I am so pleased to tell you that I tracked down this fantastic author
named Sarah Daltry, author of Bitter Fruits, and interrogated her. What kind of
information I got!!! Not only that, I propositioned her for more information on
her upcoming release and in return I am able to bring you this special
announcement….
The book gets
released June 25, 2013!!!!
Oh man!!! I don’t know how much longer I could have kept that in!!!!
This book is so fantastic!! I won’t provide my review this time, but next time
I am dishing it out!! So stay tuned!!
Attending a
vampire-themed masquerade party seems like a strange way to spend a night, but
Nora is sick of frat parties and bars. Meeting Alec was just a bonus. Despite
their immediate attraction, however, Alec is wary of involving himself with
Nora, and when she pushes it, she discovers that Alec has secrets that could
destroy them both. Is she willing to risk everything for a man she hardly
knows? How far into darkness will he take her?
When Nora attempts to follow, however, things
grow more complicated. Someone is hunting her - someone tied to a secret that
goes back to the beginning of man. Soon, Nora finds herself drawn to two men,
each with his own agenda. Can she save them both when one is destined to die?
It's a few days later when I walk out of a study session in the library, at nearly midnight because I truly do not understand statistics, that I hear the voice again. Alec is sitting on the wall that borders the library entrance. I recognize him immediately, but without his mask, I'm disappointed to see that he is even more attractive. I don't like being drawn to beautiful men who appear and disappear with no effort; relationships with this sort of guy tend to end badly."No ball gown?" His voice is full of laughter, but I look down at my ragged jeans and sweatshirt and realize I am out of my league. He isn't dressed the same, either, but his dark pants and light blue shirt look like they were purchased at one of those stores where clothes don't have price tags and you get a personal assistant for your shopping. The sort of stores I have never, and likely will never, shop in or even know people who do."No wolf mask," I tease back although the attempt at humor masks my doubt. Dressed in a gown, surrounded by candles and incense, I could keep up; here on campus, in clothes I basically planned to wear to bed, Alec intimidates me. It isn't only his physical beauty; something about him seems to reach me through the autumn night and make me burn for a world I didn't even know I was missing. The way he looks at me makes me feel like all of the words from the stories I've ever read have come to life and become flesh. Perfect, sexy, and untouchable flesh."Your hood was black, but I am no less a predator," he says, warning and sorrow mixed in his tone. "The mask just advised you what you were getting.""What am I getting? Because you certainly disappeared fast enough.""It was best not to be privy to the cries of monster," he says, reminding me of Chloe. She's fine now physically although she seems lost most days. Lately, her roommates said she has taken to sleeping all day and then walking the campus alone at night. We are in a reasonably safe area, but the behavior is still weird. Everyone thinks she is probably a little insane. I think she is just sad; she has been quoting Lucy from Dracula, which definitely spells pathetic to me. She took the party too seriously, but being this close to Alec again, I can see how that could happen to a girl. Reality twists into something new when he smiles."Do you know something about her?"Alec hops down from the wall and approaches. My body reacts to his closeness and I try to turn it off. I am not going to feel this, when I don't even know what his intentions are with me. He made me feel beautiful for one night, but it was one night and bad things happen when a girl assumes one night is the same as a lifetime.
OK. Now that I have
given you all the information I had to sell my soul for…on to the
interrogation!!
- What are your
ambitions for your writing career?
First and foremost, to be a
writer. I mean, I know I can call myself a writer because I write and publish
books. But to me, being a writer means people know I exist, read my books, like
my books. I would love to quit the day job as well. Finally, I would not mind a
publisher stumbling across my work!
- Which writers inspire
you?
I learned quickly that it is dangerous to
compare oneself to other writers. I am inspired by people who persevere, but I
try to keep my inspirations to people outside of the book world. Otherwise, I
find myself feeling bad when a writer I like gets a bad review or has something
bad happen. I also should say that my favorite writers are often nothing like
me. I love the Brontes and I love Hemingway, but I don’t write like any of
them.
