Bonnie Rock caught up with Ann Lawrence in April 2003 for this interview.

When not writing stories set in medieval times or in virtual-reality worlds, Ann teaches full-time.

Ann's titles include LORD OF THE MIST, LORD OF THE KEEP, LORD OF THE HUNT, VIRTUAL HEAVEN, VIRTUAL DESIRE and VIRTUAL WARRIOR.

Visit Ann at www.AnnLawrence.com

LORD OF THE KEEP
Kensington
April 2003(reissue)
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LORD OF THE HUNT
Kensington
January 2003
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LORD OF THE MIST
Kensington
July 2001
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VIRTUAL WARRIOR
Kensington
July 2002
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VIRTUAL DESIRE
Kensington
August 2000
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VIRTUAL HEAVEN
Kensington
May 1999
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Writerspace: Could you please tell readers a bit about the three books in your medieval series, LORD OF THE KEEP, LORD OF THE MIST, and LORD OF THE HUNT?

Ann Lawrence: I'll start with LORD OF THE KEEP since it was just re-released this April! LORD OF THE KEEP is about a humble weaver named Emma who dares to love a powerful baron. Gilles, in turn, is humbled by her love and the sacrifices she is willing to make on behalf of her daughter. And it is for her daughter that Emma first moves into the keep as one of Lord Gilles's weavers. From there, it is only a matter of time before she ends up in his bed. Unfortunately, spending time with Gilles also means spending time near the father of her child, a man she fears. She also fears what will happen when Gilles learns who fathered her child.

Gilles makes a small cameo in my next medieval, LORD OF THE MIST, when he gives some advice on love to the hero, Durand de Marle. This tale is about another woman from the lower walks of life. Cristina is an herbalist, but not a healer. She uses her knowledge of plants to craft perfumes, soaps, potpourri, and love potions. She doesn't need a love potion to attract Lord Durand, however. What she really needs is a resistance potion to withstand the incredible passion he stirs in her. But it is his willingness to risk everything on her behalf that really makes her love him. No matter the obstacle, they know they must find a way to be together.

LORD OF THE HUNT is about Adrian de Marle, Durand's son. He is given a secret mission by the crown. His mission? Unmask a traitor to the new king. To accomplish this, he goes to Ravenswood castle as Adam Quintin and pretends he is the suitor of one of England's most desirable heiresses. The first women he meets at Ravenswood is not the heiress! It is a lovely young woman who, along with her hunting hounds, saves Adam's life. Joan is as attracted to Adam as much he is to her. But Joan has her own mission--protect her father and their livelihood. She doesn't have time to fall in love! And especially not with a man who is courting her lady.

Writerspace: What inspired you to start LORD OF THE KEEP? Did you originally have plans to continue with the same setting when you started LORD OF THE KEEP?

Ann Lawrence: Great question. The idea for a hero with an unacknowledged son, and a lover much younger than he was, just popped into my head. I think I was angsting over turning forty myself and just put it in the book! I originally planned a noble woman as Gilles's lover, but when I was in York, England, I attended a living history thing and became fascinated by the spinning and weaving. I just knew I had to change my heroine to a weaver. And I've found that using a woman of the humbler station of life gives me a broader opportunity to set up roadblocks for the romance with a baron. It also gave me lots of opportunities to use their crafts as metaphors. I like women with skills and all my heroines have skills!!

As to using the setting again, I did think about it for LORD OF THE MIST. But I wanted to use King John and his travels were pretty well documented. I needed to go where he went. Also, my mother bugged me to set a story near my father's home of Portsmouth, England. I found a time when King John was there, and set my story then.

Writerspace: Do you have plans for more books in this series? What about Adrian's brother and his new sisters?

Ann Lawrence: I am working on a proposal for a secondary character in LORD OF THE HUNT. Brian de Harcourt caught my fancy, and I just thought he needed his own love affair since he was so spectacularly unsuccessful in LORD OF THE HUNT! And Adrian's brother's fate is resolved in LORD OF THE MIST. He becomes a priest! As to the sisters...I'll have to think about that. Lots of food for thought, thank you!

