Hello everyone!
LITERAL ADDICTION and Book
Monster Reviews are very proud to welcome the incredibly talented and witty
Molly Harper to our sites today!
Molly Harper Intro:
Molly has a great bio online,
so we thought we’d borrow it for today’s Event:
About this author
My
mother remembers an 8-year-old me setting up my “writing office” in our living
room by putting her old manual typewriter on the couch next to a toy phone. And
I (very slowly) pecked out the story of my third-grade class taking a trip
around the world and losing a kid in each city.
I had a dark sense of humor, even then.
In high school, when other girls my age were writing poems about dying unicorns
and bleeding roses, I was writing essays about having political arguments with
my dad at the dinner table. (Whoever made the other person laugh at their own
political party won the argument.) I knew I wanted to write when I grew up, but
I also knew there was very little chance I could make a living writing books,
so I went for the next best thin...more”My mother remembers an 8-year-old me setting up
my “writing office” in our living room by putting her old manual typewriter on
the couch next to a toy phone. And I (very slowly) pecked out the story of my
third-grade class taking a trip around the world and losing a kid in each city.
I had a dark sense of humor, even then.
In high school, when other girls my age were writing poems about dying unicorns
and bleeding roses, I was writing essays about having political arguments with
my dad at the dinner table. (Whoever made the other person laugh at their own
political party won the argument.) I knew I wanted to write when I grew up, but
I also knew there was very little chance I could make a living writing books,
so I went for the next best thing – newspaper writing.
I majored in print journalism at Western Kentucky University and used my shiny
new degree to get a job at my hometown newspaper. I married my high school
sweetheart, David, a local police officer. And for six years, I wrote about
school board meetings, quilt shows, a man “losing” the fully grown bear he kept
as a pet in his basement, and a guy who faked his death by shark attack in
Florida and ended up tossing pies at a local pizzeria.
I loved my job at the paper. I loved meeting new people every day and never
knowing where I would end up. But somehow, the ever-shifting schedules of a
police officer and a reporter did not equal "family friendly." One of
us needed to take a normal job for the sake of our young daughter. I took a
secretarial position at a local church office, which left me with dependably
free evenings for the first time in my adult life. David was working the night
shift that summer and I was losing.my.mind. We were living in "The
Apartment of Lost Souls" while building our new home. This was the place
where appliances and small electronics went to die. Every night I would tuck
our snoozing child into bed and wait for the washing machine to start smoking
or the computer to suddenly flash the "blue screen of death." Then
there was the plague of frogs in the bathroom that put our daughter of
potty-training for about six months.
Normally, when things get tough, I can take solace in reading. But I surveyed
my packing box of favorite books with the apathetic air of someone who stands
in front of the open refrigerator for 10 minutes and can't find anything.
Nothing sounded good. So I just sat down and started writing something I would
want to read.
Being a huge fan of vampire movies and TV shows, I wondered, what would be the
most humiliating way possible to be turned into a vampire- a story that a
vampire would be embarrassed to share with their vampire buddies over a nice
glass of Type O. Well, first, you'd have to make the protaganist a bit of an
accidental loser. She's single, almost 30, and a librarian working in the small
Kentucky town where she grew up. This "triple whammy of worry" has
made her a permanent fixture on her Mama's prayer list. And despite the fact
that's pretty good at her job, she just got canned so her boss could replace
her with someone who occasionally starts workplace fires. She drowns her
sorrows at the local faux nostalgia-themed sports bar and during the commute
home, she's mistaken for a deer and then shot by a drunk hunter. And then she
wakes up as a vampire.
And thus, Jane Jameson and the wacky denizens of Half-Moon Hollow were born.”
As mentioned, Molly is the proud creator of the JANE JAMESON and
HALF MOON HOLLOW series, as well as the NAKED WEREWOLF series.
JANE JAMESON has 4 books and 1 novella currently – “Nice Girls
Don’t Have Fangs”, “Nice Girls Don’t Date Dead Men”, “Nice Girls Don’t Live
Forever”, “Nice Girls Don’t Sign a Lease Without a Wedding Ring” (novella), and
“Nice Girls Don’t Bite Their Neighbors” .
