Lorelei James is celebrating the release of Turn and Burn, and is stopping by Smexy for a chat.

Who is Lorelei James? Give us the low down.

I’m a double secret agent. And an international tango champion. And I hold world records in rifle marksmanship. I’m an extraordinary bartender. A trained yogi. A fabulous chef. I’m also known as a fashionista. On the weekends I’m a Formula One racecar driver. What? Don’t you believe me? Oh right, that’s because I spend my days and nights making stuff up. See now, doesn’t the truth that I’m a fulltime writer living in western South Dakota, married with three daughters sound boring in comparison?

One theme that runs through Turn and Burn is finding the courage to overcome your fears. Give us more insight into writing Tanna and Fletcher.

Tanna and Fletcher are older characters—they’re both thirty-six and that puts them in a different place in their lives career-wise than characters in their twenties. They’ve both had professional successes, but they’ve both sacrificed intimate relationships to achieve that success. So for Tanna, the loss of the one thing she’s always excelled at due to her fear, makes her to take a look at her life as a whole—not just as a barrel racing champion. And Fletch takes care of everyone’s needs around him but his own, so when he’s forced to take a sabbatical, he realizes he is missing out on an important part of life—that physical and emotional connection only found in a romantic relationship. It’s fun and heartbreaking to watch them face those fears together. Since they’re both in the same place in their lives, they’re better able to help each other deal with it.

I love it when authors bring past characters into books so we can continue watching them grow and live and love and this is something you seem to do a lot in your series. Do you make it a point to do that or do you find them sneaking their way in?

Those previous characters always find a way to sneak in. I never plan ahead and think: the readers haven’t heard from characters X and Y for a while, so I’d better throw in a scene with them. That said, there are reader’s expectation for a series that they will get an update on characters they loved. I know as a reader I appreciate that, but keeping the new characters, who’ve finally earned their right to their happily ever after are always my number one priority. I find it ironic in some reviews, especially the Rough Riders series, where the complaint is I didn’t catch up with all the previous characters. I’m thinking…I’m 15+ books into that series. There wouldn’t be room to focus on the main couple if I had to revisit all the other couples!

Cowboys are damn sexy. I think we can all agree on this. Give us a few reasons Fletcher, a veterinarian is just as sexy.

Oh man. From the minute Fletch showed up on the page in SADDLED AND SPURRED, I was in love with him. Such a big and strong man, and yet, soft and sweet and thoughtful in dealing with his patients and his patient’s animals, which is mega-sexy. Even when he’s dog-tired he retains his wicked sense of humor—another very sexy attribute. And the man is very take charge in the bedroom too, so that’s a plus. He’s stubborn in all the right ways—and he’s not afraid to show that he cares to the people in his life. He is a cowboy, maybe not as much as the other characters in the Blacktop Cowboys books, but he works in the ranching industry every day and all of his friends are cowboys, so he fits the bill.

Did you do anything special for release day?

I wish I had some kind of tradition, but I don’t. I usually have a celebratory beverage at some point during the day. The funny thing that’s happened with every release in the last few years is when readers download the book at midnight and stay up all night to finish it, and then I have fan emails first thing in the morning on release day. That cracks me up.

What’s up next for you?

I just finished BOUND, the first book in the new Mastered Series, which releases in January 2014 and I’m working on UNWOUND the second book in that series that releases in March 2014. Then I’ll be on to HILLBILLY ROCKSTAR, the 6^th book in the Blacktop Cowboys series. And a Wild West Boys book and Rough Riders book 16 in between all that. Lots of fun stuff coming out in 2014…so I’ll definitely need those celebratory drinks on release day!

About the Author:

When New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lorelei James is not squirreled away behind her laptop in the Black Hills of western South Dakota, she can be found reading, shootin’ her .22, watching the Professional Bull Riders tour, and running a kids’ taxi service, all in the guise of avoiding housework and rustlin’ up vittles. Visit her online at Visit her online at www.loreleijames.com, www.facebook.com/lorelei-james, and www.twitter.com/loreleijames.