Interview with Heather Topham Wood

Today my guest is author Heather Topham Wood.

Heather Topham Wood graduated from the College of New Jersey in 2005 and holds a bachelor’s degree in English. Working full-time as a freelance writer for publications such as USA Today, Livestrong.com, Outlook by the Bay and Step in Style magazine, she writes fiction in her spare time. She resides in Trenton, New Jersey with her husband and two sons.

First Visions is the first novel in the Second Sight series.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

When I wrote my first draft of First Visions, I cranked it out in record time. The story just flowed so well and I ended up putting in some late nights just to get certain scenes out of my head. What became difficult was the editing and rewriting that had to be done. You grow attached to certain parts of your novel and it’s hard to hit the delete button and get rid of scenes, even if they’re not working. Sharing my novel was also hard for me. I’m somewhat of a private person and there’s nothing more personal to me than my writings. I have very opinionated family members and I knew if they thought it was complete crap, they’d have no problem telling me.

What other careers have you had?

For the past five years, I’ve done primarily freelance writing for various online and offline publications. Most of my articles have focused on health, fitness, travel and food. Although a few of the topics have been pretty dry to write about, I’ve learned a lot through all of my article research. Before freelance writing, I worked for a travel agency and a doctor’s office.

What else would you like readers to know about you or your work?

I’m a wife and mom of two boys under the age of five. My life is completely crazy, but I finally realized it’s so important to have a creative outlet. It’s not easy to make time to write my novels between taking care of my sons and doing my freelance writing projects, but I carve out time each day. I’ve been so much happier now and I’m thrilled to share these characters that mean so much to me with readers. Although I deal with paranormal aspects in my book, I’ve tried to keep Kate as accessible and real as possible.    

What books or authors have most influenced your life?

I’m an eclectic reader and can be drawn in as much by a bodice ripping cheesy romance novel as equally as a classic from the literary canon. A few authors whose works I can read time and time again include Jane Austen, Stephenie Meyer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Suzanne Collins, Sophie Kinsella, Meg Cabot and Janet Evanovich. Definitely a weird mix, but these were the writers that came to mind when thinking about the novels that mean the most to me. 

Do you work on one project at a time? Or do you multi-task?

My new goal is to try and see a project through the end before starting a new one.  When I used to write stories in high school and college so many of the stories would remain unfinished. Funny enough, when I re-read some of my old writings, a few would even stop mid-sentence. Although I have a few other story ideas, I’m only writing them down for now and will wait until I finish the sequel for First Visions before tackling an entirely new storyline.

Please share with us your future projects and upcoming releases.

First Visions: Second Sight Book One was released on May 1 of this year and I’m currently working on the sequel. I have four books mapped out in my head for the series so far with the likely final count reaching five. I have another young adult series idea that I outlined and will probably begin my first draft after book two of Second Sight is ready to go.

To connect with Heather Topham Wood please visit her here:

Heather Topham Wood's Blog 

On Twitter 

 Two years ago, 21-year-old Kate Edwards became deathly ill and slipped into a coma. While unconscious, she crept into the mind of a missing boy and awoke with the knowledge of his location. Friends and family were skeptical and wary of her new ability to see into the minds of others. Their fears prompted Kate to keep her psychic powers a secret. Feeling alienated, she dropped out of college and spent most of her days holed up at her mother's home.

Now another child has been abducted. Police detective Jared Corbett seeks out Kate for her help in solving the case. Reluctantly, Kate agrees and they must work together to bring 8-year-old Cori Preston home to her family. Although attracted to one another, Jared has a girlfriend with ties to the abduction case and Kate is sarcastic and guarded since her coma. With visions she can't control and an uncontrollable attraction to the detective, she wonders if she can leave the past behind and finally stop hiding from the world. Otherwise, Cori may be lost forever.

Meira Pentermann author of Firefly Beach

As a Colorado native it is always a pleasure to introduce my readers to other Colorado authors.  Please welcome Meira Pentermann

On slow, snowy days in her Colorado home, Meira Pentermann enjoys cozying up on the couch with a novel. Naturally, snow is not a requirement; neither is the couch. In fact, she sees no reason not to indulge in reading three-hundred-and-sixty-five days a year. Apocalyptic science fiction, mysteries, and young adult titles top her Kindle list, but legal thrillers and chik-lit make an appearance now and then.

