Hello, hello!  Please join me today in welcoming Barbara Longley to The Dungeon.  Now, Barbara claims she’s a bit of a “square peg,” but I think you’ll find from her interview that that’s not true at all.  And I am here to tell you that the girl can write! :img14

I’m not sure Barbara even knows this, but I was first introduced to her books about two years ago when I received The Difference a Day Makes to read & judge for the preliminary round of RWA’s annual RITA Awards.  I don’t know how other judges rated it, but I gave it very high scores.  It was wonderful & moving, & I knew that not only would I read more of her books in the future, but that I’d eventually invite her to be a guest at WIPs and Chains.  And silly Barbara—she actually agreed! :img37

While growing up, award-winning, bestselling Amazon author Barbara Longley moved frequently, learning early on how to entertain herself with stories.  Adulthood didn’t tame her peripatetic ways:  she has lived on an Appalachian commune, taught on an Indian reservation, and traveled the country from coast to coast.  After having children of her own, she decided to try staying put, choosing Minnesota as her home.  By day, she puts her master’s degree in special education to use teaching elementary school.  By night, she explores all things mythical, paranormal, and newsworthy, channeling what she learns into her writing.

So let’s put Barbara on The Rack, shall we, & see how she fares…

What is your favorite color?  My favorite color is green, because it’s the color associated with the healing chakra.

Favorite song?  Oh, gosh. I don’t have a favorite song. I love music, and it’s always on at my house. My favorite groups/artists right now are Mumford & Sons, Ed Sheeran, James Bay and Imagine Dragons. When I get tired of them, I switch to country for a while. I have very eclectic tastes.

Favorite movie?  There are so many…  One of my all time favorites is The Man From Snowy River, which is so romantic, and the cinematography is outstanding.

And of course, favorite book?  My all time favorite is Ransom by Julie Garwood. I reread it whenever I find I can’t get interested in anything else.

What was the first book in your chosen genre that you remember reading, or that made you want to write the same?  Julie Garwood historicals, Laura Kinsale historicals and Susan Elizabeth Phillips contemporaries.

What do you think of Heidi?  She’s great, right?  Yes, Heidi is definitely ROCKING.  (Note from Heidi:  Why, thank you, thankyouverymuch.)

How did you get started writing?  I’ve always used writing as a way to process through things and experiences, but I have my sister to thank for getting me started on the road to publication. We’d go on road trips together, and when she drove, I’d read. When I finished a book, I’d toss to the back and claim that I could write a better book than the one I’d just read. Sis finally called me out on my boast and told me to write a better book then. My first book really was cringe worthy, but I used that manuscript to learn my craft. I finally deleted it from my hard drive and let it go. The 2nd book I wrote was TRUE TO THE HIGHLANDER, but it wasn’t my first published book.

Tell us a little bit about The Call—i.e. your first sale.  I missed my call. Can you believe it? Sigh. The editor sent me an e-mail with a contract offer. *snort*  (Further intrusive note from Heidi:  Doh!  That is too cruel.  One of the best parts of a first sale is The Call.  (Mine was actually a Friday afternoon message on the answering machine that I didn’t get until Sunday night & couldn’t return until Monday… :img22   But still, at least it was the editor’s actual voice telling me she wanted to buy my book.  Did the e-mail at least make you squee & do a huge ants-in-your-pants happy dance? :img19 ))

Fill in the blank—If you like [blank], you’ll love Barbara Longley!  Julie Garwood historicals!

Tell us about your latest release and why we’ll love every word.  The Highlander’s Folly—a time travel/historical romance—is my latest release, and you’ll want to flick Hunter’s thick head a few times. He’s the grown-up orphan child my heroine in True to the Highlander adopted. He had a rough beginning, and because of that, he has some pretty fixed ideas about what he wants for his future. Add a meddling faerie with a different path in mind for him, and a strong-willed twenty-first century martial arts expert heroine, and sparks are gonna fly.

