We want to thank Lori for being here today. Both Melanie and I love her books, and I think between the two of us we own all of them.
TBRG: Can you tell us a bit about your latest series Men that Walk the Edge of Honor?
LF: I got the idea for this series while seeing the movie, “Taken.” In that movie, Liam Neeson is on a quest to rescue his daughter from human traffickers. By necessity, he has to walk past a lot of young ladies who aren’t his daughter to keep from tipping off the bad guys. That broke my heart! I wanted a hero who would somehow manage to rescue everyone – thus an idea was born.
TBRG: Who has been the biggest influence on your writing?
LF: I can’t name one particular influence. There have been plenty of writers who influenced me just by writing amazing stories. Johanna Lindsey, Linda Howard, Catherine Coulter, Julie Garwood, Kresley Cole, Jayne Ann Krentz… they’re some of my absolute favorite authors. There are too many incredible storytellers out there for me to name them all. Reading their work makes me want to be a better writer.
TBRG: What is the one thing your readers would be the most surprised to know about you?
LF: I’m such an open book on all my social networking sites; I doubt there’s much that interested readers don’t already know. I love scary movies, then action flicks. I’m not a fan of chick flicks or dramas. I love MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and I’ve met quite a few fighters. (Did the fan-girl thing and got my picture taken with each one!) I am amazingly terrified of bugs. :::Shudder:::: Love being near water, but not so much in it. Love scented candles and burn a bunch whenever I’m writing. I really enjoy hard rock music. Love to be out and about in the RV, love to be in nature, not a fan of expensive restaurants or clothes, or really anything/place fancy. I live in my blue jeans, prefer to be barefoot but will tolerate high heeled sandals or boots when pressed. Detest pantyhose; they were created by the devil. 
Love animals and anyone else who loves them, and I have no tolerance for anyone who hurts children or pets, or really, for cruelty of any kind.
TBRG: Where is the one place you have always wanted to go, a place on your bucket list?
LF: It’s not an unreachable goal, but I’d love to get to Hawaii some day. I haven’t yet because it’d be so difficult to take my menagerie of pets with me. LOL. And I don’t like to leave them for long.
TBRG: Who are some of your go to authors, and what are you reading right now?
LF: Right now I’m not reading anything. I’ve been slammed with work that just breathing is an effort. But as soon as I get a little room, I want to read the newest Johanna Lindsey and I’m two books behind on Kresley Cole. Can’t wait to catch up with them both!
TBRG: If you weren’t writing and keeping us in books (thanks for that by the way), what would you be doing?
LF: I have NO idea. My creativity is limited to creating characters – not in altering the universe. LOL.
TBRG: Who is on your playlist when you are writing?
LF: I have a mix of great music – mostly Kid Rock, KORN, and Marilyn Manson, but also some Aerosmith, Macy Gray, Nirvana, Uncle Kracker, etc…
TBRG: Where do your ideas/characters come from?
LF: Who knows? I can tell some specifics – like the connection to the movie, “Taken,” for my current “Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor” series with “When You Dare,” “Trace of Fever,” “Savor the Danger,” and then in 2012, “A Perfect Storm.” And my love of MMA inspired my fighter series – Causing Havoc, Simon Says, Hard to Handle, My Man Michael, and Back in Black.
Other than that… I don’t really know. Ideas crowd into my brain and I just go with it. I let the characters take me on a journey.
TBRG: Are you a planner or a fly by the seat author?
LF: Definitely a panster. If I did a lot of pre-planning, I’d be bored before I ever started the story, because it’d already feel “done” to me. I always have a visual first. I see a scene, and build from there. It’s a process for me, discovering who the characters are in the scene, why they’re there, the conflicts, and how they’ll resolve them. I’m a very visual person. I sort of see my stories the way many would watch a movie. And I write it out as I see it.
TBRG: In this series you tackle a topic that is swept under the rug a lot, that of the female sex slave trade, what made you decide to write about it?
LF: I’ve done a ton of research for the human-trafficking element in this series, and educated myself in the process. I knew it existed, and I knew it was a big problem. I had NO idea it was so wide-spread and overwhelming. I read many reports that listed Ohio as a “hot bed” for human traffickers. I read about children being sold, and I want to go on a rampage against the evil in the world. There is so much abuse, so much tragedy in our world.
By writing about it, I have the opportunity to make others more aware, to get people talking.
TBRG: I think it is in Trace’s book you talk about how there are no laws, and no way to catch the people doing this, was this a shock to you? Are the states trying to change this?
LF: It was a HUGE shock to me! It’s amazing how our legal system works – that they need a specific law to address specific crimes in order to really prosecute heinous criminals. Luckily, many states are getting on board and really becoming aware of – and actively involved in fighting – human trafficking.
One thing I learned, too, is that Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher have a foundation that does a lot to fight human trafficking. They were a great source of information. It’s called the DNA Foundation: http://demiandashton.org/
TBRG: What are you working on now?
LF: Writing-wise, I’m finishing up the 4th book in the series, which won’t be out until May 2012, titled, “A Perfect Storm.”
Outside of writing, I’m doing promo galore for the current series and finalizing details for the 2011 “Reader and Author Get Together.” http://www.lorifoster.com/community/readergettogether.php
Busy busy – as always!
Lori Foster completed ten novels before her first book, Impetuous, was sold. It was published in 1996. Since then, she’s maintained a pace that might have felled a lesser person, often writing six or more romance novels every year. Having cracked national bestseller lists with Jamie in 2005, there’s been no stopping her. In the past six years, her novels, and anthologies featuring her work, have claimed a combined 115 weeks on The New York Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. Hard to Handle reached the number two spot on Times’ paperback bestseller list. She’s the recipient of the RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award for both Contemporary Romance and Series Romantic Fantasy.
That said, there’s no doubt that the trio of heroes she’s created for her back-to-back novels, WHEN YOU DARE, TRACE OF FEVER and SAVOR THE DANGER, published in May, June and July 2011 respectively, are strong, skilled, relentless and kind of scary. Her male protagonists—Dare, Trace and Jackson—are connected to each other by their work. Each is an undercover mercenary, committed and specially trained to fight and win. Each combats corruption by whatever means necessary. None of them expect to fall in love. But the women Lori’s put in extreme, dangerous situations, and challenged to be stronger than they ever thought possible, are not like anyone—mercenary, government or “civilian”—that Dare, Trace or Jackson have imagined coming into their lives. Molly, Priscilla and Alani are far more than they appear. They’re each stronger and more courageous than even they know. Behind those soft exteriors lie three women ready to do anything necessary to protect those they love. They just haven’t realized it yet.
On Lori’s fb page this last week she asked which of her series was everyone’s favorite…I want to know this as well. One lucky commenter will win a copy of the first book in her new series When you Dare. Contest ends on Friday May 27, 2011.
