Stephanie Cage - Writer

Welcome, Iris!  A few weeks ago I posted your cover for Echoes of the Past.  Thanks for coming back to tell us more about the book.  What gave you the idea for Echoes of the Past? The funny part is, I started the first paragraph as a post for “Tuesday Tales” where authors write to a different prompt each week. Coming back from a holiday in South Australia, I picked it up again, wondering what it’d be like to return to such a beautiful place after so many years. Family and friendship has always been an important theme in my books, so the story developed around these three issues. Is Echoes of the Past a single title, or part of a series? Echoes of the Past is the first book in the Fermosa Bay series. The story is set in Australia.  How important is the setting to the story? Very important. I write while visualising the scene and I have to like what I see. It’s like placing yourself into the story looking around and be the little spy in the corner...

I don't often read erotic fiction but I make an exception for Queenie Black, because I enjoy her well-developed characters (no, that's not an innuendo) and exotic settings.  Today I've invited her to my blog to chat about her short story collection, 'Love Bites'.   When and how did you first become interested in writing?   I’ve written for almost as long as I’ve been reading and I was a fairly confident reader when I was four! I got my first ‘proper’ book when I was five and it was called The Wishing Chair by Enid Blyton. I started by making up more stories about characters I liked or rewriting endings in my mind when I didn’t like the author’s. It was a kind of fan fiction I suppose. By the time I was in my third year at primary school I was writing short stories that were entered into National story writing competitions. So from about the age of seven I don’t think there was ever a time when I wasn’t writing stories or at least making them up. The four st...

It's a great pleasure to welcome to my blog today my multi-talented friend: author, actor and director Angela Wren.  Hi Angela! When and how did you first become interested in writing? I think it was story telling that first captured my attention as a very young child.  Apparently, from being only a few months old, I was mesmerised by voices, and I suppose I still am, as I have an uncanny ability to recognise voices in an instant.  When I was a little older I would listen to my Dad and my uncles telling me stories, for hours if I could, and all three of them were excellent narrators.  So bedtime stories were a must at home and later, when I was deemed too old to have them, I made up stories for myself.  Writing them down became the next logical step and I’ve been doing that since I was about 8 or 9. Where did the idea for Messandrierre come from?  The very first idea came whilst I was travelling in the Cévennes in September 2007.  Over...

It’s a pleasure today to welcome J Arlene Culiner, whose latest book is A Swan’s Sweet Song , from The Wild Rose Press, although like me, she’s also had a book published by Crimson Romance.  Welcome, Arlene. It’s a pleasure being invited by you, Stephanie. Thanks. I liked the fact that A Swan’s Sweet Song has a very grown-up hero and heroine, who have both had some great life experiences.  Do you enjoy writing about mature characters? Actually, I only write about mature characters. I really do think experience makes us more interesting. When we’re older, we have more to say, we’re not just guided by hormones or the desire to find a mate so we can reproduce. Mature characters can have great discussions; they know, finally, how to communicate — and, for me, that means their romance really does have a chance of lasting. Sherry Valentine is a country singer and Carston Hewlett is a playwright.  What made you choose these jobs for your hero and heroine, and di...

Today I'm delighted to welcome Crimson Romance author Nancy C Weeks to my blog.  Hi Nancy!  When did you first know you wanted to be a writer? I think I have always wanted to be a writer but never thought it was something I could do. Honestly, I didn’t believe I was smart enough to write a book.   I don’t know why I had so little faith in myself. When I meet people now and hear my words coming out of their month, “OH, I could never write a whole book,” I give them a hug ― because I’m a big hugger — and tell them that they sure the heck can write a book if that’s their passion. How did you come to start writing Romantic Suspense? Since I love reading the excitement of romantic suspense almost as much as I love the romance, I decided to begin my writing career in that genre. I throw an element of supernatural into the suspense to add to the conflict and tension. ‘In the Shadow of Greed’ has both paranormal and hi-tech aspects to it – what did you do to r...

