Welcome Back To The Fire USA Today Best-Selling Author, Ruth Casey!

Greetings fellow earthlings! Oh, and if any of you are aliens then, ghIlab (Klingon). Thanks for joining us from wherever you are. I can't believe it's February already. It's the month of Love. If you want to get in the mood, after spending time with today's guest, head over to my Bonus Content page and read a very special Valentine's story. That said, don't forget to signup for my newsletter. On the 14th I'll be sending a special announcement. mailchi.mp/1172dfb299fb/d-v-stones-around-the-fire.
Now that that's all taken care of, please help me welcome fellow Jersey Girl, you know we don't pump our own gas, Ruth A. Casie

Hi Ruth! I'm so happy you came back to the fire. I hear you have some exciting news. I don't want to miss a thing so while I get us a warm beverage why don't you tell everyone who you are?
I am the proud mother of three wonderful children. I have written that sentence at least three times. Children. They all have children of their own. Our older daughter is a pre-k teacher who did an awesome job with remoting teaching. She has a daughter who is 16 and a son 13. Our younger daughter has just started her own cottage baking cookie business. She made cookies for Anna St. Claire and I with our signature and book covers for the reader’s event we went to Romancing the Gold Coast. She and her husband have a daughter who is 4. Our son is the youngest is a cyber security engineer and if I knew what he did he’d have to kill me. His ring on my phone is Secret Agent Man. He and his wife have a new baby who turned 3 months last week.

Lol, I have a cousin like that. Plausible deniability. I don't want to know what you do. Ruth, what interests besides writing do you enjoy?
I am working on a new Regency series, so a lot of my recent reading is research driven. For The Lady and the Spy, I was researching codes used in the 1800’s, spy codes. That was an education. For the next book in the series, I’m researching the industrial revolution and Luddites.
When I’m not reading or researching, I spend time with our grandchildren. It’s been difficult to see our son, his wife and their new baby. They live in Boston and we live in New Jersey. Our two daughters and their families live close by. During the holidays, my Boston brood came home. IT WAS WONDERFUL. Here are the grandchildren. (Note from D. all photos are below because my site won't let me insert where I want. If anyone knows a Weebly workaround please let me know.)
 
I may like to think I'm a rock or an island but we all need someone. Who is your network or support system?
This is tough question. There are so many people who have and still do contribute to my career. My first critique partners Emma Kaye, Nicole S. Patrick, and Lita Harris. The writing groups I belong to New Jersey Romance Writers, Hudson Valley Romance Writers, Washington Romance Writers DC, Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and Regency Fiction Writers (aka Beau Monde)
My publishing twin, Julie Rowe. Our first novels were published by Carina Press and were released on the same day. We have stayed very close friends. Eliza Knight who was my mentor. Kathryn LeVeque my editor and role model.
There are my readers, librarians, friends, and family. I don’t think anyone does it alone.

That is an impressive list. You are a lucky lady to have them beside you. What is your neighborhood like? Are there any places you frequent? What makes them special?
I live in Teaneck, a northern New Jersey town about five miles outside of New York City. We are a town of roughly 40K people. The township was created in 1895, but the first buildings date back to 1704. Our area was prominent during the Revolutionary War with George Washington and his troops passing through Teaneck on their hasty retreat from the British.
Cedar Lane is our main street in town and the crowning shop is Bischoff’s Confectionery. It is an old-fashioned ice cream soda fountain experience complete with red leather spinning stools. I LOVE the cherry vanilla ice cream.

Yum! I brought my ice cream maker to Florida. I'm planning some cherry vanilla. We'll save you some. Now, Tell us more about you. Have you had any adventures lately? Conferences, conventions, vacations?
While I have been to Zoom conference this past October I went to my first in person event in 18 months, Romancing the Gold Coast in Glen Cove Long Island. This was a two-day reader’s event with games and crafts, an elegant tea and delicious ball. Many of us were in costumes which made the event even more special. I met fans I only knew by name and saw authors and librarians I hadn’t seen in a long time. Here is a look that Anna St. Claire and I decorated and hosted. We had cookies with our book covers on them and the tea wallets (in the tea cups) had tea bags and squares of wrapped chocolate.

That sounds like so much fun! As an author I love things like that. I wish more readers would come out and meet us. Most authors don't bite and even if I do, I'm vaccinated. Literally for rabies. Ruth, do you have a particular object like a piece of jewelry or a keepsake of some sort? Can you tell us what makes it special to you?
I have a pin that is very special to me. My grandmother gave it to me when I graduated from college. I had never seen it before. It’s a beautiful diamond and platinum antique pin. After all these years of not having anyplace to where it, I finally found the event and dress to wear it, on the Regency costume I wore to the Romancing the Gold Coast reader’s event this last October.

That must have made your Grandmother look down and smile. What is your favorite mug or teacup.
My most favorite mug is the one that says, Nana. It’s just the right size and it keeps my coffee hot.

Favorite childhood book, or writing that inspired you to become an author?
My favorite childhood author was Walter Farley and his Black Stallion series. I had read Nancy Drew. I didn’t really like the Hardy Boys. But there was something about this series that hooked me. It a triumphant tale of a boy and a wild horse. Alec is on ship and the stallion is being transported. There is a storm at sea. Alec saves the horse. They both make it to a deserted island where they have adventures and are eventually rescued.

I too loved the Black Stallion. It's a beautiful and timeless piece of children's literature. If you could eat anything in the world right now, what would it be?
Easy answer… Cherry vanilla ice cream from Bischoff’s Confectioners in Teaneck, New Jersey.

