5 Questions with Alison Bruce & Kat Flannery

Alison Bruce has had many careers and writing has always been one of them. Copywriter, editor and graphic designer since 1992, Alison has also been a comic book store manager, small press publisher, webmaster and arithmetically challenged bookkeeper. She is the author of mystery, suspense and historical romance novels.

Find Alison on the web:

Website: http://www.alisonbruce.ca

Blog: http://alisonebruce.blogspot.ca

Twitter: https://twitter.com/alisonebruce

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alisonbruce.books

Kat Flannery’s love of history shows in the novels she writes. She is an avid reader of historical, suspense, paranormal, and romance. When not researching for her next book, Kat can be found running her three sons to hockey and lacrosse. She’s been published in numerous periodicals. This is Kat’s third book and she is hard at work on her next.

Find Kat on the web:

Website: www.katflannery-author.com

Blog: www.kat-scratch.blogspot.ca
Twitter: https://twitter.com/katflannery1

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kat-Flannery/131065966999142

SUMMARY:

Twin sisters separated by war, bound by love…

After the death of their father, twin sisters Maggie and Matty Becker are forced to take positions with officers’ families at a nearby fort. When the southern states secede, the twins are separated, and they find themselves on opposite sides of America’s bloodiest war.

In the south, Maggie travels with the Hamiltons to Bellevue, a plantation in west Tennessee. When Major Hamilton is captured, it is up to Maggie to hold things together and deal with the Union cavalry troop that winters at Bellevue. Racism, politics and a matchmaking stepmother test Maggie’s resourcefulness as she fights for Bellevue, a wounded Confederate officer and the affections of the Union commander.

In the north, Matty discovers an incriminating letter in General Worthington’s office, and soon she is on the run. With no one to turn to for help, she drugs the wealthy Colonel Cole Black and marries him, in hopes of getting the letter to his father, the governor of Michigan. But Cole is not happy about being married, and Matty’s life becomes all about survival.

Two unforgettable stories of courage, strength and honor.

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Q: What’s inside the mind of a historical romance author?

Alison: Sometimes I think that if I didn’t write fiction, I’d want a job writing Trivial Pursuit questions or maybe Jeopardy answers. I’m a research junkie – which is why I’m drawn to historical romance. The inside of my mind is a jumble of research, laundry lists and observations of the human condition – not unlike my desk.

Kat: Many things and only a quarter of it is writing but before the writing comes research.

Q: Tell us why readers should buy HAZARDOUS UNIONS.

Alison: I’d rather say what kind of reader should buy HAZARDOUS UNIONS. Someone who enjoys strong female characters and the kind of men who would fall in love with them is a prerequisite. Loving history as much as Kat and me isn’t required, but it doesn’t hurt.

Kat: Great answer, Ali.

Q: What makes a good historical romance?

Alison: Research is essential. You’ve got to know your period–at least as well as your characters would. The next step is to write so that your research isn’t obvious. The rest is good storytelling which includes the usual suspects of plot, characterization and pacing. Regardless of the genre an author writes in, storytelling is the bottom line.

Kat: What Ali said.

Q: What is a regular writing day like for you?

Alison: First coffee must be made. The next step is procrastination. Since I have two kids, three jobs and house to take care of, procrastination is easy. Finally there will be the tipping point when a blank page is more inviting than dirty dishes and I get down to it. Once I start, it’s hard to get me to stop. Fortunately my daughter cooks.

Kat: Oh, yes coffee for sure. Once the kids are off to school I answer emails, and if I have a freelance job I need to complete I work on that. Every Friday is bookkeeping day for my husbands business. Once all the loose ends are tied up I write.

Q: What do you find most rewarding about being an author?

Alison: As Hannibal from the A-Team says, “I love it when a plan comes together.”

Kat: Fan mail. I love to hear from my readers.

Q: How did you celebrate the completion of your book?

Alison: When I finished Maggie’s story in HAZARDOUS UNIONS I ordered pizza and the kids and I watched half of season two of Teen Wolf on DVD. It had arrived the week before but I wasn’t allowed to watch it until the book was done.

Kat: I made my three boys their favourite dinners over the course of the week and then on the weekend we all went out for dinner.