Today's Special - - Caren Crane

I am so happy to welcome debut author Caren Crane to The Romance Dish today!  Caren is no stranger to the Dishes.  I have had the pleasure of reading Caren's regular posts at the Romance Bandits blog for the past several years as well as experiencing her sassy wit and humor in person at various romance conferences.  I've been waiting a long time to read a romance written by Caren and am so excited that her book, KICK START,  is finally out there for everyone to enjoy.  I read it last weekend and had such a good time in Caren's fictional town of Cross Springs that I'm ready to return for another visit. Fortunately, Caren plans to take us back there in her second book, CROSS TALK.  

You can learn more about Caren by visiting her website and can connect with her at Facebook and Twitter.  

Welcome, Caren!

My Love Affair with Do-Overs

I don't know when I first heard the term "do-over," but I know that I grasped the concept with both hands. The chance to try again, to fix mistakes, to possibly change your luck, your path, your very future? I was all in!

The trouble is, Life doesn't often give you chances for do-overs. Words cannot be unspoken, actions cannot be undone (or done if they were neglected), no matter how much we might want them to be. We're all sort of stuck with the messes we make. I have children who are 18, 20 and 27. As you can imagine, I have had countless opportunities for "teaching moments" about handling the consequences of one's words and actions. In the interest of full disclosure, I had lots of practice with this myself long before I was a mother. J So I know how rare the do-over really is.

About 12 years ago, I began writing fiction. It was the most exciting thing I had ever done. I quickly realized I knew nothing at all, but then set out to fix that minor problem. After I got the basics under my belt, I figured out the secret of fiction—there are NO RULES. There are tropes and reader expectations but there are no hard and fast rules about what the writer can or cannot make happen. You can't imagine how very exciting this was to me! I—the mostly rule-following good girl—found this freedom a little scary. Okay, kind of terrifying, really. But my characters didn't have to be as scared of this as I was. They could do anything!

When I hit on the concept for my debut novel, Kick Start, I was worried. Not for me, but for Linda, my

heroine. I gave this woman a lot of problems: a bitter divorce, three kids at challenging stages of life, a huge mortgage, no higher education and very little job experience. I also stuck her with a small town full of nosy neighbors, an inferiority complex and a serious need to fit in at all costs. To counter all that, I gave her a great sense of humor, a kick-ass best friend and a bit of a rebellious past. Then I gave her a Secret Weapon.

Linda got a do-over.

Honestly, I was worried for her. Her do-over sort of scared us both. It took her kick-ass best friend to force both of us into action. Her best friend issues a challenge that Linda's long-buried rebellious streak can't resist. She decides to go back to college (something that makes my brain hurt to consider) and, in short order, begins to consider dating a younger man. Her inner approval-seeker is strong, plus she has impressionable children at home. She feels certain no one will approve...but... But. There's that do-over I forced on her. Her younger man, Jack, is exactly her type of man. The kind she dated early and often before she met the man she married. Her ex was not really her type, but an unexpected pregnancy forced Linda to accept him as "the one" for the baby's sake.

Nineteen years later, she has a chance to start again. To consider a new life with a new man. If she can give herself permission. The objections of her community are not all in her head, after all. She gets plenty of unsolicited advice and knows, without a doubt, that giving Jack a chance means life has no chance of ever going back to any semblance of what it was. Life will never be the same. I was terrified for her!

It was hard for me, as a mother and a wife, to think about all the implications such a move would have. If I had to start over, I think I might experience a little of what Linda goes through. I'm not a huge approval seeker, but I want people to think well of me. I think most of us do. To defy the expectations of people you know and love is scary, so seizing the chance for a do-over at love was a Huge Dilemma for my heroine! I really do have a love affair with do-overs, though, and cannot resist giving them to all my (poor, beleaguered) heroines. Watching how each one responds to the challenges the do-over presents is the most exciting part of writing for me.

What about you? Would you seize the chance for a do-over? If so, what would you do again or do differently? I would probably go to medical school, but I have a feeling I would still want to write.  Let me know about your do-over dreams!

PJ here.  I'm giving away two digital copies (Kindle or Nook) of Caren's debut book, KICK START today so let's hear about those do-over dreams!  

Today's Special - - Joan Kayse

I am so excited to welcome Joan Kayse today.  Many of you know Joan as one of the famous (infamous?) Romance Bandits - and we know her as one of the nicest people around - but today we're welcoming her as a newly published debut author!  That's right.  We finally have the opportunity to read about those Roman heroes!  When Joan isn't busy creating sexy heroes, she's busy as an orthopaedic nurse.  Find out more about her at her website and connect with her at Facebook and the  Romance Bandits blog.

Please join me in giving Joan a very warm welcome!

Good morning Dishes!

Heartfelt thanks to PJ and Andrea for having me today.

Rome wasn’t built in a day.

That, my friends has been my motto since the day I decided to get serious about all these stories flying around in my head. I’ve even considered having it tattooed somewhere on, er…my person.

