Interviews
Q: Are your heroes more likely to make the nice list…or the naughty list?
A: Definitely naughty. I love writing the alpha antihero and have been doing so since my first published book, The Greek Tycoon’s Ultimatum. I’ve taken the anti part of my heroes up a notch with my mafia romance.
There’s a little bit of my husband in every hero I write and he’s one of the nicest naughty men you’ll ever have the pleasure to meet.
Q: Do you have an author that influenced the way in which you write today?
A: I have a whole list of them. Really. I even blogged about it. You can see the whole list here.
From Fallen Angel Reviews
Q: Is there a message in your story [Dragon’s Moon] that you want readers to grasp?
A: Absolutely. Life is messy and we don’t always win, but that doesn’t mean we can’t ultimately find happiness.
From Romance Junkies Blog
Q: What’s your favorite color?
A: Yellow, for everything but what I wear. It makes me look like my liver is failing. Sigh…but I love the color of sunshine.
From Much Cheaper than Therapy
Q: The Shy Bride is a very interesting title. How did you arrive at that name?
A: I didn’t. I don’t title my own books – or at least do so VERY rarely. Not sure what it is about my titles that don’t stick with my editors, but there you have it. However, the title is extremely apropos to the book.
Q: Which of your characters would you want to be and why?
A: I think I’d like to be someone like Elle from “The Spy Who Wants Me” or Rachel from “Heat Seeker” because I’ve always wanted to be a kick-ass secret agent. I love both women’s strength – they are not only strong emotionally, but are physically in such good shape and trained to not only protect themselves but others as well. I think that would be so cool.
Q: What are your thoughts on love scenes in romance novels, do you find them difficult to write?
A: I personally prefer books that have love scenes in them because I have a hard time believing in the HEA if I haven’t seen that soul deep compatibility. I enjoy writing love scenes and feel strongly that not only are they necessary for the types of stories I write, but that they are educational and can help women who won’t ask a sister or girlfriend about the how-tos of sex to maybe see through my characters that there are just so many different and wonderful ways to express love physically.
From Paranormal Romance
Q: In MOON CRAVING, your heroine Abigail is deaf. Talk about why you chose to write about deafness.
A: I’ve been fascinated with character’s that live outside the normal box of parameters for romance heroes and heroines since the beginning with my writing. I want to write about people who face challenges only some of us ever dream of and come out strong and happy on the other side. Abigail’s deafness was something that came to me in a dream as I was beginning Emily’s book and I knew her story would be next.
CSM: Where and when do you write?
Lucy: I write full-time, which means pretty much all day, every day. No, I don’t often take weekends off. At least not completely. 😉 I have an office in my home, but I also like to write on my Neo downstairs in the great room and I’ve got a chair in my bedroom that I’ll retreat to for uber-quiet.
If you could change places with one character from your book, who would it be and why?
None of them. I really love my own life and enjoy writing about theirs. 🙂 Besides, I get to live each of their lives as I put their story to paper…the best of all worlds.
From Three Wicked Writers
Q: When I read “Moon Awakening” the scenes absolutely came alive before my eyes. What sort of research was involved when creating the Chrechte race?
A: I did a ton of research on the Picts, a race of people who simply disappeared from history. They have always intrigued me and I asked myself what if over and over again until I came up with the Chrechte background. I also read something like three dozen nonfiction books on that era of the Middle Ages, researched dozens of sites online and interviewed an expert in Medieval weaponry, attended a couple of jousts and watched videos of horses training for jousting. I take my research seriously and any mistakes are honest ones, not made for lack of true effort to avoid them. One great thing about writing an alternate universe is that things don’t have to completely reflect the era of the time because we are dealing with a subculture that has its own norms as well. Hope that makes sense!
From Seductive Musings
You are most known for your contemporary romances both with Harlequin and Brava romance. Tell us some of the compelling reasons you had for writing your Children of the Moon paranormal shape-changer series as well as setting it in medieval Scotland.
I fell in love with werewolves when I read Lorie O’Clare’s first books (2003). I glommed werewolf stories after that and knew I wanted to create my own world of shape changers. The larger than life characters, the concept of a life mate, all of it enthralled me and still does. As far as the historical setting, I started off writing both contemporaries and historical. I’d written four Regency era single titles, when it came time to write the first Children of the Moon book and I knew I was ready to change eras. I settled on the Middle Ages because to me, werewolves just seemed to fit naturally into that part of history.
From Blog Interview with LilCinny
For those that are new to your books…How long have you been writing and what was your first published book?
I’ve been writing for 14 years. My first published book – The Greek Tycoon’s Ultimatum – came out in September of 2003 and since then I’ve sold about 40 (now 50+) books to four publishers.
From Blog Interview with Beth Kerry
BK: Okay, you just got to show off a bit (and deservedly so ). Now can you tell us about a ‘blush moment,’ an especially humorous or mortifying moment in your writing career?
LM: Just one? Seriously, do you know how many errors readers have found in my books? From changing a secondary character’s name midway to using the wrong grammatical form, each letter pointing out an error is more than blush producing – it is rather mortifying. Being the perfectionist that I am, I don’t find discovery of my mistakes particularly humorous though. That is said with a wry smile I hope you can appreciate.
