Let’s welcome today’s special guest, Stacy Dawn.

A mother of two young boys, and married to her first love, Stacy Dawn lives and works in a small town in Southern Ontario, Canada. Writing for many years, she is multi-published in both long and short romantic fiction. With a background in graphic arts and children’s photography, she has recently added a children’s ebook series to her portfolio as both author and illustrator of Harriet, the Half-pint Holstein.

Stacy, we’d love to We would love to get to know you. Could you please start by telling us a little about yourself?
I’m a proud Canadian, living in a small town on the shore of Lake Ontario. I write to steal girl-time from my sportsaholic, male dominated family. The good thing is that they are so busy either playing or watching sports that I get some decent writing time in LOL. Like many writers that I know, I’m a mother and wife, work outside the home as well as in and write around a busy life in general. Along with romance, I also write and illustrate a children’s ebook series, The Adventures of Harriet, the Half-pint Holstein (http://www.harrietholstein.com/)

What's your favorite genre to read?
Romantic Comedy. I LOVE humor in books and especially romances. That’s probably why I like to write them too.

What was your first published work and when was it published?
My first published work was a short romance story in Star Magazine. The funny part about it was that about a month after I sent it off, I met my future husband. By the time it was printed, we’d been dating a few months and everyone in his store who read it thought I’d written it about him so he got teased a lot.

What do you do on a typical writing day?
I don’t really have a typical writing day anymore. Fits and spurts is more like it, done around family and work. I do try for at least an hour a day—that could either be very early in the morning, mid afternoon, or evenings. Ideally, when I get a good day to write, I am most productive in the mornings.

When you have writer's block how do you break free?
I find that working in a different creative medium helps unblock creative writing. I love to sketch and paint as well as do beading and needlework. Usually when I’m blocked in one area, I’ll take up another for a few days to let the creative ideas form in a different way.
Can you please give us a sneak peek at any of your upcoming books?
I have two upcoming books. One is the third in my Noelle Christmas series, A Cinderella Christmas. This one takes the reader back to the loveably eccentric town of Noelle, Alberta where the local baker is about to get the Christmas present that doesn’t end. My second release comes this January in the first of a new short story series about a karaoke bar. Karaoke Cowgirl find one singer who, in trying to impress her cowboy, goes a little overboard and may just ruin her chances of singing him anymore love songs.

In 5 years, where do you see yourself? -In general and in you're writing career
Actually, this is an interesting question because I just celebrated my 10th wedding anniversary and my husband and I discussed this. We are pretty much where we wanted to be now—our own house with land, children, food on the table etc and my working on my writing. So, five years from now, I guess I’d like to see us a bit more financially stable and me with a few more novels under my belt as well as continuing in my short stories.

Is there a genre of book you would like to write but haven't yet?
Historical. I’d love to do a Regency and have ideas for one but part of a good historical is accuracy and I just haven’t had time to do enough research yet to feel comfortable with the era.

When did you first decide to submit your work? Please, tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step.
I actually have my first rejection letter—I was nine and submitted to Highlights Magazine. For the most part, it was in my teens that I decided on romance. I was probably about twenty when I submitted my first short story in romance and I believe twenty-three when I got my first story published (after numerous rejections LOL) Each rejection though depressed me but at the same time taught me more or gave me a direction to learn from. My sister would have been my biggest aid in encouragement. Though my family is very supportive in general, no one thought my writing more than just a fancy. She was the only one who kept telling me that I could do it and to just go for it.
Now, I add my husband with her. He never once thought of my writing as just a hobby. He’s been one hundred percent behind me right from day one.

Do you outline your books or just start writing?
A bit of both. I give each story it’s own notebook and jot down the ideas as they come. This means that they are not necessarily in order but overall, if I write something down, I remember it better. When I feel I have most of the story somewhere in those notes—or at least a good first half, then I will start writing. From there, I have a gist of what to follow but a lot of the surprises and twists come out as I write—things that I didn’t even know would happen until I see them on paper LOL

