Category Archives: Author Interviews

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Today, I’m pleased to bring back Greek author Effrosyni Moschoudi, who interviewed here back in April. When she told me that all of her books were going to be free on Amazon this week, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to spread the word. The sale runs through Monday, August 11.

Read on for more information about her, about her books, and about this fleeting opportunity! Continue reading →

Today, I’m very happy to welcome Jennie Marts, author of the Page Turners romantic comedy/mystery series. She is here to talk about the newly-released third installment, Just Another Manic Monday.

After the interview, leave a comment for the chance to win a copy of the book that started it all, Another Saturday Night and I Ain’t Got No Body. Clever title!

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1. Your latest release, Just Another Manic Monday, is the third installment in the Page Turners series. What else can you tell us about the story?

It’s Edna’s story and this character is a funny, sassy eighty-year-old who considers herself an expert on murder due to her extensive knowledge of CSI and crime-show television episodes. She gets the surprise of her life when her Monday morning game shows are interrupted by the arrival of John Collins, the love of her life…a man she thought had died years ago after being accused of murder.

John Collins is back, bringing with him a charming smile, a dog named Havoc, a second chance at love…and a threat of death. Danger surrounds this former bad-boy, and even after a lifetime apart, he still ignites a spark in Edna. A spark she thought she’d buried decades earlier.

This book flashes back to the sultry summer of 1955 as Edna tells the love story of her and Johnny and more than the weather gets hot and steamy. But the past has a way of catching up to you and a deadly threat has followed John to Edna’s door. Edna, with her sarcastic wit, a pocket stun-gun, and a few hare-brained schemes, is ready to fight for the man who still makes her pulse race.

Falling in love all over again, Edna must choose to risk it all to save the man she loves. But is finding your long lost love worth losing your life? Continue reading →

Today, I’m delighted to welcome Tracy Krimmer, author of the new adult contemporary romance, Pieces of it All, as well as The Jealousy Game, a thriller.

After the interview, leave a comment for the chance to win a copy of her most recent book!

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Your latest release, Pieces of It All, is your first new adult contemporary romance following The Jealousy Game. What can you tell us about the story?

This book is quite different. The Jealousy Game was a thriller, and this is a romance, as you indicated. The book actually began as an Erotica Thriller, but after my initial draft, it changed paths. This book went through three full rewrites before it went out to my beta readers! Once I received feedback, I made extensive changes once more time, before going through another final revision.

Pieces of it All centers around Beth, a recent high school graduate, trying to find her place in the world, and Harvey, a twenty-two-year-old high school drop-out, home after a stint in rehab. The two meet by chance, and are immediately attracted to each other. Beth wants commitment from their relationship, but Harvey’s hiding something, and it starts to drive Beth away. Is Beth able to move past Harvey’s shortcomings and secure a future with him?

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What inspired you to write it?

Like I said, it was an erotica thriller with a completely different plot when I first wrote it. I was reading a lot of books categorized as New Adult, mostly romance and erotica. As I sat back and really looked at the story, I thought about what I wanted to do that was different. Many may think this is your typical good-girl-meets-bad-boy, they fall in love, and she changes his destructive behavior, with a lot of hot sex scenes in between. It’s quite the opposite, actually (although there are a few sex scenes!). Though told from both Beth and Harvey’s POV (3rd person), the book really is about Beth recognizing her self-worth.

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I bumped into Hilary when I finally started finding the author’s side of Twitter and Facebook. The title of her debut novel, Dangled Carat, instantly caught my eye (so clever!), and I can’t wait to read her book this summer … hopefully while lounging on a beach :)

I was delighted when she agreed to stop by Skipping Midnight and answer some questions about her writing life. So without further ado:

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Dangled Carat is all about taking that giant leap when the time (and the person!) is right. How would you describe the story?

Dangled Carat is a memoir but it reads like chick lit.  It is about my attempt to convert the ultimate commitment-phobic man into a doting husband with a LOT of help from his family and friends. But it is also a funny but tender coming of age story that will make you laugh and cry.

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Gosh, I didn’t even realize it was based on your life! That must have been tough. What do think people will love most about your story?

