6:45 AM

In the Author Spotlight

BONNIE DEE

AL: Hi Bonnie Thanks for being in the “Author Spotlight” this week.

Bonnie: I’m happy to be here and to get a chance to share my book, The Thief and the Desert Flower. It’s released from Samhain and is now in print as well as all digital formats.

AL: So, tell us what’s happening with you.

Bonnie: I’m working through some empty nest issues. I didn’t think it would bug me to let my kids go, but now that they’re so busy they never stop by, I miss them surprisingly much. I didn’t expect that. And there’s a pervading low grade sense of anxiety because everything they do is now beyond your ability to influence. It’s like having bits of you scattered around the world doing their own thing. Very odd feeling.

AL: You have many sizzling tales for us to read. If possible, please pick one and tell us all about it.

Bonnie: The book I want to profile, The Thief and the Desert Flower, came out last year. But it never got the readership I had hoped for. It’s such a great adventure story. Really tons of fun. And the reviewers who did take the time gave it five star and top pick reviews. I’m not quite certain why it didn’t catch on with readers but maybe it was because they didn’t know quite what to make of the premise.

Set in a fantasy world, a princess is on her way across the desert to marry a neighboring head of state and seal a bond between two kingdoms when her caravan is waylaid by thieves. The chief of the desert clan takes one look at the gorgeous princess and decides to have her for himself, despite the fact that he’s told his men they must never kidnap or rape the women in the caravans they rob. He’s set on wooing the princess until she wants to be with him, but is unprepared for the battle of wills that follows. It’s an old fashioned, fun adventure tale and the “desert flower” of the title is no shrinking violet. She is a strong-willed woman who, in the end, saves the day.

AL: What other works do you have stirring in the pot?

Bonnie: I’m currently writing a vampire ménage and another m/m historical with Summer Devon set in turn of the century America in a traveling carnival. Moving back and forth between stories is a productive way to work. When I get stuck on one, I can always work on the other—unless it’s with Summer so she can add her part.

AL: You write m/m, m/f and m/m/f in historical, paranormal, contemporary, etc. Do you ever find it hard to move from one genre to another?

Bonnie: I don’t get confused about where I’m at in terms of style or tone if that’s what you mean. Some stories are more angst-filled; some are lighter romps that also have a helping of drama. There are genres I enjoy more than others. I like historical the most, even though some readers of the genre are quick to call a writer on any errors. When I get tired of the nit-pickiness of that, it’s nice to be able to switch over to a completely make believe world – as in the Thief story – where I don’t have to worry about any inaccuracies other than those within the context of the world I’ve created.

AL: When you write do you do a detailed outline before you get started or do you have the idea then just 'fly by the seat of your pants'? :-)

Bonnie: I jot down the ideas that spawned the story, and a sort of stream of consciousness ramble which might include several directions in which the story could go. Then I launch into those easy first chapters when everything’s shiny, new and easy. About half way through I start to bog down and wonder what corner I’ve painted myself into. It’s great to have a writing partner to give input and help set the wheels in motion again. And when a story is co-written, we pass it back and forth every few thousand words or so – not even necessarily full chapters.

AL: What is one glaringly/specific personality trait that you put into your hero/heroine that is all Bonnie? You know, the one that a family member or friend’s head pops up and they say, “Hey, this is so you!”

Bonnie: I tend to work from a center of logic rather than emotion, which is why I believe (though I could be wrong) that I’m pretty good at a male point of view. I tend to invest my heroines with the same pragmatic, level-headed quality. They usually aren’t girly girls who are easily emotionally injured or take things to heart.

AL: All right Bonnie, let’s get personal … Who is a great example to you and how you live your life?

Bonnie: Well, if we’re really getting personal…I follow the teachings of a yogic master and practice meditation techniques—when I’m not being lazy. The Eastern philosophy of balance suits my logical soul. There is no point in getting too invested in anything in this world. We’re only here for a limited time. Which isn’t to say you should be blasé about life, just take it with a grain of salt and don’t allow yourself to become too ruffled or get sucked into unnecessary drama. I’m not saying I live that credo perfectly by any means. I’m as prone to desires and anxiety as anybody, but I try to keep an even temper and a sense of humor about things when they go sour.

