Category Archives: Author Interviews

Aven Ellis’s website describes her as an “author of stories about the girl trying to figure out her career, her dreams, and the guy.” During the past year, she’s published Waiting For Prince Harry and Connectivity to rave reviews. I am so happy to have her here today.

After the interview, leave a comment for a chance to win an e-book of her latest release, Waiting for Prince Harry.

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Your latest novel, Waiting for Prince Harry, has received a lot of attention and praise from readers and bloggers of “chick lit.” What can you tell us about the story?

Thank you! Waiting for Prince Harry is about a young woman, Kylie Reed, who is afraid to live her life now, and puts everything off for the future so she doesn’t have to face it. But all of that changes when she falls into the lap of hockey star Harrison Flynn, a ginger who is even hotter than her dream crush, Prince Harry.

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

This caught me by surprise, actually, but readers really love the sports angle of the romance and that the lead is a hockey player. They love that Harrison is hot and completely respectful of Kylie. I love the message in the book-that if you believe in yourself, and have the courage to take action, great things can happen in your life.

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Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke have been friends for 25 years. In college, they made a vow to one day write a book together. And THAT is where anything common about this tale comes to an end. Because not only did they follow through with their promise … they kept at it and kept at it until Simon & Schuster bought not one, not two, but THREE of their manuscripts! I’m so happy to welcome this dynamic duo to Skipping Midnight. 

After the interview, leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Your Perfect Life.

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Before we get into what Your Perfect Life is about, I’d love to hear a bit about the road you took to get here. Before landing the deal with Simon and Schuster, you wrote two other manuscripts. Where are these now?

Our road to publication was hard and full of many rejections along the way, but we were prepared for that. In fact, the more NO’s we heard, the harder we tried. Our first two manuscripts didn’t sell, but in hindsight, we’re thrilled they didn’t. Because we probably—make that definitely—wouldn’t have ended up with the dream team we have now. And we feel so lucky to have our incomparable agent, editor and publisher. Timing is everything and when we wrote Your Perfect Life, we could feel that it was different—we were proud of the characters we’d created and the humorous, yet heartfelt story.

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Knowing what you know now about the industry, why do you think Your Perfect Life had a different outcome?

That’s a hard one because the industry is so subjective that you never really know the answer to a question like this! But here’s what we think is at least part of the answer: When we wrote the prior two manuscripts, we were trying too hard to write what we thought the industry wanted. And when we did that, we compromised ourselves too much. Once we said, eff it, we’re going to tell the story we want to tell, it all seemed to fall into place.

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Like many writers, Amanda Prowse started out doing something else entirely, but ultimately could not ignore the call of the pen. And it’s a good thing she didn’t! Now a bestselling author, she has published four novels and four short stories. The titles in her No Greater Love series all involve strong women “in extraordinary situations for love.” (She also gets extra points in my book for starting out self-published!) 

After the interview, leave a comment for a chance to win one of FOUR SIGNED copies of A Little Love.

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You worked as a management consultant for several years before deciding to take the plunge and try your hand at writing full-time. Was this something you always knew you wanted to do? If so, what gave you the push to finally take that leap and how did you make the transition?

I think if you really really want to do something it’s often because you have a sneaking suspicion that you might be quite good at it! I had always scribbled notes for short stories and gathered snippets about people I met who I thought might make great characters, but writing for a living was inconceivable to me. I come from a working class family and didn’t know anyone that wrote, it felt like another world that I wasn’t part of. Finally aged 40, after overcoming cancer, my sons were older and my soldier husband back from his thirteenth tour—I realised that this is my one time around the block and I had to live the life I dreamed of, so I picked up my pen and haven’t looked back!

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Your first book, Poppy Day, began as a self-published novel. But it quickly became a bestseller, attracted the attention of Head of Zeus publishers, and triggered an entire series. This must have been an extremely emotional and rewarding process. What did that teach you about the industry and your writing?

