Interview with Romance Author Maxine Douglas

Join us in Paradise as we chat with Romance Author Maxine Douglas. We have leis for everyone to wear and ice cold pomegranate and mango juice to quench the thirst. 

Maxine will join us shortly. So while we wait, here's a little bit about her.

An avid horse lover and reader, Maxine Douglas loves spending time in the saddle, curled up with a good book, catching up with her oldest grand-daughter, or chasing her youngest grand-daughter around the house. She resides in Oklahoma with her husband, and is a member of both Romance Writers of America and the Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition.

 
Reader’s Haven: There's Maxine. Hi! *Deanna and Louise wave her over to sit on the rocks* It's beautiful here. Thanks for inviting us. Tell us a bit about yourself  that our readers might not know.

Maxine: Hi Deanna and Louise. I was totally a single mom (meaning never married) until 11 years ago, when I married a very good friend from high school. We just took separate paths during those 28 years apart, but I believe we were always meant to be together—obviously one of his brothers did as well when he said “Welcome to the family and it’s about damn time too!”  LOL  I married my best friend not only in this life but also in past lives. 

If it's one thing I've learned over the years of my life it's that you can never stop dreaming and reaching for the stars, because sooner or later you just may get to touch one, and it'll bring you more happiness than you can ever imagine. I've been lucky enough over the past couple of years to have been able to reach out and touch two stars...and I'm still reaching for more.

Originally from South-central Wisconsin, my husband and I traded the snowy winters for warmer days and nights. I currently am a member of such writing organizations as Romance Writers of American, Oklahoma Romance Writers of America, and Electronic Publishers Internet Coalition.

Reader’s Haven: Such a romantic story about you and your husband. What made you want to become a writer?

Maxine: I took creative writing in high school and liked it. Although I wanted to be a songwriter, I’m not writing longer versions of those songs of the heart. It took a friend’s sister, who is now an agent with 3 Seas Literary Agency, to become published that I finally put my storytelling skills to work. I thank Cori every day for that.

Reader’s Haven: Please share a bit about your new release without giving away any spoilers.

Maxine: RINGS OF PARADISE comes out today in fact. It started out being a rock-n-roll storyline and ended up being about professional wrestling. I know, do the two really go hand-in-hand, probably not. But I grew up in a home where it was on t.v. all the time, and my father, brothers and I went to as many live matches as possible. The sport kinda grows on ya … and what red blooded woman is immune to a great male body?

Reader’s Haven: No wonder the cover is on fire with Jimmy on it! Excellent design. Do you write under a pen name?

Maxine: I also write erotic romance as Debi Wilder when I’m feeling a bit on the wild side of passion in my storylines.

Reader’s Haven: What types of hero or heroine do you like best?

Maxine: I like my heroes to be strong and sensitive, while my heroines are sassy and loving.  At least I think so anyway. LOL
 

Reader’s Haven: Tell us about a typical day in your life as a writer.

Maxine: LOL—not as productive as it maybe should be that’s for sure. I had my 5 yr old grand-daughter during the day until school started a week ago, so I didn’t get much accomplished. I don’t write when family is around—too big of a chance of being interrupted in my train of thought or in what my characters are trying to get across to me. Now that school’s in session I’ll be working outside the home for 10-20 hours a week, so that’ll leave my days off and evenings to get things done.

Reader’s Haven: Do your books have a common theme or are they all different?

Maxine: I would say yes and no. Some of them are contemporary, while others have a paranormal or time-travel twist to them. Depends on the hero and heroine and their story to tell.

Reader’s Haven: How long does it take you to write and then edit a story?

Maxine: I’m a muse writer and a punster on top of it. What this means is that it can take me several months, years, to write a story getting it the way I want it to be. I tend to write very slow, careful to get the scene just right before moving on. I’m trying to plot it out a bit more so we’ll see if it works with THE QUEEN or not.

Reader’s Haven:  Do you have to be alone to write?

Maxine: I have found that I can’t write if I’m around famiy—they like to talk to you, or the t.v., and it takes a second to pull me out of my work and 15 minutes to get back into it. That being said, I like to have noise around me whether it’s the t.v., radio or just people milling about at McDonalds or the park because I know the chances of these people interrupting me is next to none.

