In the spotlight today is Queensland-based author Susanne Bellamy whose latest novel Engaging the Enemy was released yesterday.

Tell us about yourself, Susanne.
I love travel—new places, new faces, different cultures and endless possibilities. I’ve cruised from Australia to Britain and back through the Suez Canal when I was a child, trekked in Nepal and Vietnam, lived briefly in Noumea, visited western Europe and west coast America among other places. Let me repeat—I love travel! And history.

People’s stories fascinate me. Past and present lives and relationships and the mysterious ways Fate works. Even how I met my husband—Fate. Wonderful and mysterious.

And so my stories explore people engaging with the mate that Fate created for them. And the wonderful and mysterious ways in which they meet. I should probably thank the flat-mate who locked me out of my new house years ago which led directly to
meeting my husband. But that’s another story! 
 
Check out my story boards on Pinterest for White Ginger, One Night in Sorrento and Engaging the Enemy as well as works in progress, including the Emerald Quest for Entangled Publishing. See what else you can find!

What's your latest book Engaging the Enemy about? 
  Andie and Matt both need the same building in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD.
Matt wants it to atone for his past and Andie’s future is tied up with the fate of the old pink granite home. Their differences should keep them apart but the building brings them together in ways neither could have foreseen. 
 
What do you think reader will enjoy most about it? 
  It’s a Romeo and Juliet story but with a happy ending. Bright passion wars with conflicting needs and serious chemistry. I hope readers enjoy the tension and the sizzle!  

Who/what was the inspiration for this book? 
  An abandoned red-brick building I spotted during my first tram ride in Melbourne. It looked like it needed some TLC and what better than to have not one, but two people itching to renovate it! Perhaps there was also a touch of the ugly swan story in the building. My protagonists were able to look beneath the city grime surface to discover the beauty within. I love that idea of what’s on the inside counting for more than the façade we present to the world. 

What qualities do you instil in your heroes and heroines?
  I adore heroes and heroines with sense of humour, intelligence, passion and a sense of social justice.  Engaging the Enemy’s hero Matt is Irish with ideas about justice  shaped by his Irish background. Family is paramount to him; he would do
anything for those he loves, as would Andie. These qualities are responsible for their choices and contribute to the central
conflict. 

  Our personal histories shape who we are but our choices determine who we become. Willingness to change and grow as a person is essential, as is accepting challenges in life and forging our own path. We have the luxury of a peaceful country that allows us scope to set our own challenges. Within this broader context, Andie and Matt do learn to love and to live. 

What was the hardest part about writing this novel? 
  Funnily enough, it was not getting caught up in a secondary character’s love life! Lexie Hamilton-Smythe is Andie’s best friend and has two men interested in her. There were times when I wanted to explore her story, even while loving writing Andie and Matt’s story. 

Where to next? 
  A Season to Remember is a Christmas anthology of four short stories written by four south-east Queensland authors. We write in a variety of genres and this free gift collection will reflect our diversity. There is a sea theme running through each story but I can’t give too much away just yet. However, it will be available in late November. Check out my Facebook page and website then to receive your gift! 
 
  And 2015 will see the release of the Emerald Quest series through Entangled Publishing. Five authors and a two hundred year search for a fabulous emerald and diamond necklace. Mine is the fourth book in the series. Set in Hawaii in 1960, it is the story of Evangeline Abbott, English heiress, and Lucien Martineau, an Island plantation owner. It’s a delicious story. After White Ginger, my debut novel, I absolutely loved revisiting Hawaii for this one. 
 
Congratulations on your latest book Susanne! Thank you for joining me to talk about it.
 Thanks for hosting me, Isabella. I’ve enjoyed my visit so much.

Blurb
One building, two would-be owners and a family feud that spans several generations: all relationships have their problems. 

