Let's give a warm welcome to debut author Heather Hambel Curley! She's stopped by to talk about her new release, WITH ME NOW (which sounds fabulous, and I 1-clicked it just moments ago!). Take it away, Heather...

1. Are you a pantser or a plotter? I’m definitely a pantser. I can probably count on one hand (with fingers left over) the amount of times I’ve plotted out my books. I think it reminds me too much of forced outline writing in college! I like to just sit down with music and write until I stop. Or fall asleep (FYI: kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk does not count as novel writing, haha).
   
   
2. What authors have inspired you to write? I am inspired by the passion and commitment of JK Rowling and her ability to create entire worlds with their own laws, rules, games, and forces or good an evil. Robert A. Heinlein inspires me with the foresight and creativity he showed science fiction in 1950s and 1960s. And, of course, George R.R. Martin inspires me with this spunk, sass, and commitment to writing the way he wants to write.
   
   
3. How important are names to you in your book? For me, naming a character is like naming a child. You’re going to be with this person for the entirety of your book/series. Try going outside and yelling the character name over and over again. If you don’t get sick of it, that’s the name you should go with. This is also how my husband and I named our second child.
   
   
4. Is there a certain type of scene that’s hard for you to write? I’m bad with sex scenes. For the sex scene in the first historical novel I wrote, I couldn’t even bring myself to look at the screen while I typed.
   
   
5. What is With Me Now about? With Me Now is about Madison Monroe, a college student on her first archeological dig. She’s working in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and finds something buried on the battlefield she didn’t expect to find.
   
   
6. How much research did you do? I’ve been Civil War reenacting since 2001 and met my husband at Gettysburg, so I’m very familiar with every nook and cranny of the battlefield. In 2004, my husband and I were volunteers at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in the living history department. For approximately two days, I worked on an archeological dig and, from that, this novel was born. Most of the research I did was archeological terminology and techniques of speaking/interacting with ghosts.
   
   
7. What writing advice do you have for aspiring authors? Never quit. It’s too easy to get frustrated: with writing, editing, submitting, rejection. If this is what you want, work for it! Believe in your idea and your writing.
   
   
8. What are you working on now? Right now, I’m working on the sequel to With Me Now, toying around with two other paranormal romances, and one historical. There’s always another Chapter 1!
   
   
9. And finally, two just for fun: If you wrote a book about yourself, what would the title be? Probably something along the lines of, “So this happened….”
   
   
10. What are five adjectives you feel describe you? Loving, nerdy, awkward, rambunctious, and groovy.
    
    

So over on my other virtual home,  I try to post a weekly snippet of whatever I'm working on. You know, to whet your appetites (and also because it's a good way for me to keep my writing motivation up!). I thought I'd start doing the same thing here, and since I've just finished the edits for it, I thought I'd start with a teaser from EXILED ALPHA! Read on to meet Arkady and Rachel...

She looked him over, pursing her lips. "You don't remember me, do you?"

"You'll have to excuse me, sweetheart, but a woman's face isn't usually the part of her body I pay attention to." Not that he'd forget hers, he was pretty sure of that. Especially when she glared like that. It was pretty hot.

She stepped up to the desk, rested her palms on it and bent over, putting herself on eye level with him. This close, he caught the tang of whiskey on her breath and saw the faint worry lines round her eyes. And there was something familiar about her, he thought now. Something in the lines of her face...

"I'm Rachel Jacobs. Tommy Jacobs' daughter."

Anger killed his erection stone cold dead. It rushed up in him like a flash fire, white hot and all-consuming. He surged to his feet and grabbed her arms, squeezing until she cried out in pain. "What the fuck do you want?" he snarled. "He send you to mock me, what? He obviously doesn't value you that much, princess, if he did, because I'll send you back in pieces."

Hi there, everyone! I'm Michelle Roth and I'm here to introduce my latest release, The Darkness Calls [The Transfigured Ones]. This book is entirely new territory for me. Where most of my works have been ultra-realistic contemporary romance, I wanted to add in a touch of the paranormal here!

I was daydreaming one afternoon, as I'm prone to doing and I wondered what life would be like if we lived in a world where we actually knowingly co-existed with vampires. Not in an overtly us vs. them way like the Sookie Stackhouse series, but in a world where all the fuss had long since died down. What would that universe look like? How would humans and vampires interact? How would they feed? How would they work? Interesting questions, right?

In The Darkness Calls, you'll find answers!

When Lilly Ferguson narrowly avoids being mugged after work, she's shocked to find that she's gotten the attention of Talan McKenna. He's the sinfully handsome owner of the Foxwood Casino and Spa where she works. There's only one problem, though...

Talan is one of the Transfigured. Like half a million others across the globe, he possesses a very specific genetic mutation. It leaves him with the inability to age, an aversion to sunlight, and a thirst for human blood. When he learns of Lilly's tragic past, he worries that it's an obstacle he'll never be able to overcome.

