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Three more great interviews to go to finish up the “Best First Book” RITA nominees blog tour! *whew* Thanks for those who have commented and are lurking! Today we have author, Helen Brenna! Helen’s nominated novel is Treasure. Yes, treasure! I love treasure stories and I’m so going to try and find it! And we are off…

Hello RITA Nominee, Helen! Thanks so much for chatting with me. Could you please tell us a little about your writing background and how you made your RITA nominated “Best First Book” sale ?

Helen: Hey, Kelly. Thanks for Inviting me!!

Oh, boy. Where do I start?

TREASURE, my first book sale (third completed manuscript) was a long haul. I, as well as my agent, had expected to sell my fourth book first, but, when that didn’t happen, I went back to do revisions on TREASURE. (2/07 Harlequin Superromance)

When TREASURE won Georgia Romance Writer’s Maggie contest for unpublished authors, the door Into Harlequin magically cracked ever-so-slightly open. A suspense editor there really liked the story and asked for revisions and even though she was very happy with what I’d done, she couldn’t make the deal happen. THAT cracked open a different Harlequin door. A Superromance editor then read my book and made another set of suggestions for revisions. I was truly ready to quit writing at this point, but decided It couldn’t hurt to give it one last shot. Tada! The sale!

It’s amazing how opportunities can shift like that–so glad you didn’t give up! Readers and writers often like to get a behind the scenes peek of an author’s writing routine. It would be great if you could please share your typical writing day schedule.

Helen: I’m not sure I have a typical day, other than I’m more of a morning that night person, so most of my productive time takes place first thing while I’m, more often than not, In my pajamas. LOL I’ll take a break to have some lunch and walk my dogs, a flat-coated retriever and an Australian shepherd, then I’m back at It. I work most days until 5 and spend some nights and weekends plugging away at things. I have 4 books coming out In 2009, so this’ll be a busy year.

I should clarify here that TREASURE Is a Harlequin series romance, so It’s no longer available for order. You can only buy It used on-line or In your favorite used book store. My most current release PEAK PERFORMANCE, however, Is available new.

Please tell us about your RITA nominated debut novel, Treasure, and what we can expect from your characters.

Helen: TREASURE Is an adventure romance with a wonderful alpha hero and a heroine so ready to tackle her demons that you can’t help but fall In love with her. Jake Is an underwater treasure hunter In search of the mother lode of all lost Spanish galleons and Annie knows exactly where to find It. She harbors a secret, of course, and possesses a cursed Spanish cross that just might take down Jake’s whole crew. It’s a fun, fast-paced read.

How did it feel to receive the RITA finalist call?

Helen: I was actually out of town with my family on spring break when the calls came through, so I read about It through my emails. When I saw the first email notifying me that TREASURE finalled In the Contemporary Series Romantic Suspense category, I couldn’t believe It. The second email telling me of the Best First Book nomination brought me to tears! I was completely overwhelmed. It was so fun to celebrate on vacation with my family that night!

What’s up next? Do you have another project in the works? If so, please tell us about it.

Helen: Oh, I’ve been busy. After TREASURE, my second Harlequin Superromance, Dad for Life, came out In 6/07. And this past May, my first Harlequin NASCAR romance, PEAK PERFORMANCE, was released and can still be purchased on-line or ordered through your favorite bookstore. In October 2008, I’ll have another adventure Superromance out, entitled FINDING MR. RIGHT where I got to take my characters to sunny Greece!

I’ll have another NASCAR romance out In 3/09, and a Superromance trilogy set on my fictitious Lake Superior Island coming out starting In August 2009. In other words, stay tuned!

Wow, a wonderful list of upcoming reads! Congrats on being a RITA finalist, Helen, and best of luck! I’m looking forward to meeting you in SF!

Helen: Congratulations to you, too, Kelly!!

Would you like to close with a writing tip?

Helen: You can’t sell It If you don’t write It!

Helen Brenna grew up the seventh of eight children in central Minnesota. Although as a child she never dreamed of writing books, she was a voracious reader, cutting her teeth on all the Harlequins she could get her hands on.

With a BS in accounting, she started career life as a CPA and thought she’d end career life as an old CPA, but the decision to stay home with her kids made all things possible. Not only has Helen won the coveted HOLT medallion and a Maggie award, her books have also been nominated for Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA awards and a Reviewer’s Choice award by Romantic Times.

She continues to write away, living in Minnesota with her husband, two children, two dogs, and three surly (who can blame them?) cats and would love hearing from you. Email her at helenbrenna@comcast.net or send mail to PO Box 24107, Minneapolis, MN 55424.

Bloggers can chat with Helen and several other authors at ridingwiththetopdown.blogspot.com or visit her website at www.helenbrenna.com.

We have our next RITA interview with Inspirational author, Jamie Carie, author of Snow Angel. Jamie is the wonderful person to start this blog tour and she’s done a fantastic job. Thanks Jamie!

