Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome Monica Burns to the blog today.

Monica, can you please share with us a little about yourself

Okay, when people ask me a question like that, the door is wide open, but I won’t bore you with tons of nonsense. The long and short of it is, I’m a bestselling author of sexy historical romance and paranormal romance.

A bestselling author of spicy erotic romance, Monica Burns penned her first short romance story at the age of nine when she selected the pseudonym she uses today. From the days when she hid her stories from her sisters to her first completed full-length manuscript, she always believed in her dream despite rejections and setbacks. A workaholic wife and mother, Monica believes it’s possible for the good guy to win if they work hard enough.

Have you always wanted to be an author?

Yep. I was writing romance at the age of nine, when I selected my pseudonym. Seriously. I’m a born marketer, and I picked Monica because it sounded exotic and Burns because it starts with a B and would be eyelevel to book customers. Of course, that was back when there weren’t as many books available. But it still puts me close to the front of the line. I think in my next life, I’m going to use the pseudonym, Abby Normal

Are you a plotter or a punster or combo of both? And you explain the difference? 

I’m more a pantser than plotter. My plotting is basically done in a synopsis, and I write the barebones of the story. For example, my current WIP had loosely laid out plot line. I know that the hero is blackmailed into marrying the heroine. The heroine has recently found freedom in the BDSM lifestyle as a Domme. The hero is a Submissive. The two have different things going on with their inner conflicts. She’s pretty much had it with people telling her what to do all her life, so the Domme aspect is pretty self-explanatory. The hero is more complex. The hero’s father beat the hero’s mother while the hero was forced to watch as he was too young to protect his mother. Being a Submissive is in a way his penitence. So I’ve got these two characters who are forced into a marriage, they both have issues, the hero works in the seedy East End of London as a solicitor helping a barrister find evidence to defend people. There’s a bad guy who’s revealing names within the BDSM club (we all know that’s a BIG no no), and this bad guy winds up getting involved with one of the hero’s seedy enemies from the East End and something bad happens that may/may not put the heroine or the hero in danger. THAT is the extent of my plotting. The rest of it is putting words on paper as the scenes come to me. I already have three scenes in my head that I’ve yet to key in, but they’re rock solid. As a pantser, I just sit down and let the story flow out on the page. At least that’s how it’s *supposed* to work! It’s rarely that easy. In fact, I’ve only ever had one book in my career that just rolled off my fingers.

What is your most interesting writing quirk?

Hmm…I don’t really have one. I need to have my iced tea first thing in the morning when I start writing, and that’s about as quirky as I get. I don’t have any rabbit’s foot or any kind of crutch.

Can you please tell us about your latest book(s)?

A Bluestocking Christmas is one of my favorite stories because it has a ghost, the hero is hot as hell, and the entire story has an intense focus on literary works. Essentially, the hero uses words to seduce the heroine, well that and other seductive powers.

How did you come with the idea for this story?

A Bluestocking Christmas is a back list book from when I was first published by an ePub. I love books (go figure LOL), and I wanted to see what I could do with a ghost and a hero who uses words to make the heroine submit to him. It’s a romantic tip of the hat to Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.

Can you share with us your current work(s) in progress?

His Mistress is my current work, which I outlined above, and I’m about half way done with it. After that book is completed, I’ll be working on another Order of the Sicari series, which started out at Berkley, but they decided not to contract more books. But there are a lot of people who’ve asked for the series, and I love the world of the Sicari, so I’m going back.

Who is the one author that you would love to meet someday and why?

Well, I can’t meet that author because she’s dead. Charlotte Bronte wrote the most amazing hero in Jane Eyre, and I would love to sit down and have a private, confidential girl chat with her about how she came up with Rochester, and whether she knew someone that she based the character on. Rochester was just so *real* to me, and it makes me think Charlotte modeled after someone, despite her brilliance as an author.

What is the best piece of advice you would give to someone that wants to get into writing?

Learn the rules of writing. Actually, they’re just guidelines, but you have to learn them to hone your craft. Once you know the “rules,” toss them out the window and break the rules left and right. Finally, write for yourself first, your readers second, and NEVER ever write to a trend. Unless you’re a fast writer, you’ll miss the wave. And yes, point the finger, I’m writing my first BDSM. However, I’m writing a male Sub, that’s not an easy type of hero to find, but thanks to my pal Joey Hill, I’m feeling pretty good about making Tobias an alpha type of Sub.

