Author Eileen Dreyer Becomes A Character For A Day

I’d like to welcome the ever-delightful and award-winning author Eileen Dreyer back to Thoughts in Progress as the special guest blogger today to talk about changing places.

Eileen is currently on a virtual blog tour for her latest release, NEVER A GENTLEMAN, the second installment in the Drake’s Rake’s series. The first installment was BARELY A LADY and the third installment will be ALWAYS A TEMPRESS coming in the summer of 2011. Thanks to Eileen, Brianne and the good folks at Hachette Book Group, I have 3 copies of NEVER A GENTLEMAN to giveaway. Please check the end of the post for the giveaway guidelines.
 
Even busy authors need a break sometimes so I asked Eileen if she could changes places with one of her characters for a day, who would it be and why.

Actually, considering the backstory I give most of my characters, I should probably be self-protective enough to say none of them. But I love the idea of having adventures. As long as I've been writing, I've lived through my characters in a way, giving them the challenges and new experiences I'll never have. So if I were to be one of my historical characters, I'd be Grace Fairchild in NEVER A GENTLEMAN.

Grace has spent her life following her father around the world with the Army, experienced exotic cultures, survived war, saved lives. Think of the places she's lived, the history she's been a part of, the people she's known. She's lived all over the world. She's saved lives and created homes for people who were far from home. In many ways, I envy her.
 
If I were to change places with a contemporary character, it would be Maggie O'Brien, who is a medic on a SWAT team. I actually took the training, and in another life think I might have loved to do something like that. She doesn't carry a weapon, but she places herself in danger, protecting the life of her team and the victims the SWAT team is trying to protect.

One of my teachers at Tactical EMS school once defined a warrior as someone who ran towards disaster as everyone ran away. And someone who does it to save lives is a warrior healer. I really like that. Since both of my heroines, past and present, are warrior healers, I wouldn't mind at all following their example.

Eileen, thanks for guest blogging today. I like your choice of characters (both historical and contemporary) and they would be fun to changes places with.

Here’s a brief synopsis of NEVER A GENTLEMAN:
HE HIDES HIS TRUE COLORS . . .
Miss Grace Fairchild is under no illusions about her charms. Painfully plain, she is a soldier's daughter who has spent her life being useful, not learning the treacherous ways of the ton. She may have been caught in a scandal with society's favorite rogue, but how can she marry him when it means losing herself?
WHILE SHE HIDES HER TRUE SELF . . .
Diccan Hilliard doesn't know which of his enemies drugged him and dumped him in Grace's bed, but he does know the outcome. He and Grace must marry. To his surprise, a wild, heady passion flares between them. Yet Diccan is trapped in a deadly game of intrigue Grace knows nothing about. Will his lies destroy Grace just as he realizes how desperately he needs her? And how can he hope for a future with her, when an old enemy has set his murderous sights on them both?
 
Now for a little background on Eileen. Born and raised in Brentwood, Missouri, and a product of Catholic Schools, she lives in St. Louis County with husband, Rick, and her two children. She has animals but refuses to subject them to the glare of the limelight.

Eileen won her first publishing award in 1987, being named the best new Contemporary Romance Author by Romantic Times. Since that time she has also garnered not only five other writing awards from Romantic Times, but five RITA Awards from Romance Writers of America, which secures her only the fourth place in the Romance Writers of America prestigious Hall of Fame. Since extending her reach to suspense, she has also garnered a coveted Anthony Award nomination for her last paperback, Bad Medicine. She has over three million books in print world wide, and has made regular appearances on the Waldenbook and B.Dalton bestsellers list, and now the USA Today list.

A frequent speaker at conferences, Eileen maintains membership in Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and, just in case things go wrong, Emergency Nurses Association and International Association of Forensic Nurses, for which she is the unofficial mascot.

Eileen is an addicted traveler, having sung in some of the best Irish pubs in the world, and admits she sees research as a handy way to salve her insatiable curiosity. She counts film producers, police detectives and Olympic athletes as some of her sources and friends. She's also trained in forensic nursing and death investigation, although she doesn't see herself actively working in the field, unless this writing thing doesn't pan out. For more on Eileen and her writing, check out her website at http://www.eileendreyer.com/index.shtml or find her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/EileenDreyer

As for the giveaway, here are the guidelines. To enter this giveaway, send me an e-mail (mcbookshelf@gmail.com) with the subject line, “Win Never A Gentleman.” Your message should include your name and mailing address. The contest is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only and no post office box addresses can be accepted. In addition, Hachette advises winners that they will be subject to the one copy per household rule, which means that if they win the same title in two or more contests, they will receive only one copy of the title in the mail. (Winners here have always be great about letting me know if they have already won the book somewhere else so another winner can be selected. However, this announcement is something that has to be passed along from Hachette). And, just so you know, I don’t share the mailing information or use it for any other purpose. The deadline to enter this giveaway for a chance at 1 of 3 copies of NEVER A GENTLEMAN (ISBN: 0446542067), a 480 page paperback, will be 8 p.m. (EST) on Friday, April 22.

Which character (and from what book) would you change places with for a day if you could?