Author Folk Friday with Lynne Roberts

Joining me today is romance author Lynne Roberts. Welcome!

SS: As an author, what makes a book great in your eyes?

LR: Conflict. Imperfect heroes/heroines. I need to want to invest in the characters. The story can be cliché, the setting so so, but if I love the characters I want to know what happens to them and I’ll keep reading. The difference between a good book and a great book is how late I’ll stay up reading it. There are some books that once I pick up I don’t put down until I finish.

SS: Tell us a little about what you are working on.

LR: Let’s see, I’m currently finishing up edits on a fantasy novel that I’m publishing under my real name. I’m also finishing the first draft of another fantasy novel that I hope to sub later this year. In the romance genre, I’m rewriting a sequel to First Date that I plan to sub before the kids get out of school for the summer.

SS: What is the hardest scene you had to write in this piece?

LR: Oddly enough, in the first fantasy novel, the single love scene was the hardest to write. I wanted to keep it steamy but stay away from erotic. As I’m kinda well-versed in going all the way (so to speak) it was a fine line between holding back too much and not enough.

SS: Let’s talk about the book you’d like to promote today. How did you come up with the title and where can we find it?

LR: Creative License is one of those few titles that just came to me. Almost every other one was wrenched from my subconscious after weeks of mind-numbing deliberation. LOL Well, it felt that way.

SS: What was your first reaction when you got a glimpse of your cover art?

LR: I was stunned, literally speechless. I thought it was gorgeous! Then I emailed it to my best writer friend, who also designs everything for me on the web, to get her opinion. She loved it too.

SS: It is a looker! Please give us a blurb and excerpt!

LR: Blurb: Loose ends have a way of tripping you up…

Years ago, a law school graduation weekend in Vegas had been part of Lily MacPherson’s plan. Waking up next to a naked Adonis with a ring on her finger was not. After a quick annulment, she relegated Caleb Anderson to her late-night fantasies—and very short list of mistakes—until his voice on the other end of the phone asks a favor that could shake the foundations of her neat and tidy future.

Caleb is still haunted by Lily’s horrified expression that morning in Vegas. At least it had made it easy to set her free…except they aren’t. The papers were never filed. And when the nosy patroness who could launch his painting career insists on meeting his “wife”, does he confess, or call Lily? He calls Lily.

When she steps off the plane, Caleb’s determination to play tour guide disappears in the San Francisco fog. Lily thought she could keep up the pretense for one weekend, cut the last tie to her past, and move on. But their chemistry still pops and sizzles, finally exploding into passion at Caleb’s studio.
It’s everything they remember…but so is the yawning chasm of differences that, in the end, could once again drive them apart.
________________________________________
Product Warnings
Contains balmy ocean breezes, coffee as seduction, the creative use of melted chocolate, and naughty shower lovin’ that gives new meanings to the term “shower head”.

Except:

The computer screen blurred. Lily blinked to refocus her tired eyes on the deposition and sighed in relief when the phone rang. She loved her job, loved working for a law firm, but staring at a computer screen for hours took its toll.

Blowing a strand of dark hair out of her eyes, she reached over a stack of law books. “McPherson.” Lily glanced at the clock as her stomach rumbled. She’d worked through lunch again. Damn.

The other end of the line was silent for so long, she thought the caller had changed his or her mind. “Hello?”

“Yes, hi.”

The rich, masculine voice sent chills down her spine and knotted her stomach. Eyes closed, she gripped the phone so hard it hurt. Even after all these years, she knew that voice. “Caleb?”

A low, sexy chuckle rumbled through the line. “You remember me.”

Oh shit, why was he calling her now? Memories of the most erotic night of her life flashed through her mind. Lily opened her eyes, reminding herself the most embarrassing morning of her life had followed. “How did you get this number? Never mind.”

Despite the deep breath, the receiver trembled in her hand. “Can I do something for you?”

An intake of breath and then a pause. “We have a slight problem.”

