Interview with Author Pamela S. Meyers w/Giveaway

A native of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, author Pamela S. Meyers lives in suburban Chicago with her two rescue cats. Her novels include Thyme for Love, and Love Will Find a Way, contemporary romantic mysteries, and her 1933 historical romance, Love Finds You in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. When she isn’t at her laptop writing her latest novel, she can often be found nosing around Wisconsin and other Midwestern spots for new story ideas.

Welcome, Pam. Let’s chat a bit. Tell us a little bit about you.

Although born in Ohio, I moved to southeastern Wisconsin with my parents at around two years of age, and I consider myself to be a native Wisconsinite. Or Cheesehead, if you will. :-) As an adult I spent about seven or eight months in New York City while chasing my dream but when that relationship imploded I followed my parents to the West Coast. My parents eventually returned to the Midwest but I stayed on in LA for about seven years. The lure of family and change of seasons and just wanted to get back to all things familiar brought me to the Chicago area and I’ve been in the northwest burbs ever since. I rarely venture to Chicago proper and love that I’m a scant more than an hour away from my hometown of Lake Geneva. I’m single and live with my two rescue cats. I was asked to take early retirement from my job about ten years ago and have been writing full time ever since.

Though you now live in Chicago, I know you grew up in Lake Geneva. Tell us about those years. 

The Lake Geneva, WI that I grew up in is a lot different than the Lake Geneva that exists today. Yet there are some things that are the same. Namely the beautiful glacier-carved spring-fed lake. Like most everyone, I took living near a lake like that for granted until I moved away. In the summer it was the gathering spot growing up. Swimming lessons in the morning and swimming and sunning on the beach in the afternoon. I feel very blessed to have grown up in a small town as opposed to a large city.

Have you ever done something so completely stupid you could kick yourself? How did you handle it?

I must do something like that at least once a week if not more LOL. Of course, now that you ask I can’t think of a specific instance. There’s been more than one time that I’ve hit send on an email and what I thought was a private message turned out to have been sent to an entire e-loop. You know that sinking feeling and then a mad dash to read the message to see what I said that will either let people know something they shouldn’t or offend someone. There’s really nothing to do but to apologize and hope people are understanding. I don’t think I’ve ever lost a friend over it.

Do you write in one specific place, or switch off to other locations? Describe your favorite writing area. 

I have a small condo and my dining area has been converted into an office. But I can’t show you a picture because right now it’s now suitable for viewing. LOL. The space is small and I have more in there that there is room for. But when it’s organized and cleaned up it’s quite cozy. If I don’t sit at the desk where I can plug my laptop into a large monitor, I’m camped out on the couch sideways with the laptop on my lap.

What do you do ‘just for you’?

I enjoy my cats, knitting and crocheting, movies and attending rodeos in the summer with a special friend who first introduced them to me about ten years ago.

What sparks your creativity when you feel drained?

When I get stuck with a story I need to be writing, I pick up a novel written by one of my favorite writers and start reading. Reading a good well-written story usually sparks my muse and then when I go back to my own story I’m suddenly able to start writing.

If you were born into the animal kingdom instead of the human race, what would you be, and why?

I love cats and I would have to say a cat. I’d love to be one for just a day to see how they think, how much they understand and find out how much I think I understand about them is correct LOL.

How much of yourself goes into your writing and your characters?

I think the answer varies with each story. I think there is some of me in each of my heroines, but most of all in April Love, the heroine in Thyme for Love, the book that I just republished a couple weeks ago.

How did the title of this book come to you?

I first began writing Thyme for Love (TFL) six or so years ago and was struggling to come up with a good title. I asked people in an online critique group to help me and told them it was about an in-house chef whose ex-fiancé shows up in her life again after eight years of separation. Someone suggested Thyme for Love and that is how it came to be. I can take no credit, but it’s perfect. I can’t remember if I’d already changed April’s last name to Love at that time or not. That also came from a friend. She was originally April Spencer and Ane Mulligan called me one day all excited and said “You’ve got to call her April Love.” Bingo. I have had a lot of fun with that name. Of course readers in their 20s and 30s may not have a clue as to why it’s so clever. I’ll just keep that to myself and let the readers find out when they read the book. I hope to write the third book of the series, which I’m calling the Cooking Up Love Series after I re-release the sequel to TFL.

Finally, tell us a bit about Thyme for Love.

TFL and its sequel, Love Will Find a Way, were both published by a small press several years ago. I requested the rights be returned to me and received them last January. I have spent the past six months preparing TFL for re-release and it’s now available in both Kindle and print. I completely edited the original version and updated the technology. Here’s the back of the book blurb.

New chef, April Love, has landed her dream job, but she never anticipated her former fiancé and a murdered boss would be on the menu.

When April Love applies for a job as an in-house chef at a century-old lakeshore mansion in Canoga Lake, Wisconsin, she never expected to find her old flame, Marc Thorne working there and looking more gorgeous than ever. He’d left her high and dry weeks before their planned wedding, and last she heard, he was living on the West Coast. Soon, the old attraction heats up. But, April senses Marc isn’t spilling all the beans about his past eight years, and no amount of questioning has him talking. Despite being unable to trust Marc for her future, she’s determined to not let him stand in the way of living out her dream.

Their boss is murdered, and Marc is falsely accused of the crime. He’s about to be indicted, and April has no choice but to turn detective and find Ramón Galvez’s real killer. It isn’t long before she realizes she may be the murderer's next victim if she doesn’t stop her sleuthing. If she stops now, hopes for a future with Marc will end in a cellblock.

About the Giveaway:

Pam is offering a copy of either the print or Kindle version of Thyme for Love. To enter, just leave a comment in the comment section below. Winner will be selected in a random drawing through random.org and will be notified via email. Giveaway ends at Midnight, September 2, Central time. Winner will be drawn and notified on Thursday, Sept 3.

Where to find Pam on the Internet:

• Link to Thyme for Love, which right now is exclusively on Amazon: http://www.amzn.com/B011VCYWLI
• Website: http://www.pamelasmeyers.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/pamela.meyers
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/pamelameyers
• Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+PamelaMeyers/posts