Tell us about your latest book. What inspired it? Is this a series and if so, how many books are you planning? If not, do you plan to have any spin-off’s from secondary characters inthe future?
Susan says: I was inspired to write Delora’s Necklace following a trip to the Yucatan Peninsula. I scaled the treacherous steps of the Pyramid of Kukulkan, and I imagined being transported to the age of the Mayans as I scanned the vast terrain of Mayan ruins.
Delora’s Necklace will be followed by Miami Mayan, which I am currently writing. The tables are turned in the sequel, as our hero travels forward in time to modern-day Miami, where he lands at South Beach to the delight of locals who hope his loincloth will be the next fashion trend.
Karen says: The inspiration for UNTIMELY PARTNERS was a trip my husband and I took to Teotihuacan, Mexico. Traveling always gives me ideas for stories. The locations spark ideas/plots/characters/conflicts. You could say that geography is the basis for my ideas.
Yes, UNTIMELY PARTNERS is the first of the Mayan Mysteries, a series of time-travel and paranormal romances set in ancient Toltec, Mayan, and Aztec locations. So far, another two books are in the works for this series, but I see no end to the number of books since there are so many unique sites in Mesoamerica. As of this writing, I’m not planning any spinoffs from secondary characters, but several readers and reviewers have come to love the character they hate: the evil nemesis, Chac Mool
What element of writing in your genre is hardest for you? Easiest?
Karen Says: Believe it or not, writing love scenes that are tempting yet not distasteful are difficult for me. I’ve read numerous other books that use phrases like “wet pussy” that are a complete turnoff for me. I want my readers to vicariously experience love-making, not gratuitous sex.
Susan Says: I love the research, and I really endeavored to make this book true to the time period. I’m finding it more difficult to describe modern life through the eyes of my ancient hero than it was to describe Mayan life through my modern heroine. What would an ancient man call “traffic,” for instance, or what would he think of automobiles, television, indoor plumbing?
Do you have any pet peeves as a writer? As a reader?
Susan says: I’m pretty attuned to the requirements of today’s commercial fiction, and my style is punchy. That said, I don’t have much patience as a reader for lengthy descriptions that slow the action.
Karen Says: As a writer, my pet peeve is that creative writing is only a tiny portion of the writing profession. Most of my time is spent promoting, which of course takes time away from writing, my favorite thing. As a reader, my pet peeve is graphic, gratuitous sex. I look for romance, not a cheap one-page stand, so to speak ;^)
If you could ask readers in your genre one question, what would it be and why?
Karen Says: I would ask what other readers think about graphic, gratuitous sex, as opposed to true romance. I can’t believe I’m the only reader (therefore, writer) who enjoys titillation without T&A being the bulk of the story. Why? Knowing what other readers think/want in a book would help me to write to their preferences.
Susan Says: If you could travel back in time for a day, where would you go? I’m always fascinated by what era of history appeals to my readers.
What do you think is most important in the relationship between the main characters?
Karen Says: The most important part of a relationship between the main characters is a simpatico bond. These two need to be friends, to have various levels of beliefs/drives in common – just like in life. Relationships in my books need to build upon a solid basis, not just a roll in the proverbial hay.
Susan Says: Conflict is certainly what makes the reader keep reading, but I think humor woven into conflict really pumps up the interest.
How long does it take for you to create, write and submit to your editor a finished book?
Susan Says: It can vary. My publisher recently asked for a 10,000-word story for an upcoming print anthology, and I had 30 days to complete it. That was the quickest I’ve finished a project. I must have done something right because Three-Toed Annie just received second place in a national romantic short story contest. On the other hand, I worked on Delora’s Necklace for two years.
Karen Says: Am embarrassed to say it takes me over a year to create, write and submit to an editor. Why? First comes the basic story, which I put away for a few months, and then take out to edit with fresh eyes. Then comes the weaving in of threads throughout the story, so, to a careful reader, there really are no total surprises, just twists that have breadcrumb trails – if you go back and look. I also work full time, so creative space is very difficult to come by ;^(
If one of your books was made into a movie, who do you think would capture your characters perfectly?
Karen Says: Lucy Liu would be perfect to play Lane MacKenzie in Sovereignty of the Dragons, a romantic thriller set in Taiwan. Lane MacKenzie is a US Senator’s daughter who finds herself caught between two men, two political ideologies and the two Chinas as they grapple for control of the two Chinas.
Susan Says: I imagine running into Selma Hayek at the grocery store, telling her about Delora’s Necklace, and having her jump up and down (imagine boobs in motion), saying she just HAS to produce it. Haven’t gotten farther than that. I’ll let Ms. Hayek choose the actors.
Anything in the pipeline for 2009? Can we get a sneak look into upcoming projects?
Karen Says: Yes, I’m currently working on You Are Here, a paranormal, time-travel romance set in Mexico City.
