Interview with Shana Galen

Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome back Shana Galen to the blog.   We are chatting about her best piece of advice and her newest release Love and Let Spy (Lord and Lady Spy)

Shana it is always good to have you on the blog.  For those who don’t know you can you please share with us a little about yourself

I’m a wife, a mom, and a former English teacher. I’ve been writing fulltime for the last 5 years, and I’ve published almost twenty books.

Have you always wanted to be an author?

Not at all. I used to want to be an opera singer. I never really thought about authors or where books came from. It didn’t occur to me until after I’d been teaching English for a couple of years, that people wrote these novels and that was their job. Seemed like a good job to me!

What is your most interesting writing quirk?

I have to walk around a lot in order to think while I’m writing.

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

Love and Let Spy is basically James Bond, except James is Jane.  She’s the best spy the Crown has to offer, and she’s single-minded when it comes to completing missions. But she doesn’t count on meeting Dominic Griffyn. He’s not the typical Bond love interest. He’s dark and complex, and I think he’s as interesting a character as Jane.

How did you come with the idea for this story?

All of the books in this series are based on iconic spy movies—Mr. and Mrs. Smith, True Lies, and of course I had to include James Bond. He’s the spy we all know and love. But I wanted to make my Bond different, so I made James a Jane and explored what Bond might be like as a woman in the Regency era.

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

I have a new series coming out in January, and it follows a group of thieves and their intersection with a noble family in London. The first is a novella titled The Viscount of Vice, and it’s about a viscount with a bad reputation who has the chance to redeem himself. The first book is out in February, and it’s Earls Just Want to Have Fun. It’s about the head of the Derring family, the Earl of Dane, and what happens when he meets a female thief who challenges everything he thinks and knows.

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

Honestly, I’ve met every author I really wanted to meet at this point. I’ve been writing seriously since 2000, so I’ve had the chance to go to many conferences and conventions. The only author I hadn’t met that I wanted to meet was Julie Garwood, and I finally met her in Kansas City at the RT 2013 convention.

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

I always give the same advice, the advice of the indomitable Winston Chruchill: “Never, never, never give up.”

Can you share with us something off your bucket list.

I want to spend a month living, touring, and working in the UK when my daughter is a bit older and can come with me.

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

I want to read Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo and The One by Kiera Cass. They are waiting for me to get ahead on my work, so I have time to read.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I just want to thank my readers for embracing this series. It was originally intended to be one book, but due to reader support, I’ve written three books and a novella in the series. Thank you!

A little more about Shana:

Shana Galen is the bestselling author of fast-paced adventurous Regency historicals. She taught English at the middle and high school level off and on for eleven years. Most of those years were spent working in Houston’s inner city. Now she writes full-time. She lives in Houston, Texas .

Want to learn more about Shana and her books?  Check her out here Website | Facebook | Twitter @shanagalen | Goodreads

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Her name is Bonde, Jane Bonde…

A beautiful and eligible member of the ton, Jane has more than a few secrets: she’s one of the Crown’s most elite agents. She may be deadly, but she doesn’t know a thing about fashion, flirtation, or love…until Dominic Griffyn shakes up her carefully stirred world and asks her to be his bride. He’s exactly the kind of man she’s not looking for. And he’s dangerous, because falling into his arms is so much more satisfying than saving England from her enemies.

He’s an improper gentleman who needs a wife…

Talk, dark, and tortured, Dominic Griffyn is haunted by demons from his past. When his stepfather insists that he marry, Dominic allows himself to hope that the beautiful but mysterious Miss Bonde might help him forget his troubles. As they grow closer, it’s clear that there’s more to Jane than danger. She might be just what his neglected heart needs.