I have a very special guest with me today. She’s Pamela Aares, and she writes historical romance with an interesting twist. Let’s have a chat with Pamela and find out about her books, shall we?
Pamela, before you began writing historical romance you had a fascinating and varied career. Can you tell us a bit about it, and how that work influences your writing today? I was particularly struck by the story on your bio page about the bookseller trying to sell you fiction books. Has your approach to life, working with animals & non-profits, influenced your writing?
After years of producing and directing films, working on national and international campaigns to help wild animals and then marrying the director of the Center for the Story of the Universe (more on that on my website www.PamelaAares.com ), it became clear that we are all creatures of story. More than that, it was clear that love and allurement not only drive all of us; they power everything that happens in the universe. Even the astrophysicists have discovered that attraction, the power at the heart of allurement, fuels the unfolding of the galaxies!
I love romance. On my website bio I talk about a bookseller who pushed a bunch of dreary non-fiction books at me and when I asked about their romance section, she told me they didn’t have any of those. In the end it was clear that if I wanted to read stories that explored the deep power of romance and included nature and spirit, I’d have to write them myself. It’s been an amazing journey!
Your current book, Jane Austen and the Archangel, has an unusual high concept. Can you tell us about the book and why the subject matter spoke to you?
Sometimes (most times!) life reaches out and grabs hold of us, surprises us. I was just finishing The Lady and the Patriot (coming out January 2013) the first book in The Nature of Love series, when Michael Grace, the archangel hero of Jane Austen and the Archangel, grabbed me and would not let go. I think you’ll find him more than intriguing and his love for Jane as irresistible as I did.
As I wrote, I loved that Jane, who never had a proper love in her short life, was finally going to have a full-blown experience of deep and lasting love.
Angels are pretty popular these days in paranormal romance. Why do you think that’s so?
I think we know that there is a world beyond that which we see. The quantum physicists have proven it and the sensitive among us have experienced it. The stories abound since humans have begun telling stories.
Whether it’s the mystics like Hildegard of Bingen, or the insights from Emerson or Einstein, or the most recent book exploring yet another near death experience, Proof of Heaven, so many experiences point to a force that sustains and supports us if we remember to call upon it. Angels are just one way of experiencing or understanding that power of life.
In addition to the Angels Come to Earth series, I see you’re also working on another series called The Nature of Love series. What can you tell us about that?
The Lady and the Patriot is the first book in The Nature of Love series (it will be out just after the first of the year). The series follows feisty and independent heroines and the adventurous and daring heroes who fall in love with them. What’s new is the transforming power of nature and the places they travel. It changes the nature of their love stories and takes readers on a journey of powerful exploration of time and place.
The series is set in 1851, a time of great change in the world, a time much like our own. The Great Exhibition in London (the first ever World’s Fair) and the craze for natural history were cracking open awareness and fueling new dreams. Venice, London, Boston (think Louisa May Alcott) and Gold Rush California all play important roles in the love stories.
And I can also give you a sneak peek into my new contemporary series The Heart of the Game, although the first book won’t be out until after Valentine’s Day 2013.
Some of my readers know that I’m married to a Major League Baseball All-Star who happens to also be an expert on the whole story of the universe (the film Journey of the Universe won an Emmy this year, it was very exciting!)— anyway, editors and publishers have been asking for my ‘baseball’ book for a long time, so it’s finally on its way to readers. I had such fun writing it and the characters came alive as if they’d been waiting on the sidelines. It’s always wonderful when that happens!
And now for the fun question – if you were stranded on a deserted island with the love of your life, what two luxury items would you want to bring along?
Ah. It is a fun question. I asked my husband, just for a lark, what he’d bring. He said the Alexandrian Library and room service! Hard to top that. I think I’d want my iPod for music and something to write with! I loved what Nora Roberts said last week when someone asked why she keeps writing. She said—“What would I do with all the stories in my head just waiting to be told?” Loved it. Love her. Maybe I’d take her on the desert island—can you take people?
Vanessa, here. Absolutely you can take people, Pamela, and I think Nora would be a great choice. And your husband sounds very interesting too! Thank you so much for visiting with us today – I really enjoyed your interview!
Readers, Pamela is graciously giving away a print copy of Jane Austen And The Archangel. To be eligible, just answer this question: how has an experience in nature changed you or inspired your life? One person who comments will win a copy of Pamela’s book.
What’s to be done with an angel who breaks the rules? Introduce him to a woman known for her propriety, of course.
Until then passion had lived only on the page…
Jane Austen hasn’t written a creative word in months. She secretly fears she may not have it in her to write a single word more about love. Yet when the mysterious Michael Grace appears on her doorstep, she’s cast into a world of emotion beyond even her wildest imaginings. Though she fears he might be a spy, she enlists his help to find her friend’s fiancé, missing in the Peninsular War. But Michael isn’t what he seems, and the passion and doubts he ignites turn everything Jane trusts upside down. What Jane doesn’t know is that her mystery man is an angel. One who’s never failed to get what he goes after.
