Toni Anderson's Blog: Toni Anderson, page 66

Guest Author: Ruth A. Casie

Ruth A. Casie
Title: Knight of RunesISBN: 978-14268-9258-5Publisher: Carina PressRelease Date: November 14, 2011Genre: Historical Fantasy time-travelRuth's web site: www.ruthacasie.comRuth's blog: ruthacasie.blogspot.comRuth's Twitter: Twitter.com/RuthACasie  
1.       Who are you and what do you write?I'm Ruth A. Casie a seasoned professional with over twenty-five years of writing experience but not necessarily in writing romances. No, I've been writing communication and marketing documents for a large corporation. Over the past two years, encouraged by my friends and family, I gave way to my inner muse, let my creative juices flow, and began writing a series of historical time travel romance novels.2.       What's your favourite place in the world to visit?There are several places I truly enjoying visiting. I've enjoyed England ever since my first visit. I love the country side, castles, and cities. I'm steeped in history and my characters feel at home. My favorite state-side place to visit is the Maine coast. I'm invigorated by the power of the ocean, and the rugged rock coast. There's a bench under a big shade tree right at the water's edge on Pemaquid Point – I could sit there all day.3.       Where do you write?With our children grown and on their own I've conveniently taken over one of their rooms and turned it into a library. I'm surrounded by my resource materials and to-be-read piles. It's a quiet cozy room that's comfortable and all mine. 4.       How long have you been published or is this your first sale?Knight of Runes is my first book. I hope the first of many.5.       How long have you been writing?I've been writing for over twenty-five years, but not romance. However, for years I've had people and voices racing around in my head. Sometimes, after I've read the last page of a book, I find it hard to put the book down. I want more. If there isn't a sequel, I'd think one up. I don't know when it began, maybe in high school or was it that creative writing class in college, I started to create characters and stories of my own, all still in my head mind you. The story played out in my 'down time' or when I relaxed at the end of the day. I kept my private world a secret from everyone. Fast forward to 2009, my friend told me she was writing a romance novel. Dare I tell her my secret? Imaginary friends at my age! Would she think I was crazy? Would she think I was like James Thurber's Walter Mitty with a romantic twist, spinning romantic daydreams?   When I finally got up the nerve to tell her my big secret she burst with excitement. She was a daydreamer too. As I met other writers I found I was not so unique. Many have their muses (ah, so that's what the voices are) sitting by their shoulder or at their keyboard when they write.6.       What comes first—characters or the plot?I start with a basic story idea and then develop my characters. I consider myself a plotzer. I write out their goals, motivations and conflicts. I do a rough outline of the story to make certain I know where key points should go, more of a direction rather than a hard and fast roadmap. Sometimes the side trips I take are really worth it and my characters actually amaze me with how they develop the story. Then there are other times when they tell me there isn't any way they would say or do what I've written. They can be like unruly children.  7.       Who's your favourite hero?I must be a mercurial person. My favorite hero is the one I'm reading about at the time. But they all have something in common. They are all men who must surmount their own fears in order to help/save someone or something that they feel is more important than they are. 8.       Who's on your auto-buy list for authors?I have a diversified list: Elizabeth Peters – she writes Egyptian adventure stories centered on Lady Amelia Peabody. Clive Cussler – he writes adventure stories centered on Dirk Pit. Diana Gabaldon – I love Clare and Jamie, besides, it's a time travel. Jude Deveraux – anything historic. Eliza Knight – she writes historicals too.  9.       Time travel? What attracted you to writing a story with time travel elements?The challenges of different attitudes across the centuries intrigued me. What skills would my heroine need? How would she interact with people? Would she be accepted? How would she deal with leadership? What skills would she need to acquire. Arik has his challenges in dealing with a woman who has very different attitudes about her place in his society. How would he deal with her? Working on these issues and bringing them out in a realistic way was both challenging and gratifying.  10.   Do you write to music? Do you make soundtracks for you stories? If so, what was on the soundtrack for your latest release?I'm less likely to write with music playing but I do use it to see something through my character's eyes. I made a playlist of my heroine's favorite songs. It's as eclectic as she is and includes Santana, Eric Clapton, Andrea Bocelli, Linkin Park, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake to name a few. 11.   What's your biggest dream?My biggest author dream is to be a best-selling author and keynote speaker at the RWA conference. If I thought romance had a chance at the Pulitzers, I would dream that too!12.   If you were a millionaire would you still write?Yes, I love the creative process. For me, writing is painting with words. Being a millionaire would just give me more time to so it.13.   Cat or dog person?Definitely a dog person. I loved our Westie, McDuff. He was a great companion and playmate for the kids. I always threatened to get him a playmate, McBeth. 
About Knight of RunesIt's the 21st century and time travel is still a Wellsian fantasy but not for Rebeka Tyler.
Rebeka is a renowned renaissance scholar at the prestigious Kensington University in upstate New York. She's awarded an inheritance that includes an English manor but more importantly it includes an unknown private library with documents dating back hundreds of years, a researchers dream. She goes off to England to claim her inheritance.
While on an impromptu tour of Avebury, she takes a misstep at the standing stones, and finds herself in the same place but tossed back into the 17th century. When Lord Arik, a druid knight, finds Rebeka wandering his lands without protection, he swears to keep her safe. But Rebeka can take care of herself. When Arik sees her clash with a group of attackers using a strange fighting style he is intrigued.
Rebeka is desparate to return to her time. She poses as a scholar sent by the king to help find out what's killing Arik's land to get access to the library. But as she decodes the ancient runes that are the key to solving his mystery and sending her home, she finds herself drawn to the charismatic and powerful Arik.
As Arik and Rebeka fall in love, someone in Arik's household schemes to keep them apart and a dark druid with a grudge prepares his revenge. To defeat him, Arik and Rebeka must combine their skills. Soon Rebeka will have to decide whether to return to the future or trust Arik with the secret of her time travel and her heart.
Win a free copy of Knight of RunesWin a free copy of Knight of Runes (epub or pdf format) by leaving a comment with your email address on Ruth's blog at www.RuthACasie.blogspot.com One person will be randomly selected on November 20.
When not writing you can find her home in Teaneck, New Jersey, reading, cooking, doing Sudoku and counted cross stitch. Together with her husband Paul, they enjoy ballroom dancing and, with New York City close by, going to the theater. Ruth and Paul have three grown children and two grandchildren. They all thrive on spending time together. It's certainly a lively dinner table and they wouldn't change it for the world. 
Ruth is a Trustee and on the Executive Board of Shelter Our Sister (SOS) in New Jersey. SOS is Bergen County's only shelter for victims of domestic violence. She frequently speaks at various functions around Bergen County on behalf of the Shelter.
To learn more about Ruth and her writing and browse her list of "extras" for readers and writers, visit her at her web site www.RuthACasie.com  You can also follow her on her blog at http://www.RuthACasie.blogspot.com

