Today's interview is with romance author Donna Marie Rogers. She lives in a renovated old schoolhouse with her husband and children. Can you imagine? Sounds idyllic! Her passion to read is only exceeded by her passion to write. Please join me in welcoming Donna to Love Romance Passion.
Keira: What is your idea of the perfect hero and how does Garrett Jamison from Meant To Be
Donna: I love an alpha hero. Strong, yet gentle with his lady, a tad arrogant, but completely honorable. He’s not afraid to take charge, whether it’s fighting off the bad guys or lending a hand with the dishes. Okay, so maybe not the dishes...LOL I think Joe Winston from Say No to Joe?
Keira: In three to five adjectives how would you describe Jessica McGovern, the heroine of Meant to Be?
Donna: Feisty, strong, vulnerable, gentle...and she’s not exactly a morning person, but I can’t think of a good word for that. LOL
Keira: Speaking of Garrett and Jessica, how did you decide on their names? This is something I and a lot of readers like to know because it’s so essential to the coupling of the characters in our minds.
Donna: I’ve loved the name Garrett since I first heard it. I worked with a guy named Wade, and he had a brother, Garrett, who was such a sweetie—and a hottie. LOL So Garrett is my hero, and Wade is Jessica’s ex-husband. *grin* Jessica, again, is just a name I like. I write the two names together, say them together, and if it feels right, I’m a happy camper.
Keira: How did The Wild Rose Press first hear of Meant to Be?
Donna: I submitted both There's Only Been You
Keira: Can you talk about and describe your experience with epublishing?
Donna: For the most part, it’s been invaluable. I’m a proud e-published author, but I do hope to sell to a big house one day and learn what it feels like to be mass produced. Promotion is hard work, but if your books are in the chain stores, that’s half the battle right there. At least, I’d like to think so. *grin*
I’ve been blessed to work with some amazing editors, so I have no complaints. And I write clean, so hopefully that's helped keep the editing process enjoyable (mostly...LOL).
Keira: In your opinion what makes a great (written) bedroom scene?
Donna: Emotion. I think a love scene is so much more sexy and engaging if it’s full of raw emotion.
Keira: How do you define love?
Donna: Gosh, I don’t know...LOL Love is rather indefinable, I think. When you feel it, you just know. It’s the most incredible feeling there is, to be in love.
Keira: What were some challenges you faced on the road to becoming a published author and how did you handle them?
Donna: I faced the usual challenges most authors face, like rejections, revising my manuscripts ad nauseam. I developed quite the thick skin those first couple of years, and I had finaled in a lot of contests, which helped keep me focused. I love to write, so while I faced the usual rejections, most agents and editors were incredibly positive and encouraged me to keep at it. :)
Keira: Fill in the blank: If you’re not writing, you are _____.
Donna: Watching television, usually...LOL Spending time with my kids, yelling at my kids (*grin*), chatting with my husband, house cleaning, gardening, cooking...the basic stuff. :)
Keira: Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Donna: Thank you, Keira! I would love to share a blurb and excerpt from my latest release, Meant To Be, sequel to There’s Only Been You.
**And for a chance to win a download of Meant To Be, all you have to do is leave me a comment! :)
She's running from her past, he's unsure about his future. Maybe together they can figure out what was Meant To Be.
Officer Garrett Jamison is at the lowest point in his life. He's lost faith in his ability as a police officer after unwittingly setting his sister up with a dirty cop. Garrett ended up getting shot, and his sister's son kidnapped right out of his own bed. He takes a leave from the force, in need of some time to make a decision about his future. Too bad he can't get a decent night's sleep thanks to his sexy new neighbor and her howling cat.
Jessica McGovern moves halfway across the country to start a new life in Green Bay, Wisconsin after her ex-husband is convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of their young son. Her new neighbor is as infuriating as he is handsome, but when her ex is released from prison early and shows up in town, Jessica discovers she's never needed anyone more.
EXCERPT:
"Come here, Miss Crabbypants."
Jessica resisted, but it was no use. The big oaf outweighed her by a ton. "Look, I just want to finish my tea and relax. Today's my last day off for almost two weeks."
He leaned back and frowned down at her. "Why are you working so many hours?"
She rolled her eyes. "Um, I have bills to pay...?"
His gaze became pensive as he massaged the back of her neck. Slowly, she relaxed until she was leaning into his broad chest, eyes closed, inhaling his spicy masculine scent. He always smelled so good...Damn, the man was a magician; she'd already forgotten why she was mad at him...Wait, oh yeah. "So what's with all that hammering?"
"We're building a doghouse."
His busy fingers moved to her shoulders wringing a groan of ecstasy from her. Oh, God, was she drooling on his shirt? Then his words registered. Jessica leaned back and swiped her mouth with the back of her wrist. "A doghouse? But you don't have a dog...do you?"
"No, but Ethan's been begging for a puppy for a couple years now. I guess he finally wore Sara down. And Mike's still in the ‘buy-Ethan-anything-he-wants' phase." Garrett glanced down at his T-shirt and chuckled. He reached out and recaptured the back of her neck. "Liked that, did you? You do seem a little tense—"
"Oh, no you don't." She ducked out of his reach and took a few steps back. He started to follow but she held up both hands. "You stay right where you are."
He propped his hands on his hips. "So do I have a date tonight or what?"
"Or what."
He grinned. "Wear something sexy," he said with a wink before strolling out the back door. The jackass even had the nerve to whistle.
