines.

EMMA & JACKIE: What do you have in store for lucky readers?

Anthea Lawson: ALL HE DESIRES will be a November release from Kensington Zebra. Also set in the early Victorian era, it’s the story of a physician self-exiled to the Isle of Crete, and the one woman who can lead him from the shadows back into the light.

EMMA & JACKIE: Is there anything else you’d like to share with your readers? New releases? Special projects? Signings, etc?

Anthea Lawson: Anthea will be on the East Coast in July, appearing July 6th at Lady Jane’s Salon reading series in NYC. She will also be at the RWA National Conference’s Literacy for Life signing in DC on Wednesday, July 15th, then back home in Olympia, WA to participate in the Hot Summer Nights romance series at our local Border’s books on Wednesday, July 22nd.

Thank you for inviting us to be a part of the We Heart Historicals celebration!

EMMA & JACKIE: Thank you so very much for visiting us Anthea. And readers, don’t forget comment and you’ll be entered to win a copy of PASSIONATE. Wanna learn more about Anthea and their novels? You can visit their website here.