This has been a great week and I had the chance to end it with another Montana up and coming romantic suspense author and my friend, Rionna Morgan. Rionna grew up out West, where she followed her love of horses to the rodeo arena and her love of English to the classroom and to writing. Rionna is a founding member of Montana Romance Writers; she reads as much as she can possibly hold, and the thrill of great suspense threaded through into a great romance. Rionna lives in Montana with her husband, four children, and the mountains outside her window. This year she sold her first novel to Crimson Publishing and which should be available Summer 2012.
I'm proud to introduce her to you.
Danica: Do you like to listen to music while you write? If so, who are your favorite artists?
Rionna:I do. When I am settled into the moment, when all the world outside my imagination is quiet, I listen to Celtic music. It is sweet and serene. I find that the music creates a more focused feeling so that I can just get in tune with my characters.
Danica: Tell us a little bit about your newest release. Feel free to include a small excerpt. Rionna: My newest release is THE WANTING HEART soon to be published by Crimson Romance. It is about a barrel racer who gets swept off her feet by a serial killer.
Danica: Where can readers find your newest release? Feel free to include links.
Rionna: On July 9, 2012, it will be available electronically through Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Google, Sony and The Crimson Romance Website. It will also be available in print.
Danica: Where can others connect with you? Twitter, Facebook, blog?
Rionna:http://www.facebook.com/RionnaMorgan
http://www.linkedin.com/in/rionnamorgan
https://twitter.com/RionnaMorgan
http://rionnamorgan.blogspot.com/
My website rionnamorgan.com
Danica: How do you go about choosing names for your characters?
Rionna: Names, to me, are very important. I choose names in all manner of ways. If I hear a great name just in passing, I write it down in my ever present notebook. On a more structured note, if my story takes place in a certain part of the country...Texas for instance. I get a Texas phone book and look at the names of the people so that I can get a feel of how people are named: nationality, sound of names, how they are linked together.
I have lived all over the United States, and I know that some names are prominent in some areas where as they are completely foreign to other parts. I want my names to seem authentic and believable while still fitting with the character I have in mind.
If I happen to find a name in the phone book that catches my attention, I look up the meaning in my baby name book. I have it right next to my dictionary and thesaurus. For my heroes and heroines, I want the names to be strong while having a meaning that helps illuminate their personality. I feel the same for my antagonists. Yet, the antagonists are a bit more tricky. I write romantic suspense, and I don't always want my readers to know who the antagonist is; I definitely don't want to give it away by the use of a stereotypical "evil" or "bad-guy" name. So I am a lot more careful about choosing their names.
Danica: Do you write under a pen name? If so, who knows about writing?
Rionna: Yes I do. Only my close friends and family know my true identity. Ha Ha. That's funny. Sounds like I'm a secret agent.
Danica: Tell us about your upcoming writing projects.
Rionna: My current project is about an artist who stumbles upon a murder scene that has a fairy-tale twist.
Thank you very much for this opportunity. I really enjoyed sharing my writing and a bit about my writing life. And I hope you enjoy my stories!
All the best!
Rionna Morgan