Kristabel Reed: Interview with Cara Covington for Love Under Two Outcasts, Lusty Texas Collection

Morgan Ashbury, also writing as Cara Covington, has been a writer since she was first able to pick up a pen. In the beginning it was a hobby, a way to create a world of her own, and who could resist the allure of that? Then as she grew and matured, life got in the way, as life often does. She got married and had three children, and worked in the field of accounting, for that was the practical thing to do and the children did need to be fed. And all the time she was being practical, she would squirrel herself away on quiet Sunday afternoons, and write.

Most children are raised knowing the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule. Morgan’s children also learned the Paper Rule: thou shalt not throw out any paper that has thy mother’s words upon it.

Believing in tradition, Morgan ensured that her children’s children learned this rule, too.

Life threw Morgan a curve when, in 2002, she underwent emergency triple bypass surgery. Second chances are to be cherished, and with the encouragement and support of her husband, Morgan decided to use hers to do what she’d always dreamed of doing—writing full time.

Morgan has always loved writing romance. It is the one genre that can incorporate every other genre within its pulsating heart. Romance showcases all that humankind can aspire to be. And, she admits, she’s a sucker for a happy ending.

Morgan’s favorite hobbies are reading, cooking, and traveling—though she would rather you didn’t mention that last one to her husband. She has too much fun teasing him about having become a “Traveling Fool” of late.

Morgan lives in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, with a mysterious cat, an eight pound Morkie dog who thinks he’s a German shepherd, and her husband of forty-two years, David.

Website

Morgan’s books at Siren-Bookstrand

Cara’sFacebook page

What is your story's heat level? How do you approach the sex scenes?

The heat level for this story, as with all my Lusty, Texas series, is “sextreme”. That is the highest rating my publisher, Siren, has. Sex scenes have to blend into the story. They have to be an honest expression of the characters and their feelings for and reaction to each other. So every book’s scenes must unique, though of course you’re writing about similar activities. It’s a challenge, but done right, it’s magic.

How do you maintain activity as a writer when sitting at a desk all day?

I wear a step counter. Because I have some health challenges, I need to keep moving throughout the day. So I tend to write for shorter bursts – a half hour to an hour – and then I get up and do some housework. I call it “multitasking”.

What is it that you loved about the main characters in your story?
My three main characters in Love Under Two Outcasts have one thing in common: there is something they did in their pasts that they regret. For my heroine, Charlotta, it’s not that she did anything wrong, it’s that her father and mother more or less disowned her for doing something of which they didn’t approve. My heroes, Jesse and Barry, while thinking they’d been normal big brothers picking on their youngest sister the way brothers do, came to understand that in fact they had bullied her. The story of Love Under Two Outcasts is how all three characters come to view their past, and how they achieve redemption.

What do you feel is your strongest type of writing? Humor? Angst? Confrontation scenes? Action? Sex? Sensuality? Sweet Romance? And why?
I think my strongest elements would be relationship, followed by sex and humor. My stories are all, at their core, stories of characters and the relationships they build – and not just the romantic ones, either. There are plenty of people in the series who make connections.

Are you social media savvy? If so what do you suggest for others? If not, why not?
I am as far as I am able to be. I have FaceBook for Morgan and for Cara; I have a street team; I have twitter for both pen names, and I do my best to interact with my readers all in all. I urge all authors to learn as much as they can about social media. Today’s reader of e-books is different from my generation. As a young mother, I loved (and still do) Nora Roberts. But the only relationship I expected to have with her, was to buy her books. A book signing would have been a stupendous, momentous occasion (and actually it was). But my readers expect to build a personal relationship with me. So here I am, on a blog tour, and, if you contact me on FaceBook, I will respond.....or I will if FaceBook bothers to let me know you have. Leave a message through the forms on my website, and I will for sure get back to you. J

What are some things from your life or things you have observed that you've infused into your stories?

I don’t plagiarize my life in my stories, because I write fiction. But some of the issues my characters deal with are real life issues for many readers. I see character traits that speak to me, and I may take several traits from a few different people and put them into one character – usually the villain. But mostly, I rely on my imagination.

If you had an unlimited budget, where would you like to visit for story-related research?
Well, since I have been to Texas several times, I suppose I would like to tour Australia. I’ve never been and I would like to experience the flavors of that wildly diverse land.

Any fun facts about the research for your book?
I always do research for every book. It doesn’t matter if it’s a restaurant’s menu, how to brush and curry a horse, whatever. I try very hard to get my facts straight. I have even used Google Earth to “drive” from one city to another, to get an idea of the terrain. This current release, I did a lot of research on equine therapy, and also revisited the research I had done for a previous book (Wanton Wager) about the Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse and Burro program.

Finally, tell us a little about your newest release!
Love Under Two Outcasts is at its heart a story of redemption.

The previous Christmas, heroes Jesse and Barry Benedict were confronted by their youngest sister Veronica, and had it brought home, for the first time, that while they thought they’d just teased her the way brothers do, for Veronica their actions had been bullying. Filled with regret and self-loathing, Jesse and Barry decide they don’t want to be those guys any more.

Charlotta Carmichael is mostly not ashamed of the fact that she danced in a gentlemen’s club to pay for her degree in psychology. But her father had torn into her, calling her a whore, and his brutal judgment, though untrue, nonetheless ate at her soul.

The heroes meet the heroine when, having located from Montana to Texas, they apply to continue their certification as instructors, working with a horse equine therapy program the heroine runs. It doesn’t take them long to know there’s something special between them. And their love story is as much a journey of discovery of each other and what it means to love, as it is learning to forgive themselves.

Buy Links:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Excerpt:

Once she reached her open office door, she stood back inviting the men to enter first. She’d originally planned for them to have their meeting in the more comfortable seating area comprised of a love seat and two chairs around a small table located against one wall. She reconsidered now.

Charlotta freely admitted to herself that the only thing that made her stick to her original plan was her own stubborn pride. It wasn’t Jesse and Barry Benedict’s fault that she seemed to be having an extremely physical reaction to them.

You are such a liar. That’s not the only reason. You want to sit as close to them as possible.

Charlotta hated that her inner voice was such a nag—and that it was almost always right. As the gentlemen made themselves comfortable on the love seat, she mentally sighed. She did want to sit as close to them as decently possible. She had never had this kind of a reaction before. It had been several months since she’d felt any kind of sensual stirrings, period. What was wrong with being open, at least a little, to the possibilities? These men were going to be volunteers in a program she helped oversee, not clients. In short, there was no moral reason she couldn’t…what?

You want to jump their bones.

She told her inner voice to shut the hell up. Who asked you anyway?

Cara will be awarding a $25 Bookstrand GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.