
As usual, when I pop by the Island, I like to bring my pal Josh Lanyon for an alcoholic bev and some witty repartee. Today we're offering ten questions to each other and to readers, PLUS a prize or two.



Oh, la! You think I'm joking! I'm halfway done. I'm out of sticky dots. Target is far away. And...I'm starting not to care anymore because--I have to clean the house. Of wrapping paper, paint, and sticky dots. Floors to mop. Towels to wash.
Not everyone has suffered through a full-blown slump. Sometimes you pick up a book and your mind starts to wander. The hero isn't tempting you. The witty banter isn't captivating you. Bottom line: you're just not feelin' it. It's like we tell men, at some time it happens to everybody. So what do you do when the ennui hits? Do you power through and read or do you direct your focus elsewhere?
I have been reading Romances for half of my life. For years they were my guilty pleasure, my dirty little secret. While many of my friends were voracious readers, none of them read Romance. In fact, many of my "friends" scoffed at me, poked fun at me, and even ridiculed my literary choices. (Real great friends, huh?) As I've grown older new individuals have entered my life. You know what? They read romance! Yes, it's true. Now, I know all of you read them. That is what has brought us together, this shared love of novels filled with love, passion, drama, sly humor, sexy heroes, and strong heroines. But here are these people in my day-to-day life that read Romance. It is a lovely thing.
So how do we hook these friends? What has your approach been? Is it with a particular author? Do you have a sneak Romance attack move you could share? Just what is it you do to enable those around you? How do you bring your friends over to the Romance Side?










This month we're celebrating the release of our second novel, the spicy Victorian-set ALL HE DESIRES. And guess what?
We love exotic locales, especially in historical settings. The research is fun, plus we get to escape the dreary Pacific NW winters (at least in our imaginations). Our first book featured a botanical expedition to Tunisia -- lots more balmy weather and lush settings for our characters to enjoy. Plus, it's easier to get the characters to stretch the bounds of propriety when the scent of orange-blossoms flavors the air and the warm beach beckons. They can shed some items of clothing (corsets and waistcoats are the first to go) and wander in the starlit ruins without fear that the censorious eyes of the ton will be focused on them.
As we continue with the cocktails, let's learn more about the writing team of Anthea Lawson:My huge Complete Works of Shakespeare. I'd finally have time to read all of it! And there's a couple blank pages in the back I could write on or use to start fires.
For practicality, something like The Complete Idiot's Guide to Surviving - and prospering! - on a Desert Island.
For sheer pleasure from my keeper shelf, Julia Quinn's When He Was Wicked. I haven't re-read it for a while, but I love the character growth and the super hot love scenes. Not to mention the excellent writing and the tortured hero - sigh...
Can I just bring a kindle and a solar battery charger? It would be so sad to be on a desert island and have all the time in the world to read, and have only three books. Nope! We need to fill the library! (^_^) And that's cheating!!! Name your books buddy!

