The SHANNON MUIR’S INFINITE HOUSE OF BOOKS weekly column is a place at Shannon Muir’s author website open to interviews and guest posts from other authors. One thing Shannon firmly believes in for readers not only to learn about new books available, but about those who craft the tales behind them. As its name implies, SHANNON MUIR’S INFINITE HOUSE OF BOOKS weekly column features writers from all genres of fiction who want their potential audience to get to know them, and their works, better – and occasionally may offer features from Shannon herself that support readers to discover words.
This week, find out more about the book STORM CROSSED in an interview with its author.
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About the Book:
Storm Crossed
Grim Series
Book 4
Dani Harper
Release Date: January 9, 2018
Publisher: Montlake Romance
ISBN-10: 1503948943
ISBN-13: 978-1503948945
Book Description:
The latest stand-alone novel in Dani Harper’s Grim Series will delight old and new fans alike, transporting them to the ancient fae realm beneath the modern human world, where magic rules and menace abounds . . .
Heir to a noble fae house, Trahern is forced to watch helplessly as his twin brother is cruelly changed into a grim—a death dog—as punishment for falling in love with the wrong person. Trahern doesn’t believe love exists, but he will do anything to keep his brother alive—even join the Wild Hunt and ride the night skies of the human world.
Lissy Santiago-Callahan believes in love but has no time for it. She’s busy juggling her career as an academic and her home life as a single mom to a young son with Asperger’s. Her hectic life in sleepy Eastern Washington is made even more chaotic with the sudden arrival of a demanding fae and his unusual “dog.”
Mortal and immortal have nothing in common, and the attraction between Lissy and Trahern surprises them both. But when their desire places Lissy and her child in the path of a deadly faery feud, will the connection last, or will their separate worlds prove too great a divide?
Interview with the Author:
What initially got you interested in writing?
As a small child I was absolutely captivated by books. Even before I could read, I somehow understood that a mysterious SOMEBODY had created the story. And that’s who I wanted to be.
Some of my favorite childhood memories are of summer days spent at the town library. I rode my bike to this magical place every few days, and both my parents and the librarian encouraged me to spend as much time there as I wanted to. And I DID want to. My appetite for books was insatiable! Science fiction, science fact, history, horror, fantasy, old classics, myths and legends – I grew up reading everything, and most of it more than once!
And I wrote. I filled countless notebooks with stories and poems as a kid. I even developed the habit of carrying a notebook with me wherever I went and jotting down ideas, thoughts, and impressions. (I still do!)
So there was no question that I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. However, no sensible school counselor encouraged students to go into creative writing as a vocation at that time (they probably still don’t, LOL). So I found my way to the newspaper business and spent most of my career there.
What inspired you to start writing fiction again, especially paranormal romance?
This may come as a surprise but in the beginning, I was not even a reader of romance of any kind. I had nothing against the genre – it just wasn’t on my radar. (My beloved town library hadn’t had a single romance book in its entire collection during my formative years, LOL.) But I ADORED the supernatural and every little thing that ever went bump in the night.
So perhaps it was the Universe giving me a shove in the right direction when in 2001 I literally stumbled upon the paranormal romance genre. I was in a book store and picked up an anthology because it said something about vampires. What I discovered was a short story by Christine Feehan titled Dark Dream. And I was completely stunned by the concept that the monster could be the hero! Within 100 pages, I fell completely and utterly in love. After that, I read every PNR I could get my hands on, and Urban Fantasy as well. My passion for both genres grew, and it wasn’t long before I was writing these types of stories as well.
What do you want readers to take away from reading your works?
I write to entertain. It’s like going to a movie – you want a good story, something that takes you out of your own world for a while, and you want to care about the characters enough to root for them. I want that for my readers. And I also want them to feel a sense of wonder, and most of all, hope. One of the most appealing things about the romance genre is that the characters in the story eventually prevail over obstacles and overcome differences – and as a reader, it makes me feel that I can too. One of my favorite quotes is by Neil Gaiman: “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
What do you find most rewarding about writing?
