BBT: Interview & Giveaway with Jade Hart - Ocean Kills

Welcome to Immortality and Beyond. May I offer you a drink?

Thanks!  Um, all your cocktails sound very appetizing but I think I’ll go with a Witches Brew. (As long as there are no toads in it.)

No toads, I promise.

BK: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

Jade: I think I’ve always known. When I was little I constantly wrote short-stories. My imagination kept me entertained and I would always have my nose in a book. It wasn’t till four years ago however that I turned to my hubby and announced that I wanted to write and publish a book. That very afternoon I bought a little 10 inch laptop and started hammering away at the keys.

BK: Please tell us a little bit about your current release...

Jade: Sure! Ocean Kills is the first book in the Ocean Breeze New Adult Urban Fantasy series. (bit of a mouthful) I wanted to combine a kick-ass heroine with a swoon-worthy hero. Add in some bad guys and some sexy moments and Ocean was born. I’m very honored to receive positive reviews, but it’s the ones that say the story is well-written and unique which mean the most. That’s what I wanted to achieve. To put out a different-to-the-norm story and do it well.

BK: What inspired this particular novel/book?

Jade: Funny enough, I had a dream that hubby and I had gone overseas for a holiday and the hotel sucked. I closed my eyes and just wished that I was back home. A nosebleed and migraine later, I was in my bedroom. I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to have a heroine who could teleport, but paid for her gift with pain. Plus, I love Dexter so making her a vigilante seemed the smart thing to do. 

BK: How do you keep your writing different from all the others that write in this particular genre?

Jade: Not sure. I write the way I want to. I do what feels natural and go out of my way to learn fresh techniques. I think it’s the story of Ocean’s and Callan’s love that is rather unique. Callan isn’t a bad-boy. In fact, he’s a cop and arrests Ocean when they first meet. It isn’t a story about instant love either. Lust is a big factor, but they grow to love each other slowly.

BK: What was the hardest thing about writing this story?

Jade: Probably the traumatic issues I deal with in the book. I researched a lot of the sex-industry and learned what happened to young girls who were forced into sex-slavery. It was hard to research but important to create a world that was authentic. Ocean goes after the ring-leader and it gave me great satisfaction to write that.

BK: Which character was your favorite to write for in this story? Why?

Jade: Ah, this is hard to answer as it is a fair split. The story is told in alternating POV’s between Ocean and Callan. I adore Ocean for her fight and spirit, her willingness to overcome her past and sacrifice herself to save others. But I love Callan for his morals and affection for Ocean. He helps her grow and he never gives up on her.

BK: Tell us about the one scene you had the most fun writing…

Jade: Well, it was a scene in Bali. Ocean and Callan have arrived due to circumstances and it was a very emotionally driven scene… it ended, happily.  (Can’t explain more as it’s a sex scene.lol)

BK: Will this become a series? If so, what inspired it to be a series? OR If it is a series, what inspired it to become a series?

Jade: Yes, it was always intended to be a series: Ocean Breeze. Book one is Ocean Kills. Book two: Ocean Slays comes out in April 2013. Book three: Ocean Hunts comes out late 2013. The storyline came to me in series form. There are so many things that Ocean needs to overcome and her and Callan have a long way to go to cement they relationship. I really like long-running series, especially if I fall in love with the characters and wanted to do that for my readers.

BK: Now for a little fun, and into your everyday life, What is a day in your life like?

Jade: My life is great! My hubby is super supportive and I get to write most hours. I have a house-rabbit who pretends to chew my laptop cord if I don’t pay enough attention to her and generally have a dream existence. I have to fight myself to do things like house-work and not spend 12 hours a day in my imagination. I’m extremely lucky.

BK: What do you like to do when you're not writing?

Jade: Hubby and I love to travel. We go overseas every three months and I’ve lived in a few countries (Australia, England, Hong Kong, New Zealand) I use my travels as inspiration for my work and insert a lot of my experiences into the story. For example, Callan’s apartment in Bondi Beach in the book is MY apartment in Bondi Beach. It was fun reliving that part of my life and making it come to life again.

BK: What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to learn about you?

Jade: Um, not sure! How about… I was born in Hong Kong and when I was little and learning to talk, no one could understand me. I was taken to an English speech therapist who scratched his head in confusion. It wasn’t until a few weeks later while I was babbling and talking away that people realized I was speaking Cantonese. None of my English speaking family could understand how I spoke Chinese as my first language.

BK: What do you like to read? Who is your favorite author?