Writerspace: How do you do your research on the medieval setting? The other books that you write are paranormal books centered around an alternate reality in a virtual reality game. Why two such different settings for your series of books? Which did you start writing first, and what drew you to start the second in a different setting?

Ann Lawrence: I actually wrote LORD OF THE KEEP first, but I had put it away, not sure of myself as a writer then. I joined a critique group and they assured me something I put in the book would never fly! I wish I could say what that something was, but it is still in LOTK and I don't want to give away the story. That little something was also one of the things that my editor said she liked the best about the book.

Anyway, I decided to try out another idea I had while watching my daughter play an interactive game. I could only see her on a screen while she was in another room. It looked like she was swimming under water, grabbing gold coins while sharks swam around her. I was so into the game, I thought, "Wow, what if she was sucked into that game!" And the idea just bloomed from there. Of course, *my* game had have fabulous warriors and guests! So I wrote VIRTUAL HEAVEN and entered it in a writing contest. The editor who judged the contest bought the book. My editor didn't know if a "virtual-reality" romance would sell, though, so she asked what else I had to follow that. Now, she was also looking for heroes who loved the heroine from the very beginning and would do anything on her behalf, so I hauled LORD OF THE KEEP out of my closet because I knew he fit that bill! She loved him and so LOTK became my second book. I alternated the two genres after that.

I do lots of research for each of my books whether paranormal or historical. I've been to all my settings--even the virtual ones--they're just altered a bit for my game. I make up my own castles from English ones I've visited, combining things I like in each. I made soap while researching LORD OF THE MIST and spent lots of time with my sister's greyhound for LORD OF THE HUNT. I try to put what I know of the real places with what I've learned through my book research and hope my worlds come alive to the reader.

Writerspace: One theme that runs through all three books is the theme of forbidden love and defying both the will of the king and the norms of society to fulfill that love. What attracts you to this theme? Does it just naturally lend itself to the medieval setting, or did you more deliberately choose it?

Ann Lawrence: I deliberately chose it. I try to think of what would be impossible or almost impossible and then try to think of a way to make it happen. Reader response was really great to the forbidden nature of the love Emma and Gilles felt for each other. I tried to capture that again in my other books.

Writerspace: What are you currently working on? Do you have plans for any books that do not fit into your Medieval or Virtual series?

Ann Lawrence: I'm currently working on a paranormal romance that will be one of the launch books for TOR's foray into romantic fiction. I'm very excited about being a part of this new line of books. The working title of my story is DO YOU BELIEVE. It's a contemporary tale of good versus evil. I think I've crafted another really fabulous hero and a heroine who is his match in every way.

DO YOU BELIEVE is not like any of my other books because it's a contemporary. Although I like trying new things, it doesn't mean I won't return to the medieval or even the virtual world. I feel a real affinity for the historical romance and can't imagine not writing another! When I have a story idea, it more often than not, is set in the 12th or 13th century.

Writerspace: What should readers look for next from Ann Lawrence?

Ann Lawrence: I hope readers will look for my contemporary from TOR even if they are usually fans of historicals. I think many of the qualities of my characters from both my paranormal and my historical romances will be present in DO YOU BELIEVE. Readers can check my website in the next few weeks for an excerpt to go up. I also run a contest on my website every month, so I hope readers will visit for that, too. If anyone is a writer, I'll be posting an article every few weeks on the craft of writing as well. Those will be on my "Links" page.

I love to hear from fans and they can e-mail me at annlawrence@pobox.com. I try to answer every letter personally and I am always happy to send out bookmarks, postcards, and autographed bookplates. One new thing I have for LORD OF THE KEEP and LORD OF THE HUNT is a reading group guide. I've put together questions and suggestions for reading each of those books and hope to do them for my other books as well. I'd like to thank the wonderful reading group from Borders Books in Marlton, New Jersey, who so kindly offered their ideas for the guides.

Thank you for this opportunity to talk about my books and writing, I really enjoyed it!