***UPDATE*** A Day & A Giveawy with Ms. Lori Brighton

Today ladies, I would like you give a warm welcome to a wonderful lady!
Please welcome Ms. Lori Brighton to
the Hussy Lair!!!
You know the drill, grab your favorite cup of whatever, get a comfy chair and settle in for some one on one time with Ms. Lori!!!

Ms. Lori, I want to thank you for coming over to my place today! It is delightful to have you here!!
Please make yourself at home.

I got this from Ms. Lori's website. This is couple of things about her:

As a child, thoughts of far-off places and adventure consistently kept Lori up late at night when she should have been fast asleep. After graduating high school, she came to the conclusion that there was no better way to seek adventure and nourish her love of history than to become an archaeologist. She went on to receive a degree in anthropology, but digging in the dirt during humid Midwestern summers wasn’t exactly as fun as she thought it would be. Instead, she went to work in an air conditioned museum where she spent her days surrounded by creepy Victorian animal mounts. Still, she wasn’t satisfied.

Deciding the people in her imagination were slightly more exciting than the dead things in a museum basement, she set out to write her first romance novel. Shockingly enough, the book finaled in a few contests, lending to the crazy assumption that she would quickly be published and live happily ever after. That book was soundly rejected. As was the next. Years went by and she began to wonder if she’d ever see her dream fulfilled. Until one day she came up with an idea for a book that brought together her love of history and adventure: a book now titled Wild Heart.

But that book, too, was rejected. And rejected again. And again. Just when she’d given up hope of ever being published, Wild Heart came in first place in the Golden Acorn contest. The final round judge from Kensington Publishing requested the manuscript, and she was finally offered that elusive contract.

Lori currently resides in the Midwest, where she juggles her time between a husband, a son, a golden retriever, a cat, two goldfish and the many, many people in her imagination.

Ms. Lori, if you will... please tell us a little something about yourself? Something that we can not easily find out.

Hmmm…some deep, dark secret? Sadly I don’t think I have any! I’ll pretty much tell anyone whatever they want to know. But something less exciting… I love the beach, hiking and nature. I have little collections of shells, fossils and minerals that I pick up when hiking; it’s like finding treasure! I know, sounds pretty lame. I even had three articles published in WildBird Magazine a few years back. Comes from my natural science background. But I’m also rather artistic. In high school, art (painting, drawing and pottery) was pretty much my favorite subject. But I haven’t drawn/painted in years! I would love to start again.
Inquiring minds would like to know what is the story about you going from museum curator to writer?
Well, I was a natural science curator, which meant sitting in a basement with nothing but dead animal mounts and rocks to keep me company. When you’re sitting in silence, alone, you can come up with a lot of story ideas! I’d always loved romance novels and when I knew I would be moving and quitting my job, I decided to try and write one.

For those who are new to the lair, Wild Hearts is Ms. Lori's first novel (yayayay)!
If you could please describe your heroine/hero to us; help us fall in love with them?
Ella, my heroine, is super sweet. So far, I haven’t heard of any readers hating her. Although watch, I’ll get a review the moment this is posted and the person will hate dear Ella. lol. She’s had a lonely, tough life. She has the special ability to sense and, at times, control animals. Because of this, she’s been made to feel guilty, as if her ability is evil. When Leo shows up, although many find him rude and abrasive, she can read his emotions and knows the real man. Leo, my hero, is a total alpha male. People tend to either love him or hate him. He witnessed his parent’s murder when he was a child and was forced to survive alone in a foreign country. Obviously he’s not going to be sweet and passive; it wouldn’t be true to character. He’s a survivalist and he’s intent on getting revenge. When he meets Ella, she makes him feel something other than revenge for the first time in years.

Why did you choose to pair paranormal with historical?

In the beginning I wasn’t intending to add the paranormal. But it just sort of flowed into the story. Since Leo is rather animalistic in his alpha male way, I figured having a heroine who could sense animals would connect them on a deeper level. Plus, I think the search for the treasure and the paranormal aspect reminds me of an Indiana Jones movie. Loved those movies when I was young!

How difficult was that to merge the two together?

Not difficult. It felt natural to me. But I did have some critique partners that didn’t care for it and thought I should dump that aspect. But I thought it gave the book a unique spin. Since the book has been released I’ve had mixed reactions. Some people love it, some don’t. The paranormal aspect comes into play much more in the second book.

How much research did you have to do; was the research difficult due to the paranormal/hist. aspect?

Not so much the historical, as I knew a bit about the Victorian era to begin with. And not at all with the paranormal. But researching Indian culture was very difficult. I found little on the web and in books. The problem with our written history is that they often ignored the everyday life. That everyday life is most important when you’re writing historical fiction.

