"I am ready to meet my maker. Whether my maker is prepared to meet me is another matter."
-Winston Churchill

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Chatting with Piper Shelly - Her Game, His Rules Virtual Book Tour


Let me introduce you to Piper Shelly, currently on tour with Bewitching Book Tours with her book, Her Games, His Rules. Isn't that cover just GORGEOUS? 


Welcome to Immortality and Beyond. May I offer you a drink?
·       
Wow, I’ll have the vampy stuff, thanks. I always loved anything to do with vampires. And then of course…Hi everyone!


Excellent! Now that we're settled in, let's chat...

BK:  When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
PS:  That wish developed slowly and I can’t exactly tell you when I knew for sure. But I think it was after I finished my first book and realized how nice it would be to have other people read the story and so help the characters come to life. I love everyone’s feedback on my books and heroes…and you have to let them read what you write to make it happen.

BK:  Please tell us a little bit about your current release...
PS:  The book is called HER GAME, HIS RULES and it’s a love story between a teenage girl and her ailing mother’s angel. The poor guy doesn’t know what to do with himself for a moment when he realizes he’s in love with the girl he isn’t supposed to have.

BK:  What inspired this particular novel/book?
PS:  What? Or who? ;-) In fact, I have a very strong binding to my guardian angel. I know this sounds silly to some of you, but then many of you believe in other fantastic things too, so why not angels? Strange things happened and I just wanted to work them into more than only a dream. 

BK:  How do you keep your writing different from all the others that write in this particular genre?
PS:  I don’t know if it’s so different to other stories…I haven’t read them all. But I write about creatures that fascinate me, and then I always try to work in some small parts of experiences. Since those moments are always very personal, I don’t think you will find them anywhere else than in my books.

BK:  What was the hardest thing about writing this story?
PS:  Finishing it. Definitely. There was so much more I wanted to tell in this book, but since I it’s my first novel and some basic rules say that as a debut author you shouldn’t send novels to agencies or publishers that are too long, I tried to keep the word count as close to 100,000 as possible. If I’d have it my way, the novel would probably be twice as long as it is now.

BK:  Which character was your favorite to write for in this story? Why?
PS:  The entire novel is written in first person POV. Jona is the narrating character and I loved to tell the events from her perspective. But of course, there were parts of the story I enjoyed a little more than others. In those favored scenes there’s always Julian with her. ;-)

BK:  Tell us about the one scene you had the most fun writing…
PS:  It’s Jona’s and Julian’s first contact. I could feel myself sitting on the floor in this scene, staring up into the gorgeous blue eyes of my hero. That’s also the reason why I chose this scene for a reading snippet on my website.

BK:  Will this become a series? 
PS:  No, this book is a total stand-alone. If I have some spare time in the future, after writing all the many stories that spin around in my mind right now, I might go back to my very first and write Julian’s counter-part to it.

BK:  Now for a little fun, and into your everyday life: What is a day in your life like?
PS:  I normally get up around six in the morning. In summer it tends to be earlier, with the sun coming out way sooner, in winter I have trouble getting up at all…Ha ha. However, I work 5 hours a day as an accountant for a company close to my home that sells fancy furniture. After work I hurry home, boot up my laptop and hope to get a few lines written before my son comes home from school. When we’re done with his homework, I return to my writing room and won’t come out until bed time. Lucky me, I have a very understanding husband, who also loves to cook, so I don’t have to waste time in the kitchen when I rather spend the afternoon hours with my favorite characters.

BK:  What do you like to do when you're not writing?
PS:  Falling into a deep depression? Seriously, I don’t like doing anything other than writing, but I know I have to. So yeah, I’m a woman, I like shopping. LOL! I just recently found this amazing new brand called Hollister. That’s just my style and I can spend hours on end in that shop.

BK:  What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to learn about you?
PS:  Hmm, that is a hard nut. There are a few things, but nothing really spectacular. One thing is, I can’t see freaking 3d. I never noticed until I tried to watch AVATAR in 3d. It so didn’t work. That made me test myself some more, and yeah, I really can’t do it. Not with 3d-movies, and not in the everyday life. It was just so normal for me to not be able to do it, that I never realized what was wrong with my eyes.

BK:  What do you like to read? Who is your favorite author?
PS:  I love dark, seductive romances. With boneheaded heroes that make my mouth water with every word they say. My abso-favorite author is Georgia Lyn Hunter. I started critiquing for her a couple years ago, and she’s just about to bring her first novel into the bookstores, but I’d be damned if we don’t hear a lot more from her in the future. She’s also a very good friend of mine and a great inspiration for my own writing.

BK:  What is one piece of advice you can give to aspiring writers/authors?
PS:  FIND CRITIQUE PARTNERS! I can’t stress this enough. You need to find a group of people who one: know how the publishing world works, and two: who love your stories. Never take a critique personal (and they can be damn tough, believe me) but choose your partners wisely. Don’t take everything they say for a hundred percent. Find authors who write and read the same genre like you; they are the most valuable. And then of course: NEVER GIVE UP!

BK:  What are you currently working on?
PS:  I just recently finished a novella called PLAY WITH ME and am now working on getting it published. It’s a fresh High School romances, all around first love and soccer.

