Today’s
special guest is paranormal romance author Stephanie Burkhart. She’s sharing
a bit about her newest novel, Sunrise
Over Brasov.
During her
virtual book tour with Goddess Fish Promotions, Stephanie will be giving away a
$25 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn commenter. To be entered for a chance
to win, leave a comment below. To
increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit
other tour stops and leave comments there, too!
Bio:
Stephanie Burkhart
is a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. She writes romance and children's stories. She's
currently published with Desert Breeze, 4RV, and Victory Tales Press. She
adores chocolates, loves coffee, and enjoys going for walks. In September 2014,
she'll be participating in the 5K Walk to End Alzheimer's in Santa Clarita, CA.
Welcome, Stephanie. Please tell us
about your current release.
Sunrise Over Brasov is Book 3 in the Moldavian Moon
paranormal series. It's set near Brasov, Romania in the 1880's. Romania has such
delicious folklore with the Vlad Tepes/Dracula legend that one just might
believe the paranormal is real in Romania.
In the story,
Rosa, who is a virgin witch, is kidnapped by Clement, an evil werewolf intent
on using the purity of her witchcraft for his own personal gain. Michael,
Rosa's beloved, chases after her in the hopes of freeing her from Clement, but
will the separation doom their relationship or bring them closer together.
What inspired you to write this book?
Michael's
story had to be told. The series is a trilogy and starts with Michael's
parents, Mihai and Theresa. While finding love, Mihai and Theresa make a series
of choices that doom their family to be haunted by werewolves. Can Michael
finally end the curse? Love can led to redemption and forgiveness, but does
Michael have the inner strength and courage to travel down that path
considering the hurts he's suffered?
Excerpt:
He raised his
hand and lowered his hood. An inherent strength filled his profile. Confidence.
Concern. Relief.
Rosa's breath
jammed in her throat. He looked familiar. He smelled familiar.
"Rosa,
it's Michael. Let's go."
"I'm not
going anywhere with you."
A frown set
against his rugged features. "I don't have time to argue -- now put on a
warm dress and cloak."
"No."
She was not going anywhere with him despite the relief in his voice.
He sighed and
shut the door. Moving with fluid grace, he crossed the room, jerked the door to
her closet open and threw the items he wanted her to wear on her bed.
"Get. Dressed."
"No."
She was determined not to budge, despite the danger outside.
"Rosa,
we're leaving."
"I'm
staying."
"Why
would you want to stay? Clement kidnapped you."
Disconcerted,
she pointedly glanced away from his hard stare. What did he mean by kidnapped?
Clement didn't keep her behind bars and feed her only bread and water. Rosa
could even go into Brasov to shop as long as Lucien or one of the bodyguards
went with her.
"I'm
going to take you back to your mother."
Her head
snapped toward his direction. Mother? Of course she had a mother -- a family,
even -- only she had no recollection of them. So why did her body fill with
warmth at the mention of her mother by a man she hadn't seen before, but was
hauntingly familiar? She pursed her lips, torn by conflicting emotions.
"Caroline
and Darius can't keep this up. Now get dressed or I'll dress you myself."
"You'll
find me an unwilling subject."
He drew in a
deep breath and raked a hand through his thick ebony hair. "You are
exasperating."
"So I've
been told."
What exciting story are you working on
next?
I'm between
stories right now. I want to work on a paranormal for Halloween and I need to
start the prep work for Book 4 in my steampunk series, "The Windsor
Diaries." In June, I'll have a short story coming out called "Arrow
Through the Heart," in the Victory Tales Press Summer Anthology and Book 3
of The Windsor Diaries is coming out called "A Lady Never Lies."
When did you first consider yourself a
writer?
I remember
there was a show in the 1970's called The Electric Company (Interesting note:
Morgan Freeman was a cast member). After watching the show I'd go to the
kitchen table with my crayons and pencils and create little Spiderman comics
based on the skits from the show. Since then I kept writing, focusing on poems
and short stories, but it wasn't until I was a teenager did I realize I was a
writer and this was something I was going to do for the rest of my life.
What do you do other than write and
how do you find the time to write?
I have a full
time job as a 911 operator for the city of LA. Since we don't have access to
personal computers, I usually do my writing on my down time with a pen and
paper. When I get home, I type up what I've written at work. I'm a fast typer
so it comes together quickly.
As a child, what did you want to be
when you grew up?
I used to
tell people I wanted to be a bus driver because I wanted a job where I didn't
have to go to college. I chuckle because I got a lot of reaction with that so
sometimes I would say it just to get a reaction. I eventually went to collage
(graduated Magna cum laude from California Baptist University in 1995) and went
to work in law enforcement after serving in the US Army from 86-97.
Links:
Thanks, Stephanie! Readers, don’t
forget to leave a comment if you’d like a chance to win the gift card!