Lily’s stomach churned acid. None of their problems had been small, not for the twelve hours and twenty-two minutes they’d been married. “Yes?”

Caleb cleared his throat. “It seems the annulment didn’t go through.”

“Oh, shit.” I’m in a bad movie. This has got to be a joke. She leaned against the back of her chair. “What do you mean it didn’t go through?”

“We’re still married, sweetie. The annulment was never processed.”

Married? “Why?” Lily rubbed the ache growing between her eyes. “No. I don’t care. Just get it processed.”

“It’s too late now. We’ve been married too long.”

“We are not married.” Lily tried to swallow past the tide of rising panic.

“The state of Nevada would disagree, sweetheart.”

She could almost see that sexy grin, those sparkling green eyes. She definitely remembered what they did to her. She’d been chocolate under the heat of his sun. “I am not your sweetheart.” She reached for a notepad. Who to call? Certainly no one in the firm. Though they were all professional and talented, people talked. She couldn’t let it get back to her family or… Oh, God. Stewart. “I’ll file for divorce in the morning.”

“Um, about that.”

She didn’t have the patience to wait out the pause. “What?”

“I was wondering if we could delay that a bit.”

A pain in her hand alerted her to the death grip she’d taken on the phone. She was suddenly glad she’d skipped lunch. “Delay? Why?”

“I need a favor.”

“Well you’re out of luck. I’m fresh out of favors.”

“Lily, please listen.”

His voice had lowered to almost pleading. Something in her heart softened. What’s wrong with me? I don’t owe this man anything! He’s a stranger. “You call me out of the blue to tell me we’re still married and now you need a favor?” It came out a little more acerbic than she’d meant.

His chuckle sounded nervous. “I guess that pretty much sums it up. You’re not married or anything, are you?”

Lily closed her eyes. “No. I’m not.”

“Well.” He cleared his throat. “Except to me.”

“Not for long. Thank you for letting me know about the clerical error. I’ll handle it from my end. Good-bye.” Lily set the phone in its cradle. Quite a feat when she wanted to slam it down. She stood and walked toward the window, leaned against the sill and stared out at the tops of the trees and below them to the expanse of grass. Interns didn’t usually merit an office with a window, let alone a window facing the courtyard. It was one of the benefits of almost being engaged to her boss’s son.

Ah, Stewart. He wouldn’t mind that she slept with someone in Vegas, though he’d be a bit irritated she hadn’t been smarter about keeping it quiet. But in his eyes, marrying a divorceé was socially unacceptable. No one could ever find out about what happened in Vegas. It had been a mistake, a horrible mistake.

She closed her eyes and the image of waking next to a naked Adonis filled her mind. His long blond hair had spread over perfectly sculpted shoulders, his head cradled by well-muscled arms. A silk sheet covered his lower back to mid-thigh but had only served to tantalize the imagination of her sleep-fogged brain. For a moment, she’d been tempted to explore the promising hills and valleys of his body and then she’d moved to touch him and seen the gaudy fake diamond ring on her left hand.

She still could only remember flashes of their night together; falling into his arms, the silky warmth of his skin next to hers, his lips. She opened her eyes in an attempt to wash out the images that had tinted her fantasies in the three years since. An ache built in her lower abdomen as she remembered the sound of his voice. She couldn’t recall standing in front of a minister and saying I do, but the documents didn’t lie. “Shit.” Caleb Anderson might be a talented artist and sexy as hell, but he wasn’t in her ten-year plan.

Behind her, the phone rang again and she sighed, turned and picked it up. “Macpherson.”

“Lily, please, listen,” Caleb asked.

“You have three minutes.”

“It’s… Damn it, Lily. It’s a long story.”

“Three minutes,” she repeated. The sound of Caleb’s sigh into her ear sent shivers down her body.

“I need you to…come out here for a few days.”

Her jaw dropped open.

After a long pause, Caleb cleared his throat. “Are you still there?”

