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Getting to know Pamela Clare-

I've been a romance reader since I was a teenager. Romance novels have brought me countless hours of suspense and excitement as I traveled to times and places I otherwise might never have seen. But romance novels offer far more than a few hours of escape. They deal with the issues that strike most people closest to home � hopes for the future, the desire for relationships that last, and, of course, the need to be loved deeply and completely.

I've known since I was very young that I wanted to be a novelist. It was only natural that I write romance novels. It is my deepest hope that my stories will carry you away and touch you the way so many wonderful author's books have touched me.

All my best,

Pamela Clare


Pamela's Books:

I-Team -
and coming July 2011

MacKinnon's Rangers -


Blakewell/Kinleigh Trilogy -



To learn more about Pamela and to view some very yummy eye candy, visit her website here: Pamela Clare's Website , or her blog, here:

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Note: Please review our guidelines before posting. Author Q&A Guidelines.

Pamela, I want to officially welcome you, and thank you for taking time to visit with us. You'll find many devoted fans in this group, and we're looking forward to asking questions and chatting it up with you!

And just a quick note to remind everyone that this event will run from Friday, October 22 through Sunday, October 24th. Feel free to invite your friends to join in the chat. The more the merrier!

Pamela, just wanted to say thinks for taking time to answer questions. I have been a huge fan since my first I Team book and proudly display all your books on my bookshelf. My question is this:

I know that Connor's story is next, and I am completed looking forward to that. But do you see a story for Lord William. I recently re-read Surrender and I know he bedevils the MacKinnons, but there is just something about him that tells me he could be a good man with the right woman. Is his story in the cards? If there is anybody that can turn him into a hero you can.

Hi Pamela! Thanks for being such a fan friendly author. :)

I-Team Question: When will we get Holly's story? I feel like you've answered this question before, but I can't remember what you said. She's so ready to settle down, I hope she finds a guy with a lot of patience. ;^)

Hi!

Dhes, I want to say THANK YOU to you for setting this up. I'm very grateful! It's wonderful to have the chance to chat with readers � something I love.

Also, just so people feel comfortable — I ask people questions every day as a reporter, so feel free to ask whatever you want.

I'll be checking in as often as I can through the next three or four days. I'm just reaching the climax of BREAKING POINT this weekend.

So now for your questions:

Hi, Keri � I love Lord William, and I'm so glad you see the hero potential in him. Yes, Connor's story is next. After that, I really have no idea.

As some of you know, the French & Indian War is not a top-selling era for romantic fiction. Although my books have done well, mostly through word of mouth, the best-selling periods of history are all in Europe. More readers want to read about dukes and young ladies of the ton than North American frontier stories � or that's what publishers believe.

Bottom line: Unless Connor's book performs pretty spectacularly, MacKinnon's Rangers will go on hiatus — until such time as I can bring it back.

I want to give Lord William and Joseph their stories, too, very much!

And thanks for your kind words! It means a lot to me that you have faith that I can write the story well. He is a favorite character for me, absolutely.

Hi, Beanbag � You're so welcome! I'm always afraid readers will feel like they're being pestered, so I try to approach cautiously. But I have such fun talking about the books with readers � not just mine but other writers' novels as well.

I love Holly! Here's the deal with Holly, however. My editor said after EXTREME EXPOSURE came out: "You're not thinking of making Holly a heroine, are you? Because I don't think her character merits a story." She feels that Holly's promiscuity makes her a bad choice for a heroine.

Now, that was in 2005. Since then, I've tried to show that Holly has some depth. Perhaps her promiscuity is the result of something not immediately apparent. (I know the answer, but I won't share it.) So I'm hoping to change my editor's mind.

XXFingers crossed!XX

I, too, want to thank you for your time.

My question - do you have any plans for another series? Or perhaps a stand-alone or two?

