I’d like to welcome Ana Morgan, author of Stormy Hawkins to my blog today.
RW: Tell us about
yourself, your family, where you live, etc.
AM: I had an intercontinental childhood, immersed in the disparate cultures
of Washington, D.C., Europe and Africa. So, when my new, ex-Marine husband
announced he wanted to try dairy farming in northern Minnesota, I said, “Sure.”
(We’re still together.)
RW: Why did you
decide to write? When did you submit your first manuscript and what genre was
it?
AM: The nag to write started after a horoscope reading. The astrologer said, “If
you aren’t writing, you should be.” I committed to writing after I read a
contrived ending in well-known romance writer’s book. I assured myself I could
do better. (I had a lot to learn.)
RW: Has your life
changed since you became a writer? What’s the best thing about being a writer?
AM: I get up early, usually between four and five am, so I can write when the house is quiet, before I have to
go to work.
Two best things about
writing:
1.
The sense of joy after reaching each mini-milestone, be it crafting a
just-right sentence, uncovering a character’s deepest emotions, or typing The
End.
2.
The amazing generosity of the romance writer community.
RW: Who are your
favorite authors? Who influenced your writing?
AM: I will always be in awe of Jane Austin, Bertrice Small, and Robert
Heinlein. Each time I reread their stories, I am humbled by their ability to
tell a story.
RW: How much does
reader feedback matter to you? Do your fans’ comments and letters influence you
in any way? Do you have a favorite comment or question from a reader?
AM: Stormy Hawkins is my first published book, and I have been thrilled to receive four and
five-star reviews. I labored over the manuscript for five years, often doubting
it would ever be good enough. When a reviewer wrote that she was looking
forward to book two, I was over the moon.
RW: How much of your
personality and life experiences are in your writing?
AM: Some scenes in Stormy Hawkins
are based on real experience. I’ve herded cattle, put in fence posts, cooked on
a wood stove. We borrowed a bull from a neighbor one summer, and it tried to
kill me.
RW: How do you come
up with story ideas? What kind of research do you do for a book?
AM: I start with an issue that interest me: herbal vs modern medicine;
reincarnation; gossip in a small town, etc. I conjure a hero and heroine who
start on opposing sides of the issue. Then I add in a villain who can destroy
them unless they overcome their differences.
About a quarter of the time it takes to write
a story is devoted to research. I check most every historical detail, for my
Soul Mate editor will call out everything she can’t verify.
RW: Would you like
to write a different genre or sub-genre than you do now?
AM: I have a time-travel that needs a rewrite. I have a half-written contemporary
suspense on hold until I fulfill a contract for two sequels to Stormy Hawkins.
RW: What are your
thoughts on love scenes in romance novels?
AM: I cut my author teeth on Beatrice Small’s erotic historicals and Robert
Heinlein’s chauvinist science fiction. Neither shied from descriptive sex, but
neither fully developed emotional arcs. I feel a good author has to do both.
RW: Bubble baths or
steamy showers? Ocean or mountains? Puppies or kittens? Chocolate or caramel?
AM: Steamy showers! Kittens.
(Puppies grow into dogs and I am not good at dog training.) Definitely chocolate, preferably dark.
I hate to choose between oceans and
mountains. I live far from both right
now, and I miss both deeply. But lovely seasides and ski slopes tend to be
crowded places. I do like living in a log cabin hidden in the woods.
RW: Those are all
the questions I have for you. Thank you for speaking to me.
Stormy Hawkins
The Plot
Blade
Masters has finally spotted his ideal Dakota Territory ranch, where he can live
alone, forget his cheating ex-fiancée, and bury the shards of his shattered
heart. All he needs to do is sweet-talk the ailing owner, and his spitfire
daughter, into retiring.
If she weren’t desperate, Stormy
would never hire a cowhand. She’s learned the hard way that she’s happier
working her family’s ranch alone. But, the greedy banker who holds their mortgage
just demanded payment in full—or her hand in marriage.
Will this
handsome drifter protect her? Or does he have designs of his own?
An Excerpt:
Stormy gripped Blade’s hand as they approached
the docks.
Fires in iron cressets, mounted on poles, gave
off smelly black smoke and illumined the dock with an eerie, writhing glow.
Hulking men in mismatched clothes spit tobacco on the rough-hewn planks
suspended over the river. A woman wearing an eye patch leaned against a stack
of burlap sacks and tossed a small dagger into the air.
Showing no fear of challenge, Blade strode
purposefully through the maze of goods piled on the pier. Soot-covered dock
rats who stared at Stormy soon looked another way and said, “Evening, sir.”
Blade stopped a foot from the edge of the dock
and looked down at the river.
She did the same and gasped. The water flowed
with a ghostly light.
“Moonlight reflects off silt particles
suspended in the water. Missouri River freighters run day and night.”
With a stab of guilt, Stormy realized Blade’s
tales of working on the river were true. She’d chosen not to trust him. About
this and a lot of other things. Hoping he wouldn’t read her face, she turned
her head and peered downriver. “I don’t see the freighter.”
Blade tapped her arm and pointed in the
opposite direction.
Ana Morgan
Bio
When she was small, Ana Morgan’s
dream was to know something about everything. She has studiously waitressed,
driven a school bus, run craft service on indie film sets, wandered through
European castles, wired a house, married a Marine, canned vegetables, and
studied the stars. She knows how to change a flat tire but prefers gallant,
handsome strangers who strip off their jackets and spin the lug nuts for her.
Ana embarked on her writing
career by crafting succinct cooking directions for her Secret Garden soup
mixes—and graduated to lyrical essays about living on a small organic farm for
her CSA’s weekly newsletter. Eventually she realized she wanted to write what
she loved to read—steamy romance novels.
She and her husband eloped six
weeks after they met and moved from southern California to northern Minnesota.
They taught themselves how to milk cows (at first by hand), and raised three
go-getter children. One is an award-winning woodworker. Another is IT
super-smart. The third is an actor-director-producer.
Ana edits for a regional literary
publication, “The Talking Stick,” and currently serves as president of From the
Heart Romance Writers.
Book
Links:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2wXgykQ
Contact
Ana at anamorgan1950@gmail.com
Website: http://anamorgan.net/
Twitter: @anamorganana
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B075PC6RVG
