Now available to purchase on Amazon from Montlake Romance is Storm Crossed, book 4 in the Grimm Series, by Dani Harper.



What's your writing routine? Do you write in the mornings, nights, daily, or when the mood strikes you?

Mornings are often the best, right around 5:30 or 6. I can write for a long stretch then. I think it’s because my brain is awake (yes, I’m one of those annoying “morning people” – providing there’s COFFEE!). The rest of the day, writing has to compete with daily life. Lately, my brain has been getting a “second wind” for a writing stretch at around 8:00 at night, and my hubs kindly puts on earphones to listen to the TV so I can have some quiet time.

When I’m not writing, however, I’m always, always, ALWAYS thinking about the story.

What’s the most difficult thing about writing for you?

Physically, it’s making sure that I get up from the laptop regularly and move around! Luckily I have a flock of chickens that get me outdoors a few times a day. I also spend time daily on my exercise bike – I look forward to it because I allow myself to read my favorite novels there! Needless to say, I often end up biking much longer than planned…

As far as the actual writing goes, the trouble starts when the characters abandon the storyline I’d so carefully planned, and head off in another direction. I often feel like I’m running after them, yelling “Wait, I thought we were going to do (fill in the blank)” or “Hey, you can’t do that!” Sometimes I end up written into a corner for a while… It all works out in the end, thank goodness, as soon as I stop struggling and really listen to my characters. They often take the story to places I hadn’t even imagined. They surprise me, and the story is better for it.

What’s your favorite non-essential item on your desk?

I’ve always loved things that make me smile – stuffed chickens, ceramic gnomes, space aliens, rubber brains, etc. But ever since I started the Grim series, I’ve noticed more metaphysical and fantasy items have made a home for themselves on my desk: crystals and rocks, decks of tarot cards, a tiny statue of a mechanical dragon. My absolute FAVORITE is a small figurine of a winged black horse (see the photo!). My sister found it when we were shopping together, and it reminded me SO much of something that one of my characters would ride in the Wild Hunt. My imagination starts revving every time I see it!

Which one character out of all your books was your favorite to write about?

Now available on Evernight Publishing is the paranormal romance The Chef and The Ghost of Bartholomew Addison Jenkins by Aletta Thorne.



When did you become interested in storytelling?

I honestly can’t remember. I started writing stories as a little girl. Then, when I was in my teens and undergrad college, I switched over to writing poems and feature journalism, and wrote in both those genres for years. About five years ago, I started thinking about writing book-length fiction. 

What was your first book/story published? 

I published poems from the time I was in my early twenties—and I sold stories about food and music to newspapers then, too. Then I taught and cooked. The Chef and the Ghost of Bartholomew Addison Jenkins is my first grownup romance. Only took me forty years to get there!

What inspired you to write The Chef and the Ghost of Bartholomew Addison Jenkins?

I like ghosts! My house has been investigated for them, and we have two. And my husband and I have experienced ghosts in places we’ve traveled. The woman who did the investigation in our house, Linda Zimmerman (who writes on the subject), says that ghosts know when they have friends among the living. The Chef and The Ghost of Bartholomew Addison Jenkins just takes that thought to the next level!

What character in The Chef and The Ghost of Bartholomew Addison Jenkins is the most/least like you, and in what ways? 

Alma, the protagonist, is a chef—and I was one too, back in the 80’s, when the book is set. She’s a lot gutsier than I was then, and a lot tougher. She has some of my insecurities, but not about what she looks like, which was something I struggled with back then. Which, of course, was silly. I looked fine.

What is your favorite part in The Chef And The Ghost of Bartholomew Addison Jenkins?

I like the funny parts, and there are lots of them. There’s a lot of kitchen humor: raccoons in the bread order, a wire scrubber hidden in my main character’s bra! I like the ending a lot. There are a lot of twists at the end of the book, and knitting everything together was very satisfying to me as I wrote the last couple of chapters. 

What was the hardest part to write?

I hadn’t written adult romance before—I have a bunch of YA out under another name—and while I loved the freedom to write sex scenes, I am grateful for my anatomy-specific editor! (Managed to shock my husband with that part of the book when it was all done, I did!)

What would your ideal career be, if you couldn't be an author?

When did you become interested in storytelling?


What was your first book/story published?

My very first stories published were travel articles for print magazines—a long time ago. My first fiction story published was Last Shot, published as a single on Amazon: a very dark, psychological tale about a man trying—and failing—to successfully commit suicide, over and over, and how he changes in the process. It’s intense, but ultimately a comedy.

