* Jacquelyn Frank: Author Override | UTC Reviews
* Skye Warren: Author Override
* Narrator Lorelei King: Interview
* Stephanie Tyler: Interview
* Carolyn Crane: Author Override | UTC Review
* J.T. Geissinger: Interview | UTC Review
* Men and Women of the Military Giveaway Hop
* Keri Arthur: Interview | UTC Reviews

Wednesday 22 February 2012

Interview and Giveaway with Courtney Milan!

Thanks so much for stopping by UTC to talk to our maidens and being a part of A Scandalous Affair. We are very excited to have you here today!!   Please give a warm welcome to Courtney Milan!

Your next release, A Governess Affair will release in April 2012. Can you tell us a bit about it?


It's about a man of business whose employer asks him to take care of a governess who is making a pest of herself, only to discover that she's rather too intriguing for his peace of mind.

What's behind the saying "Wolf meets Bear" as it pertains to this book?


I give everyone of my books code names as I'm writing them. In this series, the hero, Hugo Marshall, is also named as the Wolf of Clermont--because he's relatively ruthless. But I wanted to write a heroine who was more than his match. And what's the only creature that I can imagine taking on a savage wolf? A bear--generally happy creatures when well-fed, and perfectly content to subsist on blueberries. But threaten them or the ones they love, and they're unstoppable.

That's my heroine.

Your Turners series is a hit! Congrats! For those readers who haven't had the chance to read or discover these books yet, can you tell us a bit about them?

The Turner series is about three brothers whose lives have been shaped--in very, very different ways--by a mother who was insane. I wanted it to be a chance to explore what happens when good people have a lot of baggage.

If you could create your own panel and choose which authors you'd like to have a conference with, which authors would you pick and why? What would you talk about?

Oh, gosh. That's a hard one. There are a lot of authors that I would like to put on that list. But here's a panel that would be just plain fun: Ann Aguirre, Tessa Dare, Victoria Dahl, and Zoe Archer. What would we talk about? I'm not sure, but I'm guessing it would not be safe for work. :)

What does a typical day for you look like?

I don't have typical days. I work a day job (for now), and it takes up a lot of time and in irregular amounts. I write when I can. I try to get an hour of writing in in the mornings; if I take a lunch break, I write over lunch, and then I spend a good amount of time in the evenings writing, editing, and taking care of the business aspects of things.

I wish I had typical days.

What does your writing workspace look like? Clean and orderly? Scattered with notes? Any visual would be nice.

It's a complete mess. I cannot express how utterly messy my workspace is. To give you some idea: right now, my laptop is placed on top of a big stack of paper. There is no non-papered part of my desk, and so I do not find this distressing. This particular stack is about an inch deep--20 pages of stuff for the day job, two pages of notes that I scribbled to myself when I was stuck on a scene, a napkin from a restaurant on which I have written "more mutual weaseling!" (that was a reminder about something to do in a book), some notes from a telephone conference, some notes from a meeting, a to-do list from (this shows you how old the geological strata are on my desk) January, 2011--and by the way, there are three items on that list that I have not yet done--all over a stack of notecards. The top notecard, by the way, contains the word "peanut butter."

Kind of a mess.

What draws you to do historical romances, have any particular authors inspired you?

I like writing historical romances because it allows me to look at historical patterns of change. I write in a time of great social and economic upheaval, a time when everything that people knew was changing, and when steamships and railways made the world small. I think that many of the changes that happened then are like what is happening to us now, and in some ways, writing in a historical period allows me to explore what change means to us today, but in a safe space.

There are a lot of authors who inspire me and who I admire--more than I can possibly list, but here are a handful:

* Lois McMaster Bujold
* Sherry Thomas
* Julia Quinn
* Eloisa James
* Lisa Kleypas

I could go on and on--I just finished reading everything that Ilona Andrews was ever written, for instance--but suffice it to say it's a long list. :)

What kind of hero do you like to read the most, a virgin/inexperience hero, or a rake? Which is the best to write, since you've written both?

I think variety is the spice of life. I like everything.

If there's anything I like to write, it's people who are slightly off kilter--maybe just a little different than the norm. Just about every hero I've written has been a little...odd, all in different ways. I often don't set out to write people that way, but as I write, my characters acquire quirks that I never intended them to have.

Coffee or tea?
Tea.

Hardcover or paperback?
No.

What kind of ereader do you own?
Two kindles, two Sony readers, a nook, and an old iRex tablet. Not counting multipurpose devices here.

Sunrise or sunset?
Sunrise.

Sun or snow?
Yes.

Heels or flipflops?
Flipflops.

Tattoos or piercings?
For me? Piercings.
On a guy? Tattoos.
As a special treat, Ms. Milan has a very generous giveaway to one lucky follower.  You will get the three full-length books in her Turners series.
Read our reviews of Unveiled, Unclaimed and Unraveled.
To enter:

1. Be a follower
2. Fill out the form below

31 comments:

The_Book_Queen said...

