Fallen Angel Reviews would like to welcome Kensington author Lucinda Betts. Thanks so much for joining us this month and letting us pick your brain a bit.

I've read three of your books so far, Night Spell, The Supplicant, and Moon Shadow. I enjoyed them and noticed that there isn't really a theme to what you write. While yes, they were all very steamy, there wasn't a single issue or style that stood out as being a unifying theme. I'm impressed, usually authors will take either a genre or issue and stick with it. Can you tell us a bit about your way of choosing what to write next?

Hi Serena! Thanks so much for the opportunity to talk about my work!

It's certainly true that characters and settings of my stories vary a lot. Part of that is due to the fact that I'm still a new author. I'm working on my seventh story right now (or I should be!), and the story I'm writing this month is only my third single title. So I'm still trying out different techniques and scenarios, and I'm seeing what I can get to work and what doesn't work so well.

That's why you'll find me writing about Greek gods and goddesses, and dragons, and religious mania, and wizards and centaurs and Wall Street portfolio managers.

Having said that, I think if you look again at my stories you will find a unifying theme. Regardless of whether my heroine is a naïve virgin, a jaded thief, or a Wall Street super star, all of my heroines struggle with the same issue. My stories all come down to the ways in which women submit to their heart but keep their souls intact. In fact, many of my heroines find that by surrendering to their hearts, their souls and lives are strengthened.

I choose worlds, characters, and villains based on what strikes my fancy, but my heroines always face that internal battle strong women must face when they fall in love. And my heroes always make yielding worth the sacrifice and effort.

In The Supplicant you have completely created your own social hierarchy. I'd love to hear the whys and hows of this and the thoughts that went into the book as a whole.

Wow, Serena, you ask hard questions!

This story started with a need—I needed to write a book with a lot of sex in it, and it would better if the sex were crucial to the story.

(This was the same thought process that led to MOON SHADOW. Thanks so much for making MOON SHADOW a FAR Recommended Read! And thanks to RT Book Reviews for giving it 4 stars!)

In both stories, I wanted to create a world where the heroine had to yield sexually, although left to her own devices, she probably wouldn't do so. She'd just keep her pants on. The world had to have a hero that wasn't a jerk about the whole thing. Or, he had to be a redeemable jerk at any rate.

So then I came up with this idea that each of her orgasms was a gift from god, and then she quickly became a seed floating on the winds of war. I've spent a lot of time abroad, being the light-skinned minority in a sea of much darker skins. Turning those experiences into this world seemed like a natural progression. Also, I watched a lot of those old Star Treks! As in the 1960's, religious fervor and racism still have a lot of force.

I found Sureya, the heroine in The Supplicant, to be a truly strong character. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind her character?

I love Sureya! Her character is based on an idea. What happens if you take a woman who is untried by life but has a good heart, and you twist her world and make her make decisions that most women would never have to make? If she'd had a normal life, she would have married and had good sex with one man for the rest of her life, but she's given an entirely different set of choices. I'm so glad she held up under fire! I think most of us would have caved under the force of King Kalief's personality—and loved it!

What is your favorite part of a book to write?

Finishing! Starting it is pretty fun too. I dread the middle, especially pages 220-340 in a 360-page book.

Do you feel that a happily-ever-after is necessary to classify a book as a romance?

I wouldn't think so. Is WUTHERING HEIGHTS a romance? Is DOCTOR ZHIVAGO? Neither of those had HEAS, but they both are based around a romance. Both are about the process and choices involved in falling in love. Both are about a man and woman and their romantic relationship. Are you going to change the label of books like these just because the ending is HEA?

I personally don't worry about it too much. I like HEAs myself. But given my love of writing about the process of finding strength through surrendering to love, I would NEED an HEA to write a satisfying story, wouldn't I?

Can you tell us about 'The Call'. How did it happen and how did you celebrate?

Hilary Sares called me herself two years ago this April. She got my answering machine, which was a good thing because after I heard the beginning of her message, all I could do was scream and jump up and down. She really didn't need to hear that! (Although I know she likes to!)

I actually started writing romances on a bet, not unlike the story "The Bet" I wrote in PURE SEX. So after I got "the call" I celebrated with martinis in my favorite bar with my favorite friends.

(The Bet was just nominated for the Gale Wilson Award for Excellence, so keep your fingers crossed for me. I find out on March 31st whether I won it or not!)

What do you have in the works right now?

I'm in the final painful throes of writing THE HUNTED, which is a about a shapeshifting unicorn who's falling hard for a virgin wizard. Both are trying to save the world, but they have different ideas about how that should occur.

After this, I'm starting something called HORSEPLAY, and I'd love to tell you what it's about but I haven't a clue at his moment! I recently finished writing a novella about a shapeshifting centaur set in Minoan Crete, which will be part of a multi-authored anthology called EROS ISLAND.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

You've accused yourself of stalking me, Serena, and I'd just like to say that I've never been stalked by a cuter or more intelligent Fallen Angel! Thanks so much for the interview!

Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us at Fallen Angel Reviews. If you'd like to learn more about Lucinda Betts and her books, visit her website at www.lucindabetts.com.

Interviewed by: Serena