For the second book, which takes place in India, it was even harder! I actually found a few journals and diaries online written by Europeans who were staying in India during the 1800s. These journals helped a lot.

A friend of mine has always wanted to know if authors already have the ending before they start writing their novels or if it just comes to them as they write. What happens for you?

I’ve never thought about it! But I’d have to say, yes, usually I have a general idea of how it will end. I think most authors do. Although I do know some authors who have written books with love triangles and weren’t sure until the end who the heroine would end up with. Some authors plan out their books in detail. Others play it by ear. I will usually do a very rough outline.

How did your celebrate after Wild Heart was completed and sold?
It sold quite awhile after it was completed, so I had moved onto a new book. When I got the call, I did go to dinner with my family. But to be honest, I was so shocked and so nervous it’s all sort of a blur.

Can you tell us what we can expect to come from you in the future?
My second Kensington book will be out March 2011. I’m really excited to see what people think. As I mentioned, it has more paranormal and it’s very action-packed. The hero is Colin, a secondary character in Wild Heart. He’s very charming, different from brooding Leo. I’m also currently working on a new series, historical (no paranormal), and hoping to sell that soon. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Have you have any fangirl moments with authors that you admire? If so, care to share??
I decided to start interviewing other authors on my blog while waiting for Wild Heart to be released. Some authors said no, some yes. But when I wrote to Amanda Quick and Julie Garwood, I never ever expected them to agree. So imagine my shock when they did! They actually took time out of their very busy schedules to interview on my little blog. It was very exciting for me and they were just as lovely as I was hoping.

Okay... Random time....

If you could travel through time,what time period would you like to live in and why?
The Medieval time period is so romantic…in theory. I do love the Regency time period and the clothing because it was rather comfortable. So maybe that time period? Definitely the Victorian era since it’s the time period I write in and it was also really a time period of major growth. There was a huge interest in nature and antiquities, two things I love. Science and health were getting better and in a way, women had more freedom than they had before. Only negative, although the clothing was gorgeous, it wasn’t very comfortable and women went to ridiculous extremes to fit the pretty mold. Of course, we still do!

Describe to us a quiet night at the Brighton household.
Writing! That’s mostly what I do. I always have my computer on. I also love my evening TV shows. I’m watching Mercy right now and will switch over to Modern Family, Cougar Town and Ugly Betty soon. I’m also recording America’s Next Top Model. lol. As I said, I love my TV shows! We have a certain night that is game night, which usually involves my 5 year old throwing a fit when he doesn’t win.

What is your ideal date?

Hiking and a good dinner would be nice. I’d love an extremely surprising date too, like someone whisking me off to France for the weekend. But I suppose that only happens in romance novels. ;)

Do you secretly rock out to tunes in your car while driving?

Sure, although to be honest I have no problem driving in complete silence either. I have the stories in my head to keep me company. lol. I like all kinds of music, but mostly I’ve been listening to folk/pop/alternative, or Lesbian music as my gay cousin calls it. And positive, fun music! I’m sick of depressing songs/movies. Life is hard enough as it is. If I read a book, watch a movie, listen to a song, when it ends I want to still be in a good mood!

Coffee or Tea: Neither. I can drink both with lots of milk and sugar, but rarely do. I love soda (or pop as we call it in the North, and apparently in some parts of England, which I learned from an English guy working at Disney’s Epcot). But I’m trying not to drink it. So mostly water. Yuck!

Milk or Dark Chocolate: Definitely Milk Chocolate and way too much of it!

Dessert or Main Meal: Can I pick both? I love food! Especially when I don’t have to cook it. I’m addicted to Crème Brulee right now.

Theme Park or Jazz Club: Theme Park. I love Disney World! Especially now that I have a child.

Email or Text: Email. Yes, I will admit that I’ve never text’d in my life! How pathetic am I?

Sunrise or Sunset: Both! I love both, especially on the beach! But I’m usually a night owl.

High Heels or Flats: Flats at home, Heels only when I go to conferences or somewhere special.

Lip stick or Lip gloss: Usually Lip Stick. If I take the time to put on makeup, I want it to stay!

Comfy clothes or Knock Out Dress: At home, which is where I am most of the time, Comfy Clothes. When I go out somewhere special…Knock Out Dress.

I want to thank you again Ms. Lori for coming over to my place to hang out!
You are welcome here any time you want! =)

Ms. Lori just emailed to let me know that she has TWO copies to giveaway to two lucky people!!!!!!!!
How cool is that!!!

Ms Lori has graciously agreed to give away one of her books to a lucky commenter. What's the catch....
Tell us the name of the hero from her free short story???????

Please leave your email address, so we can get in touch with you!
Thank you all for sharing your day with Ms. Lori and I!!!


There is also a free short story on her site, please go --->> here to check that out!