My name is Joan and I write Roman historicals.

Kind of sounds like a 12 step program, doesn’t it? Well, it felt like it in 2001 when I began to explore the alternately astounding, energizing, frustrating, beat your head against the wall, raise your fist with fervor world of romance writing. That was the year I attended my first RWA conference in New Orleans. It was there that I met my first challenge in writing a non-Regency, non-Scottish historical. “I write Roman historicals” I stuttered, still not quite used to actually SAYING I was a writer. Oh, the looks of pity, the soothing “Oh, sweetie…really. Look at the market” responses. Would have withered some. Me? Just made me all the more determined to do just that.

Understand I was a baby writer then, having only been focusing on publication for a little over a year, after my mother passed away and I hit that “evaluate your life” phase of grieving. After all, she bestowed on me my creative mind and passion for the things I love. I grew up reading and loving romance, especially historical romance. Why not write one?

While I adore all types of history, Rome in all of its infamous, magnificent, decadent glory is my favorite period of all. I have no logical explanation for it. I mean the closest I got to studying it was taking two years of high school Latin. Substituting Latin words in the refrain of “Willie Go Round in Circles” was about all I took away from that. Oh, and a major crush on Mr. Powell the teacher J

But I KNEW from the first day I sat down to flesh out THE PATRICIAN  that I would be telling three heroes’ stories and they really, only could take place in Rome. Take a little bit of alpha, a touch of wounded (or in Bran’s case…a LOT of wounded) and a smidgen of an all consuming Empire that threatens their very existence. Throw in vibrant heroines that meet them toe to toe and voila….a series was born.

My fellow Banditas over at The Romance Bandits have created an elite contingent of gladiators. Demetrius, Lucien and Marcus are great guys (and mix a mean margarita) but there were more than gladiators and tribunes living and loving in 52 CE. Meet the first of my hot, Roman heroes:

Jared of Alexandria shuns both his Roman and Hebrew blood, a curse that’s kept him on the fringes of society, to become a powerful and successful merchant prince. When his trading empire is threatened by an unknown enemy who not only wants to see him ruined but dead as well, he uses every means to put an end to it. He turns to a beautiful barbarian seer, a slave with hair the color of firelight and eyes that shine like emeralds only to be betrayed into a fate worse than death—slavery.

But Jared’s not the only one who’s been dealt a blow by the Fates:

Bryna of Eire lives each day burdened by the yoke of Rome and her own guilt for leading her beloved brother and clansmen into Rome’s clutches. She curses the gift of sight which her master exploits, keeping her under lock and key, telling fortunes and fattening his purse. When an opportunity to be freed of her confinement comes, Bryna takes it, though her instincts warn that lying to the sensual, golden-eyed man that plagues her visions risks her very soul.

.Conflict much? And it starts from the very beginning. Here’s an excerpt from THE PATRICIAN:

Bryna’s head shot straight up with the creaking of the door. Her eyes burned from the sun streaming into the gloom of her cell. Against the blinding light, she could see only the silhouette of a very tall man. She forced herself not to rub her arms and betray the anxiety skimming along every inch of her body.

            The man stepped inside. Coeus started to follow, but was stopped by a muscular arm stretched across the entry.

            “I have paid my coin,” the man said. The rich timbre of his voice seemed familiar. “I would speak with the seer alone.”

            Coeus’ face turned several shades of red before tilting his head in acquiesces. “As you wish, master.” He backed out but not before shooting Bryna a hard look of warning. The door slammed closed.

            Accustomed to the dismal light, Bryna’s eyes adjusted quickly. The man stood with his back to the door, legs braced, his face draped in shadows. The long sleeves of his robe fell toward his elbows when he crossed his arms over the broad chest of a warrior. A furring of black hair jutted out from beneath the neckline of the tunic, eliciting a coil of warmth deep in her belly. She pulled her gaze away, trailed down his narrow waist and froze at the knife fastened to his belt.

            The light of a thousand stars flashed in her mind and she was running along a dark path, her hand grasping that of a small child. Distorted sounds echoed around her, weeping, screaming followed by a weight of grief so heavy her vision-self fell to her knees. Blinking through smoke at the grove of tall palm trees, she looked down, bile rising in her throat. The sightless eyes of the beaten, bloodied woman stared at her and a wave of guilt ripped through her gut.

Bryna gripped the edge of her seat as she settled back to the present, still feeling waves of energy pulsing from him, unsettling impressions of anger and vengeance and resolve. Beneath the maelstrom she glimpsed gentler traits, but those were quickly swept away, unable to stand up to the stronger emotions. She bit her lip at the familiar power that flowed from him. It bombarded her from every direction, overwhelming her senses with one certainty—he was dangerous.

            And she was going to lie to him.

The Roman world is filled with more than gladiators and centurions. It’s filled with people like Jared and Bryna, fighting an Empire and a society that would deny them that which they seek most. Love.

What interests you most about Ancient Rome?  Are you stubborn like me?  Have you ever been told "you can't?"