Guest: Frances Pauli

Today my guest is author Frances Pauli, please welcome her, and ask questions... she's a very cool lady!!

Roarke by Frances Pauli
Published by Devine Destinies
Short Science Fiction Romance

Blurb:

They have to be lying when they tell her she was dead. With no memory of her past, and no idea who she actually is, Nora has little options. Alone, and at the mercy of the Mercenary Defense Conglomerate, she searches for clues into her past, and the truth about her supposed demise.

If she is a prisoner, robbed of memory and held against her will, then she must trust no one. If she has, in fact, returned from the dead, then who could possibly help her? Armed with only her wits and her inexplicably sharpened senses, she is forced to play along, to search for the holes in their story, and to piece together the flashes of memory that serve only to taunt her.

But the visions seem to confirm the impossible. The man who is supposed to be her fiancé seems bent on confusing her, and the one person she is desperate to be near may very well be responsible for her death. If the silent Roarke is her enemy, why do her visions draw her closer to him? And why, when nothing else seems remotely familiar, does Nora find herself remembering, or wanting to remember only him?

Author Bio:

Though she always held aspirations to be a writer, Frances originally chose to pursue a career in visual arts. Her stories, however, had other plans for her. By the time she entered her thirties, they were no longer content existing solely in her head. Compelled to free them, she set aside her easel and began to write in earnest.

She currently resides smack in the center of Washington State with her husband and two children. When not writing she dabbles in insane things like puppetry, belly dance and playing the ukulele. She collects rocks, and is a firm believer in good wine, fine chocolate and dangerous men.

Her short fiction has appeared in Alternative Coordinates magazine.

More information on Frances and her writing can be found at http://www.francespauli.com/

She offers a free online serial at: http://spaceslugserial.blogspot.com/

MY interview with Frances:

Frances, having visited your very cool website, and enjoyed thevarious goodies and fun things - how would you classify the style ofstories you tell?

I write romantic speculative fiction that, I hope, has a humorous edge. Some of the stories like Space Slugs lean further toward the funny end of things than others, but most of them have a thread of silliness in there somewhere. Even my Urban Fantasy trilogy, which is pretty serious, has a lighter side to it.

What elements do you feel you use to best advantage in telling yourtales? Do you feel there are rules that you've made for yourself, or does your genre dictate certain "rules of etiquette" in the story-telling.

I have a few rules that have developed on their own as I continue towrite regularly. My romances tend to require a deeper connection thanjust the physical aspect, for one. I stick pretty darned true to"happily ever after," at least with my primary characters, and I likea touch of a message in my fiction. That can be a drawback, I suppose,but even my humor usually needs to have a point to it. Except for Slugs--that one is pure silly.

Is there a special book that you want to "measure up to" that you keepin your mind when you're writing? What about a special story that youhaven't told yet?

I cut my teeth on great authors of Speculative Romance. They didn't call it that, back then, but my all time favorite books are basicallyparanormal romances. I'd love to write something on par with Norton'sYear of the Unicorn, or McKillip's Forgotten Beasts of Eld. Maybe that's where I get the whole "story with a message" thing. Back then most Spec fic. had something to tell you. Still, I can enjoy a story for pure entertainment too.I have it in mind to write an epic sort of trilogy set entirely underwater. Not really mermaids, but amphibious humanoids of one variety or another. That one's going to take research though, and alot of time.

What books/authors have influenced you over the years?

Andre Norton, Patricia McKillup and Tanith Lee are probably my top three. I love the unique worlds they've created--really out of the box individual stuff. I've read a lot of McCaffrey, DeLint, and from the comedic angle: Pratchett, Adams and Christopher Moore, who vies for my all time favorite with Norton.

What's your own personal favourite of your books and why??

I'd have to pick the Fly in Paradise. (Book two in my Changeling Race trilogy) That series is near and dear to my heart. I love the fairies, the revlery and the primary characters--probably too much. As the second in the series, it's also the story where the action really takes off and all hell breaks loose. A lot of fun for me as the author.

THANKS so much!!

Thank you for having me! I'm running a contest along side the tour. Anyone who comments will be entered into the drawing and details onother stops and prizes are available on my site at: http://francespauli.com/