Interview with Sable Grace and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome the wonderful writing team known as Sable Grace. Sable Grace is currently on tour promoting their latest release, Before The Fall-A Dark Breed Novella. Their were nice enough to let me ask them a few questions that I would love to share with you all.

First off, can you tell us a bit about you?
Sable Grace is the writing team of Heather Waters and Laura Barone, best friends and nearly polar opposites who took our love for anything different and blended it with a fascination for creatures that go bump in the night.

Did you always want to be a writer?
Heather: I think we’ve both always written in some format or another. Personally, I never considered it as a profession until my son was born in 1998 when I was neck deep in crafting candles, potpourri, air fresheners and anything else I could get my hands on and realized I wasn’t getting the creative satisfaction I was searching for. I decided to try my hand at my old passion again and wrote my first, very horrible, medieval romance that year. There were enough “wow, that’s not too bad” lines in that book that kept me believing that I could do better next time, and next time, and next time, until I finally sold a medieval romance to Berkley in 2005.

Laura: I’m not sure I always wanted to be a writer, not in the professional aspect I mean. I’ve always loved writing of any form—poetry, songs, short stories—and when I decided to write a novel, it was a lot of false starts. It took years of writing book after book until I discovered where my strengths were. Finaling in the Golden Heart in 2007 was the first ‘clue’ that I’d gotten that part of the process right even though the struggle to learn and grow as a writer is one I work on every day.

What kind of writers are you? Panster or Plotter?
Because there are two of us, we have to be plotters, but instinctively we’re both pansters. Even together, though, it’s usually only the major plot points that are pre-ordained, and we sort of pants our way toward them. It’s a hobby of ours to pants our way into a corner and let the other one get us the heck out of it!

Why paranormal? What about this genre draws you in?
World building. Finding the tried and true and remolding into something that’s just yours. Giving a woman superhuman strength allows us to give her real weaknesses in her character that would be harder (I think) to pull off in a woman who didn’t have anything special to offer in any other area of her life. The possibilities with paranormals are endless. What’s not to love about that?

Where do your ideas come from?
Everywhere. TV, news articles, predictions of the end of the world, and the crazy little people living in our heads who refuse to let the norm be all there is.

A la Twitter style, can you describe your book (or series) in 140 characters or less.
Dark Breed Novels – where the good can turn bad and the bad can turn very very good.

Out of any of your books, which one would you like to be a character in? And why?
Heather: Oh well, that’s easy for me. Definitely not Before the Fall or Ascension because the world is pretty freakin’ scary! I’d rather be a character in book 3 when things are returning to normal but there’s still enough danger hanging around to make things interesting.

Laura: Part of me wants to say Before the Fall because it’s the beginning, the action, where it all starts, but the sane part of me says Book 3 because it’s safer. I might like kick butt action, but I’m not sure I want to be in the middle of a fight to survive.

What are some of your favorite kinds of stories to read?
Heather: I read everything from classics to Jack Ketchum blood and gore, but I have a real soft spot for small town, warm community type stories a la Susan Mallery, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and Julie Garwood’s medievals, which I consider the same small town sort of story set in a different era/location.

Laura: Horror and suspense are my favorite, but if it holds my interest, I’ll read anything. I still have fond memories of sneaking into my mother’s room at night and taking one of her treasured romances, reading it, and putting it back in the same spot before she came home so she wouldn’t know I was touching her books. It developed my love of books and reading and getting lost in books when reality wasn’t so great. (And mom, if you’re reading this, I skipped all those parts)

Do you have a favorite book and if so what is it?
Heather: The Harry Potter series changed my reading experience forever. What a gift J.K. Rowling was given, and I’m so grateful she shared it with the world.

Laura: I grew up reading Garwood and Deveraux and King. Those are still the books I reach for when I need a feel good, lose yourself in a book moment.

Have you ever fallen for another author's hero? If so, who and why?
Heather: Every hero Julie Garwood has ever written, most especially Royce from The Prize.

Laura: Every time I read a book I want to fall in love with the hero. I want to feel like I am a part of the story, and if I can’t fall for the hero, then the story isn’t a memorable or pleasant read for me.

Human, Vampires, Demons, or Shifters, which are your favorite and why?
Heather: I love them all, but I think my favorite are the humans facing the rest of the above mentioned. I like it when we are the fish out of water.

Laura: All of the above! I love supernatural, and making them do things that fit into the world we’ve created for them to live in, but how the human deals with these creatures and survives is just as intriguing.

Describe the characteristics that make up your perfect hero.
Heather: Confident enough to let her lead but manly enough to step in and be the alpha when she can’t be. A man who doesn’t depend on the woman to be strong, but is turned on when she is.

Laura: He’d have to be strong enough to carry the problems of the world on his shoulders, gentle enough to hold the heroine and keep her safe when the nightmares attacked and secure enough to follow her down paths he’s not so sure are the best roads to take.

What are the scenes that are the hardest for you to write?
Heather: Transitioning scenes! Getting the characters from one location to another and still make it interesting has made me reach for my Clairol more than any others. I’m not sure I’ll ever get better at those.

