A taste of Vienna…and forbidden magic! Interview and giveaway with Lynn Crain

Today, I’m thrilled to welcome Lynn Crain, stellar author of “xtraordinary romance, exceptional fantasy and kick-ass science fiction!”  How cool is that?  Lynn has been kind enough to answer some of my little questions, and is offering one lucky commenter the chance to win her new release, The Taking of An Apprentice!

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“In a time where magic is shunned, Oma and Cayden must defend the world from an ancient evil that tries to destroy all.”

Q. Please tell us about your new release, and how it’s going to help us beat the January blues

Never thought about a release beating the January blues…LOL! My latest release is The Taking of An Apprentice. It’s about a woman who is a self-imposed hermit and how she saves her world, along with the younger man who is her apprentice. This is an erotic fantasy book and a genre I love to write. I think people will find it different because of the setup and how I end the story.

Q. You are the author of a fantastic back catalogue of romance books! How long have you been writing?

Forever…no…just since I was twelve. I wrote a religious poem and sold it. I was hooked. I didn’t get serious until I was eighteen and worked toward getting published from that time. I was published in non-fiction before I was thirty but didn’t get published in fiction until I was in my forties.

Q. What did you do to celebrate your first release – and most recent release?

For the first release, my family took me out to dinner. My older son asked me what took so long since he knew I’d been working for it forever…LOL! This last one was kinda anticlimactic since all my writing friends are in the States and I’m in Vienna, Austria. But my husband took me out to dinner and it was very nice.

Q. If I was a new reader wanting to pick a first Lynn Crain read, what would you recommend to start with?

If I were starting to read my books the first one I’d pick is The View From Santa’s Sleigh. I just love writing my elf stories. There’s only two more of them to go and I hope to have them out this year.

Q. You’ve written an impressive variety of genres – fantasy, contemporary, shifters, elves etc. Any favorite genre and does any one theme unite all Lynn Crain reads?

I really don’t have a favorite genre. I tend to write the stories my heart tells me to write regardless of the genre. Sometimes it’s the characters who keep badgering me about their story. I actually use two themes to unite my stories. The first is XtraOrdinary Romance for XtraOrdinary Women. Then I realized I wanted men to read my stories as well, so I also started using Experience The Magic. I love them both and use them interchangeably.

Q. Do you ever suffer from writer’s block – if so, any tips to overcome it?

Occasionally. I had a real long bout when my mother had Alzheimer’s and felt I needed to be there for my Dad. He pulled me aside one day and told me that my mother would kick my butt if she knew I had abandoned my dreams. It was a real wake up call and the next year or so, I was published. The other was more recent as I had twin grandsons and moved to Vienna within the same two years. Lots of life changes and I’m not sure if it were writer’s block or just no desire to write in both cases, which is totally different, because of all the events in my life.

The best advice I have is to keep writing daily. Just something…it can be a blog, a journal…anything to convince yourself you can do it. Recently I watched a TED webinar with Amy Cuddy where she talked about body language and what it says about a person. She talked about how there was a period in her life where she felt she didn’t deserve to be where she was. She was in grad school and felt like she was an imposter, so she called her adviser to quite that night. The adviser had them met the next morning before her talk and she told Amy that she needed to ‘fake it’ until she believed what she was saying. But the one thing she said that really stuck with me, and this is her interpretation of her advisor’s advice, was to ‘fake it until you become it.’ Her statement was another eye opener for me.
So on those days when the writing isn’t coming, I will fake it until I once again become the writer.

Q. What can fans be looking forward to from you next?

Hopefully, in this first quarter this year, I’ll be in the Blue Moon print anthology. These are a set of stories that friends and I did years ago but it never went to print. We’re excited that it’s going to come out soon. I’ll be having the second book in two series come out. In the Taste of Vienna series with Shooting Star Books, book 2 called Night Train should be out by March. In my Captive Illusions series with eXtasy Books, Merrick and Jenna should be out around the same time frame. Also, my big contemporary set in mainly Scotland Where’s My Underwear? will be out this year as well. Also, Unlikely Paradise will be making its debut as well.

Q. If you had to pick one of your characters to help you fight an alien invasion, who would it be?

Actually, I have two women in two unpublished books that I would love on my side. One is Aingeal Cochran, who is a protector, and Khloe Crawford, who is a scientist. Both books are different and still looking for a home. The first is a sci-fi, fantasy type story with beings from another planet sent here to protect us. They have X-Men like skills and are just waiting for the invasion as well as protecting us from ourselves. The second book is a zombie book and again, just slightly different than the normal take on zombies. More like a The Walking Dead sort of thing as there is no holds barred and main characters get killed off. Khloe is the character that the whole series will revolve around.

Thanks for having me, Kay!

Scroll on for a sizzling excerpt and a chance to win The Taking of An Apprentice!

Title: The The Taking of An Apprentice

Part of the Tarot Series

Word Count: approximately 24K

Blurb/Premise: Oma Weir is a hermit by her own making. After her husband died, she was determined to need no one and nothing. However, fate has set a different path for the woman, and when Cayden Quirie shows up at her door, she knows the path she has dreamt is before her. Unfortunately, that path will lead to death and destruction, something every magic wielder tries to avoid.

