Cyn

What's happening in the world of erotic romance writer Lucynda Storey?  Well, I'm pretty excited to announce that my time travel, blazingly hot romance, This Time Forever, is about to be released from Loose Id.  The story centers on Skylar Creighton a contemporary woman diagnosed with terminal cancer and Captian Rand Edward Jamison, a pirate from the early 18th century.

Rand believes Sklyar is the reincarnation of his deceased wife...almost.  Skylar knows Rand to be the pirate she's fallen in love with through the pages of an old book.  Is there a way for these two to merge their different eras and find a way to be together? This Time Forever?

The research I did for this story was absolutely intense.  Of course, during the intense searching I discovered a lot of misinformation in the movies based on Pirates of the Caribbean.  Of course, that is the liberty one can take when basing a story off an amusement park ride.  And, surprisingly, the movie did get a few things right.  The Endeavor and the Black Pearl bore a remarkable resemblance to vessels of the 18th and 19th centuries (although I'm sure the real seafarers amongs us will discover the inaccuracies onboard); a navigator was of surpreme importance to any ship; and as noted in the lastest release, pirates, some quite notable, existed world-wide.

There are several excellent works I referenced from children's activity books to scholarly tomes.  My favorite was released in 1995 by David Cordingly, a Harcourt, Brace and Company release entitled Under the Black Flag (The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates).

During my research one of the more surprising finds was the discovery of the destruction of Port Royal in the early 1690's by a devastating earthquake and the ensuing tidal wave.  Long a pirate haven until this act of nature, Port Royal finally resurfaced under the British flag to prosecute pirates in the early 1700's.  In fact, the heyday of pirates came to an end with the appointment of Woodes Rogers as a governor of the Bahamas and the man determined to cleanse the Bahamas of pirates.  While he didn't succeed one hundred percent, his activities eradicated many of the pirates.  Port Royal once a sanctuary for pirates now was a place where they were hung as the movie depicts.

Another surprising discovery was what pirates valued.  Always looking for the next bag of gold, their most precious commodity was not booty but rather the tools by which they navigated.  Chief among these were their navigational charts.  Often when another vessel was attacked, it was to the captain's stateroom that the pirates sought this precious treasure.  Jack Sparrow's compass; the maps andcharts were what led these adventurers to what they considered the next best thing.

In writing This Time Forever, I hoped to give the reader a little taste of what life was like for a pirate but more importantly, I wanted to let readers experience what it might be like to love one of these seadogs.  I hope the erotic romance delivers what we all look for when we fantasize what it might be like to fall for a pirate like Jack Sparrow.

Our dear encourager, Emma, from the UK, asked about writers and traveling.  Her questions were as follows:

Have you done much travelling at all, if so where was the

a) best place you've ever been to and why?

b) the worst place and why?

c) the weirdest place and why?

d) did you incorporate any of your experiences with travelling in your books at all?

To answer Emma's question I would have to say that Ireland was one of the most awesome places I've visited.  I loved the countryside, loved the ocean, the green, the castles, the people.  Wasn't too fond of the food, but I suspect if you lived there you'd find a way to adjust!

I've also traveled to several of the former Eastern Bloc countries.  I loved Prague, but I truly thought the area around Warsaw, Poland was stunning.

The weirdest place I've been?  I'd have to say the Dublin, Ireland airport where I "witnessed" an armed robbery.  That might be tied, though, with the taxi I was in when I visited New York City that backed up on the highway to get off on an exit!

The worst place?  I can't say there was really a "worst" place although I have no overwhelming desire to return to Berlin.  It just didn't impress me all that much.

So, do I use the places I visit in my novels?  Absolutely!  Watchtowers Water was set in western Ireland and so was Reynardine.

What are the biggest misconceptions people have about being an author?

There are several misconceptions people outside the writing community have about being an author. One is that we make oodles of money. Writing and selling is a lot like being an actor and acting. Most people aren't mega stars and need to supplement their writing with other work. A few are lucky and have a significant other that enables them to pursue their dream.

Another misconception a lot of authors hear is "I could write a book too, if..." I think for a lot of writers this is a real burner. Writing a novel is not easy. It takes a lot of perserverance to finish a story, a lot of bravery to let another person read your work, even more guts to send it off somewhere, and then to survive rejections. Even those fortunate enough to miss being told their work isn't right at this time have to go through the huge learning curve regarding contracts, edits, getting the next novel written and doing promotions. Writing takes a lot of time. And that's when you have a clue what you're doing. Terry Brooks, John Grisham and others, before they were "discovered" got up in the wee hours of the morning, wrote, then got ready for their 40+ hour work week.

A third misconception is that of the life of ease and that writing itself is easy. Sure, maybe some writers have it easier than others; perhaps they dictate to a secretary, a tape recorder, or maybe their computer, but those writers paid their dues getting there. They had to learn like the rest of us; had to find work arounds for carpal tunnel, they read books about the craft, maybe attended seminars and workshops and conventions. Writers don't sit at home eating bon-bons. Frequently, especially for beginning writers, the work is lonely. You don't realize there are organizations to help you connect with other writers, people who can be your friends, mentors, and role models.

Make no mistake. Writers work hard. It takes guts and perseverance to finish a work and submit it and even more work to promote a novel.