Thanks Pamela. Well, maybe Lord William doesn't have to remain in America, who knows maybe he goes home to England and stumbles into an American woman ala Wallflowers with a dark edge. :-) Sorry what can I say, other than to say wish I was a rich publishing heiress myself and could demand that daddy publish anything I want. lol Keep up the great work.

I too would like to hear Holly's story. I imagine she is not nearly as promiscuous as she wants you to believe that she is. She is hiding something sad behind her outward persona....Or at least that is what I imagine. Besides how many stories do we read where the hero is a total "man whore" until he finds "THE ONE." Never once have I judged a hero for that! LOL

Thank's Pamela, for taking the time to answer our questions? I am a new fan of yours. I started reading your I-Team series. It is great! I will be reading everyone of your books from now on!

I didn't have a question as of yet, but I wanted to thank you for taking the time to join us here, Pamela. We appreciate it.

I also wanted to say that I love Wentworth. I am keeping my fingers crossed that you will be able write books for him and Joseph!

Also, thanks to Dhestiny for putting this event together!

Hi, Pamela �

I've always loved the "AllHoney" addition when I've seen it. Aren't Pamela's just sweet?

To answer your question: I DO have plans for some possible stand-alone in the historical category, but not really in the romantic suspense category.

I tend to be very focused on what I'm writing now, but ideas do fill my head, multiplying like bunnies.

As far as new series go, I have one idea that is neither romantic suspense nor historical, but a bit of a blend of historical and contemporary urban fantasy. Yeah, I know. Shocked me, too. No vampires or the like.

Hi, Keri � Wow, do I ever wish you were the heiress to a publishing empire! Can you work on that?

I've actually thought that very thing. After surviving harrowing ordeals of which readers are yet unaware, Lord William goes home to England, not the same man as before, and finds life at court both meaningless and stifling. Then he meets the daughter of a wealthy American trader who...

I will do my very best, Keri. Thanks for reading my books!

Hi, Stephanie � Yes, Holly is hiding some deep sadness and needs to the pain inside. I want her book to be the last I-Team book. So I appreciate the support and the crossed fingers.

There's something inherently unfair about the market when man whores are okay and women with long sexual histories are not. Everyone can change. Everyone can find a higher purpose to his/her life.

To my editor's credit, she doesn't care much for promiscuous men, either. But Gabe made it through because... Well, he earned his way through, I guess. :)

BTW, y'all, sorry to be piling in so late. I overslept! Her at I-Team/Ranger HQ it's now 10:44 AM.

Hi, Janice � Thanks for joining us! And thank you for taking time to give my books a try. I know as well as anyone that picking up a book by an author you don't know can feel like Russian roulette. So I appreciate that! I'm so glad you're enjoying the I-Team books. Do you have a favorite hero?

Well he is Gabe, so he gets a pass....He earned it! :)

I can't believe anyone wouldn't want Holly's story!

So, a man who's been a rake, a don't-tie-me-down manwhore, can be a romantic hero where he has an epiphany and settles down after we see glimpses of his difficult past, but a woman can't? Especially in contemporary fiction?

Hmm.

Just wanted to come in and Wave HI! :P

Pamela, I just started
Unlawful Contact. Up to this point, Julian is my fave, but I think Marc is going to give him a run for his money.

Hi, Beanbag � Well, that was 2005. I haven't brought it up with her since then. But she made it clear at the outset that she wasn't interested. We'll see. Maybe I've changed her mind and don't know it.

I agree that in contemporary fiction that double standard shouldn't exist. I read a survey that claims a woman in her 40s will have had an average of 12 sexual partners. It made me suspect that heroines in contemporary romance aren't gettin' their share in those years before they meet their hero. ;-)

Hi, Zeek! Nice to see you!

btw "More readers want to read about dukes and young ladies of the ton than North American frontier stories � or that's what publishers believe. "

I for one got so sick of what I call dukes and pukes (heroines so boring I wanna puke) I've pretty much given up on the hist/rom genre!