Reader’s Haven: How do you go about naming characters?

Maxine: Well…they tell me their names. It might be a cat and mouse game to begin with but in the end they let me know who they are.

Reader’s Haven: Is it easier to write about the characters if you find pictures of them before you write or do you write then find character pictures?

Maxine: Sometimes I get a feel for what they might look like. For instance, in THE QUEEN, my heroine Hanna, is from the late 1920s/early 1930s so I knew sort of what I wanted but just couldn’t visual her. Then one day while shuffling through some old photos at a local Goodwill I found her!  This is young woman is my inspiration for Hanna Amery, my heroine in THE QUEEN.  Cole is still a bit of a mystery to me and I don’t think he’ll truly reveal himself just yet.

Reader’s Haven: How do you pick locations for your stories?

Maxine: Actually, my characters pick them. LOL, I know it sound strange but it’s true. One they—the hero and heroine—have let me into their lives they take me on a journey and I don’t always know where I might end up.

Reader’s Haven: What are you working on now and what should readers be looking forward to from you in the future?

Maxine: I’m currently working on a novella for FOUR SEASONS OF PASSION to be published by www.museituppublishing.com in 2013/2014. THE QUEEN will be one of the summer stories and takes place on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, which I totally fell in love with while at a writer’s conference held there a few years back. It inspired this paranormal story line when I got home:

Cole Masterson is the lead investigator of GHOST, Ghost Hunters of Spiritual Transcendental and professional ghost hunter who’s aboard the Queen Mary investigating its paranormal activity. Cole’s about to realize the ship’s paranormal activity can be more than just shadows and cold spots.

Hanna Amery is a spirit looking for the man she lost decades ago aboard the Queen Mary during the early 1900s. What Hanna doesn’t understand is how she can see the man with the electronic equipment, but can’t figure out how to communicate with him.

What happens when two dimensions collide as Cole and Hanna struggle to find a way to be more than passing shadows?

Reader’s Haven: Oh, we do love a ghost story! Where can readers find out more about you and your books? 

Maxine: Best places is on either my blog or my FB page .. I’d love to hear from readers! 
Contest
I'll give away an eBook copy of Rings of Paradise. Enter the contest through the Rafflecopter below and good luck! Winner will be drawn Sunday, Sept 2.

One man’s quest to find the truth. One woman’s desire for more in life. A mistress that won’t let go.

Dear Reader,

I’m not much on putting words to paper, action is more up my alley. I’m Flame, the reigning champion in the Universal Wrestling World (UWW). So why am I here?

I grew up in a wrestling family and cut my teeth on the squared circle, which by the way is the only “lady” I trust any more.

I’ve gone and bought out a small press magazine in Madison, Wisconsin that was going nowhere fast, hired a woman by the name of Khristen Roberts, who according to the editor-in-chief is untrained and wants nothing more than to be a journalist.

Okay, I’m a sucker in helping people out, it’s my one weakness, if I have any. Problem is she’s on vacation in Hawaii. I’ve got to catch up with her somewhere along the line for her to join up with me and the UWW. I just hope Khristen is up for the ride…it’s always a trip.

Yours truly,

The Flame

Excerpt:

The beautiful eyes of the man from the plane seemed to appear as an apparition in the deep-blue-green pool water. Thoughts of him ran wild in her mind, and Khristen felt the warm wetness of desire grow deep between her thighs. She shivered from wanton desire. Something about him seemed familiar.

No. Surely, I would have remembered if we’d met before. His eyes, if nothing else, would have been burned into my memory.

It seemed as if she’d seen them, and the challenge in them, once before—a dare to defy him in any manner.

Challenges. That’s what gave Khristen her drive. In her career, she had felt like a lamb lost in the fog in search of its home. She longed for the type of position that offered her the unexpected excitement of a contest each and every day.

