Enisa Haines is obsessed with romance novels and what she’s proudest of is being a founder of Romance Writers of Australia. She’s also obsessed with all things paranormal and blending the two into happy-ever-afters featuring the otherworldly (with a little suspense thrown in) is for her the definition of bliss.

Tell me about the characters in this story, When Darkness Stirs.
Sely Langston is a healer in 1646 England where civil war is raging across the land. Disease has come, bringing more death, and a rise in suspicions and accusations of witchcraft. Once revered, now with her life in danger, Sely runs, only for her escape to stall when she finds a wounded man in need of healing or he will die.
Nathaniel Fitzhugh is an ex-soldier in Cromwell’s army plagued by loss and guilt. Still, Sely intrigues him and when he learns she’s intent on traveling further alone, he is honor-bound to protect her. But there’s more to Sely than he knows…

What inspired this story?
My favorite stories are those where tortured heroes, while saving the heroine from danger, end up being saved and redeemed themselves. I am currently writing a trilogy featuring three such heroes. Sely Langston is a minor character – very minor – in the first story but as it turned out significant to the plot. When brainstorming for this story, Sely appeared, wanting her story told. And so the novella came into being.

Where is your favorite place to write?
Peace and silence, and handwriting (no dreaded writer’s block then) are what my imagination loves best, and the writing place of my dreams is a cabin in the midst of a forest through which a river runs. I don’t live in a cabin but residing in a quiet, bushland-laden suburb keeps my muse happy. As do the hundreds of pens I possess!

Apart from books, what can’t you resist buying?
Shoes! 👡 And handbags. 👜 Oh, and pretty things. I’m happiest when impulse buying, purchasing gifts for myself and others when I see something nice in unexpected moments. If I wait until the last moment to buy, I never find anything I like.

Many thanks, Renee, for letting me tell you a few snippets about me and giving you an insight into When Darkness Stirs, my story in the Guarded Hearts anthology. It’s a great collection brimming with romance and suspense. Have a look at it.