Question and Answer with the Fabulous Gina Conkle

Welcome to the lovely Gina Conkle author of the Viking romance TO FIND A VIKING TREASURE. So let’s ask Gina some questions and then take a gander at an excerpt…

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  • How did you go from Georgian romance to Vikings? 

Actually I went from Vikings to Georgians. My first book was Norse Jewel (started around 2003). I worked on Vikings and some medieval exclusively until 2009 or so when I needed a break from the Norse hammers in my head.

Meet the Earl at Midnight (my first Georgian romance) poured out of me. It was a “dark and stormy night” kind of beginning with a mysterious man, his collar flipped up over his nose and tricorn pulled low. That’s what usually happens. A man shows up and I have to write down what he’s doing and saying. Sometimes he’s Viking, sometimes he’s Georgian.

  • What is your favorite romantic hero and why?

As a reader and as a writer, I don’t have a favorite romantic hero. It’s more like what kind of hero am I in the mood to read. Sometimes I want the all-out alpha male. Other times I want to read a brooding, broken hero who scrapes through life (until a woman comes along to upend his world). Then again, sometimes I want the lone wolf or the adorable nerd. I also have a thing for stodgy uptight heroes. Reading how a woman drives those men mad can be so entertaining. Ironically, I don’t have stodgy Vikings. There is one stodgy Georgian hero, a secondary character (Samuel Beckworth, friend to the hero Marcus Bowles in The Lord Meets His Lady, book 3 in the Midnight Meetings series). Samuel will get his own story.

  • How do you feel about strong women protagonists? Do your ladies stand up to their Viking lovers?

A strong woman is a must! However, I take different approaches to strength. In the Norse series, my first heroine, Helena, uses a special talent to stand up to Hakan. In book 2, To Find a Viking Treasure, Sestra uses a combination of sensuality, facing certain fears, and a willingness to challenge herself to ultimately stand up to the Viking scout, Brandr. 

Another heroine, Gisla, uses humor to stand up to the bad boy hero called the Black Wolf. It’s not always the iconic shield maiden fight-with-a-sword way of standing up to the hero. In two upcoming Norse series books, the women outsmart the men and use battle prowess. 

Description of TO FIND A VIKING TREASURE:

Survival’s in his blood…

Rough-souled Brandr’s ready for a new life far from Uppsala, but the Viking has a final task —protect the slave, Sestra. Her life’s full of hardship…until she learns the location of a treasure. With war coming, stealing the enemy’s riches will save lives, but only one man can defend her —the fierce Viking scout, Brandr.

The two have always traded taunts, now they must share trust. Passions flare as secrets unfold, leading one to make a daring sacrifice on their quest To Find a Viking Treasure

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Find-Viking-Treasure-Gina-Conkle-ebook/dp/B01H226VM4

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/to-find-a-viking-treasure-gina-conkle/1123910468?ean=2940158423512

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/to-find-a-viking-treasure

A Glimpse into the Novel:

“You’re afraid someone will steal our little fishing boat?”

He dusted off his hands, his ribs expanding from labored breaths. The fire steel he’d found when they arrived flashed across his mind. This morning he’d stuffed the piece away to shelter Sestra, but the brave woman he saw in the clearing deserved the truth.

“If someone passes by tonight, sees the damaged boat, they will come ashore.” He slung his leather bag over his shoulder. “You should rest.”

“I’m not a highborn woman to sit aside and do nothing,” she said, planting a hand on her hip. “I can help. You know I can.”

Sestra tried for her usual brazenness, but sleepy-eyed and draped in his bulky fur she was no more ferocious than a kitten. She stood her ground, red curls falling free around her mud-smeared face. He stood squarely before her, breathing scents of fresh water and clean earth from her skin, good smells to a man who preferred forests to longhouses and women doused with scented oils.

In a moment of weakness, he tucked the fur’s open ends over her breasts. “It pleases me to take care of you.”

Sestra’s lips parted and starlight showed an entrancing indent on her bottom lip. How easily his mouth had fit there. It could again. If he kissed her, he’d test the tiny dip with his thumb, gently stroking her lip and the tantalizing freckle at the corner of her mouth. He’d not rush; he’d savor every part.

“All this time I thought you couldn’t wait to be free of me,” she said, her honest brown eyes searching him.

His pulse quickened, spreading molten heat through his chest, landing hot and hard between his legs. Sestra embodied Odin’s test, the one woman he had no business touching, yet his hands rubbed the fur over her nipples as if he had every right to her. And by the cadence of her breath, a tender flame kindled Sestra’s flesh hidden under layers of fur and wool.

If he didn’t take control of his impulses, he’d steal more than a kiss.

With a slow growl, he let go and slid the bag off his shoulder. “If you want to help me, take this and wait by the pine tree.”

She took the humble leather pouch. “What is it?”

“All my worldly possessions.” His voice was raw and mocking in the dark.

Sestra tested the weight easily with one hand, her cinnamon brows furrowing. “How is it a warrior of your stature and experience has so little?” Her gaze touched Jormungand’s hilt over his shoulder. “Yet you possess the finest of swords.”

“Maybe I stole it?”

“Maybe you did,” she said softly. “By strength alone you can take what you want.”

Challenge lit her eyes. The flame-haired thrall dared him to spill another truth about himself. Why did she want to pry open his deepest places?

“I’m good at taking what doesn’t belong to me.”

Sestra’s mouth curled in a tolerant smile when he glowered at her breasts swelling under his sleeping pelt. Fur lay flat where his hands had pressed the pelt.

She touched his arm and he nearly jumped out of his skin, the pressure of her hand palpable against his leather arm brace. “You’re good at a great many things, raiding, scouting, rescuing a woman dangling from a cliff.”

“But never enough to keep a woman.”

A thick red curl blew across her mouth. “I’ve never known you to want one.”

Behind him, water tapped the narrow shoreline, the rhythm of time and tides, a gentle going in and pulling out. Were the gods taking turns testing him? He was sure the wind carried Freyja’s seductive laughter. The goddess could laugh all she wanted. His will would be stronger.

About Gina 

Hi, I’m Gina Conkle and I write Viking and Georgian romance, which makes for interesting characters in my head. I grew up in southern California and despite all that sunshine, I love books over beaches and stone castles over sand castles. Now I live in Michigan with my favorite alpha male, Brian, and our two sons where I’m known to occasionally garden and cook. Living in snow gives me the perfect excuse to get lost in reading and writing. I’d love to connect with you on social media.

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Website: http://ginaconkle.com/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/ginaconkle

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GinaConkleWriter/

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