Some rules just beg to be broken…
It’s not easy being a bad-boy angel and Michael is paying the penalty. Demoted to working undercover in a sleepy English village, he’s chafing to launch the dangerous mission he’s been sent to command. But when he meets Jane, he’s irresistibly drawn to her, even though involvement with her could jeopardize her life and his status as an angel.
When Lucifer tries to use Jane as a pawn in his vile schemes, Michael discovers that fighting the forces of darkness is nothing compared to the challenge of telling Jane the truth. Can the angel who’s never lost a battle win the heart of a woman who’s afraid of love?
Be sure to visit Pamela’s lovely website for details on all her books, and for her buy links to Jane Austen And The Archangel. You can also find her on facebook and Twitter.
Update: I’m visiting with the fabulous Kieran Kramer today, so after you respond to Pamela’s question why don’t you hop on over and chat with me, too. I’m giving away a copy of His Mistletoe Bride!
Love the concept of the book!! BTW I would hope if left on the deserted island with the Alexandrian library, I would hope he would have the ability to read all those tomes because I am pretty sure most of them are wrote in an archaic long forgotten language!
As for what in nature has changed me, moving from Florida to England was a HUGE change in weather for me. And sun. In Florida you are closer to the equator so the sun rising and setting is almost the same through out the year. Here in England it is vastly different. In summer it can rise at about 4 am and set about 10 pm and winter it rises about 8-9 and sets about 4pm. Very hard to get used to!!
Hi Ti– well, being from Florida myself, I can understand the weather issues- when I moved to Cambridge, Mass. for Grad school I had to wear a visor with a light on it in the winter mornings!
I would love to read JANE AUSTEN AND THE ARCHANGEL thank you.
Every camping trip I have ever been on, no matter how magnificent the landscape, has confirmed my belief that indoor plumbing is a blessing.
The great outdoors is great, so long as it stays outdoors.
I remember Frannie Leibowitz saying that the great outdoors was the distance from her taxi to her hotel room! But seriously, I do think that the natural world calls us out in ways we are only beginning to understand once again. Thanks for your comment!
This is going to sound horrible but I hate the outdoors. I get mosquitos/bug bites even if I am outside for like 1 minute and I get very allergic reactions to it. I love looking at scenic photos and views if I am indoors!
Thanks for your comment! My very first word was mosquito! I’m not fond of them either. Once when shooting a documentary in the Oregon wilderness, I asked the scientist along with me to give me three very good reasons we needed mosquitos! He did and it made it all better…but I still prefer not to be bitten!
I think that if you enjoy discovering the mysteries of nature from your comfy chair that you’ll love the Nature of Love series coming early next year– mysteries explored between the covers (in more ways than one!).
thanks for a fun post and giveaway! This book sounds fabulous 🙂 I’m w/ May… I’m usually the first one that the mosquitoes go for. In fact, when I’m around, no one else gets bitten! Plus, I can’t stand sleeping in the heat. If there was an air conditioned tent, I’d be ok. So, maybe I’m a special snowflake but I live in the right time!
Welcome to the blog today, Pamela! I loved your interview.
And I loved your visit to Kieran’s site. She’s such a doll. Thanks for having me. I am intrigued about that fact that you write with your husband. Do you do one nit and he does another, or is it more organic? I’ve worked with my husband on films and audio programs– we have both complimentary skills and then there are areas where one of us is better than the other. It’s a dance, I find.
do you do one bit, it’s suppose to say– oops!
When we moved to the Southwest this change was for the better. Bright sunshine everyday of the year, blue skies and high temps. Compared to snow, rain, dampness and lengthy winters with grey skies. What an improvement.
Have you ever read Barbara Kingsolver’s essay “High Tide in Tucson”? It’s about a hermit crab that ended up in their luggage accidentally and when he resurfaced in the Southwest, he still behaved according to the patterns of the tides where he’d been born.
Thanks for your comment, Anne!
The part of nature that has changed my life is animals. I’ve always had dogs my entire life and, having adopted the two wonderful Jack Russell Terriers I have now, has definitely made my life more chaotic but infinitely happier!
Isn’t it a miracle how animals open our hearts? After many decade of working to improve the lives of wild animals, I came to realize that most anyone who experiences an eye to eye with a wild animal is changed by it!
I am super excited for this book! I have always been interested in angels, and the “what if they walk amomg us” mind set.. which by the way I sure hope they do!.. As to how nature has affected me.. I’ve pretty much always lived in California, and I love the beach. Anytime I am hav ing a hard time, stress, heartache, whatever it may be… the ocean is so calming. Just sitting on the sand, and staring out to watch the waves… it has a calming affect on me. Not to mention just the vastness of it all helps put into perspective how small my troubles truly are in the scheme of things… If I set out there long enough, the ocean helps “wash my problems away”
Erich Shiffman, a fab yoga teacher use to teach this relly simple way of meditating– he’d say just imagine yourself as a wave in the ocean and feel yourself being on the one hand, a wave and then on the other hand experiencing the wave dissolving into the ocean. It’s a lovely image.
