I’m thrilled to have USA Today bestselling author Ruth A. Casie here! She’s part of our Medieval Mondays group, and today is release day for her latest book, The Pirate’s Jewel. Let’s see what she has to say about it.

What inspired you to write this book/series? Have you ever read a book with secondary characters that scream for a story of their own? Or better yet, characters you want to know more about?

Yes! That’s why my medieval romance, Flight of the Raven, turned into a series, The Novels of Ravenwood. Tell me more! Wesley Reynolds and Darla Maxwell, the central characters of my new release, The Pirate’s Jewel, are the parents of Lisbeth Reynolds, the heroine in my story, The Guardian’s Witch.
My story that is releasing today is one of the books in the Pirates of Britannia connected world created by Eliza Knight and Kathryn LeVeque. It is also a cross-over story to my series, The Stelton Legacy.

That is so cool! I have to know…have you encountered any of the characters in a dream? No. I haven’t encountered any of my characters in a dream, but I did get pulled over by a policeman for speeding because I was talking to one. I lost track of how fast I was going on the parkway. I was arguing with my character while I was driving to my meet up with my writing partners.

He just wouldn’t cooperate, my character not the police officer. I was having a terrible time with a plot point, and my hero sat in the passenger seat and didn’t say a word. I threw out idea after idea, but he said nothing. That was when I saw the flashing lights.

Yes, I told him everything and no, I did not get a ticket. The very nice police officer let me off with a warning. I would have liked to be a fly on the barracks wall when he came in.

I love it! If you could give your characters a word of advice, what would it be? In The Pirate’s Jewel, deception and family honor are a central theme that touches both Wesley and Darla in different ways. They learn that blind trust can have deadly consequences. My words of advice are listen, question, and evaluate.

Good advice! In general, which do you enjoy writing more: description or dialogue? That’s a great question. To outline my stories, I write what loosely resembles a synopsis. Here is where I can write straight dialogue without worrying about body language, emotional cues, or anything else. I just write the words. I find the dialogue comes naturally. When I edit, I need to wordsmith, and some of my best repartees will be deleted, but for me the dialogue fuels my writing.

I adore dialogue too! What do you love most about being an author? I love the creativity of storytelling. My sister is fifteen years older than me. When I told her I wrote a story and it was published by Harlequin, I didn’t know what she would say. Bernice was not surprised. She said I always had a story to tell or act out and quickly reminded me that I made her dress up as a cowgirl to play cowgirl (we didn’t have any bad guys) with me.

Yes, storytelling is truly magical! Thanks for joining me on your release day, Ruth. I wish you great success with The Pirate’s Jewel!

A bit more about the book:

Deception and family honor are at stake – so is her heart.

Wesley Reynolds will do anything to avenge his family’s banishment from Dundhragon Castle even throw in with the notorious pirate, MacAlpin. His plan, ruin Lord Ewan’s trading network. He has a more devious plan for his father’s ‘best friend,’ the man who abandoned them at the eleventh hour. He’ll ruin the man’s most precious jewel, his daughter Darla. Wesley’s so close to ruining the trade network and succeeding he can almost taste it, but revenge is not nearly as sweet as Darla’s kisses.

Darla Maxwell, beloved by her parents has no prospects of marriage. Her father and Lord Ewan search to find her the right husband. Darla’s special gifts are frightening to many. She has visions that often come true. The murky image of a man haunts her, she’s sure it’s Lord Ewan’s soon-to-be son-in-law, but the vision morphs when she meets Wesley. The meaning couldn’t be any clearer to her, her destiny lies with Wesley.

When revelations surface indicating Wesley has been deceived and his revenge misplaced. Will he find the truth of what really happened to his family in time to stop the pirates? Will Darla ever forgive him? Will he ever forgive himself?

This is a KU book available at Amazon

More about Ruth:

RUTH A. CASIE is a USA Today bestselling author of historical swashbuckling action-adventures and contemporary romance with enough action to keep you turning pages. Her stories feature strong women and the men who deserve them, endearing flaws and all. She lives in New Jersey with her hero, three empty bedrooms and a growing number of incomplete counted cross-stitch projects. Before she found her voice, she was a speech therapist (pun intended), client liaison for a corrugated manufacturer, and vice president at an international bank where she was a product/ marketing manager, but her favorite job is the one she’s doing now—writing romance. She hopes her stories become your favorite adventures.

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