This is a hard one to answer :) While elements of my story were unique (multiple faux engagement parties for example) the situation is very common — dating a commitment-phobe. I think that a lot of people have either been in this situation themselves or have a close friend who has.  I think the fact that readers could relate to what I was going through would be what they would love most.  But then again, there is an amazing first date scene :) Continue reading →

When I finally got my act together and joined a chick lit writer’s group on Facebook, CeCe Osgood was the first of many lovely ladies with whom I connected. She is a former HBO script analyst turned novelist, and the title of her debut novel is one you simply can’t ignore!

Exploring life after divorce, The Divorced Not Dead Workshop is a romantic comedy about dating after divorce. After the interview, leave a comment for the chance to win a copy!

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Hi CeCe and welcome to Skipping Midnight! Your debut novel, The Divorced Not Dead Workshop, is described as a romantic comedy about dating after divorce. What else can you tell us about the story?

It’s an opening-your-heart-again story. Going through a divorce can make you wary about getting back into dating or even considering the possibility of looking for a partner again. I believe finding out who you are and what you want is the first step: I call it your “me skills” in the novel’s workshop. I wanted to deal with serious subject of divorce in a funny and, I hope, helpful way. Another aspect of the story is the friendship with Dorsey and her BFFs, Pilar and Mimi. They’re the kind of friends we all want to have: true blue, forgiving and yet they can kick your butt when you need it. Especially Pilar!

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What inspired you to write it?

Frankly, it came like a bolt out of the blue. I woke up one morning with the notion of a dating workshop on a cruise ship and Dorsey Bing, the main character, came ambling toward me in her kitten heels. I liked her so much I couldn’t help but fashion a plot for her. It took a few drafts before I worked out the nuances of the romance and how it threaded into the dating workshop.

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When RS McCoy’s thyroid cancer returned last spring, writing became her mental break from treatment. In the past year, she’s published three novels, two novellas and several short stories. She describes her works as falling into the genres of fantasy, science fiction, romance, paranormal, and supernatural.

After the interview, leave a comment for the chance to win a copy of Sparks!

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According to your blog, writing was initially your way to mentally escape cancer treatment. Can you talk a bit about this and how it helped?

OOoo girl, you’re brave! All you have to do is mention the C word and people go running. I appreciate you asking! I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in August of 2012. For the next few months, I dealt with surgeries and radiation, and I can honestly say, it was easily the worst experience of my life. By spring, I was in a better place. I was a cancer survivor, it was in my past, I had lived. The following April, I received that horrible phone call that my cancer was back with a vengeance, and I would have to start over with treatment. For several weeks afterward, I struggled to wrap my mind around my daily life. Dealing with my cancer’s return didn’t seem to fit in with sitting in traffic and going to work. My head was spinning and I needed something to ground me in a positive way. Writing ended up being that outlet for me. In the past year, I’ve written three novels, two novellas and a handful of short stories as well as guest blog posts and other articles. The crazier my life gets, the more I write!

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Your first novel, Sparks, is part of a paranormal fantasy series. What can you tell us about it?

Sparks isn’t the traditional PNR, and my readers (as well as myself) have struggled to truly define it within a genre. I really enjoy reading paranormal fantasy, and I enjoyed Twilight and other popular books in the category. When I was developing a new idea for a book, I knew I didn’t want to use vampires, werewolves, zombies or any other creature that seems to be overused in the last few years. Instead, I chose to write about a series of young people who have gifts that allow them to manipulate the environment, read minds and affect time. It was really a lot of fun to write!

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Like me, Suzy Turner began her writing career as a journalist. But there is something to be said for the imagination, and when the fiction bug bites, it’s extremely hard to resist! Since 2010, she’s completed six novels for young adults (The Raven Saga trilogy and The Morgan Sisters series), as well as her first women’s fiction novel, Forever Fredless. She gets extra points in my book for being a self-published author, and I’m delighted to have her here today!

After the interview, leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Forever Fredless! 

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For someone who only began writing fiction in 2010, you’ve published a crazy number of books—ranging from paranormal thriller to romance, and from YA to adult. Which is your favorite?

