Today, I’m sitting down for a virtual chat with the fabulous Monica Burns, so sit back kick up your feet, relax and read.

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Question
Monica, tell us about Kismet.

Answer
Kismet is set in Morocco circa the late 1800s. It’s the story of Allegra Synnford and her handsome Sheikh Shaheen. They’ve both been betrayed by family members and are both incredibly stubborn people. And to date, the banana scene appears to be one of the most memorable scenes in the book. Although I certainly enjoyed the groveling scene at the end, which is very emotional.

Question
Can you tell us your call story with Berkley?

Answer
Sure, one October Sunday afternoon in 2008, I was playing with my new phone. Not a good use of writing time, but I decided to get cute and use When You Wish Upon a Star for my agent’s number. Keep in mind we email, she NEVER calls me. Nonetheless, I was pleased with my non-writing efforts.
The next day, I had a caller on hold and was trying resolve their issue with a colleague. Suddenly in the background I hear When You Wish Upon a Star playing. I ignore it. Seconds later, I connect the dots. With a loud gasp, I tell my colleague to handle the caller because my agent is on the phone! Now my cell phone was in my purse, which was locked away in a cabinet, and my keys were hidden under a stack of papers. Files flew into the air (okay not into the air, but my neat and orderly desk wasn’t so neat and orderly anymore) as I scrambled to find my keys. A moment later, I manage to bend the key in the lock. Makes it a little tough to open a cabinet. By the time I get to the phone, I’ve missed the call. I call back, and Deidre says she has news and to stay calm (she knows me so well).
The minute she says Cindy Hwang at Berkley is interested in my Sicari paranormal series, I let out this whoop that had my co-workers looking at me like I’d lost my mind. I remember trembling so badly I could barely hold the phone, and I was pacing like a caged lion trying to keep my emotions under control. Hard to do when there’s this incredible sense of elation surging through your body, which is almost numbing in its intensity. Cindy had asked to speak with me before finalizing things, and I was frantically trying to remember what was in the paranormal proposal we’d submitted.
You see, I’d put the paranormal aside to rework Kismet, and my Sicari heroes were a faint blip on my radar screen. Talk about terror. When we talked, I stumbled my way through the conversation, trying to appear knowledgeable about my series. Fortunately, Cindy forgave my cluelessness. Better yet, she loved my voice. Major swoon, and a short time after our conversation, Deidre called to say the offer was official.

Question
Do you have a favourite novel, one you were just sad to finish writing? If so, which book?

Answer
Assassin’s Heart, which will be released this September. It was so hard to let go of the characters. Lysander has to be one of my all-time fav heroes that I’ve written. He’s suffered so much, but he overcomes even more to have the happiness he deserves. The book also has a secondary story line in Ancient Rome that ties into the hero/heroine’s story in present day Rome. It was such a blast to write this book.

Question
You seem to like to write about Egypt, which is considered a rather exotic locale. What is the attraction to that setting?

Answer
Egypt has fascinated me since I was a kid. I believe in past lives, and I’m convinced I’ve been to Egypt, and I think it’s where I developed my intense fear of snakes. My phobia is so bad, that’s the only reason why I won’t go to the country. To hell with terrorists, it’s the snakes I’m terrified of. No Joke! But I will say that when I had the wonderful good fortune to see the King Tut exhibit, it was so emotional for me. It was as if I’d come home. Everything I saw looked so familiar. Even things I’d never seen in my research before. It was a wonderful experience.

Question
Who is your favourite author?

Answer
Oh gosh, my tastes in favorites tends to run more in terms of specific books as opposed to authors, but I love reading Dan Brown, Stephen King, Anne Rice, Katherine Neville, Baroness Ocrzy, Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, Loretta Chase, Nalini Singh and Kresley Cole to name a few.

