Today I am speaking with award winning author of erotic romance, Monica Burns. Hello Monica and welcome to Fallen Angel Reviews. It is a pleasure to have you with us.

Monica, love the caption on your website, welcome to ahh...sensation and award winning erotic romance. Very nice, along with the awesome cover for Assassin’s Heart. Why not let the readers know a little about this future release?

Isn’t the cover art for Assassin’s Heart to die for? Assassin’s Heart and Assassin’s Honor are the first two books in my Order of the Sicari series. Assassin’s Honor hits the shelf on June 1st and Assassin’s Heart comes out September 7th.

The series is about a group of telekinetic heroes (the Sicari) who can date their bloodline all the way back to Ancient Rome. Their culture exists beneath our modern day world, and their nemeses are telepaths who have been hiding behind the cloak of the Church for 2000 years. These telepaths (the Praetorians) have been trying to eliminate the Sicari since the days of the Caesars. There’s also a race to find an ancient artifact that holds the key to why the Sicari and their enemy are the way they are. I just love these two books, and my beta readers are swearing by them. *grin*

Would you like to tell us a bit about Kismet?

In Kismet, my Sheikh is a hot-blooded alpha all the way. Shaheen, aka Robert Camden, Viscount Newcastle, is a man who was thrown into the desert to die, but a Bedouin finds him and saves his life. Over the years, he’s come to love the simple life of the nomad, and Allegra, the heroine of Kismet, throws a major kink in his plans for helping his adopted family, not to mention his ability to control his lust. As for Allegra, she’s always controlled her destiny, but Shaheen rips the control of her fate out of her hands. It puts her in a vulnerable position, something that Shaheen finds not only alluring, but it arouses his protective instincts. The push and pull between these characters is something I love. Check out my excerpt for an example. http://www.monicaburns.com/BookshelfKismet.htm#Excerpt

As a workaholic and mother, when do you find the time to compose?

I get up around 5am every day and write for about 2.5 hours before I head to the day job. I also write for an hour at lunch, and if I don’t have a lot of stuff going on in the evenings (playing chess with Baby, dealing with school activities, etc.), I’ll write for another hour. On the weekend, I’m at the computer for at least 16 hrs a day with one or two hour breaks during the day to do family things.

Have you ever considered working on a children’s book?

I’ve thought about doing a YA with the help of my youngest. Baby loves story writing, but time is an issue for both of us. Her schoolwork comes first. She wants to be an engineer of some sort.

Would you say that writing helps to calm your soul and is a good form of stress relief?

Absolutely. As I’m writing this, I’ve got some major personal stress that’s happening in my life that’s not only emotionally upsetting, but scary too. So when I go write, I’m able to escape that fear and dread, just like a reader does when they pick up a good book to read.

Do you command your characters or do they take charge of you?

I’d like to say I command my characters, but I know better.

What would you say is your favorite method for relaxing?

Kicking back and watching reruns of The Nanny. Laughter is the best medicine short of a good romance, and I love that show.

Was there a reason you hid your stories from your sisters?

Lord yes! My entire family teased me unmercifully about my romance books. Can you imagine what they’d do if I’d told them I was writing romance when I was growing up? It would have been humiliating. That right there is a justifiable reason to hide my stories at the tender age of 9 years old. *grin*

Name three things you look for in the other person.

Laughter, honesty and thoughtfulness

What three words describe you?

Self-deprecating, opinionated, hard-headed

What would your readers be surprised to learn about you?

That I’m not nearly as confident as everyone thinks I am.

Monica, I admire the challenges that you endure in life. You are indeed a strong person and a survivor. Is there anything in life, like on a bucket list, that you would like to do in this lifetime?

There are so many, listing them would make me tear the list up because I know I wouldn’t get to them all. LOL - But a few that I know I’d put on the list would be:
Visit Rome, Venice, and London.
Go to Mardi Gras
Go to the Carnival in Venice
Attend a REAL ball in Vienna, Austria where I could dance a waltz with my husband
Dinner at Maximm’s in Paris (a restaurant that’s been in operation since the late 1800s and once was the rage of all the demi-monde)
Ride the top 10 roller coasters in the world
Visit the Space Station so I could see the earth from space
Drive a Lamborghini at 125-130mph (I’d do this one later in life, that way if I die, I’ll still have lived a long time LOL)
Jump out of a plane (again, later in life)
Visit Egypt (I won’t because I’m terrified of snakes)
Ride a bull in a cowboy bar
Go to Times Square on New Year’s Eve
Shop on Rodeo Drive

You have won a thirty day trip to anywhere in the world. Where would you go and who would you take with you?

Cool! I’ve just sliced into my bucket list! LOL Rome, Venice, London, Vienna and while I’ve already been to Paris, I’d go again. Then there’s Australia. Gotta go there! And I’d definitely take the DH, but I’d probably bring along my girls too because I like them to have every opportunity for culture and expanding their horizons.

In the story, The Secret Garden, the children found a lovely garden to go for peace, solitude and complete happiness. Where would you say is your secret garden?

Douthat State park. We love to camp there, and while the DH and the kids are off hiking, I’m sitting at the picnic table, breathing in the sweet, smoky air of a campfire, hearing the quiet crack of someone chopping wood, and the feeling the ultimate peace that comes from being out in the Creator’s most beautiful of cathedrals--Nature.

Can you share with us your website, Facebook or blog?

www.monicaburns.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Monica-Burns/86785806637

www.gabwagon.com

Monica, I have enjoyed our time together. For those wishing to learn more about Monica, please visit her website and see all her great books. Thank you so much for the wonderful interview. I had a blast.


Interviewed by: Linda L.