As far as actual writing is concerned, the most fun occurs when I’m almost finished a story. I love the exhilarating sprint down the home stretch to the end! It becomes more and more exciting as loose ends get tied together and everything gets resolved. And there’s a real high in typing that final “THE END”! (Of course, then I have to go right back to the beginning to start editing and revising, but it doesn’t seem to diminish that ecstatic feeling of having brought the story to completion….)
One of the nicest things about being a writer, however, is interacting with readers. I’ve met so many wonderful people online and in person! I appreciate their comments and ideas, and I learn a lot when we talk about their responses to my characters.
What do you find most challenging about writing?
Maintaining my focus! And working at home doesn’t necessarily help. The dogs want in and out, the phone rings, the laundry and the housework call out for attention – you know how it is. It’s tough for me to concentrate sometimes, especially when I have a challenging scene to write.
When the distractions get to be too much, I pick up my laptop and go write at a coffee shop or a McDonalds. I’ve even parked my car under a tree in a Home Depot parking lot, and sat in the back seat so I could spread out my work! And some of my best writing has been done in a busy airport. It may seem counter-intuitive to go to a public place in order to focus but it works. No matter how much noise and activity goes on around me, my brain seems to know that it has nothing to do with me, that I don’t have to respond to it, so it usually tunes it out.
What advice would you give to people want to enter the field?
I really believe that to be a good writer, you need to read. Read a wide variety of things, not just in your chosen genre. And the other thing that I suggest is to get a subscription to Writer’s Digest. They cover all the basics, and they have good information that’s up to date for EVERY aspect of writing – from how to write a novel to how to get published to how to publish your book yourself. And make sure you take full advantage of their website too – it’s an amazing resource. I still go there to search for the latest info. Why? Because the industry has changed dramatically since I started, and continues to change every day.
What ways can readers connect with you?
WEBSITE – http://www.daniharper.com (P.S. – On the Contact Page, there’s a little form you can use to email me.)
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE – https://www.amazon.com/Dani-Harper/e/B004FD8RV2 (You can see all my books in one handy location)
NEWSLETTER – this comes out monthly with all the latest, plus any events, sales or giveaways that might be going on. I draw three subscriber names every issue for a giveaway as well! You can sign up at http://www.subscribepage.com/y1h2b9
FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/Dani.Harper.Fan.Page/
TWITTER – https://twitter.com/Dani_Harper or @Dani_Harper
PINTEREST – https://www.pinterest.com/Dani_Harper_PNR/
About the Author:
Legend, lore, love, and magic. These are the hallmarks of Dani Harper’s transformational tales of faeries, shapeshifters, ghosts, and more, for a mature audience.
A former newspaper editor, Dani’s passion for all things supernatural led her to a second career writing fiction. There isn’t anything she likes better than exploring myths and legends from many cultures, which serve to inspire her sizzling and suspenseful stories.
A longtime resident of the Canadian north and southeastern Alaska, she now lives in rural Washington with her retired mountain-man husband. Together they do battle with runaway garden gnomes, rampant fruit trees, and a roving herd of predatory chickens.
Dani Harper is the author of Storm Crossed, Storm Warned, Storm Bound, Storm Warrior (the Grim Series), as well as First Bite (Dark Wolf), for Montlake Romance. She is also the author of a Yuletide ghost story, The Holiday Spirit, plus a popular shapeshifter series, which includes Changeling Moon, Changeling Dream, and Changeling Dawn.
For more, visit her website at http://www.daniharper.com
Amazon Author Page – https://www.amazon.com/Dani-Harper/e/B004FD8RV2
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Dani.Harper.Fan.Page/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/Dani_Harper or @Dani_Harper
I enjoyed the interview with Dani Harper. I’m so glad you found Christine Feehan’s Dark Dream because now we get to read your fabulous stories. I love the excerpts from Storm Crossed and look forward to reading it
Would you ever want to trade places with your main characters?
Hi Shannon – Thank you very much for helping me shine a light on my new release. I really enjoyed the interview. I’ll check back over the next couple of days for any comments that need answering. 🙂
If you could introduce one of your characters to any character from another book, who would it be & why?