Hey loverlies new and old. Welcome to We heart Historicals, a celebration of Historical Romance. Today’s special guest is the amazing, innovative Brenda Joyce . She’ll be giving away a copy of her book, Dark Seduction. 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. And don’t forgot to join us tomorrow when our very own Jackie Barbosa bares all!!

EMMA & JACKIE: Ms. Joyce, thank you so very much for joining us in our celebration of historical romance and all of its authors and genres. Some authors write one or two books and are never heard from again, but you are among the few who have had incredible longevity in your career. What’s the secret to your longevity?

Brenda Joyce: I truly love what I do and when I write, I have the ability to get inspired. I have never “hacked out” a novel. I believe I would get bored if I was not writing, and my life would lose so much romance!

EMMA & JACKIE: How and when did you start writing?

Brenda Joyce: I started telling stories when I was about 3 or 4 years old—while playing with my horse models. Later, at 6, I directed my friends in little cowboys and Indians dramas. I wrote my first short story when I was twelve—and basically kept on going from there. And yes, it was a love story!

EMMA & JACKIE: Was there ever a time during the beginning of your career or during it that you ever felt like giving up? And if you did, what made you keep going?

Brenda Joyce: I never felt like giving up—I began writing because I HAD to write—I had to tell the stories of my characters, as they demanded it!

EMMA & JACKIE: Your career began writing historicals, what is the difference between your books now and then?

Brenda Joyce: I love history and for me, nothing is more romantic than a bygone era we can only imagine—because time travel does not exist! Back then, readers actually liked long, epic historical romances filled with actual history—and that is what I wrote. In the past few years, I saw how much the readership has changed and I have managed to adapt. I write lighter, shorter and with almost now historical events now—just some period detail. I think its sad, but that’s the key to my longevity as an author. If the readership changes, an author must adapt—and somehow, I managed to stay inspired.

EMMA & JACKIE: What’s the best thing about being a romance writer…and the what’s the worst?

Brenda Joyce: Getting swept away by own my own stories—falling in love with my characters every single time—is the best part of what I do. The worst is dealing with the bureaucracy of publishers, bad copy, bad art, bad promotion, and promises that are never kept. I would love to be left alone to write what I want!

EMMA & JACKIE: What advice do you give aspiring authors?

Brenda Joyce: Make sure you love what you do, because this business has gotten tougher and tougher—less and less people are reading, and bestsellers today sell a lot less than ten or fifteen years ago. It is very hard to get published and stay published today! Be prepared for that. Truthfully, I can’t understand why anyone would want to get into today’s terrible market. It was a boomtown when I got published in 1988. It’s a tough new world!

EMMA & JACKIE: It is a tough new world, but thankfully books have the ability to make almost anything better. And speaking of books, you write some of the best heroes readers have ever read, in your opinion what makes a fantastic hero?

Brenda Joyce: The more alpha and chauvinistic the better—to contrast with the heroine. Because then she really tames the beast! And of course, he must be haunted by some tragedy in his past that makes him so dangerous to love….

EMMA & JACKIE: Love that answer. Gotta love an alpha. How long does it usually take you to write a single-title book?

Brenda Joyce: When I am inspired and ready to write, a couple of months. It wasn’t always that way! I have truly learned my craft.

EMMA & JACKIE: Of all your books, is there one that stands out as a real favorite—the book of your heart?

Brenda Joyce: There are several—The Fires of Paradise (because of bad boy, ex-con Shoz), Promise of the Rose (poor Mary, having to love Stephen!), the Game ( Liam was such a power player) and Dark Rival—Royce might be my current all time favorite hero.

EMMA & JACKIE: I will NEVER forget Fires of Paradise. I read it and it blew my mind. In the other stories I was reading at the time I always felt as if there was something missing, yet even in your earlier books your love scenes were fairly scorching. What made you invite the reader in on some of your heroes and heroines most intimate moments when so many authors were closing the bedroom door?

Brenda Joyce: My heroes and heroines are intensely sexual and terribly passionate, so how could I ignore that? Besides, in my work, love is fated, and even if they do not know they are in love, they are destine to be together, so the love scenes are just that—love scenes.

EMMA & JACKIE: Definitely unforgettable love scenes! Between your horses, writing, and competing your days must be longer than the average persons. Tell us, what is a typical day like in the life of Brenda Joyce like?

Brenda Joyce: I block off chunks of my life and I do not mix training or competing with writing. Right now, I am in training and in the middle of my competition season. An example of a current week is up at 5, walk the dogs about an hour, then ride 3 horses an hour each, working on perfecting various maneuvers. I take care of errands in the afternoon and go out at night on weekends. Tomorrow I am on my way to Del Mar, CA, to show all week, then visiting friends in Sacramento for the weekend. My last show is late June and I have July and August blocked out for writing. I still hike with the dogs very early, then settle down to work all day. I’ll be underground for about 2 weeks, after that, I’ll train 2-3 days at the end of the week. I like to get a good 150 pages done before I go back to riding.

EMMA & JACKIE: Just reading that made me tired. LOL. If you weren’t already one of my heroes you would be after reading that. I absolutely love the Master of Times series. Tell us all about it.

Brenda Joyce: It began as an excuse to write the most alpha heroes I have ever done—imagine, super-powered medieval heroes being tamed my modern women like you and me! But so much has happened—I have fallen in love with those modern women, and have had a chance to grow as a writer—a strong successful 21st century woman is so very different from a 16 year old in medieval or 18 year old Victorian one! The Rose trilogy was as much as about the heroines as the heroes—which is so new for me. And I also fell in love with the paranormal world I created—which has evolved in every book, becoming richer and more complex. And then along came Dark Lover. The hero is supposedly medieval but he is actually a modern man—he grew up in modern times. But he is as dark and sexual as it gets! He has so much angst, such tragedy—which is why he can be such a bad ass. I think Dark Lover is perhaps my best book, ever! Not to mention that Sam, the heroine, is as strong as a modern woman gets. Again, I am stretching as a writer. And it is so much fun!

EMMA & JACKIE: Did you have any idea the series would take off the way it did?

Brenda Joyce: I didn’t see why it wouldn’t. The harder the hero, the better I write. This series showcases the power of my voice.

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

Brenda Joyce: I am going to start Dark Resurrection shortly. If you recall, Jan’s soul mate died in Rome long ago and she has mourned him ever since. Little does she know he was not allowed to die—and is out there, centuries older—and harder.

After that, I intend to do Alexi and Elysse’s story—another de Warenne historical.

EMMA & JACKIE: WOOT! Love the de Warenne series! Is there anything else you’d like to share with your readers? New releases? Special projects? Signings, etc?

Brenda Joyce: Dark Lover will be on sale in late July and it is a Don’t Miss Read.

I am actually in what I call semi-retirement—it is 21 years this June since I was first published, so I do not do conventions, conferences, signings or anything other than writing the best story that I can!

EMMA & JACKIE: Thank you so very much for visiting us Ms. Joyce and thank you for Fires of Paradise and every single unforgetable book you’ve ever written. I truly don’t think anyone can write a hero the way you can. And don’t forget, readers, comment and you’ll be entered to win a copy of Ms. Joyce’s Dark Seduction. Wanna learn more about Brenda Joyce, The Masters of Time Series and her other novels? You can visit her website here and her Masters of Time website here.