Jacqueline Hopkins

This week's author is Jacqueline Hopkins.  Her first  book is Wilderness Heart -  A contemporary Romance set in the Idaho Wilderness.  She is currently busy working on a serial killer thriller, a murder mystery and a fictional mainstream set in Alaska.

You can buy Wilderness Heart in paperback HERE or as an eBook in a number of formats including but not limited to:  Amazon  Smashwords  Sony  iTunes  Diesel  Barnes & Noble  Xin Xii

And as a special offer in celebration of her Birthday on July 7th, Jacqueline is offering her book for only $0.99 throughout the month of July.  Just go to the Smashwords link and use coupon code GT64D for a free copy in the format of your choice.  And please share that link and code with your friends. 

TAS: Let's get the plug out of the way. Tell us a little bit about the project you are currently promoting - who will be interested and why?

JH: Well I hope everyone would be interested to read Wilderness Heart but since it is a contemporary romance, probably only women will be interested in it. Although, I do have to say the first purchase and review I received on Amazon was from a man and he said he quite liked it.

TAS: What aspects of being an author do you most enjoy?

JH: Seeing my words in the printed book, holding it in my hands, seeing my name on the cover, knowing people enjoy and like what I have written.

TAS: What aspects of being an author do you least enjoy?

JH: Seems everyone says promoting...and I have to agree with them. It is very hard work and it takes away from your writing, but if you want to sell more books, you have to get your books and yourself out there.

TAS: What moment as an author have you experienced that you are likely to remember 20 years from now (good or bad)?

JH: Holding my first proof, the printed book, in my hands and seeing my name on the front cover. That was very exciting and something I will treasure always.

TAS: What bad habits do you have when it comes to writing/promoting your books and/or what do you wish you could do better?

JH: Bad habits...hmmmm...I procrastinate until I put myself under pressure...but perhaps that is not a bad thing. It forces me to write if I give myself a deadline. I wish I could better market myself, either with more writing on my blog or learning those darn hash tags on twitter and what they are for and mean.

TAS: Do you have any moments or anecdotes that led you to want to be an author?

JH: No, I can't say there are any...at least none that I remember. My parents were a great example to me to want to and like to read. I love to read, but when I am writing, it is hard for me to read.

TAS: Do you write books that are part of a series or stand-alone? Why have you chosen as you have?

JH: Probably stand-alone because I am not sure I could come up with a sequel to a book, although my current thriller wip could be part of a series if I used the main character and put her in my murder mystery and then in the fictional mainstream. I've thought of that, but not sure if I will do it.

TAS: Have you ever written something that made you cringe to imagine your children/parents/significant other reading it? If so, tell us more.

JH: Well, yes...Wilderness Heart has about 3 really major love scenes and I thought it would be hard for me to have my kids, parents and friends read it and look at me differently. My daughter said she loved it as did my friends...they are suppose to say that, right, lol...But I had another gentleman read it from my office. Actually, I am the only female in my office and they were teasing about the love scenes when I first told them I published it. The one who read it said they were pretty steamy. Don't know his definition of 'steamy' but he did say he had to hide it from his 13 year old boy. Three out of the five men in the office bought the book...for their wives.

TAS: Have you ever changed the way you worded something you were writing because you weren't sure the grammatically correct way to say it as originally imagined?

JH: Oh, sure all the time. I still do it and will probably always do it. It has to be right and I hope I chose the right way in the end. But at work, I have the Chicago Manual Style of Writing close by, and at home I am a member of it online, so it is close as my mouse clicks and fingertips.

TAS: What's your favorite all-time cartoon, and when is the last time you saw it?

JH: That's a hard one...but probably Tom and Jerry and probably the last time I watched it was with my grandson, Aden when he was 2, and now soon to be 6 in couple of months.

TAS: Tell us about the area you live and what makes it unique (good or bad).

JH: I could write a book on Sitka. It is beautiful. We are right on the ocean with mountains right behind us. We have about 14 miles of road with the town in the middle and it is only about 1.5 miles wide. Only way here is by boat or plane, and the weather is like Seattle. We have lots of great fishing and it is a super place for settings in a novel. Only draw back is that the population is less than 9,000 so everyone knows everybody and what they are doing, and only one book store so hard to hold a book signing.

TAS: Tell us about an embarrassing moment.

JH: You know I am sure there were lots of them, and if you asked my friends and family, they could probably tell you about some, but I must not have been that embarrassed because I honestly can't even remember a one...I know boring, huh?