Andrea de Villiers can’t lie to save herself. But when developer, Matt Mahoney, buys the building she and a friend have established as a safe house in the Melbourne CBD,  she decides that protecting The Shelter is more important than her aching heart.
She will confront Mr Mahoney, and she will emerge victorious. There are no other options. 

But Matt has other plans for Andie, and she soon finds herself ensnared in a web of well-meaning lies and benevolent deceit. To protect the building and the families that depend on her, Andie agrees to play the part of Matt’s fiancée, and play it convincingly. 
 
But lies soon bleed into truth, and what  was once a deception starts to feel all too real. Can Andie accomplish her goals and protect The Shelter, without losing her heart to the charming Irish developer? 

You can find Susanne at the following sites: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susanne.bellamy.7 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SusanneBellamy 
Website: http://www.susannebellamy.com/      
Pinterest:  http://www.pinterest.com/susannebellamy/ 
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard 
 
Buy links:
Escape:  http://www.escapepublishing.com.au/product/9780857991768#popup 
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com.au/Engaging-The-Enemy-Susanne-Bellamy-ebook/dp/B00LGDXHZA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404452861&sr=8-1&keywords=9780857991768 
iBooks:  https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/engaging-the-enemy/id895324558?mt=11 
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=9780857991768 
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/engaging-the-enemy-5


Excerpt From Engaging the Enemy:
Andrea de Villiers couldn’t have orchestrated the accident better if she’d planned for a year  instead of just one night. 
  Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres were almost finished as she edged closer to the group of Melbourne’s wealthy charity patrons and supporters and lined up her tray of drinks with Matt Mahoney’s chest. 
  One second to launch. 
  She took a deep, steadying breath and stepped forward. 
  His blonde companion’s arms drew a giant circle in the air, collided with the edge of her tray and Mr. Mahoney, corporate developer and all round jerk, was instantly wearing expensive champagne as an accessory to his Armani dinner jacket. 
  Round one to Andie.
  Served him right for refusing to meet her. He brushed futilely at his shiny lapels and a thrill raced through her. 
  I did it. 
  Andie-never-puts-a-foot-wrong-de Villiers had done the unthinkable. If only she could tell him who she was, her triumph would have been complete.  

Thanks for joining me Susanne to talk about Engaging the Enemy. I can't wait to read it!

This week, join three more talented authors as they talk about their writing process... 

Heather Kinnane is the author of fantasy and romance, living in the island state of Tasmania, Australia. With a fascination of all things magical and mysterious, it's no wonder her stories contains elements of the Otherworld as she weaves tales that introduce readers to the beautiful landscapes of her island home. Her blog can be found here: http://heatherkinnane.com/news/

Elizabeth M Darcy author of Historical Romance. From Knights in shining armour to Highlanders and English rakehells, Elizabeth takes her readers on a romantic journey through history with deliciously handsome heroes and strong heroines. Find her blog at: http://elizabethdarcyauthor.blogspot.com.au/

Kris Ashton has been a journalist since 1998. In 2005 he sold his first short story and two years later he published his first novel, a paranormal romance called Ghost Kiss. Kris’s novel Hollywood Hearts Ablaze will be released in March 2014. See his blog at: http://kris-ashton.wix.com/spec-fic#!My-Writing-Process-Blog-Tour/c13oz/D4F51678-5FC2-470C-9FC8-7B567E537295

Today, it’s my turn in the My Writing Process Blog Tour, where authors and writers answer questions about their writing process. Last week, my friend, Noelle Clark, Australian author of the wonderful contemporary romances Let Angels Fly and Rosamanti wrote about her writing
process. You can read more here: www.noelleclark.blogspot.com.au 
 
This week, you can read not only my post but those of Kendall Talbot and Susanne Bellamy.

Everyone has their own unique way of writing. With the help of a few questions, I’ll talk about mine.

