Western and Romance combination gave amazing result in Texas Hearts series by Lisa Mondello. Our next guest is NY Times and USA Today bestselling author. She is very productive writer who also presented to the genre fans another series – Dakota Hearts, Fate with a Helping Hand and Summer House. Let’s welcome Lisa Mondello at Land of Books.

– Lisa, what the readers will find in your Texas Hearts series?
– I write stories on all sensuality levels. I’ve written Christian Romance for Harlequin Steeple Hill, traditional/sweet romances for Avalon Books and steamier books through self- publishing. Texas Hearts was originally published by hardcover/library publisher Avalon Books. When the rights to the books reverted to me, I self-published them and chose to keep the books traditional. Since Avalon Books published romances meant for family entertainment, much like movies on the Hallmark Channel, there is no sex in any of the Texas Hearts books. But that doesn’t mean they are short on story. All my books are filled with a lot of emotion, lots of struggles between the hero and heroine, and a satisfying happy ending. I don’t make that happy ending easy for the hero and heroine to get!

– How did you decide to write the story?
– Mitch Broader, the hero in His Heart for the Trusting, was actually a secondary character in my book Nothing But Trouble, which is set in Wyoming, not Texas. When I decided to write a series set in Texas, I just pulled him from Wyoming and brought in to the first book, Her Heart for the Asking, not thinking that any of the readers would notice. They did. They loved Mitch. So I decided to write His Heart for the Trusting for them.
– What was the biggest challenge during the write up process?
– Finding enough time to write. I have a busy family and raised 4 children. I always made sure I made the kids my priority. That meant writing at night and sometimes well into the early hours to get a book done before the kids had to get up for school. As a storyteller, stories come naturally to me. I don’t find the writing process difficult. I enjoy it. I hear some authors say that it’s painful to write. It’s not that way for me. I have to keep myself from getting emotional when I write because I become so involved in the struggle my characters are going through. I laugh and cry a lot when I write!
– Tell us something more about your main characters from Texas Hearts series? Are they close to someone from your real life?
– All the characters from the Texas Hearts family are fictional. But I always say that a lot of the strength and honor my heroes have comes from my husband. Texas Hearts was supposed to feature just the Gentry brothers, but I did include Mitch’s story in His Heart for the Trusting, and another character who I introduced in Leaving Liberty, Cole Rivers. Readers wrote to me telling me they loved Cole. So I wrote His Texas Heart. I’ve gotten some emails from readers who want to know what happened to Libby Calvert’s friend Hannah and that sexy Sheriff from Liberty, Dane Bancroft. So there may be another Texas Hearts book in 2016.
– How much time did you need to finish the story and to publish it?
– It depends on the story. Some stories require a lot more research. I write faster now that my children are grown. But when they were still young and I was writing The More I See, book 3 of Texas Hearts, I had to do research on the blind, guide dogs and on cutting horses. This was something integral to the story, to it took me about 8 months to write that book. But I can write a book in about 2 months because I write shorter books. My suspense books usually take about 6 months because they’re longer and have more subplots.
– “All I Want for Christmas is You” is your most popular book. In your opinion why the novel touched so many people?
– It pushes all those heartwarming buttons! Family. Christmas. Adoption. Single mother. Bringing family together and the meaning of the holidays. And then there is the happy ending. How can you resist that?
– Give us some insight for your Dakota Hearts series?
– I love my Dakota Hearts series, and from the way the readers have responded, they love it too! I originally planned on only writing 5 books in that series, but readers emailed me and to be honest, I can’t get enough of the McKinnons. So I will keep writing them. The inspiration for that series came after my small town was hit by an F3 tornado. The community came together to help everyone out. I tried to capture that, along with the strong family bond the McKinnons have, in the Dakota Hearts series. I love stories that feature big families. I come from a big Italian family and I married into a big German family. So it’s natural for me.
– Who are you?
– That’s really hard. I’m quirky in that I was never the normal soccer mom. I managed a Boston rock band for several years, and I write romance novels. There isn’t anyone that I know in my town that can really relate to that. But I love music and I love movies and I spend a great deal talking about those!
– What are your writing habits?
– I write just about every day. But it’s not always the same amount. I know some people who have daily word counts. My brain doesn’t work that day. I may plot one day and then write the next day. Plus, I’m a puzzle writer. I write out of order. It’s the way my brain sees the story. I see scenes in my head. Once I get down a few scenes, I know where the story is going.
– Are you satisfied by the sales of your books?
– I’ve done quite well as a self-published author. Reader have found my books and received them positively. Every author is looking for more readers. I’d love to share my stories all over the world. But I have no complaints so far!
– What are you doing to promote your book by the best possible way?
– I think the best way to try a new author is when a reader can try a book for free. That’s why I have the first book in each of my ongoing series free. Reading All I Want for Christmas is You, Her Heart for the Asking and Her Dakota Man is a great way to get a feel for my writing and for the series to see if you want to read more. Also, I’ve bundled a few of the books to give a cost savings to readers.
– When we will see your next novel and would you unveil something more about it?
– Dakota Cowboy, book 8 of Dakota Hearts was just released May 30th. So that is the newest. That is the story of Luke McKinnon who comes home to help at the family oil company after his father has a heart attack. Luke is a lawyer and unbeknownst to him one of his oilrig workers, Tessa Rock, needs his help to fight for custody of her daughter. Next, June 26th, I will be releasing the first in a new adult series called The Summer House Series. That book is called Moment in Time. It will be followed in July with Moment of Impact.
– What was your first reaction when you saw your name in NY Times bestselling list?
– I screamed so loud my daughter and my husband ran into my office and thought I’d hurt myself. Then I called my mother and cried so hard that I couldn’t speak and she thought someone had died. It was quite thrilling to do it with a book on my own without a publisher. I love The Knight and Maggie’s Baby and I’m so thrilled that readers love it too.
– If you may ask yourself one question in the interview, what it will be? (Don’t forget to answer)
– When did you decide to become a writer? I always tell people that I didn’t decide. I just always wrote. I was making up stories when I was a child. I wrote my first story in the fifth grade. When everyone was outside playing on summer vacation, I was sitting in my room writing what I now know was a romantic suspense story, a total of 53 pages long! The next year I wrote another story and turned it into a play for the sixth grade class. I just think that writing is part of my DNA.

To learn more about Lisa Mondello check out her Web page
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Take a look at her books
All I Want for Christmas is You: a Holiday Romance (Fate with a Helping Hand Book 1)
The Knight and Maggie’s Baby: a contemporary romance (Fate with a Helping Hand Book 3)
Her Heart for the Asking, a Western Romance (Texas Hearts Book 1)
Gypsy Hearts (Texas Hearts)
Her Dakota Man (Dakota Hearts, Book 1)