TAS: If you were going to be locked in a room and watch one of three shows for 24 hours solid, which would you choose: Gilligan's Island, Starsky and Hutch or the Love Boat?

JH: Gilligan's Island, of course. I love island shows, movies, the life style. I lived in Hawaii during my ex-husband's last duty station from 1988 to 1990, my daughter was born there in 1989 and I could certainly live there again. In January, I took my daughter back there so she could see where she was born...in the big pink Army hospital on the hill and we would definitely love to retire there, so Gilligan's Island would be fine. Besides, I used to watch it a lot when growing up.

Lisa Vandiver

Today's interview is with Lisa Vandiver.  Lisa is a novelist who specializes in Romance/Mysteries, but she has also written a church play and published a collection of poems and short stories. 

I actually bought Lisa's novel - Where She Belongs - with the intention of giving it to my wife, but after I started reading it, I couldn't stop until I was finished.  I found that her characters had depths that felt very genuine.  And the drama was very intense because those characters felt so real.

Lisa's main website is HERE. 

But please also check out her BLOG and you can find out a little more about Lisa HERE.

TAS: Let's get the plug out of the way.  Tell us a little bit about the project you are currently promoting - who will be interested and why?

LV: I'm promoting the two novels the most. Where She Belongs is a wonderful story about a young woman who is the key to three family's struggles and survival. She is involved with a Mafia bad boy and meets a handsome attorney who challenges her heart and her mind. (For Men and Women who love drama and mystery) A lot of fighting and intense mysteries to unravel.

Josie's Thorn is about a young woman who returns to her family's ranch only to find danger to her as she fights against unknown enemies to save the ranch, and against her old boyfriend from stealing her heart away again.(Women who love a tender, passionate romance story)
 
TAS: What aspects of being an author do you most enjoy?

LV: I enjoy the looks from people that I get when I tell them I'm a writer, and an author of three books. I enjoy making up stories about all kinds of wonderful people and places I've created out of my own mind.

TAS: What aspects of being an author do you least enjoy?

LV: Formatting, marketing, I wish I could write and let someone else do the hard stuff. Writing the story is by far the easiest and funnest part of this whole process.
  
TAS: What moment as an author have you experienced that you are likely to remember 20 years from now (good or bad)?

LV: Book signings, I hate them, don't enjoy them, had a painful experience with my first one and it left a sour taste in my mouth.

TAS: What bad habits do you have when it comes to writing/promoting your books and/or what do you wish you could do better?

LV: Having too many coals on my fire at times to the point where I find myself overwhelmed!(laughing)

TAS: Pick a character from one of your books and tell us what actor or actress you would cast and why.

LV: Matthew Kingston from Where She Belongs - Gerard Butler because they're both hot and they know it, but they're completely lovable and kind.

TAS: Do you have clear 'heroes' and 'villains' in your stories or are the lines more blurred?  Why do you choose that route?

LV: In Where She Belongs, Matthew Kingston is clearly a playboy but he is the 'hero', Nick Cabara is clearly the Mafia bad boy and seen as the 'villain', but I think Nick is just misunderstood. :)

TAS: If you had to choose between selling 1 million books but only making $20,000 in royalties or selling 1000 books and (somehow) making $40,000, which would you choose and why?

LV: I'd choose selling 1 million books because I love my stories and I just really want them to be enjoyed by others although I do want to be able to make a living out of my novel writing.

TAS: Were you smarter than your writing/literature teachers in high-school and why do you answer the way you do?

LV: No way. I was a backwards, shy, and a plain Jane in school; never had the self esteem to even try to 'be smart'.

TAS: If you had a couple hours to kill in a strange city and you could either spend the time in their zoo, museum or library, which would you choose and why?

LV: Wow, hard decision, perhaps I'd divide my day into two parts; half a day at library, and the other half at the museum. I could learn so much from either one of these places, and be motivated to write, very relaxing.

TAS: If you had Superman's powers, what do you imagine you would actually do with them?

LV: I'd definitely fly all over the world just to look at all of the wonderful skyline lights of all the famous cities of the world, that would be so romantic! Oh and look at Gerard Butler with my super power eyes:)

TAS: If you were going to be locked in a room and watch one of three shows for 24 hours solid, which would you choose:  Gilligan's Island, Starsky and Hutch or the Love Boat?

LV: Definitely Starsky and Hutch because Gilligan is just plain boring. Love Boat if I could choose my love interest(Guess who'd it be; G.B.)lol