Question
Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Answer
Pantser, hands down. I do have to do a somewhat detailed synopsis that sort of keeps me in line, but most of the time the synopsis and the book look like two different stories. It’s scary to be a pantser because if you back yourself into a hole, you have to find a way out. I still remember how I got my h/h locked in a tomb in my book Mirage. Took me three days to figure out how to get them out of that particular pickle. I was sweating bullets then because the only other option was to rewrite about 20 pages! *gasp*

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Kismet
Author: Monica Burns
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Pub. Date: January 5, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-1420104332
352 pages

Raised in a brothel at a young age, Allegra Synnford quickly learned that survival meant taking charge of her destiny. Now, a renowned courtesan skilled in the pleasures of the flesh, she chooses her lovers carefully—vowing never to be vulnerable to any one man. Until a mesmerizing Sheikh strips that control from her…

Sheikh Shaheen of the Amazigh has been hiding from his past for a long time, but not enough to forget how another courtesan made him abandon his life as the Viscount Newcastle. It’s why the yearnings this dangerous temptress ignites within him are so troubling. Worse, thoughts of Allegra pervade every fantasy, threatening to undermine his cover. With old enemies circling, experience tells him he must resist her charms at all cost. In fact, he’s betting on it. That’s a risky wager when it comes to a woman of pleasure. But Allegra has her own reasons for playing games…with a man who can’t afford to lose.

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Question
What was it like moving from Samhain to Berkley?

Answer
Actually there’s not that much of a difference with the exception that Berkley is larger and has a stronger distribution channel. Berkley recently switched to doing revisions online, and that’s been a bit of a challenge for some of the staff. My editor said she envied me for my ePub experience and knowing how to work with Word’s Review feature. She said there was a definite learning curve when she was so used to working with paper. Berkley does design my ads for me, but I still do all my own advertising just like I did for my eBooks. They do have someone who organizes book signings for me with chain bookstores, so that’s nice I don’t have to worry about that.

Question
Will you continue to write for an epublisher?

Answer
Absolutely, I like the steady income that I get monthly. The minute I have time, I’ve got a story I want to rework for Samhain. It’s a historical that didn’t sell to NY, but I love the story line. I work a day job full-time and write full-time, and my writing speed is moderate. I wish I could write faster, because I’d be churning out lots of eBooks in between fulfilling my NY contracts. Maybe when I quit the day job. But I adore Samhain, and I’m thrilled to still be a part of their stable of authors. Chrissy Brashear is one of my publishing idols!

Question
What is next for you, and when will readers expect to see it out on book shelves?

Answer
My next book is the start of my paranormal series Assassin’s Honor, Book 1 in the Order of the Sicari series. Emma Zale is an archeologist who has the ability to read antiquities and know where they came from and see who owned the object. She stumbles onto a secret order of assassins known as the Sicari. Ares, one of the Sicari leaders is the man who pulls her into the Order to protect her from the telepathic Praetorians, the villains in the series. The heroes have telekinetic abilities with a Roman bloodline going back to the time of Alexander the Great.

Question
If you could change your name, what would you change it to?

Answer
The real question is WANT. Would I want to change my name? Answer – no. I picked my pen name out at the age of 9. I strayed from that name when I returned to writing eight years ago. I picked a really pretty, nondescript name. Nothing happened, until one day I remembered my childhood pen name, decided to give it a shot, and in six months I had my first ePub contract and an agent and I finaled in the RWA Golden Heart. That nine-year-old kid knew what she was doing.

Monica, thank you for joining me today. As always, it was a pleasure.   You can find out more about Monica and her books on her website: http://www.monicaburns.com.

Monica will be stopping by during the day to answer questions so fire away, and she has kindly offered up copies of Kismet to 2 lucky commenters.

**Drawing is open to residents in US and other countries. Void where prohibited. Shipping/handling fees for shipment of book OUTSIDE the US is responsibility of winner. International winners may pay the required postage via PayPal. To ensure as many readers as possible have a chance to win a copy of the book, Monica awards only one book per reader, per household.