“Is this a joke?”

“No. It’s not. If you’ll let—”

“No. Absolutely not. You’re crazy.”

“Please. I know it’s inconvenient—”

“Inconvenient? That’s an understatement. Why would I fly across the country?”

“Because it could make a permanent difference in my career, in my life. Listen, it’s complicated but…” he paused and his voice thickened. “My patroness did a background check, she found out I was married. I panicked. She wants to meet you.” The words came out in a rush.

“I appreciate your position, but…” Lily hesitated. She could vividly remember the passion with which he described his art. It had been one of the many things that had kept her by the bar ordering drink after drink until her memory faded to black.

“I’ll pay for your air fare and—”

“It’s not that.”

“Then what? Lily, I need your help. Please. It’s my one big chance. It would only be for a couple of days.”

A couple of days. That’s what got her into this mess in the first place, but something inside of her softened further. She did have some vacation time coming and she’d heard San Francisco was beautiful in the summer. Holy heaven, I’m considering it.

She had to admit, part of her hesitation was the memory of his skin on hers and the fear she’d tumble back into bed with him in a heartbeat. She’d done it in her fantasies enough times. Would that be so bad?

No, it would be so good. That was the problem. She took a deep breath. “I’ll think about it, Caleb.”

“Thank you.”

She hung up the phone, buried her face in her hands, and then grimaced. “I’ve just had my first argument with my husband.”

SS: Nice excerpt! Now for the fun stuff. Do you have any guilty pleasures?

LR: Chocolate. Only I don’t feel guilty. ; ) I guess I’m fairly simple. I love to sit in a clean house or a well-tended garden with a great book and a cup of good coffee and read. Doesn’t happen much with 6 kids running around. I get giddy in the library from all the unread stories.

SS: Name one thing readers would be surprised to know about you.

LR: I want to own a bakery. I love to bake. Cookies, pie, cake, brownies. I come up with my own recipes and designs and experiment on my family (Bwah haha) No really, they love it. Also, I’m getting married on the 14th of this month to the most awesome man in the world! I know, that’s two. ; )

SS: Congrats on the recent nuptials! If you didn’t have to worry about counting calories or fat, what’s the first food you’d reach for?

LR: Oh boy, this is a hard question. Ice cream and hot fudge… ohh throw a little warm brownie under that too! Now I’m picturing French bread loaded with butter. I think I should have answered this one after dinner instead of before.

SS: Since you write romance, fess up. Have you ever read the “Grande Dames” of the genre like Jane Austen, Barbara Cartland, Danielle Steele, Nora Roberts? What do you really think of their books? I grew up on Danielle Steele and Barbara Cartland.

LR: I was a bit older when I read Austin and Nora. Nora is my hero. She’s just… well, she’s Nora. And you asked for honesty so I’ll tell you. My mom recently gave me a dozen Danielle Steele books from the late 90’s because she knew I loved her. I couldn’t read a single chapter of any of them. POV dances all around. Chock full of telling and…well… It was difficult for me to admit it, because she’s an icon, but writing has changed a lot since then. Ditto with Cartland. I bought one of her books from the library. I kept it for sentimental reasons, not because I’ll read it again. Jane Austen is a classic. Her dialogue…well, I wish men were still as witty.

SS: If someone hasn’t read any of your work, what book would you recommend they start with and why?

LR: Oh, that’s a good question. I’m so tempted to say First Date, because that’s the first one I published and I’m anal that way. ; ) But I’d say Hooking Up. It’s a quick read and a good indication of the kind of story I like to tell. Besides, it will make you say “Ahhh” at the ending.

SS: Thanks for spending a bit of time with Believing is Seeing! Best wishes for your continued success. Where can readers find you on the Web?

LR: Blog http://lynneroberts.net/

Samhain http://store.samhainpublishing.com/creative-license-p-6257.html

The Wild Rose Press http://www.thewildrosepress.com/wilderroses/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=90