Today I welcome Andrea Downing, whose Western romance, 'Loveland', is a finalist for Best American Historical in the RONE awards, to be announced in August.  Her second book, 'Lawless Love' is free on Amazon from 9th to 13th July.  Congratulations, Andrea, on both your books.  You must be thrilled!  How did you come to start writing Westerns?   I grew up on a diet of television westerns—The Virginian, Bonanza, Alias Smith and Jones, The High Chaparral…I could go on and on.   But they took me to a time and place that somehow seemed more appealing than the suburban New York that surrounded me, and cowboys have always been my heroes.   When my daughter was six we started having holidays in the West on ranches and I became very involved with the whole culture of the West, its history and its landscape.   It was an obvious choice for a setting for my books. ‘Loveland’ features an English heroine and an American setting.   Did you fin...

Today I'm delighted to welcome Sarah Grimm, author of 'After Midnight' and 'Not Without Risk'.  Hi Sarah!  I'm looking forward to hearing more about you and your books.  ‘After Midnight’ is a contemporary romance with a musical theme. Are you musical? Growing up our house was constantly filled with music. Whether it was The King and I or Anne Murray, Styx or Simon & Garfunkel, there was always music playing. We are a music loving family.   And on those rare occasions when the stereo wasn’t going, one of us was usually practicing for an upcoming band or orchestra performance. Me, I played the bass (string and electric). I was good at it, first chair. But what I always wanted to be good at—hell, great at—was playing the piano. I adore the piano, and it is that love that I put into AFTER MIDNIGHT. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the story? Honestly? I have no idea where the story came from. One day – many, many years ago...

So... my second round of edits for 'The Santa Next Door' has gone, and I'm waiting for the MS to come back marked up with round 3...  Which means I have a day or two's breathing space, and time to talk to talented Wild Rose Press author Sarah Grimm in tomorrow's Writer Wednesday interview.  Don't forget to drop by tomorrow and see what she has to say about writing, rule-breaking, and early rising... By the way, I'm now booking Wednesday interviews for the rest of June and July, so if you're a published author and feeling chatty, please get in touch via my comments page, or facebook or twitter. Don't forget to include an email address so I can send you questions (and preferably a link to your blog, website or books on Amazon, so I have some idea what to ask!). Just in case you've missed them, this is my facebook writer page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephanie-Cage-Writer/212877878754408 And this is my twitter profile: https://twitter.c...

Today I am delighted to be interviewing Katherine Grey, whose historical romances An Unexpected Gift and The Muse are published by The Wild Rose Press.  Welcome, Katherine.  Have you always written historical romances, or have you experimented with other genres? I wrote a mystery about a year or so ago but apparently didn’t do a very good job with the red herrings as my friend told me she figured out who the murderer was by the third chapter.   It’s currently sitting on the shelf in my closet. I’m not sure if I’ll revise it and try to sell it or use it as a learning experience. Can you tell us a bit about your most recent release and what inspired it? My most recent release is An Unexpected Gift . It’s about two damaged people finding each other while searching for their loved ones. The hero was a secondary character in my novella, The Muse . I couldn’t get him out of my head so I knew I had to write his story. You wrote ‘The Muse’ for the ‘Love Lett...

Today I'm interviewing Leanne Davis, whose first novel, 'Poison' is just out with The Wild Rose Press and is free for download for a limited time only - if this interview whets your appetite, you can find a link at the end.    Welcome, Leanne!  ‘Poison’ is a romantic suspense novel – what attracted you to the idea of writing romance with a villain? I was on vacation in Long Beach, Washington, (the fictional town of Seaclusion, where Poison takes place is based on it) and happened along the North Head Lighthouse which stands over the Columbia River during a bad storm. It seemed like something evil should happen there…and I began thinking about what it could be. I had long before written about my character’s John and Cassie as a high school romance. I decided to re-visit them   ten years later, and how   they could end up reuniting after a bitter betrayal. In order to give them some drama, I had Cassie have a violent ex-husband who is hunting her and h...