Do you belong to a critique group? If so, how does this help or hinder you?
I belong to a wonderful critique group. We call ourselves the Princesses of the Pen—our tiaras are a little crooked but then so is our outlook on writing, love, and life. We’ve been together a couple years now and they have been my rock in the publishing world (and life) in both support and encouragement. They don’t let me get away with anything, but have my back in whatever manuscript I’m working on. We are very honest with each other, which I think is the most important thing to have in critique partners. You need encouragement but you also need that someone to tell you when things aren’t working—there really are nice ways to say something stinks (chocolate usually helps) and they know most of them—yet, at the same time, will be the first to shout out praise when things work. I wouldn’t trade them for anything.
One thing I will say about critique partners is finding them is like finding a man to marry. You’re lucky if the first one fits, but often you have to go through a number of them to find the right one. Same with critique partners. Not everyone’s personality will mesh. But once you find the right one—be good to them, and let them know often how much you appreciate their help.
How can readers find out more about you and your books?

A quick way to find all my titles with excerpts and links is at http://www.stacydawnebooks.blogspot.com/.

I just set that up recently.
You are also all more than welcome to visit my website at http://www.stacydawn.com/.
I post at least biweekly on my blog at http://www.stacydawn.blogspot.com/, and Mondays at http://www.princessesofthepen.blogspot.com/ .
I’m one of the hostesses at the Romance Bistro (http://www.yahoogroups.r/ )
And you can also find out more about my children’s ebook series at http://www.harrietholstein.com/ and http://www.harrietholstein.blogspot.com/

What would you like to tell your readers?
Thank you. Though I initially write each story for my own amusement, when I hit that submission button, I can only hope that the editors and then the readers will have as much fun with it as I did. As I said, I enjoy romantic comedy and my goals for my readers is to make them smile and hopefully even laugh out loud.
Thank you so much for having me here today!
To readers, thank you for just being who you are, lovers of a good story. And to writers, thank you for being who you are, a wealth of knowledge, inspiration and friendship!

And here’s a little taste of one of Stacy’s releases, Wanna Make a Bet?
Blurb:
When aspiring artist and purposefully single Sophie Montgomery mutters those four fateful words, her sexy neighbor, Jay Coltrane, pounces on the opportunity to prove she's not as immune to him as she thinks. Before she knows it, Sophie finds herself not only betting against a seduction, she's betting against her own ability to keep her dreams intact and a certain luscious landscaper out of them.
Excerpt:
Entering the small hallway connecting their two apartments, Sophie made a strategic mistake. She looked at Jay. The blue depths of his eyes instantly deepened to a rich sapphire.Uh oh.She backed up the two steps to her door, turned and fidgeted with the lock. Sophie desperately wanted to go right in, more to the truth, run right in and hide. Unfortunately, ingrained manners forced her to turn before entering.Jay stood close behind her, his moon-enhanced cologne teasing her senses. With a single breath, the temperature rose by degrees."Yes, well, I had a great time. Thank you." Sophie hated how her lip trembled when she offered him a smile.The first two kisses came as a surprise. This one she saw coming a mile away yet the hand she held to block his way seemed to be the only part of her body currently connected to her brain. Every other part leaned forward wanting to bury themselves deep within him. Her lips practically screamed to be touched by his.The pressure of his chest beneath her hand inched it back towards her. It took Herculean effort to hold him at bay and wrap a cloak of indifference around her. Sophie prayed her knees would stay strong long enough to finish this."You didn't think it would be that easy now did you, Slick? You're good—I'll give you that. But I have plans for my winnings." She forced an extra emphasis on the word my."Stella?" Jay guffawed, not a little in surprise. "You'd pick a car over a nice warm body like mine?" He sighed dejectedly, humor lighting his handsome face."I'm not looking for any warm body right now." She held up a finger in anticipation of his protest."And I don't ever plan to be someone's girl d'jouer. Not even for a little fun."For half a second, Sophie could've sworn his smiled faltered then it was back brighter than ever."How about a simple good-night kiss then. Between friends." He spoke to her lips as if he knew they wanted it bad.Sophie took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and grinned. "Sure." She eyed the stout bulldog waiting patiently at their feet. "Go ahead, Harvey. Give him a kiss."Obediently, the bulldog stuck his tongue out in a drool-fest pant. Sophie stole the moment of Jay's distraction to slip inside and close the door.Wooshing out a lung-full of air, she leaned back on the door. That was way too close.Jay's muffled, "Spoil sport," sifted through the door on a rich, deep chuckle. Beatrice's earlier question suddenly popped into her head. Who's winning?Available now from The Wild Rose Press