That Dream I Dream

All authors come to writing in different ways. Some wake up one day from a dream and just have to write it down. Some toy with the idea for years before they even jot down a note. And some don’t even realize that’s they want to write, until they’re already in the process of writing a novel.

For me it was always what I wanted to do. As long as I could remember I’ve been writing down stories. I’ve been dreaming up ideas, and what I’d do when I was a big hit author. As a kid it seemed so easy. Just sit down and a book forms beneath your typing fingers. No work at all.

I’m sure you all realize that it’s not that easy, and I quickly did too. Just getting your butt in the chair is a lot of work, and then actually writing once you’re seated, that can be almost exhausting. Yet I am constantly amazed by what comes out. As a true pantser, I hardly ever know exactly what’s going to come out when I sit down. I have a rough idea, maybe I know the story will be about a couple reunited, or maybe it will be about a group of werewolves wandering the western plains, but beyond that simple idea, I don’t usually have any idea what I’m going to write.

When I sat down to write Reunion Makes Three, I had no idea that the story was going to be set in a small luxurious skiing town in Vermont, much like the one I grew up in. And I had no idea that not only would the characters in Reunion Makes Three steal my heart, but so would the town they lived in.

After writing this first book in my new Snowedin Fantasies series, I was immediately inundated with the other inhabitants of Snowedin. Beth’s sister, her best friend, the girl down the street, the librarian, even the shock jocks on the radio. Suddenly I wasn’t just thinking about Snowedin, I might as well have been living there. The town became so real for me, I feel in love with all of them. I can’t wait to explore even more of the town. I hope to give everyone in Snowedin the happily ever after they desire.

I couldn’t be happier to embark on my first long running series, and it feels right to be writing about a small town in Vermont, a place very much like the one I grew up in and where all these writing dreams first started. The dream I'm currently blissfully living out.

Reunion Makes Three, the first Snowedin Fantasy story, was released with Siren Publishing two days ago, and is currently on the best sellers list. I hope you’ll check it out. I think you’ll fall in love with Snowedin just like I did.

Beth Lewis has always had a fantasy to be with two men who also want each other. For her birthday, her sister gifts her with a subscription to Fantasies Fulfilled, an exclusive online service to help connect people with the same desires. After losing her job and her fiancé, she deserves a little fun and to live out a dream that's been tempting her since high school.

Since his reunion invitation arrived, Dell Harrison hasn't been able to stop thinking about his high school sweetheart, Beth. When he and his live-in boyfriend Marcos Vitagliano receive a mysterious invitation to participate in the exclusive Fantasies Fulfilled services, they decide to add a woman to their dynamic duo. What Dell couldn’t have guessed is that the woman they connect with is the same woman who's haunted him since graduation.

Will Marcos be able to accept Beth in their bed and their lives? Or will adding an old flame to their couple turn their duo into a crowd?

http://www.bookstrand.com/reunion-makes-three

Recurring Characters by Stephanie Julian

I'm working on the fifth book in the Lucani Lovers (title TBD) series at the moment and I just finished revisions on the second book in the Forgotten Goddesses series, HOW TO WORSHIP A GODDESS (Dec. 2011, Sourcebooks). Both series take place in my Etruscan Magic world, as does my Magical Seduction series. That makes for a lot of characters who live and love in my imaginary playground.

I love revisiting characters, especially my favorites. I have several and I'm always thrilled when I'm able to bring them into the story I'm working on. So in addition to falling in love with a new hero, I get to spend some time with a previous hunk.

Kyle Rossini is one of those favorites. He's shown up in every lucani book I've written and will also have a role in HOW TO WORSHIP A GODDESS. Kyle is my idea of a real man. He's strong, he's smart, and he loves his mate, Tam, with a quiet intensity that's so freaking hot. Kyle was one of those characters that came to me fully realized.

Cam de Feo was the same. He's self-confident, capable and the guy can work magic. Again, hot enough to scorch your fingers. Then there are those ears. Very cool.

And Sal, well, Sal's just different. He's a salbinelli, an Etruscan satyr, with the upper body of a man and the lower body of a goat. Yes, he looks like Pan but people don't mention that to his face. He tends to give them tails if they do. Sal's always there to lend a helping hand, whether it's to the lucani, the Forgotten Goddesses or the fata, the Etruscan fairy races. He's been a pivotal character in several stories but he'll get his HEA soon enough.

If you think it's all about the guys, then you've not met Nortia, Etruscan Goddess of Fate. I have so much fun with Nortia. She's such a smart ass. She says what she wants and doesn't give a shit what anyone else thinks. Of course, the fall from such lofty heights can be far so Norty better watch her back. And her heart.

And finally, there's Cat. Cat is the daughter I'll never have, since both of my real children are boys, soon to be young men. She's almost too perfect, isn't she? Sweet-natured, loving, beautiful, smart. Strong. She's going to need that strength because life has a way of throwing curve balls at you. And even if you're expecting them, sometimes they don't curve the way you think they might.

All of my favorite series, like the Black Dagger Brotherhood, the Psy-Changeling series, The Breeds, have created a community where the characters we're fallen in love with over the course of three or five or seven books come back and are an integral part of the larger story being told.

That's what I'm striving for.

So what are some of your favorite series and recurring characters?