Heather Kuehl in the Author Spotlight

Cate: Please welcome Heather Kuehl. Heather, will you please share a short bio with us?
Heather: Thank you for having me! I was born near the Great Lakes, but made my way to South Carolina where I currently live. I’m the author of The Sarah Vargas Series, as well as several other books, numerous short stories and poems. When I’m not writing, I’m usually chasing after my two year old son.

Cate: Tell us about Epiphany and Dream Lover, and where they’re available.
Heather: Well, I’m going to start with Dream Lover, since it’s my favorite. I’ve never written a book that I love more.

Dream Lover blurb: Denna Rainerd has dreamed about Warren Connelly for the past ten years, their relationship in the dream world hot and passionate. Pity he isn't real...or is he? Warren wishes that Denna was in his real world, but a human in his world would be a liability. He's a Hunter shapeshifter; sworn to protect his world from the darkest of creatures while he's focused on revenge for the death of his brother. Their worlds collide when Warren saves Denna's life, setting up a chain of events that will change their lives forever. Will Denna be able to accept Warren's supernatural secrets?

Buy link: http://eternalpress.biz/people.php?author=273

Don’t forget to check out another one of my new releases, Epiphany.

Epiphany blurb: Everlena doesn't usually go out to clubs, but one night she decides to, on a whim. She meets Mika, a man who is as mysterious as he is delectable. Everlena doesn't know that Mika has plans for her, or that dark forces are out to get her. Mika is the Fey-King of the Unseelie Court. He's trying to find the princess of the Seelie Court, and is shocked to find her living life as a human. Even more shocking is that this human has no clue Mika’s world even exists. Mika must get Everlena to safety while convincing her that a union between her light court and his dark court is the only way to end the violence. With danger around every turn, will Everlena be able to leave her human life behind and take her place as a princess of the Seelie Court? Or will the feelings blossoming between Everlena and Mika get in the way?

Buy link: https://sites.google.com/site/heatherkuehl/epiphany

Cate: Wonderful! Congrats on both releases. Please tantalize us with a story blurb or excerpt.
Heather: Sure thing!

Epiphany excerpt; from Chapter One:

Scooping Everlena up into his arms, Mika dashed from the bathroom. Before she knew it they were outside, breathing in the cold night air.

Wheezing, Everlena tried to make sense of what had just happened. The ex-girlfriend theory was apparently panning out, especially since she heard Mika muttering, “I can’t believe she did that. Glad I left her when I did.”

“What’s going on?” Everlena’s throat was rough and painful, making her voice sound gravelly. “Put me down, Mika.”

He carefully did as she asked, setting her down on a bench outside the restaurant. Just as carefully, he cupped her chin in his gloved hand and tilted her head to examine her neck.

“You’ll bruise, that’s for sure. Why didn’t you fight back?”

“She surprised me. I didn’t know what to do.”

“You let the leader of Dyier Shola surprise you? I find that unlikely.”

“Dyier Sh-what?”

Mika’s eyes narrowed, examining hers as he spoke. “Dyier Shola. The assassins.”

Everlena felt chilling fear slide through her. “What?”

“You really have no clue what I’m talking about, do you?”

“Why did your ex-girlfriend try to kill me? What did you do to her?”

Mika ground his teeth as he shook his head. “Why is it that, even after she tried to kill you, you women always band together? You assume it was something I did.”

“Then why did she try to kill me?”

Mika sighed and leaned back. “I never thought I’d have to explain this to someone of your stature.”

“My stature?”

“Royalty. You’re a faerie princess, Everlena.”

Dream Lover excerpt; from Chapter One:

Waving, Denna ran down the street. Luck was on her side as she approached the crosswalks. Lights clicked over, allowing her to dash across the intersection with the other pedestrians. Feeling her phone vibrating in her pants pocket, Denna cursed and pushed herself to go faster as she looked down to see who was calling.

