The Right to Remain Mine author Linda Kage has agreed to sit with the JR Bunnies and chat a bit about her latest book and writing…

What is your most current work?

The Right to Remain Mine is my most current release. It came out February 6th from Champagne Books.

Tell us a little about The Right to Remain Mine, what inspired you to write it?

If you like reading about a hero and heroine who argue from the get-go until they argue themselves right into bed with each other, this is the story for you!! Sheriff Deputy, Raith Malloy hates lawyers. And lawyer Willow DeVane abhors rude, overbearing alpha men. But when they get together, boy does the chemistry flow. After she’s physically attacked by a client, Raith needles his way into giving her self-defense training. But that only ends with them in bed together. When their heated relationship grows rocky, they’re forced to put aside their difference after outside influences like a stalker breaking into Willow’s house bring them back together. I wanted to bash Willow and Raith’s stubborn heads together more than once while I was writing their story. They aggravate as much as they kiss and make up.

I can’t remember how The Right to Remain Mine came about. I think I liked the idea of pairing up a lawyer with a cop and having them bicker at each other non-stop, in effect making their chemistry intense to the point of scalding hot!!

When you start writing, do you already have the story plotted out or do you let the characters dictate what will happen?

I have a general idea where I’d like my story to go. Then I create the characters and they pretty much trample all over my grand plans and do their own thing.

What inspired you to write in your genre? Is this the genre you started writing in or have you morphed to this one?

Romance stories are my favorite to read, so that’s what I’ve always written.

Do you have a favorite character you have written?

So far, Cameron from Hot Commodity is still my favorite hero. I don’t know what it is about him. He cracks me up, plus makes me shiver with sexy Goosebumps.

Who was the toughest character for you to “get right” that you have written so far?

I couldn’t get the youngest sister (Billy) from this quartet of stories I wrote quite right. It was so bad, I couldn’t finish the story, so now all four books in this series are kind of stalled out. So sad.

Do you draw inspiration for your characters from real life? Any fun stories you could share?

Right before my brother-in-law went through a divorce, he received this strange cryptic message on his answering machine telling him what his wife was doing that night, where she was and who she was with. Well, he wanted to take my husband with him and drive like five hours to go confront her. Thus inspired the first chapter for my story A Man for Mia. Except it’s an enraged sister instead of enraged brother-in-law wanting to discover the truth about a spouse.

What do you find is the hardest part of writing?

Endings. There are just so many ways a story can conclude. What if I pick the wrong one for my characters? Yikes, the pressure is just too much.

Name one thing that your readers would be surprised to know about you.

I’m almost six feet tall, about an inch shy of there.

Do you have a guilty pleasure?

Reading and writing are my guilty pleasures. I always know I should be doing something else when I focus on them, but I just can’t stop.

What do you need before you start writing? Anything that is just a must have or the creative juice don’t flow?

I think I need a bit of silence, not total silence, just a smidgeon! It’s hard to concentrate when there are people talking around me or to me, or if the TV is blaring.

Does music influence your writing? If so, do any of your stories have a theme song?

Sorry, I’m not a music muse writer. Though I always picture my hero Cam when I hear the song Crazy by Gnarles Barkley.

If your story was optioned for a movie, who would play your characters?

I’d say maybe a grittier version of Sandra Bullock for Willow (she just seems too nice as is, though they look similar). And….um…heck, throw her in with Huck Jackman when his bulked up like the Wolverine as my hero Raith!

Where were you when you got your first contract? Who did you tell first?

I was at work. I called my husband to tell him but before I could he was like, “I gotta go. I’m 10-15 right now,” which is cop talk for prisoner in custody.

How old were you when you read your first romance book?

Sixteen. I heard my older sisters praising Sandra Brown, so I read one and haven’t looked back since. I’m an affirmed romance junkie now.

What author causes you to “go fan girl”/ squeal over/anticipate upcoming books?

I’m totally craving to read Thief of Shadows by Elizabeth Hoyt. I CANNOT wait until July. I keep reading the excerpt for it where it’s located at the end of the last book in her series over and over…and over again.

What are you currently working on, and what else is in the wings?

I’m always working on about half a dozen or more stories. Right now, I’m scratching out a YA about a mute girl and a boy whose parents recently divorced. I like to call this one Silent, but who knows how long that title will stick. Then there’s a sweet adult romance I’m working on about an ex-drug addict who meets his teen daughter. I’ve currently titled it Addicted to Ansley. I’ve stalled out on a prequel for my first adult romance, The Trouble with Tomboys. This one is called Farm Boys Have all the Fun, but I’m stuck at a difficult part right now. Then there is The Neighbor Wars about a woman whose children from the future come visit her. I’ve stalled out on that one too. There’s more, but I won’t bore you with them.

If you could co-write with another author who would it be?

Claire Ashgrove.

How do you pick your characters names?

I try to think up a unique name and make sure I don’t know anyone with that name…unless a family member says, “put me in your story,” then I use their names!

Do you prefer the love at first sight approach or a steady growth throughout?

I like both. I don’t think I could choose one above the other. As long as there’s a happy ending, I usually love first-meet scene.

What is your reaction to people who say one of the following…”Oh you write romance, I thought you were a real writer”, “Romance isn’t a real writing career” or the ever popular “Oh, one of those books”.

I usually nod and smile and move on, all the while thinking, “What a moron.”

Where can readers find you? (Include all links you want, facebook, twitter etc….)

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube

And for the silly side – What is your favorite type of chocolate?

See’s milk chocolate smeared over peanuts are…mmm, mph, umm (sorry, mouth full. Eating chocolate!)