What inspired you to write The One Apart?

It was time to finally sit down and write a novel-length story, whether or not I felt ready for the challenge. I picked up the first few pages I’d already written for a story I knew was going to be “a long one,” based on one sentence I woke up with one morning: “he remembered everything.” I knew the main character remembered things he shouldn’t, things that surprise him, things that might make other people upset, and I started writing to discover what all those mysteries were. I hoped to at least get to 50k words, but the story ended up requiring 117k words to tell it!

What character in The One Apart is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

Tres, the main character, is probably most like me; I think he’s like all of us. He has very specific struggles and gifts, but when it comes down to it, he’s just someone trying to find his place in the world, to fit in with everyone around him, to discover what makes him different but not wanting to be too different. He wants to belong, and he wants to know what he’s supposed to do with the life he’s been given. He’s not afraid to change his mind or his direction, try different things, and explore different things in finding his answers.

What is your favorite part in The One Apart?

Author Carol DeMent has taken time out of her busy schedule to talk about her book Saving Nary, which is now available on Amazon!





When did you become interested in storytelling?

I always like to write things down but storytelling didn’t really occur to me until I felt the urge to tell a particular story, that of the refugees who survived the Cambodian genocide.

What was your first book/story published?

“Savng Nary” is my first full-length novel. I’ve had a few articles and stories published in professional journals and cycling newspapers here and there over the last twenty years.

What inspired you to write “Saving Nary”?

In the late 1980’s I was working at a refugee center non-profit in Olympia, Washington, helping to resettle refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. This was right after I had come from two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand, so I was very familiar with the cultures and the issues the refugees had lived through and were now facing. Their stories were heartbreaking and planted the seeds for the book I would later write.

What character in "Saving Nary" is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

I would say Gail is most like me because we both taught English to refugees and had a “hook” that enabled us to move quickly and more deeply into friendship with our students. For me, it was having lived in SE Asia; for Gail, it was her handicap and how matter-of-factly the Cambodians accepted her – without pity or embarrassment. Also, we both have a bit of the rebel in us!

What is your favorite part in "Saving Nary"?

Well, my initial try at answering this question gave away a major plot point, so I am going to be a little vague here. But I love the party scene, where the protagonist, Khath, sees a photo of a person he believes may have been Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. The ensuing chaos destroys a perfectly wonderful celebration and pulls the plot into darker territory. And just when things were starting to go so well for our protagonist!!

What was the hardest part to write?

Author Kimberly Love has taken a few minutes out of her busy schedule to talk her new book "You Taste Like Whiskey and Sunshine."




When did you become interested in storytelling?

Probably around the time that I was 18 or 19, so a good almost 20 years ago. I always had stories to tell, but I didn’t know how to tell them. I slowly got interested in how to write a book, though I’ve been reading my whole life.

What was your first book/story published?

I wrote a romance novel in 2009, and it wasn’t my best work I have to admit. Mainly because it wasn’t the genre I should have been in. I published You Taste Like Whiskey and Sunshine almost ten years later and I’ve grown so much as a writer, that I have to say that it’s certainly a far superior book.

What inspired you to write You Taste Like Whiskey and Sunshine?

I guess changing my life is what inspired me to write, You Taste Like Whiskey and Sunshine. I had gone through some pretty horrendous things in my life, things that I talk about in the book. I could have let those things, like abuse, haunt me but instead, I accepted the fact that it made me the person I am today and to acknowledge that I didn’t deserve those things. I’ve moved on and now I’m just hoping to help others to get rid of their demons.

What character in You Taste Like Whiskey and Sunshine is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

It’s a memoir, so it’s all like me.😀

What is your favorite part in You Taste Like Whiskey and Sunshine?

I love the chapter title: Dating is Cool, But Have You Ever Tried Stuffed Crust Pizza! It’s a hilarious take on the ups and downs of dating in today’s society!

What was the hardest part to write?

I experienced familial emotional abuse from an older sister while I was growing up. It certainly impacted a huge part of my life. I’ve moved on from those experiences but digging it all up again was by no means an easy ordeal. I prefer my demons tucked away nicely in a locked closet.

What would your ideal career be, if you couldn't be an author?

I can’t imagine being anything else but an author. But if I had to choose something else, it would have to be something in the world of an entrepreneur. I do not function in a 9-5 atmosphere. I need to have flexibility and freedom.

Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?