AL: What is this romance writer's idea of the "perfect romantic evening"?

Bonnie: I’m sorry. I may write romance but I’m not too much of a romantic. No roses and candlelit dinners required to entertain me. I love movies with a passion and would rather be treated to a movie than anything else. My husband and I like riding motorcycles and often go out with friends. Don’t know about romantic but it’s fun.

AL: Lots of good movies out. What’s the best movie you've seen recently?

Bonnie: Not Sex and the City II, I can tell you that. I went with my daughter and her girlfriends, and while the gals’ night out was fun, the movie sucked. I would rather have seen Prince of Persia, which I still haven’t gotten around to. Honestly, I can’t think of something I saw recently that was a keeper. I’d been looking forward to Robin Hood but it was pretty generic. Nothing special.

Ah, I did download and watch an Irish film with Colin Farrell that only had limited release in the U.S. Ondine is the story of a fisherman who draws up an unconscious woman in his net. His young daughter decides she’s a selkie and the woman soon brings the man luck with his fishing. Romance ensues and eventually the mystery of her background is revealed. It’s a pretty good little movie, if a little scattered at times.

AL: Can you share some of your plans for 2010 and beyond?

Bonnie: I have several releases coming out in 2010. Awakening Beauty is the third installment in Marie Treanor and my Fairytale Fantasies series. Aurora is awakened, not by a kiss but by a guy shaking her awake—in modern times. How does she adjust to the strange new world she faces? We’ve really enjoyed taking familiar tales and giving them a new and sexy twist. Others in the series are Cinderella Unmasked and Demon Lover.

Summer Devon and I have co-authored another m/m historical, The Nobleman and the Spy which will be available from Loose Id in fall. There’s romance, mystery and political intrigue in that one.

I also have my first attempt at steampunk coming out at Carina Press either this year or next, not quite sure when. Like Clockwork is about an alternate Victorian England in which automatons have been invented to take over all the menial jobs. But what work does that leave for the poor and uneducated laborer? Social politics and a serial killer all come together along with a romance.

AL: Silly question… You are the heroine and you have the hero on the island in the middle of your kitchen. What food would you be feeding…nibbling off each other?

Bonnie: I suppose melted chocolate. It would sting and burn a little as it landed on the skin which can be a painfully sexy sensation. Plus it tastes good, so bonus.

AL: Please share a favorite quote(s) with us.

Bonnie: Oh my gosh, there was something I read just a few weeks ago. I remember thinking, “I have to remember that line. It’s priceless” but I have horrible memory issues. I can’t tell a joke and remember the punchline correctly for anything. But if you want a quote that kind of reflects my personality, I think it might be, “Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead.” I can tend to be rash and impulsive, which is at odds with the Zen state of being I’m trying to cultivate. It’s a conundrum.

AL: Thanks so much for joining us this week, Bonnie.

Bonnie: Thanks for having me. I really appreciate the opportunity to chat about my favorite subject—ME! Just joking, I’m not self-absorbed, I promise. Or at least not any more than everyone else is.

AL: If you’d like to find out more about Bonnie please visit:

http://bonniedee.com
Twitter ID: http://twitter.com/Bonnie_Dee
Facebook link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?profile=1&id=1352577313

FEATURED TITLE: The Thief and the Desert Flower

Blurb:

Can a princess find love in the arms of a desert thief?

Princess Chala is facing an arranged marriage to a man she’s never met. When her caravan is attacked in the desert and she’s kidnapped by the nomad leader, she thinks only of escape—at first. But the charming rogue, Kyo is set on seducing her until she freely gives him what he’s craved from the moment he saw her. The fiery-tempered princess and the unscrupulous scoundrel engage in a battle of the sexes.

Lust slowly turns to love as they share details of their lives and realize they have more common ground than expected. But Chala’s powerful bridegroom, Brachas isn’t about to let a merger between two kingdoms dissolve without a fight. His soldiers find and reclaim the princess, who now has an agenda of her own.

