Monica's Bio
An award-winning author of erotic romance, Monica Burns penned her first short romance story at the age of nine when she selected the pseudonym she uses today. From the days when she hid her stories from her sisters to her first completed full-length manuscript, she always believed in her dream despite rejections and setbacks. A workaholic wife and mother, Monica believes it’s possible for the good guy to win if they work hard enough
Hi everyone, I’m excited to be back here at Bitten by Paranormal Romance. I love talking books and what goes into them. So thanks for having me back to talk about my upcoming release Assassin’s Heart, the second book in my Order of the Sicari series.
Paranormal. It’s still the hottest thing on the market right now. We love it, can’t get enough of it. And when my agent asked me to write a paranormal series, my first reaction was, OMG, I can’t write paranormal. I don’t know how to write vampires, werewolves or shifters. I only know history.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a HUGE fan of paranormals. Feehan, Ward, Angela Knight, Showalter and many others are a hard act to follow when you try to write something different for the genre. My favorite shows are Warehouse 13, Medium and GhostWhisperer (both cancelled – Grrr) and Sanctuary. I am a diehard fan of all things paranormal, but when you’re a writer of historicals, it’s hard to switch bats in the middle of the game. So when I developed my Sicari heroes, the first thing that came out of my fingers was…you guessed it, historical content. It was five pages of a Roman general and his wife having an intimate moment. Just for kicks, here a small portion of what I wrote.
He watched her. From the open doorway of the small spa, he studied the voluptuous curves of her body as she stepped out of the marble bath. A slave tried to cloak her in a pristine white cloth, but with an elegant wave of her hand, she took the towel and sent the servant away. Tendrils of hair the color of a midnight sky escaped the makeshift knot on the top of her head to caress the nape of her neck.
Outside the final heat of the day had eased, leaving Rome cool. But in here, his body burned hotter than Apollo’s chariot blazing its way into the west. Marble cooled his shoulder as he leaned against the hard column of the bath’s entrance. The stone’s chilly smoothness did nothing to quench the fire in his blood or stop his cock from growing hard at the sight of her.
Arms folded across his chest, he drank in the beauty of her full curves. The olive bronze of her skin shimmered beneath the layer of water skimming down her back before it danced off her softly rounded buttocks. The lushness of her body shot a familiar ache through him. Cassiopeia, daughter of Manius Quinctilia Atellus, Roman senator, was his.
There had always been women in his life, but the idea of leaving a wife behind if he died in battle wasn’t a worry he’d been willing to accept. Of course, that was before she chose him. What had made her choose him over all others? He was a soldier. A plebian by birth. Far removed from the patrician clan she belonged too. It was doubtful he would ever know the reason why, he could only thank the gods that she had chosen him.
His gaze greedily swept over her, his body reacting as it always did whenever he was near her. He suppressed a sudden growl of desire as she bent over to pat her legs dry with the linen towel. The view from this angle was more than enticing—it was erotic. He remained where he was. He had no desire to rush tonight. If he did do so, she’d know he would be gone at dawn.
When I wrote that scene, I already had the rough background of my heroes fleshed out, and I didn’t have a clue as to why that scene just popped into my head. But as a writer, I’ve come to trust my instincts, so I tucked that scene away until last year when I was beginning to flesh out Lysander’s story. I had planned on flash back scenes in the book to explain how the Sicari had come into being, but I really wasn’t sure how to do it. Then I remembered my Roman General and his wife, and before I knew it, I was pulling all the pieces together into a past life story.
When I think about my qualms writing a paranormal, I didn’t realize I already knew how to write paranormals. I just didn’t realize that the paranormals I write are of the other worldly kind. One of the best things about being a writer is to write about things you know, and past lives are something I know a fair amount about. Primarily because I’ve had past life regression done, and I’ve discovered that I’ve lived at least three lives. None of them rich and fancy, in fact I was dirt poor in two of them. And in those two I lost my life by hanging and beheading. Suffice it to say, it explains a lot when I tell you that I’ve NEVER been able to wear turtlenecks, chokers of any typed of clothing too close to my neck.
With Lysander and Phaedra, I set up certain issues they had to deal with that tied back directly to their past lives in ancient Rome. Primarily because the whole concept of past lives is that you return to get a second chance. You come back to make up for what you did wrong and you come back to get it right. For Lysander and Phaedra, they get it right the second time around and as a result they get the HEA they only briefly had in the past.
So what about you? Do you think you’ve lived before? If so, what kind of life do you think you had? We will get back to this question for the give away.
Assassin's Heart by Monica Burns
Book 2 in The Order of the Sicari series
Berkley Sensation
ISBN - 978-0-425-23652-9
Coming September 2010
The truth of the soul.
Lysander Condellarie never understood why he had telepathic and telekinetic powers until the night his Praetorian father tortured him and left him for dead. Now, the half-angelic, half-demonic face he sees in the mirror is a reminder of the monster he must keep hidden or face expulsion from the order of assassins know as the Sicari. But his dreams of Ancient Rome hint at a destiny he finds hard to accept, especially when it involves the woman he loves, but can never have.
The consequences of desire.
A gifted healer in the Order, Phaedra DeLuca witnessed her mother’s murder when she was just a little girl. The haunting memory makes her loathe everything Praetorian. When she travels to Rome in search of an ancient artifact, she must work alongside a man who once cruelly rejected her love and healing touch. But her dreams of Ancient Rome tell of an irreversible and possibly dangerous future. For the distant past and present are about to collide--with the one man she is destined to love.
Places to find Monica
Connect
Website - http://www.monicaburns.com/index.htm
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/AuthorMonicaBurns
Twitter - http://twitter.com/MonicaBurns
Blog - http://monicaburns.blogspot.com/
Newsletter/Info Group: http://groups.google.com/group/monica-burns-announcements
Brinkley will give away a copy of Assassin’s Heart and a copy of Assassin’s Honor as well.
Please answer monica question and leave your email to enter.
Here is her question again.
So what about you? Do you think you’ve lived before? If so, what kind of life do you think you had?