Hello RITA Nominee, Jamie! Thanks so much for chatting with me. Could you please tell us a little about your writing background and how you made your RITA nominated “Best First Book” sale ?

Jamie: Like many writers, I loved stories and writing as a child. I was the quintessential “book worm” reading every chance I could get – propped up on the window sill as I washed dishes (yes, by hand:), while babysitting, on the bus, during class (with my romance novel hidden behind the pages of an algebra book), etc. I wrote poems and songs and in my diary for years. And I read. I read everything I could get my hands on – especially historical romance.

Years past and I found myself the stay-at-home of two little boys. I had been reading historical romance for so long that I was a little bored and wanted something different. I read and reread the classics. Then I tried the “Christian romances” but was disappointed in the too saintly characters. (This was twelve years ago – they’re much better now!) One night, I was at the computer. It was dark and late and I could feel the cold coming up through the wooden floorboards (we lived in an old farmhouse at the time). I remember thinking – Alaska, blizzard, young woman fighting for her life. Then I just started typing. Three chapters later I felt a thrill of discovery. This was what I wanted to do with my life! Snow Angel was born that night, but more, my love for novel writing was discovered as well.

Finding a publisher for my manuscript was another long journey! Eight years of studying the publishing industry and the craft of writing, lots of roller-coaster ups and downs and near misses. (You can read the long version of this story here). When B&H called and said they wanted to publish my book, well, it was one of the best days of my life. Two three-book deals later and I can hardly believe all that has happened since.

What a great journey, Jamie! Readers and writers often like to get a behind the scenes peek of an author’s writing routine. It would be great if you could please share your typical writing day schedule.

Jamie: As more and more deadlines loom, I am beginning to be better organized with my time. But the truth is I’m not a morning person. I like to write late at night, in the dark, with my headphones on.

Please tell us about your RITA nominated debut novel, Snow Angel, and what we can expect from your characters.

Jamie: Elizabeth is a woman who has had everyone and every experience fail her. In that, she has learned how to “make it on her own.” When Noah meets her, she doesn’t even recognize her need for love. She has so thoroughly buried her needs and desires that when they surface, she is terrified and runs away. Noah is the man who can tear down the walls around her heart – with patience and persistence and sacrificial love. He’s the one who won’t give up. He simply loves her with his whole heart and more, with his actions. What follows is the tale of a hard-won heart. But one he willingly gives up everything to call his own.

How did it feel to receive the RITA finalist call?

Jamie: Well, at first I thought it was a telemarketer, so I wasn’t exactly exuberant when I answered the phone. As I realized what she was saying, that Snow Angel, this book I had tried to get published for eight long years, had poured my heart and my life into, was up for a RITA . . . I began shaking. I thanked her, gushing and squeaking my shock. I hung up the phone. I stared at the phone – still shaking. A RITA!?! Then I called everyone in my family and told them the news. I think my hands were shaking for well over an hour after that and I could not sit down!

I can feel your excitement through your words, Jamie! What’s up next? Do you have another project in the works? If so, please tell us about it.

Jamie: In April 2008, my second novel, The Duchess and the Dragon came out. I love the hero in that book – Drake Weston, the Duke of Northumberland. Tall, dark and drop-dead gorgeous, he would make anyone question their upbringing as he does to the sweet Quaker girl, Serena. Then in January 2009, Wind Dancer will come out. This is a story close to my heart as it is set in Vincennes, Indiana, my hometown, during the George Rogers Clark days of the American Revolution. I will have a book trailer for Wind Dancer up on my website www.jamiecarie.com in a few days. Fourth book – I just turned in my manuscript for a story I’m calling Red Like Scarlett which will be out June of 2009. Whew. French Revolution. The haunted and hunted Count of St. Laurent and a woman named Scarlett who is pregnant with another man’s child. I learned so much writing that novel. Now? I will be researching for the fifth book, Emma’s story. Set In the mountains of western America, during the time when we found our way to the Pacific Ocean (Lewis and Clark). I’m excited to get started on it!

They all sound wonderful, Jamie! Congrats on being a RITA finalist, and best of luck! I’m looking forward to meeting you in SF! Would you like to close with a writing tip?

Jamie: My best advice is to have faith and persistence. Believe in yourself and then sit down and do the work. Write your heart. Bleed into it. Don’t worry about the market or getting published (at least while you’re writing it:) just write your story. You are the only person ever created who can write the story in your heart.

Thank you Kelly!! I’m looking forward to meeting you in SF too!

