So, how did I go about choosing the two winners of Lori’s debut WILD HEART? Very scientifically. Hamish McDuff, my little Westie, hangs around my desk when I write (so he is there most of the time). He has the strange habit of laying on any paper that happens to find its way to the floor (which can be often, depending on my speed of thought on any given day). Drop more than one page I’m working on, or how about an entire chapter, and he suddenly becomes very selective about where he parks his round belly (he’s eleven, he earned his round belly). Aha! What would he do if I spread all the contestants names out? So I wrote them on pieces of paper and spread them on the floor. He sniffed. And then he sniffed again. He sniffed each paper and then plop, down he went on the first page.

 Drum roll, please…Lisa Santos!

 That was so cool! Let’s do it one more time. I gathered up all the papers, discarded Lisa’s (while Hamish looked on, slightly confused) and scattered the others about.

 ”For me?” I could imagine him thinking. He made another sniffing trek around the sheets of paper and plopped down. Again, a drum roll, please…Tess!

 See, don’t you think that was professional and very scientific? Ladies, please email me with your mailing addresses so I can pass them on to Lori Brighton.

 Thank you, Lori, and thank you everyone for a fun contest.

Wild Heart is Lori’s debut historical romance with a twist. One look at the first pages (excerpted below) and I knew why I wanted Lori to be the first guest on my online journal (besides the fact that she’s just plain nice and fun). Let’s see if you can guess why, as well (I smile).

Sussex, England, 1855

Surely God was punishing her.

After all, hadn’t Lady Buckley reminded her again and again no good would come to those who had the devil’s ability? Ella plucked at the tattered lace on her cuff, her morose thoughts getting the better of her. As if she any control over her powers. As if she had any control over the devil. As if she had any control over her life.

Do not tell anyone what you are capable of, Lady Buckley’s words whispered through her memory, bringing with them the heat of shame.

Too nervous to stand, Ella sank onto a window seat and focused on the garden, attempting to glean comfort from the cheery daisies. Truth be told, she should have been ecstatic to have been given the post. From the crystal chandeliers, to the soft carpets that covered the floor-boards, the home reeked of money and privilege. A privilege now extended to include her. So why then wasn’t she thrilled to leave Lady Buckley’s noxious company?

“You don’t look well,” Fran whispered, stepping close to her side.

She didn’t feel well either, but Ella forced a smile to her lips. She hadn’t felt right since their carriage swept through the impressive iron gates of Sodalitas Castle. Was it nerves or something more? Blast it, but she couldn’t tell.

Lori once worked as a museum curator, but soon decided working with her imagination was more intriguing than working with dead things. People often ask me why I have chosen to write romance and so I thought I would pose the same question to an anthropologist. Not only did Lori jump in with a response, she brought two books along to give away to two lucky people. All you have to do is leave a comment telling us why you think the first pages of Wild Heart made me want Lori as my first guest (hint: if you can’t figure it out, go to my “links” page for the key). You can read more about Leo and Ella on Lori’s website at www.loribrighton.com. Here’s Lori:

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I first discovered romance novels when at the impressionable age of sixteen, I read a Julie Garwood book. Instantly I fell in love. I couldn’t get enough of her historicals and would stay up all night to read them. It wasn’t until years later that I decided to write my own romance. Why? My imagination wouldn’t rest! I had these darn stories taunting me every night when I went to bed. I figured, maybe if I wrote one down I could sleep in peace. Of course it only made room for the next story to pop up.

Why do I write romance? Why wouldn’t I? In my opinion romance has what every other genre has: suspense, mystery, heck you can even find sci-fi in romance. But what makes romance special? It’s the focus on that basic human need, what we all want, love. The happily ever after doesn’t hurt either. Life is hard enough as it is, why read a book that leaves you miserable and crying? Why do I read romance? Because they make me happy and hopeful. What better reason is there?

Of course as an optimistic romance reader, I hadn’t realized that writing romance was a little more difficult than reading romance. About 3 manuscripts, much heartache, and six years later, I finally got a book deal. Wild Heart, my Victorian romance is out in stores now.

Many times authors are asked what triggered the idea for their latest book. For Wild Heart, there were a couple things that spurred it into existence. My son, who was a toddler at the time, often watched the Disney Tarzan movie. I’d always loved an alpha male and you couldn’t get more alpha than Tarzan. I’d also seen a show about feral children. What would happen, I wondered, if I had a hero who had gotten lost in the jungle as a child?

I had my book idea and eagerly started my manuscript. But something wasn’t right and if writers know anything, it’s that you can’t ignore the muse. The book needed something more…but what? Paranormal was huge (and still is) so why not combine two of my favorite subgenres…paranormal and historical? Since the hero tended to be animalistic, what if the heroine could sense and control animals? This concept would bind them in a way that most heroes and heroines aren’t. I knew I was on the right track when the book started finaling in contests. Still, it was a long, bumpy road before I finally sold the book to Kensington.

So what about you? Do you like it when authors mix subgenres? Leave a comment! Two people will win a copy of my debut book, Wild Heart!