When not absorbed in writing or reading, Meira enjoys life’s little moments with her family – the love and devotion of her black lab, the quiet wisdom of her artistic twenty-one-year-old, the trials and triumphs of her petite sixth grader, and the unlimited encouragement offered by her Dutch husband.

Meira strives to write stories that deliver the unexpected. She prefers down-to-earth characters that look and behave like regular folks. The prom queen and Adonis take a backseat to reclusive, soul-searching heroines and quirky, introverted gentlemen. 

Please connect with Meira through the following links

Facebook

Twitter

WordPress

Website

Links to Buy Firefly Beach

Amazon

Barnes and Noble Nook link

Synopsis: 

When Beth LaMonte rents a cottage on the coast of Maine, she wishes only to withdraw and paint. A mysterious ball of light disturbs her peace and leads her to a secret beach where she finds the diary of a girl who disappeared in 1975. Now Beth is on a mission, not only to bury her own past, but to put to rest the spirit of Firefly Beach.

Firefly Beach

Excerpt

Later that evening, an exhausted Beth took a long, hot shower. She pulled on her pajamas and prepared to get into bed. As she passed her window, she saw a shimmer of light near the cliff. The firefly.

Beth’s stomach turned over. “Oh no you don’t,” she said, trying to sound courageous.

Grateful that she had not yet taken down the old curtains for a trip to the cleaners, she quickly crossed the room to pull them shut. As she reached up to grab the left curtain, the firefly flew swiftly toward her and stopped less than a foot from the window. Beth’s hand froze. She was terrified, yet fascinated.

“What are you?” she whispered.

As if in response, the firefly swooped and danced. After a moment, it began to repeat a pattern – up to the window slowly, followed by a swift lunge down toward the large boulder near the edge of the forest. Over and over again it dove, as if beckoning Beth.

“No!” Beth said firmly, and she drew the curtains closed violently. Unfortunately, they were several inches too short to cover the windows. “Damn.” Beth shivered as a deep chill went through her body. She grabbed her large blue sweatshirt and climbed into bed, leaving her three-way bedside lamp on its lowest setting of twenty-five watts. For a long time, she stared at the ceiling. She pulled the comforter way up to her chin and grasped it like a security blanket. She glanced at the clock every now and again – 11:16 p.m., 12:01 a.m., 12:48 a.m., and 1:19 a.m. Sometime between 1:30 and 2:00, she fell asleep.

She was beset by disturbing dreams; rapid firing images flashed before her eyes – a car screeching down a country road, a yellow duck, her father’s face. She awoke with a start. Why am I dreaming about my father after all of these years?

Click here for your chance to win a FREE copy of Firefly Beach

Interview with Loni Flowers

I'm very excited to have Loni Flowers with me today on the Warrior Princess Blog!

Loni Flowers lives in Elm City, North Carolina with her video-gaming husband, who makes her laugh every day; two wild toddlers, who never slow down for a second; and three couch-potato dogs, who only raise an eye when foods around. She works a full-time professional job and when she's not playing on the internet or chatting on Twitter, she spends her free time with friends and family waiting for the next big idea strike. Taking Chances is her first novel.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

Everything!  They don’t write themselves. For me, it’s finding the time and concentration to get the words down on the page. But the one aspect of writing that I dislike the most is the synopsis. To condense your story down without giving away any major plot points and make it enticing enough for the reader to pick up… it’s a pretty tough job!

How long have you been a writer? 

I only began writing about two years ago. I had always been amazed at the way an author could carefully craft a story out of their imagination. I wondered what it would be like to hold the powers to create a whole new life for people you don’t even know, but come to love over the course of writing. I never thought I could do it. I don’t have much imagination… or at least I thought I didn’t. An idea struck at the weirdest of times and I wrote it down. With a lot of encouragement, I issued the challenge to myself to at least try to write a novel. What harm could come of it? Nine months later Taking Chances was born.

