Monday, October 21, 2013

2013 Blog Hop



Thanks for joining me for the 2013 Blog Hop. After reading the following interview with me, please hop on to meet the other authors on the tour, whose links you will find at the end of this post.

Tell us about your current release.

NM: THE KNIGHT OF WANDS, my debut novel, will be released in Spring 2014 by Soul Mate Publishing. It will be the first in a series called THE KNIGHTS OF AVALON about four  Scottish nobles enslaved by a faery queen after falling in battle.

To give you the flavor of the book, here’s what I’ve composed for the back cover:

Vanessa Bentley awakens in a Scottish inn with a hangover and a hunk in her room—Callum Lyon, the sexy Leo she came to John o’Groats the night before to seduce. So why is she still dressed and he on the couch? Did she pick a good guy for a change?

Callum has the good looks typical of his sign, but also the leonine possessiveness—the last thing the free-spirited Aquarian wants. Vanessa soon learns they are opposites in other ways, too: she’s a social butterfly, he’s a recluse; she’s an out-front activist, he stays behind the scenes; she’s vegetarian, he drinks blood; she’s mortal, he’s a Knight of Avalon, a shape-shifting dark faery who was once court astrologer to King James IV.

Callum, ready to take a mate after centuries of solitude, calls Vanessa mo dearbadan-de—my butterfly in Gaelic—because she flies away before any man can catch her. Vanessa claims it’s because she values liberty over romance, but deep down is afraid anyone who sees her flaws will cut and run.

To win her heart and her trust, Callum must fight his desire to pin her down—even when she flies away and lands in trouble that could expose his dark secret and ruin his life.

How did you begin your writing career? I’ve written since I was a kid and tried my hand at writing a romance thirty years ago, but it didn’t go anywhere. Five years ago, I decided to apply myself more seriously to fiction writing. THE KNIGHT OF WANDS is my first published novel, but not the first I’ve written.

Where did you get the inspiration for this book?

NM: I set out to write the story of two astrologers who were zodiacal opposites. One needed to be a Scottish nobleman turned blood-drinking faery. The rest flowed from there. I did, however, incorporate a chunk from an earlier unpublished novel, but had to turn a good guy into a bad guy in order to make it work in this story.

How long did it take you to write your current novel?

NM: The first draft of The Knight of Wands took about two months to complete.

What else are you working on?
This week, I’ll be sending out to publishers another paranormal romance/urban fantasy titled THE QUEEN OF SWORDS. It is something like the 12th rewrite of my first paranormal novel and is not part of the KNIGHTS series. I’m also a few chapters into the second book in the KNIGHTS series. As soon as I get QUEEN sent off, I’ll get back to THE KNIGHT OF CUPS.

Readers love following their favorite authors, which social networking sites can fans find you? 
Twitter: @GemdeLovely

Who reads the drafts of your novels? At first I tried to have family read them, but they weren’t the right audience and everyone was too busy. I’ve since recruited a few beta writers, several of whom really liked QUEEN OF SWORDS, so I’m optimistic about selling it.

Share a pet peeve of yours (related to writing or otherwise).

NM: Pet peeves? Where do I start? The misuse of myriad and comprise. Too-stupid-to-live heroines. Controlling heroes who can’t fathom their own hearts. My heroes are strong, but also sensitive and romantic. They know when they’re in love and when they’re not. They’re the kind of men I’d fall in love with—and do as I’m creating them.

Do characters invade your head the moment you stumble on a new writing idea? 

NM: I wish they would! My characters generally start to speak several chapters in—after I’ve figured out who they are. They might turn out to be different from how I first envisioned them, but they don’t usually come through right away. Callum and Vanessa did, which is why I was able to write the novel in half the time it usually takes. Leith and Anna, the H/H in THE KNIGHT OF CUPS are more elusive. But I also keep putting their story on hold to work on older manuscripts. Hoping they come through loud and clear when I can give them my full attention.

Thanks for stopping by. Here are links to the other participants. You can also click on the covers of their current releases in the left-hand column to visit their blogs.


Terry Cato   
 

4 comments:

  1. Sounds like an entertaining series and I wish you the best of luck. Was it hard turning one of your good guys into a bad guy?

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    1. Funnily enough, the good guy was meant to be a bad guy from the beginning but refused to cooperate. He was a great character, so it was very difficult for me and for him to make the switch to the dark side. He's still not totally unlikeable as a bad guy. At least I don't think so. It will be interesting to see how readers react.

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  2. Fabulous interview, Nina! Your series sounds fascinating. I'm really looking forward to reading Knight of Wands!

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  3. Great interview Nina. Your book series sounds very interesting.

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Writing smexy paranormals with a Celtic twist. Blogging about good books.