Endowed with special powers and abilities, beyond those of mortal women, I can get the munchkin off to gymnastics, cheerleading, Girl Scouts, and swim lessons. I can put hot food on the table for dinner while assisting with homework, baths, and bedtime… And, I still find time to keep the hubby happy (nudge nudge wink wink). I can do all of this and still have time to write my novels.
Sorry… I can’t even write that with a straight face.
Lies all lies.
Here’s the reality. I’m a sleep-deprived, overworked, mom who just doesn’t know the meaning of the word balance. I try so hard to do it all, (be super mom, wife, & author) and at the end of the day I fall face forward into the couch.
Yes, you read that right, I tend to sleep on the couch. It’s a point of frustration for my hubby and a thing of comedy for my daughter. Imagine waking up to your little child yelling, “Mom slept on the couch again!!!”
Because being supermom (or trying to) means a lot of time devoted to family, writing is often done when said family is peacefully snoozing away. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve fallen asleep with my laptop, on the couch. It just happens. Then, bright and early at 7am either my hubby (on his way to work) or my daughter (getting ready for school) wakes me up.
Writing is my passion. It’s a part of me. More than just a hobby, it’s a compulsion. I have to do it. If I don’t do at least one writing related thing each day I get cranky.
Hopefully, my passion can be your entertainment!
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Narrowly escaping death at the hands of the Magistrate, Mira travels west, toward the coast. With three weakened human fugitives accompanying her, she searches for the mythical land of Sanctuary.
After encountering a pack of wolf shifters, headed by the charismatic—and brazen—Stryker, Mira learns that Sanctuary is real after all. Caldera Grove: home of the Otherkin. Hidden in the mouth of a dormant volcano, it has protected its residents from humans since the early days following the great cataclysm. For Mira— a vampire— Caldera Grove is a land of peace; an escape from the relentless persecution of the humans who once enslaved her, and an end to the daily struggle and bloodshed of being a gladiator.
For the humans accompanying her, Caldera Grove means death. Humans, greedy and untrustworthy creatures, are destroyed before they can penetrate its borders.
To plead her case for entry into Caldera, Mira must abandon her companions, albeit temporarily, and follow Stryker into the heart of the city. What she finds within Caldera Grove presents her with an unenviable decision between her own desires for freedom and peace, or honor and the human companions who risked it all for her.
Q) What inspired you to write this story?
The idea came to me while chatting with my husband. We were talking about what was hot in current books and what had always been a favorite among readers. As we mentioned the different things like: Star-crossed lovers and love triangles, post-apocalyptic worlds, kick-ass heroines, and vampires, Mira began to form. Her character came first. Then she told me what she was and did. Rather than be top of the food chain as a vampire, she was a slave. Mistreated, abused, and forced to kill her own kind for blood sport, she was an unlikely heroine. She was perfect. And then the story formed around her. Mira’s world is gritty and I love writing about it. I hope you will love reading her story too.
Q) How long did it take you to write?
Technically speaking, I am still working on it. This series is set for 3 books but there is so much more I can expand on and I do plan on expanding it as long as readers are enjoying.
Q) What is your favorite thing about writing?
Writing is very freeing. You can create new worlds. You can play puppet master with characters. You control the fates within your stories. Sometimes, after an especially trying day where nothing goes right, it’s nice to be able to sit down at the computer and work on my story, where I know everything will go according to my design!
That is… as long as my characters cooperate.
Q) What is your least favorite thing about writing?
Well, characters do not always play nicely. When you write yourself into a corner, or characters don’t interact the way they are supposed to, there is some backtracking and deleting that needs to be done. There is a little bit of helplessness there, feeling like your story will not work out, and not knowing where to go from there. Sometimes it means cutting out whole scenes that you took hours to write in order to get back to a place where you can move forward again. Never fun. Nope. Not at all. But often necessary.
Eventually it works out, but that’s the biggest stress in writing, making sure it does work.
Q) If you could be any famous person for one day, who would you be and why?
I’m really not big on celebrities. I’d rather be myself. Can I be famous for a day? That would be pretty neat. But then, being the shy wallflower that I am, I’d probably freak out at the attention. LoL.
Q) What is the oldest thing in your fridge and how old is it?
Oh man. I made a casserole about a week and a half ago. It was tasty and my kids gobbled it up, but there was a little left. I had every intention of getting to it, but I didn’t. I have a three day rule in my house and won’t eat anything leftover after three days. I can still see it in there. It looks tempting but it’s past expiration and I haven’t had the heart to throw it out. I’m a weirdo.
Q) What can readers expect from you in the future?
Next in the lineup is Revolution. I don’t want to give too much away, but Mira is going to have some serious choices to make and there is a major war brewing. New Haven and the Magistrate vs. Caldera Grove and the Otherkin. It will be epic!