From SingleTitles.com
ST: When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
LM: A missionary. Then an evangelist. Then a romance writer. Then a senator. Then a management consultant. Then a missionary again. Guess what I ended up?
ST: Could you describe for us your idea of the perfect hero?
LM: My husband…the alpha at the end of the book. Strong. Integrous. Sexy. Dependable. Sensitive (sometimes). A great cook. Good father when the time comes. Supportive. Adventurous. Dedicated. Loyal. Stubborn. Passionate. Constantly learning. Just plain yummy.
Another interview w/ CataRomance
CR: What has been, so far, the highlight of your career as a writer?
LM: Wow, what a tough question. Was it when I got the call? My first reader letter? My hundredth? The first time I was nominated for an award? The first time I won one? When I hit a best sellers list? When my mom told me she was proud of me? When my husband told me he knew I could do it? When my kids told me what my persistence meant to them? I don’t know…there have been so many highlights and they keep coming. I think, it’s simply the career itself. I’m living my dream and I hope that in doing so I inspire other to pursue theirs as well.
From CataRomance
CR: While we are discussing books, every writer wants to know. How do you get the ideas for your books? And for your charming, sexy heroes?
LM: Ideas come from everywhere. Literally. I’ll see someone in a grocery store and start making up a story about them. I’ll read something in the news and a new character is born. But the biggest inspiration for my heroes is my husband. He’s my “resident alpha at the end of a book”. 🙂
From Once Upon a Romance
Lucy, you write sensual historicals, contemporary series romance, and spicy romance for the Brava line. Do you think writing for these different romance genres keeps the ideas fresh and flowing? Do you feel as if you have the best of both worlds so-to-speak as far as being able to cross the genre field?
Lucy: I absolutely do. For me, writing multiple genres is what keeps my creative muse dancing and I love it!
From a Blog Interview with Lori Devoti
(me) What elements can readers count on finding in your books no matter the publisher?
Lucy: Strong emotion and strong sensuality with characters that I love so I hope they will too.
From A Blog Interview with Reese Witherfork
R.W. I’m really impressed by your understanding of human relationships. Do people ever come to you for personal advice?
L.M. LOL All the time. I’m a card carrying “Dear Abby” and that is a fact. I’ve done a lot of lay counseling for women as well…it comes very naturally to both study human nature and share my findings with others. It makes the writing a lot easier when what motivates others is always a key question for me.
From The Bookstore
Please tell us about yourself. Your background, family, etc. Whatever makes you the sweet, vibrant person you are today.
LOL Well, I’m not sure about sweet and vibrant, but it sure is nice of you to say so.:) I think the biggest part of who I am comes from my faith. I really do. It’s the source of my joy and my positive outlook on life. Knowing I am loved unconditionally by God, that Jesus paid a price I couldn’t possibly pay…and it’s this deep inner knowledge that makes me who I am and gives my writing its basic, underlying themes.
From Blog Interview with Debra Parmley
Mark Twain said, “You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” How do you fill your creative well to keep your imagination in focus?
Lucy: For one thing, you can’t stay creative if all you do is create. So, taking time off from creating is a must for me…just not an easy thing to do. I also love to read magazines…not gossip rags (yuck), but stuff like “The Smithsonian”, “Architectural Digest” and “Harper’s Bazaar”, etc. I’ve just recently taken up knitting and a rousing game of Perquacky with my family can be very creativity enhancing. I also read tons, both fiction and nonfiction, but romance is my favorite. I re-read my favorite authors over and over again and I think that helps me write better. Learning in cockpit as they say. But it fills up my creative well to sip at someone else’s.
From We Write Romance
WWR: We’ve heard you’re a frequent world traveler. How much of your fiction is inspired by the places you’ve traveled to over the years? Where else do you get ideas for your books?
Lucy: The truth? My favorite settings are actually close to home. While I love stories set in Greece and Italy, I am doubly intrigued by the intricacies of setting stories in my native Northwest. My ideas for books come from talks with my husband, dreams, reading the news, pretty much everywhere! I tell stories in my head all the time and I do mean ALL the time…some of which end up books and some don’t.
From A Romance Review
Is there any type of writing you haven’t tried that you hope to try in the future?
I’ve done a lot of lay counseling with women and couples. I would like to write a marriage book some day incorporating the great truths the romance industry thrives on.
From Writerspace: A Closer Look
We talked about writing (naturally) and about Harlequin Presents. It’s no secret I’m a big fan of this line and I wanted to know how Lucy got started on her path as a writer.
Lucy replied, “When people ask how did I choose to be a writer, I say that I didn’t. It chose me…but the when and how of it are a very different thing. 🙂 You see, I was having this chat with God in the bathtub and it sort of came up. The writing thing. I’d been told by teachers throughout school I ought to be a writer, but I pursued other things – then I just knew it was time to pursue this one and it has become a burning passion for me.”
From Writers Unlimited
WU: Readers today demand accuracy in the books they read. How much research about life styles, setting, dialect, etc. goes into one of your stories?
LM: A lot! I put 1/3 again as much time into research for a contemporary novel as the time I will spend writing it. For historicals, the ratio is more like one-to-one.