Contest & Conversation with NICHOLAS's New York Times Bestselling Author Cheryl Holt

RCJR eZine is proud to present one of our favorite romance authors.  New York Times bestselling author Cheryl Holt has once again proven why she once again what extraordinary talent in the romance world.  Ms. Holt captures readers attention with her emotional gripping and high-octane adventures wrapped around an intoxicating love-story . New York Times bestselling author Cheryl Holt is captivating audiences with her latest Samhain Publishing, Limited, NICHOLAS. 

 NICHOLAS

by

New York Times Bestselling

Author

Cheryl Holt

Why do you write?

I know a lot of writers might say something really profound to answer this question, but my reason is very mundane.  I write because I needed to have a job I could do at home—one that would pay me a viable income and that would give me a flexible schedule.  I am a lawyer, and I had two babies back to back.  After the first one, I had planned to go back into the workforce, but when the second one came along so quickly after the first, I decided I had to stay home.  So I needed to replace the income I’d lost.

I’m not the kind of person who can sell soap or cosmetics, which seem to be the main choices for a home business.  And I’d always wanted to write a book, so I decided to give it a try.  At the time, I was very clueless about the effort that would be required in parenting, so I thought I’d have tons of free time to write while I was home with my babies.  I thought, “I’ll just write a book and sell it to New York.  How hard could that be?”  I quickly found out that it was pretty darn hard!  And that the “free” time I assumed I’d have was a fantasy.

Name one eye-opening thing you learned from your book research.

I never do book research.  I write historical novels, but they’re always set in the same time period—Regency England.  So the clothes, houses, carriages, etc., are always the same.  My books take place in Regency England, but they don’t revolve around any specific historical event, so I don’t need to do research.

Do you have a favorite motto?

Everything works out for the best in the end.  So if things are still bad for you, you’re not at the end yet.

Do you have a favorite fictional hero? 

Jamie Frazier in Diana Galbaldon’s “Outlander”series.

Which fictional character would you hang out with? 

Don’t know.

What is one of your favorite book covers, your own or someone else’s? 

My all-time favorite book cover is the one designed for my second novel many, many years ago.  It was titled MY ONLY LOVE, and the male supermodel, John DeSalvo, was the guy on the cover.  I was so new and so clueless about the publishing industry that I didn’t even know who he was!  But his presence on my cover made the book’s sales soar.  It started my career, and I became a romance “name” directly after the book’s release.

My second favorite cover is the one for my new book, NICHOLAS, that’s being released this summer.  I thought it was very colorful, very beautiful, and it absolutely captured the hero and the story.

What would readers be surprised to learn about you? 

I live and write in Hollywood and my son was a teen actor on Nickelodeon and other major TV networks.

If you could go backward or forward in time which would you chose? 

I’d go back. 

Cheryl, please share with us more about NICHOLAS being released by Samhain Publishing, Limited on July 2012. 

When the economy collapsed at the end of ’08, the New York publishers went into freefall.  Book purchases plummeted, so to cut costs, the publishers fired employees and dumped many of their midlist and low-list authors.  I was one of the first authors to lose my spot in 2010.  I was really exhausted after it happened; my career had been a long and demoralizing slog of starting over.  I had had 23 novels published by four different NY publishers, and I just didn’t feel that I had the energy to try again.

I actually quit writing for about 18 months.  I shut off my email and took down my web page, and I wasn’t ever going to try again.  But a writer friend started bugging me to start over.  NICHOLAS is the book I wrote just to see if I could still write a novel, just to see if I wanted to write another novel.

I think the 18-month hiatus did me a world of good.  The book turned out really great, and it was the best reviewed novel I’d penned in years.   

I noticed that NICHOLAS is a sassy sexy historical.  What is it about the historical genre that piqued your curiosity for a setting?

When I was first trapped at home with my babies and trying to figure out how to write novels, I didn’t have any idea how to get started.  Since I’m an attorney, I tried to write crime novels, but I wasn’t very good at it, and I couldn’t sell any of them.

During this period, I was constantly reading, trying to get a feel for the American fiction market.  I had never previously read a romance, but many of them were popping up on the bestseller lists that I was tracking as I searched for good books to read.  I really, really liked the historical ones, and I really enjoyed the Regency Period. 

When I gave up on trying to sell my awful, poorly written crime novels, I turned my hand to historical romances.  It turns out that I have an incredible knack for writing them.  It’s fifteen years later, and I’m still amazed everyday by this turn in my life road.

Name one or two things you found fascinating in researching for NICHOLAS.

I didn’t do any research for NICHOLAS.

Okay, I want to give a warm welcome to, Miss Emeline Wilson and Captain Nicholas Price. (Waving frantically, trying to get the besotted couple’s attention). I know you two have gone through a lot to get to your happily ever after so I will try to be brief. (Blushes scarlet as she catches the intimate glance between the newlyweds, clears her throat). 

Emeline and Nicholas was it loves at first sight?

Emeline:  No.  It was outrage and fury.  He was obnoxious and overbearing and I was thoroughly insulted by him.

When you two first see one another was it instant sparks that ignited?  Would you claim it was love at first sight?

Nicholas:  No.  I thought she was a prostitute, sent to my home by my favorite madam at my favorite brothel.  As you can imagine, I’ve never heard the end of it for this embarrassing misunderstanding.

Do you believe in true love? You can both answer. I’m quite curious to know both of your opinions.

Emeline:  Yes.

Nicholas:  No.

Emeline, name the one thing about Nicholas that you believe won your heart.

He’s kind, but he tries to hide it. 

Nicholas, name one thing about Emeline that you believe changed your outlook on love.

