Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
In my long and checkered career, I have had more publishers than currently exist in New York today, among them Dorchester, Penguin, Warner Books, St. Martin’s Press, Harlequin and Tor-Forge. Mostly I have written historical romances–32 to date. In addition, I’ve done romantic suspense and political thrillers (the latter under a pseudonym Alexa Hunt). All in all, I’ve had 35 books published by major presses in New York.
Then the most exciting part of my publishing career began three years ago, when I started putting up my backlist novels on Amazon, Nook, Apple and Kobo. Now I am writing original, never before published e-books, beginning with books two and three of my House of Dreams Trilogy, LOVING LUCIFER AT MIDNIGHT and LOVING LIES AT MIDNIGHT. These and several other of my series, are set in Regency England, although my first love has always been the American West.
After receiving my master’s degree in history from the University of Missouri, I taught history at a large Northeast university until they abolished the requirement that students take intro history courses for bachelor’s degrees. No requirements, no adjunct faculty. Alas. I moved over to the university’s English department where I taught freshman composition. After two years of grading remedial themes, I bottomed out. Let me tell you, readers, there are a finite number of times a teacher can explain to a college student what a verb is before she’s done for.
Since I’d always loved reading romance novels, I decided to try writing a historical myself. The result was my first book, GOLDEN LADY, published by Warner Books in 1986. Writing stories is like eating popcorn…once you start, you just can’t seem to stop.
I have been married to Jim Henke, a retired university English professor, forever and we have a son who works in telecommunications. We live in St. Louis in a big cedar house that we share with two very spoiled tomcats, Pewter and Sooty. Sooty’s claim to fame is killing nearly 100 moles in 2013. Pewter’s is utter indolence, 2008-2014.
I have won seven awards from ROMANTIC TIMES MAGAZINE, three from AFFAIRE DE COEUR MAGAZINE, twice been a finalist for Romance Writer’s of America’s RITA, won a BOOKRAK bestseller award and have been recognized as one of the “Pioneers of the Genre” at the 2013 RT Convention. I have also been on USA TODAY’s bestseller list.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is a Regency romance, LOVING LIES AT MIDNIGHT, last of a trilogy. All three of these novels involve London’s most infamous bordello, the fabled House of Dreams where rich English noblemen can act out their fantasies. In the first book, LOVE LESSONS AT MIDNIGHT, an earl asks for “lessons” which will enable him to please the woman he intends to marry. In LOVING LUCIFER AT MIDNIGHT, an English spy against Napoleon blackmails a beautiful French aristocrat into helping him uncover a dangerous plot. In both of these books, a young woman had a small “walk-on” part. Lorna didn’t even have a name at first. She was just another girl the bordello owner rescued from the streets, offering shelter education with the chance for a better life. Only those who chose to do so became courtesans. Lorna was destined for a respectable marriage. That was as much as I had figured out in the first two novels. But she kept flitting around the back of my mind until I decided she deserved her own story. After she was established as the adopted niece of a wealthy cit, she met a most unsuitable man–the heir of a duke, a rakish, charming rogue who utterly captured her heart. But what if she captured his heart, too? Dare she tell him about her lowly birth or upbringing in a bordello? If she did not, what would happen when the truth came out? The more I worked on this idea, the better I liked it. Geoff and Lorna’s courtship is witty and warm. I hope readers will take both of these winsome young people to their hearts.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I wrote my first 25 novels in longhand on looseleaf paper with a ballpoint pen. My best friend Carol Reynard transferred my illegible scrawl into typewritten manuscripts, then onto computer pages. Finally around the turn of the millenium, I learned how to use one of those “devil machines” myself. Now I write on the computer. But another computer lives on the lower level of our house. At that one, my husband Jim works, helping me with research on the net, editing and polishing my work. We go back and forth so much that there are often disagreements, okay, yelling matches as we hash out plot and characterization.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Rosemary Rogers’ SWEET, SAVAGE LOVE hooked me on the historical romance genre way back in the late 1970’s. The dense historical richness and dark, mysterious hero made me eager to read more. Then I discovered Roberta Gellis’s wonderous Medieval romances, Lisa Gregory’s RAINBOW SEASON, the list goes on and on. I could name dozens of wonderful authors whose work inspired me want to write.
What are you working on now?
After a long series of attempts, I finally got the rights to my first romantic suspense novel back from Penguin. BOUQUET is set in the California wine country and features a mysterious drifter who comes to work at a Napa vineyard, where he and the owner’s daughter spend a summer falling in love. But someone is trying to kill Adam and Marti wonders why he won’t tell her about his past. When he suddenly vanishes, she is uncertain if he deserted her or if something more sinister happened.
When this book was published, I wrote a sequel, which was never published. Now I am rewriting that book, working title CALIFORNIA HEAT. It is a tale involving a cynical San Francisco homicide detective and a sensitive New Orleans artist. She’s the cop, he’s the artist. Gray witnesses a murder while having a one-man show in San Francisco. Linda is assigned to the case. When he draws an exact likeness of the killer (whose face he saw beneath a street light), they find that the man is a war hero, self-made millionaire and personal friend of the police comissioner. He also has an air-tight alibi. But Linda believes Gray when he insists Cleary is the killer. A game of cat and mouse ensues with an evil and deranged man. The reader knows Cleary is the killer, but why has he done what he’s done? That is what Linda and Gray must figure out if they are to survive.
I hope to have these e-books up for sale in late spring. In many ways, I think CALIFORNIA HEAT (or whatever the title ends up being) is the best I’ve ever written. I can’t wait to see how readers react!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve never been much of a promoter since coming to the e-book business, simply because I was overwhelmed learning the ropes of having my backlist books scanned, formatted and going through the arduous (for a troglodyte like me) process of registering to sell my books and then to upload them on the various platforms. Now my husband Jim has begun researching all the wonderful sites such as Awesomegang.com. This is my first attempt to reach out to readers in this medium.
My website and cover designer, Kim Killion, has set up a great site for me, on which I feature each new book as it is released, an excerpt from the book, an email site for readers to contact me, even a page where I post original recipes for my favorite dishes. Jim writes a humorous (but curmudgeonly) newsletter every quarter or so, telling about the crazy goings on at the Henke asylum. I have a Face Book author’s page and post as often as time permits on FB. Beyond that, I’m still in the process of learning the best ways to reach readers.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Now that you can publish your own work on Amazon, Nook, Kobo and Apple, the sky’s the limit! But I would offer a few caveats: find (hire if need be) a good copyeditor. You don’t want to put out a book filled with mistakes. Also, if possible, it is best to establish credibility by getting some work published traditionally in New York. Either way, write the book of your heart. Good luck!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“What goes around, comes around.” Be kind to other authors and to readers. Just because the Internet can be anonymous should not give anyone license to be snarky to others.
What are you reading now?
EXTRAORDINARY POWERS by Joseph Finder. It’s a nifty CIA thriller with a fascinating premise about ESP.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I have always wanted to alternate writing historicals with suspense. Having just finished a historical romance trilogy, I am moving on to publish BOUQUET and its sequel. After that, I’ll complete HEARTSTOPPER, a suspense book set in Miami. Then, for sure I’ll write another Western historical romance, ALL THE CAPTAIN’s WOMEN. I love the freedom to write what I want and move around so, hopefully, I stay fresh in my writing.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
A Michael Connolly mystey featureing Harry Bosch, a Lisa Gregory romance, a political thriller by Daniel Silva featuring Gabriel Alon, and, of course, the Bible.
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