Please tell us a bit about yourself: First of all, thank you for making this interview possible!
I’ve been writing professionally for a very long time, first as a technical writer and then full time as a fiction writer. My first book was published in 1993, but I didn’t go full time until 2000, when my daughters were old enough to be on their own. Since then, I’ve written over twenty books, all romances of one sort or another. Six have been SFR, with the two most recent, The Winner: Romantek Book 1, Charlotte & the Pirate: Romantek Book 2, and an upcoming one, Eddie, My Love: Romantek Book 3.
Tell us about the Romantek series: First of all, although they all have the same theme, the books stand alone. You don’t have to remember the tech from one book to another, as the pertinent parts are explained in each novella. The Romantek universe is set in CE 2150, where a company has a patent pending process to steer dreams into the user’s fantasy. Most are historical, and so the dream takes on a kind of time travel aspect. It is not foolproof, and occasionally things go wrong. It’s always an adventure for the dreamers, however, and especially when they meet their love interest. That often gums up the works. Each story has a happily ever after ending in the twenty-second century.
What inspired you to write this particular story?: I love SFR! My very first book ever was SFR, and I can’t get enough of it. Once I had a lightbulb moment for the Romantek concept, I fell in love with the idea and knew I could do a lot with it over time. I do not see an ending for the series at present, as each one is new and fresh with new heroes and heroines.
Please share a favourite snippet from your book: This snippet comes from Charlotte & the Pirate.
Thrilled to have her arms freed, Charlotte rubbed her bruises while she glared at the pirate who stood way, way up there as she knelt at his feet. She tried to scramble up, but Tinker pushed her back down with a growl.
"Damn it…Ouch!" A pinprick between Charlotte's brows confused her. She tried again to stand. "Damn it…" Another pinprick. Finally, she got the idea. Romantek imposed accuracy on the language used in a RAVE. "Scum!" No pinprick. So, she had to speak in their old English. "Unhand me. I will not be your captive!"
"But you are," he said, his lips turning up at the corners as though he was amused. "You are aboard my vessel, surrounded by men loyal to me, and soon, the ship you sailed on will be at the bottom of the sea. You are mine and I will do what I want with you."
Which comes first for you – a character's looks, personality or name?: The name comes first for me.
Any tips for aspiring authors?: Write more books! It’s too easy to get caught up in the social media whirlwind and neglect your primary purpose which is to provide more books to readers. There is a huge snowball effect associated with having a long back list of books. When a reader reads and enjoys one, she’ll often go back and buy several more.
Questions for fun:
If you had the power of time travel, is there anything you would go back and change? Why/why not?: I would tell myself never to date Bob in tenth grade. Gads, what a fiasco that was.
What super-power would you choose?: The power to tell when people were lying.
If you could have three wishes, what would they be?:
(1) Limitless money. (I know...how plebian.)
(2) To look as I did when I was 25 and remain that way.
(3) To give my daughters the intelligence they need to be successful in the world. (They both have learning disabilities.)
Coffee, tea or wine?: Coffee.
What is your favourite book? (aside from one of your own!): Ringworld by Larry Niven
Favourite genre and why?: SF Romance with a hard techno bent. I love it because it fires my imagination in new ways and introduces me to technical concepts I would never have explored otherwise.
Favourite colour?: Orange.
Upcoming news and plans for the future?: The third Romantek book will come out in May, and then I have an erotic historical spanking romance due out in June, and in July a contemporary erotic romance will be published. I had a backlog from the first quarter of the year, so everything is coming out on top of each other.
Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us!
Here’s a link to my Amazon Author Page, where all my currently available books can be found in a nice, tidy list:
http://www.amazon.com/Patricia-Green/e/B002RCB0IK/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
Here are links to the two Romantek books currently available:
The Winner: Romantek Book 1:
http://goo.gl/AmB1hb
Charlotte & the Pirate: Romantek Book 2:
http://goo.gl/pQi5r6
Here’s the blurb for Charlotte & the Pirate:
Charlotte Darrell is ugly, scarred and damaged both inside and out. Her only hope is to buy a Romantek dream vacation and hope that their rejuvenation process can heal her horrid blemish and restore her life back to what it was before her accident. But her virtual reality dream isn't all she expected.
Rex Boyd is a counter cyber-terrorism expert, working for Romantek. The company is aware that someone is trying to break into their operations and terrorize paying customers. Rex hopes to protect one of the most vulnerable, the rich and influential Marie Carthage.
Once in the dream, fighting the terrorist who has gotten access to Romantek's system, Rex finds the situation confounded by Charlotte's presence. Is she a paying customer like Marie, or is she part of the terrorist's network, there to do harm to Marie and start a firestorm of lawsuits that would bankrupt Romantek? And how will he ever reconcile his feelings for her with his suspicions?
Charlotte finds herself in love and in danger. The dream has become a nightmare, and there doesn't seem to be a path toward happiness.
All Hands On Deck!
