Today's Special - - Nancy Northcott

It's my pleasure to welcome Nancy Northcott back to The Romance Dish today!  I've been captivated by the world of mages and mundanes that Nancy has created in her debut series and eagerly anticipate each new story she publishes.  The newest, GUARDIAN gives us the story of Dr. Stefan Harper, a hero for whom fans have been begging and, believe me, he's well worth the wait!  

For more information about Nancy, visit her website, like her at Facebook, follow her on Twitter and connect with her through other links on her site.    

Hi Nancy!  Welcome back to The Romance Dish!  Congratulations on the release of GUARDIAN.  As someone who has been eagerly anticipating Stefan’s story, let me say that it was well worth the wait!  Will you please tell our readers what to expect from this book?

Thank you, PJ, and thanks for having me.  I’m glad you enjoyed the book.

Guardian is a second chance at love story.  In it, Stefan Harper, the mage doctor, again encounters the woman he loved and lost when he was in med school.  She’s now an FBI agent, Camellia “Mel” Wray, and he’s the consulting doctor on a murder case she’s investigating.  The sparks between them flare again as soon as they meet, but there’s still a lot standing in their way.

She doesn’t believe in magic or paranormal powers, and her skepticism drove them apart nine years ago.

Because he knew how she felt, he lied when he went away to study magical healing.  Of course Mel eventually busted him about not being where he was supposed to be.  Rather than tell her a truth he knew she wouldn’t believe, he let her think he’d been unfaithful.  He thought it was better to be dumped for lying than for lying coupled with delusions.

As though the old distrust between him and Mel weren’t enough, he immediately realizes this is no ordinary murder, that  the mages’ old enemies the ghouls are involved.  He can’t tell law enforcement that, though.  The mages keep their existence a secret.  Even if they didn’t, Mundane (normal) humans aren’t equipped to battle supernatural beings.  Mel soon realizes he’s keeping something back, and that adds to the friction in their already difficult dealings.

Stefan and Mel have quite a lengthy – and rocky – road to their happy ending.  What would you like readers of GUARDIAN to understand about each of these characters? 

Seeing Mel forces Stefan to admit he never stopped wanting her.  He knows they have no future unless he can be honest with her, but if he tells her more about the magical world than she can accept and keep secret, the mages will wipe knowledge of them from her mind.  That could destroy her, as he knows too well because the fallout of such an event when he was in his teens devastated him.  Yet he longs to be with her.  He’s caught between his duty to his fellow mages and his burning desire to try again with her.

In contrast to Stefan, with his big circle of friends, Mel has felt like an outsider for most of her life.  She despises the idea of anything magical because her mom’s New Age ideas made her an object of ridicule in her hometown.  College gave her a fresh start in a new place.  She found acceptance  and love with him through the music they shared.  In class and in her job, she feels she earned her place by making herself valuable, by proving herself time and again. 

She doesn’t give her trust easily, and she’s doubly reluctant to give it to someone who not only betrayed it once, she believes, but works at place devoted to what she sees as paranormal nonsense.  Like many people, she’s trapped in a cage of childhood hurts and fears even though she doesn’t see herself that way.

Once again, setting is an important component of this book.  I’m fascinated by the mysteries of the Okefenokee Swamp and the unique character of the town of Wayfarer.  

What draws you to this area and what qualities does it have that makes this the perfect backdrop for these stories?

As I’ve said before, I had vague memories of the Okefenokee from a childhood visit.  I liked the name, a swamp seemed to have great spookiness potential, and I’d been told swamps had unique energy.  That was enough to start.

The mages’ power is nature-based.  That made the swamp attractive but also is ironic because I am so not Nature Girl. I like my surroundings climate-controlled and my wildlife safely distant.

