Hi, I’m Carla Roma and welcome to Bandit Creek, a small town with a mountain of secrets. The first time I spotted Jade Buchanan I knew I’d met a fellow adventurer. We were on a cruise that went up the coast of Norway, and on the day we crossed paths we were both standing in the mud room of the ship, ready to jump into the arctic cold waters off one of the islands in Svalbard. We quickly bonded over our shared experience of freezing our butts off! Jade has traveled the world; she lived in the Sultanate of Oman in the Middle East, has ridden a camel in the desert, tangled with sea snakes, eaten miscellaneous meat in more places than she can remember, and walked barefoot through glacial waters at the top of a mountain. Today it is my pleasure to interview Jade Buchanan about her two books, PENNY CANDY and HARD CANDY, the third releases in the Bandit Creek series.

Carla: Before I get to your contributions to the Bandit Creek series, do you want to tell the story of our arctic swim, or should I?

Jade: I better tell it. You’ve been known to embelish a time or two—

Carla: Ha! And you would never do that!

Jade: Of course not. I’m sweet and innocent. Really. No one believes me for some reason, but regardless, the day we met was one of many firsts. I had gone to Norway on my own and I swore I would try to do as many things as I could. Nothing was going to be off limits because I didn’t want to look back and regret holding back. Jumping into arctic cold waters was a thrill I actually want to repeat. Especially since they delivered on their promise of a shot of vodka for those of us who jumped! I don’t know if my body has ever gone through a shock like that before, but I couldn’t breathe when I hit the water. My mind hadn’t completely turned off, though, since I did an automatic swimsuit check when I came back up.

Carla: That would have been quite the show if you’d lost your swimsuit!

Jade: There were cameras on us, I wasn’t about to risk it!

Carla: Like me, I know you’re a bit of a world traveler. Do you use that in your writing?

Jade: I use anything and everything in my writing. I’m famous in my family for saying “that’s going in a book” whenever we get together and start acting like fools. I find the world fascinating and I want to see as much of it as possible. It helps that my tastes are incredibly eclectic, so I want to experience everything. It’s one of the reasons I was excited to be part of this series. So many books, all within different genres and with varying heat levels. It’s like taking a vacation and getting to experience everything at once.

Carla: Right, the books! We should talk about PENNY CANDY and HARD CANDY. First off, two stories?

Jade: Call me crazy, but yes!

Carla: How does that work?

Jade: When we first talked about Bandit Creek, I knew I wanted to write a story about a woman returning to her hometown and the man she once loved. Only, every time I tried to determine what would happen next, one of the characters would make a decision that would throw me into confusion. I finally realized that was what I had to write about. Our decisions shape who we are, who we end up with and where we end up. So, I wanted to write a story – two stories – that would explore that theme. PENNY CANDY and HARD CANDY are the result. Two parallel stories, two very different endings.

Carla: What happens in the stories then?

Jade: In PENNY CANDY, we have our heroine Penny Anderson coming home for two reasons. First, she wants to find out what happened to her mother so many years ago. Penny’s mom died when she was in High School. Her father quickly shipped her off to Houston and she’s only now returning to Bandit Creek. But, she’s also recently reconnected with her High School sweetheart, and Candy Store owner, Craig Baxter. Craig wants to rekindle their romance and Penny isn’t sure what she wants.

Carla: So, how is HARD CANDY different?

Jade: They actually start off the same way. Penny is returning home for the same reasons as she is in PENNY CANDY. The difference is one very big, handsome, bisexual one. Back in school, Penny and Craig had a mutual friend named Douglas McKenzie. Mack has a secret… he’s in love with Craig and he’s infatuated with Penny. In HARD CANDY I explore the dynamic between the three of them.

Carla: Who makes the decision that changes the story from a twosome to a threesome?

Jade: They all do, actually. Our lives are interconnected, after all, so in order for two people to become three there needs to be the right timing where all three are open to that kind of a relationship. I’m not sure if I’ll ever explore this kind of a dynamic again of writing parallel stories, but I’m still fascinated by the idea that our choices and decisions shape so much of what we become. I know, such a serious thought for someone known for her quirky and outrageous stories!

Carla: Definitely intriguing! So, inquiring minds want to know, what’s up with the GI Joes?

Jade: LOL! I was told years ago by Laura Baumbach that it can be a good idea to use GI Joes to mock up sex scenes so I went out and bought a few to help me picture in my mind where everything was supposed to go. Then I made the mistake of naming them and my boys took on a life of their own! Today they’re quite the characters, and I’ve added many more friends to their little group You can find out more about them on my website: http://www.jadebuchananbooks.com/freereads.htm

Carla:  I’ll definitely check it out! Thanks, Jade! You can find out more about Jade Buchanan at http://www.jadebuchananbooks.com. Her two stories, PENNY CANDY and HARD CANDY will be available from Amazon.com and Smashwords.com on October 15th, 2011. If you have questions or comments for me or for Jade, please leave a response and we’d be happy to reply!