Jessica walked over and slammed the door with a muttered, "Nutjob." Then she headed into the bedroom to search through her closet.
* * *
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Author Interviews, Contemporary, Crime and Protection, P-R, Police
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22 comments ↓
Great interview Donna! I also love the name Garrett
Had a terrible time finding the comments box way down here below all the other stuff… wonder if others do, too?
Besides blog tours, lol, what other promotion have you found helpful?
Hi KyAnn!! Thank you for commenting, I was just wondering if I should smell my armpits…LOL I didn’t realize how far down you have to scroll to comment, sorry!
Yeah, Garrett is a right sexy name, hey?
And I never thought of Ivan as a sexy name till I read ROUGH JUSTICE. *g*
Mysti, thank you for stopping by! For me, I’ve found the most effective way to promote is simply posting excerpts to the many loops out there. Also, participating in loop chats can pique some interest.
I recently sent a download to an online reviewer who commented on another blog I was guest blogging at. She said Meant To Be and There’s Only Been You both sounded wonderful. So I emailed her and asked if she’d like to read them. She was thrilled, posted about it on her blog, and already there’s 18 comments of people interested in reading them. 
Great interview. Great post.
You book is on my bedside table and I can’t wait to get to it.
CC
Hi Donna! Congrats on your book coming out! Enjoyed the interview and the excerpt!
Hi Donna–I like what you said about a love scene being full of emotion; I think that’s really a big part of winning readers over.
I love when you wrote the hero has a spicy masculine scent ; my husband just smells like zest! The part about her droolong on his shirt (Too funny) Meant To Be sounds wonderful!
Mysti, I scrolled up and down a bit before I went far enough, too.
Anyway, hey, Donna! I really like this interview and the different questions. I totally agree with your definition of an Alpha hero.
Oops typo..I meant drooling, I have no idea what a droolong is. Probably if you drool for a long period of time!
Susan, thank you so much. You made Meant To Be sound better than I even could!
My husband smells like Coast. LOL
Another great interview, Donna! I’ve decided today’s the day I’m hopping over and getting my copy of MTB. Yay!
Hi Donna! Great interview and congratulations with your book. It is wonderful that you were not discouraged and as long as you keep doing what you love the rest will follow. The ex-husband sounds like he can make things difficult so it would be interesting to see how you have the neighbor react!
Also, since we’re writing what our husband’s smell like…mine is a surprise! LOL It’s because my husband changes between Good Karma soap, Jack Black All-Over-Wash and Burt Bees Soap.
Wow, go away to get some cooking and cleaning done, and everyone stops by! LOL
Christie, I sure hope you enjoy it.
Gotcha! and Weddings Can Be Murder arrived today. Love Amazon one-click. *g*
Thanks, Kathryn, glad you enjoyed it!
Stacey, thanks for stopping by.
Fingers crossed for you, Amber! *g*
Isabel, would it be weird if I said I wanted to sniff your husband? LOL Good Karma soap? Hey, ever hear of Tire Old Ass Soak? I found it at the Vermont Country Store. One of these days I’m going to order some.
Hi Donna, I agree with you on the emotion needed to make a love scene memorable. I also agree on developing a thick skin and editing forever after critique and contests. We also have another thing in common: I just finished reading Weddings are Murder, Divorced, Desperate and Delicious, Divorced, Desperate and Dating, and love them. Christie, did you hear that???
I wish you the best and hope you make it to the NY publishers. I came very close to that with Mills & Boon Medicals, worked with them for a year and then my editor left the company and I was devastated until TWRP.
Who are you calling a Tired Old Ass! LOL No, I had never heard of that, however, l will look for it in the store. Will you settle for a scratch and sniff photo of my husband instead?! LMAO
Isabel! LOL I’m sorry, I didn’t even think that it could come across that way! Those soaps you mentioned just made me think of the fun soaps and bath products I saw in the Vermont Country Store catalog. *g*
A scratch & sniff…LOL Oh, man, too friggin’ funny!
Hi Mona, thanks for stopping by! Sorry about Mills & Boon, but judging by the amazing reviews I’ve read about your books, I have no doubt it won’t be long before they snatch you up.
Christie Craig is wonderful, isn’t she?
Great interview, Donna. Best of luck with Meant To Be.
Do you know that Barnes and Noble is offering a free e-reader? That should help the sale of e-books.
Thanks for stopping by , Sandy.
Yeah, I saw that in one of the emails they send out, but it looked like something you had to download to your iPhone or something, which I don’t have. But what a great idea!
Hi, Donna! Great interview, and I love the excerpt. That kind of sweet, sexy Alpha male is my fav type of hero, too.
Hi Donna–You know I love everything you write. Now that my deadlines are done, I can enjoy some fun reading and Meant to Be is in my top 5 of TBR. Can hardly wait to see Garrett find his own true love!
Great interview as well!! WG, girl!!!
Yup, Meant To Be is next on my TBR list. *grin* The more I read of Garrett, the more I can’t wait. But I’m trying to be strong (which works with everything but chocolate).
Great interview!! Wishing you even greater success. Your writing is fantastic!
–Chiron O’Keefe
The Write Soul: http://www.chironokeefe.blogspot.com
Thanks, Vanessa, I’m glad you enjoyed it. Nothing like a sexy alpha hero, eh?
Barb, I’m so excited to see you! Thanks for stopping by, I sure hope you enjoy MTB as much as you did TOBY & WTR.
Chiron, thanks so much for all your support.
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