Hello Lyn and welcome to Coffee Time Romance today. Pull up a cozy chair while I pour some hot coffee. Today the readers would love to hear all about Hywela Lyn.

Thank you so much, I’m so pleased to be here.

Lyn, I love the line on your website, ‘Romance that’s out of this world’ and with your latest book, Starquest, I would have to agree with that.

Thank you, Cherokee.  That line was actually coined for me by a fellow TWRP author, Cindy Spencer Pape when I was first contracted with The wild Rose Press and I’ve used it ever since.

I just read Starquest and you did a magnificent job in making your characters believable. The story has a way of drawing me right into the center of events. Thanks for making Jess determined and courageous. I like a strong female character. When you said ‘eyes as cool as gunmetal’, I thought wow, that is new and refreshing, I like that. Okay, let’s get to the questions.

Lyn, where did you get the idea to pen this story?

Well, it started with my hero.  I had this vision of a tall, dark sombre man who, whilst not exactly a misogynist, didn’t have a lot of time for women – until he found one who was different to any other he’d ever met. 

I’m fascinated by the stars and the idea of space travel, and I’d always wanted to write science fantasy.  I gave him a fantastic starship – and made him second in Command with his best – and probably only – friend as its Commander.  Of course he needed a beautiful woman to thaw his heart and Jess came into being and soon became very real to me, almost an extension of myself.  It started out as a short story, but by the end (which is actually chapter four in the book) I knew there was a lot more to be told, and it grew into a novel.

Was it difficult coming up with the characters?

None at all.  Jess and Kerry came to me ‘ready formed’.  I knew Jess had emerald green eyes and her hair was long and flaming red – it’s what made her feisty and courageous – and determined! I dislike heroines who are so strong they lose their femininity though, so I knew she would be caring and a little vulnerable as well. And of course Kerry was dark, and stern, with those cool blue eyes, and a rare but devastating smile. The other characters sort of came together around those two – except for Dahll and the villain, Narhjohol.  Dahll crept up on me unawares and eased into the story in that quiet, determined way of his.  He was originally intended to be a minor character but refused to stay in the background.  Narhjohol, the villain decided the story was really about him – and he was determined to give the heroine a real hard time! *Grin.*

I never had the chance to visit England or Wales, but did get to visit Germany for two years. I can imagine your countryside is breathtaking. Once you wake, how does your day begin in this beautiful country?

The first thing I do is go out into the garden with my dog, Bouncer and feed the wild birds.  If it’s a nice day in the summer I’ll have breakfast out in the open air on the patio.  Then I take Bouncer for a walk around the village. I love the outdoors and animals and like nothing better than riding in the hills near where I keep my horses. (Well, apart from writing, that is.) I have two horses but unfortunately no land of my own, so I have to travel to get to them. I dream of the day when I’ll have enough money to buy a small cottage and some land in Wales, and be able to see my horses through my bedroom window. Perhaps when Starquest is filmed and becomes a box office hit!  (Well I’m allowed to dream, aren’t I!)

I believe you enjoy writing other genres, too, such as westerns, and adventure stories. Can you describe your ultimate cowboy hero?

Oh, that would be the tall, dark guy, with a well muscled physique and skin tanned by the sun and wind.  He rides a horse as black as ebony and carries a gun tied low.  He tips his hat when talking to a lady and calls her “Ma’am”.  Slow to anger, watch out if his eyes narrow and his voice goes very quiet – when he gets mad he’s dangerous!  He stands up for the underdog and fights injustice. He respects nature and old folk and while bad guys fear him small children and dogs love him. His tough exterior can only be penetrated by the right woman – he does not fall in love easily, but when he does he gives his heart completely –and would give his life to save her from danger.  Now – where can I find this paragon of male perfection!

How long does it take you to finish a book from start to submission?
 
It varies on the story.  I’m a slow writer.  I like to ‘mull’ a story in my mind.  Starquest took several years.  I wrote the first draft in about a year, revised it several times, and then put it away for a long time before bringing it out again and reworking it, and again revising it.  I was asked if I’d like to be one of the authors in the ‘Song of the Muses series last December and came up with the finished 25,000 word story in March.  It was a tight deadline, but once I got started, and after the initial research, I was surprised how quickly I managed to write the story.  I wrote the sequel to ‘Starquest’ in about a year, and at the moment I’m doing the edits – which seems to be taking nearly as long as writing the original draft!