Susan Says: I’m working on Miami Mayan, the sequel to Delora’s Necklace. Here’s the BEGINNING…
Miami Herald – “Quentin’s Quips” by Quentin Hyatt
“Loincloth Ups Exposure at South Beach ”
Are we heading for a swimsuit revolution? Yesterday at South Beach , our bastion of shock and awe, I spotted a buff Hispanic man in a turquoise loincloth languishing center stage, or in this case, within plain view of Collins Avenue . His burnished bronze physique provided the ideal showcase for his stunning fashion statement, and his rippled muscles seemed to scream, “Try this, if you dare!” Honestly, he was the most gorgeous guy I’ve seen in a long time, and you know I’m an aficionado.
I consulted with Jeanne Pratt, a fashion designer and author of our weekly column, “Hot Couture.”
With her Chanel glasses sliding down her nose, she bemoaned, “Why do I miss all the fun? Seriously, think about it. With just one length of material and a few twists of the wrist, you’ve got the hottest pants since Jessica Simpson bent over in the ‘Dukes of Hazzard.’”
I asked Jeanne if loincloths would need an instruction manual, should they be mass-marketed.
“Probably,” she said, “but can you picture the packaging? Not to mention the fun of application. And of course, you’d need to include instructions pour deux.”
My conumdrum? How many hours will I need to spend doing butt crunches to pull this off?
Jeanne wasn’t finished with her fashion predictions. “If these things take hold, they could alter the tan lines of the Miami male.” She snapped her fingers and sat up a bit straighter in my Barcelona chair. “Okay, I’ve got it. What do you think of when I say ‘loincloths’? The Mayans, right? We’ll call our little gems ‘Miami Mayans.’”
I asked her how quickly she thought she could get them to retailers.
“We should be able to make the fall runway shows in Milan and Paris ,” she said, checking dates on her Blackberry. “From there, we can get them on the shelves by next spring.”
Noting the bloom of perspiration on her upper lip, I fanned her with the latest copy of Vogue.
“You might be onto something,” I said.
For fun: If the world was going to end, what comic book hero would like to rescue you: Iron Man or Batman?
Karen says: Hmmm…I would choose Batman since he has an obvious affinity for animals. Since I always try to include an animal as one of my “characters,” Batman would most likely be my choice ;^)
Susan Says: I’d have to go with Batman because I love bats!
*************************
Sneak look into Delora’s Necklace by Susan Blexard:
Delora slept fitfully. As the dawn bathed the cave in soft light, she awoke with a start from a dream in which she had made love with Ashwan. She sat up to calm her racing heart. The last time she’d felt anything similar was when she failed to clear a hurdle in a track meet and landed flat on her chest. She put her head between her knees and gasped for breath. Slowly, she was able to capture some air in her constricted lungs. The events of the past day came flooding back to her. She looked across the cave to where Ashwan slumbered, and she buried her face in her hands.
In her dream, he had carried her into the cenote and set her down in waist-deep water. With her arms around his neck, he pressed his lips to her temple and inhaled her in the way a jaguar would sniff intoxicating prey. He took her face in his hands and traced his lips from her temple to her mouth, where he nibbled seductively on her lower lip before closing his mouth over hers and finding her welcoming tongue. He explored her mouth, and then moved his hands to her buttocks, spreading the back of her thighs with his fingers and testing her wetness as he lifted her onto his erect penis, filling her velvety sheath.
He swept one hand from her buttocks to the front of their conjoined bodies, easing his fingers between her feminine folds and caressing the bud that was as pink and aroused as the head of his erection. He knew exactly what pace to take with her, plunging deeply for several strokes, and then stopping to rub her engorged flower with his fingers until she begged him to stop.
Twice he pulled back just at the brink of her climax, until on the third crescendo she begged him to let her finish. Knowingly, he eased both his hands back to her buttocks and tilted her pelvis ever so slightly, so that her clitoris was rubbed by the base of his manhood at the same time his penis reached the depth of her womb. “Look in my eyes,” he said, as he plunged deeper into her pulsing sheath. “Come with me…now.”
Crying out, they reached their pleasure together.
It was a dream for the books. She was glad she still wore the Mayan shift, which provided easy access. She eased her hand below the hem of the short dress and under the elastic of her bikini underwear. With her middle finger, she touched her engorged clitoris. She’d never been so wet. She felt the heat in her face and the swell of her breasts as she began to rhythmically massage her bud. With her other hand, she pinched her nipple until she bit her lip from her arousal.
Lying on her side, facing the slumbering Ashwan, she closed her eyes and tilted her head back as she continued to circle her erect nipple and rub her feminine bud. As in her dream, she tried to recapture the way Ashwan had orchestrated their pleasure, stopping at the precipice of her climax and allowing herself to prolong the ecstasy. All the while, she imagined Ashwan was inside her.