The NAKED WEREWOLF series currently has 2 installments – “How to
Flirt with a Naked Werewolf” and “The Art of Seducing a Naked Werewolf”.
HALF MOON HOLLOW has 2 books currently as well – “Driving Mr.
Dead” and “The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires”, which was just released on
7/31/12.
For those of you new to Molly’s incredible work, we thought we’d
give you the synopses for a handful of the books to peak your interests…
“Nice Girls
Don’t Have Fangs”
JANE JAMESON Book #1:
Maybe it was
the Shenanigans gift certificate that put her over the edge. When children's
librarian and self-professed nice girl Jane Jameson is fired by her beastly
boss and handed twenty-five dollars in potato skins instead of a severance
check, she goes on a bender that's sure to become Half Moon Hollow legend. On
her way home, she's mistaken for a deer, shot, and left for dead. And thanks to
the mysterious stranger she met while chugging neon-colored cocktails, she
wakes up with a decidedly unladylike thirst for blood.
Jane is now the latest
recipient of a gift basket from the Newly Undead Welcoming Committee, and her
life-after-lifestyle is taking some getting used to. Her recently deceased
favorite aunt is now her ghostly roommate. She has to fake breathing and endure
daytime hours to avoid coming out of the coffin to her family. She's forced to
forgo her favorite down-home Southern cooking for bags of O negative. Her relationship
with her sexy, mercurial vampire sire keeps running hot and cold. And if all
that wasn't enough, it looks like someone in Half Moon Hollow is trying to
frame her for a series of vampire murders. What's a nice undead girl to do?
“Nice Girls
Don’t Bite Their Neighbors”
JANE JAMESON Book #4:
Just as Jane Jameson’s
unlife seems to be stabilizing, fate sinks its fangs firmly into her butt.
Despite her near-phobia of all things marital, her no-frills nighttime nuptials
to her sexy boyfriend Gabriel are coming along smoothly. But the road to wedded
bliss gets bumpy when a teenage acquaintance is fatally wounded in front of
Jane’s shop and she turns him to save his life. The Council pronounces Jane
responsible for the newborn vamp until he can control his thirst.
Jane’s kitchen at River Oaks barely holds enough Faux Type O to satiate the
cute teen’s appetite and maintain Gabriel’s jealous streak at a slow simmer. As
if keeping her hyperactive childe from sucking the blood out of the entire
neighborhood isn’t enough to deal with, the persnickety ghost of Jane’s newly
deceased Grandma Ruthie has declared a war on the fanged residents of River
Oaks. Suddenly,
choosing monogrammed cocktail napkins and a cake that she can’t eat seems
downright relaxing in comparison.
Tensions inside the house are growing…and outside, a sinister force is aiming a
stake straight for the center of Gabriel’s heart. Most brides just have to
worry about choosing the right dress, but Jane fears that at this rate, she’ll
never make it down the aisle for the wedding all nice girls dream of…
“How to
Flirt With a Naked Werewolf”
NAKED WEREWOLF Book #1:
Northern Exposure Even in
Grundy, Alaska, it’s unusual to find a naked guy with a bear trap clamped to
his ankle on your porch. But when said guy turns into a wolf, recent southern
transplant Mo Wenstein has no difficulty identifying the problem. Her surly
neighbor Cooper Graham—who has been openly critical of Mo’s ability to adapt to
life in Alaska—has trouble of his own. Werewolf trouble. For Cooper, an Alpha
in self-imposed exile from his dysfunctional pack, it’s love at first sniff
when it comes to Mo. But Cooper has an even more pressing concern on his mind.
Several people around Grundy have been the victims of wolf attacks, and since
Cooper has no memory of what he gets up to while in werewolf form, he’s worried
that he might be the violent canine in question. If a wolf cries wolf, it makes
sense to listen, yet Mo is convinced that Cooper is not the culprit. Except if
he’s not responsible, then who is? And when a werewolf falls head over haunches
in love with you, what are you supposed to do anyway? The rules of dating just
got a whole lot more complicated. . . .