How much of yourself do you put into your work?

There’s a lot of me in most of my heroines.  Jess especially.  I would like to be like her – young, beautiful, and courageous.  Ever since I was a child I’ve longed to have adventures, and made stories up with myself as the heroine.  I’ve experienced Jess’s adventures with and through her, although some of the situations she found herself in I would have preferred to skip!  Most of my main characters’ beliefs and emotions are similar to mine. I don’t think I could write about a hero or heroine who had views that were completely contrary to my own, unless, of course, they changed their minds by the end of the book!

Have you received many rejections on your stories?

Oh yes, I think all writers have, and it would be untruthful to say it didn’t hurt.  Sometimes you can look back on a story and realize that it really wasn’t very good. Sometimes you can see where improvements need to be made and then you just have to knuckle down and do them as well as you can and send the story out again.

What can we look for in the future from Hywela Lyn?
Well, as I said, I’m working on the edits to the sequel to ‘Starquest’. ‘Children Of The Mist’ and all the muse authors have been asked to come up with another Muse story for the next series of ‘Song Of The Muses’.  I’m also tentatively thinking about a possible third novel to follow ‘Starquest’, but that’s all it is at the moment – a tentative thought so I won’t say any more about it just now.

If you could have any famous person come and ask you to write a romantic story about them, who would you choose?

Oh, that’s a hard one.  I would love to say ‘Monty Roberts’ the famous ‘horse whisperer’ but Nicholas Evans has already done a wonderful job of writing a ‘horse whisperer’ story Another famous person I admire greatly is the naturalist, David Attenborough.  He has great charm and charisma, as well as being extremely talented.  I would love to write a romance about him as a young man.  It would be pure fiction, of course, because he was happily married to his wife until her death about ten years ago, but he would make such a wonderful hero.

What do you think is the most fascinating planet?

In our galaxy?  Mars.  All right, we know it doesn’t have life, although this was speculated about for many years, but I still think it is a fascinating planet, and it’s not too far away by galactic standards.

If you could visit any planet in the galaxy, which one would you choose?

Beyond our solar system – any planet which is undamaged by technology and the inhabitants’ own greed and thoughtlessness which has nearly destroyed our Earth. That’s supposing there are any inhabited planets out there of course, and space is so vast, I find it very difficult to believe we’re the only inhabited planet in the galaxy.  I’d love to visit a planet in the Orion system.  I’m not sure why, but I’ve always been fascinated by Orion, so much so that I used it in Starquest, as the location of the space centre where Jess gained her ‘space wings’.

You have been given a free vacation trip to, Africa, China or Hong Kong, which would you choose and why?

I’ve always wanted to go to Africa on a ‘camera safari’ and see all the great cats and elephants, zebra, gazelle and wildebeests in their natural environment. I read a lot of books by H Rider Haggard as a teenager and his descriptions of Africa made me long to go there – although I don’t suppose I’d find ‘King Solomon’s Mines’!  But it would be wonderful to se the wild animals.

Can you share with us your website, myspace, Facebook, email, or any links, especially to your books?

I seem to be plastered all over the web – even two of my characters have their own ‘My Spaces’!

My bookpage at the Wild Rose Press, where you can purchase my books as well as download my free short story. My Blog, My ‘My Space’, Jess’s ‘Starquest’ My Space, Terpsichore’s ‘Dancing With Fate ‘My Space’         
       
Do you have a mailing list that our viewers can sign up for?

My website Don’t worry; I won’t inundate your in-box.  I only send out the occasional email when I have news to share, and three or four times a year I have a Newsletter with all the latest news about my books and anything else I think may be of interest.

I also have a guest book on the Contact page of my website and I really love hearing from people.  I can also be contacted by email

Thank you for sharing this time with us today.

Thank you for having me – and for the coffee.  I’ve really enjoyed this interview and appreciate being given the opportunity to chat with you and anyone who happened to drop by here today.