My story of how I started writing romance is very interesting. Actually, I'd never even read a romance until about 7 years ago. I was writing children's fiction at the time. I received a card in the mail from Harlequin saying we won money and four free books. I had a bad opinion of romance and was ready to throw the card out. But my husband convinced me to send it in to see if we really won some money. So I did. 

Later, I received my 50 cent check and four free books. I was ready to send the books off to my mother-in-law when I decided I didn't want to send anything that was cheap and trashy. So I decided I would read a book before I sent them out to see how they fared.

I totally loved the books, and my mother-in-law never got a one. From that day on I was hooked on romance - having shed my bad attitude about it that was totally false in the first place. One of the members in my critique group suggested I try to write a romance since I liked them so much. I took her up on the challenge, and three years later had my first romance novel published. From there on, it's history.

What 3 things do I enjoy about writing in my subgenre?

Well, I'd have to say writing Fantasy romance really lets me push the envelope and go places man has never gone before. I enjoy the freedom to create and let my imagination go wild without being hampered by the fact that horses don't fly or men don't turn into centaurs and women don't get sacrificed to dragons.

I enjoy writing Greek myth romances, because I like to let my readers learn about the myths while reading a fictional story based on, or created around, the gods and the ancient tales. In The Oracle of Delphi, I took the story of Perseus and Andromeda and stuck to the actual myth about 90 percent of the time. Of course, most myths have tragic endings, so I had to shuffle some facts around a little to make it a romance with a happy ending. Still, a reader who was not familiar with the myth of Perseus slaying the Gorgon Medusa would learn the myth by reading my story.

The third thing I enjoy about writing in this genre would have to be the interesting and eccentric characters I can create and get away with. My latest novel, The Pandora Curse, to be released in September 2003, is the story of a woman cursed with vices that makes her less than admirable in the beginning. I also introduce a minion that is the hero's sidekick who can shapeshift - hence getting himself into lots of trouble. This is the most humorous of all my novels to date.

What type of conflicts do I like to weave into my story plots?

Well, I totally love to have the hero and heroine hate each other when the book starts out. I try to find things that will make them clash and go from there. For example, in Thief of Olympus, I have two very alpha characters. Lysandra is an Amazon who hates men. Zarek is a thief and king who has no need for Lysandra, except that he wants a son. 

I like to take the impossible and make it possible. I like to make my hero's and heroine's wills constantly at odds with each other, but at the same time they see something they like in each other. Though they would be the last choice for each other as a lover, they find out that things are not always as they seem and this crazy love/hate attraction is the basis of a long lasting relationship in the end.

Publishing Credits

There are sample chapters of my books to read on my website at: http://scribesworld.com/elizabethrose/.  I also write monthly "how to" articles on the Writer's Niche at www.scribesworld.com.

Professional Associations & Presentations

I belong to the Romance Writers of America, the Windy City Chapter. I also belong to another small critique group I've been going to for the last 7 years in which half the members are men and no one writes romance. I like the difference in feedback from the two groups. Since they don't know the romance genre, they focus on other aspects of writing and give very valuable feedback that might have otherwise been overlooked.

I have spoken on panels and done workshops at Autumn Author's Affair and Romantic Times Convention. I also speak to romance related groups and general public on my specialty "How To Write A Book In A Month."

Romance Author Interview

"I thrive on the paranormal because it is my life. We all live with mystery and magic and paranormal instances and happenings everyday, though sometimes we don't realize it. There are no such things as coincidences. They are just paranormal happenings that people don't have an answer for."

Discover more about Elizabeth in her
interview at Elizabeth Rose Interview.

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