Favorite Author and My Guest Today: Shirlee Busbee!

With over nine million copies of her books in print, Shirlee Busbee is the recipient of numerous awards for excellence in writing, including the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award and Affaire de Coeur's Silver and Bronze Pen Awards.

Shirlee was born in San Jose, California, but grew up traveling the world with her parents, two sisters and three brothers, because her father was a career navel officer. She attended high school in Morocco!

While working in Solano County, she met her life-long friend and mentor, author Rosemary Rogers. Shirlee followed Rosemary into the world of romance writing, with the much-acclaimed success of her first novel, Gypsy Lady in 1977. Shirlee went of from that success to carve her own niche in the historical romance genre.

She is married to her best friend, Howard. The couple celebrated their 48th anniversary in 2011.

      I am thrilled to have Shirlee as my guest today. I've asked her a lot of questions so we can catch up with this prolific author. Make sure you comment as Shirlee has graciously agreed to give away one of each of her 3 eBooks pictured below.

The Interview:

      Shirlee, I know you’ve been deep in the world of historical romance since Gypsy Lady was first published in 1977. And that you’ve written two dozen historical romances since then. I also know that Rosemary Rogers (of Sweet Savage Love fame) was your mentor. And, of course, you live in California (where I do!), but what I don’t know—and you need to tell us—is what you are doing now.

Right now and for the past several months, I’ve been busy bringing out my backlist in the ebook format. I’m ashamed to confess that I haven’t written an original word in longer than I care to think. I do plan on changing that and soon. The urge to write is just too strong to ignore.

So what do I plan on writing? There are several ideas that keep reoccuring to me. One is a paranormal set here in California in a small town. I’d like shape shifters, dragons, vampires, telepaths etc., but I know that I’ll need to keep the amount paranormals to a resonable level so I have a lot of fun making lists of which ones I can use.  

Another idea is going back to my contemporary books The Oak Valley series, and continuing that series. I have one completed manuscript and half of another.  That unfinished manuscript nags at me and I keep telling myself I need to finish it before moving on. 

Of course, I couldn’t ignore my historical roots either. I play with the notion of completing The Joslyn Family books – Simon, Mathew and, perhaps Lamb being the lead characters. We’ll see.

So far, there’s….

     This is “Exotic Locales month” on my blog, and I have just reviewed The Spanish Rose, which is set in the Spanish Main and British Jamaica, so tell us, what made you set your intriguing story in such an exotic location?

I have always loved pirates and have special fondness for Harry Morgan. Don’t ask me why, except maybe the fact that he was a well-known pirate (and not Mr. Nice Guy) and yet he became respectable, eventually becoming the Governor of Jamaica and died in his bed at a ripe old age. A pirate happy ending, if you will. I’ve also always loved the tall ships and I just wanted to something totally different from the books that I’d written, at least as far as local and era. The Spanish Rose fits the bill.

 

      What’s your favorite book? The hardest to write? And, which hero is your favorite and why?

It’s a toss-up between Deceive Not My Heart and Whisper To Me Of Love. The hardest to write?  Lady Vixen. I don’t think that 2^nd books are ever easy to write. I kept thinking I was transcribing words, descriptions, actions from Gypsy Lady until Rosemary Rogers said, “Shirlee, that’s your style. Your voice.” Uh, okay.

  

      One of my very favorite stories of yours is Lady Vixen, which involves a wonderful heroine and a privateer's ship bound for the pirate havens of New Orleans. It’s on two of my best lists: Best Pirate and Privateers and Best Bodice Rippers. It is also one of my favorite romance novel covers.

I’m pleased and delighted that Lady Vixen found such favor with you. As I mentioned above, this was the hardest book for me to write. Mostly, I think, 2^nd Book Writer’s Block. It was very long book, too. The original manuscript was 897 pages (I think), and we had to edit it down to a size the publisher could publish for a reasonable price. Cutting nearly 200 pages was one of the most, if not the most painful thing I’ve ever done. I tell myself, oh, well, you learned to cut and edit. Painfully. 

      I admire your ability to take on difficult subjects…it’s something I have been trying to do in my own writing. Did Lady Vixen require huge amounts of research? I’m thinking yes, but want to hear it from you.

It required a fair amount, no doubt about it. But since it involved subjects that fascinated me, Lafitte, the Battle of New Orleans, the War of 1812 and I had several books on those subjects, it was a pleasure.

      What was your favorite novel to research?

Probably, it was While Passion Sleeps. I loved learning about the Comanches.

           And what was the most popular by sales?

Gypsy Lady did excellently, but Deceive Not My Heart is what I consider the gift that keeps giving. That book just keeps selling and selling and selling.

[Regan’s note: I can see why! I loved that intriguing love story from old Louisiana!]

  Any advice to a new author joining you in the historical romance writing profession?  

                 

The same advice I got from Rosemary Rogers: Do it. Just go for it.

    

Any plans for the fall you want to share with us?

As you know, I’m in the process of bringing most of my backlist in the ebook format and until they are done, any thought of new book is down on my list of must dos. Right now, I’m finishing up The Southern Women series, which includes The Tiger Lily, Each Time We Love, At Long Last, and Love A Dark Rider.  They should be out this fall. 

Once Southern Women is out, I’ll be starting on The English Brides series.  However, I’m not going to say I’m not thinking about that new book. My problem is that being in unique position of pretty much writing what I want, I’m like a kid in a candy store.  Oh, I want that one. No, that one. Ooooh, what about this one? You get the idea.

Thanks, Shirlee, for joining me today. It’s so good to catch up with you!