in

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Interview with Author Stephanie Rowe and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome author Stephanie Rowe to RFTC. Stephanie is celebrating the release of Darkness Arisen and has stopped by to answer a few questions. Please give Stephanie a warm welcome.

Four-time RITA® Award nominee and Golden Heart® Award winner Stephanie Rowe is the nationally bestselling author of more than twenty published novels with major New York publishers, including Warner/Grand Central, HarperCollins, Harlequin, Dorchester & Sourcebooks. Stephanie has received starred reviews from Booklist and high praise from Publisher's Weekly. Stephanie writes romance (paranormal, contemporary and suspense), teen fiction, middle grade fiction and motivational nonfiction, including her bestselling dark paranormal Order of the Blade series.

Places to find Stephanie:
Site | Facebook | Twitter |

First off, can you tell us a bit about you?
On the writing side, I'm a lifelong reader who, as a child, won a blue ribbon at my town library for reading the most books over the summer. My love for books never faded, and I started telling stories to kids while I worked at day camp during college. Eventually that turned into writing the stories down, and everything evolved from there. I love to write, I love to read, and I love the magic that can happen when an author lets her passion and imagination run free. When I'm not writing, I'm a mom, I play tennis with my pals, and I am working hard training my new rescue dog, who is just the sweetest boy ever.

Did you always want to be a writer?
I was always a reader and a storyteller, but it didn't occur to be to be an author until I was in my thirties. I had been working at Nike for a while, and although I loved my job, it wasn't what I wanted to do with my life. I had been investigating assorted career opportunties for a while, and then I received an alumni magazine in the mail from my college. The cover article was about two graduates who had written a thriller that had been optioned into a movie. As I read that article, I suddenly knew that was what I wanted to do. I didn't have a computer t home, so I would go into work at four in the morning and write until the day began, and hten stay late to write, and come in on weekends. Everyone thought I was being a rockstar employee, but little did they know… After I finsihed my first book, I was hooked and I bought a computer for myself. 18 books later, I sold my first book!

What kind of writer are you? Panster or Plotter?
I have experimented with every style from sitting down without any idea and simply starting to write, to having an 80 page detailed outline. I have spent a lot of time going to workshops on plotting, and have combined a whole bunch of different methods and forms to create a system that works for me. I do a lot of prework, but it mostly to dig really deep into the characters and see what drives them, and then plot evolves from there. I create a sheet with an assortment of vague plot points (like: "In this section, my heroine who is terrified of spiders will have to brave spiders to save the hero." But I won't know exactly how that scene will play out until I get there).

Where do your ideas come from?
Every experience I have in life goes into what I call "the vault," which is that mysterious place in my head where ideas come from. Then, when it's time to come up with a new story, I just start randomly brainstorming until things start to form. Sometimes the first thing to take hold is a character's childhood trauma, or a bad guy's motivation, or a setting that moves me. Once that one thing catches, things start to evolve from there.

A la Twitter style, can you describe your book (or series) in 140 characters or less.
There is only one thing that can defeat Calydon warrior Ian Fitzgerald, and she has just found him.

What are some of your favorite kinds of stories to read?
I love stories about the triumph of the human spirit, about people who have hit rock bottom, but don't give up, and somehow manage to hold onto hope and faith and find their way back.

Do you have a favorite book and if so what is it?
One of my favorite books ever is Mine Until Midnight by Lisa Kleypas. I was going through a really difficult time in my life, and that book was a gift that gave me hope.

What are the scenes that are the hardest for you to write?
The opening scene is always, without fail, the most difficult to write. It could take me 15 iterations and three weeks to get that one scene right. It has to be the right combination of emotional intensity, setting up the story, action, conflict and everything else. Without a doubt, it is the pivotal scene in the book. Another critical scene is the final scene, because if you don't do justice to the story after the character and the readers have cried, loved and bled along the way, then it's depletes the story of everything you have put into it.

If you could have dinner with any three authors, who would you choose and why?
  • Marie Force, because she is absolutely brilliant with what she has done with her career, and I would love to pick her brain.
  • J.K. Rowling, because she is the quintessential example of someone who hit rock bottom and emerged into brilliance.
  • J.R. Martinez, because he is so inspiring.