Laura: I have to go with Heather and say transitions here. They seem to kick my butt. How much info is too much? Is it redundant with too much stuff from the previous scene? Did I remember to set the scene in the first place to let the reader know where they even are?

If you could have dinner with any three book characters, who would you choose and why?
Heather: Professor Dumbledore because he needs a tongue lashing for leaving Harry so freaking clueless when he died (that’s not a spoiler any more right?!) The entire cast from To Kill a Mockingbird because I’ve always been curious to know how they turned out and to say thanks for being the only book I was forced to read in school that I actually enjoyed. And I have to say Kyana from the Dark Breed novels because her heritage is based mostly on the Turkish, and because Turkey is such a huge part of my childhood (I lived there for six years growing up) I’d love to talk to someone who knew exactly what it was like 200 years ago and see if the food was just as to-die-for yummy back then.

Laura: Mother Abigail from The Stand, just to hear some words of wisdom for those days when you think the worlds coming to an end and aren’t real sure how to go on. George Milton—Of Mice And Men—because I’ve always felt someone needed to tell him he did the right thing by Lennie. His actions have taught me that the right choice isn’t always the easy one, but it’s always the necessary one. And, Sam from Green Eggs and Ham. Odd, I know, but it’s the first book I read to my daughters when they were babies and to see them read it to their children and love it as much today as they did then, is a bond that we will always share.

If you could have dinner with any three authors, who would you choose and why?
Heather: J.K. Rowling, Julie Garwood, and Jude Deveraux. All three for the same reasons – to thank them. Rowling for renewing my love of reading in my adulthood, Garwood for gifting me with friends I didn’t have to leave behind every time I moved as a military brat, and Deveraux for being the author of the very first romance novel I had ever read – The Princess.

Laura: Stephen King, Jude Deveraux, and Kristin Hannah—to pick their brains. They have such a way of creating believable characters whose stories live on in your minds for years and years. That’s something I’d love to be able to recreate.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Heather: I’m a gamer at heart. Have been forever. From the Sims to World of Warcraft, I’m a geek that way. When I can find a game I can play with my kids, it’s even better.

Laura: Free time? I’m not sure I know what that is. I like to read, play games, and watch action movies when I can find a moment when the toddlers are still and quiet.

Favorite movie?
Heather: I’m a sucker for epics. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings – and I know they’re not movies but they feel like them, I loved Rome and Game of Thrones so much!

Laura: Aliens is an all-time favorite of mine—much to the displeasure of my children. If someone is shot, chased, or blow up in the first ten minutes of the movie, then it’s a sure thing that I’ll probably like it.

Favorite song?
Heather: Hallelujah. My favorite version changes. It was American Idol’s Lee Dewyze’s version until I heard the Canadian Tenors sing it on the Emmys. It made every hair on my body stand up!

Laura: I listen like I read, a touch of everything. I have favorites to fit every mood and writing situation.

Favorite color?
Heather: Yellow
Laura: Purple

Last question, are you working on anything right now?
We’re finishing up revisions for the Dark Breed Novels book 3 right now as well as personal projects from both of us. Before the Fall is our first novella, out November 8, followed by Bedeviled, book 2 in the Dark Breed series, which picks up where Ascension left off, coming January 2012. And book 3, title unknown is tentatively scheduled for release in October 2012.


Zach was once the Order of Ancients' most feared warrior, beating back the hounds of hell to protect the unsuspecting human race. But since he left the Order ten years ago, he'd been living as a mortal...until now. The gates of the underworld are breaking open, and Zach is needed once again in the fight. But before he can answer his summons, there's one person he refuses to leave behind. Shanna may think Zach has screw loose, spouting all this "hounds of hell" nonsense, but he has to get her to safety. The journey to the Order's headquarters is a dangerous one, and even a warrior like Zach might not be strong enough to keep the darkness at bay.

Places to purchase:

| Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

**Author Info**

Sable Grace is the writing team of Heather Waters & Laura Barone, long time critique partners and friends who came together by fluke to discover their voices fit together quite nicely during an experiment of "I'll write the first sentence, you write the next." It was meant to be nothing more than a warm up exercise for each of them to get started on their own projects, but soon, the story became far more interesting than what they were supposed to be working on and Sable Grace was born.

Both Heather and Laura reside in Florida, are happily married, and are, well, complete opposites. (Think the Odd Couple on crack here.) Still, there's enough common ground for them to weave their words together in the voice of Sable Grace.

Heather also writes medieval romances under her real name, which you can find at www.heatherwaters.net, and Laura is a Golden Heart finalist for her highly sensual manuscript, Mr. Right Now.

You can reach them both at sablegrace(AT)ymail.com

Places to find Sable Grace:

| Site | Supernatural Underground Blog | Facebook | Twitter | 

**Giveaway**

Thanks so much Sable Grace for allowing me to interview you both. I loved getting to know you better. =) Everyone, Sable Grace and Harper Collins will be giving away a $25 Amazon.com gift certificate to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. So make sure to check out all of Sable Grace's stops to increase your chances of winning. 

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*Open until November 11th.