Pamela Aares

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!