1. I hear you have wolf-turned-pet in one of your Westerns. Tell us about the book.
No Luck At All is a western romance set in the mid-1800s. The story centers around Creel Weston and his new wife, Racine. Creel is a Colorado rancher who went to Boston to obtain a medical degree. They met at dinner party hosted by Racine’s father, who was also Creel’s mentor, and Creel was instantly smitten with her, so much that he decided he wasn’t leaving Boston without her. But unbeknownst to him, Racine suffered deep emotional scars, so much that her father intervened and blackmailed Creel into marrying her, before Creel had a chance to propose. The wedding takes place, and they leave Boston for Creel’s home in Colorado. During an overnight stay in Denver, things come to a head and both realize they have made mistakes and unfairly judged the other…until someone from Creel’s past causes Racine’s doubt to return.
No Luck At All Amazon Buy Link: www.amazon.com/dp/B0064R6NVI
2. Why did you include a wolf in this book?
I have always had a soft spot for animals. Dogs and horses are my favorite, and with the internet, it’s easy to find cute pictures of each. And other animals. Honestly, if I was a lot younger, I’d have a barnyard filled with animals. I also liked “The Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote” cartoons and Sully’s wolf on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Sully’s wolf was always a joy to see on the screen, and I couldn’t help but think it’d be fun to incorporate one into one of my stories, and that story was Racine’s story.
Harley
When I originally wrote No Luck At All, Creel was the bulk of the story, but when I went back for revisions, Racine kicked Creel aside and took over. And as she did, it became apparent she needed something to love, something that would return that love and not judge her. Remembering Sully’s wolf, I thought it’d be fun for Racine to have one as a pet. Of course, she didn’t raise Wyle from a pup. He showed up at her homestead in need of food and help, and though Creel cautioned she couldn’t keep a wild animal, she did. And Wyle loved her unconditionally.
While I don’t have a wolf for a pet (I actually considered a wolf mix many years ago), I do have Harley. He’s a Great Pyrenees/Dutch Shephard rescue who’s been with us for 5 years. Before him, we had a female German Shephard, Nova. She was another rescue and with me almost every day for 12 years. Needless to say, she was my girl and spoiled. One of my fondest memories of her: when I vacuumed and phone rang, she barked to let me know.
Before Nova was Rip, a male German Shephard who was also my baby (we got him as a pup, and I carried him everywhere until I could no longer lift him), and Tasha, a Husky/German Shepherd mix. She hated Rip when I brought him home, but the two soon became inseparable. When she had to have overnight surgery, Rip was so heartbroken and mad that she wasn’t with him that he turned destructive until she came home. Other pets included parakeets, one of which we hand-tamed, but my pups will always be near and dear to my heart.
3. What other books have you written?
No Luck At All is part of the Weston Family series. Other books in the series are:
Luck of the Draw Blurb:
Royce Weston knows firsthand women are exceptional liars, especially the one who has wormed her way into his family’s good graces by claiming amnesia. Since Paige didn’t heed his advice at the poker tables, he reasons a bit of friendly persuasion is needed to send her packing. But when she matches him trick for trick and has his ranch hands jumping to please her, Royce is thoroughly disgusted. A simpering miss she is not. Sassy and daring, if only she’d give him a reason to trust her…
Paige Morgan knows Royce Weston despises her. But on his family’s ranch, populated only by males, he seems to be the only one who knows about her past…a past she can’t remember. Until he tells her what he knows, she isn’t going anywhere. And if along the way she manages to tame this rough and tough cowboy, so much the better. Any girl will admit it’s not how you play your cards, it’s the Luck of the Draw that counts.
Luck of the Draw Amazon Buy Link: www.amazon.com/dp/B0063VOS4E
Lady Luck Blurb:
Lucas Weston is living proof of the damage a woman can cause. Determined to keep another miss from running roughshod over his heart, Lucas has garnered the reputation of a man who favors flirting and wild times between the sheets. When he’s roped into escorting Missy back to her home in San Francisco, he isn’t too pleased, until he discovers she uses her poker-playing, whiskey-swilling ways to hide her own fears. What they might be, he doesn’t know, but he’s going to find out. Drawn to her from the start, Missy represents the opportunity for the life fate cheated him seven years ago.
Missy Morgan has lived by a rigid set of rules for so long she knows no other way. Fate has dealt her more losing hands than she cares to remember. But she has Lady Luck and her family. For them she’ll remain strong, until a handsome cowboy challenges her way of life. Against her will, she’s drawn to Lucas’ blue eyes and honesty. Would it be so terrible if she put her trust in him? The odds say yes, but something else says no. Only a fool would gamble on Lucas’ goodness. And she’s not a fool. Or is she?
