I have a special treat for you! My friend and fellow author, Nancy Lee Badger, has a new time-travel fantasy romance out today! I couldn’t wait to share this one with you all, so welcome to a special edition of my author interview series. Let’s meet Nancy and then we’ll dive into the interview.
Nancy Lee Badger grew up in Huntington on New York’s Long Island, where school field trips to lofty museums were the norm. After attending Plymouth State, in New Hampshire, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Art Education and met and married her college sweetheart. They raised two handsome sons in Rumney, New Hampshire, where Nancy volunteered as an EMT and firefighter while working full-time. When the children had left the nest, and shoveling snow became a chore, she retired from her satisfying job as a 9-1-1 Emergency Medical Dispatcher and moved with her husband to North Carolina, where she writes full-time.
Nancy is a member of Romance Writers of America, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers, and the Triangle Association of Freelancers. She loves to travel and attend Scottish Highland Games and is never far from her laptop. She finds story ideas in the most unusual places. Connect with her here:
Website * Twitter * Facebook * BookBub
Betty: When did you become a writer?
Nancy Lee: I started back in 2006, the week my son arrived home after a tour in Iraq. The words just started flowing.
Betty: How long did you work on your writing skills before you became published?
Nancy Lee: It took another 4 years seriously writing, until a publisher released my first book.
Betty: What authors or stories do you feel influenced your writing style?
Nancy Lee: Hannah Howell’s Highlander stories started it after meeting her at a New Hampshire RWA chapter conference, then I met and started reading Sabrina Jeffries and Katharine Ash. They live nearby!
Betty: What prompted you to start writing?
Nancy Lee: I have always thought about writing. I did some essays in grade school and had poems printed in a college paper. I even did restaurant reviews for a local paper. I wanted to do more.
Betty: What type of writing did you start with?
Nancy Lee: An idea and an ending. The characters come to me as I go. Sometimes I don’t name them right away. Names are important, so I want to get that right. I have read novels where I could not pronounce the name! The basic plot constantly changes by the time the 3rd draft is finished.
Betty: What do you most enjoy writing? Why?
Nancy Lee: The escapism. I had a very intense job as a 911 operator when I started writing a manuscript. It calmed me during the breaks between calls, and I was excited to hurry home after a 10-hour shift to type it all up.
Betty: How did you learn to write? A mentor, classes, conferences, craft books, or something else?
Nancy Lee: I joined Romance Writers of America to find agents and publishers, then the Raleigh-area chapter the month we moved here from New Hampshire. Their monthly meetings, on-line courses, and RWA conferences were fantastic places to learn and network. This is a lonely profession, otherwise.
Betty: What do you wish you knew before you started writing/publishing?
Nancy Lee: How much I had to learn! Once someone else reads and edits your work, you don’t realize how bad your grammar or spelling is. A good editor is worth every penny.
Betty: What other authors inspired you (either directly or through their writing) to try your hand at writing?
Nancy Lee: It wasn’t just one author, but the many authors of the early Harlequin books from the 80’s and early 90’s. I read tons of them until I had an epiphany. I said “I can write something better than this!” Not true, once I learned how hard it is, but I keep getting better.
Betty: What inspired you to write the book you’re sharing with us today?
Nancy Lee: My sisters, Kim Beegle and Lynn Erla Beegle, were the ones who pointed me to the nearby NC Museum of Art. The 164-acre complex opened my eyes and gave me ideas. It was only after I walked the vast grounds, and through the visually appealing Rodin Garden, that the Warriors in Bronze series was born.
An English lass grows up in a Scottish coven only to awaken in a strange new world with sculptures, a handsome man, and a hate-filled demon. Falling in love while saving the world was not the plan!
Excerpt:
Swallowing her fear, Marigold took a deep breath, and pushed away from the tree trunk. With quiet precision, she slipped her dirk from the hidden pocket she’d conjured in her leggings. Simply holding it gave her the courage to push aside the feathery branches, step out into the night, and face the demon.
Zinerva stood too close for comfort, but she did not appear threatening. In fact, she twirled in a circle and started to laugh.
What be ye wearing, whore?
“Stop calling me that. I am no whore. My name is Marigold Keats and ye and I share a history, I suspect.”
The demon sauntered closer, and then circled around her in a dance to music she heard only in her own head. Her gaze flowed up and down Marigold’s body.
Ye dress odd for a wh . . . I mean, a Sassenach witch. Be this a better label?
How could the demon know her true identity? Only Gwen and Helen’s spirit friend were privy to the information and they promised not to share it with others. If Sam ever discovered her true origin, he would never look at her in the same way again.
“I am me, nothing more. At least I am still alive. Considering yer dull as dishwater black ensemble, what is wrong with my clothes?”
A sizzle brought her attention from the demon’s pale as milk face and flaming eyes to her raised hand. Zinerva winked as she held up a red bolt that flickered and smoked, brightening their pondside meeting place.
Buy links: Amazon * Amazon UK * Amazon CAN * Amazon AUS
Wow, Nancy, that sounds like a wonderful story! I hope you have a fantastic book birthday for Heaven-sent Flame. Thanks for stopping by today to share your inspiration and new book!
Happy reading!
Betty
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Visit http://www.bettybolte.com for more on my books and upcoming events.
Betty Bolte's Musings 
Thank you for sharing my new book and ME with all your readers.
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Exciting excerpt. I read everything you write and always look forward to your next book.
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Thank you for your sweet comment. A writer likes to know her hard work is appreciated.
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