Excerpt:

“You should let him in. See what he has to say. What is the harm?” whispered Galeru in her ear.

She gave the fiery a withering look. “You know the harm,” she hissed.

“Not all who love you will die,” the fiery stated in a soft voice.

Maybe he was right—maybe this was what her real problem was with her life. She would eventually have to let someone in, as her knowledge needed to be passed to another. She would need an apprentice. Throwing open the door, she stood, took in the sight of him and realized he was not much to look at all. Not that he was ugly, but where Balin had been blonde with blue eyes, he was dark in both hair and eye. His clothes were tattered and she saw many mends in them. His hair, though pulled back, had an unkempt appearance about it. His body was on the scrawny side. If he had not had proper nutrition and exercise, it would explain his lack of muscle. Next to him was a large stack of goods.

“There seems to be more than I ordered.” She stood with hands on hips. “You might as well bring them in. You can help me put them away. Only then will I talk to you about my dead husband.”

“Yes, Mistress Weir.” His strength must be weakening as she could see what little muscle he had bulging under his thin shirt.

“Why is there so much?”

He looked up surprised. “You have not heard about the war in Nixauta?”

“War?”

“The king there decided the people were not paying him his due, so civil war broke out. Master Jerund wanted to make sure you had enough for the season should he be taxed to provide for an army.”

She nodded. “Ah. I see. People are always going to war over one thing or another. What is your name, boy?”

He drew himself up. “I am no boy. I am a man full grown. My name is Cayden Quirie.”

“Well, Cayden Quirie, put your back into it. The night will be cold and there is much to do.” She turned away from him then twisted slightly to the side. “My name is Oma.” She continued on her way to the storage pantry with nary a backward glance. She could hear him struggle with the pack, knowing deep within her she should help him but could not. The situation would need some sorting if the young man were to remain. “You say there is a war going on in Nixauta?”

“Yes, Mistress. Master Jerund thought someone from there might have come to ask for your assistance.”

She cocked her head and laugh. “Now that certainly would be an interesting proposition.”

Finally, he stood next to her, breathing hard. “How so?”

She stared at him for a long moment. “You truly do not know what happened to my husband now, do you?”

“Madam, it has taken me everything to keep myself alive on this quest, let alone figure out how one single sorcerer died.”

She let out a long sigh. The boy did not know. “Nixauta is where Balin died doing the king’s bidding. Why would I want to chance the same thing?”

“I am sorry, Mistress, I did not know Master Balin’s fate. I just know when he was a very young man he visited my parents in Mordacka. He then told me I would end up here, studying under you after he had gone.”

“Did he not give you any instructions?” Confusion spread across her face.

Cayden shook his head. “No, Mistress. He just said I would know when to leave my home.”

“Do you have no family? No one who cares?” Her brows dipped together over the bridge of her nose.

He slowly shook his head. “That same king who sent Balin to his death killed most of my family when taking their land. The kin I do have cannot afford me to trouble them, which is why I came here..”

“Hmm. You know the journey is long, hard. You are past the time most apprentices come.” This would be his tell, she thought to herself sarcastically, as many of the younger generation did not want to take the time required to learn.

He moved his head from side to side. “He said you would say I was too old. He said you would have doubts.”

Oma put her hands on her hips. “And just what did he say to convince me this is the right course?”

“Two things, Mistress. One was to tell you the truth. I want to be a sorcerer. I do not want revenge for my family as there is no point. I want to learn.”

She blinked at him. Balin always did know her sensitive spots. “And the other.”

“This, Mistress.” The young man stepped closer to her. She raised her gaze, noticing his eyes held sparkles from the midnight sky. He smelled all male, sweat and heat, wrapped into one. His hands went around her head, thumbs lifting her chin even more. Her breath caught. This was the way Balin had won her heart. Leaning in, his lips took hers, gently sucking the bottom one before fully sweeping in and taking possession.

Her heart blossomed with equal amounts of joy and sorrow. It had begun.

BIO:

Lynn Crain has penned over 25 novels in romance in the genres of science fiction, fantasy and contemporary romance, erotic to tame in nature. She always knew that writing was her calling even if it took years at other professions to prove it. She has belonged to EPIC and RWA for more years that she cares to think about. Currently, she lives in Europe while her husband of nearly 30 years pursues his dream of working internationally. Her state-side home is in Nevada, where family and friends wait patiently for their return. You can find her hanging out at A Writer In Vienna Blog and various other places on the net:

www.awriterinvienna.blogspot.com

http://theloglineblog.blogspot.com

www.twitter.com/oddlynn3

www.lynncrain.com

www.lynncrain.blogspot.com

PURCHASE Links: eXtasy Books ~ http://www.extasybooks.com/the-taking-of-an-apprentice-2-2/

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Thank you so much, Lynn. If you’d like to be in with a chance of winning a copy of Lynn’s fantastic new release The Taking of An Apprentice all you have to do is leave a comment here.  Please leave your email when prompted, but fear not, it won’t be displayed in public   Comp closes 29th January.

There’s still a chance to win Sins of Lust by Viki Lynn here. Meanwhile, pop over to Viki’s blog to read my post there, and be in with a chance of winning Bound to the Beast.