Avalon Books - Author! Author!


	Read some interviews from past editions:
		Zelda Benjamin April, 2008
		Shirley Marks December, 2007
		Donna Wright December, 2007
		Carolyn Brown August, 2007
		Roni Denholtz June, 2007
		Tara Randel April, 2007
		Sydell Voeller February, 2007
		Sheila Robins December, 2006
		Ann Holt October, 2006
		Cynthia Danielewski July, 2006
		Jane McBride Choate March, 2006
		Kathryn Meyer Griffith January, 2006
		Mel Taylor November, 2005
		Kathleen Fuller September, 2005
		Tracey J. Lyons July, 2005
		Ludima Gus Burton May, 2005
		Holly Jacobs March, 2005
		Sandra D. Bricker January, 2005
		Kathryn Quick November, 2004
		Cheri Jetton September, 2004
		Heather S. Webber July, 2004
		Karl Fieldhouse May, 2004
		Shelley Galloway March, 2004
		Ilsa Mayr January, 2004
		Kathy Carmichael November, 2003
		Dorothy P. O'Neill July, 2003
		Joani Ascher May, 2003
		Patricia DeGroot March, 2003
		Nancy J. Parra January, 2003
		Barbara Meyers November, 2002
		Christine Bush September, 2002
		Debby Mayne July, 2002
		Jean C. Gordon May, 2002
		Charles E. Friend March, 2002
		Norma Seely January, 2002
		Glen Ebisch November, 2001
		Gina Cresse September, 2001
		John Paxson July, 2001
		Terri Alcock May, 2001
		Clifford Blair March, 2001
		Kent Conwell November, 2000
		Carolyn Brown September, 2000
		Annette Mahon July, 2000
		Marjorie McGinley May, 2000
		Jack Lewis March, 2000
		Amanda Harte January, 2000
		Joyce and Jim Lavene November, 1999
	Return to the current Author! Author! interview:
		S.J. Stewart April, 2008


Author! Author!: January, 2001
Click on images to learn more about these books. An Interview with Amanda Harte

Have you always wanted to be a writer?
	The short answer is, “Yes!” Like many avid readers, I always dreamt of writing books of my own and giving others some of the pleasure I found from reading. I’ve been very fortunate, because that’s one of my goals that has come true. Two of my earliest dreams wound up being inter-related. The first was to become a published author, and the second was to live in Europe. As it turned out, living in France as a college student and then in Germany while my husband was stationed there with the Army provided me with the background for my first novel, a short contemporary romance entitled Half Heart, and for my first historical romance, Silver Thorns. How’s that for what people in the business world would call synergy? I prefer to call it serendipity -- or perhaps Fate.
*There’s a bit of a mystery in Moonlight Masquerade.* Does that mean you might become a mystery writer?**
	I actually think all books have their mysterious elements, or else we wouldn’t keep turning the pages. In most of my books, the mystery is more “How on earth will these two people find a happy ending?” rather than “Who done it?” In "Masquerade", I’ve given you a little of both. Will I ever be a mystery writer? The one thing I’ve learned is to never say ‘never.’
You also write historical romances. What differences do you find between those and your contemporary novels?
	Probably not the ones you might think. Some readers tell me that a contemporary novel should be easier to write, since there’s no research involved. Not true! I do just as much research for a book set in the twenty-first century as one set in medieval times. When I set a story in Manhattan at Christmastime, for example, I had to go into the city, ride the subways, make sure I put stores on the right street corners, etc. That’s just as important as knowing how a knight feels when he’s wearing a helmet (yes, I wore one as part of my research for Silver Thorns) or dressing a pre-Civil War heroine in the right clothes. For me the most obvious difference is length. My historical romances are twice as long as my Avalon books, and so they take longer to write. Dialogue in a historical is more formal than in a contemporary, and characters may be more constrained by the times. But overall, I find there are more similarities than differences between the genres.
*Why did you pick New Jersey as the setting for Moonlight Masquerade?*
	Believe it or not, there’s a lot more to the Garden State than twelve lane highways and shopping malls. Although I’m not a native of New Jersey, I’ve lived here for over twenty-five years and wanted to show my readers that it’s a beautiful and romantic spot. But don’t take my word for it. Read the book.
What’s coming next?
	A number of people who read Strings Attached have asked me to tell Luke’s story. Like me, they felt sorry for the man and wanted him to have a happy ending. I’m working on that. I’m also planning another spin off of "Strings" called Bluebonnet Spring and found just the right setting for that on a recent trip to Texas. And then there’s the story of a woman who restores carousel horses, and then... If I’m going to get those books written, I’d better get back to work. In the meantime, I love hearing from my readers. You can reach me via e-mail at amanda.harte@sff.net or visit my web page at www.amandaharte.com.