My interview this month is with the up and coming author Raine Delight.  I just had the pleasure of reading her novellas STICKY MAGIC and RED HOT MAGIC.  They are all about love at The Candy Kisses Sweet Shoppe.  Be sure to pick up them both up to find out just how sweet love can be. 

Welcome to Love Romances & More, Raine and thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to give our readers a chance to learn more about you.  Could you please tell us a little about yourself? 

Thank you Shaiha for the chance to chat with you! I am a single mom of 2 kids ages 5 and 7, I work Part time as a head chef/baker at a local coffee café and I also go to school full time as well for my bachelors in IT-Wed Design. *gasps in exhaustion* I live in Western NY, near Buffalo, where right now, it seems winter refuses to give way to spring. J 

Would you mind sharing with our readers one tidbit that no one else knows?  Any secret addictions? 

One tidbit huh……hmmm, I am a self proclaimed Johnny Depp fan! *grins* My poor boyfriend loves to tease me about it and it is part of my addiction as is raspberry Chai latte’s. J 

I very much enjoyed reading both STICKY MAGIC and RED HOT MAGIC and  have to ask where the original idea came from? 

Um, actually Sticky Magic was for an anthology for another publisher and wasn’t accepted. I fleshed it out more and submitted it elsewhere. It made me curious to see what would happen in a small town where normal everyday people got hit with some interesting soul mates! *grins* A romantic to the core here, I love writing Devon Falls Stories! Each Magic book introduces the next character in the next book. It could be a hero, heroine or a possible triangle. J 

I loved the small town atmosphere of Devon Falls.  Did you pattern it on your home town? 

Yep. I grew up I n a town where everyone knew everyone and if you got in trouble, your parents found about it way before you got home. LOL I used creative license but basically patterned it on my hometown. 

Do you have a local candy store that you like to frequent? 

Funny thing is I don’t eat that much candy! LOL I can get by with an occasional Hershey bar or Carmel chew. In my hometown, there is a candy store that is family run where you can actually watch them make the candy displayed and sold. It is fun and interesting. 

I noticed that both stories are centered around a holiday.  Can we look forward to more in the series around the holidays? 

Charmed Magic my March 31^st release is centered on Easter, Fiery Magic is around the 4^th of July out June 23^rd), Haunting Magic is Halloween (Out October 13^th) and of course, Sticky Magic is Christmas (out @ MGP December 8^th). J I am not ruling out more Devon Falls books but after these 5 totals are released, I plan to give myself a break and recharge the batteries. J 

Do you have any upcoming works that you would like to share with our readers? 

I just got some interesting news on my Fae series called Iridescent Magic and untitled book 2. I can’t really share much with anyone yet but look for these to come in 2008 in both E format and print. 

How long does it actually take you to sit down and write a novel?   

Oh god…I write by the seat of my pants. Lol Sticky Magic took me a week to write. Red Hot Magic took me 4 weekends in 1 month and Charmed Magic took me almost 2 months to write. J 

Raine, is writing your only profession or are you still working the day job to support the dream? 

I work part time as a head chef/baker at a local coffee café. I love that creative end and it works while my kids are in school. I work mornings so I am basically home by 1 p.m. EST and able to relax with my kids before they go to bed. J 

STICKY MAGIC and RED HOT MAGIC is definitely contemporary erotica’s.  Do you have other genres that you would like to conquer? 

I want to do a futuristic/sci fi one, fantasy, and maybe a paranormal if I can think of one. lol 

Most authors are avid readers.  If I was to look through your bookcase what names would I find?  Did you grow up reading the science fiction greats? 

Oh man, probably Bertrice Small, Robin D. Owens, Angela Knight, JD Robb, Nora Roberts, Maggie Shayne, JK Rowling, plus many, many more. I have close to 200 books with more added weekly!  LOL I like the romance sci fi authors. Straight sci fi bores me to tears unfortunately. 

If you were given the opportunity to write an anthology with any four authors, alive or dead, who would you pick and why? 

Skylar Sinclair, Bertrice Small, JD Robb and it is a toss up between Angela Knight and Mercedes Lackey! 

Raine, do you have a ritual for when you complete a book? 

I do one big happy dance! LOL I then relax let the book sit for a day or so before I do a final read through, then I go out on the town if possible with my honey to celebrate before I tackle the next book.  

I just have to ask this.  What does your office look like?   

No office unfortunately but I do share a desk with my honey and it is full of papers, and files. I am in the process of unpacking so much of my stuff is still in boxes and in storage. J I have a devil of a time looking for things some days. lol 

I also have to ask how you write.  Do you write everything out in longhand and then transcribe it onto a computer or is Word your savior?  Do you have certain music and scents floating thru the air?

Oh god, kill me with the mighty pen and paper. I can not write long hand to save a life. I get totally blocked. But put me in front of a blank word doc and I am writing, happy as a clam. Lol 

It depends on my mood. I listen to music a lot. Andrea Bouchelli was being listened to when I wrote RHM and is mentioned in there. Charmed Magic had Josh Groban’s classical CD, Closer, Playing in the background and is also mentioned. In Fiery Magic, I heard Bon Jovi’s new song, (You Want to) Make a Memory and it fit the story perfectly and will be mentioned there as well. So it depends. J 

Does your family support you?  And would you be proud or horrified if your family read your work? 

My boyfriend supports me 100%!!! He loves being my research guinea pig. J I embarrass my family by writing erotic romance and they have no desire to let anyone know I write unless I say something. It saddens me but I have a close knot of friends who also encourage me to do my best and are my support network.  

What prompted you to start writing Raine?

Let me see, it could be that I read one too many books where I wanted to throw them across the room and stomp on them from the stupidity some characters had or it could be that I needed to write for a change. It depends. I always loved writing but didn’t have enough self confidence to try it till now. J 

Any suggestions that you would like to give to aspiring authors? 

Write, write then write some more. Write something you know you’ll read and find your own voice. Don’t try copying the big name authors. Use the words in your head to get your story across and never be afraid of rejection or suggestions! You will continue to learn and hone your craft as each book is written! 

Can you think of anything that I have forgotten that you would like to share with our readers? 

I have a My Space page and would love for you to be my friend. J www.myspace.com/raine_delight 

Check my blog periodically as I post unseen excerpts there: http://rainedelight.blogspot.com 

Also I periodically update my website as well: www.rainedelight.com 

Sign up for my newsletter as well for monthly updates on what is going on for me for each month! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rainedelight 

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy day to spend with Love Romances & More Raine!  

Thank you LR&M for this chance to talk with you and I am thrilled you enjoyed the start of the Devon Falls series. I look forward to comments or questions from readers as well so drop me a line at rainedelight@yahoo.com anytime. J