Interview with Zoë Archer and Giveaway - November 3, 2010

Please welcome Zoë Archer to The Qwillery.

TQ:  What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

Zoë:  According to my husband, with whom I share an office (he's also a writer), when I write I make faces--basically, I'm mirroring the expressions on my characters' faces. I think that's probably the strangest thing I do when it comes to writing. Otherwise, I'm just sitting there in the same damn pair of yoga pants. I also like to listen to '80s music when I'm writing. It helps get me back in my youthful fantasy days. (Duran Duran forever, woo!)

TQ:  Who are some of your favorite writers? Who do you feel has influenced your writing?

Zoë:  For non-romance authors, I really enjoy Michael Ondaatje, Graham Greene, Leo Tolstoy, Deborah Eisenberg, Lorrie Moore and Alice Munro. For romance authors, I'm really digging on the new crop of historical authors: Courtney Milan, Julie Anne Long, Tessa Dare, Carrie Lofty, Meredith Duran, Sherry Thomas. For paranormal, Kresley Cole's books are the best kind of crack, Ava Gray, and Shana Abé's Drakon series.

One of the romance authors who really showed me that romance could be complex, literate and beautifully written was Judith Ivory/Judy Cuevas. Bliss remains one of my favorite romance novels. Just gorgeously written. I am also a Mary Jo Putney and Judith McNaught fan. They really got me interested in becoming a romance author.

TQ:  Are you a plotter or a panster?

Zoë:  I'd say 95% plotter. Especially with the kinds of narrative structure in my books, I need to know where I'm going and how I'm getting there. Every book starts with an outline that gets elaborated upon and developed, often evolving or changing as I actually start writing the book. Sometimes I see that a character's motivations are changing, or I need to enrich a certain scene, so the outline changes. Those pantsers who just sit down and writing without any plan--they kind of scare me.

TQ:  How many books are planned for The Blades of the Rose series?

Zoë:  Right now, just the four books: WARRIOR, SCOUNDREL, REBEL and STRANGER. However, if sales are strong enough, and my publisher wants more, I'd love keep going. I already have some loose ideas for the next four. They would be set 20 years later (1895), much to the delight of my armorer (aka my husband). We'd see some familiar faces, but it would be a whole new generation of Blades, and an even more terrifying new enemy. (Buy the books--I really want to write these! *wink*)

TQ:  What sort of research did you do for the Blades of the Rose series?

Zoë:  A lot of research. I think I picked exotic locations just so I could research them. Blame it on years of graduate school, but I really like to do research. For the Blades, I spent a lot of time at the UCLA library. In fact, I maintain my UC alumni status so I can have library privileges. So, I read a ton of books, watched films of specific locations, and prowled the internet. Sadly, my budget didn't allow me to actually travel to the places I was writing about, but it did whet my appetite to go there. Mongolia is gorgeous!

TQ:  Are there any other genres in which you would like to write in addition to paranormal romance and historical romance?

Zoë:  In April 2011, my sci-fi romance COLLISION COURSE will be coming out from Carina Press. Space opera is just frakkin' awesome, and I'm glad that electronic presses are around so that more authors, like me, can write them. I also write straight historical fiction, but finding the time to work on it is very difficult. I'm under deadline for the romance, so that takes up my working hours. But don't get me wrong, I love love love writing romance. Love it.

TQ:  If you could dine with three people from the past who would they be and why?

Zoë:  I'm never good at this question! Hmm... Maybe Joseph Banks (the 18th century English naturalist), Leo Tolstoy and Aphra Behn (the 17th century English playwright and possible spy).

TQ: What's next?

Zoë:  There's my sci-fi romance in April, and then I'll have a new three-book paranormal historical series launching December 2011. The series is called THE HELLRAISERS, and its about a group of 18th century English rakes who inadvertently free the Devil from his prison and literally raise hell. It's dark and sexy and a lot of fun. It's very different from the Blades, especially because the heroes aren't very nice people. In fact, the heroes are the villains. But the heroines still kick ass. It's not a Zoë Archer book unless the heroines do some ass kicking.

TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.


About Zoë's Books

The Blades of the Rose Series:

Book One

To most people, the realm of magic is the stuff of nursery rhymes and dusty libraries. But for Capt. Gabriel Huntley, it's become quite real and quite dangerous... 

In Hot Pursuit... 
The vicious attack Capt. Gabriel Huntley witnesses in a dark alley sparks a chain of events that will take him to the ends of the Earth and beyond—where what is real and what is imagined become terribly confused. And frankly, Huntley couldn't be more pleased. Intrigue, danger, and a beautiful woman in distress—just what he needs. 

In Hotter Water... 
Raised thousands of miles from England, Thalia Burgess is no typical Victorian lady. A good thing, because a proper lady would have no hope of recovering the priceless magical artifact Thalia is after. Huntley's assistance might come in handy, though she has to keep him in the dark. But this distractingly handsome soldier isn't easy to deceive... 


Book Two

The Blades of the Rose are sworn to protect the sources of magic in the world. But the work is dangerous—and they can't always protect their own... 

Ready For Action... 
London Harcourt's father is bent on subjugating the world's magic to British rule. But since London is a mere female, he hasn't bothered to tell her so. He's said only that he's leading a voyage to the Greek isles. No matter, after a smothering marriage and three years of straitlaced widowhood, London jumps at the opportunity—unfortunately, right into the arms of Bennett Day.