Tires squealed and car horns blared as Denna ran into an intersection that wasn’t ready for pedestrians. She froze, gray eyes growing wide as she watched the car barreling toward her. There was no way she could move in time. She was going to die.

Something heavy slammed into her, sending Denna crashing onto the sidewalk. Her head cracked on the pavement, and her hand felt the spot and came back with blood. She felt someone move beside her, and reality came crashing back. She was alive. Some stranger had saved her life. Denna had a pounding headache from the injury, but she couldn’t care less. She was just happy to be alive.

Rolling over, she touched the muscled shoulder of the man that pushed her aside.

“Thank you so much. I wasn’t paying attention. Thank God you were. Thank you so…”

The words left Denna as the man sat up, pushing shoulder-length red hair out of his eyes. It couldn’t be! But the man smiling at her with a quizzical look in his eyes looked exactly like…

“Warren?”

Surprise dashed across his features and Denna hurried to sit up. She cried out as pain radiated through her skull. Then darkness followed.

Cate: Loved them! Can you tell us why we're going to love your hero?
Heather: Mika, hero of Epiphany, would do anything to protect the woman he loves from danger. What girl wouldn’t love that? As for Warren of Dream Lover, he a tough bad boy with a soft romantic middle; a wicked combination for any woman.

Cate: Oo, he sounds irresistible. :) Tease us with one little thing about your fictional world that makes it different from others.
Heather: I’ve mixed paranormal with fantasy while creating my world. Every book shows readers just a little more of how infinite the possibilities really are.

Cate: I love mashing genres too. What's next for you?
Heather: Well At All Costs, a short science fiction/fantasy story is due out in December with MuseItUp Publishing. MuseItUp is also publishing my erotic romance White Wolf in April for their Short N’ Spicy line. I’m in the process of writing Sarah Vargas 4 as well as several other books.

Cate: Wow, busy! What inspired you to draft your first story?
Heather: My first story was what would become my book Promises to Keep. I started it in high school and just loved the idea of playing in a world of my own creation. Sadly, I can’t remember the inspiration for that particular story.

Cate: Fiction’s a great escape! Do you have a writing routine?
Heather: Ha! I wish! I write whenever I can find the time, which lately is around midnight. I’ve found that I’m usually done with all parenting and household responsibilities around that time, LoL.

Cate: I hear ya. Where can readers find you on the web?
Heather:  Readers can visit me on my website (http://www.heatherkuehl.com) or blog (http://heatherkuehl.blogspot.com). I’m also on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/Author.Heather.Kuehl) and Twitter (@heatherkuehl).

Cate: Is there anything you’d like to ask our readers?
Heather: I’ve been on a Buffy the Vampire Slayer kick lately, so I want to know who you prefer for The Chosen One - Angel or Spike?

Cate: Thanks so much for being my guest, Heather! Best of luck with your many projects.

Author Chat with David Brown

Hi David! So glad to have you at Author Chat, where we can learn a little bit about you, and your book.

Thank you. It’s a pleasure to be here and looking forward to the rest of the interview.

Grab a cappuccino and let’s chat. Unless you have another favorite drink (alcoholic or otherwise)?

Usually a cup of tea during the day but if it’s the evening a coke and whisky usually suffices.

Tea's a necessity for me too. Fur or feathers, petwise?

My wife and I own six cats so I’ll say fur.

Any pet peeves? One thing that really burns your biscuits?

Pets that don’t do as they’re told. Unfortunately, all six of our cats are guilty of this, at least once every hour, probably more to be honest!

My furry kids never listen either. :) Favorite quote?

Einstein on Gandhi: “Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this, ever in flesh and blood, walked upon this earth.”

What’s your ideal day like?

I’ll awake mid-morning and not feel tired, the cats will be on their best behavior, my wife, Donna, will be with me and I’ll get plenty of writing done before spending some quality time with my family, maybe grab a takeaway and a have a few drinks in the evening, staying up late watching a film or comedies. That sounds a pretty good day.