What books or authors have most influenced your life?

No particular book really. I read such a variety of genres it’s hard to nail down just one.
-Stefne Miller- She writes with passion and purpose. Her stories are full of life’s lessons
and I always feel inspired to do more with my life after reading one of her stories.

-Maggie Stiefvater- She writes beautiful prose. When I read her writing, I’m in love by the way it seems to flow lyrically across the page.

-J K Rowling and Karen Marie Moning- Two different genres, one’s Young Adult and the other adult. Their storytelling abilities blow my mind. To evolve a series, weave multiple storylines within its series—while each book tells its own story—and still managing to wrap it all together in the end… it’s a skill of writing I can only dream to possess some day.

How do you come up with the titles?

I try to think of key phrases my story is about, what stands out and feels right when I say the title and think of my story. I’ll make a list, get a few opinions from others that know the story and weigh out everyone’s opinions. For Taking Chances, I actually didn’t come up with it. My friend helped me. She’s a writer too and we are always sharing our work, brainstorming ideas. She came up with a list and so did I. When I saw Taking Chances, I knew it was perfect. It fits this story perfectly.

Please tell us 5 miscellaneous facts about yourself.

• I love, LOVE macaroni and cheese and will eat an entire box by myself.
• My best friend lives in Wisconsin and we’ve never met in person.
• I used to compete professionally in Equestrian horse shows when I was younger and took home reserve champion for the season.
• My husband is my high school sweetheart and we’ve been married for 11 years.
• I have 2 daughters, ages 3 and 6. 

Please share with us your future projects and upcoming releases.

Currently, I’m working on another Contemporary Adult Romance which could be geared toward the older young adult audience. But that could change; it all depends on how steamy I’m going to make particular scenes. (I’m not a fan of skimping on the details.)

My Website: http://www.loniflowers.com/index.html

My Blog:  http://www.loniflowersauthor.com/

At age twenty-three, Alex has had a hard life. His parents died when he was quite young, leaving his grandparents to raise him. Right before his high school graduation, his grandparents passed on too, leaving him all alone. After losing everyone he's ever loved, Alex turns to the streets in a self-destructive pattern until he finally ends up in Springhill, where he tries to make a new life for himself. 

Clair’s childhood was normal until age thirteen, when her father left the family and she never heard from him again. Consequently, her mother went into a deep depression, forcing Clair to grow up quickly. After finishing high school, Clair’s heartache over her father’s absence as well as her unbearable mother drive her to strike out on her own. But having nowhere to go and no family to speak of, Clair wanders aimlessly from town to town, homeless, and without purpose. Looking for work wherever she goes and living hand to mouth on the streets is tough, Clair discovers, but living with her mother is worse. 

Now twenty-one years old, Clair has found her way to the last place she and her family took their final vacation as a family--Springhill. While in town, she crosses paths with Alex and their ensuing relationship grows faster than expected. Soon Clair wonders if coming back to Springhill and meeting Alex was the best decision or the worst decision she ever made.

The Romance of Hollywood

The Romance of Hollywood

by guest blogger Angela Jones

Angela on the Red Carpet
Night before the 83rd Academy Awards

I’ve had a long standing romance with, not someone, but something.  Not even something tangible like say, clothes (although I do have a romance going with clothes, too).  It’s not something you can touch, but you can get emotionally invested as with a “real” romance.  My love affair is with the movies and my “romance” is with Hollywood.  From a very young age, I decided Hollywood was the place to be.  Movies were a huge part of my childhood, and I remember going to the movies as early as the age of four.  My first trip to Hollywood was at the age of nine, when I decided I was going to live at Universal Studios.  A 9-year-old can dream can’t she?

Hollywood is amazing.  It is a place of great contrasts, while a few will live their dream, many more will watch their dreams die a slow, often painful, death.  That doesn’t sound very romantic, but the romance is in the journey and idea of following your dreams.  What is it that draws so many dreamers to this enchanted place each year?  For me it was the allure of the movies.  Where else do you have the ability to be visually transported to another time, or another place, a place that doesn’t even have to be real?  It has always been amazing to me to sit and watch an idea become a reality on screen.  Someone thinks the words, someone else thinks the visual aspects and someone else puts it all together and makes it real.  While reading a book, you’re in control of the vision, but in a movie, the vision is a collaboration of many different people.