Worst household chore?
The worst household chore ever is the laundry for one simple reason. I cannot reach the bottom of the washer to remove the clothes. Therefore, (*smiley face*) my husband does the wash. Actually, laundry could be my favorite.

Ha, I just pictured you with your feet poking out the top of the washer😝 If you could time travel, where would you go and when? Why?
I would love to travel to London in the Regency era about 1825. I am currently writing a Regency romance and I am immersed in the era down to the clothes.

Would you rather have unlimited international first-class tickets or never have to pay for food at restaurants?
I would take unlimited international first-class tickets and travel, travel, travel. I want to see places I write about again and again.

Do you play board games? What games do you like?
Sometimes I play Scrabble with the family or Chutes and Ladders with the grandchildren. I am currently learning Mahjong. It’s a board game without a board.

Who is the most interesting person you’ve met and talked with?
Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize for Economy 2001. Full disclosure. Joe is my sister-in-law’s brother. I cannot claim the gene pool. Joe and his wife Anya are gracious and wonderful, but I will admit to being a bit star struck. At a family gathering, he sat with me and asked about my writing, when my next book was being released, and he asked with interest not as a conversation filler. He found it mind boggling that I self-published several of my books.
On the writing side, I had real fan-girl moments when I met Diana Gabaldon, before Outlander was on television. We didn’t talk for long, but she gave me words of advice. I had just read Tasha Alexander’s first book in Lady Emily Mysteries. I was the conference chair that year for the New Jersey Romance Writer’s and had to invite speakers. I loved her book so much, I contacted her and she attended. It was great.

Oh wow, I bet their are a few folks, including me, that are pea green with envy. Diana is amazing. If someone came up to you and said, “Hey, do that thing you do!” what thing would pop into your head first?
Make a brisket.

Can I tell you, I love a brisket. So tender and flavorful. I'm sure our other visitors would like to know more about your writing, like how do you select the names of your characters?
I start with names I like and many times, most times actually, as the story develops, their name changes.

Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
I do read my reviews. The good and the bad ones. When my first book was published I read the reviews excited that someone actually read my book, Knight of Runes. One review threw me for a loop. It wasn’t about the story. I could understand not pleasing every reader, but this review was a personal attack.

Such a shame. Unfortunately there are unhappy people who seek to steal our joy. I try to brush it off. Like the song by Ricky Nelson says https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PECmjB9df0wsay "You see, ya can't please everyone, so ya got to please yourself." What was your hardest scene to write?
I was writing the second book, Knight of Rapture, in my Druid Knight series. This is a time travel romance. In this story, the heroine has been tricked to go back to her time in the 20th century. The love of her life, our hero has to go find a way from the 17th century into the 20th century to save her. He finds her and tells her he will never leave her. The villain has been devious. If our hero stays in the 20th century, his estate will vanish and so will the heroine. The only way to save her is to return to the 17th century. But she cannot return.
I cried when Arik realized that with all his magic there was nothing he could do. He had to leave her. I cried when I wrote that scene and I cried when he actually left her. I cheered because she was made of stronger stuff and found a way to follow him. I still cry when I reread those scenes.

Sniff. Now that were all crying, thanks Ruth, lol can you leave us a bit about you newest release? I hear it's coming soon. But before we do here are the pictures Ruth sent.

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​Coming February 17, 2022
The Lady and the Spy
by
Ruth A Casie
​
Her mind kept telling her to stop loving him, but her heart couldn’t let him go.

Rated PG

With each encounter her heartbeat quickened.
With each encounter his need for her grew stronger.

Lady Patrice Montgomery Edgemont always did what was expected of her and look where that got her, married off by her father into a loveless relationship. She solved the puzzle that was prospective husband number two, another of her father’s choices and quickly made him a distant memory. Lady Patrice is not playing games. She is through with men.
Nikolai Baranov is the son of a Russian grand duke and spy for Tzar Alexander I. When his father and associates are killed, Nikolai doesn’t play games. The only thing worth winning is revenge for his family.
When a blizzard blankets Sommer-by-the-Sea, Lady Patrice is the only one who can help the mysterious wounded Russian she finds in her hunting lodge. It will take Nikolai’s skill as a spy and Lady Patrice’s expertise at solving puzzles to play through and win the game, a happily ever after.
Tag Line
Her mind kept telling her to stop loving him, but her heart couldn’t let him go.
Heat Rating  PG
Buy Link  Amazon KU

WAnt More?
Storyteller | Blogger | Creative Thinker | Dreamer | Good Sport | Teammate
Hi – I’m Ruth A. Casie and I write historical and contemporary romance. You might be wondering what I’m about. Sit back and let me tell you.
I’m happiest when I’m telling stories either chatting in a group or writing them down. I love to put my hero and heroine in tough situations and dare them to work it out—together, always together. They haven’t disappointed. Oh, they complain but in the end their love and relationships are stronger than ever.
My stories feature strong women and the men who deserve them, endearing flaws and all. They will keep you turning the pages until the end. I hope my books become your favorite adventures.
Here are five things you probably don’t know about me.
1. I filled my passport up in one year.
2. I have three series. The Druid Knight stories are a historical time travel series. The Stelton Legacy is historical fantasy about the seven sons of a seventh son. Havenport Romances are stories set in a small coastal town in Rhode Island. I also write stories in the connected world the Pirates of Britannia.
3. I did a rap to “How Many Trucks Can a Tow Truck Tow If a Tow Truck Could Tow Trucks.”
4. When I cook I dance.
5. My Sudoku book is in the bathroom. I’m not saying anything else about that.
6. I'm a USA Today bestselling author.
Send me a note at [email protected] to find out about my hobbies.

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