“The Art of
Seducing a Naked Werewolf”
NAKED WEREWOLF Book #2:
Baring It All Generations of werewolves
have been secretly residing in a secluded valley a stone’s throw from Grundy,
Alaska. So when a snooping Outsider comes to Grundy to investigate rumors of
lycanthropic shenanigans in the area, the valley’s pack alpha, Maggie Graham,
resolves to chase him away, even if doing so takes a quick bite on the butt.
What a pity that researcher Nick Thatcher turns out to be so drool-worthy, and
that his kisses make Maggie want to sit up and beg. Maggie just can’t seem to
convince Nick to leave . . . and even worse, she can’t convince herself to stay away from him. Cross-species dating is problem
enough for a harried alpha female, but on top of that, a rival group of
werewolves is trying to move into the valley. With interpack war threatening,
Maggie can’t afford to be distracted. Combining romance and a career can be
tough for anyone; for a werewolf in love with a human, it may be disastrous. .
. .
“Driving Mr.
Dead”
HALF MOON HOLLOW Book #1:
HELL ON
WHEELS
After failing as a magician's assistant, a photographer, and most recently, a
bride, Miranda Puckett takes a position as a driver for Beeline, Half-Moon
Hollow's premiere vampire concierge service.
Miranda's assignment? Driving Collin Sutherland, the world's most fastidious
vampire from Washington to Kentucky, so he can deliver a mysterious black case
to Council official Ophelia Lambert.
Collin, a paranoid, aristocratic vampire with a debilitating fear of flying,
refuses to let the case out of his sight. Miranda needs this time on the road
to decide whether to permanently cut her ties with the fiance that had an
"emotional affair" with a childhood pal, but Collin’s neatnik
tendencies are driving her around the bend. The man acts as if leaving a fast
food wrapped on the passenger seat is reason for a full-on CDC de-contamination
scrub-down of the car. All she can do is promise to stop intentionally doing
the things that make his stiff upper lip twitch with irritation.
As more and more mishaps occur on the road trip from hell, Miranda and Collin
work together to meet his delivery deadline. Hotel rooms are destroyed. Beloved
cars are defiled. And somewhere along the line, client-driver hostilities
become snarky flirtation.
Will Collin and Miranda make it to the Hollow in one piece? And if they do,
will Miranda leave old, safe relationships behind for something new and well,
just plain weird?
“The Care
and Feeding of Stray Vampires”
HALF MOON HOLLOW Book #2:
JUST
RELEASED 7/31/12
Iris
Scanlon, Half-Moon Hollow’s only daytime vampire concierge, knows more about
the undead than she’d like. Running all their daylight errands—from letting in
the plumber to picking up some chilled O neg—gives her a look at the
not-so-glamorous side of vampire life. Her rules are strict; relationships with
vamps are strictly business, not friendship—and certainly not anything else.
But then she finds her newest client, Cal, poisoned on his kitchen floor, and
only Iris can help.
Cal - who would be devastatingly sexy, if Iris allowed herself to think that
way - offers Iris a hefty fee for hiding him at her place until he figures out
who wants him permanently dead. Even though he’s imperious, unfriendly and
doesn't seem to understand the difference between "employee" and "servant,"
Iris agrees, and finds herself breaking more and more of her own rules to help
him - particularly those concerning nudity.
Turns out what her quiet little life needed was some intrigue & romance—in
the form of her very own stray vampire.
We
know! We have you scouring the internet
to find the books from your favorite booksellers, right!? We don’t blame you! Hopefully you’ll give us just a few more
minutes of your time though, so we can find out some more about Molly and her
library of literary excellence!
LITERAL
ADDICTION/Book Monster Reviews: Hi Molly! We’re very happy to have you here today and
are thrilled to help you promote “The Care and Feeding of Stray Vampires” and
the rest of your amazing backlist as well.
Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with us.
MOLLY: I’m so happy to be here!
LITERAL
ADDICTION/Book Monster Reviews: We always start by getting to know our guest
author a little bit better…
Q1): Can you tell us 3 things about yourself (no matter how random) that we
couldn’t find out easily on the Internet?
MOLLY: I
have a secret obsession with Queen music. When I die, I want
“Bohemian Rhapsody” played at my funeral.