Lady Luck Amazon Buy Link: www.amazon.com/dp/B0063WCXO0
Bring Me Luck Blurb:
Grief and guilt are as much a part of Jess Jansen as riding herd. Twenty-two years he’s longed for the woman who ran out on him, and now his luck is about to change. Needing a place to hole up during a thunderstorm, the Lazy K looks to be a safe haven. There’s a barn―and a body with soft curves and sapphire eyes he’d know anywhere.
Rachael Weston is a bundle of nerves when Jess suddenly appears at her door. He shunned her once and will again if she foolishly welcomes him back into her life. But when Jess proves innocent of wrongdoing, Rachael fears revealing to him the one truth that just might cause him to turn his back on her―for good.
Bring Me Luck Amazon Buy Link: www.amazon.com/dp/B00OP5PT2U
4. How do you promote your books?
All of my books are sold exclusively through Amazon. For promotion, I use Amazon Ads and social media, mostly Facebook and Twitter.
5. Where can readers learn more about your books and connect with you online?
I always enjoy connecting with readers. To learn more about me or my books, please visit my website: www.JulieLence.com
I have a short story on my website that you can read, all the links to my books and, as owner of Cowboy Kisses, you can check out my blog dates and topics. Plus there are links for you to connect with me.
Thank you for having me as your guest this month, Marcia. It’s truly a pleasure to work with you and to talk about pets.
Don’t Miss Julie Lence’s Ebook Giveaway!
Julie is offering an ebook copy of No Luck At All to two readers who comment on her interview!
MARCIA: Thank you, Julie, for being my March interviewee and for offering your ebook to two lucky commenters! I really enjoy romances that feature pets and animals and look forward to reading yours!
MONTHLY BLOG EBOOK CONTEST! Would you like to win a Marcia James’ ebook? Visitors to this pro-pet blog can join in the fun, comment, and/or share photos of their pets for a chance to win one of my ebooks!
Each month, I’ll randomly pick one commenter to win. To leave a comment and/or a photo, click on the word “Reply,” which is just below the social media icons for THIS interview. (Don’t scroll past this interview to the next interview.) Go Pets!
1. I hear you have animals in most of your novels. Tell us about your favorite book featuring animals.
In my contemporary romance, All About Charming Alice, my heroine rescues stray dogs—she has a whole house full of them. One stray, nicknamed Killer, brings the gorgeous and sexy writer Jace Constant into Alice’s life. But Alice doesn’t just like dogs. She also studies and protects snakes and actively protests against such cruel practices as snake shows where those creatures are tortured to death for the amusement of tourists. Jace, however, is terrified by snakes, and it does take a bit of coaxing to get him to change his mind.
Another book in the series is Desert Rose. Rose, the heroine, is Alice’s closest friend, and she very unwillingly adopts Noodle, one of Alice’s strays.
My award-winning debut novel, Always a Princess, was the start of the Clifton Hall series. In the novel, the hero has a little sister he hasn’t seen since he left to fight in France. On his return, he gifts her a spaniel puppy–a naughty one. As her pup does not seem to care for Englishmen, she names it Bony “after the French usurper.” Bony was inspired by my bichon fries Cookie, but as his breed (which is Belgian) wasn’t known in England at the time the book is set (1812), I turned him into spaniel puppy. Much of the novel takes place at Clifton Hall in Lancashire and at least one Lancashire estate was known as a place for breeding Springer spaniels in the Regency era.
The Regency era Romany were persecuted as an underclass, so the warning bell of a dog’s bark meant a lot. Valkin is the Romany hero in this book, and he attempts to subdue his powerful attraction to the heroine, so he spends most of the book frustrated and fantasising–while Chore, the largest canine in the camp, is rutting about all over the place producing pups at a prodigious rate. Chore is the Romany word for ‘thief’ and is a bit of a dig at the many false accusations of theft the Romany are forced to face, both in the past and even today.
Hall. This novella is a race to wed for Chal (Valkin’s youngest brother) and his betrothed. Chore’s main activity in this shorter story is swallowing mince pies at the Christmas feast, destroying the remains of three roast geese, and herding children away from the burning yule log fire as the very English Cliftons and their Romany friends and family feast outdoors. The novella appears in a holiday duet alongside Heather Hallman’s Edwardian Seduction of Tokyo novella, which is excellent as well–although, unfortunately, there are no dogs in this one.
A Delicate Investigation novella in Summer Secrets of the Soho Club:
The Christmas Salon
Love Unbroken appears in Love for Maui (a charity anthology)
The opening book in the series (soon to be seven) was written and published many years ago. Murder and Mint Tea has earned many reviews mostly good but some not. When I wrote Murder and Mint Tea, I had no thoughts of writing a series. The heroine is quirky and mothers her neighborhood. The cat, Robespierre, is based on a real cat, my companion for many years.
As to the genres, I write contemporary romance, romantic suspense, fantasy–both romance and young adult, a bit of historical and some nonfiction.