Yours is the one series I am keeping my eye on! I want MORE! :P

Hi, Janice � Julian and Marc � two great tastes that taste great together. (Anyone remember the old Reece's Peanut Butter Cups commercials?) I sure adore the two of them! I hope you enjoy the story, Janice! It's one of my personal favorites.

12, really? Huh?

Hi, Zeek — I'm giggling at "dukes and pukes." Don't give up on historical romance! I do have some ideas set in Europe, but they're not going to be duke-oriented books.

And I hope to have two more books in the Rangers series after Connor's.

Hi Pamela!
So, how often do you write scenes in your books based on your personal experience?

AND

For the sex scenes... is it all imagination or is there a certain amount of "choreography" involved? ;)

Oh Cheryl you didnt! ::giggling hysterically::

Please dont answer that Pamela. I prefer a safe distance of deniability from my authors! hahahahaaaa!

Zeek wrote: "Oh Cheryl you didnt! ::giggling hysterically::"

Oh, yes she did. LOL

Stephanie, I know! I'm 46, and I can't claim anywhere near that many notches in my bedpost! I feel I'm definitely missing out. That was an *average* of 12...

Hi, Cheryl � Thanks for popping in. Fun questions.

Um... Well, I think all writers write from their own emotional experience. So they might be writing a scene where the heroine feels rejected. Even though they've never lived in her time period, they're injecting their own emotional experience into the story.

But my stories � the I-Team series — are all based on investigations I've done and include facts and events from those investigations. I have investigated a polluting cement plant, human sex trafficking, issues surrounding women in prison, American Indian issues, and the deaths of women in Juárez, Mexico. It would take up a huge amount of space to detail the real aspects of each story. But they're pretty significant.

My agent thinks that writing the I-Team books is a kind of therapy for me, and she's probably right!

As for the historicals, I have a deep love of history. It connects me to the lives of real people who lived in the past. So the research is very important. But the only historical that contains autobiographical elements is RIDE THE FIRE. Writing that book just about did me in.

About sex scenes: Mostly imagination, sorry to say. I am single (divorced), so at the moment there's no one to choreograph with. Darn it!

Hahahahaahahaaa! Thanks for being a good sport!

And to the rest of you... you know you wanted to ask it to! :)

Seriously, thank you Pamela and I look forward to reading more of your books and chatting with you about them and maybe getting some "inside" scoop on them!

Lady Danielle! Goodness! Sorry, but I missed you among all the posts here.

I am delighted to be here. So you're very welcome!

I'm so glad you love Lord William. He is so much fun to write. I always look forward to his scenes. I really hope, too, that he gets a book.

Some readers think of him as a villain. For me, he's more of an anti-hero who, with a bit of torment and loss applied, can "suffer into truth" and become a hero.

You're welcome, Cheryl. I'm not shy, so I don't mind answering. :-)

I DO have a very vivid and active imagination.

Thanks, Cheryl. I look forward to chatting with you more too.

And you all should know that you're welcome to message me via Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ or email me. I try to answer all the messages/email that I get. Sometimes when things are busy at the paper I get a bit behind. But I DO eventually answer.

Oh I can totally buy L. Will as a hero eventually- there's enough distance from his earlier misdeeds to when you would (or could) eventually get to him that it wold work, imo!

"And to the rest of you... you know you wanted to ask it to! :)"

eh no. I was serious when I said I just dont need to know some things! (For me,its kinda like knowing your parents actually have sex. ::finngers in ears:: LALALALA!! Thinking about the author while reading those scenes is not where I need to go!) haha!

Zeek, I would never want anyone thinking about ME while reading a love scene in one of my books. EW! It should totally be about the H/h. So go ahead and cover your ears. LOL!

Thanks for your faith in Lord William, naughty brat of an English lord that he is.

LMAO! Well you do a great job and I never ONCE thought of you while reading their scenes! :P

And my faith is more in you as a writer than in Lord W!