- What have you written?
(*Include books, novellas, short stories, poems, blogs, awards, or
anything of interest*)
I started out writing smut.
Total smut. No romance, no character development. The stories are available
individually or in collections. The only real exception to this was “Touch of
Venus,” which was a little longer and I wanted the characters to find love as
much as passion. I then wrote a novella More than a Job, which is about a sex
addict and is basically more smut. My first work that was more romantic is The
Quiver of a Kiss, an erotic historical romance about Helen of Troy. Bitter
Fruits is my first full length novel and I would say it is more romance than
erotica. There are steamy scenes, but the story is about love before lust.
- Give us some insight
into the main character. What does he/she do that is so special?
Nothing, which is why I
like her. Nora is a typical college girl in an atypical situation. She is a
little jealous of her roommate, despite the fact that they are best friends.
She loves to learn, given that her parents are professors, but she also
struggles to understand statistics. Nora reads a lot as well. When she gets
brought into this world of curses and immortals, she handles it fairly well,
because she is intelligent and snarky. She also has no choice, since she has
already fallen in love and can’t walk away.
- What are you working
on right now?
Mainly the second book in
the series, which is called Immortal Star. It picks up about five months after
the events of Bitter Fruits. It will be out in September.
- Where do your ideas
come from?
Everything and everywhere.
I am always thinking about other perspectives. If I go anywhere, I am imagining
strangers’ stories. If I watch a movie, I imagine other versions, other
perspectives on the same idea. If I read a book, I think about the story that
is not being told. It is actually kind of irritating! It takes a really good
story to shut my mind up!
- What was the hardest
thing about writing your latest book?
The anxiety. That is always
the hardest thing for me. I convince myself that it is terrible, that everyone
will hate it. I get hung up on little things and they make me nuts. When I was
writing this, I changed the end a bunch of times, because I could not get it to
work. I am fairly satisfied now, but I still feel like I should go back.
However, if I did, I would never publish anything!
- How are you published
(*i.e. indie, traditional, or both) and why?
I am an indie writer. As
indie as it gets. I do it all myself. I have editors, who are really generous
and help me a great deal, because I would never be able to do it without them.
I also have a great support system.
- What would you say are
the main advantages/disadvantages about being self-published/traditional
publishing?
There is more control in
self publishing. I am not traditionally published, so I cannot speak to the
advantages, although I would like to be. I think the biggest disadvantage of
self publishing is the difficulty in getting your name out there. It also costs
a lot more than most people realize if you want to invest in it seriously.
- Do you have any advice
for other authors taking the same route as you?
It is important to have
some money to invest. This is hard work and if you want any success, you need
to make sure you do everything from the first word written with
professionalism. I don’t just toss the book online – it is edited, revised,
marketed, etc. I am also trying to get the word out and you can’t do that for
free. At least not forever!
- What is your favorite
motivational phrase?
I’ve never thought about
that. I don’t know if I have one. I do listen to Katy Perry’s “Firework” when I
feel down, though, so I suppose that the whole song motivates me!
- What advice would you
give to your younger self?
Take a chance on what
matters. I was more worried about salary and career when I was younger and I
regret a lot now. I wish I had taken a chance, because now I feel stuck.
- To end: Give us three Good to Know things about you. Be
creative.
1.
I love art. If you want to
engage me in conversation, talk to me about a painting. Especially a painting
created from the 18th-early 20th century!
2.
Traveling is in my blood. I
have a desperate wanderlust and need to travel frequently. I love cities – all
cities. I especially love them at night. My favorite city is probably London,
but it is a tough call, because every city has something special.
3.
I am very good at math and
with numbers. I sometimes wish I was a more logical person, because numbers are
easier to handle than emotions and the arts. I am in constant conflict between
the two parts of my soul.
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/322399
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