Most people know that I’m clown-phobic. It’s called
coulrophobia. It’s a real thing. But I’m also afraid of
sharks, to the point that I get nervous in pools
sometimes. And yet, every year I watch Shark Week. It’s pretty
twisted. I don’t understand why I do it.
I used to make wedding cakes as presents to my friends. I got pretty good at
it. But my illustrious career ended when I was driving a five tier
cake to the venue, a deer ran out in front of the car, and the top tier flipped
out of my hands and onto the floor. So it was now a four-tier
cake. I decided the stress wasn’t worth it and started buying china
off the registry like a normal person.
Q2):
What are 3 things that always make you smile?
MOLLY:
My kids say the funniest things. My husband says downright bizarre
things. And my mom sends me texts that rival some of Jane’s adventures.
All together, they do or say at least one thing every day that cracks me up.
Q3):
If you could spend the day with any of your characters, who would you want to
spend it with, why, and what would you want to do?
MOLLY:
Probably Dick Cheney, because he’s my favorite of all my
characters. That’s why he gets all of the good lines. I’m
sure I would make all of kinds of plans for what we could do. But by
the end of the, those plans would be shot to heck and we would end up in jail
in Canada and have to call Jane for bail money.
Q4):
What are some of the things that you enjoy doing when you’re not writing or
taking care of other author business?
MOLLY: I
love to read pretty much anything. I am trying to master making
homemade ice cream. (It’s the salt part that messes me up, every
time! I either put in too little or too much.) And I am a little
obsessed with watching Teen Wolf (MTV) and School Spirits. (SYFY)
Q5):
What are the best and worst parts about writing for you?
MOLLY:
The best part is when I write something that makes me laugh. Going
back over something you wrote months ago and finding some clever little nugget
you don’t remember writing is awesome.
Editing is, without a doubt, the worst part. When you finish a book,
you mentally move on to the next project. And when you’re going
through an editor’s changes, you see how much work you DIDN’T
accomplish. It’s a little depressing, but definitely a necessary
part of the process.
Q6):
Are there any specific authors or titles that you feel have inspired you to
become the writer you are today?
MOLLY: Stephen
King, Nora Roberts, Jane Austen, and Teresa Medeiros. I have been
reading Teresa Medeiros books since I was a young teen. (Probably before I
should have been reading romance novels. ) I met her a few years ago at a
Kentucky book conference and had a squealing, embarrassing fan-girl moment all
over her. I’m fortunate that she didn’t file a restraining order
based on a first impression, because we’ve become friends since. It’s
very surreal, but another huge perk of being an author- you get to meet your
heroes!
Q7):
What are your favorite type of scenes to write (dialogue, sex, action, etc) and
why?
MOLLY: I
really like it when my characters are in large groups, talking to each other. I
usually end up with some really funny dialogue and interplay between
them. Zeb, Dick and Jane usually provide a sort of DVD commentary
for “grown-up conversations,” which is a lot of fun. I think I would
really enjoy writing for television.
Q8):
Was there any specific inspiration behind the creation of the HALF MOON HOLLOW
series?
MOLLY:
Well, I missed Jane. I’d written my last NICE GIRLS book, and I
didn’t really want to let her or Dick or Gabriel go. I’d built this
whole town up for them to play in, and there was no reason I couldn’t invent
other people to play there, too. So I started hiding “clues” in the NICE GIRLS
books. Iris, the main character in THE CARE AND FEEDING OF STRAY
VAMPIRES showed up as Jane’s wedding planner in NICE GIRLS DON’T BITE THEIR
NEIGHBORS. In CARE AND FEEDING, Iris mentions adding a car service,
which is eventually manned by Miranda in DRIVING MR. DEAD. It’s been fun,
adding those Easter eggs.
Q9):
What about JANE JAMESON and NAKED WEREWOLF?
MOLLY:
With Jane, I wanted to do a vampire story, but I wanted to make it funny,
southern and fairly bloodless. And I wanted to make it quirky, with
features like an aisle at Wal-Mart just for vampire products, so the vampires
had to live in the open. I wanted a heroine who was a little left of
normal. Instead of being a delicate flower or a kick-ass action gal,
I wanted her to be clumsy and prone to social disaster- which is very close to
my own personality. So basically, I wrote a story that I would want to read.