 1)     What am I working on?
Currently I’m working on revisions to my historical romance, Colonial Cousin, set in convict NSW and Regency England. This is a story I wrote many years ago and have heavily revised in the last year. The way in which I have worked on it certainly doesn’t reflect my writing process for The Persuasion of Miss Jane Brody, my recent historical romance set in
Regency England. For that book, I plotted it out, knew the character motivations and development, then I wrote it. I wrote in short bursts for the first five chapters, fitting writing in between full-time work and family time, then did an intense burst of writing to finish it while on annual leave for four weeks. A few months of revisions followed. 

2)     How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Like other writers, I try to take the reader into the historical period in which the story is set and into the minds of the characters so that they can relate their story. I’ve been told that my work differs from others in its genre by including social commentary in a historical romance. Certainly, in The Persuasion of Miss Jane Brody, women's rights and their sphere are important component. 

3)     Why do I write what I do?
I write stories that come from an idea for a character or from an interest in a particular time period I want to explore. I try to write stories that I want to read. For me, that means believable characters, period-appropriate dialogue, motivations and plots. 
 
4)     How does your writing process work?
As I’m a plotter, I like to know where my story is going to end up, the character arcs and at least a basic sketch of how I’m going to get there, before I start. Therefore, I spend quite a bit of time on working out the background, although I have been known to write a first chapter with only the most rudimentary outline of the story worked out, because I just have to get my initial idea down in writing. The rest flows from there...

Next week, you will meet some of my fellow Steam eReads authors, each of whom writes in different ways and genres:

Heather Kinnane is the author of fantasy and romance, living in the island state of Tasmania, Australia. With a fascination of all things magical and mysterious, it's no wonder her stories contains elements of the Otherworld as she weaves tales that introduce readers to the beautiful landscapes of her island home. Her blog can be found here: http://heatherkinnane.com/news/

Elizabeth M Darcy author of Historical Romance. From Knights in shining armour to Highlanders and English rakehells, Elizabeth takes her readers on a romantic journey through history with deliciously handsome heroes and strong heroines. Find her blog at: http://elizabethdarcyauthor.blogspot.com.au/

Kris Ashton has been a journalist since 1998. In 2005 he sold his first short story and two years later he published his first novel, a paranormal romance called Ghost Kiss. Kris’s novel Hollywood Hearts Ablaze will be released in March 2014. See his blog at: http://kris-ashton.wix.com/spec-fic#!blog/chun

In the spotlight today is multiple award-winning author, Jacqueline Seewald.

Jacqueline has taught creative, expository and technical writing at Rutgers University as well as high school English. She also worked as both an academic librarian and an educational media specialist. Fifteen of her books of fiction have been published to critical praise. Recent releases are her co-authored mystery THE THIRD EYE and prize-winning historical romance THE CHEVALIER. Her short stories, poems, essays, reviews and articles have appeared in hundreds of diverse publications and numerous anthologies. 

Her romantic short stories have appeared in such anthologies as: TOUCHED BY WONDER (story nominated for a Nebula Award), PASSIONATE HEARTS,
ROMANCE OF MY DREAMS 2, WITH ARMS WIDE OPEN, A WOMAN'S GOODNIGHT, and HarperCollins UK Mischief anthology HOLIDAY AFFAIRS. 

Her sensual historical romance novel TEA LEAVES AND TAROT CARDS received an endorsement from Jayne Ann Krentz which appears on the cover of that novel, published both as a hardcover from Five Star/Gale and in large print from Thorndike Press. It is soon to be released as an e-book from Steam eReads.

In which romance sub-genres do you write?
Jacqueline: I write historical romance, romantic suspense and romantic mysteries.

Why this sub-genre? What do you love about it?
Jacqueline: Today I will talk only about historical romance. I’ve always loved history and as an undergraduate in college I majored in English and history. The past fascinates me. When I took my graduate degree in English, I always read about the
background of authors as well as what they wrote. I wanted to know why they wrote what they did. The times writers live in play a great part in how and what they write. For many years I taught both American and British lit courses. I always discussed
the lives and times of authors with my students as well as the literature itself.

