Interview with mystery author Terri Herman-Ponce

Mystery thriller author Terri Herman-Ponce is here today talking about her newest novel, Covet

During her virtual book tour with Goddess Fish Promotions, Terri will be awarding one free e-copy of Covet (Book 2 of the Past Life Series) and In This Life (Book 1 of the Past Life Series), to a randomly chosen commenter at each stop and a Grand Prize of a $50 Amazon gift card to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. To be entered for a chance to win leave a comment below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and leave comments there, too!

Welcome, Terri. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

I look for any opportunity to make stuff up. I think anything that can’t so easily be explained is worth an extra look and often makes a great story. I love red wine, scotch, sunrises, Ancient Egypt, the beach—and a host of other stuff that would take too much real estate to talk about. The youngest of five children, I live with my husband and son on Long Island. And, in my next life, if I haven’t moved on to somewhere else, I want to be an astronomer. I’m fascinated with the night skies almost as much as I’m fascinated with ancient Egypt. I’m also a member of member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America.

Please tell us about your current release, Covet.

Oh boy. I’m so excited to share this with you. Here’s the blurb:

Everyone wants something.

Even if it belongs to someone else.

And some will destroy the very thing they want, just so no one else can have it.

Professional soldier David Bellotti's latest mission seems simple: steal the key card to a drug lord's compound so the empire can be infiltrated and destroyed. But when David discovers evidence of his lover Lottie’s possible infidelity, his mission turns personal. He searches for answers others would kill to keep buried and discovers a link to the past he's been trying hard to ignore.

Ancient lives, twelve thousand year old secrets, murder, and primal instincts lead David on a journey through past lives and present danger—all to save the woman he loves.

Find your way back through history, when hunter-gatherers roamed and David and Lottie's past incarnations began. The Reading Café calls Covet, Book Two of the Past Life Series, "An amazing and fascinating storyline of suspense, mystery, betrayal, hatred and love."

What inspired you to write this book?

I’ve always had an interest in ancient Egypt and their idea of the afterlife, and also often wondered about the possibility of reincarnation. And the more I thought about it, the more questions came to mind. Like, why do we experience déjà vu and how is it that some people experience memories of a time before they were born? And, more than that, if past lives were real and we really did keep coming back until we “got it right”, what would happen if we had the chance to fix past wrongs or mistakes? Would things really be better? And what if they weren’t? Well, that led me to start writing the Past Life Series and I released Book 1 (In This Life) in April. But David Bellotti, my sexorific male lead from the series, grabbed hold of me big time and I wondered…what if he had past lives, too? And what if he, being the single-minded Alpha Male he is, had to put blind faith in a past he didn’t believe existed to save the woman he loved? And Covet was born…

Excerpt:

I blew out the entrance and took off, hustling through the panicked crowd. Another gun fired and police sirens sounded in the distance. I made a left down a small street then a right into an alley, jumping a garbage can, hurtling over a short wall, and disappearing into the neighborhood. If Galen didn't make it to our backup rendezvous point, I had to get to the safe house and that was five miles away. And right now, I had no idea if Galen and Lady in Blue were still alive.

I skidded past a corner, wondering if I should take the chance and call an alert into HQ, when I heard screeching tires. I backed up, pressed myself against a wall, and realized who it was. Galen in a Toyota. He threw open the passenger door and I jumped in, slamming the door shut as Galen jammed the gas pedal.

“You get it?” he asked, swerving through a turn then dropping our speed so we didn’t draw attention.

I nodded. “Is Lady in Blue okay?”

Galen hugged another turn. “She will be. She came to when the gunshots were fired.”

I blew out a sigh of relief. It wasn't the first time a distraction job had taken a bad turn, but it was still a worry. “And the cops?”

“All at the nightclub. But we will have to lose the car.” He used his cell phone and dialed our contact, making arrangements for cleanup.

I pulled out Sahin’s wallet and lifted the keycard. “Payday,” I said, holding it up.

“Mommie Dearest says we should leave the wallet and card with the car.” Galen disconnected the call. “They will pick it all up at the Starbucks near the safe house in ten minutes.”

I drew in a breath and held it, forcing my heart and my lungs to calm down. Another close call. I loved this stuff.

“You love this stuff way too much,” Galen said, glancing my way.

I had known Galen all of three months, and he was far too good at reading my mind already. I was trying to get my head wrapped around the fact that we were connected in a way that didn't make sense, but that didn't mean I had to like it. Ignoring him, I sank into the seat, letting the adrenalin wear off.

“Let’s see what else we’ve got on this guy.” Inside his wallet I found a black American Express, a MasterCard, and over five thousand Euros in the billfold. A picture was tucked in with his identification. I pulled it out and held it up to catch the light from passing street lamps.

It was a photo of the love of my life kissing another man.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I’m working on Book 3 of the Past Life series right now. Another David Bellotti story, which means I get to spend every day with the sexy man all over again. It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it. My hope is that it’ll be released at the end of 2014.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Yikes. I don’t know. And here’s the thing. Some days I don’t think I’m a writer at all. It’s a curse many writers experience, too, in questioning whether or not you truly are capable of telling an exciting, entertaining story. Ask me again in a few years…maybe I’ll have a definitive answer for you then.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

Oh man, writing full-time would be wonderful! But no…I’ve got a day job in downtown NYC, and I get up at 4:30am (yes, you read that right) to catch the train into the office. So I write on the train, and many times at night after I get home, and again on weekends. Plus, I’ve got a family. So, yeah, it’s a juggle. But I can’t imagine NOT writing, which means I find a way and find the time.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Hmm…thinking…I don’t have a writing quirk. Boring, I know! But I have another quirk I can share with you. I have a penchant for colorful pens and notebooks. Yeah. I do. I’ve got a box full under my bed of all different kinds of pens and notebooks that I pull out when I need a fix. Some people love shoes? I love pens…

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

You know, I never really went through the “I wanna be…” phase. But I was always pretending to be a character in my favorite TV shows when I played with my friends. We’d act out scenes from an episode of The Partridge Family or Starsky and Hutch (stop laughing!), or make up our own. So I guess in some ironic way that was my way of setting the stage for eventually going on to write stories of my own decades later.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Well, I certainly hope that those that buy Covet (or In This Life, or both) enjoy the series I’ve launched. I work hard to find just the right words, to convey the right mood, and to create as realistic characters as I can. I’ve been told the series is “different”, and yeah, I’d agree. Which means I also hope that readers find them as entertaining as I do! That said, thanks so much for having me here today! I enjoyed the interview!

Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon Author Page

BN | Amazon

Thank you, Terri!  Readers, don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win the e-book and/or the grand prize!