Jamie Carie is an inspirational fiction novelist who believes in the power of story to touch hearts and change lives. Her debut novel, SNOW ANGEL, a USA News Book and ForeWord Magazine award winner and RITA nominated novel, is a can’t-put-down story of redemption, hope and healing. Her second novel, THE DUCHESS AND THE DRAGON is a passionate tale of love between a reckless Duke and a serene Quaker woman. And her third novel, WIND DANCER, is a story of captivity and then the freedom from captivity. Jamie lives in Indianapolis, Indiana with her husband and three boys… and a giant of a dog named Leo.

Next up on the RITA “Best First Book” blog tour is Terri Garey, author of Dead Girls Are Easy!

Hello RITA Nominee, Terri! Thanks so much for chatting with me. Could you please tell us a little about your writing background and how you made your RITA nominated “Best First Book” sale ?

Terri: I’ve been writing seriously for the last eight years, and completed four manuscripts before I began working on my RITA nominated book, DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY (a quirky paranormal romance), back in 2004. I’d finaled in a lot of contests with earlier manuscripts, but I just couldn’t seem to break through that final barrier to publication. In 2005, I queried three different literary agencies with DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY, and was thrilled to sign with my #1 choice, the Jane Rotrosen Agency. Not too long after that, my dream came true when it sold to my #1 choice of publisher, Avon HarperCollins, in a two-book deal. The sequel, A MATCH MADE IN HELL, is a July 2008 release. I’ve also released a novella in the paranormal anthology WEDDINGS FROM HELL (June 2008), and am under contract for two more full length novels. The only drawback to the whole experience was that initial two-year wait from first sale to bookstore shelf—publishing is definitely a “hurry up and wait” type of business!

Readers and writers often like to get a behind the scenes peek of an author’s writing routine. It would be great if you could please share your typical writing day schedule.

Terri: I’m an “early-to-bed-early-to-rise” kind of person who finds herself much more creative and productive in the morning than in the afternoon. I don’t have a set schedule, but after breakfast with my husband, I take a power walk with the dog and then sit down to work at my desk. I take a short break for lunch (usually reading while I eat), and then I’m back to work. I’m still there at 5:00, just like anyone else with a day job, even though I work at home. (Now if only I could convince my family that “working at home” really does mean “working”!)

Please tell us about your RITA nominated debut novel, Dead Girls Are Easy, and what we can expect from your characters.

Terri: DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY is the story of Nicki Styx, a young woman whose life is changed forever after a near-death experience leaves her with the ability to see and hear spirits. It’s dark humor with a Southern slant—the angst of a young woman on the edge, a healthy dash of sex and voodoo, a sprinkling of spookiness. There’s a budding romance with the hot doctor who brings her back to life, a murder mystery involving a close friend, and a lot of hard choices along the way. It’s meant to make you laugh, make you think, and hopefully send a few chills down your spine. I don’t want to give away the plot, but what Nicki eventually comes to learn is that dead girls are easy… it’s the live ones who cause trouble!

How did it feel to receive the RITA finalist call?

Terri: Getting that phone call was one of the most exciting moments of my life—getting a second call fifteen minutes later was indescribable! I actually thought there’d been a mistake, and they’d notified me twice in error! It wasn’t until the very nice lady from RWA explained to me calmly that I’d finaled in two different categories (Best First Book and Best Paranormal Romance), that it sunk in. (Well, actually, it took another few minutes after I’d hung up to sink in… I think I was numb at that point!)

With my second call, Terri, I had the same reaction! What’s up next? Do you have another project in the works? If so, please tell us about it.

Terri: Like I said earlier, I’ve since released both a novella and a sequel, both in bookstores as I type this interview. I just finished the first draft of my third full length novel (yay!), entitled YOU’RE THE ONE THAT I HAUNT (April 2009), which will be followed by a fourth, as yet untitled, in November 2009.

Congrats on being a RITA finalist, and best of luck, Terri! I’m looking forward to meeting you in SF! Would you like to close with a writing tip?

Terri: The best possible advice I can give any aspiring writer is to get those words down on paper! Even if they’re awful! The more you write, the better writer you’ll be. Those first four manuscripts of mine may never see the light of day, but that’s okay by me, because if I hadn’t written them I’d never come to the point I am today.

Thanks for chatting with me, Kelly, and best of luck to you, too! See you in San Francisco!

A Southern girl with an overactive imagination, Terri Garey grew up in Florida, always wondering why tropical prints and socks with sandals were considered a fashion statement. She survived the heat by reading in the shade, and watching cool shows like the The Twilight Zone and the classic gothic soap opera, Dark Shadows. Born too late to be a hippy and too early to be a Goth, Terri did the logical thing and became a computer geek. Balancing a career with marriage and motherhood convinced her that life was too short to rely entirely on the left side of her brain, and quirky ideas about life among the undead began to replace the dry logic of computers. Deciding imagination was her best weapon in the war against reality, Terri dove even deeper into the world of the unexplained, and started writing her own demented tales from the dark side. Visit Terri on the web at http://www.tgarey.com or http://www.harpercollins.com/terrigarey .