Where do your books fit within it? What is distinctive about your books?
Jacqueline: I like to think my novels are unique and special. I love reading romance fiction. But I try hard not to copy other authors or write to any formula. For instance, in THE CHEVALIER Madeline, my heroine, is far from perfect. She is young, romantic, passionate and prone to make mistakes in judging people. Her lack of worldly experience works against her. Gar, the hero of this Georgian romance, is in contrast, worldly and a bit jaded by his experiences in life and soldiering. He doesn’t trust easily.
I  did considerable research for this novel because I wanted to get the details right. The Georgian period in British history is exciting and tempestuous. The Highland army supporting Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Young Pretender as he was called, nearly marched to London creating great panic in England. 

What inspires your writing? 
Jacqueline:  By nature I’m a creative person. I paint landscapes, still life, and I love many types of music. Life inspires me to write. It might be people I talk to or a nonfiction article I’ve read.
 
Whose writing has influenced yours?
Jacqueline: Many writers have influenced me. I would say Jane Austen has been a strong influence on my historical fiction. I love all of her novels and have read and reread them many times.
 
If you weren’t writing in this sub-genre, what would you write?
Jacqueline:  My Kim Reynolds romantic mystery series is one I hope to continue. Of course,  that will all depend on readership. The first three novels in the series: THE INFERNO COLLECTION, THE DROWNING POOL, THE TRUTH SLEUTH, received very good reviews and sold fairly well in hardcover, large print and then paperback through Harlequin Worldwide Mystery.

The 4th Kim Reynolds mystery, THE BAD WIFE, is scheduled for an April 1, 2014 publication from Perfect Crime Books in print and e-book. 

Where would be your ideal writing retreat? 
Jacqueline: I would love to be someplace tropical. I’d like to see Hawaii and I do want to visit Australia. I think both places would be inspiring.
 
Tell us about your latest book/WIP…
Jacqueline:  If The Chevalier does well, I’d like to write a sequel. The same goes for TEA LEAVES AND TAROT CARDS which SteameReads will republish in a new ebook edition April 7, 2014. I’ve already written several new historical romances that are ready to submit to publishers as well as a new romantic mystery entitled THE INHERITANCE.

Thanks for visiting today, and for sharing so generously. I hope you’ll come back in the future.
Jacqueline:  Thank you so much for inviting me!


Blurb for THE CHEVALIER:
Try as hard as they might, their overwhelming passion for each other cannot be denied. Madeline--young, romantic, passionate, impulsive--and Gareth--world weary, cynical—meet in a time of political upheaval. They are on opposite sides. Yet there is a strong and immediate attraction between them. Madeline's mother wants her to marry her Highland laird cousin, Andrew, but Madeline's heart is with Gar.

Extract from THE CHEVALIER:

From Chapter One:

London, 1745 
     “She found her warm shawl and moved with agility across the room and out the wide doors. There was torchlight to illuminate the walkways through the shrubbery, but the garden was deserted. Madeline bravely continued forward, shivering in the evening chill. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could see the tall figure of a man off to one side looming near a carved bench, his leg raised as he leaned forward on it. She decided to simply walk past him.

     "I wouldn't go walking through the hedge." His voice was deep, resonant and pleasing to her ear.

