And our Sue's Clues Mystery Author is:

Our Mystery Author this round is Annie Burrows. She was born in Suffolk England and still lives there today with her husband and two children. Annie grew up in a home filled with books and with parents who encouraged her imagination and love of history by taking her and her sister on regular outings to castles throughout the UK. Annie tells us about her family and her books below.

When you are finished reading, visit her at her website: annie-burrows.co.uk

Thank you, Annie!

1. On your website you mention visiting castles and stately homes with your sister and parents. Were there any visits that stand out in particular?

Well, yes. A visit to Corfe Castle in Devon stands out in my mind, because, after a long journey to get there, and a climb up an almost perpendicular hill, my mother took one horrified look at the thousand year old ruins and exclaimed "It's just two half rounds and a lot of poles!" I believe a lot of conservation work has gone on since the National Trust acquired the property in 1982, and there is even a visitor centre and a cafe. But when we went, it really was just a couple of walls propped up by scaffolding on top of a bleak and windswept hill!

Which was your favorite?

My all time favourite is Tatton Park, in Cheshire, because there is so much to do, you can go back time after time. There is a Georgian mansion set in fabulous gardens, and a working farm where you can watch sheep shearing, and let the children hold newly hatched chicks. Then there is the Tudor old Hall, which details life in medieval and early Tudor England. And a massive park where you can walk, (trying not to get too scared by the deer, who seem to think they have more right to be there than you do), or simply pick a quiet spot to picnic.

2. You also mentioned that your husband had a 'powerful motorbike' when you met him. Do the two of you still ride? I can't think of anything I would like more than to tour around the UK on two wheels.

Sadly, the motorbike went when we started having children. We did briefly consider getting a sidecar, to put the baby seat in, but common sense prevailed!

3. Tell us about your family and children. Do they read your books?

My husband was thrilled when my first book came out in print. He was going away on a business trip when my author copies arrived, and took one to read on the train. I still wonder what sort of looks he got, reading a historical romance in public! He has read everything else I have had published, and always manages to find something nice to say about each story.

My daughter tried to read that first book, too. She got to the point where the hero starts thinking about what the heroine would look like without any clothes on, and freaked out. The notion that her mother can write about men looking at breasts is waaay too shocking! And my son lends the copies I give him to girls at his university, to try to impress them!

4. You are known for your historical romances. I see that they have been set during the Regency Period as well as that of King Henry the VII. Do you have a favorite time period in which you prefer to set your novels? Why?

My favourite period is without doubt the Regency. I love the works of Jane Austen, and Georgette Heyer, and read them over and over again. There is something about that era that just sparks my imagination, more than any other.

5. What of contemporary? Do you think you would like to try your hand at that time setting?

Well, I did submit a couple of manuscripts to the Mills & Boon "Modern" imprint—or "Presents" as it is known in the U.S. But it was one of my historicals (my third submission) that got accepted, and I now think that my writing style is more suited to that line. But I love reading the "Moderns", as well as the "Romance" line, and the Superromances, and the Intrigue, and.... well, you get the picture!

6. You are fairly new to the world of writing, or rather being a published writer, with your books just hitting the shelves in the past few years. It must be exciting. What has been the biggest challenge since that first book found its way into print?

Not shouting at my family when they come into the room and interrupt me when I'm writing! For that reason, I have learned only to do "serious" writing, that demands complete concentration, when they are not in the house.

7. Tell us about your new releases. ONE CANDLELIT CHRISTMAS is an anthology.

That's right. I have a novella, called The Rake's Secret Son, in it, alongside stories from Julia Justiss and Terri Brisbin. All three stories are set over the Christmas season, but whereas Julia and Terri's stories are set in manor houses, during house parties, mine takes place in a humble cottage, inhabited by a single mother, shunned by the locals. She really, really needs a Christmas miracle. And her rather naughty son challenges God to provide it!

And then there is CAPTAIN FAWLEY'S INNOCENT BRIDE.

Yes, CAPTAIN FAWLEY'S INNOCENT BRIDE will be on the shelves of UK stockists from December 5th. The battle-scarred Captain will be familiar to readers of my first two regency novels, HIS CINDERELLA BRIDE, in which he helped to defeat the villain of the piece, and THE EARL'S UNTOUCHED BRIDE in which he became rather too friendly with the Bride in question. Even though he suffers from a major disability, and has to exist on a meagre pension after being invalided out of the army, I could see he had the potential to become a hero, to the right woman. I just had to find him a love of his own!

(Incidentally, THE EARL'S UNTOUCHED BRIDE will be released in the States in February 2009, and CAPTAIN FAWLEY'S INNOCENT BRIDE later in the year.)

8. Any chance we may see you here in the States one day?

Absolutely! I have heard that there are a couple of conventions for romantic novelists I could attend, run by the RWA. I really must find out more about them, and start saving up!

9. What is next? Do you have any works in progress we should keep our eyes > out for?

Yes. I am rather excited to be having a story coming out in December as part of the new "Undone" series of ebooks. It is called NOTORIOUS LORD, COMPROMISED MISS. This is the blurb:

"Debutante Katherine Malahithe has come to London determined to resist the fortune hunters only interested in her money. Her efforts to appear unattractive successfully ward off most suitors--except for Viscount Maldon, a man who wants to avoid marriage as much as Katherine. The handsome, provoking Viscount becomes an unlikely ally, but can either of them escape the altar when friendship turns to passion...and scandal?"

And I am currently working on a story which will come out as part of a continuity series in 2010. Lots of details to be finalized yet, but I do know it will be available in both the US and the UK. Mine will be the 5th in the series. It has been tremendous fun working out the details of the mystery that will run throughout all 8 books, with the other authors involved. Especially as they are authors whose stories I have read and enjoyed in the past. I am thrilled to be in their company. The others involved are Louise Allen, Julia Justiss, Christine Merrill, Gayle Wilson and Margaret McPhee.

Read our 2010 Interview with Annie Burrows