Thanks so much for being with me today, Ruth! 

Red Moon Road

We went to see these guys last night with friends. Fabulous group. 

Never Forget

 
I'm also blogging at Killer Chicks today. Wonderfully ironic don't you think? Also still at Margie Lawson's Grad blog for one more day... link 
We have many veterans in our family. I'm very grateful for the job they did to keep us safe.  Thank you, and others like you, for you service and sacrifice.  Also..added later because my brain woke up slow this morning, An anthology written by some of mu favourite writers from which ALL the proceeds are going to the Veterans Research Corporation a non-profit foundation supporting veterans medical research. One of the authors is not only a dear friend of mine, she also writes the best stories. I'm talking the BEST. I can only say that about things I really believe in. If you haven't read Loreth Annne White's books, you are denying yourself some huge reading pleasure. I'm off to order it from Amazon.

Late post due to technical difficulties :)

I'm delighted to be on Margie Lawson's Grad blog today, having my work dissected :) It's fascinating.


Margie teaches various different writing courses and is a wonderful instructor. Check out her lectures after you read my blog.

My Adventures in Labrador (3)

As promised, serialized into bite-sized chunks, my summer adventure in Labrador, 1997...this is just as I remember it, but I don't have any notes so it's possible other people have other stories. This is mine and I'm sticking to it.
Talking of bears do you want to hear my Goldilocks story?Remember what I said about needing to pee? Well, I survived about 6 weeks working in the bush every day before I was finally overcome by the need to go. Six weeks, baby. Six weeks of long working days—Amazing Race—no problem. 