As pleasurable as her self-inflicted delight was, she reached the point where her strongest desire was to be filled with him, and that was something she couldn’t accomplish alone. She dragged her eyes open to find his smoldering eyes locked on her.
“Please, do not stop,” he said. “If I cannot pleasure you, then at least grant me the pleasure of watching you.”
Embarrassed beyond words, Delora turned her very frustrated self toward the wall and curled up in a ball. She addressed the wall. “I can’t believe you saw that.”
“I understand your frustration, my love. I have felt that way since you left.”
“It’s not frustration. I had a dream. That’s all.”
“And what did you dream of?”
“I dreamed we made love.” Damn, I shouldn’t have admitted that.
“A dream is a poor substitute for the real thing.” Ashwan smiled. “Please tell me about it.”
“We were in the cenote.”
“We made love in the cenote?” He chuckled. “That would be very difficult.”
She turned back to face him. “What’s so funny?”
“Well, my love, you are quite beautiful, and I have no doubt you have the power to arouse any man with nothing more than a look. But I fear that even you could not warm passion from a man in water so cold.”
“Okay, I think I get it,” Delora said with a touch of embarrassment.
“I would be glad to draw a picture on the cave wall to help you understand,” he said, no longer able to contain his amusement as his lips curled in a wide grin.
At first, Delora was a bit offended that Ashwan was making fun of her. “No thanks! I don’t need you to draw me a picture,” she said.
As hard as Delora tried to be upset that she was the object of Ashwan’s teasing, she couldn’t help but smile. Even so, she thought it best to put him in his place and said, “Well, I guess you Mayan warriors aren’t as hard, I mean as tough, as you think you are.”
***************
Sneak look into Untimely Partners by Karen Bartell:
Excerpt: Untimely Partners
by Karen Hulene Bartell – Copyright 2009
A lump rose in her throat, and she gasped. Inexplicably, she began trembling. The plaque read that the skeletons were a burial offering, a human sacrifice found at the Temple of Quetzalcoatl. She couldn’t comprehend why, but she was drawn closer and closer until she was leaning over the low, Plexiglas barrier. Almost in a trance, she reached to touch, to gently commune with the skeletal remains. Suddenly she heard the dozen shrill pipes being blown loudly, heard the thud of children running, and felt herself being pushed over the foot-high barrier, straight into the skeletons’ sandy interment.
She screamed and felt herself falling…falling farther than a foot or two. She tumbled down through the sandy level via a translucent cornucopia, wide at the top that narrowed until it was a dimly lit, crystal clear tunnel. She felt herself dropping, dropping, like an endless roller coaster, the inertia of her fall forcing her faster and faster through this tapered cylinder. Finally, she landed with a bone-crunching thud that knocked the breath out of her.
When she awoke, she found it was dark except for the starlight.
Where am I? She looked around, thinking how closely the edifice resembled something she had seen but could not remember.
Huge gargoyles loomed in front of her, their eyes fitted with discs of black obsidian. She touched the volcanic glass eyes, feeling their cool smoothness. A wide stairway led to the top of the pyramid, rising seven stories high. Even in the gloom, she could see the rock and mortar were covered with brightly painted plaster in aqua, blue, and red shades.
Is this is the Temple of Quetzalcoatl? As she watched, Venus rose from the horizon. How did I get here?
A low woof alerted her of a white dog at her feet. It sniffed her warily and then began wagging its tail.
“How are you doing, girl?” she said, kneeling down. As she petted the dog, she turned her attention to the talud-tablero temple, wondering why the colors were so vivid.
“It was pale and faded.” She almost remembered this building, but in her elusive memory the paint had been weathered off, and the exterior was crumbling. She tentatively touched the temple’s lowest image of Quetzalcoatl, looking freshly plastered and painted, to see if it were still wet. “And metal rods had propped up the weakened gargoyles,” she muttered to herself.
The dog whined and rubbed against her leg. “What’s going on here, girl?” She sighed and sat in the long shadows of the steps, leaning against the tablero. Before her thoughts could focus, she drifted into a deep but uneasy sleep.
Purchase Untimely Partners online: http://www.lyricalpress.com/paranormal_romance..html
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3 Responses to “Author Spotlight with Susan Blexrud and Karen Bartell”
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Thank you ladies for being here and doing a spotlight. I am enjoying learning where you get your inspiration from.
What made you decide to do a time travel series? Do you plan to do more time travels?
Raine D.
We are thrilled to have Susan as a DCL author. Thank you for having her part of your blog.
Darkest Blessings!
Raine,
I just want to compliment you on the beautiful design of your blog, and to thank you for this great promotional opportunity. Time travels are great fun to research and write, and though I don’t have another in the pipeline at this point, one never knows when Ashwan and Delora will nudge me for another story.