Can a clever princess and her determined lover save a desert people, bring a despot to justice and find a future together in a world of their choosing?

Excerpt:

What had he been thinking of, bringing the ganza princess here? Of course, he could hardly take her to camp, letting everyone know what he’d done, but showing her his hideaway practically ensured he could never let her go. If he returned her to her people now, she might not be able to draw a map through the wilderness, but could describe his lair, giving them a starting place for their search. Stupid, Kyo, blinded to reason by a beautiful face and a throbbing cock.

The girl slipped on the shale again, flat gray stone sliding from beneath her shoe and down the slope. Kyo pulled her upright once more and around the big boulder that served as excellent cover for him to watch over the surrounding valley.

“Where are we?”

“Middle of nowhere. Ass of Karachi,” he teased.

That’s what Tanjia, his adopted brother, had called the desert when they were young. Tanjia was originally from Gendera, a survivor of an attack on his village who had stumbled into their camp. He’d won Kyo’s mother’s heart and a place in their tent. In all the years he’d lived with them, he’d never gotten used to the desolation of the nomads’ land and used to make Kyo laugh by calling the desert “God’s asshole”.

Kyo guided the girl into the pitch-black cave. If the desert was dark, the cave was blindness. It sucked up light like the sun drank water. Even Kyo, who knew the layout and right where to find his flint and a torch ready for lighting, stubbed his toe on a rock. He struck sparks from the flint and the oil-soaked torch flared to life. Several large mirrors Kyo had confiscated over the years reflected light around the cave, sending black shadow demons dancing across the stone walls.

He glanced toward his guest, checking out her reaction to his secret domain.

She stood just inside the entrance, brown eyes wide as she gazed around. Kyo looked, too, seeing the place with fresh eyes. He owned nothing larger than could be carried on a pack horse, so there was no furniture, but no one in his tribe had ganza furnishings, which were too hard to transport as they moved from place to place.

The floor boasted several thick carpets with rainbow colors, which gave some cushion against the rocky floor. Sometimes he liked to lie belly-down on them, tracing his finger over the intricate woven patterns. Would the princess think the carpets pretty? Would she find the cushions, mirrors and trinkets gained from years of thieving as rich as he did? Kyo saw only dismay in her eyes. He studied his meager possessions again and realized they were a collection of junk. To her they were scavenged odds and ends only an ignorant desert rat would think luxurious.

His gut twisted and he turned away from her to ignite the previously laid campfire with the torch. After that he lit his oil lamp and set it on the flat rock he used as a table. He gestured at a pile of cushions on the floor.

“Sit. I take care of horses.” He bound her hands together, but doubted he needed to. She’d slumped exhausted onto the pillows and her eyes were nearly closed.

Kyo retreated from the cave and drew a deep breath as he gazed across the shadow-filled land below. What had he done? What was he going to do with the woman sitting in his den? His expectation she’d adjust to being his prisoner was ludicrous. Just then he’d have given anything to start the day over. This time he wouldn’t look twice at the ganza princess—simply take her jewels and ride away.

Night was plunging the valley below the rocky outcropping into blackness. His torch would be visible for miles. He’d better tend the animals quickly. He rubbed down both horses and left them cropping the sparse grass.

As he walked back up to the cave, Kyo clenched his hands lightly at his sides, his stomach fluttering. What was wrong with him? Where were his balls that he was allowing this woman to make him suddenly nervous? This was his land, his kingdom in the desert. He was in charge and what she thought of him or his den didn’t matter in the least.

With that attitude, he strode into the cave, shoulders back, chin up, his arrogant bearing proclaiming him a leader among his people and a fine figure of a man. He stopped short when he saw the woman. She lay on her side on the pile of cushions, eyes closed, fast asleep or pretending to be. Her bound hands were drawn up near her face. One naked leg gleamed pale in the lantern’s glow. The open flap of her split skirt showed everything. He couldn’t take his eyes off that smooth, gleaming leg from the ankle above her shoe up to the lacy edge of her underwear.

