VBT: Interview with Loni Lynne

Storm Goddess Book Reviews: Interview with Loni Lynne, author of Wanted: One Ghost

Welcome to my stop on the Wanted: One Ghost tour! Today I have an interview with the author. My review will post later this week.  Please help me welcome Loni Lynne to the blog!

Loni will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B&N gift card (winner’s choice) to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

Follow along with the tour to enter more! The more you comment, the better chances you get! 

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/05/virtual-book-tour-wanted-one-ghost-by.html

Tell me about yourself, and your writing.

I’m a Navy veteran, domestic goddess, mother of two daughters who are both out of high school now and pursuing college degrees. I write what hits me at the moment. Mostly paranormal/fantasy romances, but I enjoy just the ‘what if’ brainstorms hitting me at random times. It could be fantasy, contemporary, current event kind of stuff, or a dream that wakes me up at two o’clock in the morning.

How long have you been writing? How many published books do you have, and what genres?

I’ve been writing since I was thirteen years old. It wasn’t until about four years ago that my hubby encouraged me to actually finish a story and gave me a year to do it and have it ready to publish. I finished that story and many more but Wanted: One Ghost is the first one to be published in the fantasy/paranormal romance genre.

Do you write in multiple genres or just one? If just one, do you ever consider straying outside your genre?

So far I’ve written mostly paranormal/fantasy romances but I do have a contemporary Navy story that I hope to have out soon.

Are you a plotter or do you write from the seat of your pants?

Definitely a pantser! I let the characters ‘live’ the story from start to finish. My head and heart are just watching and listening while I let my fingers fly over the keyboard to capture it all. It plays like a movie in my head when I write. Though lately, I do have a generic outline of the story before I start.

What is a typical writing day like for you?

Usually I get up around five o’clock in the morning (thank you Navy) and work for a couple of hours before the rest of the household starts to rise. But now that my kids are grown and not on public school schedules I’ve been sitting down after morning chores around ten o’clock, writing for a few hours before lunch and then getting back to it early afternoon until hubby gets home. I can usually pop out a good 3-5k a day depending on interruptions and such.

Who do you love to read? Favorite authors, favorite books?

This is always a tough question for me! There are so many! I’m an eclectic reader and will read whatever catches my eye at the time. I love Sherrilyn Kenyon and her Dark Hunter series, Lynsay Sands and her Argeneau/Vampire series, Cindy Miles does wonderful Scottish ghost stories, but I also enjoy reading some of the Indie authors I’ve gotten to know since being in the loops.

What is something you'd like to accomplish in your writing career next year?

I would like to see my sequel to Wanted: One Ghost published and possibly my contemporary Navy story out. I’m hoping to have another paranormal romance series started in the next few months so having a publisher for them would be awesome, too.

If you could have one paranormal ability, what would it be?

I think I would like to have the gift of psychometry. My heroine in Wanted: One Ghost has it and I had so much fun writing about her ability to distinguish the past history of an antique object by touching it.

If you could keep a mythical/ paranormal creature as a pet, what would you have?

I’ve been researching a bit of Romanian folk lore lately and there is a creature known as a Zmeu. He was a shape-shifting dragon-like creature who stole the fair maidens from their homes only to have the handsome prince come to her rescue. Truthfully, I see him as a misunderstood creature trying to find companionship.

Tell us a little about your latest release.

Wanted: One Ghost is a paranormal/fantasy romance based on two people and their belief in ‘fate’. How else can a 238 year old colonial ghost come to life than by association with a historian who has a unique psychometric ability to not only touch him but bring him to life? It takes the help of the heroine’s unique family, some ghosts from the past and a good bit of historical research to help her ghost find his true destiny. Sometimes you just have to ‘believe in fate’? J

What is something that you absolutely can't live without? (Other than family members)

Lately, my laptop, my Kurig coffee machine and my wonderful critique group (love you, ladies) and RWA chapter mates, who keep me going with my stories!

Could you ever co author a book with someone? If so, who would you choose, and what would you write?

It would be difficult. Because I’m such a pantser when it comes to writing I’m not sure how anyone would be able to work with me. I think it would almost have to be a ‘round robin’ kind of deal in which each of us took a chapter and fed off of one another. Not sure how that would turn out because I’m a bit quirky at times…okay, most of the time…fine, ALL of the time! LOL

If you could spend a day with anyone from history, dead or alive, who would it be, and what would you do? What would you ask them?

There are so many fascinating characters out there from history. One that I would have loved to meet is Poe. His writings are so macabre and emotional. I would just sit and sip cognac with him and listen to him talk about his writings in general. I would ask him where he got his inspiration for the characterizations of his books.

What are some of your other hobbies outside of writing?

I love reading of course! But I’m also an avid counted cross-stitcher, family gamer, baker and a recent love my ‘gaming’ daughter turned me on to is Oblivion: The Elder Scrolls. I love the graphics and adventures of the video game and the music is so tranquil and soothing. I will plan a rainy day or a quiet Friday evening and enjoy hours of it. It’s another form of escaping from reality a bit.

If you were on the staff to have a book adapted to movie, what would you pick?

