Welcome, as we are gearing up for cooler weather, Coffee Time Romance is bringing us some of it’s hottest authors. Today we have Anita Verkerk talking a bit about herself and her book THE ICE MAIDEN. Coffee Time Romance wants to extend a warm welcome to Ms. Verkerk, Welcome! It’s great to have you here! Please tell us something about yourself.
Hi Lori! I love it to be here.
The bio on my web site says: “Award-winning Dutch author Anita Verkerk lives in the Netherlands with her husband, two sons and five cats. She is graduated in mediaeval history, and was a middle school teacher for several years.
She loves traveling, reading, and mysterious castles. But her real passion is writing romance.
Anita published a bunch of medical romances, castle romances and romantic suspense novels in Holland. Many of her titles are on library shelves all over Holland and Belgium. Hundreds of romantic short stories appeared in many well-known Dutch magazines.
A few years ago Anita decided to spread her wings and started writing ‘hot’ love stories in English.”
I love writing and it’s a wonderful thing that my readers love the reading so much.
I write to give my readers an escape from daily life, which can be sad, cruel and hectic.
After a busy day filled with smelling diapers, crying children and grumbling bosses, my reader can curl up on the couch, or sink down in a warm bath to enjoy the fantasy world I have created.I write what I call ‘Feel-Good Romance’, and it’s my goal to give my readers “A satisfying Read”. 🙂 There’s always a happy ending.
Wow! Your list of books is so long I began to lose count. What is it like being multi-published? Do you have time to yourself, or are you always at the computer?
Being a multi-pubbed author is a 24/7 job. I spend a lot of time at the computer and in my free moments I’m mostly thinking out new plots, and characters, or I do online courses to improve my writing. I also spend a lot of time promoting my novels. When I’m asleep, I’m dreaming my books are on the New York Times bestseller list. 🙂
Do you find it difficult to come up with new and unique storylines? Where do the majority of your inspirations come from?
Most stories bubble up somewhere inside my head, whenever I see or hear something interesting.I can go out for a family picnic in the woods and unexpectedly the setting gives me a story.
That’s how ICE MAIDEN came to life. 🙂
I’m very fond of castles and no matter where I am, when there’s a castle or a ruin around I simply have to visit it. When I was in Düsseldorf I couldn’t wait to visit the ancient ruin near the Rhine. Then the story bubbled up inside my head. 🙂
Your newest release, ICE MAIDEN, has received fabulous reviews (congrats!). Please tell us about this story, and what your favorite part was about writing it.
Thanks Lori, I’m very happy with the two wonderful 5 stars reviews. 🙂
ICE MAIDEN is a thrilling paranormal erotic time travel novella. It’s set in the lower Rhine region in an ancient ruin near Düsseldorf. It’s part two of my series, Legends of the Low Lands. These sizzling single stories are all set in Holland and a small part of Germany, also known as the Low Lands, and are based on ancient legends of this territory.
Heroine Lizzy Rumbolds has a nasty problem: no matter how hard she tries when making love to a man, she never reaches a real orgasm. Even Cedric, the love of her life, can’t give her what she craves.
One night her grandmother calls from Germany to tell her Dick’s prick is stolen.
Dick’s prick is an ancient relic and gives eternal youth to the owner. Lizzy and Cedric travel to Germany. When Lizzy finds the relic and touches it, she’s transformed to the middle ages and finds out why she became an Ice Maiden…
What kind of research did you have to do for this book? After reading it, and loving it!, I would love to know!
I’m graduated in mediaeval history, and I know a lot about the Middle Ages already. 🙂
To get the right feeling about daily life in a castle, I visited a ‘Living History’ Parc where I could smell the smoke of fire places, and see people dressed up like mediaeval farmers and handsome knights in shining armor. One of the rooms inspired me to be the castle room where Lizzy met and made love to her Emperor. Fortunately, there were no fleas around. LOL
You have books published in both English and Dutch. How difficult is it for you to do this? Or, on the other hand, how much fun is it?
It’s difficult to write in a ‘foreign’ language, it takes a lot of time and a huge dictionary to find the right words. 🙂 But it’s a challenge to give my readers the best I can.
The fun is – with two different markets – I can always write what I like most.
What is your favorite thing to do once you’ve finished a novel?
Once I’ve put down the last ‘period’ I jump up from my seat, and dance around the room, singing “My book is finished. My book is finished!” After that I pull myself together and start writing the next novel. 🙂
What do you love most about writing? What do you like the least?
I like the actual writing most, the rest of the stuff like editing and proofreading can be very boring. 🙂 The best moment is when the work is finally done and readers email me that they loved reading my book.
Picture a place in your mind; the perfect place you would set your next book. Tell us about it in detail. What is it about that place that draws you to it? (Preferably not a place you’ve already set a book)
A Caribbean cruise ship would be wonderful. Great weather, sunny beaches, a blue sea, and as much tasty food and drinks I can handle, sitting in my comfortable deck chair. Next to a well-built hunk, I mean, next to my well-built husband. 😉
The perfect place for a wonderful spicy romance. 🙂
If you weren’t a writer, what would you be? Why?
I think I would be a History teacher, or a teacher German Literature. Because that’s what I was, long before I started writing. 🙂
Or else, I would have been a travel guide, specialized in exotic regions. I love traveling, exploring exciting new worlds, meeting new people. 🙂
You mentioned on your site about having people encourage you to write when you were younger. Do those same people read your work now? Would you ever go back to them and show what you’ve accomplished?
I’ve send my writing teacher my first book and he wrote back that he was very proud of me. I don’t need to go back any more and show what I’ve accomplished. My work is everywhere around, in the bookstores and on library shelves. 🙂
Thank you for taking the time to speak with us, Anita. Please give readers your website and where they can contact you.
I loved doing this interview, Lori! Next to writing it’s great to talk about it. 🙂
My web site offers hot excerpts, reviews, my blog, Anita’s diary, and my bi-monthly contest. Readers can also subscribe to my newsletter, the NewsFlash!
Readers can buy my books on the NCP web site. You can find information at http://www.newconceptspublishing.com/anitaverkerk.htm
Tell us what we can expect next from you.
I’m still working on my series of thrilling paranormal erotic novellas, Legends of the Low Lands. The Flying Dutchman is the next single story that will be available from New Concepts Publishing.
Take care, and thanks again!!
Thank YOU, Lori. It was a pleasure talking to you! A fantastic interview and Coffee Time Romance wants to Thank Ms. Verkerk for stopping by and chatting with us today. Thank you.
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