With the Naked Werewolf books, I was inspired by an ice storm that swept
through our area in January 2009. Our entire town was paralyzed by
downed limbs and collapsed power lines. I ended up sleeping at my
inlaws’ house on a mattress in front of their fireplace, with my infant son and
three-year-old daughter. My husband, a police captain, was working
round-the-clock emergency shifts, so we barely saw him. The sense of
isolation and helplessness really got to me, and I took notes about how I
felt. I’d already planned to write a werewolf story, but being
subject to the cold and the dark in that way helped me choose an Alaskan
location. My notes eventually turned into the first few chapters of
HOW TO FLIRT WITH A NAKED WEREWOLF.
Q10):
How many books do you have planned for each of the series?
MOLLY:
Well, I’ve written the last book featuring Jane as the main
character. But she will show up in all of the Half-Moon Hollow
spin-offs. And I can write those until they tell me to stop. I will
write at least one more Naked Werewolf book, which I am really excited
about.
Q11):
What were some of the challenges in bringing the HALF MOON HOLLOW series to
life?
MOLLY:
I always struggle with plotting. My plots move either too fast or
too slow. I am very lucky to have a patient agent and editor.
Q12):
What are you the most proud of with regards to your career thus far?
MOLLY: It’s
still a huge thrill for me to walk into bookstores and find my books on the
shelves. I still can’t believe it’s happened for me. And it
makes me extraordinarily happy that I’ve made people forget their problems for
a little while and escape. I get letters from people who tell me my
books helped them laugh while they were undergoing chemo, going through a
divorce, or grieving, and it makes me cry a little every time. I am
very grateful.
Q13):
If could give one quick piece of advice to aspiring authors, what would you
tell them?
MOLLY: Writers
write. It’s short advice, but true. You can read all of
the books on technique you want. You can take classes and join
critique groups, but the only thing that will improve your writing and get your
story on the page is sitting down and writing words.
Q14):
What’s up next for Molly Harper? What do you have going on in the next couple
months that your readers might be interested in?
MOLLY: I was
fortunate enough to be included in an anthology called THE UNDEAD IN MY BED,
which will be released in September. It will include stories from
Jill Myles (as Jessica Sims) and Katie McAllister. My contribution
is another Half-Moon Hollow spin-off story.
And then, starting in
December, Pocket Star e-book originals will release my series focusing on the
characters in a Kentucky tourism office. MY BLUEGRASS BABY is the
first book in the series and is available for pre-order now.
Q15):
Is there anything special that you’d like to say to your readers
while we have you here today?
MOLLY:
Be sure to check out my blog
at singleundeadfemale.blogspot.com and my
websitewww.mollyharper.com. You can find
me on Facebook at Molly Harper, Author or on Twitter at @mollyharperauth
LITERAL
ADDICTION/Book Monster Reviews: Molly, thank you so much again for
being with us today. We’re very happy to help you promote your new release and
your entire backlist! We’d absolutely love to have you back to promote your
next book if you’d be interested.
MOLLY:
Thanks for having me!
If you want to keep up with Molly,
you can find her here:
Molly is
graciously offering up a copy of The
Care & Feeding of Stray Vampires* to a winner from LITERAL ADDICTION and a
winner from Book Monster Reviews.
*Prize may be subject to change
To Enter, fill
out the Rafflecopter widget for Molly’s Event, follow the directions, take
action, and mark as ‘Done’.
Make sure that
your Rafflecopter email address is correct.
Want
a 2nd chance to win?? Go to LITERAL ADDICTION and enter to win the contest on their site too.
GOOD
LUCK!!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Bestselling
author Candace Havens has written six novels for Berkley including, Charmed
& Dangerous,Charmed & Ready, Charmed & Deadly, Like A
Charm, The Demon King and I and Dragons Prefer Blondes. Her
Blazes for Harlequin include Take Me If You Dare, She Who Dares, Wins,
Truth and Dare, and The Model Marine and the upcoming anthology, All I
want for Christmas. She is also in the anthology Spirited, and the proceeds
go to help literacy. The first Entangled Publishing book is Take It Like A Vamp.
