Tena StetlerAuthor of Paranormal Romance/Suspense & Cozy Mysteries With Magic Spark!

Why should we read this book/series and what sets you apart from the rest and makes your book/series unique?

My logline is “hearts in search of home” because each of my characters is in some way searching for the place he/she belongs and the people with whom he/she can make a home. As a military brat who attended 12 schools in 12 years, this constant search for someplace to settle, to feel as if I belong, is central to my being. For anyone who’s ever felt like a fish out of water, the odd person out, my stories should resonate.

Why do you write what  you write?  Ie. Contemporary, paranormal, suspense, etc.

I write fantasy romance because, first, I grew up on fairy tales. My beloved first book was a collection of these archetypal stories from the European tradition. Second, I spent formative years in the heart of Europe’s castle country where all things medieval surrounded me and history fascinated me. I could have gone into historical romance but for one important trait: I really, really like playing by my own rules. Fantasy romance lets me build medieval-style worlds that deliver the kind of storylines I want, limited only by my imagination.

Why did you choose the cover concept you did?

I’m not a big fan of clinch covers, and if I’ve seen one 8-pack torso cover, I’ve seen them all. Consequently, for this book I wanted to present my heroine as fierce and capable but very much a woman in a male-dominated medieval-style world.

What’s your approach to writing? Are you a plotter or follow your characters flow (Pantser)?

I’m what I call an ‘into the mist’ writer. That means I’m a pantser with an initial, loose plan of some serious problems for my characters to solve. The way they solve those problems usually morphs as I go along and as the characters reveal more about themselves. I craft as I go, so I don’t have to do major rewrites or multiple drafts.

How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing since I was in grade school. The world LORD OF DRUEMARWIN inhabits was created the summer I graduated from high school. I took time off from writing for college and family, but stories kept percolating in this world and others until I was ready to commit to writing them.

SPEED ROUND FOR A LITTLE ADDED FUN:

Speed Round (one word only answer): Yep, I know torture for a writer!<evil laugh>

Favorite movie: Shrek
Favorite book: Breathing Room by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Last book read: The Tyrant’s Tomb (Trials of Apollo #4) by Rick Riordan
Favorite color: blue
Stilettos or flipflops: Neither
Coffee or tea: Tea
Ebook or audiobook or paperback: Reading
Pencil or pen: pen

Favorite song: Bridge over Troubled Water

Streak or not: steak

Favorite dessert: homemade

Favorite junk food: fries

Favorite thing to do to relax: read

Champagne or gin: Moscato

Paranormal or Historical: Historical

Wonder Woman or Top Model: Wonder Woman

Favorite TV show: Big Bang

Hot or cold: Temperate

POV: 3^rd limited

I’d die if I don’t have: Family

Review or Not: Review

LORD OF DRUEMARWIN – PAGES FROM THE HEART Winner in Fantasy Romance

In a world of lies and betrayal, can they trust each other?

So tell us about Lord of Druemarwin:

Lady Raell can fight, ride, and argue politics as well as her brothers. Only being mistress of her father’s household keeps her in skirts. In Naed, the new Lord of Druemarwin, she has found devotion, a kindred spirit, and a marriage promise. But when a forgotten and unwanted betrothal comes to light, she has no choice but to run.

Amidst sweeping revolution, Naed must rally his people, fend off assassination attempts, and fight against claims he’s a traitor. Then he discovers everything about his lineage and family is a lie. And his beloved belongs to another.

With lives and a kingdom at stake, Raell and Naed must find a way to protect the innocent and save their love.

A peek between the pages of Lord of Druemarwin:

“Raell, now is not the time—”

Aye, it wasn’t. They stood in torchlight on an open parapet while assassins stalked them, but this might be her only chance to reach him across that precipice he’d thrown up between them, to secure the future they were meant to share.

“Does my honor mean naught? When weighed with D’nalian honor, is mine lesser because ‘tis a woman’s honor? Or because ‘tis a Tolemak’s honor? Be honest and tell me that.”

The world had gone silent; Raell could hear nothing over the rush of blood in her ears, the terrible heavy beats of her heart while she waited, dizzy with fear, breathless with longing, for the man she loved to respond with a word, a look, even a blink. Even a shift of his gaze she’d take as a sign he’d at least heard, mayhap begun to consider—

“Yes, be honest, Lord Naed,” said a voice she’d heard but once, a voice that raised all the fine hairs on her body and made her innards contract into a cold, tight knot. “Tell us both how much honor means to a bastard who’s betrayed his countrymen and his blood.”

Buy Links:

Amazon:  Nook:

About the author:

Helen C. Johannes writes award-winning fantasy romance inspired by the fairy tales she grew up reading and the amazing historical places she’s visited in England, Ireland, Scotland and Germany. She writes tales of adventure and romance in fully realized worlds sprung from pure imagination and a lifelong interest in history, culture, and literature. Warriors on horseback, women who refuse to sit idly at home, and passion that cannot be denied or outrun—that’s what readers will find in her books.

Social Media Links:

Blog: https://helencjohannes.blogspot.com/

Author Central: https://www.amazon.com/Helen-C-Johannes/e/B003JJDQWS/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031965.Helen_C_Johannes

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/helen-c-johannes