It certainly does. If you could live out any fantasy, what would you do?

I would probably just wander the world and not have to worry about money or other commitments when doing so. I enjoy fantasy fiction tales with adventurers travelling across their respective worlds but in the real world there is so much I would like to see and I just don’t think there are enough years in the average life to do it all!

That sounds wonderful as well. Beethoven, Beatles, Foo Fighters or Keith Urban?

It has to be the Beatles. They’re not my favourite group, but their influence on music is without question and what they achieved in such a short space of time is incredible. Many groups since have had one or two outstanding talents but the Beatles had a quartet of gifted musicians who each branched out into solo careers though poor Ringo didn’t fare as well as the others!

Do you have a music playlist for your book?

I don’t have a playlist as such. I like listening to the likes of The Decemberists, Nirvana, Guns ‘N’ Roses when I’m writing. Music by zero-project was used in the trailer for Fezariu’s Epiphany and also adorns my website.

Which of your characters would you most/least to invite to dinner, and why?

I’d most like to invite the very talkative toldere, Vintaro, who loves alcohol and a spot of humour. We’d get along famously. I’d least enjoy the company of the misogynist, Vincent Birchill, the sort of man I utterly despise.

While creating your books, what was one of the most surprising things you learned?

I owe thanks to my wife, Donna, for this really as she is my no.1 critic. When she fed back about Fezariu’s Epiphany it was often citing issues with overlong sentences which were too flowery in the use of language. I had mistakenly assumed with some sentences that reeling off two or three lines was better than just keeping it simple and concise. I’ve certainly learned my lesson now!

Lucky you to have such a spouse! Where can readers find out more about you?

You can find me on Twitter (@elenchera) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/fezariu), I have a website elenchera.com and a regular blog, The World According to Dave (http://blog.elenchera.com)

Book Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPgcNNLMBvY 

Please share a book blurb and/or excerpt from Fezariu's Epiphany.
Short Blurb

The White Oak, Clarendon’s oldest brothel, lured and destroyed men by the thousands. Fezariu was different. He had never been drawn by the White Oak’s vices but the brothel had still ruined him when he was just a boy.

Salvation came in the form of the Merelax Mercenaries – Elenchera’s most prestigious hired hands. They gave Fezariu the chance to escape from his past. Immersed in the world of dangerous assignments in the colonies Fezariu longed to forget everything about his childhood but only in facing the past would he ever be free of it.

Excerpt

When it came Fezariu leapt over the barrels and was flanked by Arshea and Vintaro with the other mercenaries holding a disciplined line on either side of him. They ran through the smoke rising from the flames and clouds of dust from the debris and soon found themselves in the pandemonium of the conflict raging throughout the square.

   Across the expanse were hundreds of valkayan rebels engaged in an epic tussle with the colonists. Fezariu’s charge of Merelax Mercenaries smashed into the side of the closely packed valkayans who were already in disarray from the showers of arrows raining down on them from General Bayard’s archers. When the last of the bow strings came to rest the fate of Redemption was left to be decided by those fighting in the central square.

   Fezariu’s line of mercenaries remained unbroken but many had fallen to the stubborn valkayan rebels whose determination was not swayed by the wilting of their numbers. Gradually the valkayans began to seize the advantage and when Fezariu’s line was broken carnage reigned throughout the central square with victory and defeat very much in the balance for all concerned.

   The failing of Fezariu’s line bred indiscipline amongst the mercenaries who broke formation and engaged in their own personal struggles. Fezariu remained close to Arshea and Vintaro with the trio repelling attacks with ease and providing cover for each other from any surprise ambush. The rebels’ resolve continued though and at the next explosion it appeared all hope of defending the city would be lost.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Fezarius-Epiphany-ebook/dp/B00515BM9W

Thanks for chatting, David! Best of luck to you.

Readers, David will be giving away a $25 Amazon gift card during his tour, so be sure to follow along and comment! The more comments, the better your chance of winning.