Meet
Rowena
I love to research, and to write. And chatting with long distance friends is one of my greatest inspirations.
For instance, take my debut novel FORCED MATE (it is a chess term... all my titles are chess titles... and it seemed a perfect play on words for a cosmic love-triangle/alien abduction romance) .
At the conclusion of FORCED MATE, the guy who lost the girl is left with a smashed jaw and a broken thigh, and my editor wanted a sequel. I started some exploratory chatting about broken jaws.
"Oh, a broken jaw is terrible. You cannot possibly have a hero with a broken JAW," my helpful correspondents told me. They went on to share all the romantic things that a guy with a broken jaw can NOT do, and all the unromantic, unattractive, and painful things he'd have to endure.
Fabulous! I love a literary challenge. They gave me a lot I could use, and the military guy who broke his jaw twice (!!!!) really gave my hero something valid to worry about, and a reason to be nervous of the heroine.
Anyway, the broken jaw was set in stone... to mix metaphors.
Next, my friends on the FFandP loop discussed wild issues such as body odor on a deserted island, and what to do about it. Also, various ways of depiliation (shaving). My own research on a beach with a broken shell told me that a so-called "razor" shell simply does not work.
Yes! I take great pride in my research, and will go as far as is legal and safe to make sure I get my fact right. Sharp shells will take off your skin, but they won't do much for your armpit or leg hair. Now, obsessive daily rubbing with a pumice-like stone will discourage hair regrowth, but all in all, it's better to genetically modify your alien heroines so they don't have underarm hair.
The book that came of it -- and other irresistible challenges, such as "Oh, you CANNOT write a romance set on a deserted island. After two chapters, it will be soooo boring!" -- is INSUFFICIENT MATING MATERIAL, in bookstores now.
AUTHOR BIO:
Award winning author Rowena Cherry is a self-described lifelong lurker and fact magpie.
Rowena's youth was spent on the tiny British island of Guernsey: a mystical, idyllic setting with its prehistoric earth-goddess, historic Martello towers, underground gun emplacements, and legends of faery men emerging from a cleft in the Hommet Headland to mate with human women.
A school chess champion and winner of the Duke of Edinburgh's Gold Award, Rowena went to ancient Cambridge University for her four-year combined honors degree in English and Education, after which she taught at exclusive boarding schools, first in Dorset, then in London.
Eventually Rowena met and married her auto designer husband, who whirled her off to Germany to live the glamorous life of an alien abroad.
Reassigned to America, she rode in pace cars at the Indy 500 and Brickyard and has flown in corporate jets to exotic locations. Her life so far has been fantastic inspiration for romance novel scenes and alien-world building.
Rowena lives in Michigan with her husband and daughter.
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If you'd like to send a note to Rowena, please email her at rowena@rowenacherry.com or send correspondance to:
Rowena Cherry
PO Box 554
Bloomfield Hills, Mi 48303-0554 |
BLOGS:
http://www.aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com Alien Romances
http://survival-romance.blogspot.com Survival Romances
http://www.rowenacherry.blogspot.com Rowena Cherry Remarks
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rowenacherrynewsletter/
http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A3VL7IG9CB3QQ5/ref=cm_ad_32/102-4459859-6844155
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PEARL - Paranormal Excellence Award for Romantic Literature
Rowena Cherry
PEARL AWARDS - Honorable Mention --Best New Author
FORCED MATE
PEARL AWARDS - Finalist --Best Futuristic |
AWARDS:
2005 JADA PRESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDS--Honorable Mention
Finalist--New
England Chapter's "First Kiss Contest"
2nd
(Sexiest Page )--Colorado West "Come On And Tease
Me"
First --Heart and
Scroll RWA's "Magic Moments"
First
(Paranormal) -- "Southern Heat" Contest
First--Outreach
Intl Ch's The Heart of Outreach
Award
First--Lowcountry RW's "Jasmine" (Long
Contemporary)
First--Ohio Valley
RW "First Chapter Contest"
First--Ignite
the Flame RWA contest
First--Utah Heart
of the West Chapter's Great Beginnings
First--Peninsula
Chapter's Ready Set Go
Finalist--Dorchester Publishing New Voice in Publishing
INTERVIEWS:
Mystique Books Interview
Paranormal Romance Interview
Road to Romance Interview
Roundtable Reviews Interview
Writers Unlimited Interview
MEET HER FRIENDS:
Books and Authors - www.booksandauthors.net
 Divas of Romance - Escape the Ordinary
All Star Scribes
Elysa Hendricks - www.geminimoon.org
Sharon McClellan - www.sharronmcclellan.com
Nora Santella - www.norasantella.com
... and our friends in Australia:
www.rosemarysromancebooks.com
Vivi Anna - www.vivianna.net
Emma Bruce - www.embruce.com
Holly Bush - www.hollybushbooks.com
A Dee Carey - www.adeecarey.com
Michele Chambers - www.michelechambers.com
Patricia Crossley - www.patriciacrossley.com
Deb Curwen - www.debcurwen.com
Kahn Davison - www.kahndavison.com
Margrett Dawson - www.margrettdawson.com
Delilah Devlin - www.delilahdevlin.com
Jennifer DiCamillo - www.jenniferdicamillo.com
Kerrie Droban - www.kerriedroban.com
Kara Fey - www.karafey.com/
Cyndi Friberg - www.cyndifriberg.com/
Desiree Gelsi - www.desireegelsi.com
Tina Gerow - www.tinagerow.com
Audrey Godwin - www.audreygodwin.com
Donna Grant - www.donnagrant.com
Vivian Hart - www.vivianhart.net
Karin Huxman - home.att.net/~jk.huxman/
Laura James - www.laurajames.org/
Lorraine Kennedy - www.lorrainekennedy.bravehost.com/
Michelle Larks -michellelarks.com
Angel Lynn -www.geocities.com/angellynnb2003
Rae Monet - www.raemonet.com
Sarah J. McNeal - www.sarahmcneal.com
Karen Monroe - www.karenmonroe.com
Sydney Morgann - www.maxoverton.com
Joy Nash - www.joynash.com www.joynash.blogspot.com
Max Overton - www.maxoverton.com
Michelle M. Pillow - www.michellepillow.com
Sherrill Quinn - www.sherrillquinn.com
Tonya Ramagos - www.tonyaramagos.com
Kelly Renea - www.kellyrenea.zoomshare.com www.kellyrenea.blogspot.com
Aubrey Ross - www.aubreyross.com
Mandy M. Roth - www.mandyroth.com
Melissa Schroeder - www.authormelissaschroeder.com
Tom Stark - www.authortomstark.com
Debbie Wallace - www.angelfire.com/me5/dawallace
Dana Warryck - www.danawarryck.com
Angelia Whiting - www.angelfire.com/me5/dawallace
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