With Halloween swiftly approaching, we just had to find a great paranormal romance author to provide a few tricks and treats for this week’s “10 Questions With…” So, without further ado, Novels Alive and Be My Bard would love to make welcome the spookily talented, award winning author…Lisa Kessler!
Back to school time. In your high school yearbook would your “Mostly likely to…” title have read, “…become a Bestselling Author,” or something completely different and what might it have been instead?
Mine would have been “Most likely to be a voice for a Disney character.” Music was my first love, and I left high school with the Most Outstanding Musicianship Award and a dream to be involved in music. I still do sing professionally, but I never did get to be the next Little Mermaid! J
Trick or Treat? When you’ve hit a mental brick wall while writing a story, do you have a special “trick” for getting back on track, or have you found that simply giving yourself the “treat” of time away will help break the spell?
Thankfully I don’t usually get stuck, but when I feel less than inspired, I usually crank up my playlist for the book and power through. Music and gum chewing usually get me going again.
You are attending a Halloween costume ball as your favorite literary character and suddenly find yourself falling through a wormhole into their universe. How much time would you want to spend there before you start looking for an escape route home or would you want to stay indefinitely?
Hmmm… Tough one! I’d love to meet Lestat and Marius from Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles! But I don’t think I’d want to stay too long. I might find immortality tempting even though I know there are drawbacks to the Dark Gift. J
Speaking of going back in time…Authors sometimes go back into their backlist and re-release a revised edition, or in the case of novellas, a new expanded edition for a fresh reading by their audience. Is there a story from your collection of work that you would like to or already have plans to release again with revisions?
Someday I would love to expand ACROSS THE VEIL into a novel. I have it up as a free short story, but I really LOVED writing Keth and Talia’s magic and it would be a blast to be able to really carve out their world and play in it. I’ve got a few books under contract to write first, but someday… J
When it comes time to laying out the big spread for Thanksgiving, are you most likely to be the one to give Martha Stewart a run for her money in the kitchen or the one they only trust (culinary speaking) to bring over some packaged rolls?
Thanksgiving is one of the few times I go all out when I cook. I don’t usually enjoy cooking much, but something about Thanksgiving and the smells, make the actual cooking less of a chore.
Many authors include a list of acknowledgments or “Thank you” messages in the beginning of their books. Is there one person that you always try to remember to mention and why?
My husband. He has been my rock throughout the crazy publishing journey I’ve been on. When I started writing full time, our finances have been really tight, but when my faith in myself starts to falter, he’s always right there to pick me back up again. He rocks!
Whether it’s shopping for gifts to put under the Christmas tree or other holiday gift giving, are you one of those people who starts stockpiling in JULY or will you be scrambling at the last minute to complete your list?
Last minute! If I buy things too early, I can’t keep it secret and give it to them early! LOL I’m horrible about that! J
There is just something special about love stories set around the holidays. Do you have a favorite holiday romance that you would recommend or one of your own that will be gracing the shelves this year?
I really loved ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS by Ros Clarke. I don’t usually read contemporary romances, but this was a short holiday novella and I fell in love with it!
When it comes to making “New Year’s Resolutions,” do you tend to make ones that will be easy to keep or are you still working on ones you have made in the past and are determined to accomplish this year?
Instead of resolutions, I try to think about the past year and try to be grateful for all the good things. I think having an attitude of gratitude helps bring in the New Year with hope… J
Thank you so much for taking the time to be with us today and for sharing some holiday secrets.
To close out this session, is there is a story that you are working on now or one recently released that you would like to share something about?
My next release should be out in November, BLOOD MOON. It’s the third book in my Moon Series and I can’t wait for everyone to read it! If you’ve been reading the series, this is Gareth’s book and it’s powerful and moody just like he is…
A lone wolf…
Gareth is the last surviving member of his family. Guilt, grief, and bitterness have isolated him from his Pack, and driven him into his own private purgatory.
A new Pack member…
Nadya was bitten by a genetically-altered werewolf from Nero’s top secret Lycan Squad, a death sentence for every wolf in the project. Her empathic abilities and fighting spirit have helped her survive her first full moon, but the poison in her veins is pushing her body to its limits.
‘Til death do they part…
In an effort to save Nadya’s life, the door is opened to Nero. But will the experiment save her life, or push the Pack in deeper with the enemy? One kiss and Gareth’s course is changed forever. He’ll face down death one more time, but this time, he’s planning to win.
Check out this great Free short story read by Lisa Kessler!
ALSO AVAILABLE NOW
Bad boys, tortured alpha heroes, and kick-ass heroines all come together in 12 steamy full-length paranormal romance novels and novellas from NY Times, USA Today, and national bestselling authors! Whether you’re looking for tantalizing dark tales or the humorous side of the supernatural, you’ll get werewolves, vampires, fallen angels, monster hunters, and ghosts—every one of them a hot temptation you won’t be able to resist…
Lisa Kesler is an award winning author of dark paranormal fiction. Her debut novel, Night Walker, won a San Diego Book Award for Best Published Fantasy-Sci-fi-Horror as well as the Romance Through the Ages Award for Best Paranormal and Best First Book.
Her short stories have been published in print anthologies and magazines, and her vampire story, Immortal Beloved, was a finalist for a Bram Stoker award.
When she’s not writing, Lisa is a professional vocalist, performing with the San Diego Opera as well as other musical theater companies in San Diego. You can learn more at Lisa-Kessler.com
Thanks for having me on the blog!!! 😀
Lisa 🙂