The Highlander’s Folly is actually the third book in my “Novels of Loch Moigh” series, following True Highlander and The Highlander’s Bargain:

If your plane crashed in the Andes, would you convince the other survivors to eat Heidi first or last?  No eating of any human being at all! I’d be digging roots and gathering berries and watching to see what birds and animals in the area are eating. I’d have my Swiss army knife, with which to carve sticks into spears. There are lakes, rivers, edible mammals and fish. No. Eating. Anyone. We would form hunting parties, and we would survive. We’ll form a new tribe, and I get to be queen.  (Uh-oh.  Mistress Heidi may not appreciate the competition for the position of Queen Bee.  You may have a pointy stick, but she’s got whips & chains…& she knows how to use them.)

If you could write anything—whether in the same genre/sub-genre as you’re writing now or another—what would it be?  I have this notion that I’d like to try my hand at women’s fiction.

What are you currently working on?  I am currently working on The Highlander’s Dilemma, Book #4 in the “Novels of Loch Moigh” series.

LIGHTNING-FAST LASHES:

Leather or lace?  Yes. Both.

Devil or angel?  Both.

Angel food or devil’s food?  Neither.  (Neither?  But…but…what do you eat? :img23 )

Hemlock or arsenic?  Hmmm. For myself or others?  (Well, if you think you can handle one of those, feel free.  But mostly we’re asking what you’d use on someone else.)

Blood, sweat, or tears?  Sweat.

Boxers, briefs…or commando?  Commando.

Cowgirl or missionary? (Hey, get your mind out of the gutter. I was simply asking what you wanted to be when you were growing up. :img10 )  Heh, heh, heh. Sure. Cowgirl today, missionary tomorrow.  (Bwahahaha! A girl after Mistress Heidi’s own heart. :img34 )

Brava!  Thank you for the great interview, Barbara.  It’s wonderful getting to know you better. :img25

Giveaway:

If you think Barbara’s interview was impressive, you’ll enjoy this even more—she has generously offered to give away an audio book of The Highlander’s Folly to one of today’s lucky readers! :img5

To enter, simply leave a question or comment for Barbara.

U.S./Canadian residents only for the prize, please, but everyone is invited to chat! :img16

Winner will be announced on Sunday, June 21 as part of our special Father’s Day post.

Good luck!  And don’t forget that you can visit Barbara any time at her website:  http://www.barbaralongley.com

Okay, here we go…   It took me a while to catch up & get around to writing my little “reviews,” but here is Part 2 of our chat about this season’s finales—& in some cases, series finales—for some of our favorite shows. Well, my favorite shows, anyway. :img14

Again:  ***WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS***

Grimm — Where do I begin?  Well, I’ve always hated Juliet, so I’ve been glad she turned evil this season; it gave me a more substantial reason to root against her.  And even though I know it’s supposed to be one of those “oh, no, whatever will Nick do now?” moments, I looooove that Trubel killed her.  Bwahahaha!

Do you think she’s actually dead, though?  Or just near death?  I hope she’s not only merely dead, but really most sincerely dead.  (A Wizard of Oz reference, for those of you who may not have caught it.)

And is it just me, or have you been wondering what’s happened with Juliet’s so-called veterinary practice while she’s been out hexenbiest-ing it up all over the place?  I mean, she didn’t spend much time at it before, I imagine the place is nothing but spiders & cobwebs by now.

Speaking of Trubel, I’m sooooo glad she’s back.  I really like her & think she’s an awesome addition to the show.  I hope she sticks around this time!  But that one phone call she took in the finale does make me wonder who she’s in cahoots with.  Okay, I think we know based on who showed up at the very, very end of the show, but still…  Why?  What are they up to?  Is this going to be good or bad for Nick?

And finally, I am really upset & disappointed that they killed off Nick’s mom.  I liked her.  I liked that she was out there & when she popped in.  I also think she was too good a Grimm to be killed that way.  Although she was ganged-up on by—what?—a dozen bad guys, so I guess they might have gotten the upper hand.

