Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Author, author...

...read all about it !! 

Today we have the fabulous author from Still Moments Publishing, Heather Sharpe, to tell us about herself, her Christmas Holiday and her new book release! 

Hi Heather, thanks so much for being with us today.  Can you tell us a little about yourself?



First, thank you very much for having me on your blog today!  I'm excited to celebrate the release of For the Love of a Sphynx with you.

I am an exelementary teacher turned stay-at-home mom. I live in the middle of Kansas on six acres with my husband, toddler, mother-in-law, and her daughter. We also have four dogs, two cats, and a lizard.



What is your favorite childhood Christmas memory ?

My Grandpa and Grandma would read the Christmas story when we got together Christmas morning. They had a bag of old tangled tinsel that we kids would dig through and use to make halos, etc. then we'd pretend to be angels, Joseph, and Mary while listening to Grandpa read.



Do you like to decorate your house? 

Anything special that you do for your decorating? I love to decorate. I don't have anything particular that I do every year for decorating, except that we hang the stockings we've had since we were kids-even though they are somewhat falling apart. :)


Do you have any special tradition that your family celebrates for the Christmas Holiday?

My husband's family always gathers Christmas Eve evening, so Santa can stop by on his way to fill stockings and drop off a gift for each of the kids and get his picture with them. My husband even remembers the year they could see the reindeer grabbing a snack in one of the cow pens when he was younger.


Are you the holiday cook or do you let someone else do the cooking?

I bake desserts and decorate cakes-I leave the real food to the better cooks!



Do you like to be where there is snow for the holidays or are you a snowbird that likes to fly south for the winter?

I love snow, and Christmas is still early enough in the season to be excited for it. If it was in February, I might be tired of the snow by then and ready for some heat.  As it is, I'm always dreaming of a white Christmas.


As a reader, do you like to read Christmas stories?

I do. I love the magic of the season. I've noticed, however, that since I've become a mommy I tend to tear up a lot more at all the heartwarming stories that used to just make me sigh. :)


As a writer, do you like to write Christmas stories?

I haven't tried yet. I love to read about Christmas magic, and I think deep down I'm a little nervous that I wouldn't be able to catch exactly right in a story. Or else I'm just too busy trying to chase down a seventeen-month old and catch up on my sleep!



Do you give the gift of reading for Christmas ?

Santa always brings something to read in stockings, and I always gift myself and my baby with a book. Other than that, it's usually a toss-up. On average, though, I almost always end up wrapping several books to put under the tree.




For fun, I have a few personal questions, 

Your Favorite 5

1) Favorite Christmas song - Carol of the Bells

2) Favorite Christmas movie- White Christmas

3) Favorite Christmas story - Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

4) Favorite Christmas color- Blue with silver snowflakes

5) Favorite Christmas food - Chocolate covered marshmallows. Yum!



And for a bonus, if you were given the gift of travel to anywhere for the holidays, where would you want to go???

Hmm, I guess in spite of my desire for snow for Christmas, if I was going to make a vacation of the holiday I ALWAYS vote beach--any beach where it's warm and sunny!




Where can our readers find you?? 

Email:  heathermsharpe@ymail.com       

Facebook: www.facebook.com/heathermsharpe

Website/blog: http://www.heathermsharpe.webstarts.com/

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Heather-Sharpe/e/B00A31I67K/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1356927764&sr=1-2-ent

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6572765.Heather_Sharpe





Is there an upcoming or current release you would like to share with us today and where can we find it?

For the Love of a Sphynx has released through Still Moments Publishing!  I am so excited for this novella, which was inspired by a cat we adopted from the shelter six years ago.

 When time’s the enemy, there’s no room to pussyfoot around.

Blurb

Betrayed by her fiancé, Mahri Lassler swears never to risk losing her heart again. She’s convinced she may as well collect cats since she’s on the path to spinsterhood. She adopts a tomcat, and just as they’re beginning to learn each other’s idiosyncrasies, the cat bolts out the door, disappearing without a trace. Her quest to find the darn cat leads her to a confused, naked man writhing on the street. The hopeless look in his eyes touches something deep inside Mahri. Can she trust her heart enough to risk it on a man with no past? Will her love be enough to break his curse?



Excerpt: 

        Unimaginable agony ripped through him, searing every nerve, and igniting his blood. Contorting in pain, his muscles contracted independently, twisting his body into impossible positions.
        What seemed an eternity later, he lay gasping in the dirt. He pulled his lips back in a  painful grimace as he sucked air into his aching lungs and looked around for Brigid. He would think twice before giving her an opportunity to hurt him that profoundly again. In all the battles he’d fought, he’d never felt such pain.
        The clearing was empty. Brigid, the cottage, his horse, the small garden where they’d spent hours talking; all of it, had disappeared without a trace. A shiver of unease raced through his limbs.
        The breeze, gentle now, ruffled his hair playfully. Testing his muscles tentatively, he noticed only a slight tenderness remained after the unbearable agony of before. His muscle and joint pain paled in comparison to a sudden thirst.
        Climbing unsteadily to his feet, he stumbled to the brook. Whatever she’d done to him had messed with his vision. Everything seemed skewed. While trees and other still objects appeared fuzzy, anything that moved snapped with clarity, instantly claiming his undivided attention. A silver sheen blanketed the world before him. It dampened the saturation of the forest colors, but he noticed more small animals scurrying about than ever before.
Closing his eyes to offset the dizzying effects of this visual phenomenon, Morgan stretched toward the musical bubbling of water over stones and lapped several mouthfuls before daring to crack his eyes open. After the tortuous eternity and weird theatrics, he was unsure what he’d expected, but it definitely wasn’t this.
        A furry black face with two short, pointed ears and feline eyes stared up at him from the surface of the water. What the hell?


Buy links:    Still Moments Publishing     Amazon

(available in print and ebook)





One last thing before we let you leave us today!  Do you have a favorite holiday recipe you'd like to share?I like to cook and am always looking for new recipes to try and share.

 A very simple recipe that I'm sure many people already have is a staple at our family dinners. We always called it Yum Yum Salad, but in my husband's family it is lovingly labeled Pink Fluff. 

1 large container cool whip
1 large can cherry pie filling
1 bag mini marshmallows
**I've also had it with chopped nuts, pineapple tidbits, and mandarin oranges in it, but those are all optional.

Mix the ingredients together carefully and chill. Serve with a very large spoon!


Thanks again for having me today.


     

Bio: Heather Sharpe lives on six acres in Central Kansas with her husband, perfect baby boy, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law. In case the house isn’t full enough, it also includes four noisy dogs, one cat who inspired For the Love of a Sphynx and another who torments him, and a lizard. At night, all of them think they need room on the bed (except the lizard, thankfully). Up until the birth of her son, Heather taught elementary school. Now she chases around her toddler and writes whenever he naps.

Links:



Heather it was a pleasure having you with us today and can't wait for whatever you have in store for us next !!

Readers, don't miss out on this great read, For the Love of a Sphynx.  You won't be disappointed.

Until next time, happy reading !!

Krista

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for having me on here today! It was a very fun interview.

    ReplyDelete