AccessRomance interviews author Robin D. Owens.

AR: Your newest book, SORCERESS OF FAITH, is out this month. Can you tell us a bit about this story and the series it's a part of?

Robin: The Summoning series by Luna is about average American women Summoned to another world by magical warriors to fight invading evil.

Sorceress of Faith is #2 (after Guardian of Honor) and can be read stand-alone. Marian Harasta is a grad student in Boulder, Colorado, determined to help her brother beat multiple sclerosis. She is Summoned to Lladrana and there she understands that she has incredible magic and can realize her full potential, but she must return to Earth and hopes to find information in this new world that could help Andrew...

blurb: Another American woman is Summoned to Lladrana...With evil invading Lladrana, the Sorcerers Summon grad student Marian Harasta to stop the Darkness taking control of their land and killing them. Marian must quickly learn her new magical Powers—and decide who she can trust in this strange land. She has prayed for a miracle to save her brother—can Lladrana offer that knowledge? Can she pay the price demanded and somehow return to Earth with it?

AR: You write fantasies/paranormals for Berkley and Luna. Are any of them stand alone, or are they all part of series? Are there any differences based on which publisher you're writing for?

Robin: I think the Luna books stand alone a little better than the later Heart books, but I always hope that each book can be read independently of the others. With the Luna series, there is an overall plot line: stop the evil from invading Lladrana, find the evil and destroy it... This plot will be carried from book to book, with each heroine contributing to the cause, mostly by completing a specific task. The Luna books are epic fantasy written primarily for women with a romantic sub-plot. That means the woman's growth as a character is the most important part of the book, so I concentrate on this, and the romance, while strong, is definitely secondary.

The Heart books are romances. Set on a planet colonized by Earth people who wanted to develop their strong psi powers, the relationship is the core of the book.

Each series has recurring secondary characters and are more "spin-offs" with a new hero and heroine in each book.

AR: Tell us a bit about how you got started writing. Why paranormal and fantasy, and why romance?

Robin: I started reading fairy tales, mythology when I was a youngster and all those have magic. I moved onto science fiction and fantasy, then mystery and then romance. I always liked my books to have romances, and I prefer happily ever after stories. So when I seriously began writing, I joined a romance critique group.

AR: Describe your writing process for us. How do you start? How much research do you do? How long does it take you to write a book?

Robin: Actually, an object usually jumpstarts my process. I need a first line, some sort of hook for me to start writing, then the first chapter usually comes fairly easily. I prefer to just sit down and write and let the story come, and write out of sequence, i.e. writing scenes not necessarily in chronological order. Since research, like the net, can suck me in, I try to keep it to a minimum, and I research as I go along. With a full time day job, it takes me about 9 months to write a book.

AR: Who are some of your favorite authors? Are there any you feel have influenced your own writing?

Robin: Oh, the biggies in romance, Nora Roberts, Jayne Ann Krentz, Linda Howard. Jayne Ann has particularly influenced me, with her wonderful paranormal books.

AR: Which of your own books is your favorite, and why?

Robin: My latest book out is always my favorite because I hope it's my best and it has a nice glow about it in my mind. It's done! My least favorite is the one I'm writing now because it's HARD!

AR: We understand you're a member of an improv group. That sounds very exciting! Can you tell us a bit about it and what else you do in your spare time? Any other hobbies?

Robin: I don't "play" as often with the Improvocateurs as I did. I think I was good at one time, and no doubt that it helped me with my writing and broadening my creativity. Now I'm learning the fine art of collage and working on sort of an "altered book" journal. I surf the web, spend time with family and friends. Walk. I'll be going to a horse camp for research, and I love to travel.

AR: Finally, what's up next? What can you tell us about future Robin D. Owens books?

Robin: I still like the Heart books and would like to continue that series as long as they let me. I have a few threads left dangling and some story lines I'd like to try. I have a contract for 3 Luna books and anticipate the series to go through six books. I'm working on some contemporary paranormal romance proposals...and usually, whenever a secondary character walks onstage I want to either kill 'em off or marry 'em off...

Thanks for the wonderful opportunity and the EXCELLENT questions!