I’m still waiting to see Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter series in film. I think Darynda Jones’, First Grave on the Right would be awesome, too.

What is a talent you wish you had, but don't?

Singing. My chorus director in junior high, very diplomatically, suggested I try something else… lol!

Favorite color?

It’s a toss-up lately between dark green or teal blue. I’ve been complemented for wearing both colors so I have tops in those colors in my closet.

Weather: Hot or cold?

Cold. You can always put more clothes on. ;)

Favorite place to read?

My comfy couch on a rainy day (when I’m not planning an Oblivion gaming day). Or across my bed when I have a good hour to spare.

Favorite meal

Again, a toss-up. My hubby makes an awesome grilled London Broil with baked potatoes and roasted corn on the cob. Or occasionally he will do a Low Country Boil with shrimp, crab legs, sausage, potatoes and corn on the cob. Either one will get my mouth to watering…okay, now I’m drooling all over my desk! Wonder if I have some London Broil in the freezer?

Favorite non-alcoholic drink.

My oldest daughter makes a wonderful sweet tea that is not too sweet but just right.

If you could travel anywhere and do anything, no limits or money holding you back, where would you go?

Everywhere!! Growing up I moved around the country so much that I learned to appreciate the different regions and cultures of the United States. We are truly a melting pot of diverse and fascinating landscapes, climates and people. Some days I dream of RVing around the country and writing as I see the sites and talk to the locals. But I would love to go to Europe and explore all the ancient cities and castles, touch history and breathe it all in. I’ve really wanted to go to Romania lately because of my heritage and the fascination I have with the mystical land and history.

Thank you so much for having me on your site today! This was so much fun and I loved your questions! Looking forward to hearing from your readers. Just remember… ‘Believe in fate’.

Wanted: One Ghost  

by Loni Lynne

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BLURB:

Stuck in ghostly limbo for 238 years, James Addison can't move on to an afterlife. After being falsely accused of treason and executed, fate's cursed him to remain an earth-bound specter until he meets a historian sent to research his past.

Distrustful of fate, Dr. April Branford wants to be taken seriously, but her unique ability to divine history by touching objects seriously compromises her credibility. Her latest assignment? James Addison, a legendary colonial ladies' man with a shadowy past. Without much to go on, she doesn't hold out much hope to discover the man behind the legend until the day she accidentally touches him and brings him back to life.

With the help of family and ghosts from James’s past, they unravel the truth. But after falling in love and with time running out, it’s hard for April to believe in fate and a future where forever is now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Excerpt   

James Addison stopped in his tracks and turned around, sensing he wasn’t alone. A young woman dressed in leggings and woolens, her small, flat hat cocked jauntily over her eyes stood there, smiling at him.

Could she see him or was she looking at something behind him?

No. Impossible! No one could see him.

She examined the damn tree.

“Did you ever wonder what trees would tell us if they could talk?” She glanced towards him again. “Do you think James Addison hanged from these branches?”

James looked to the right of him, to the left. No one was there. Who was she talking to, the blasted tree?

“I wonder why he was never given a trial. Wasn’t the Treason Act of 1695 enacted at the time? James Addison should have been provided a counsel and jury for his crimes.” She turned towards him again. “Was he really executed for treason?”

“Was he really executed for treason?” James said, mimicking her feminine voice with his own British brogue. He walked toward the odd girl, wanting to shout in her face at the idiocy of her questioning the bloody tree. Didn’t she know how foolish she looked? “No, he wasn’t executed for treason. He was beaten to a bloody pulp and murdered!”

With eyes gone wide, the girl stared up at him.

“Murdered?” she asked back. “Are you sure?”

James stiffened. Dear God in heaven! Was she actually talking to him? He looked behind him to see if she might be addressing someone else. No one was there. Gathering his wits, he studied her closely. Could this girl actually hear him, see him?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:  

Loni Lynne is a stay at home mom, domestic goddess, U.S. Navy Veteran and

lover of all things vintage/shabby-chic/Victorian and antique. From china cups

and tea sets to lace doilies crocheted by hand (her grandmother made the best)

she believes a touch of femininity never goes out of style.

Growing up all over the country she's been blessed with experiencing a good

deal of culture and lifestyles. Much like her personality, she has eclectic

tastes in what she likes to read and write. There is no 'one' genre in which

she settles for.

God and fate have been big influences in her life. Both have taken her to

places she never thought she'd be, both in the physical sense and in the

spiritual. She wrote brief stories and snippets of life as it happened to her

in her youth, and encouraged by her teachers, continued to write. Blessed with

a loving supportive family growing up, she was able to explore her options

which at times have been put into use in her stories. The Navy--and fate,

afforded her the opportunity to meet her Army, "Annapolis-native" husband and

team up with him to parent two beautiful daughters.

Years later, her husband gave her the best birthday present ever--a laptop, a

membership to Romance Writers of America and a goal to complete a

manuscript for submission by her next birthday. She did it. A few years later

she was blessed with one of those novels, Wanted: One Ghost, as her

debut novel.

Believe in Fate

Links:

http://www.lonilynne.com

http://www.crescentmoonpress.com

https://twitter.com/#!/LoniLynne1

https://www.facebook.com/lonilynne