Can you share with us something off your bucket list.

I have several things on my bucket list.

1) I want to ride the top 10 roller coasters in the world. I have nine to go.

2) I want to drive a race car of Lamborghini (preferably the Lamborghini) on a straightway at 120mph.

3) Visit Rome, Italy

4) Visit the Pyramids at Giza and the Temple of Karnak in Luxor

5) Visit England (that might happen March 2014) and Scotland.

6) I want to learn how to speak Italian and Klingon. Actually the Italian piece I’m learning now via Rosetta Stone.

7) I want to learn fencing

8) I want to learn martial arts (I doubt this will happen thanks to a bad back)

9) I intend to sky dive at 82. If I live that long going splat won’t matter. The other option is to bungee jump with a Bowie knife because I refuse to go to a nursing home.

What is in your To Read Pile that you are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for?

I have tons of books in my TBR pile, but I don’t have any one single book that sticks out in my mind as a must read. I don’t get to read very often, which makes it difficult to find a series I can immerse myself in. If I had to pick one, I’d say Dan Brown’s Inferno. I’ve been wanting to read it since I first heard he was writing it. The book has been out since mid-May and I’ve *yet* to even come close to getting to it. I must have about 200 books on my Kindle, Nook combined, but time is so limited.

What is one book everyone should read before they die?

Jane Eyre – It’s characterization is exquisite in my opinion

What is your favorite time of year & why?

The fall, hands down. Why? The air is crisp with a bite in the morning, while the evening still holds the softness of the day’s sun yet the cool nip that hints the temperature is about to drop. Then there’s the sound of leaves cracking beneath your feet or the sound of laughter as a kid jumps into a pile of leaves behind their dad’s back. I love how apple cider and cinnamon fills the air on a pumpkin farm, or the whiff of sweet smoke from a neighbor’s fire. Fall means back-to-school, Halloween, the quiet that follows summer, and the coming holidays. It’s just an awesome time of year. Pretty much the calm before the storm (the holidays).

Who is your Celebrity crush?  And what would you do if you ever meet them?

Well, if we’re talking eye candy, then that would be Vin Diesel, Matt Bomer (who my associate film producer nephew worked with on a film recently. Le sigh) and Scott Eastwood (Clint Eastwood’s son). I imagine I’d just say hi while inside I’d be thinking, oh God, I wish I was skinnier, prettier and a hell of a lot younger.

If we’re talking just “interesting” celebrity then it would be Anthony Hopkins. He’s a brilliant actor, and there’s only been one movie of his I didn’t like. That was Magic, which was a very creepy film. Obviously he did an exceptional job in it, because I still remember it (70s film), but I didn’t enjoy it. So I supposed I’d have to ask him how/why he started and questions like that.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Thank you for the great questions. Writing a blog post is difficult for me, but answering questions is like taking an essay test. It’s much easier. LOL

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A Bluestocking Christmas

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Sinful words, wicked pleasures and a ghost all add up to A Bluestocking Christmas with a Dickens of a twist.

As a young man, Simon, Viscount Wycombe learned the painful truth that a tradesman’s daughter is suitable only for liaisons and nothing more. But Ivy Beecham is a far cry from his preconceived notions, and he’s determined to have her. But when she rejects him, it only increases his determination to seduce her into a world of sin and pleasure.

Ivy Beecham knows first-hand that handsome aristocrats like Simon can’t be trusted. But the intellectual scoundrel is hellbent on making her his mistress, using every means at his seductive disposal. When she refuses to give away her heart on Christmas Eve, a ghostly specter shows her in one night why her surrender can be the greatest gift of all.

A little about Monica: 

A bestselling author of spicy historical and paranormal romance, Monica Burns penned her first short romance story at the age of nine when she selected the pseudonym she uses today. Her historical book awards include the 2011 RT BookReviews Reviewers Choice Award and the 2012 Gayle Wilson Heart of Excellence Award for Pleasure Me. She is also the recipient of the prestigious paranormal romance award, the 2011 PRISM Best of the Best award for Assassin’s Heart. From the days when she hid her stories from her sisters to her first completed full-length manuscript, she always believed in her dream despite rejections and setbacks. A workaholic wife and mother, Monica believes it’s possible for the good guy to win if they work hard enough.

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