Angels have such a long history in human awareness. Stories of angels are thousands of years old. I hadn’t really planned on writing a book about an archangel and I certainly hadn’t planned to write one about an Archangel falling in love with Jane Austen! There is a back story to all this: when we moved to our farmhouse, there was a flash of light in the house every day at exactly the same time— after a couple weeks I discovered the source– it was the sun flashing off the windshield of our letter carrier. Within just a few moments, Michael the archangle, his love for Jane, all of it rolled out in my mind. There’s no explaining it. I hope you enjoy the book. Michael’s companion, Gabriel has his story coming next. So many readers have asked for his story and then one day, it rolled out, too. It’s set in the world of shadows. More on that later!
Sounds like a very intriguing read! I love being out in nature. One of my favorite places to read is on my back porch swing listening to the birds and enjoying the fresh air. I’m one of the lucky ones and don’t get bit very often but poison ivy is another thing and that’s one part of nature I could do without lol.
Thomas Berry, the great wise thinker, once was walking with me in a park in San Francisco. He stopped, put his hand on my arm and raised his finger. “Listen,” he said pointing to the trees where the birds were singing a chorus above the sounds of the city traffic. “Isn’t that a heroic voice?”
I loved him for that (and a million other wonderful and funny things he shared.)
Good for you getting out and enjoying the days on your porch!
I love Kieran too, Pamela. She is such a classy lady! As to your question…my husband and I tend to work separately. We brainstorm together, but then he writes the first draft and hands it over to me for revision. That way we’re not bumping into each other!
Hi Vanessa and Clare!
Vanessa –
Thanks for having the link on Kieran’s blog and for inviting us over to meet Clare!
Hi Clare –
I love your website Power of Love! I checked on Amazon to see if Llady Patriot was listed for pre-order but it wasn’t posted yet. Hopefullu they’ll have it soon!
As for your question all I can say is that Mother Nature definatly have a sense of humor! Back in the late 1970’s when our sons were young we couldn’t afford to take vacations like going to Disney World so my husband and I decided to be creative and bought an old used tent trailer and fitted it up. We used to take our summer vacations nearby so we could both still work – my husband during the day and I worked t night – but it gave us a chance to “getaway”. Remember this was way before cell phones were available! In the fall we would take a drive to nearby Vermont and set up in a inexpensive (okay cheap) campground for a week. Remember I mentioned Mother Nature? Well she taught us a lesson. Never underestimate Mother Nature!
At the neaby campsite we had cold rainy weather in the middle of August and the boys complained when we finally sent them outside with their rain slickers goulashes on to “play in the rain” which continued for the entire week! No swimming allowed because of the lightning!
Tha fall when we went to Vermont we set up next to a babbling brook. We were evacuated 2 days later when the brook turned into a roaring river!
What it taught all of us was it wasn’t what was going on around us that mattered but that we were enduring it together! We learned that no matter the place, the situation or the weather was that as long as we were together all was right in the world.
Maybe part of it is becaue my husband is not only a Vietnam Vet but also because when he got out joined the Navy Reserves and was a week-end warrior until he reitred. Those “Mother Nature” weekends taught us all the important lesson that nothing matters more than just being together as a family.
Hi Jeanne– thanks for your wonderful comment and thanks for being part of the Power of Love mailing list. I will let you know when The Lady and the Patriot is coming out– probably after the first of the year. From your comments, I think you’ll really enjoy it 🙂 lots of challenges in nature (and such a different perspective ‘way back when’, and a hero and heroine up to the challenge. The hero’s Native American cousin adds spice to the mix!
Nice post. My experience with camping told me it wasn’t for me.
Thanks for your comment– it’s amazing how many readers have had experiences camping– surprised me. My historic romance books are more windows into the world of Romance in the face of surprise and challenge and the journey to wholeness. A bit mythic and lots of romp.
Wow a book with Jane Austen in it has to be great. I am not an outdoorsy type, but we live outside a big city and have only 2 street lights, I can finally see the stars again. I love laying in the grass and looking at the big and Little Dipper and all the other constellations. That’s where dreams start, in the stars.
Isn’t it a powerful experience to get to see the stars! When I was a youngster we lived in a similar place for a while and I could lay on the grass in the night and it felt like the stars were a blanket above.
Lucky you!
JANE AUSTEN AND THE ARCHANGEL looks like a fun read. As far as an act of nature that affected my life, I believe my dislike for the outdoors originated on a camping trip that some friends and I took to celebrate graduating from high school. One night while we were camping, an enormous storm rolled through Kentucky dousing the area in rain for several hours. IF that wasn’t enough, the girl who organized the event (i.e. the seasoned camper) had set the tent up with the tent door facing uphill. Hmmm, rain runs downhill and filled the tent submerging us in water as we slept. EVERYTHING was drenched and we ended up sleeping the rest of the night in the car. Needless to say it takes a REALLY cute guy to get me to go camping.
Hi Sherri– thanks for your comment!
Well, then– let’s hear it for really cute guys! Since so many folks have had such unpleasant (but memorable!) camping experiences, perhaps next time I’ll ask about angels!