Sunday, December 06, 2009

MTA Monday - Laurie Ryan


This week's MTA (Meet The Author) Monday author is Laurie Ryan. Let's see what she had to say about my daft questions, why don't we?


NAME: Laurie Ryan

WEBSITE: http://www.laurieryanauthor.com/

BLOG: No permanent blog yet. For now, I guest blog. And I’d like to thank Kate Davies for having me here.

TITLE OF FIRST BOOK: Stolen Treasures

RELEASE DATE: December 8, 2009

FAVORITE WRITING STORY/SAYING/MEMORY: It may sound cliché but it has to be “the call.” I was waiting with my mother when the call came in and it wasn’t so much the call from BookStrand that indicated I had sold my first book. It was the fact that my mother was with me when I got it. She is absolutely the most amazing person I have ever known. To be able to share that with her made it a precious moment for me.

FAVORITE NON-WRITING STORY/SAYING/MEMORY: Wow. There are so many choices. Now, that’s not saying I’m old, mind you. There’s meeting my husband, marrying my husband, childbirth. The list goes on. But last year, in a little wide spot in the road called Coldfoot, halfway between Fairbanks and Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, I got to check off a life dream. I saw the northern lights in great, green, gyrating streaks across the sky. For almost an hour, in the middle of the night, my husband and I stood with 30 or so strangers who, wrapped in coats, bathrobes, and blankets, were just as awed as we were. It was an amazing experience and one I treasure.

COMFORT FOOD: Cocoa. Always cocoa. Summer or winter. It can calm me down or rev me up, depending on what I need. It’s great for brainstorming or for reviewing the day.

COMFORT READ: Definitely Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings series. I have probably read the series 10-12 times by now. It never gets old and, since I first read it in high school, it’s like revisiting an old friend.

YOUR PERFECT DAY: A lot of stars have to align for a perfect day so that, when I check my emails, all is well with my family and the world. Then I would join my husband for coffee in front of the roaring fireplace in a log home in the mountains. The windows would frame soft snowfall. Later, we’ll go for a walk (the snow’s not too deep yet) stopping to watch the elk in the meadow for a while. Once home, the aroma of homemade bread and soup heating in the crock pot would welcome us. And about that time, the kids and grandkids would descend and a beautiful chaos would finish out our day. In actuality, we live in the city, but each January, this is the exact feel of what happens when we go away to a rented cabin for a long weekend with our children and grandchildren. Absolutely perfect!

WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON NOW? More stories about modern day piracy, of course! Stolen Treasures is the story of two people who find love while attempting to capture a modern day pirate. The second book in this series is about the hunky pirate and explains why he became a brigand.
Thanks, Laurie, for dropping by! And everyone else, be sure to check back tomorrow to hear more about Stolen Treasures.

12 comments:

Jan Bowles said...

Hi Laurie

Good luck with Stolen Treasures tomorrow.

I do envy you seeing the Northern lights, what an incredible experience it must have been.

Jan

Chassily Wakefield said...

Great blog, Laurie! Congrats on the new release tomorrow, I'm so excited for you. And now that I know about your cocoa obsession, we'll have to meet up and indulge together. I love it, too, in any weather. :)

Maia Strong said...

Wow! So I'm not the only one who considers LotR "comfort reading"? I'm delighted and astounded! LOL!

Congrats on the release and many happy sales to you, Laurie!

~Maia

Lavada Dee said...

Laurie, I'm so SO HAPPY for you. I enjoyed your blog. Wishing you Mega sales. You and Stolen Treasures deserve them.

Laurie Ryan said...

Jan,

The northern lights were worth the 9 hour bus ride. :) I highly recommend them. Thanks for the good wishes.

Laurie Ryan said...

Chassily,

Thanks! And you are on for a cocoa meet n greet. Hmmm. There must be a promo idea in there somewhere.

Laurie Ryan said...

Maia,

I love your name, Maia. An unusual spelling and it just rolls off the tongue. Are we strange to love curling up with lotr? If we are, so be it, eh? Thanks for the good wishes.

Laurie Ryan said...

Lavada,

Thanks. What an amazing ride, eh? And I've contacted BookStrand about the second book in the series. Yeah!

Margaret Mallory said...

Big congratulations, Laurie! I'm so happy for you I'm teary. You've worked hard for this, and I'm so proud of you.

Margaret

Kate Davies said...

Just a couple comments:

When I first read Laurie's response to Maia, I did a double-take, because I read it as "are we strange to love curling [line break] up with LOTR", and I wondered, "How does Laurie know that Maia loves curling?" LOL Go, obscure Olympics winter events!

And Chassily, the only way you and Laurie will be allowed to have a cocoa indulgence session is if I'm allowed to join. Mmm...cocoa!

Laurie Ryan said...

Funny, Kate. In re-reading it, I see what you mean. That's why we have critique partners, eh? Thanks again for having me here. It was wonderful to spend my first couple days as a published author with you and I very much appreciate the invitation.

Anthea Lawson said...

Congrats on your book release! I'm looking forward to reading it! Savor the day~

Hugs!