Jade: I love to read long running series. I just finished the Faefever series by Karen Marie Moning- which I enjoyed. But for inspiring authors I’d have to pick Liani Taylor. I adore her writing and thought Daughter of Smoke and Bone was done tremendously well.

BK: What is one piece of advice you can give to aspiring writers/authors?

Jade: Write in the style YOU want. I tried to force myself to write like authors such as Stephanie Meyer and other well-knowns, but it didn’t work. You need to listen to your imagination and create a writing style that flows. Also, understand how you work. I can write upto 12,000 words a day—but it is a very rough draft. I like to get the skeleton of the story down as fast as possible and then on multiple editing passes add in voice, feeling, description. And finally, take the pressure off. If you’re having a bad day, don’t automatically think you can’t write. Just like anything you have good days and bad days and that’s okay, and normally fixed by chocolate. 

BK: What are you currently working on?

Jade: I am currently working on five manuscripts (yes, crazy I know) but the two that are front runners are: Coffee and Cockpits: A New Adult Contemp Romance. About a flight attendant who can’t decide if the co-pilot or the engineer is the hottest and ends up having both. And Ocean Slays: Book Two of Ocean Kills. I love being in Ocean and Callan’s heads and I hope people enjoy the sequel as much as I loved writing it. 

BK: Where can readers connect with you?

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JadeHartAuthorPage

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=jade+hart

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ocean-Kills-Breeze-ebook/dp/B00AJDN5QE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357852055&sr=8-1&keywords=ocean+kills

Twitter: @jadehart8

Blog: www.dreamwritepublish.blogspot.com

Joint Blog: www.falling4fiction.blogspot.com

Author Bio: 

Jade Hart is a self-confessed book worm who is happiest glued to a lap-top with an eternal battery life, and typing up stories running rampant in her head.

Her three favorite things are:

1. Unlimited books on an Ebook Reader
2. Cracking the sugar on a creme brulee
3. Travelling

Jade currently resides in Middle-Earth, but has lived in Australia, England, and Hong Kong.

She writes New Adult 'smexy' fiction. 

Ocean Kills

Ocean Breeze Series Book One

Jade Hart

Genre: new adult sexy urban fantasy

Word Count: 97,000

Goodreads

Book Description: 

Around the world, murderers and rapists pick off the innocent. Killing loved ones, separating families, and ruining lives.

As an eight-year-old girl, Ocean witnessed her family’s massacre and something altered inside her. Twisting her genetic code… unlocking an ability to teleport.

Ocean Breeze was never destined to be normal, especially being named after air-freshener. She’s a shadow, a ghost—a dark savior of the innocent. Armed with a switchblade in her bra, and a box-cutter in her pocket, she hunts the filth of the world.

Callan Bliss is a Sydney Police Officer whose skill set is far above a normal cop. All his fellow officers see is a hard-worker who loves to catch perpetrators and surf, but that’s because they don’t know his past. When Callan arrests a suspicious looking prostitute, coming face to face with a self-confessed vigilante, his secrets aren’t that easy to keep silent anymore.

Ocean hates the police with a passion, and has no intention of being held captive by a cop, even if he is sexy as hell. Teleporting from under his nose, Ocean hunts her next target—a man responsible for the largest sex ring in South Africa—and he’s about to die. But she doesn’t count on Callan giving chase, nor the body-quaking lust which consumes them. However, Ocean's dark hobbies take precedence over what her heart wants—her thirst for murdering is killing her too, and not even Callan can save her.

Excerpt:

My name is Ocean Breeze. Yep. Ocean freakin' Breeze. It was my mom's attempt at some posh-sounding name. She was inspired by—get this—a bottle of toilet air-freshener. My heart squeezed at the thought of a cookie-scented woman with hugs that held sunshine. The sound of my Nikes pummelling the pavement chased away my thoughts. The slapping of rubber against asphalt was similar to the slap the last prostitute-abusing john gave me. Stinking bastard. No one raises a hand to Ocean Breeze without losing an appendage. Or more, as the case may be. I swiped my hands on my vinyl, red miniskirt. It wasn't exactly an attractive outfit—Nikes with a miniskirt? But I've learned the hard way. Running in heels never worked. Ever. The sleazy men who paid for sex didn't care what was on my feet, only what was between them. I jumped and jived through the crowd. It was two in the morning, and the streets of Kings Cross, Sydney, were a hive of activity. Drunken students hauled themselves from karaoke clubs. Rich business men back-slapped each other for the lap dance from the uni-student, who pocketed their tips to pay for her law degree. This place was full of clichés and smut. And I loved it. I could disappear here. I was a nobody. Even boasting a pair of ruby lips and a figure that could've graced the center fold of Playboy, I didn’t stand out. Beauty was coveted in the Cross, and plastic surgery was the salvation if nature didn’t do the work. So why was I running? I just killed a guy. That's why. I bolted past the three-story sized Coca-Cola advertisement, blazing red and white, and disappeared into an alley full of meth-heads and crack whores. I leaped over comatose figures, sprinting toward the city centre. Keep running. Get far away. The night was heavy with muggy heat, unusual for this time of year, and sweat made my miniskirt slide against my thighs. Kings Cross embraced sin and naughtiness. The suburb encouraged unleashed pleasure and endless partying. It also encouraged rapists and murderers who lurked in the shadows. . . waiting. A flash of blue and red lights. Sirens. Fuck! I pirouetted on my heel and charged down another alley, passing a gay club blasting Kylie Minogue. Ugh. “You! Stop!” Yeah, no chance of that, Fat Cop. I flipped him the bird, and kept running. He jumped back in his cruiser and gave chase. Lazy bastard. Too many kebabs and doughnuts for that slob. He wouldn't catch me. No one ever caught me. I smiled. I loved the chase. I loved the kill. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. I didn’t enjoy murdering someone, but I did enjoy the knowledge that he’d never hurt another. My cut-throat actions saved other would-be victims. Plus, that john deserved it. Memories overtook my vision. Heavy breath on my cheek, rancid smell as he slobbered on my neck. Then warm, oozing blood as my weapon of convenience—a long skinny oyster knife—buried deep in the man's groin. Ridding him of a vital piece of his anatomy and draining his body of crimson. One moment alive, the next—not. Then rushed practicality: Dispose of my surgical gloves. Wipe the corpse with antiseptic wipes. Remove the man's DNA, fingerprints, and blood from my body. Adrenaline spiked, dousing my already overloaded system. My heart thudded as fast as the bass at a techno club. The pavement flickered and I stumbled. No, not now! My vision danced like a mirage. I no longer had control of my body. Sirens were closer, breathing down my neck. Keep moving, Ocean! For freakin' sake, move! No amount of yelling could stop the migraine from consuming me. I screamed and clutched my temples, slamming to the concrete. The sidewalk danced under my phantasm goggles, no longer acting like rock and tar, but candy floss and gossamer. I'm going. I'm going. . . Cold claws grasped my bare shoulders. “You're coming with us.” No! The unrelenting crush of pain ricocheted in my skull. I wanted to die. Cuffs shackled my wrists, and I was dragged, then stuffed into the back of a police car. The agony danced with nausea, tangoing in a way that tested my stomach’s willingness to evacuate its measly contents. Precious minutes passed while I grappled with the migraine. When only a gentle pounding remained, I opened my eyes. I didn't know where I was. The tense shoulders of policemen kick-started my breathing. I narrowed my eyes. This was quite a predicament: shackled in the back seat of a police vehicle. I glared at the fat, uniformed man who'd cuffed me. “You have no reason to arrest me.” Please tell me they didn't find the john. There was no way they could’ve found him already. And I knew there wasn't a drop of blood on me. There never was. I was clean. Efficient. Ruthless. While I waited to be graced with an answer, the lull of the car tires slowed my heart, and the rest of my headache seeped back like a tide. “You're a working girl. We have every reason to arrest you.” I sighed, slouching into the cracked vinyl seat. Relief flooded me. If this was just a routine grab-and-administer-friendly-sex-education, that was fine by me. I might even get a free dinner out of it. My stomach rumbled in agreement. Food would be good. Food was hard to get when you had no cash. Too long this time, Ocean. You need to suck up your pride and go back. The cop mistook my relief for annoyance. He turned in his seat, pointing a finger in my face. “You listen here, girl, we're only looking out for you. Don't pull that attitude.” I slipped into slutty prossie. An act I'd perfected, but never played in real life. It was all an act—my entire existence. I didn't know the real me anymore. Batting my eyelashes, I pouted. “Attitude? I don't have an attitude. But if you let me go, I'll make it worth your while.” I licked my lips suggestively. Ugh, this was gross. As if I would stoop to sleeping with strangers.

Feb 5 Review

A Bibliophiles Thoughts on Books

http://bibliophilesthoughtsonbooks.blogspot.com/

Feb 7 Interview and review

Beverly @ The Wormhole

http://wormyhole.blogspot.com

Feb 8 Interview

Simply Infatuated 

http://simplyinfatuated.wordpress.com/

Feb 9 Promo 

http://inkkreviews.blogspot.com

Follow The Full Tour Here

Leave a comment for Jade, and you can win a free e-copy of Ocean Kills! Include your email.