That's great news. LOL!

As for you having faith in me as a writer — that's absolutely precious to me.

All I have ever wanted to do since I was 10 years old was to write stories that make people happy.

Pamela wrote: "Hi, Janice � Julian and Marc � two great tastes that taste great together. (Anyone remember the old Reece's Peanut Butter Cups commercials?) I sure adore the two of them! I hope you enjoy the story..."

You just made me think: "You got your Julian on my Marc!" "You got your Marc on my Julian!"

That just sounds dirty. lol

Well, Pamela, you should be happy to know you've succeeded in your lifelong goal!

Hi, Beanbag � It does sound dirty doesn't it? Maybe an Oreo image works better. ;-)

Hi, Lady Danielle — Aw, thank you! It is intensely gratifying to have had a goal and then to have reached it. I remember when I sat down to write my second novel... It sort of broad-sided me in that moment, "I'm an author! I really am an author!" Lots of tears and so on. :-)

Pamela wrote: "Hi, Beanbag � It does sound dirty doesn't it? Maybe an Oreo image works better. ;-)"

Ah, yes. Pull apart the sides and lick the middle. Much better.

Writing questions: how many hours a week do you get to write? Do you tightly outline or have a general idea of where the plot's going?

How many hours a week do I write? As many as I can.

I work M-TH at the newspaper as the editor-in-chief, sometimes still reporting if an issue comes up that draws me in. (Yes, I am Tom.)

But Fri-Sun are my days to write. So I try to get the housework and so on done M-TH in the evening in order to have full days Fri-Sun.

I write from the moment I wake up to the moment I can't stay awake, sometimes 16 hours at a stretch. In that time I might get 500 words or I might get 3,000.

As for outlines, etc. I am what's called in the writing world a "pantser." I write by the seat of my pants. I'm in Chapter 26 of BREAKING POINT and I don't know how they get their HEA. I have some vague idea...

I really just try to have a basic grasp of the plot, but I let my characters do their their. I try to know them so well that they feel real to me. Then they respond to the situation, and there are consequences for the choices they and others make in the story.

Wow, I'm almost 50 (shhhh) and way behind! No where near 12.

And yes, Pamela's are all sweet!

Where do you find these awesome drool-worthy heroes? Are they totally fiction or do you ever loosely base them on someone you know or seen?

That makes me feel so much better to know you're a pantser, Pamela. I am an inverterate pantser. I can't do the outline thing!

Pamela (AllHoney), I am way, way, way behind. I won't reach 1/4 that number before I die. :)

Hi, Pamela � Me, neither. Nowhere near 12. And I'm not sorry about that, actually.

The drool worthy heroes...

The serious answer to that is that I've written about women's issues -- from rape to domestic violence -- since I was a cub reporter at age 20. Combine that with my own life experience, and I try to create a man with believable flaws who nevertheless meets the heroine's need for a true hero.

I base my notion of what a hero is on the American Indian concept of "warrior." A true warrior isn't someone who fights a lot and is tough; a true warrior is a man (or in some cases woman) who watches over all those who are weaker than he is, making sure the needs of his community are met. That means he's protective of the innocent, particularly women and children. And he's not afraid to die if he must in order to save others. It's kind of complex, but that's what "hero" means to me.

I tell my boys that a warrior act can be as simple as shoveling a senior citizen's snowy sidewalk. Or it can be as complicated as serving in the military.

Have I met men like this? Yes and no...


Hi, Lady Danielle � I think a LOT of writers are actually panters. I just want to tell the store, not write a flow chart about it. LOL!

Hi Pamela! Just joining in and laughing through all the posts! There seems to be a lot of interest in how you can write such HOT love scenes, so let me add that I have always thought you could have a profitable side-job teaching romance authors how to put the heat into their books. (Seriously, there are many great authors who just can’t seem to write a good love scene.) After reading over 1000 romance books, I find myself skimming sex scenes � but never yours!! No way, they burn HOT and GOOD.