Forever —  Another cancelled show. Another mistake, if you ask me.  I can’t say Forever was a favorite for me, but I enjoyed it.  It was interesting, unique, & had a lot going on.  So of course it had to die in a way Henry Morgan never would. :img18

Law & Order:  Special Victims Unit — I wouldn’t normally mention this one, because it’s not a show I watch very closely, but this season’s finale kind of bothered me.  It was a decent episode, but it bothered me so much that Olivia didn’t keep her mouth shut about who Noah’s biological father was.  If ever there’s a time to keep your mouth shut, it’s when a violent, sadistic rapist/murderer/human trafficker might try to get custody of the child you’re trying to adopt.  To me, this felt like a forced plot point to create the situation for the finale. :img11

On the other hand, I’m not at all surprised that Nick is leaving.  All of the L&O shows seem to have a revolving door for cast members. I really like Nick & don’t necessarily want him to leave, but at this point…whatever. :img28

Battle Creek — So Battle Creek gets cancelled, but Big Brother will be coming back—again.  Come on!  Battle Creek may not have started with the biggest bang I’ve ever seen, but I’ve really been enjoying it. It’s gotten better week by week & was really beginning to hit its stride.  Plus Josh Duhamel.  Plus Dean “Mayhem” Winters.  Jeez!

As for the very last episode…  It was the best one yet & only made me yearn for more! :img8  Such a dramatic plot, so many secrets about Milt’s character revealed, so much growth to Milt & Russ’s partnership.  I was on the edge of my seat, & spent the entire hour both sad it was the last episode & wishing like heck I had a second season to look forward to. :img4

Hot in Cleveland — I feel really badly about this one coming to a close.  Mostly because I’d gotten sort of bored with it & wondered why it was still on, but this season has perked up again, so I’m wishing it were coming back.

As for the series finale, it was only okay, in my humble opinion.  Typical of Hot, which is a good thing, but also awfully rushed in order to give everybody a happily-ever-after.  The whole Joy & Bob adoption thing bugged me, too, because it sort of came out of left field & then moved way too fast, as well. :img23

But the very, very end…the epilogue, if you will…showing everyone five years later…  That I liked.  I loved seeing them all together, but paired up & happy. :img26  I’m just saying it happened a little quickly, with everything shoved into the final two episodes.

Hawaii Five-0 — Can I just say how tired I am of the back & forth, recurring Danny/Rachel drama?  Never really liked it to begin with, but in the beginning it made sense.  When they got back together & she got pregnant…then it turned out to be her new husband’s baby…I was annoyed.  To have her show up again & suddenly announce that the baby is actually Danny’s son…  Really?  Really?!  Can’t we come up with anything else for this character to go through emotionally?

If it weren’t for that, I think I would truly love this show.  Because everything else about it works for me—big time.  And I was happy to hear it got renewed for another season.  But enough sticking Danny with nothing but soap opera drama, okay?  Give it rest, H50.

Am I the only one who was also a little disappointed we didn’t actually get to see Kono & Adam tie the knot at the end of the season finale?  I really like Adam, too, & hope he’s on the level—despite all the suspicion that keeps coming up concerning his ties to the Yakuza.

Bones — I don’t have a whole lot to say about this one, since I’ve been on the fence about it for the past several seasons.  I was over Booth & Bones a very long time ago; Temperance gets on my nerves like nobody’s business, & my like versus dislike of her bounces like a rubber ball dropped from an airplane. :img20  Yet I stuck with it mainly for the murder plots because I enjoy unique death scenes & crime-solving of almost any kind.

As for the season finale, they led us to believe that Booth & Bones both leaving their jobs might make it the Series Finale, & I’d be totally okay with that.  Truly. :img24

Last but not least, Supernatural — Don’t judge me for this, & don’t think it makes me any less a Sam & Dean fan, but I haven’t watched a single Season 10 episode yet…even though that season just came to an end.  It’s been too hard keeping up with everything else, & I really like to sit, watch, & absorb my boys, so I’ve got them all on the DVR & plan to start watching them over the summer. :img17

Expect posts & comments as I go along, but they’ll be a little behind the curve.  Just don’t spoil anything for me or I’ll make Deanmon look like Strawberry Shortcake. :img34

So do you have any thoughts about these season enders…or any others you might have watched?  I’d love to hear them, even if they don’t quite jive with mine. :img26