Author Spotlight - Excerpt from Sandpiper Affair

Here's an excerpt from Sandpiper Affair. Leave a comment on the excerpt this weekend and on Monday I'll pick a name out of the hat to win a PDF copy of Janis' Sanpiper Affair. Thanks so much for supporting Janis during her spotlight week.
Moderator Steph

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The park ranger, with a decidedly masculine voice filled with a hint of laughter, questioned, “Why are you in this restricted area, miss?”

Abby sat up and brushed the clinging grains of sand from her bare legs and hiking shorts. Her hands reached in a futile gesture to tidy loose curls blowing wildly in the gusty March winds. She fiddled more as she stalled for an excuse, wondering briefly if he would believe she came here out of ignorance, and decided regretfully not.

“I’m photographing the crane chicks,” she admitted ruefully. “Okay, I knew it was restricted, but I was very careful not to disturb them. Honest, they never knew I was here.”

The too-good-looking-for-his-own-good, giant Florida State Park Ranger rubbed his jaw while he gazed down at her speculatively. Looking up at him from her nest in the sand Abby wondered if he would mind if she shot a few poses, thinking he would make a very good subject to study in her spare time—long, tanned fingers, sturdy legs. Definitely eye candy. She wondered how he felt about calendars. She sized him up and decided she could get very artistic with this man wearing a uniform, and who doesn’t like a man in a uniform?

Feeling a bit giddy both with tiredness and a kicked-back sense of humor, Abby tried to revise her thinking to a more serious vein. Probably not the best time to ask favors, she thought.

Busted in Bird land. Still…what a calendar he would make with that uniform, that smile, those shoulders. She stifled a sigh of pure visual pleasure.

You had better stop it, Miss Smarty. He has the authority to fine and kick you out of the park permanently if he so chooses. Holy Moly-- love a uniformed hunk!

Stoppit!

She stifled a giggle which was riotously rolling around deep inside her, threatening to break out. He continued to loom, gazing thoughtfully while she fidgeted in her warm nest sheltered by the dune. Surrounding them, the sporadic wind blew the smell of something baking in the sun. With her face turned upward and her eyes half-closed against the glare, she awaited her fate

Author Spotlight - Janis Lanis about about getting into the mood - to write!

How do you get in the mood for writing? I have a friend who pulls on an old red baseball hat and tucks her hair up to show how serious she is. She has a hidden source of M&M peanuts close by. She locks the door on her “office,” which is a converted guest room. She vows she has no time for guests now anyway. She has too much work to do.

Pretty much I, too, have come to view the second phase of writing as work. That changes the whole perspective for me. When I considered it a hobby, a fun pastime, maybe I was a little impatient with interruptions, but it wasn’t a criminal offense. Now that I’m struggling with guest blog appearances, due dates and the need to get another story out there, I can no longer treat knocks on my door, no matter how soft, as a welcome break. Okay, an occasional friend’s phone call, but not for long, I swear.

Bouncing on my big exercise ball is not a break. It’s an attempt to get the blood flow back in my butt and legs. Otherwise I’m going to wind up in the shape of a large pear. Not that there’s anything wrong with pears, but you understand. Not a desirable shape for humans.

Writing my stories is a pleasure. Everything after that is work and I’ve knuckled down to that fact. (Humming…”you can’t have one without the otherrr…er.”) How do you keep yourself attentive to the second phase of writing? How many chocolates do you have hidden away? Coffee? Tea? Chocolate chip cookies? Are you locking your office door and practicing your don’t-interrupt-me-frown? Do you have a favorite hat you wear?

I ask these questions as I hide my ancient bathrobe which is a most comfortable choice. No one will see me, right?

Author Spotlight - Janis Lane talks about her passion for characters & setting

Often I think some of my favorite choices of Contemporary books depends on how much I’m enjoying the stage (setting) upon which the actors (characters) perform. Who could not love the Sisters in Birmingham, Ala with Anne George? I still want to see the iron man statue which towers over the city. How about James L. Burke? Sadly a lot of those swampy nooks and crannies along the Louisiana coast are gone now. But the ambience of Burke’s narrative is like a coiled snake sleeping nearby on the muddy banks. Burke’s words can make you live his native state. Susan Albert lets us grow herbs with her in the hot sun of Texas, Evanovich riots in Trenton, NJ, while JD Robb takes us in flying cars into the future NYC.

I grew up in S. Georgia and spend a lot of time there and in Florida. When I wrote SANDPIPER AFFAIR, I knew I wanted to write about nature, birds and even chiggers. The terrain was a natural setting for my wildlife photographer, Abby, and her love interest, Adam. I was happy to be there. I hope you will be too. What are your favorite settings to visit in the world of fiction? Are you ever comfortable with the characters, but uncomfortable with the setting?