MacGyver, no question! Wouldn't you want him along if you were stuck on a desert island?
Rain from C.L. Wilson's Tairen Soul books (my current glom reads). Master of all elemental magics, who could take me flying over the warm azure waters? Yes please.
And finally, I'd bring my real-life hero Lawson. Together, we can do anything!
I would make it a family vacation and bring Lily Strathmore, the botanical artist from our first book, PASSIONATE
Caroline Huntington from our second book, ALL HE DESIRES (she knows all about being on an island)
There is no way I could leave behind Clara Becker from the book we are working on now. They are all the kind of women who would seriously object to being left behind. Besides, I know I could count on Lily to bring her Aunt's folding travel bathtub.
Please give a warm welcome to our newest 
Anthea Lawson is a pen name (she's got hubby helping with the "research" *snickers* Makes you wonder they researching).L: Doggy Position, no question. Hey! Stop snickering. The Doggy reading position is where you sit on the couch and your big dog flops down at your feet. You rest your foot on the happy beast and give him a little massage with your feet while you read. This position is not to be confused with Kitty position where your cat sits on top of your book and rubs his head insistently against your chin as you struggle to read. Hmmm I wonder if Amazon has thought of including a kitty ejector button on the Kindle. It could play the sound of a can of cat food being opened.
L: I'm a guy. It is impossible for me to answer this question with a song title since, like all guys, I lack the "Best Love Song" gene. Best love song? The one that works -- final answer.
L: The one about the rakish Duke who falls in love with the beautiful, intelligent, yet seemingly unattainable woman, has a lot of really hot emotionally satisfying sex, and lives happily ever after. That sounds pretty good to me. I get to be the handsome rakish Duke and we skip directly to the part of the book where the wicked author stops torturing and begins rewarding the hero.
L: Which one of my inside voices are you referring to--and does the one that sounds just like my father count?
L: Push It is a sex song? Wow, I always thought they were talking about rearranging the furniture. Push it, push it good....right over there under the window.....and now the couch, over there by the entertainment center. Oh yeah!
* If you could be a hero who would you be - Anyone played by Colin Firth in a BBC production! But Batman is a close second...L: Hey, what do you mean "could be a hero" (Striking an Alpha pose and looking off into the distance in a very wounded-hero-like way)
L: The one that's six-feet tall and shaves?
L: Aye bonnie lass, those are boxer briefs beneath me kilt. And aye again, briefs beneath my boxer briefs, and aye a third time for the boxers beneath the briefs. A cold wind blows o'er the moors and even a hero will nae risk frostbite under the kilt.
L: Treasure Island, it makes me say "Yar!"
* What hero is most like your significant other - (listening, nodding) Ahem. I have been informed -- that is, the hero most like Lawson is Aragorn as he might be played by Hugh Jackman. (Not Frodo! Of course not!)L: I'm much too tall to be Frodo.
L: Ummmm, next question....
L: My iphone (we've got book proposals out, don't want to miss the call when it comes); an antique oil lamp housing a wish-granting genie (that's a no-brainer, don't you think?); an assortment of board games (It's not like I'm going to waste a wish asking the genie for board games).
L: I think I would bring a G&T: Simple, refreshing, and high in vitamin C.Stay tuned in for home fun facts about Anthea Lawson tomorrow!

His lips parted slightly, and his brows wrinkled as if he dreamt something he didn’t particularly care for. Ella’s heart clenched for the boy who’d seen his parents murdered and for the man plagued with nightmares. Hadn’t he said as much to her in the folly? Always nightmares. Gently, she spread the blanket across this lap. And then, because she couldn’t help herself, she reached out and slipped her fingers into the hair at his forehead.
Leo’s eyes opened to reveal cold, glowing orbs. Before she could guess his intentions, his fingers wrapped tightly around her wrist and jerked her toward him. Ella landed on his lap with a gasp. He blinked, and just as quickly as he lashed out, his body relaxed.
“Ella,” he whispered and released his grip.
She swallowed hard and resisted the urge to rub her wrist.
“Merda, did I hurt you?”
She shook her head. “I thought…I thought you might be cold.”
“I mistook you for someone else. In the jungle I—”
“You don’t have to explain,” she whispered.
His palm, large and reassuring, rested on the small of her back and burned through her dress. He stared into her eyes and she found she couldn’t move.
“Are you better?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yes, of course, I’m fine now.” She looked at her lap and cleared her throat. “You don’t have to…”
“What?”
“You can sleep in the bed with me,” she whispered.
She felt his body tighten, but his face betrayed no emotion.
“Are you positive?”
She knew what he asked her, the meaning behind the words. She knew what this could lead to. Instead of fear, excitement flooded her body.
Okay ladies remember you can visit Lori Brighton at: www.loribrighton.com or at her blog at: www.loribrighton.blogspot.com
Don't forget to pick up your copy of Wild Hearts at Amazonor Barnes and Nobles
Thank you Lori for coming out and visiting us we hope you come out again to visit!