Romance author Jannine Corti Petska

I’m pleased to announce that I am interviewing romance author Jannine Corti Petska. She was born in New York and raised in Southern California, but grew up in an Italian family with Old World values. When she began writing romances, it was only natural that she set her stories in Italy and around the Italian culture. She has won or finaled in various writing contests and written articles about Medieval Italy for Renaissance Magazine. Now she lives in Southern California with her husband and three feisty Rat Terriers. Her main charity cause benefits the Humane Society.

Katie: Jannine, can you please share with us a brief synopsis of Charlotte and the Gypsy.

Jannine: Sure. Charlotte Nikolos keenly feels the difference between the dark coloring of the Gypsies who raised her and her own pale hair and skin. When she learns she has two sisters somewhere who share her looks and psychic powers, she's determined to search for her lost family and find answers about her past. But how?

For three years, Rafael Cazares has been away from the Gypsy camp and the woman who makes his blood boil. He's determined to win back Char's trust and recapture her heart. He insists on helping her to find her true family, but someone or something is determined to keep them apart. When a deep dark secret is revealed, Rafael would do everything in his power to keep the only women he has ever loved out of harm’s way. Even if he must die.

Katie: Wow, that’s leaving us hanging! Guess we’ll just have to buy the book to find out what happens, eh? Is this story also set in Italy like others you have written?

Jannine: This one is set in Andalusia, Spain. An appropriate setting for a Gypsy story, lol.

Katie: You have billed this book as a historical medieval romance. How did you come up with that combination for a genre?

Jannine: I started out writing historical western romances. But I loved reading medievals, too. Soon enough I had a hankering to write a book set in the medieval period. It took me a good five years from idea to written book because I felt so out of my element. I had been surprised to discover that writing medievals came easily, once I got past the nuances of the era. There is quite a bit of historical facts woven into my stories, although they’re not overpowering. I suppose I can bill my stories as, “Pulled from historical headlines.” LOL

Katie: This book has paranormal leanings in it. What attracted to you to that kind of writing?

Jannine: I’m usually attracted to what’s different. Although paranormal is very popular right now, back in 2000 when I came up with the trilogy, it wasn’t. And I had never through of stories about psychics as paranormal. To me, that genre is about vampires, ghosts, etc. Since I don’t read paranormals, I never considered it for this trilogy.

Katie: These characters seem rich and complex. Where did you get the inspiration for them?

Jannine: Inspiration for my characters comes from so many sources. For the trilogy, the setting dictated who my hero and heroine would be. In Carina and the Nobleman, the hero was a count. What better heroine for him than a pauper?

In Charlotte and the Gypsy, the heroine was raised in a Gypsy camp and falls in love with a Gypsy man. This actually is against all odds since Gypsies didn’t allow white people into their camps/clans.

I haven’t written book three yet. Callie and the Knight takes place in England. I’ve given the heroine, whose stepfather is an earl, a knight with baggage.

Other than the reasons stated above, the inspiration for my characters took off in my head. They weren’t patterned after anyone in particular.

Katie: You’ve said this book is available both as an e-book and in print. Did one come before the other, or have you always written in both formats?

Jannine: All my books are in both e-book and print with the exception of a short story, Knight’s Desire. The only book that was written only for print was The Lily and the Falcon, which was published by Kensington for the Precious Gem line.

Katie: How difficult was it to write an e-book?

Jannine: It’s not any different than writing a print book. There is nothing special that a writer needs to do. The publisher formats both the e-books and the print books.

Katie: What advice would you give to someone who is wanting to branch out from a published print novel to make that same novel an e-book?

Jannine: These days that’s not an impossibility. There’s an abundance of e-book publishers, many who also offer print. Even NYC is getting in on the growing popularity of e-books. The main thing is to research any publisher you want to submit to. Doing your homework beforehand will save you a lot of headaches in the future.

You can learn more about Jannine and her books at the following links: www.jcortipetska.com and www.moongypsypress.com