Emotional, rewarding and like a fairytale! I still pinch myself when I look back at my journey so far. Self-publishing and my naivety about the book industry meant I didn’t see many of the boulders that were blocking my way, meaning I simply jumped over them. Now, looking from the inside out, I can see the enormous problem of actually getting your work read. Publishers and agents are inundated and I’m certain that many brilliant books slip through the net. This is the great thing about the digital world—you can put your work out there and if it’s good enough it will get noticed.
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Just a few days ago, Cathy Bramley’s debut novel, Conditional Love, hit number one on Amazon UK’s Romantic Relationships chart. Talk about perfect timing! 

Cathy has one of those fantastic self-publishing stories that gives other authors hope to keep going. Though oceans apart, we share a phenomenal cover designer, blog tour organizer, and protagonists who begin on the meek side but grow in confidence as they come into their own.  

I am so thrilled to have her here today.  After the interview, leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Conditional Love!

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After spending many years in public relations, you decided to self-publish your first novel in October 2013. Can you talk a bit about how that decision came about?

I had been to lots to conferences where the general consensus was that debut authors have about as much chance of getting an agent as they have winning the lottery. I decided that I would save myself the heartache of rejections and go it alone!

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Conditional Love is about a woman in her thirties who gets dumped by her boyfriend (on Valentine’s Day—yuck!), then receives a mysterious inheritance under the condition that she meet her long estranged father. What else can you tell us about that story?

I had great fun writing this book. Although the main character, Sophie is a bit weak-willed to begin with, I think she’s great fun and big-hearted and she grows in confidence as the story progresses. The theme is love in all its guises. We find love in the most unexpected of places and sometimes love comes with conditions attached. Continue reading →

Today, I am pleased to welcome Effrosyni Moschoudi, author of The Necklace of Goddess Athena. Last month, her debut urban fantasy reached Amazon’s number one spot in the mythology category, and was number two in fairy tales. It also received a perfect five-star rating from The Fantasy & Sci-Fi Network, where it was described as “A Rare Gem.”

After her interview whets your appetite, head over to Amazon (US or UK) tomorrow and Friday to download a free copy! Limited time only!

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1. You published your first book, The Necklace of Goddess Athena, in January. What can you tell us about that story?

The Necklace of Goddess Athena is a fantasy adventure of Greek myths and time travel that is suitable for all ages. It is about two time travellers from antiquity (a brother and sister) who are sent to modern-day Athens by their mysterious father without knowing his purpose. They team up with two orphaned siblings in this new world and soon realize there is a reason that they stumbled upon them. Together, they wind up tracing their family history, trying to reunite with their parents and in the process, find themselves entangled in an ancient rivalry between two Olympian Gods.

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Praised by Time Magazine, Publisher’s Weekly, People, Booklist, and … well … need I go on (?) … Stephanie Evanovich took the publishing world by storm last summer with her debut novel, Big Girl Panties. I am elated to welcome her today as she opens up about her writing process, her famous aunt Janet, and her upcoming release, The Sweet Spot.  

After the interview, leave a comment for a chance to win one of two paperback copies of Big Girl Panties!

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Big Girl Panties is about a 32-year-old widow who tries to get her life back on track with the help of a handsome personal trainer—and winds up changing both of them in many ways. What else can you tell us about that story?

Of course, I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but Big Girl Panties is basically a story about first impressions and second chances.  And by second chances, I mean the chances we take on ourselves, to break away from our own preconceived notions and all the wonderful things that can happen when we do.  Both the heroine and the hero go through that transition, only from different perspectives and with different stakes.

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What do think people will love most about the book? What do you think makes it unique?

Hopefully, readers will be able to relate to the comedy that comes along with the characters fumbling through self-discovery.  Miscommunications, outside influences, all the foibles that accompany Holly and Logan busting out of their respective comfort zones.  What makes it unique?  I want to believe the voice of the storyteller.  I think it’s what makes all books unique. Continue reading →