Last question, are you working on anything right now?
Today I'm actually doing my taxes, but once I get that done, I will be working on three projects:
  1. PRINCE CHARMING CAN WAIT, which is the next EVER AFTER book,
  2. GUARDIAN OF THE HIDDEN, which is the launch book for my new dark paranormal series, THE RUINED LORDS, and
  3. DARKNESS UNLEASED, which is Ryland's book, the seventh in the Order of the Blade series.
I am currently brainstorming all three of them, and whichever one comes together first will be the next one that I start writing. All three of them will be coming out in 2013.

**Please provide a question to ask blog followers. **


Darkness Hunts Him.

Calydon warrior Ian Fitzgerald refuses to die. Cursed by black magic, he has stayed alive through sheer force of will and unyielding commitment to a mission he is sworn to complete. There is only one thing that can defeat him…and she has just found him.

Desire Torments Her.

Ravaged by her own passions, tarnished angel Alice Shaw is fighting desperately for salvation before all she cares about is lost forever. Her sensual allure, and the forbidden power buried inside her, are outshone only by the burning need she awakens in Ian.

Fierce Passion Ignites.

Raging desire explodes between Ian and Alice, pushing them to the brink of destruction. They cannot afford to succumb, but the cord that binds them will never let them go…not until their most dreaded nightmares come true. Together, they are destined to fail. Together, they will fight to survive the impossible.

Purchase: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

Click for info.

DARKNESS ARISEN 
Blog Tour Schedule 
4/07 - GraveTells
4/13 - Jeep Diva


Check out what's up for grabs.


Up For Grabs:

To Enter: 
  • Please leave a meaningful comment/question for Stephanie.
  • Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

Good Luck! 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

29 comments :

  1. I enjoyed the interview, and the book sounds great!
    jmcgaugh (at) semo (dot) edu

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow! Wish I could have come across you books sooner. They sound wonderful! Thanks for the chance to win a copy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Leslie! I'm so glad you're excited about the series! Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. I love this series. I came across them on accident on Amazon and I couldn't read them fast enough. I can't wait to read Ian's story

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, Sheryl! That is awesome!! I'm so happy to hear that! :) Thanks for sharing!

      Delete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I fell in love with Stephanie's writing after her first book and I've heard amazing things about this series.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jasmyn! I really appreciate the kind words!

      Delete
  6. Love the book cover and very interesting description of the story.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Olga! I was so thrilled with the direction the cover artist took with this story. I feel very fortunate to have such a talented person on my team! :)

      Delete
  7. I love your books Stephanie cant wait to read this one .Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Wanda! I was actually on vacation this weekend, hence the belated reply. I hope you had a good weekend, too!

      Delete
  8. Hi, You are a new author for me. Can you please tell me what makes your series stand out from others?

    Thanks,
    Leanne

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HI Leanne! Thanks for your note. There are two things I try to do with this series. One it to have it be a really intense emotional ride. Yes, I have lots of action and some steamy scenes, but I try to have it all driven by the emotions. If you don't cry during the book, then I'm not doing my job! The other thing I strive to do is be unpredictable. I will often get ready to write a scene, realize what scene makes logical sense that the reader will be expecting, and then I try to twist it into a new an unexpected direction. Thanks for asking!

      Delete
  9. Opening scenes are terribly important. I do like to be drawn in from the very beginning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I completely agree, Mary. Opening scenes are so key to the story. There are times when I've started a book and never put it down because it grabbed me from the start and never let go.

      Delete
  10. I love the sound of the 2nd project you are working on. Interesting titles!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Linda! I'm super excited about it too!

      Delete
  11. This sounds interesting!! Umm... what do you do to prepare to write?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Arely! Thanks for the question. I actually have an extensive set of pre-work charts and questionnaires that I use to help develop the story and the characters. As I go through the process, I synthesize the top discoveries into several documents, and by the time I finish going through my pre-work documents, I usually have the story and characters mostly mapped out.

      Delete
  12. yay congrats on your new release! It looks like a lot of fun :) love the cover btw

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm reading Darkness Awakened and I love it. Darn work for getting in the way of my reading. :D I can't wait to read the whole series, thank you Stephanie, I've just added you to my favorite authors list!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, thanks Sue! You just made my night! I am SO psyched you are enjoying the book. That is AWESOME!!!

      Delete
  14. Congrats on the release! Sounds great. I cant wait to read more.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love finding new authors and I can't wait to read one of your books.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I've read all of your Order for the Blade books except the latest, which I own but haven't read yet. As soon as I read the first one, I went online and bought the rest immediately and devoured them. Awesome books!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I am just enamored with the Calydons and their stories. The Order of the Blade series has jumped to the top of my "must have" list.

    ReplyDelete