Where do you find inspiration for your stories?
Stories come from life and imagination. I love how they meld and combine and morph into powerful, evocative new stories. Documentary filmmaking and my seven-year radio show on NPR provided thousands of hours of interviews with people speaking about their passions and their lives. Much of this work (and the amazing people I’ve met) finds it way into my stories.
I’ve been fortunate to have worked all over the world– as a filmmaker I’ve traveled deep into the wilderness with film crews, explored the lives of people all over the United States and worked with movie stars, artisans and activists. My work to improve the lives of wild animals has taken me to Japan, the Pribiloff Islands in the middle of the Bering Sea (where seals out numbered people by a million to one!), to the remote island of Laysan hundreds of miles from Hawaii and into the forests of the Pacific Northwest, Montana and the Appalachian Mountains.
In addition, my husband and I work with a cosmologist and capture the awesome power of the galaxies, stars, planets and life on earth in programs and films for PBS. That takes the stories into the big story of the universe — the powers of life and the universe inspire much of my work and infuse the dreams of the characters. There’s so much to life beyond what we see, beyond our often limited perception. Captivating romance is a way to explore the hidden, the unseen and touch in with the powers that guide life.
And then, sometimes a character just shows up out of nowhere and insists that their story be told. I would never have predicted that I would write a story about an archangel who falls madly in love with Jane Austen as I did in my first romance, Jane Austen and the Archangel! Nor would I have imagined that I’d be writing about a former rodeo champion turned Major League Baseball catcher as I did in my latest release, book #6 in my Tavonesi Series, THE HEART OF THE GAME. Cody Bond showed up and was determined to fall in love with Zoe Tavonesi.
People often ask about the billionaires and the heiresses that show up alongside the people of the small towns of Northern California, the setting for many of the books in the Tavonesi Series. Wealthy people who’ve been part of my life and work have taught me a great deal about the challenges of inheritance. Sometimes they don’t know who their true friends are.
Readers of historical romance will recognize the dilemma that plagued young heirs and heiresses of earlier times. The boons and challenges of wealth have changed little over three hundred years. Whether it’s hiding from wealth (as Cara Barrington attempts in LOVE ON THE LINE), or attempting to conceal identity until one is sure of another’s true affections (as Adrian Tavonesi does in my current work in progress, LOVE IN THE VINEYARD), money can twist the heart and warp perceptions and raise deep doubts. Alana Tavonesi in FIELDER’S CHOICE isn’t ready for the responsibilities of her inheritance, or at least that what she thinks at the beginning of the story. But her wise grandmother knew that responsibility was exactly what would guide her partying, errant granddaughter into a full, joyous life.
I’m often asked about the sports stars in the first 6 books of my Tavonesi Series. Many of my readers know that my husband played eleven years of Major League Baseball, that he was an All-Star. I love it when readers who thought they’d never be interested in the lives of a sports hero find themselves captivated by Alex Tavonesi (LOVE BATS LAST) or Matt Darrington (FIELDER’S CHOICE). I love it when they write to tell me that the behind-the scenes and inner working of the player’s minds show them a side of professional athletes they’d never before considered. You don’t have to care about sports at all to take the journey with these amazing men.
The heroines in my stories are smart and driven and inspired by women I know both in life and in my imagination. Jackie Brandon in LOVE BATS LAST is a world-class marine mammal vet and renowned rock climber. Her rock climbing skills help her and Alex save a whale but they also get her into trouble she’d never imagined (and yes, she is inspired by a real life heroine and dear friend). Chloe (the Heroine of THROWN BY LOVE) inherits a baseball team– and the one man who has touched her heart. What happens to a relationship where you wake up and find that you basically OWN your lover?
And then of course there’s the sensual, sexual side of heroes and heroines who work with their bodies on a daily basis. I’ve been in a couple of car accidents over the years and have worked with amazing trainers and physical therapists to heal. Master healers, because they work at all levels, physical, mental, spiritual, bring a mysterious and powerful force to life in their work. There’s a sensual edge to helping someone heal. Kaz Tokugawa (AIM FOR LOVE) can’t contain the sexual power that Sabrina Tavonesi unleashes even though for years he’s trained not only as a baseball player but also as a world-class Samurai. He refuses to believe that his training can’t help him control the irrepressible desire that Sabrina fires in him.
I love it when characters who believe they are in control find their control challenges and their lives shifting and changing. Love and dreams have a way of tugging us forward and forcing us to become whole persons, capable of giving and receiving love.
What do you like about writing series books?
I love, love, love the intertwining of the character’s lives. They grow and change together and are forces of support and change and intrigue throughout the series. I love that readers can revisit the places and friendships and watch the character’s relationships deepen as life challenges them to love. I write each book so a reader can read it as a standalone– yet it’s fun to enjoy the deepening relationships as the series progresses.
What is the most difficult thing about writing?
All the sitting! Since recently it’s been clear demonstrated that sitting for long period is really, really bad for one’s health, I’ve had to change my habits and routines. Gone are the days when I could blissfully sit for hours and write. I was relieved to find out that it’s ok to sit as long as it’s only for twenty or thirty minutes. But then it’s important to get up and move around for at least four or five minutes. My challenge is not to get distracted during those times. I wish I was one of those writers who could write standing up, but so far I haven’t been able to be as creative in a standing position.
Another tough aspect of writing is the isolation. I have to be careful to make time to stay in touch with friends. And bless my friends — they understand that there are times when I am deeply immersed and can’t come out to play– even when I want to! But I do try and schedule social time. It’s not easy, but it’s important.
Would you share one of the sexiest or most romantic lines from one of your books?
Oh– hard to choose!
Here’s one:
Book: FIELDER’S CHOICE (The Tavonesi Series)
Scene: Heroine Alana Tavonesi has her first overpowering encounter with the raw power of hero Matt Darrington:
This kiss was different from the first one under the olive tree. That one had been unplanned, she was pretty sure. This kiss had intention and hunger branded all over it. It was like one of those kisses you read about in fairy tales—but Alana had never imagined that such a kiss could cause bone-trembling shivers as well as bliss. She’d never considered the downside of the awakening kiss, of how the princess felt when the hero tore through the thorns or scaled the tower and speared heat and sex and life-changing energy into the princess’s world.
He spread his palms along her bottom and pulled her up to straddle his thigh. Was it her imagination or could she feel the heat of his palms through her jeans and all the way into her core? His erection throbbed against her, and the pulse of him spiked a thrill of wild abandon through her body. Consequences be dammed, she wanted this man, wanted to feel more of the intoxicating power he’d unleashed.
What are a few of your favorite book covers that have been done for your books?
I love all of the covers! But I’m really fond of the cover of my most recent release for THE HEART OF THE GAME. I love the way the light calls you into the story right off. I also love the cover for THROWN BY LOVE- you really get the sense of the sensuality and adventure and yet also the tension between Chloe and Scotty. And the Cover of AIM FOR LOVE brings movie star Sabrina Tavonesi and the hot pitcher Kaz Tokugawa alive!
If you’d like to stay in touch, sign up for Pamela’s New Release Newsletter here:
http://www.pamelaaares.com/newsletter-signup/
You can buy Pamela’s latest release, THE HEART OF THE GAME here:
Kindle: http://bit.ly/kindleTheHeartoftheGameAares
iBooks: http://bit.ly/ibksTheHeartoftheGameAares
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-heart-of-the-game-3
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-heart-of-the-game-pamela-aares/1121283982?ean=2940150763821
You can also find Pamela’s books on her website:
Or follow her on Amazon and stay in touch: http://www.amazon.com/author/PamelaAares
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