His cock rose hard and full, pressing into his pants. He tore his gaze away from her casually bent leg to look at her face. Thus far, he’d only caught flashes of snapping brown eyes and a jutting lower lip. For the first time, he was free to study her features without interruption.

In sleep, her face was relaxed and very young. Shinjate! How old was she? Her sun-flushed cheeks were as soft as a young child’s, not weathered by sun or wind. Her pouting rosebud of a mouth invited kisses, and he imagined sucking the plump lower lip between his teeth. Her brown hair gleamed golden in the lamplight and tumbled around her face in flowing waves.

A frown creased her finely drawn eyebrows and she made a small protesting sound in her throat. Guilt struck him like a snake’s fangs that she must be dreaming of the raid with Kyo as the demon of her nightmare. He wanted to sit beside her, stroke her tangled hair and soothe her fears away, but very likely his touch would only startle her awake into her real-life nightmare.

Instead, he carefully spread a length of lightweight jamoma over her body. After watching her sleep a few moments longer, he headed to the back of the cave. Kneeling beside the spring-fed pool that bubbled up in a crevasse in the rock, he drank his fill then peeled off his clothes and washed the sweat and grit from his skin. This abundance of water was an indulgence he would never take for granted. His appreciation for cleanliness had reached the point where he could hardly stand to spend time in camp, where water was strictly rationed and sweat-soaked fabrics dried stiff against dirty bodies.

When he’d cleaned up, he put on a fresh shirt and set his other to soak. He scooped a dipperful of water and padded barefoot across the cave to set it near the woman. If she woke in the night, she would be thirsty.

Stroking his hand over the jagged tear she’d made in his cheek, he wondered if he dare untie her hands. He decided against it, not wanting to wake with his head bashed in. After smothering the torch and turning the lamp wick low, he paused to stare at the sleeping woman again. Her eyelids flickered and he wondered if she was faking sleep.

Kyo considered lying beside her, holding her snug against him, but for tonight, he would sleep separately, letting her know she was safe with him. Soon enough he’d wrap himself around her, cover her body with his, touch her, kiss her, lick her… He swallowed, his cock hard as granite.

“Time. Patience. Persistence.” His grandfather had repeated those words many times. That creed was what gave the desert people the strength to survive in a land no others would inhabit.

Taking the words to heart, Kyo wrapped himself in a plain, woven blanket and lay down. He would be as steady and inexorable as the wind that shaped the desert to its whim. And slowly he would bend the woman’s will to his.

If you would like to buy The Thief and the Desert Flower you can here:
http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/the-thief-and-the-desert-flower

5 comments:

Cora Zane said...

Awesome interview, ladies. The book looks fabulous, Bonnie!

Joanna Terrero said...

Ann Lory, thanks from bringing us Bonnie Dee in this awesome interview.

Hey, Bonnie, nice to see you. I’m glad you have so many good news.
The Thief and the Desert Flower sounds intriguing.
Thank you for sharing intimate details about yourself. I knew your books, but I have no idea of the real you.

Bonnie Dee said...

Thanks for stopping by.

I did finally see Prince of Persia, btw, and enjoyed it very much. A fun Mummy-like adventure flick. Maybe 20 minutes too long though, it felt a bit draggy toward the end.

Brindle Chase said...

Great interview. I enjoyed reading it and even better, that I found another book I'd like to read. I too and confused why the book didn't fare well its first outing. Based on the cover alone, I would've bought it (and now will). Gorgeous cover and the synop sounds very exciting. I look forward to reading it. Thanks Ann for having Bonnie here!

Bonnie Dee said...

Thanks for having me here this week, Ann. It's been a very hectic week for me so I wasn't as present as I'd like to be. I hope people enjoyed the excerpt even if they didn't comment. Kyo is somewhat like the character of Jem in The Gentleman and the Rogue. He makes no apologies for who and what he is, and he has a store of stories at hand to illustrate any point he wishes to make. I've found I really love working little tales into the text of a larger story.