     He had actually noticed her. She quickly turned around. "Why not?"
     "It is not the sort of thing a young lady should do if she is unescorted."
     "Then perhaps you  might escort me?" She was glad that it was dark so that he would be unlikely to  see how red her face was, for she was certain that it had colored deeply. In her whole life, she had never been so outspoken.
     He let out a rumbling, surprised laugh that came from deep within his chest. "You would compromise your
reputation if you took a walk in the maze with me."
     "Would we get lost?"  she asked in a soft voice.
     "Most assuredly, I do not know the way. And you would certainly be lost."
     She stared into his eyes with interest. "I was told that you are a notorious rake. Is that so?" She
was mortified by her own audacity.  What was wrong with her? Mama would slap her if she knew how badly Madeline was behaving.
     He laughed again with a surprised sound that had the clarity of a bell. "You are either the most innocent chit imaginable or the most accomplished flirt I have ever had occasion to meet."
     He sounded amused but she regretted her foolish remark. Surely, she had been taught better. "I am sorry. I truly did not mean to behave in an insulting manner."
     He smiled at her in a forgiving manner. "Who protects you?"
     Her brows rose questioningly. "Why do I need protection?"
     "From men like me, of course," he said with a disarming smile that took her breath away. "We are prone to snatch away the innocence of young maidens. Who are you?"
     "I am Madeline de Marnay. My father, Etienne de Marnay, was the Comte de Sarnou, French Deputy Ambassador to England. He died six months ago."
     "My condolences. And you have not returned to France, Mademoiselle?"
     "No, my maman is ill and does not wish to leave England quite yet. But when we go, I believe it will not be to France but to Scotland."
     He narrowed his jewel-like eyes. "Why Scotland of all places?"
     "Maman was born there. She still has family in the northwest. My grandfather was the chief of a clan in
the Highlands but he supported King James against the Elector of Hanover and was forced to flee with his family or be
arrested for treason." She was telling him more than she ought. Why did she have the unfortunate tendency to babble when she was nervous?
     "So your mother wants to return to the Highlands, but why?"  His tone was cool, disinterested.
     "The Highlands will always be her home. And now that Papa is gone, she wishes to be buried with her own people."
     Gareth Eriksen shook his head. "She is picking the worst possible time to go to Scotland. Tell her that the Young Pretender is on the march with a Highland army. Soon, they'll be facing a large British force and the danger to anyone caught in between could be devastating. She would be risking your life as well as her own." 
His fierce frown was magnificently masculine and she let out a small sigh of admiration.
     "Prince Charles Edward might make a fine showing, don't you think?" Madeline was unable to restrain the enthusiasm
from her voice. The passion she expressed for the cause masked the strange, disturbing feelings for the handsome stranger that so heated her blood.
     She hoped that he could not read her mind; she would truly die of shame if he had an inkling of how desperately she wished to caress his cheek with the tips of her fingers. And Mother of God, if only this virile man would crush her into his arms and kiss
her—perhaps even make love to her! Where were such wild, outrageous thoughts coming from? She must be mad!”

Author’s links: 
FB: [email protected] 
Twitter: JacquelineSeewald@JacquelineSeewa

Buy links:
Beyond the Bo Tree http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DTV0750
Death Legacy http://www.harlequin.com/author.html?authorid=2189
The Chevalier http://steamereads.com.au/product/the-chevalier/ or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GY95RTU/

Elizabeth M Darcy interviewed historical romance writer Isabella Hargreaves today. They chatted about writing, making the most of rejections and The Persuasion of Miss Jane Brody. Want to know more? Go to: http://elizabethdarcyauthor.blogspot.com.au/

Featuring The Persuasion of Miss Jane Brody, join me on tour from 16-20 January 2014 with Dreams Come True Promotions. Details coming soon.

The Persuasion of Miss Jane Brody is set in Regency England. Jane Brody is a passionate follower of Mary Wollstonecraft's beliefs about the rights of women. She campaigns for better education and employment opportunities for girls so they can be independent of men. Jonathan Everslie, Marquis of Dalton, needs a wife and heir, but can't find a woman who doesn't bore him. Then he meets Jane Brody. He finds her attractive, but her politics dangerous. Will Dalton risk his political career to win Jane’s love and persuade her that they belong together?

Available now from Steam eReads: http://steamereads.com.au/product/the-persuasion-of-miss-jane-brody/  or download from Amazon.

See Isabella Hargreaves' interview by publisher Steam eReads @ http://steamereads.com.au/blog/