Hi, KarLyn � Do you know that every time I pass that hotel now as I head down HWY 36 into Denver I think of you? Truth. It was so fun to get to meet you face to face back in... February, wasn't it?

Thanks so much for saying that. I read a review recently that said, "When you read one of her love scenes, you've read them all," which kind of bummed me.

I actually keep a file of phrases and words I've used so that I don't duplicate them from book to book and I don't duplicate them from scene to scene in a single book. I'm sure that happens sometimes, but I try very hard to write the characters personalities into the sex, if that makes sense.

A love scene is two unique individuals coming together for reasons that are unique to them. They have their own fears, hopes, needs — and their own ways of expressing those things. So, I try very hard to keep them interesting.

Thank you! Thank you! I really appreciate your saying that.

I will acknowledge that I'm a bit on the vanilla side for some tastes. You won't find anal sex or hardcore BDSM in my books. I know some women find those things interesting, but I have to write what's genuine for me, or the books will feel distant and fake.

There was a menage in RIDE THE FIRE originally, but it got cut... Or was that CARNAL GIFT...? I have the scene somewhere. Nicholas and Jamie double up on their favorite courtesan while in college in England. Nothing happens between them. I thought it was freaking sexy, but got the back of my hand smacked with a ruler. I DID get the shaving scene into SURRENDER, however, so...

I'm not boring vanilla, I hope. :-)

So, I do have a question about the ebook revolution going on as it has caught publishers and booksellers by surprise. There seams to be a lot of scrambling to catch up and decide pricing, formats...etc. Just wondering how you see all of this impacting authors like yourself? Up until recently, the ebook format was for authors who couldn't get published anywhere else. Those days are now over, and popular authors could, in theory, do well on their own once their fan base is primarily ebook readers. You have built a strong online fan base, which could help if you ever decide to go rogue...

Hey,Pamela! Wow...12?! Yeah, no, I'll never hit that milestone either.

I just want to say as a 46 year old single mother myself, I really admire all you do and all you've been through and still be such a fantastic person! Thanks so much for doing this(chatting with us) and for being such an inspiration! :D

Nissie wrote: "Hey,Pamela! Wow...12?! Yeah, no, I'll never hit that milestone either.

I just want to say as a 46 year old single mother myself, I really admire all you do and all you've been through and still b..."


So, uhm, is 12 suppose to be a high number? Just wondering, no reason...

KarLynP wrote:So, uhm, is 12 suppose to be a high number? Just wondering, no reason...


LOl! I don't know if it's supposed to be high or not. I met a guy when I was 18 and stayed with him until I was 35 and I've been single ever since. So I'm not the best one to say anything about it! :P

Interesting question!

I've given the issue a little thought. Between my job and whatever book I'm writing there's not a lot of time for that.

But as of Oct. 12, I now own the rights to my entire historical backlist. That's all of my historical novels to date. (If you read Wednesday's post at Smart Bitches, you read a bit of what I've been dealing with...)

This is cause for celebration, because I have options now. Like putting the epilogue into RIDE THE FIRE. Or release the ENTIRE manuscript for CARNAL GIFT (it was cut by 100 pages). That makes me so happy. I've even thought of doing re-edits on the books, but maybe that's just me being compulsively perfectionistic.

Contractually, I'm bound to publish all new book-length works through Penguin for the foreseeable future. They've been very good to me.

I've thought of starting my own little e-book shop that would include whatever I write, from experiments in erotica to historical fiction. I lack the technical expertise to do this, so it means hiring a consultant to build the site, create the programming and teach me how to use it. That's down the road a bit for me.

I've been tapped to talk next summer at RWA about online promotion, which I thought was hilarious. Me?!? I've thought it was a mystery how to promote one's self online. Then they told me I have a great online presence. I said, "I do??" It certainly wasn't anything I managed to do through planning. LOL!