Risking It All... 
Bennett is a ladies' man, when he's not dodging lethal attacks to protect the powers of the ancients from men like London's father. Sometimes, he's a ladies' man even when he is dodging them. But the minute he sees London he knows she will require his full attention. The woman is lovely, brilliant, and the only known speaker of a dialect of ancient Greek that holds the key to calling down the wrath of the gods. Bennett will be risking his life again—but around London, what really worries him is the danger to his heart... 


Book Three

On the Canadian frontier in 1875, nature is a harsh mistress. But the supernatural can really do you in...

A Lone Wolf
Nathan Lesperance is used to being different. He's the first Native attorney in Vancouver, and welcome neither with white society nor his sometime tribe. Not to mention the powerful wildness he's always felt inside him, too dangerous to set free. Then he met Astrid Bramfield and saw his like within her piercing eyes. Now, unless she helps him through the harsh terrain and the harsher unknowns of his true abilities, it could very well get him killed...

And The Woman Who Left The Pack
Astrid has traveled this path before. Once she was a Blade of the Rose, protecting the world's magic from unscrupulous men, with her husband by her side. But she's loved and lost, and as a world-class frontierswoman, she knows all about survival. Nathan's searing gaze and long, lean muscles mean nothing but trouble. Yet something has ignited a forgotten flame inside her: a burning need for adventure, for life—and perhaps even for love...


Book 4 (coming December 7, 2010)

He protects the world's magic—with his science. But even the best scientists can fall prey to the right chemistry...

Looking For Trouble
Gemma Murphy has a nose for a story—even if the boys in Chicago's newsrooms would rather focus on her chest. So when she runs into a handsome man of mystery discussing how to save the world from fancy-pants Brit conspirators, she's sensing a scoop. Especially when he mentions there's magic involved. Of course, getting him on the record would be easier if he hadn't caught her eavesdropping...

Lighting His Fuse
Catullus Graves knows what it's like to be shut out: his ancestors were slaves. And he's a genius inventor with appropriately eccentric habits, so even people who love him find him a little odd. But after meeting a certain redheaded scribbler, he's thinking of other types of science. Inconvenient, given that he needs to focus on preventing the end of the world as we know it. But with Gemma's insatiable curiosity sparking Catullus's inventive impulses, they might set off something explosive anyway...


"The Undying Heart"
Prequel to The Blades of the Rose series


Samuel Reed had no idea magic existed, until it almost destroyed him. Thirsting for vengeance against the enemy who made him something less than human, Sam returns to England and crosses paths with Cassandra Fielding. His best friend's little sister has become a fearless woman on a dangerous mission of her own. And against all odds, she sees past what he's become, and stirs a desire he thought he'd lost forever. . .








Stand Alone Novels

The Lady Olivia Xavier, the cowboy who came to her rescue out ot the foggy London dusk could have stepped straight from one of her favorite dime novels. But when she was thrown into his arms, his solid chest and strong embrace assured her he was very real indeed. She needed a helping hand to save her late husband's brewery from an ambitions rival, and even though she couldn't understand half of the American's curious expressions, something in his gentle touch told Olivia she could trust this stranger from the untamed west.

It is the most beautiful fungus botanist Sophie Andrews has ever seen. And the man who comes with it is a pretty fine specimen, too. Sophie knows the bottle of love potion the roguish peddler tries to push on her is a hoax, but she has no time to argue. 

Ian Blackpool refuses to let the stubborn beauty who stumbled into his path track down the notorious Dark Dan McGannon alone. It is his duty to help. Surely it has nothing to do with the thrill he feels at her touch. After all, love is merely a specific chemical combination. But when Ian took Sophie in his arms, science went out the window...





About Zoë

Zoe Archer is an award-winning romance author who thinks there's nothing sexier than a man in tall boots and a waistcoat. As a child, she never dreamed about being the rescued princess, but wanted to kick butt right beside the hero. She now applies her master's degrees in Literature and Fiction to creating butt-kicking heroines and heroes in tall boots. Her BLADES OF THE ROSE series--featuring dashing men and fearless women--is now available. Zoe and her husband live in Los Angeles. Please visit her on the Web at http://www.zoearcherbooks.com/





Zoë's Links:

Twitter: @Zoe_Archer
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#%21/zoe.archer1
The Blades of the Rose: http://bladesoftherose.com/
Website: http://www.zoearcherbooks.com/


The Giveaway

THE RULES

What: One commenter will win the first 3 books in The Blades of the Rose series: Warrior, Scoundrel, and Rebel.

How: Leave a comment telling The Qwillery to which exotic location in the world (or universe) you would like to travel. If you don't tell The Qwillery about your exotic location of choice your entry will not be counted.

You can receive additional entries by:

1) Being a Follower of The Qwillery.

2) Mentioning the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter. Even if you mention the giveaway on both, you will get only one additional entry. You get only one additional entry even if you mention the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter multiple times.

3) Mentioning the giveaway on your on blog or website. It must be your own blog or website; not a website that belongs to someone else or a site where giveaways, contests, etc. are posted.

There are a total of 4 entries you may receive: Comment (1 entry), Follower (+1 entry), Facebook and/or Twitter (+ 1 entry), and personal blog/website mention (+1 entry). This is subject to change again in the future for future giveaways.

Please leave links for Facebook, Twitter, or blog/website mentions. In addition please leave a way to contact you.

Who & When: The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm US Eastern Time on Wednesday, November 10, 2010.

*Giveaway rules are subject to change.*