She liked me no matter what.

Now back to Cheryl.

Cheryl, what is more difficult to write: an intense sexual scene or a heart-wrenching emotional scene? Why? 

I think both types of scenes are equally difficult.  Writing is a craft, and it takes many, many years to learn how to do it and to do it well.  Every scene that I write is intensely difficult.

When you were writing “NICHOLAS” did you have music playing in the background?  If yes, what type?  Does music play an intricate part in your writing? 

No.  Writing is a very difficult process for me.  It’s very labor intensive.  I never have music playing—or anything else occurring that might distract me.  I actually keep a fan going, so that there will be “white noise” to block out other sounds.

Which do you find is most important to you as a writer, voice or story? Why? 

I think they are equally important.  “Voice” makes my writing unique and memorable, but my great plots keep readers coming back for more.

Cheryl, please share with desperate readers where they can connect with you in cyber world. :)

I’ve really resisted all the intense pressure to get on FaceBook or Twitter or Linked In.  I have a very busy life, and it’s really hard for me to finish books on time.  I’ve always focused on writing, so I don’t have the extra time it takes to participate in those sorts of social media sites.

I have a great web site at www.cherylholt.com, which is where I post current news.  I update it all the time, so the info contained there is always current.

One of fans also runs a fan page for me on FaceBook @ https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Official-Cheryl-Holt-fanpage/292658201347  

I know this is a difficult question with there being so many amazing authors out there to choose from but who are some of the GOT-TO-HAVE authors in your TBR pile? 

I am an avid reader.  You can’t be a great writer without being a great reader.  So I read all the time.  I always have a book in my hand, and I’m teased by acquaintances because my nose is always buried in a novel.  I don’t have “favorite” authors.  I like any well-written story.  I don’t care about time period, setting, characters, plot, etc.  If it’s well written, I love it.

What’s next in the works for you? When can readers expect to see it out on shelves in their local bookstores?

The year 2012 will be a big publishing year for me.

NICHOLAS will probably be my last print book coming to stores.  I was let go by my last NY publisher in 2010.  There are only a handful of publishers, and I have written for 4 of them.  The others were never interested in signing me, so I don’t see me making my way back to the NY publishing houses.  I think that NICHOLAS will be my last print book that ever appears in stores.

It was released originally as an e-book, so it’s been available for the past year.  Readers can download it and read it right away.  But the e-publisher, Samhain Publishing, is releasing it as a print book for the July 4^th holiday weekend.  I’m trying to get the word out to all my fans that it’s coming, and it’s coming to stores in print.  This will likely be the last time that people can buy one of my books in a bookstore, so I hope everyone will watch for it.

I have been self-publishing novels for the past year, and I have several books available now that can be downloaded to any e-reader or phone from any of the major on-line bookstores.  I have several books coming in 2012:

LOVE ME is an e-book released in April.  It’s the 3^rd and final book in my Merriweather family trilogy.  The first two books were SEDUCE ME and KISS ME and were released as e-books in 2011.

MARRY ME will be coming as an e-book and print book in summer 2012.  This will be a compilation of the three books in the Merriweather trilogy.  I have many fans who don’t own an e-reader and who want to be able to read the books, so I will compile them into one larger novel and self-publish it.  I don’t have the cover art or release date yet, but I’m hoping to have it ready in summer 2012.  It will be for sale as an e-book and as a print book through my web page and at Amazon, but will not be available in bookstores.

NICHOLAS is my big release for 2012, coming in print to stores everywhere in July.  It’s available now as an e-book if readers want to read it right away.

SWEET SURRENDER is another of my Regency historical romances for which I am renowned.  It will be out as an e-book in summer 2012.  I will also have a print version available for fans to order through my web page or at Amazon.  It will not be available in stores.

MUD CREEK is a mainstream historical e-novel that takes place on a homestead in the Dakotas in 1900.  It’s not a romance, so it’s different from other historicals that I’ve written.  But it’s a story that’s been rolling around in my head for years, and it’s a great benefit of the new e-book industry that I can write whatever I want—and no one in NY can tell me not to.  The book will be released this fall as an e-book and a print book that I’ll sell off my web page and through Amazon.     

Cheryl thanks so much for stopping by and chatting with RCJR eZine readers and myself; it has really been a blast getting to know more about you and your books.

Product Details

• ISBN-13: 9781609287054
• Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Limited
• Publication date: 7/3/2012
• Pages: 296

Overview

When a haughty Lord meets a determined Miss the only winner is love.

Captain Nicholas Price is a man with a plan. As the newly minted Lord Stafford, he is determined to have the best of everything. Clothes, horses, women. He is well on his way with a well-born fiancée and an estate in the country.

Miss Emeline Wilson is a woman on a mission. Forced into penury by the cruel estate manager of the indifferent Lord Stafford, Emeline is determined to confront the new Lord with his callous ways.

When they finally meet, sparks fly, and Nicholas finds himself knocked for a loop by the feisty, intelligent, and definitely not high-born Miss. But what’s an already engaged Lord to do when the plans he’s so perfectly laid out for his future suddenly seem so wrong?

Warning: This book features an arrogant Lord, a determined Miss, and plenty of steamy moments between the two.

CONTEST 

THE PRIZE: One (1) lucky reader will win a copy of NICHOLAS. 


TO ENTER: Leave a comment for Cheryl Holt including your email address (Email address are required for ALL entries.) 

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*Connect with RCJR eZine at:

 

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Contest is open to ALL

It will runs until July 1,2012

I will contact the winners directly on July 2, 2012

HAPPY READING! =)