THE ITALIAN'S VIRGIN PRINCESS

THE GREEK'S ROYAL MISTRESS
Harlequin Presents
October 2004
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THE SULTAN'S BOUGHT BRIDE
Harlequin Presents
September 2004
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MARCO'S PRIDE
Harlequin Presents
February 2004
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Writerspace: How long did it take you to get published?

Jane Porter: Forever! Fifteen years. I started writing in college and submitted to Mills & Boon my senior year. In the fifteen years of writing and being rejected (I've ten books that were never bought) I submitted to what seems like everyone in the business. I have a massive file filled with rejection letters and what's funny is that I know most of those editors now and they're such great people, so very supportive of writers and the writing process so I do think getting that first sale is a matter of craft, persistence, and luck.

Writerspace: What do you like about...HP?

Jane Porter: I love Harlequin Presents emotional intensity. I'm an intense person in real life and I found that I can't really control my voice on paper. I have to write from my strengths, and Presents is about mythic alpha heroes, dramatic settings, compelling situations. I love the sensuality and fierce edge Presents heroes bring to the story and writing Presents is a little like writing fairy tales--there is beauty and passion, glamour and suffering, and yet there's also a little moral in there (love is worth the struggle) and always a happy ending.

Writerspace: How long did it take you to write the Princess Brides trilogy?

Jane Porter: I basically spent 8 months writing the series, and I wrote the books back to back in the order they came out. Sultan was a relatively easy write and yet immensely fun--Nic and Malik's characters were both so strong I felt as if I was playing a game of chess, watching the two move and then cry "Checkmate!". The second book, Chantal's story, was harder because it dealt with so much of her fear and trauma, hurt and abuse. She was such a regal princess and yet also so vulnerable. I felt great empathy for her because in some ways she's like me--always wanting to do the right thing, but discovering later that sometimes not even one's best is good enough. A hard lesson, but one that her hero Demetrius, understands and why he was ultimately the perfect hero for her. He'd been trouble, and he'd suffered for being who he was, and he was ready to sacrifice himself for the woman he loved...which was exactly what Chantal needed. The third book, Joelle's book, was the hardest to write! I couldn't get the opening right, the hero right, any of it to work once I started writing. I tore it up and started it over and over again, spending nearly 3 months on the first six chapters alone. Horrible! But once I understood Leo, and once I knew who he was and why he was, it all came together. I really loved writing the series and miss the characters still! I think someday I'll have to write the "next generation's" stories...starting with Princess Lily, Chantal's daughter from her first marriage. That would be really fun and give me a chance to visit Melio again.

Writerspace: In May your first book from Warner will be released, can yo tell us about it?

Jane Porter: The Frog Prince has been with me for nearly 3 years. I was in New York with Joe and we'd been out shopping and sight-seeing and returning to the hotel with a stack of RDI's given to me by Silhouette editor Mary-Theresa Hussey, I crawled into bed and read the first chapter of one of the RDI's and thought, hmmm, I've got a story inside me that's this first person kind of thing (not even knowing the term chick-lit). So I pulled out my alpha smart in bed and started typing. I wrote nearly 15 pages that night and then put it away for another two years. Last October I knew I needed a break from the intense Presents and needed to say something in a different tone, something funnier, more personal, something that allowed me to be self-deprecating and yet vulnerable on paper. And the story just poured out. I wrote the first 175 pages in less than 10 days. Once I started writing, I couldn't stop.

Writerspace: What's next for you from Harlequin?

Jane Porter: I should have 3 books out in the US next year, although one of them will be a limited release (so everyone rush out and buy The Secretary's Seduction even if it's not at all the usual stores because it's a great story, probably one of my favorites ones ever written and the heroine, Winnie, is probably a proto-type for my chick lit voice today.) Sultan Malik's younger brother, Kalen, gets his own book with The Sheikh's Virgin in June and then The Sicilian's Defiant Mistress comes out late next year.

Writerspace: Favorite ice cream?

Jane Porter:

Writerspace: Favorite Holiday?

Jane Porter:

Writerspace: Favorite TV show?

Jane Porter:

Writerspace: Favorite Singers?

Jane Porter:

Writerspace: What do you like to do when not writing?

Jane Porter:

Writerspace: Thank you so much Jane for doing this interview. I know our readers appreciate the time you took to answer these questions. To find out more information about Jane and her upcoming books go to her website at www.janeporter.com. Jane also has an email loop where she likes to chat with her readers on her new email loop at Yahoo click on the link to subscribe: Subscribe: JanePorterFansandFriends-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.