So excited to
introduce Winter Austin. Welcome Winter,
so great to have you here with us. Can
you tell us a little about yourself?
I’m a military wife
(hopefully soon the wife of a teacher) and the mother of 4. A pet wrangler, a
taxi cab driver, 4-H parent, and full-time author with a crazy penchant for
baking. In my family I’m the weird writer you need to steer clear of lest you
become the next character who meets their demise in some deadly fashion, but my
crazy family members don’t run away. J In fact they all gravitate toward me, because I picked up on the
great storytelling abilities that my grandmother’s family is known for.
Do real life
events find their way into your stories?
Not usually. I
write romantic thrillers and I’d be freaked out if some of the things I wrote
in my books actually happened in my life. But I do steal dialogue lines from my
husband and some of the people around me.
Do you ever
mimic family members or people you know when you choose characters?
Little things like
comments or gestures from family and friends tend to work their way into most
of my characters. But no one person would be able to see themselves in any of
my characters. Though my husband is somewhat the inspiration for a secondary
character in my series, which tickles him.
I have warned
people not to tick me off. LOL! Pays to be a thriller/suspense author. You can
throw that comment around the: “if you irk me I’ll kill you off in my book.”
*snicker*
Do you find
yourself going back to the same inspiration for each story or is it always
something different?
I’m an action
junkie, so a lot of the times I fuel my imagination with thriller novels,
movies, or intense romantic suspense novels. Cop shows like Castle have been a
good source for picking up a plot point I could run with. Real life crime
stories have been a huge source of inspiration, and right now I’m working on
the 4th book in my Degrees of
Darkness series and the plot is practically ripped from the headlines, but
with my twist to it.
When do you
write? Early morning? During the day
sometime or all day? After the kids go
to bed?
Most of my mornings
are eaten up with getting my family going, and then prepping for the rest of
the day, ie meals and errands. If the writing is going strong I will write in
the morning. But mostly I sit down around noon or after and get to writing.
Sometimes I’ll write in the evenings if nothing is going on with the family.
How do you feel
about marketing your book?
I’ll admit if I
didn’t have the agent I do I wouldn’t know the first thing about doing this
properly. Marketing is hard, but with the right tools you can make it
successful. I’m finding the tips and help from my agent helped me build my
platform before I was even published. Now that I am, it’s building readership
and readers love to communicate with you via Twitter and Facebook.
What social
sites do you feel work best for marketing?
Twitter and
Facebook. Everyone uses those 2 social media outlets. For authors, each of those
needs to have a separate feel. I use my Twitter for announcing reviews and
links to my books or special events. My Facebook page is where I interact more
with the readers. On occasion I’ll be seen communicating with followers on
Twitter, but I prefer Facebook for that. Feels more personal.
Do you like to
pitch stories to your publisher or do you wait until you have written the story
and have a final manuscript to turn in?
For my Degrees of Darkness series, I already
had the first 2 books written and half of the third one done and a hook line
for book 4. My publisher Crimson Romance picked up the series with a proposal
and the knowledge that 2 of the books were done. I’ve found it does make it
easier if the book is completed because most publishers are looking to publish
as soon as they can, and the less time they have to wait on the book to be
completed, the happier they are. And like I said I have an awesome agent to
help with proposals, so I just do the hard work—can we say ick on the synopsis
writing—and she runs with the rest.
Is there any
other genre that you would love to try writing?
If so, what is it?
I’m actually pretty
happy writing in the genre I’m in: Romantic Thriller. And I did self-publish an
Urban-Fantasy, I would like to expand on that a bit more. It does have my brand
of thriller/suspense elements in it.
Do you always/ever
see yourself as the heroine/hero when you write a story?
No. But I will
admit, I will “act” out the dialogue scenes between the Hero and Heroine in
order to hear what they’re really saying. Ahem, and no one is around when I do
this. J
Just for fun, I
have a few personal questions,
Favorite 5
1) Favorite Male Actor - Tom Selleck
2) Favorite vehicle – ’69 Ford Mustang—red or black
3) Favorite way to relax – Reading or baking
4) Favorite ice cream – Homemade with whole milk, Vanilla
5) Favorite outfit – Anything I can wear my cowboy boots with.
And for a
bonus: If you could pick any place in
the world to live, besides where you are now, where would it be? (Of course, without the hindrance of jobs or
money needed)
Oh, do I have to
choose one? First, I’d probably live in Louisiana for a few years, then move to
France, after that—if my husband could convince me to do so—live in Germany for
a while. I’d love to connect with my long-buried French roots, despite what my
family thinks. J
Email: author.winteraustin@gmail.com
Twitter: @WinterAustin_
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/w.austin.degressofdarkness
Website/blog: http://www.winteraustin.com
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/winteraustin/
Amazon author
page: amazon.com/author/winteraustin
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6880807.Winter_Austin
TRR: http://www.theromancereviews.com/mypageprofile.php?location=authorwinteraustin
Is there an
upcoming or current release you would like to share with us today and where can
we find it?
“RELENTLESS is an
intensely suspenseful book that will have you turning the pages wanting to know
who the killer is, as well as find out who Remy really is and what is he
running from.”–The Romance Reviews
“Winter Austin
takes you on a chase to find the Rodeo Sweetheart Killer before it is too late.
Once the killer is discovered, you'll be in shock like I was who it actually
was. Be prepared for twists and turns in "Relentless" and once you do
read "Relentless" you'll understand why it was named that title
exactly.”—Book Lovin’ Mamas
Blurb
Called to
the homicide of a Dallas criminal lawyer, Detective Remy LeBeau stares at a
scene that drags him back into his past. To another murdered lawyer in New
Orleans. A case that put Remy on a collision course with death.
Cody Lewis
struggles with the horrific memories of her kidnapping and the need to numb the
pain. The battle she puts up causes her to avoid Remy and their undetermined
relationship. But the flashbacks and nightmares are proving more potent than
Cody thought and she’s having a harder time resisting the cravings for alcohol.
As the case
takes a turn in revealing a professional assassin is behind the death, Remy
begins to make decisions that could cost him his job and Cody. Because the
deeper he sinks, the closer the enemies of his past come to finding him.
“RETRIBUTION keeps
a rapid pace with turn of events that kept me at the edge of my seat. It was a
wild journey with unexpected events and new characters that will make the
upcoming books even more intense.”—The Romance Reviews
Rafflecopter
Giveaway (Two Digital Copies of RETRIBUTION
& $5.00 Amazon GC)
Link
to Follow the Entire Tour: http://tastybooktours.blogspot.com/2013/05/now-booking-tasty-virtual-book-tour-for_11.html
Thanks for letting me stop by, I enjoyed doing the interview. :)
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