Her current position at one of Madison’s once top magazines came very close to fulfilling that yearning. It offered variety in its article context, and nine times out of ten, they didn’t read like something out of Miami Vice. Plain Talk covered just about anything and sometimes everything. Still, something was missing.

She’d finally come to realize she wanted to be a staff member who did more than run around the office. She was going to spend the next few weeks thinking of a plan to convince Ric to move her up the ladder. One day, she would have her own byline.

Ric Scott, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, had become the big brother she never had. He drank too much coffee in a day for one human being and stayed at the office until well past midnight. She worried about his excesses in both areas and feared one day she would walk into his office to find him slumped over his desk.

More than once, she had wondered why their relationship had never gotten past the big-brother stage. Deep in her heart, she knew it was the lack of emotional and sensual challenges. The spark she felt with a total stranger wasn’t there with good ol’ reliable Ric.

Khristen slid a pair of red-framed sunglasses from the top of her head and perched them on her nose. She took a deep relaxing breath, leaned back, and forced the man’s image out of her brain. She knew she had to let this challenge go for what very well could be the first time in her adult life. If letting go was at all possible.

For now, one thing she knew for sure. Absolutely no way was she going to become caught up in another romance. The last one had almost destroyed her, both emotionally and professionally.

* * * *

His shadow draped across her skin. He’d known he would find her; he’d never thought it would be connected to one of his businesses. He had thoroughly enjoyed seeing her sweat earlier, looking for a place to escape the dining room. If looks could kill, she should have laid him to rest before noon.

Now it was his turn, and he couldn’t wait to see her reaction. It was going to get more interesting now that he’d decided in the length of time it took for him to reach her side that the game would start. He would have to proceed with caution before snaring her for himself.

Shadoe fought the temptation to pluck an ice cube from one of the glasses he carried and let it drip onto Khristen’s sunburned flesh. A mischievous smile played on his lips as he visualized the response he would get. It would be fun, but they had already gotten off on a bad foot, and he didn’t want to aggravate the situation further—or did he?

* * * *

“Khristen.” Someone repeated her name, and as she stirred, raised his voice, calling to her again.

“Huh?” Sleepy eyed and well-burnt, Khristen was not sure what had drawn her out of a groggy sleep.

“What’s your pleasure? Mai Tai, Piña Colada, or Aloe Vera?” Shadoe adjusted the two sweating glasses and one bottle on the tray he balanced with care.

Khristen shielded her eyes, suspiciously looking up at him. The touch of friendly sarcasm that had edged his over-exaggerated deep voice set off her warning light.

“Owweeee!” Pain and agony edged her voice, caused from the effects of too many hours in the sun and too little sunscreen.

“I’ve got just what you need.”

“Like what?” Khristen grimaced, seeing the bottle of lotion and look of concern in his eyes.

Or is it lust?

“Aloe Vera. It’s a great natural ointment with a cooling effect for skin that’s on fire.” He set the tray down on the small, round table next to her. “I could, ah, rub it in for you.” Another teasing smile played on his lips as he picked up the bottle.

Khristen smiled back and looked into his eyes. How sexy and sure of himself he looked as he gazed over the rims of his sunglasses, daring her to resist his charm, challenging her.

“Actually, I have a better idea.” She reached for the lotion and caught a look of satisfaction sweep over his face. With a crooked smile, she softly wrapped her fingers around the bottle and let them linger a moment too long before taking it into her possession.

“Mmmm, sounds very tempting.” He moved in closer to her.

“It is,” she said, reeling him in with her sweet, sexy tone, and placed her free hand on his bare chest, blocking his advance. As much as she’d love to feel his skin against hers, she wasn’t about to play on his web.

“Fortunately, there’s room for only one. You see, what I have in mind is, well...” She could see the anticipation grow in his eyes. “The ultimate total package of soothing the senses, everywhere, and all at once.”

Gathering up her belongings, Khristen walked away, in pain. After only a few feet, she turned and gave him a look of triumph.

His deep, sexy laugh did nothing to dampen her victory.

Buy Links:

MuseIt Up Publishing

Amazon

You can find Maxine hanging out on these sites:

Blog 

Facebook 

Twitter @waMaxineDouglas

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