I was content with my fanfic writing for a couple of years before deciding it was time to create my own worlds. My friend, Lauren Baker and I wrote Finding Home, and then I worked on getting an agent or publisher. Meanwhile, I kept writing short stories, articles, and novellas. Since discovering the world of e-publishing and getting my start at Liquid Silver Books, I never stopped writing. I now have the confidence to say, "I am a writer," and the published works to prove it.
Back list
Home Bound, Bone Deep, Moon Over Bourbon Street, Seasons of Love, Boundless, Hot Summer Nights, Three, Measure of a Man, The Fruits of Betrayal, Finding Home, Evolving Man, Opposites Attract, Blackberry Pie, The Valentine Effect, The Warrior's Gift, Undeniable Magnetism
A note from Bonnie...
Coming May 27 IN PRINT from Samhain is the Midsummer Night's Steam anthology, Heat Wave. It contains my story Blackberry Pie as well as fantastic stories from Dee S. Knight, Jamie Craig and Veronica Wilde.
An Interview with Bonnie Dee
By Katie Raines, Assistant for The Romance Studio
KR: Bonnie, thanks for joining us at TRS BLUE. Please tell us about
The Countess Takes a Lover.
BD: Meredith, the Countess du Chevalier is a strong woman living in a time in which a woman of strength and sexuality is shunned. She has suffered through a horrible marriage and as a widow using astute business sense, has translated her inheritance into the kind of wealth that allows her to run her life exactly as she chooses. Money and a title allow her to get away with behavior that is beyond the pale. Society looks the other way. Because of her reputation of being sexually adventurous, a lord approaches her with an odd request. He wants her to "make a man" of his bookish, celibate son, turning him into the kind of rake a father can be proud of. They strike a deal that will benefit Meredith's business interests. Besides, she's intrigued by the idea.
KR: What a great twist on the usual historical romance! A sexually
experienced heroine and a hero who isn't the masterful lover nor the
social hit. Where did you get this great idea?
BD: I almost always prefer beta males: geeky boys who turn out to be lions in the sack, sad loners who just need a wittle wuv, antisocial, selfish guys who are redeemed by the end of the story through some selfless act.
In The Countess Takes a Lover, Christopher has very high ideals. He doesn't surrender to his base impulses because he won't use a prostitute or tumble a maid and that limits his options. A high born young lady wouldn't so much as kiss a gentleman without an engagement announcement. He's not interested in the shallow women he meets at balls and soirees. But his libido has been held in check for far too long and when Meredith seduces him, he's soon on board the love train.
KR: What do you like best about Chris?
BD: I like his high ideals as mentioned above, but I also like the fact that once he decides to indulge in this affair with Meredith, he goes for it full throttle. And when lust turns to love, as it inevitably must in a romance story, he is the one who brings the reluctant Countess to that realization. He helps her face some horrors from her past and eases her into the idea of love as a possibility in her life.
KR: What research did you do for this project?
BD: I went online to a number of different Regency sites where authors can find out all sorts of things about costume, customs, dancing, gentleman's clubs of the time, and a host of other details. I'm sure a Regency purist would find fault, but this is an erotic romance first and foremost and I did the best I could with the history part.
KR: What do you personally like best about your story?
BD: I like that it's breezy, fun and sexy, but also has some deeper themes woven through it. The characters learn and grow. They consider life and their place in it as well as having a helluva good time in bed, in the greenhouse, at the London Botanical gardens, in a lake, in a cave... They have a lot of erotic adventures.
KR: This work has received some really great reviews. As a more
experienced writer, how do you feel about the wonderful reviews that come in about your work?
BD: I'd like to be blasé and say reviews don't matter, but we all have egos and it feels good to hear good things about something you've labored hard and long on.
KR: What are you most proud of in your career to this point?
BD: The very thing that I think sometimes binds me-the eclectic nature of my work. You may have heard the term "author branding". I know I'd probably do a lot better if I committed to one genre, say romantic suspense for example, and developed a following. But I'm interested in a lot of wildly different stories so that's what I've written. Career-wise it might not be the best move, but I'm proud of my varied books.
KR: What goals have you set for yourself that you're yet to achieve?
BD: I'm working on landing a particular literary agent and hope that would help me expand to new markets with my work.
Other goals include writing more Countess books. Usually I write single titles, but for the first time I'm interested in doing a series. Meredith and Chris's relationship will grow and change while she dabbles in arranging other couples' romances.
I also have another m/m romance I'm working on since Undeniable Magnetism, my story of a blue collar bartender and a wealthy businessman, did so well.
KR: What's your favorite way to interact with readers?
BD: I like forums but am not fond of Yahoo loops. With forums one can more easily choose the topics one wants to respond to. I love to receive emails from readers, too.
KR: What's your idea of a perfect day?
BD: Well organized. I always like to have a sense of the flow of my day, such and such is what I plan to accomplish and here's the list where I check off each item as it's done. I'm such a nerd.
Today is a pretty perfect day-sunny with a cool breeze. I've already cleaned my house, walked my dogs, performed several other useful tasks, and now I'm ready to begin work on a brand new story since I finally cleared my plate of the edit I was working on. Later in the day, I'll spend more time outdoors and round off the evening with a movie. I love movies and good TV dramas. My husband is currently on his annual "Wild Hogs" motorcycle trip with the guys so tomorrow my daughters and some friends are coming over and we're having a Sex and the City marathon in preparation for the release of the new movie.
I want to share a little more about what readers can expect from me through the rest of 2008. I have a number of my e-books coming out in print including a great summer anthology, Heat Wave that's available now. Later in summer I have a full length novel about a traveling theater troupe called The Final Act which will be released at Samhain. In fall I have a new story coming at Loose Id about a bodyguard and a diplomat's daughter. It's called Rock Hard.
Thanks for interviewing me. I've enjoyed the chance to share all my news and hope readers take the time to stop by my web site and see the book trailers I'm so ridiculously proud of. I had a blast playing with Windows Movie Maker and creating them.
HH: Thank you!
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