SEELIE KAY: Postcards from The Ledge: This week in The Loft: Author Bernadette Jones!

Joining me today in The Loft is romantic suspense author Bernadette Jones. Bernadette has imagined casts of characters in every state she's called home, including Texas, Oregon, Washington, South Dakota, Nebraska, Illinois, and New York. Her travels have led to an appreciation of a wide variety of book genres and music. After a career in corporate writing, Bernadette decided to settle down and write books. She now lives in New York City with her canine companion.

Author Bernadette Jones

S: Good morning, Bernadette! I'm glad you could join me today.

What attracts you to the romance genre?

B: Romance is for women, written about women, and mostly by women. This genre allows us to touch on topics that are important to all of us. With these books, we can subtly share good and bad experiences, and teach our sisters how to survive and flourish while giving them an avenue to escape. I have learned about self-defense for women and where to find training, the character traits of a narcissist, and even banking tips. Romance is women teaching other women.

S: Do you write in other genres?

B: I really want to write paranormal romance. I have five or six ideas on my shelf but haven't jumped in yet. I’m currently committed to four more books in the Aspen Gold series and I have a four-book series for my own release, which is scheduled to start at the end of this year. Maybe next year I will take the plunge. At a friend's insistence, I also have dipped my toes into the short erotica.

S: I just released my first book in the paranormal romance genre. It's a different worldview and mindset. However, it was the most fun I've had writing a book because anything goes.

What inspires your stories?

B: Every book I have ever written has come to me as if a movie reel randomly starts playing a scene in my head. Then my job begins. Who? What? Where? When? Why? I’ll give you an example. One night, I woke up and a scene began to play in my head of a tall dark-haired man dressed in grey sweatpants standing on a muddy shoreline looking down at the naked body of a young, strawberry blonde woman. I could tell he knew her by the anguish in his eyes. This was the birth of "Sleepin’ Alone." Another time I was sitting with my dog at the park and enjoying the sun. An image of an isolated track on the highway during a raging rainstorm came to me. A young boy was trudging through the downpour when a large truck came around a bend and exposed him in the headlights. "Lonely Eyes" was conceived. I have no explanation for why this happens, I have learned to go with the flow, and to keep a pad and paper or recording device close at hand.

S: Recording those ideas is so important. Sometimes, they come at you so fast, it's hard to remember them all.

Have you ever shelved a book?

B: Yes, two. One, because I didn’t feel I was ready to write the story. I needed to mature in the craft before I could give it justice. It’s about a simple woman who inspires the love of three men and her unfaithful husband. The second is about revenge. I started this one when the market did not embrace dark stories with abuse. Both of these stories have been telling me now is the time. Maybe soon.

S: What is the best advice you have ever been given?

B: Write with your heart and put everything in it. Then go back and clean it up.

S: Good advice. It all begins with what's in your heart.

What inspired "Lonely Eyes?"

B: You constantly read stories about people finding a long-lost family. The initial cause of losing contact is sometimes due to separation or relocation during war times or exile. Most, however, don’t ever get to reconnect. The pain of losing someone you love happened in my family and I understood the grief of never knowing.

S: Is there anything special you would like people to know about this book?

B: It's Book 12 in the Aspen Gold Series, a unique continuity series where the town and its founder are the thread tying all stories together. Each author writes within their own style, and the books range from sweet to steamy. My books are all standalone, with characters that have met in other books, making guest appearances or perhaps, taking the limelight.

Here's the blurb for "Lonely Eyes"--

There is an art to pursuit.

Keira is running out of time. The handsome stranger with the dragon tattoo says he can keep her safe, but he doesn’t know the demon on her trail… Will her mysterious past lead her to escape or drag her back to living hell?

Owen Strong has suffered tragedy, but he’s made a new family in Spencer, Colorado—one he will protect at all costs. When he finds determined Keira HoaThi, she rouses more than just trouble. Looking into her lonely eyes, he sees that everyone’s in danger.

But she’s come to the right place. He’s the monster hunter.