Hillary Swank (Angela in the background)
83rd Govenor's Ball

One of my favorite fictional movie locals is Tim Burton’s version of Gotham City.  The dark, ominous streets run by crime, the taller than tall buildings, the corruption and the hope - Batman.  I don’t always expect a happy ending, or the world being saved by a superhero, but I always want good to triumph over evil.  In contrast to the darkness of Gotham City, one of the most visually beautiful movies is “Amelie.”  The bold colors, and the beauty of a city like Paris make the film almost cartoon like, but you are transported into Amelie’s world and for two hours you get to escape your world and live in someone else’s.

I don’t get to watch movies as often as I once did, before child and family obligations took precedence.  Nonetheless, a movie is like a rekindled love, and once you’re reunited, you realize what you’ve missed, and you make the commitment again.  This romance has been going on for most of my life.  At a young age, being an actress was very alluring to me, but as I got older and realized what that entailed, you actually have to perform – in front of people, I knew being behind the scenes was more for me.

After graduating from college, I immediately moved to Hollywood and decided I wanted to be a film publicist.  After working in a few different industries, I ended up back in my hometown of Denver, where I landed a job as, well, a film publicist.  Talk about searching for something while it was right under your feet the whole time.  There really is no place like home. 

Camron Diaz (Angela in the background)
83rd Academy Awards

After several years in Denver, the pull of Hollywood was too great, and I ended up back in my favorite city.  This go around, I was able to make a dream come true when I worked for the Oscars©.  This experience was very surreal for me, as someone who has seen almost every Academy Awards© broadcast since the late 70’s. 

Through the last several years, I worked for another Hollywood organization, gave birth to my daughter, and my family moved to another state, but I still go back every year to partake in the experience.  The friendships, camaraderie, and passion of each person working the show is amazing to experience.  We work long, hard hours and at the end, you feel like you’ve been run over by a bus, but it’s all worth it.  Live your passion and it won’t feel like work.

Each year, I always feel the Oscars©, for me, have nothing to do with the celebrities, but it is all about the people I work with.  We all share the same dream or a different version of the same dream, we all have a romance with Hollywood, and for a short period of time, some of us get to live out the romance.  Hollywood had me at “hello.”    

Visit Angela on her blog at http://popsiculture.wordpress.com/

Author Spotlight Toni Aleo

Author Spotlight!
Toni Aleo 

I am a wife, mother, and hopeless romantic.
I have been told I have anger issues, but I think it’s cause of my intense love for hockey!
I am the biggest Shea Weber fan ever, and can be found during hockey season with my nose pressed against the Bridgestone Arena’s glass, watching my Nashville Predators play!
When my nose isn’t pressed against the glass, I enjoy going to my husband and son’s hockey games, my daughters dance competition, hanging with my best friends, taking pictures, and reading the latest romance novel.
I love things that sparkle, I love the color pink, and did I mention I love hockey?

Website

Facebook

Twitter:@ tonilovesweber6

Links to Buy 

Amazon - Taking Shots

Barnes and Noble - Taking Shots

Amazon - Trying To Score

Barnes and Noble - Trying To Score

Contemporary Romance

Title: Taking Shots

Author: Toni Aleo

Date Published: 10/5/2011

Synopsis: 