It was a gorgeous sunny day. There were about five or six of us all working brilliantly together, getting the job done. We were right next to Reid Brook falls and just along the valley there were these giant man-sized boulders. There's a saying in Labrador—for the first six days God made the world, on the seventh, he threw rocks at Labrador. So I decided to pop along the valley a bit and peel off my rubber waders and use the facilities nature  provided. My biggest worry as I pulled down my pants was one of the pilots would fly over. Instead, as I looked up, this huge densely black, immense creature just ambled its way along, about thirty feet away from my bare butt. We formed a nice triangle, the bear, me, and everyone else. I heard banging and shouting—my buddies, Rick especially, yelling my name. Very calmly I pulled up my trousers and walked calmly (yes I wanted to run screaming, but I didn't) back to the others. Someone got on the radio and a pilot came over in one of those enormous choppers they used in 'Nam. Anyway, the bear was terrified and ran away, straight up an almost vertical scree slope as fast as a racehorse on the flat. That was the biggest demonstration of power I have ever seen of any animal in the wild. No way was I ever peeing in the bush again. 

My heroine has diabetes and I'm donating 15% of my royalties to diabetes research.


Available for pre-order from Carina Press, Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Barnes & Noble. 

Read an excerpt here can you see my fish?

Guest blogging

At Attacking the Page today :) Come join me :)

Today I'm on the Goddess Fish Blog

Goddess Fish blog

My Adventures in Labrador (2)

As promised, serialized into bite-sized chunks, my summer adventure in Labrador, 1997...this is just as I remember it,but  I don't have any notes so it's possible other people have other stories. This is mine and I'm sticking to it.

For the first week or so my boss and I did most of the hard graft. We had to tag over 100 fish and at first we couldn't catch any (just like in the book :)). Our main problem was we were just premature. The fish hadn't started running yet. Arctic char are anadromous. Like salmon, they breed in freshwater rivers, then they stay in the river over winter and swim out in the spring when the ice breaks up. They feed for a few weeks in the sea and then they return to the river to spawn (OK, that's the simplified version, I'll leave it there). I remember one very beautiful day when me and my boss were in the high reaches of the Ikadlivik Brook—totally out of radio contact—setting gill nets, using hook and lines and even doing a few seines. 
After a few hours we watched this chopper fly over, carrying what looked like an oil drum.  "They're removing a problem bear," said my boss.Cool—until the helicopter flew back over, minus the bear, five minutes later. This happened several times but 45 km (the distance back to the camp) simply wasn't far enough. Black bears can have a home range of 45 km that they patrol every day. Anyway, thankfully the bears didn't bother us on that particular occasion. 
Wolf Track Fresh Bear TrackSide note: At a certain time each summer, above the waterfalls at the head of this river, one of the world's greatest natural migrations occurs. The George River caribou herd which once numbered almost a million animals, is now struggling at less than 100,000 individuals. They range from between 3,000-6,000 km on their annual search for food (I'm not a caribou scientist, this is just web info). In EDGE OF SURVIVAL Daniel Fox, the hero, picks up the heroine (Cameran Young) and takes her to see this amazing phenomenon. In my adventures, no one picked me up, but everyone took great pleasure in describing the spectacle when we were all eating dinner. Thanks guys. Appreciate that once in a lifetime experience. Can you see the bear?As I'm talking about animals and dinner, I should tell you this little story. There were a group of biologists sent to survey a puffin colony on one of the small islands off the coast. The puffin numbers were way down and people wanted to know why. Matt, the pilot (he was 23 back then), dropped off two guys, intending to leave them there and pick them up at the end of the day. Thankfully Matt did a quick circle of the island and immediately picked the guys back up. There were three polar bears munching on puffins and if Matt hadn't picked up the team, they'd probably have been eaten. It was an easy answer to a population crisis.

One of the things I think about looking back, is my absolute naivety. I mean I had people with me, but we could have encountered a polar bear. It wasn't totally out of the realms. I guess I got lucky :)

My heroine has diabetes and I'm donating 15% of my royalties to diabetes research.

Available for pre-order from Carina Press, Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Barnes & Noble. 

Read an excerpt here

One of My Favourite Hangouts...

St Andrews Cathedral

I love this picture :)

I love this picture :)