Oh, I think we all wish for a typical day, right? :) And don't worry about your desk--mine is atrocious too, and that's just from daily use of the computer and what not, not actually working at it! :)

I look forward to reading your books!

Enjoy,
TBQ

Shelley B said...

I love Courtney's books. I've read all three of these already. Love them.

Andrea said...

I've read Unveiled, which was great, and the others are on my "to read" list.

CYP @ A Bookalicious Story said...

Ohhh, those books sound SO AMAZING!! I'd love to read them!! Great interview too. :D Thanks for the giveaway!

Beebs said...

I read Unlocked, which I loved, and immediately put the Turner books on my wishlist. Fingers crossed. :)

Krista said...

I haven't read any of these yet but they are all on my to buy list.

Joanne said...

There are no typical days. This series sounds great. Can't wait to read it. Thanks for the giveaway.

e.balinski(at)att(dot)net

Katie @ Pink Elephants Over the Miles said...

Those covers are lovely! And wowza you have a lot of e-readers!!! I do love my nook, the only thing I miss about not having the Kindles is the deals that they have exclusively... :)

erin said...

Thanks for the fantastic interview and giveaway! I've only had to chance to read book one and I *luvd* it :) I'm the complete opposite of you desk wise... I can't stand clutter, my OCD kicks in and I have to file and tidy. If I knew you better, I'd offer to do it for you. Just ask my family and friends :)

GzNKz4evr said...

I have been wanting to read Ms. Milan's books for quite some time. I have them on my TBR list. Now I REALLY want to read them. I love Lisa Kleypas, just got one of Ms. Quinn and Ms. James books, so will be experiencing their writing shortly. Thomas and Bujold are new-to-me names. I will have to check them out.

Thanks much for the fabulous giveaway and the chance to win.
Kendra @ Reader's Edyn

southerngirl said...

I'm always excited to find new-to-me authors. Especially historical since I only read a select few. I look forward to reading your books!

pamerd said...

Hi

I am excited to read this series. Love reading Courtney's answers to the Q&A's. :)

Thanks for the giveaway.

Pam
tpibrew@msn.com

In Julie's Opinion said...

I am so excited about this giveaway because I haven't read any of these books yet and I really, really want to read all of them!! Thanks for the great interview, too :)

Linda said...

Totally agree with your list of inspiring authors. Their books are amazing.

Yes to variety please!

Barbara E. said...

I enjoyed the interview. I thought the Wolf meets Bear explanation was pretty cool, describing the heroine as an unstoppable bear makes a lot of sense. I've enjoyed Courtney Milan's books in the past, but haven't had a chance to read the Turner series yet.

mcv said...

Ok , I finally found the entry form for the contest. I would so want to win the prize. I have read Unravelled but I would love to read the books on the other Turner Brothers.
mcv111 at hotmail(dot)com

Book Savvy Babe said...

Thanks for the contest, I love meeting new-to-me authors. I laughed at seeing how many readers Courtney has, I have 2 kindles (my gen2 and the fire), so I understand the love, but that's still a lot of readers, nice!

Timitra said...

That's a really interesting concept Courtney, giving code names to your books, I've never heard of it before but I think it's pretty cool!!!

Chrisbails said...

Great interview. Big fan of all the sames authors, but never heard of Lois. You are a new author for me and would love to win and read this series. Thanks for the giveaway and the chance to win.
christinebails@yahoo.com

Shelly said...

Enjoyed the interview. lol at your messy desk. The Turner series sound like good stories. Thank you for the giveaway.

Johanna R Jochum said...

I love Courtney Milan. What a amazing interview. Thanks for sharing with us! Great contest!

evjochum[AT]aol[DOT]com

Eli Yanti said...

love to win courtney's book and love all the 3 cover books ;)

Lisa Richards/alterlisa said...

Fantastic interview and giveaway!
I've had this one on my wishlist since I first saw the cover and read the blurb. Thanks for the giveaway!

ClaudiaGC said...

Loved the interview! Thank you for the giveaway! I've loved Courtney's books so far.

June M. said...

Oh, I can definitely relate to the desk issue. I tend to have post-it notes scattered everywhere, sticking to everything. The weird thing is that I am very organized in work-related things, but not so much in personal documents.
I am really looking forward to reading your books. You have some lovely covers and more importantly, the stories themselves are always highly reviewed.

This Bookish Girl said...

Courtney Milan is one of my top 2 fave historical authors (along with Lisa Kleypas). I would be such a happy girl if i win this! :D

GingerRing said...

Great interview! would love to win these books!! rings@wwt.net

rainie72 said...

I would love to read her. She would be a new author for me and these soulnd great.

Di said...

I can tell when I'll probably like an authors work by how she answers interview questions - so I know I'll have to read Courtney's books.

sallans d at yahoo dot com

lisagkendall said...

I loved the interview, and I loved the description of Serena as a "Bear". lisagk(at)yahoo.com

Kristine A said...

I've read Unlocked, and really liked that story. I can't wait to read the rest of this series! Looking forward to learning the Turner brothers' stories. Plus, the covers are pretty. :]