Welcome Marie-Nicole Ryan!

Giveaway Information: An electronic copy of Taming Talia and a set romance trading cards for Seducing the Sheriff and Taming Talia.

Did you choose your genre or did it choose you?

MNR:  A little bit of both. I’ve always loved reading romance and mysteries and drifted toward romantic suspense. Romantic suspense is my favorite genre, but since RS seems to have soft sales at my current publisher, I thought perhaps it was time for a slight re-direct. I chose erotic historical westerns because I fell in love with HBO’s Deadwood. I loved their frank language and non-idealized depictions of the Old West. I started brainstorming several linked stories set in that time period.

Did you enjoy language arts in school? Did you have a teacher that particularly encouraged you to write?

MNR: I certainly enjoyed English lit in school. I think it was my homeroom teacher who encouraged me to write, more than any of my English teachers, although she taught English as well. She had access to my test scores and based her opinion on those. My junior English teacher taught us in high school from her college books, but she was one tough broad when it came to grading. I think I received more discouragement from her than what you might expect. LOL

It’s five o’clock somewhere…Let’s have a drink! What cocktail best describes you and why?

MNR: Margarita—because it’s sweet, salty and has a bit of a kick.

It seems we all endured English and/or World literature coming up in high school…What was the worst book you were ever forced to read and what about it turned you off?

MNR: I honestly can’t think of anything in the classics that turned me on in high school or college. I’m pretty sure I never finished reading MOBY DICK in junior literature.

You have a million dollars that you must donate to one charitable organization. Which one would you choose and why?

MNR: Just one? There are so many animal rescue organizations needing help. I guess then it would have to be the ASPCA. I would also try to find a way to donate money to the Middle Tennessee Sheltie Rescue organization because that’s where I adopted my precious Cassie.

Do you have one of those pesky day jobs, or are you a full-time writer? If you do have another career what do you do and do you enjoy it?

MNR: I’m retired from my day job as a RN case manager, so that makes me a full-time writer. But do I write eight hours a day—nope. When I actually have a work in progress, I work from 2-3 hours a day. When I’m doing edits or revising, it’s more like 4-5 hours a day.

Due to the world we live in, most editors will tell a romance writer they have the moral obligation to protect their characters from scary life altering things, thereby being obligated to the reader. What are your thoughts on this? Do you protect your characters and how?

MNR:  I leave life-altering events to the literary fiction authors, or I leave these events in the backstory of my characters. I write read and romance for the happy ending. I’m not going to do anything which will interfere with the HEA, but I might come close to making the reader think the HEA isn’t going to happen.

Romance has come a long, long way since Fabio graced the covers regularly…it seems the hinges are off the proverbial door. How far is too far in your mind? Are there things you simply won’t write?

MNR: I used to say I wouldn’t write erotic romance, so I won’t say never. However, there are some erotic subgenres which I don’t read and don’t interest me, so it’s doubtful I would write them.

I’ve been asked, as has my husband, if we do “all that stuff in my stories.” Do you get asked this and if so how do you handle it?

MNR: Only my mother has been rude enough to ask me that. My routine response is that I’ve also killed people in mysteries, but I didn’t actually go out and kill someone to know how to do it.

I had an editor early on that showed me the way…have you had anyone in particular that gave you a gentle **ahem** nudge in the right direction? How did they do that and how did you react?

MNR: When I was writing fan fiction, I met a multi-published author who was sort of burned out and who was writing fan fiction as well. She encouraged me to write and generously gave me my first professional critique. Oy vey! I learned so much from her, and I continue to learn from my editors, especially Linda Ingmanson at Samhain Publishing. She’s wonderful.

Wine or beer?

MNR:  Wine!

Satin or cotton?

MNR: Are you talking about my underwear or my sheets? I’ll leave it to your imagination.

Fries or tots?

MNR: Both. I never met a potato I didn’t like, except for sweet potatoes.

Cake or pie?

MNR: Both cake and pie have found their way inside this mouth of mine and were enjoyed immensely.

Steak or burgers?

MNR: Love both, but my budget tends toward the ground variety.

Candle light or pitch dark?

MNR: Just guessing here but this must mean for lovemaking? I’d say candle light, but given my age and body image, maybe pitch dark would be more appropriate. 

A sex-starved widow vows to bed the first suitable man she meets. Luckily, Pinkerton Agent Jared Fields fills the bill.

New widow Natalia Montrose vows over her not-so-dearly-departed husband's grave to bed the first suitable man she meets. Enter Jared Fields who offers to assist in managing her newfound wealth. No indeed. This passionate woman would rather keep control of her wealth while enjoying the stranger until  all her desires are sated.

Disowned by his wealthy New York City family, Jared Fields enjoys the freedom afforded by the various assignments he receives from the Pinkerton Agency. But discovering whether or not the Widow Montrose had her husband killed may prove a little too difficult. When he meets the fiery widow, all he can think about is what he'll do when he gets her in bed. 

When they meet, Natalia and Jared circle each other warily. Both feel the pull of sensual heat, but when the Blizzard of 1889 hits, will the sexual sparks be enough to keep them warm...or alive?

PURCHASE LINKS:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/taming-talia-marie-nicole-ryan/1110684911?ean=9781619211254

http://www.amazon.com/Taming-Talia-Loving-Lawman-ebook/dp/B008194788

http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/taming-talia/id525519452?mt=11

http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/item/9781619211254/Ryan-Marie-Nicole-Taming-Talia/1.html