Despite her heartbreaking history with the Transfigured, Lilly immediately senses that Talan is different. Where her fears once lay, there's only a sense of peace and comfort. Just as they begin to build a love made to last several lifetimes, a shadowy figure from her past emerges and threatens to destroy everything.

Excerpt:

Within ten minutes, she was surrounded by two security officers and a doctor. He gently prodded at the knot on the back of her head, while she held ice against her throbbing cheek. As he started to shine a small flashlight into her eyes, she heard a deep voice in the hallway murmur,

“Where’s the girl? Was she seriously hurt?”

When he stepped through the door, she realized it was the owner of the casino. She had seen glimpses of him on occasion, but she’d never actually spoken to him. His eyes swept the room and landed on her.

She blinked in surprise as he knelt down next to the doctor, so he was eye level. His eyes settled on the bag of ice she held against her face. He didn’t speak. The small tic in his cheek was the only reason she could visibly tell that he was upset. Otherwise, his facial expression gave away nothing. His voice was devoid of any emotion when he spoke. “Miss...” he paused, prompting her for her name.

“Lilly. Lilly Ferguson.”

He nodded and continued, “Miss Ferguson. You’re okay?”

She winced. “I hit my head. He hit me in the face. Otherwise, I’m fine.”

His eyes swept over her, as if he was trying to verify for himself. His eyes took in her bag. The strap had a tear, but for the most part it was still intact.

Lilly followed his line of sight and took in the torn bag. “That was a casualty of war, too, I guess,” she said with a smirk.

A slight smile curved his lips as he said, “I’m sorry for your loss. I’m surprised you didn’t just give it to him, though.”

“I’m not willing to part with what little I own, Mr. McKenna,” she answered honestly.

He nodded as if he understood.

Lilly stared blankly at him. She had serious difficulty thinking he’d be able to relate to her in any way. He was one of the Transfigured. Rich as Croesus, he owned the casino, and was a huge power player among his kind.

Her thoughts must have been written all over her face because he said, “I’ve had almost five hundred years to become who I am, Little One. I can still remember when I had nothing. When I was nothing. I admire your spirit.”

She swallowed, uncertain.

“Will you be okay to drive home?” he asked.

The doctor cut in from the other side of the security office. She hadn’t even realized that he’d moved. He said, “I wouldn’t recommend it, Mr. McKenna. She needs to rest in a dark, quiet room at the very least for the next eight hours. She’s showing signs of a mild concussion.”

“Very well,” he said, addressing the doctor. He turned to face her and said, “Someone from the hotel will ensure that you get home safely.”

“But,” she asked. “What about my car?”

“It can be delivered to you. When do you work next?”

She blinked, trying to fight the fuzziness in her mind, and said, “Tomorrow afternoon.”

He shook his head and said, “We’ll reassign your shifts for the next two days. Take the time off.”

“Thank you,” Lilly said. She couldn’t imagine doing much of anything except laying under her blankets, if her head persisted in feeling like this.

“Keys,” he prompted.

She picked them up, then she winced as there was dried blood caked on the car key. She gingerly removed it from the ring and said, “Sorry. It may need a rinse. I managed to gouge him a couple of times.”

His eyes widened incredulously for a moment before he reached out and took the key from her.

He didn’t seem to have an aversion to the bloody key. It was, she supposed, his meal of choice. A slow smile, a genuine one, pulled across his face. He said, “Yes, Miss Ferguson, I do admire your spirit.”

About Michelle:

Michelle Roth is a novelist from the Great White North (Toronto, ON). When she’s not disappearing into foreign lands, or making two perfect strangers that she invented fall in love, she’s probably curled up somewhere with a glass of wine and a good book.

In her spare time she is typically hanging out with her awesome boyfriend and their two equally awesome cats. She likes taking road trips to nowhere in particular, cooking elaborate meals then making other people do the dishes, and being nerdy on the internet. Her books are currently available on Amazon, Nook, Kobo, and any other place that sells absolutely filthy romance novels.

Contact Info:

Twitter: @mroth_author
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mrothauthor
Website: http://www.michelleroth.net
Newsletter: http://michelleroth.net/mailing-list/
GooglePlus: http://google.com/+MichelleRothAuthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8178847.Michelle_Roth
Amazon Author: http://www.amazon.com/Michelle-Roth/e/B00KQNZOAW
Email: [email protected]

Buy Links:

Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA All Romance Evernight Bookstrand

Yes, there's more news! I'm thrilled to be able to show off the cover for Evernight's forthcoming BAD ALPHA anthology - which will of course feature my story, EXILED ALPHA. What do you think? I love it!

I'm in some talented company there, I can tell you. And because Evernight is generous like that, we all get our own personalised version of the cover too:

I can't wait for this baby to be unleashed on the world! I'm looking forward to seeing what the other authors have done with the theme :D

The contract is signed so I can officially announce that TANNER'S WAR is coming to Evernight Publishing this summer! I'm so excited! This was my first foray into both contemporary romance and biker romance as a writer, and I can't wait to introduce the world to the Wild Blood MC (and write more stories about them).

Want a glimpse at what TANNER'S WAR is all about? Check it out here.