SEELIE KAY: Postcards from The Ledge: This week in The Loft: Author Christina Lynn Lambert!

Joining me today in The Loft is author Christina Lynn Lambert. Christina writes paranormal romance and romantic suspense, as well as poetry and science fiction. She enjoys creating characters who are imperfect but determined who find the courage to love and the strength to survive in a world where there are no guarantees. When not writing, Christina enjoys spending time outside and finding ways to avoid cooking. She lives in Virginia with her husband, two daughters, a sweet hairy monster of a dog, and two devious cats.

Author Christina Lynn Lambert

S: Good morning, Christina! Thanks for joining me today.

How has romance changed in your lifetime?

C: Romance has evolved from the stereotypical process of women making themselves up pretty and passively waiting to be courted with grand gestures. I like that we are now able and encouraged to take an active role in the whole process, from sweet gestures of affection like giving flowers and meaningful gifts to planning exciting dates and showing a potential partner what we like versus waiting for someone to figure things out, often without proper clues.

S: Given changing role of women, is true romance- the wooing, courtships, passion, seduction, the little gestures of affection, etc.- dead?

C: I don’t think true romance is dead, but the dynamic has changed. Women now take a more active role in the exchange between partners. Additionally, what was considered a passionate, seductive game in the 1950s might no longer be viewed as desirable. Times have changed. Love and romance will never cease to exist, but how one expresses their desires has evolved. I think people have also moved away from thinking that expensive jewelry and fancy dinners are the go-to gesture of courting a partner and have come to embrace the concept of acts of love and service, like building one’s partner a bookshelf or spending a day doing the things their love-interest enjoys, as equally, if not more, important.

S: I think the changes have been for the better, too. It's more satisfying to be an active participant in a romantic relationship.

What do you appreciate more--brains or brawn/beauty?

C: I definitely would prefer brains over brawn and beauty if I had to choose. I enjoy looking at beautiful scenery in nature, but when it comes to a romantic partner, I want to be able to have a good, meaningful conversation, otherwise, after a few weeks, I would be bored.

S: Looks fade, but conversation can go on forever.

What attracted you to your current partner?

C: He invited me to a barbecue and I was so impressed with his cooking abilities that I spent a long time talking with him about anything and everything. We’ve been together ever since.

S: A man who cooks! That's always hard to resist!

Do you write in genres other than romance?

C: In addition to romance, I write poetry and plan to start writing down some of my science fiction story ideas soon.

S: What inspired your paranormal romance, "Bear’s Dream?"

C: Aiden “AJ” Shepherd and his brother Greg were both a small part of "Bear’s Edge," Stranger Creatures, Book 2, and the characters stayed on my mind. Eventually, I decided that the Shepherd brothers needed their own series, so I had the brothers open up a shifter resort in the Haven Forest Resort series. The first book in the series is AJ and Ellie’s story.

S: Is there anything special you would like people to know about "Bear’s Dream?"

C: Here are some fun facts about the main characters of "Bear’s Dream"--Ellie makes decisions quickly and sometimes worries that she’s being impulsive. She is an amazing cook and kind-hearted. She has a giant dog named Curtis who she found tied to a tree and starving when she was on a hike with a friend. AJ is quiet and serious. He spent a lot of time in the Shifter Enforcement Army and saw some horrible things which have weighed on his mind. He and his brother want to open the resort so shifters can have a place to celebrate things and run free without worries.

Here's the blurb--

She had every reason to hate him.

Aiden “AJ” Shepherd’s mistake during a Shifter Army Enforcement rescue mission cost Ellie Ortiz’s brother, Marco, his life. Ellie hates AJ with a burning passion until a chance encounter with him on New Year’s Eve reveals he’s not the cold, heartless man she once thought him to be. Her attraction to him takes her by surprise, and she vows to ignore her feelings. When a new job puts her in contact with him every day, the heat building between them threatens to flare out of control. Her resolve to keep the sweet, sexy man in the friend zone is weakening by the day.

He’s convinced she’s his mate, but a secret could ruin everything.

Whether they’re fighting off fanatics who target shifters or working together to get his shifter resort, Haven Forest, ready for the grand opening, AJ can’t get enough of Ellie. Convincing her to give him a chance, more than the one-night-of-fun idea she’s proposed, might be impossible, but he’s fallen too hard for her not to try. During a disastrous assignment with Shifters United, AJ uncovers some information that changes everything. Keeping the secret from Ellie is killing him but he might lose her forever if he tells her the truth.

When Ellie ends up at the heart of a reporter’s plot to prove the existence of shifters, she and AJ must fight their way to freedom. The survival of shifters everywhere depends on it.