Seppal blurb:
Brenda and Rusty
The Deep Well of Love and Murder is the fourth book in my Wild Horse Peaks novels. Laura is running from a criminal ex-husband. She meets the foreman of the ranch where she’s serving as a nanny. Randy is still nursing a broken heart after many years, but also fighting to hold on to his own small ranch. Perro is Randy’s deaf and mute dog friend. There are villains aplenty in this romantic suspense.
Trick or Meet Blurb: In Holidaze, New York, nearly every day’s a holiday–but Halloween is the best time of year for practical, straight-laced Hannah. Her work as a ghostwriter picks up, her candy addiction becomes socially acceptable, and the line between the living and the dead is so thin, she can feel the spirit of Justin, her late husband, in a way she can’t the rest of the year.
Since childhood I’ve always had cats, and they’re such a comforting, steady link to different phases of one’s life. When I was finishing kindergarten, we adopted a tiny kitten that my sister named Marbley (she was all black like Ghost and looked like a little marble)–and she lived until a few months after I graduated from college! Marbley was with me through all the highs and lows of childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, and was such an affectionate and loyal friend to the end.
Kiss Kringle, my second book in the series, is a Christmas romance, and I’m now working on a Thanksgiving romance. Every book features a pet or animal of some sort. Kiss Kringle has a very sleepy dog named Blitzen, and my Thanksgiving romance will feature a couple of pet turkeys.
Rescued is the true story of Dancer, the dog who began my “career” in rescue. It’s a saga of recovery, not only for the dog, but for me! Trying to recover from loss, I decided one day to go to my local shelter and adopt a dog…you know, some cute cuddly little thing…not a pit bull. We all know how that goes.
2. Tell us about your dog rescues.
4. Tell us about your kudos or reviews.
I have also started another series, “Holidays in White Oaks Valley.” There is only one book at this time, A Grand Slam Kind of Christmas.
Dog of Thieves features stolen treasures, a cane-whacking elderly woman and a couple of dead bodies.
My first published mystery was Mahu, the first of my Mahu Investigations, about a Honolulu homicide detective who is dragged out of the closet while investigating a dangerous case. In thirteen books so far, his detective work has illuminated his gradual coming out, to the point where now he is a loving partner and dad to twins. Since then I’ve written over fifty other books in mystery, adventure and romance.
MAX: Thank you for asking. I’m a very cute and lovable (I’ve been told that too many times to count) one-year-old big puppy. Born in a service dog training center, my mom, Goldie, is a beautiful Golden lab. One sunny afternoon, using her nose, she lifted the latch to her pen and took a wonderful free run to a local dog park. At the time, she was in heat.
MARIAH: That’s too easy. Max’s character is based on my own late dog also named Max. He loved everyone he met, including other animals, manatees, and dolphins, and did not have a mean bone in his body. He visited nursing homes where he was loving and kind to the elderly patients. His doggy smile made them smile, as did his hand kissing and tail wagging. Max loved kids and visited our local island rec center and summer day camp where he performed a magic show as Max the Magnificent just like the show in the book.
Left in a basket by the side of the road with his sister when he was but a few weeks old, my Max was rescued and cared for by our county Humane Society. I happened to be there on the first day he was placed in the adoption program. Max, I was told, was his happiest when he was surrounded by people. I held him for the first time when he was eight weeks old and as he snuggled in my arms, I knew I had adopted a smart, happy, and loving puppy.
At that time, I owned a video store on the beautiful island where we lived and served on the board of directors for a no-kill animal shelter. When a speaker from the shelter came to tell our local school kids about the importance of adopting a pet, Max served as his demonstration dog and afterwards the kids lined up to pet him. He had quite a long line of admirers and wagged his tail with each pet and hug.
Max came to my video store with me and positioned himself at the front counter facing the entrance so he could greet everyone who entered. What a hugger! What a lover! He was so cute, he modeled for my store ads and I do mean modeled. When he saw the camera pointed in his direction, he loved to pose.
Another time I walked him along our seawall. He was about one year old then and was very aware of dolphin sounds and sightings. A dolphin suddenly surfaced near the wall, and Max leaned down to greet it. Their noses were so close they could have kissed. I wished I had my camera with me, but that beautiful picture will stay in my memory forever.
It’s the holidays and Jessica Munroe seems destined for misery. Nonetheless she is trying to make the best of it. Her fiancé Jake, an emergency room doctor, dumped her for his nurse and just two weeks prior, she had to put her dog, her best friend Mazy, to sleep.
The character of Dukey, Duchess Amelia’s very spoiled dog, is based on my best friend’s regal King Charles Spaniel Prince. An elegant and beautiful dog, Prince could steal a person’s heart as easily as the thief in this story stole The Duchess’ Necklace.