☼ A Place In The Spotlight ☼ with M.C.V. EGAN: INTERVIEW with ZOE Derrick aspartof her READ BETWEEN THE LINES Blog Tour

Zoe is such a fun person to interview you may have to laugh out loud!

What is your book about?

Give Me Reason centers around Vivienne who is a young woman who has been through thick and thin when it comes to growing up. Her mother is an alcoholic and a drug addict.

She escapes her mother only to land in the arms of an abusive man. When she finally gets away from him, she is struggling to get back on her own two feet when she meets Mikah Blake.

He’s mysterious and elusive in book one, but don’t worry he will come back in full swing with book 2.

What inspired you to write this particular story (and/or series)?

Ironically, this story came to me while I was in the shower. HAHA. I was trying to think of how I could work with a short story that was posted to www.deadlyeverafter.com called Devilish Desire. I thought when the story hit me it was that story, and it turns out, I wasn’t too far off, but it developed into Mikah and Vivienne’s story.

Describe your writing in three words.

Chaotic, sensual, passionate.

Do you have specific techniques you use to develop the plot and stay on track?

Uhm, no. My technique is to write what pours out of my head and then organize it later. Although The Reason Series and Finding Love’s Wings have fallen out in pretty good order.

Are your characters in the book based on anyone you know?

Almost all of my characters are, in some fashion or another. Cami (Finding Love’s Wings) is an alter-ego of me. Her friends Beau, Jolene, and Naomi are real-life friends of mine. Vivienne and Mikah though are really characters of their own.

Was there any research involved in your work?

Give Me Reason required a bit of medical and PTSD research. I also research into general things like apartments/condos/building layouts, things like that.

What authors inspire or influence your work?

There is a long list that fit into this category - Some that come to mind immediately are Jennifer Probst, Sylvia Day, Jamie McGuire and many more. Those three however are some of the real reasons that I got into writing in the first place.

Do you need visual media to describe people or places? (Some authors use pics. out of magazines)

No, I can’t say that I do. I try and use very vague descriptions of my characters to allow for ones imagination to take over while they are reading their stories. Though, I’ve had several people suggest Parker Hurley as their Tristan (from Finding Love’s Wings) So I think when I write book two, I will be keeping him in mind.

Favorite snack when writing.

Haha, goldfish crackers.

Do you have a Muse?

HAHA, yeah she’s a snarky little witch, but funnier than heck, but I often find her roaming away and she always manages to come back naked. I think she finds other muses to entertain her when I’m being too boring.

Once a character is fully developed do you set them free or do they still dance around your mind?

All of my characters dance around in my mind all the time. Vivienne and Cami have become unexpected friends. Though they tend to talk about their boyfriends and it gets rather annoying from time to time.

Is the Thesaurus one of your best writing friends?

LOL! No, though I wish it was. I do tend to use google a lot a s definition dictionary and if the word isnt quite right, then I dig deeper for a thesaurus.

Who gets to read your drafts before they're published?

My sidekick of Awesome Rachel - she tells me when my tendency to be long winded over the unimportant things gets out of control, My editor of course, and my beta readers.

Share with us your biggest hurdles in the writing process?

Time .. Up until about 3 weeks ago, I was working full time and writing in the evenings. When time would run out and I would need to sleep, I’m usually so engrossed in a spot that I can’t put it down until I’m done.

Share the biggest hurdles in the marketing process.

Oye! That is always the hardest part. I like to shout things from the rooftops and I need to remember that patience is key. I’ve been called a grasshopper more than once in the last couple of weeks.

What project(s) are you working on now?

I’ve just submitted the first draft of Give Me Desire - Book 3 in the Reason Series to my editor. Which means I’m back to editing Give Me Hope to get ready for it’s November 19^th release. Once I’m done with that, I will begin writing Give Me Love - Reason Book 4 and then FLW 2.

Is there anything else you would like to say to your readers?

Thank you Thank you! Without you, I wouldn’t be writing. Your love of my characters is inspiring and I strive EVERYDAY to work a little longer and a little harder because of you.

Where can readers find you and your book(s) online?

I’m EVERYWHERE! :-D!

I am on Facebook

Twitter: @ZoeyDerrick

Website

Amazon

Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo. You can also purchase signed Paperbacks on my website.

Thank you so much for having me today. It’s been a blast and I hope to come back again soon.

Thank you Zoe

Title: Give Me Reason
Author: Zoey Derrick
Series: The Reason Series (#1)
Genre: Paranormal Romace/Fantasy
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: Sept 24 2013
Blurb/Synopsis:
Vivienne Callahan has known only hardship. As if growing up with an alcoholic, drug addicted mother wasn’t traumatic enough, she’s escaped from her physically and verbally abusive boyfriend only to struggle every day to make ends meet as a waitress in a Minneapolis diner.
Along comes Mikah Blake, a handsome stranger who quickly takes an unexpected and persistent interest in her. On the surface, “Mr. Suit” seems to be Vivienne’s opposite: rich, well-fed, successful. As Vivienne will learn, Mikah is more than he seems, and for reasons unknown, he’s determined to be her knight in shining armor. But after having finally found her own two feet after years of abuse, it’s difficult for her to accept Mikah’s help.
Will her body’s unexpected response to Mikah’s touch be reason enough to overcome her pride and traumatic past and learn to love and trust? Or will her past, refusing to be left behind, come back to claim her?

It is from Glendale, Arizona that Zoey Derrick, a mortgage underwriter by day and romance and erotica novelist by night, writes stories as hot as the desert sun itself. It is this passion that drips off of her work, bringing excitement to anyone who enjoys a good and sensual love story.
Not only does she aim to take her readers on an erotic dance that lasts the night, it allows her to empty her mind of stories we all wish were true.
Her stories are hopeful yet true to life, skillfully avoiding melodrama and the unrealistic, bringing her gripping Erotica only closer to the heart of those that dare dipping into it.
The intimacy of her fantasies that she shares with her readers is thrilling and encouraging, climactic yet full of suspense. She is a loving mistress, up for anything, of which any reader is doomed to return to again and again.

Places to find Zoey

Amazon Author Page

Facebook Author Page

Facebook Personal Page

Goodreads

Twitter

Website

Places to find Give Me Reason

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Goodreads

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