Welcome Morgan Wyatt! [CONTEST]

First let me welcome Morgan Wyatt to my blog.  I am very excited to have her visit today because she is giving away copies of her books to three lucky commenters!  That's right, just leave a comment and you are entered to win!

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Tell us about yourself:
I am a farmer’s daughter from rural Indiana. I always had a vivid
imagination, so much so that I tried to fly several times as a child. I finally
realized I only flew downward, rather fast. Later on, I was chosen to train for
combat as an initial experiment for the Army. Things didn’t work out well,
something about a grenade and how I tended to lob it high in the air as opposed to far way. To this day, we still do not have women in combat. Forgive me. My creativity often outstrips my ability to get it down on paper, but I do try because it is less painful than continuing to try to fly.


What television sitcom is most like your family? Why? Malcolm in the Middle because my children say I am like Lois. WHAT DO YOU MEAN I AM LIKE LOIS?

What’s your favorite thing to do to relax? A bubble bath with a new romance novel and a glass of chilled wine.

Do you prefer…
Public speaking or public singing? Public speaking since my singing often goes awry since I make up the words.

Writing in a notebook or typing on the computer? I should resort to a notebook since I recently lost a book because of a computer crash and a dog who snacks on flash drives.

Coke or Pepsi? Diet Coke with Lime

Living without your cell phone or living without your computer? Cell phone is the easy choice because I often leave it on silent…for days and wonder why I haven’t heard from anyone. I forgot my charger for my laptop one weekend and I was in Best Buy purchasing an emergency charger as soon as I realized my mistake. 

Now about you as an author…
Did you always want to be an author? I wrote before I was even in school. Once I got in school I found writing could entertain others. I wrote my first grade classmates notes all the time. I motivated them to read. I might as well since I told them how Dick and Jane ended on the second day of school.

What authors had an impact on you growing up and as an adult? I read all The Black Stallion books as a young child, and then I moved up to Victoria Holt. Chelsea Quinn Yarbro introduced me to the sexy, thoughtful vampire. Lori Copeland taught me Westerns could be funny. My all-time fav is Jayne Ann Krentz, who also writes under the name of Amanda Quick, and Jayne Castle. What I love about her writing, besides quirky characters, clever plot twists, and sexual chemistry that sears the pages, is dialogue.

Did anyone in your life influence you or encouraged you to be a writer? (teacher, family member, friend) My fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Pate, put on my
permanent record that I was a creative writer. My mother had me write all these
complaining letters to different companies on her behalf.  She always got her money refunded.

What is your favorite aspect or writing? Your least favorite? Sometimes that moment a great plot or character comes in my head, and I haven’t yet put the words down. I am still unaware how illogical my character is. Editing is my reality check on work that has to be done.

What aspect of writing would you most like to improve on? Writing the most perfect piece of prose ever written, I am still working on that.

Do you have any “must haves” with you while you’re writing? None. Well, maybe a laptop. I can write in a car, in a hallway, on a bed, on the floor, in the airport, on the place, well, I think you get the picture.

Do you have a common theme or item that appears in each of your books?
Expect the unexpected. People aren’t what you think they are. Friends aren’t really your friends, while people you think don’t like you may admire you very much.

What have you learned the most from being in the writing business? Friends, you really need them. Make friends with other writers. All my good information came from other writers, not magazines, websites, or organizations. Every successful pitch, submission, or blog guest spot was due to a fellow writer.

Here's an excerpt from her latest work:
Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she noticed a man staring at her intently. She slipped off her glasses, thinking it would make her look more attractive. It might be him. A square set to his shoulders, short military-style haircut, and he appeared to be walking in a direct line to her. Could be. She flashed a smile, a calculated smile meant to dazzle with perfect orthodontic work and promise. He stopped suddenly as if hit in the solar plexus.

“Deidre?”

Turning slightly, she allowed one long leg to stretch out and make contact with the floor before speaking. Falling off the barstool might not make the best first impression.“Curt?” Dare she hope this toned male with the almost crew cut was her man.

“Ah, it is you.” Curt grinned, taking her hand and helping her alight from the barstool. Nodding in the direction of her glass, he asked, “Is that your drink?” At her agreement, he picked up the glass and led her to a table.

Deidre shot a quick glance back at the bartender who shrugged his shoulders. Probably meant no key lime pie for her. Oh well, she didn’t come for the pie.

Putting her drink on the booth table, Curt leaned over and gave her a brief hug and kiss on the hair. Wow. Surprised, Deidre plopped down on the vinyl seat, causing it to make an embarrassing hissing noise. “It’s the seat,” she explained, sorry she said anything once the words came out. Can we say sophisticated older woman image up in flames?

“I know.” Curt acknowledged her remark, sliding in opposite her. A server showed up, handed them menus, and took Curt’s beer order.

The conversational ball was back to her. Argh. Her mind kept yelling “yummy,” but not a great way to start a conversation, or was it? “Curt, I couldn’t help noticing you are even cuter than your photo. Now why is it you like older women?”

His eyes lit up as he picked up Deidre’s hand and bestowed a kiss on it. “That’s one of the reasons I like older women, they cut to the chase, say what they mean.”

“Oh.” Did she do that? If she did, it wasn’t intentional.

The server brought Curt his beer and inquired if they’d like to order anything from the menu. The deal was you really needed to order food if you wanted to prolong your time together. Suddenly, she knew she wanted to extend her time. So far, she’d had more physical contact with Curt in the last four minutes than all her dates with Kevin combined, and she liked it. A lot.

The burgers sizzling behind the swinging doors tantalized her. A burger would be good. Besides, burgers did not embarrass her as sloppy foods like ribs or tricky foods like crab legs that tended to shoot across the table in the cracking. Curt followed her lead. What were they talking about again? Oh yeah, how well Curt filled out his clothes.

Curt took a drink and let his free hand cover hers on the table. “I also like the fact that older women know who they are. They aren’t constantly trying out new images like Lady Gaga.”

Deidre smiled at the idea of trying new images. She did that a long, long time ago. For a while, she thought dating would give her a chance to be someone new, but she found the stress of dating didn't play well with being a completely new person. She could barely remember details about her date. Forget re-inventing herself.
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How did you decide on your story plot? They pick me. Sometimes I will see something in real life that I will play with. For example: I was at the Olive Garden, and a woman walks in all dressed up alone.  I figure she is there to meet someone. What if she runs into the wrong man and thinks he’s her date? What if he decides to play along? There you have the basis for my WIP.

How did you choose your characters names and location for your story? Names feel right or wrong. I use a baby book, although for historical names I use the Internet. I also poll women friends if a name sounds sexy or tough. Even if I like a name I will drop a name that most of the women dislike. I have traveled a great deal in and out of the US, so I tend to pick places I’ve been to use as
locales.

Do you have a favorite scene? Why? I like the scene in the restaurant when the hostess guides Deidre and Curt to a private curtained table because no one has ever made that type of effort with Deidre before. All of us want our guy to do grand romantic actions to show how special we are. J

Do you have a character that you identify with? Who and why? Deidre, she has doubts about dating a younger man. but she wants something different than what she has.

Thank you Morgan for stopping by today!  Please let our readers know how they can reach you…
www.morgankwyatt.com  website
morgankwyatt on Facebook
morgankwyatt@juno.com  email

Is there anything else that you want to share… feel free!! I am offering copies of Reluctant Cougar, Cub in Blue, and my newest yet to be released book, Puppy Love to three lucky commenters.

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