LOL I’m very fortunate that writing is pretty much my day job now so I have plenty of time to dedicate to it. As for my favourite, that’s a tricky one. I absolutely love writing both YA urban fantasy and chick lit so I really can’t choose between them! Sorry!

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In October, you released your first “chick lit” novel, Forever Fredless. What can you tell us about the story?

Here’s a brief synopsis: Kate Robinson has spent the past two decades yearning to find her soul mate, the boy she found and then lost during a family holiday. Shortly after her twenty-eighth birthday, however, she inherits a fortune from an old family friend and becomes something of an overnight celebrity. Can her new-found fame lead her to him after all this time?

The idea for the book has been with me for many years because the beginning (when Kate ‘meets’ her soulmate for the very first time as a child) kind of happened to me. Although I wasn’t as smitten as Kate was, I do remember the moment quite clearly and I never forgot it. There are other embarrassing moments in the book that have also featured in my life!

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For months, Desperately Ever After’s Amazon page has included a link to pretty pink and white book by Zanna Mackenzie, called If You Only Knew. Apparently, Zanna and I shared similar readers. When I finally moseyed over to her website in April, however, it became instantly clear that we shared a lot more than that! A freelance writer and editor, a dog lover, a gardener … she even understood my “eh” feeling about shopping! All that stood between us was the way we spelled “color/colour.” Oh, and an ocean.

Needless to say, I’m thrilled to welcome Zanna here today to talk about her writing career and her latest release. After the interview, answer her question for a chance to win an e-copy of her other novel, How Do You Spell Love?

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In just a few years, you’ve published three contemporary romance novels, a novella, and two short stories—in addition to working as a freelance writer/editor and taking care of three dogs! How do you find the time?

I’m not sure! The day starts off with walking the dogs (we have 4 now, the latest edition Cassie – pictured below – is just over a year old now) with my husband, then we start work. He’s self-employed too so we have some degree of flexibility with regards to how we schedule the work aspect of our days. First priority once I’m seated at the computer with a cup of tea is the day job – I’m a freelance writer, editor and proof reader for a chamber of commerce. After that it’s on to the book promotion, blog and social media jobs for the day. I hope to try to fit in some writing but don’t always manage it depending on all the other jobs on my list for each day. In the spring, summer and autumn evenings we still have daylight to walk the dogs again and maybe catch up with some gardening. Each day is pretty busy but I love my work so consider myself to be very lucky!

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What can you tell us about your latest, If You Only Knew?

I’ve always been intrigued by the concept in books and films of the first love coming back and complicating life all over again! This happens to Faith in If You Only Knew – she risks getting involved with new-in-town Zane who has taken over the extreme sports centre in the village. Faith is nervous about relationships anyway thanks to having her heart broken, add to this the fact Zane is strangely reluctant to talk about his past and naturally she’s a little unsure if she’s doing the right thing by getting involved or not. Zane and Faith are both just getting to know each other when Zane’s business partner Matt arrives from Austria and complicates everything. Matt just happens to be Faith’s first love.
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Cindi Madsen is a USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance and young adult novels. Her latest, Cinderella Screwed Me Over, caught my eye because of its reference to a fairy tale icon and because … well, the title is just hilarious.

I’m delighted to welcome her here today. Enjoy!

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With so many novels to your name, in both YA and adult, it’s difficult to focus on just one! But what can you tell us about your latest creation, Cinderella Screwed Me Over?

One day I was taking to a friend about expectations of relationships versus the reality if them. I said, yeah, Cinderella really screwed us over. Right then I knew I wanted to wright a book that poked fun of fairytales, while also being one.

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What do think people will love most about this book? What do you love about it?

I love the case studies that compare her exes to fairytale princes and detail why they don’t actually work. I hope people will love that, and also love the romance of course.

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In the spirit of Desperately Ever After, I must ask: If you had to choose, which fairy tale character (doesn’t have to be a princess and doesn’t have to be Disney), would you be and why?

Well, I’d like the flawless hair that comes, even underwater, & I’d like woodland creatures to do my chores. I guess I’ll go with the modern day Rapunzel. She’s got spunk & Eugene’s pretty dreamy. My daughters told me I’m like Anna in Frozen, because she asks why her sister couldn’t have tropical powers & I hate the cold. Continue reading →