BK:  Where can readers connect with you?
PS:  Well, one place to find me is my website: www.pipershelly.com I’m trying to post something on my blog there every now and then and would love to hear everyone’s thoughts on it. Another hot spot is Facebook. If you’d like to get some answers or just chat for the fun of it, find me on www.facebook.com/authorpiper and I’ll be happy to get to know you. You can also send me an e-mail of course. pipershelly@hotmail.com. I love e-mails! J

Did you know that this word scares me more than anything? About… Wherever you go, people want you to tell what a cool life you lead just because you’re an author. But really, there’s nothing special to say about me, except maybe that I write a little more than others normally do. I married my teenage-love, we do our best to raise our ten-year-old to a kind and caring young man, and my cat loves to sleep in my bed, forcing me to bend to the strangest positions at night, just so she can sprawl comfortably on the blanket. I like pizza. And occasionally I talk to angels, but seriously, in these times, who doesn’t…?

So all in all, I dare say I’m leading a pretty normal life.

Of course it will all change the day my book follows the act of Harry Potter, and I’ll become richer than the Queen. I swear I’ll never again clean my windows myself then. Yeah, one day, ha ha…



HER GAME, HIS RULES 
Piper Shelly

Genre: paranormal romance, upper YA

Publisher: Black Opal Books

ISBN: 978-1937329631
ASIN: B0096SDPD6

Number of pages: 306
Word Count: 103,000

Cover Artist: Jay Sabo with Piper Shelly


Book Description:

She’s seventeen. She’s snarky. She’s trouble…

It wasn’t nicking an expressive watch or diamond bracelet that landed Jona Montiniere in the clutches of the police. It was just a darn sweater. After a spectacular, failed escapade, she is forced to return to a mother who spurned her. Jona is furious about the judge’s decision—until she meets her mother’s companion. Gorgeous, provocative, and mysterious, Julian is everything her lonely heart desires. But then he awakens her mother from the dead with a simple touch.
Hunting for the truth in a strange new home, Jona unearths broken promises and bitter secrets. Soon she realizes she’ll once again lose someone she loves…unless she gives him a reason to stay. But how the hell do you keep an angel earthbound?


Short Excerpt:

He was so infuriating, and I was absolutely not charmed…okay, maybe just a little…

“Hi,” he said with a compassionate look that made me wish the traitor, Quinn, had taken off those damn handcuffs so I wouldn’t look like a complete idiot.
Lips pressed together, my fingers waggled in a feeble greeting. The mere sight of him sent a quiver of excitement to my stomach.
He nodded his chin at my tied hands. “They seem rather uncomfortable.”
And they bloody well were, but I shrugged it off like it was nothing unusual. “The latest fashion. You heard the judge, I wear them quite often.”
A teasing smile played around his lips that spiked my blood pressure. “Shall we take them off?” he said.
He must be kidding. “Unless you’ve got teeth like a hacksaw, I don’t see how that would work.”
Grin widening, he pulled out a key-ring from his pocket. He squatted, leveled his eyes with mine, and shook the ring in front of my face. The friendly jingle of metal filled the high hallway.
My mouth sagged open. “Where did you get these from?”
“Chief Madison.”
“You stole them from Quinn?” I pulled my hands reflexively out of his reach.
“Of course not.” The blond god gave me a pointed look. “I asked for them.”
“Quinn wouldn’t unshackle me when I asked him to.”
His intense blue eyes locked with mine. “I had to solemnly swear to keep an eye on you. Now hold still.” Cool fingers curled around my wrist to fix my hand while he unlocked the first cuff. Sparks tingled on my skin, my hand trembled slightly.
With a click, the other cuff came off. I flexed my hands and rubbed my burning wrists.
“Better?” He tilted his head and arched one beautiful brow.
My head bobbed, but I found no breath to answer.
“Okay then.” He used my knees to push himself up and stretched to his full height.
He probably expected a thanks following his selflessness. My gaze focused on the ripped hems of his jeans, my lips remained sealed.
When he turned on his heel and marched off to the left, I glanced up. “And now you’re going where?” The words shot out before I could stop myself.
“Bathroom break.” His arched brows dared me to object.
My lower lip threatened to pop from between my teeth as I chewed on it. Don’t speak! “But you’re supposed to keep an eye on me.”
After studying me for a couple of seconds, his expression softened even more. “You’re not going to get me into trouble.”
I let him take another stride away from me. Two. Three. Four. “How can you be so sure?” Shut the hell up, Jona. “After everything you know about me, I’ll probably be gone when you get back.”
A shrug of one shoulder and his beguiling smile struck me silent. “I trust you.” 




5 comments:

Nightly Cafe said...

Thanks for chatting today Piper!

Unknown said...

Thanks for the invitation. This interview was fun! :-)

Piper

Unknown said...

Hey! Great interview! I love the cover and definitely I'd love to read someday this story from Julian's POV!

Georgia Lyn Hunter said...

read this book, an awesome story, well done Piper :)

Teddy Rose said...

I really enjoyed the interview!

ShareThis