Elli Fisher has never thought she was good enough. Let it be her job, her weight, her love life, nothing, she was convinced she couldn’t do anything right. She had walked through life for the past six years in a daze, never thinking that life could be good again after the abuse she endured from her ex boyfriend. She is lonely, sad, and depressed, that is until she meets Shea Adler. After doing a promotional shoot for the NHL team, the Nashville Assassins, she meets the hunky hockey player who shoots a puck, shattering her world.
Shea Adler was tired of the life he was living outside of the rink. The girls, the money blowing, the drinking, everything had to stop and it all did when he met Eleanor Fisher. He had never met anyone like her. She is feisty, witty, shy, and simply gorgeous. When he laid eyes on her, it was as if he was taking the hardest hit of his life into the boards, and he had to have her.
Elli is a little skeptical of Shea, but he knows that they were meant to be together, and he needed her in his life. But Elli just doesn’t understand what Shea could see in her. She is overweight, loud, and not even that pretty, so why would someone so gorgeous and so amazing want to be with her? It seemed that no matter how hard she tried to shake Shea off, he wasn’t going anywhere, and for the first time Elli didn’t feel alone.
But could Elli throw her insecurities out the window and love Shea with everything inside of her? Or will she let a past relationship, and her family ruin any chance of her being happy?

Would Elli miss her shot at love?

Contemporary Romance

Title: Trying to Score

Author: Toni Aleo

Date Published: 4/11/2012

Synopsis: 

Fallon Parker’s dream was to have her family’s wine company at the top of all wine magazines and to have a cellar of her own. After graduating from college, she has worked hard to make that dream a reality, even if that meant having a nonexistent love life. She had her chance at love and that was a bust, so she put everything into the wine company. After becoming the official sponsor of the Nashville Assassins, Fallon finally feels like everything is falling in place, that is until Lucas Brooks comes back into her life.

Lucas Brooks hates his life. He is lonely, he is sober, and he is angry. On the ice, when he’s not in the sin bin, he the leading scorer in the NHL but off the ice, he is a mess. He threw away the most important person in his life, and has regretted it ever since but when Lucas sees Fallon again after being traded to the Assassins; he is bound and determined to get her back. Even if she wants nothing to do with him.

The sexual tension between Fallon and Lucas is electrifying as Lucas tries to convince Fallon that he is a changed man. Fallon tries to resist Lucas, but it is so hard when all her body wants is his. But when Lucas finds out that Fallon has been keeping a huge secret from him, the game he is playing stops and penalties are called.

With new rules and new players on the ice, will Fallon and Lucas be able to work out their differences and work as a team or will they be left trying to score alone.

When your voice won't work use your pen

Have you had that ah-ha moment, oh you know the one, ten minutes after a fight or someone made you mad you know what you should have said?  That stirring in you gut sticks with you for hours, days, months.  The gnawing feeling you have when you see that person, hear about them, or darn it--that fight or argument replays in your head again, still eats away at you.

Be honest, it happens to all of us.  For me, I'm nearly a 2nd degree black belt (October 2012 by the way-happy dance continues) and if you attack me physically I could defend myself.  If a job needs to get done, I have the discipline to do it.  However, for being a best selling author, words never surface when they need to.

I can give you one heck of dirty look.  I still have the teenage girl in me that can talk just a bit too loud so you can get the gist of my point, but to say what needs to be said at the moment it needs to be said is not a talent I have.  So how do I combat these feelings of loss to my pride when words deceive me and leave me unsatisfied?

I write them in my stories!

To date I haven't murdered anyone in my books.  Well no one within the book.  I have put a few of my husband's quirky habits into my heroes and yes, my mother caught this one, my father's favorite pizza.  But I haven't made any nemesis die, though I could.  However, the words that must be spoken are said.  And they fly freely from my fingertips through the virtual mouth of my heroine.  She gets the satisfaction of telling someone exactly what I would have told someone else had my throat not closed off when I needed to speak.

The best part about all this is I can work out my frustrations and I get paid to do so.  And chances those people aren't going to read me anyway, but they don't even know they did wrong by me.  I usually laugh when I make a snide comment on Facebook and the person in which it is about likes my status.  It's worth the laugh.

However, on a serious note, this writing challenge started for me at a young age.  It was my mother's coping mechanism.  She didn't get mad very often.  She didn't scream or yell a lot.  She sat down with a piece of paper and wrote a letter that would tear you to pieces.  Then she would rip up the paper and throw it away.  I often wondered why she did that.  But as I grew older I understood.  Some of us can't say the words that need to be said, but we can write them.  And sometimes no one has to read them to make us feel better.  We just feel better having seen the words for ourselves.

Happy Reading!
Bernadette Marie