I kept references to the swamp at a minimum initially because I couldn’t get to south Georgia and so had to rely on internet research, which can be dicey.  Since Renegade sold, I’ve visited the Okefenokee several times and am totally entranced.  I’ve seen thousands of stars overhead on a black velvet sky after a sunset cruise, admired the flowers and other plants along the water, and been struck by the story potential of Spanish moss cascading from the trees to form little alcoves along the water.

The Okefenokee Swamp, despite its name, isn’t really a swamp but a blackwater peat bog with sandy islands in it.  It isn’t muddy except along the water’s edge, and the water and ground don’t smell.  So it’s not quite as icky a setting as the name implies.

As an aside, I’d be less entranced if I ever saw an alligator or other predator having a meal, so readers can be sure they won’t see that either.  At least not in a book of mine.  This is romance, not horror.

The town of Wayfarer came into being because I wanted Griff, the hero of Renegade, and his friends to have a place where they could hang out safely.  Small towns tend to close ranks around their own.  Even a short-term resident qualifies when total strangers are asking questions.  And I thought it might be handy, considering that this series revolves around mages, if the town happened to be very accepting of supernatural and paranormal phenomena.

You’ve been blessed with some gorgeous covers!  What goes into the making of a cover?  Does the author have any input?

Thanks, PJ!  I love them, too.  I’m not sure what the steps are for making a cover, but I was asked to describe the hero and heroine and list covers I liked.  I actually said I was not much for shirtless male torso covers, but I changed my mind as soon as I saw the design for Renegade and could only say “Wow!”

I think the degree of author input varies from house to house and possibly from editor to editor, but I did have input into the weaponry on the covers and some other details. 

Will we be returning to Wayfarer for more stories?  Specifically, is there a woman out there waiting to steal Will’s heart?  I picked up on a few subtle hints in GUARDIAN that have me hoping!

Your hopes will be rewarded on both fronts.  *g* Wayfarer will figure in all the books to some degree or another.  We’ll also see the Collegium and the swamp regularly.

There may be a novella first, but the next full-length novel book will be Will’s.  We’ll see what kind of woman it takes to pierce his shell of breezy charm and touch his heart.  For those who don’t know, Will is an archaeologist, ace researcher, and ladies’ man.  The story revolves around a discovery in the swamp that will be pivotal.

Yay!  Can't wait for Will's story and to find out all about the swamp discovery!

Summer has arrived in our part of the world.   Any fun plans?

Not so far.  We’re hoping to get away for a few days, but we’re all juggling a lot, so we’ll have to see.

This is the time of year when many of us catch up with our reading.  What books are on your “must read” summer list?

You know, so many books come out every month that it’s tough for me to keep up with what’s out there.  My Romance Bandit blogmates, of course, are wonderfully prolific. I recently finished Summer at Mustang Ridge by Jesse Hayworth, Nowhere Safe by Dianna Love, Death, Taxes, & Pink Leg Warmers by Diane Kelly, and Carolina Girl by Virginia Kantra. I have Beckman by Grace Burrowes up next and am eagerly awaiting Ilona Andrews’ Magic Rises and Karin Slaughter’s Unseen.

Will you be at any conferences this year where readers can meet you?

I’ll be at RWA and am in the Grand Central signing, which is open to registered attendees only, on that Saturday.  I’m attending Moonlight & Magnolias, which is always a great conference, and I’m speaking on worldbuilding at the Emerald City Writers Conference in Seattle.   Just for the fun of it, I’m going to Dragon*Con.

That's a pretty busy schedule.  How do you relax in your off time?

I read, watch movies, or sit outside and watch the birds.  Even when I’m working on a book, I have to step away for a while and clear my head.

Thanks so much for visiting with us today, Nancy.  Do you have a question for our readers?

Actually, I have several.  

Do you love the outdoors, or are you happier inside with a book?  

When was the last time you saw the stars without light pollution?  

If you read paranormal romance, what was the last one you read?

Thanks again for having me, PJ!

My pleasure, Nancy!

One randomly chosen person leaving a comment will receive a NetGalley e-copy of Guardian.