Sable is graciously giving away two eBook copies of Sweet Evangeline. This book is in the erotic genre so we ask that no one under the age of 18 enter the contest. Just leave us a comment at the end of the interview and you are automatically entered into the drawing. Don't forget to leave your email address at the end of your comment so we can contact you about your prize. We greatly appreciate it. So lets get into the interview.
PYN: Can you share a small excerpt from your book?
PYN: What interested you most about writing?
SH: I was an only child for the first nine years of my life, until my brother was born. So, I day dreamed a lot. My mom wouldn’t let me roam the neighborhood, so I created stories and events to fill my days. Eventually, I started writing them down. This habit carried over to my teen age years. If I didn’t have a boyfriend, I made one up and wrote stories about him. Later, I couldn’t find books that told the type of stories that I wanted to read – so I wrote my own. When you write, you create your own reality. You’re the boss – it’s your rules. What you say goes. In that world you can make friends with who you want to – you can look like you’ve always dreamed – and you can do, absolutely, anything you want. Actually, it’s like playing God in your own universe. Heady stuff!
PYN: How did you come up with the storyline for Sweet Evangeline?
SH: Sweet Evangeline was a continuation of A Wishing Moon that I wrote under my pseudo – Josie Arlington. These two stories were a result of a dream that I had when I was sixteen years old. I was homesick for New Orleans and I kept dreaming of an older white house on St. Charles Avenue that had stained glass windows in the front. The stained glass was a picture of beautiful blue morning glories. From the vision of that house, I created a family of powerful women who practice New Orleans style witchcraft. Sweet Evangeline was the story of the younger cousin, a sculptor, who longs for someone to love her for who she is. So, when she’s given an assignment in class to sculpt the perfect man – being a witch – she takes the assignment to the ultimate level.
PYN: Tell us a little about your main characters. –
SH: Evangeline has powers. She can control the weather, heal and move some things with her mind. In looks – she’s a typical Creole girl – dark hair, almost black eyes. She feels the pinch of prejudice more than most – and really doesn’t understand why people would judge her just because she’s different. She lost her Mom in Hurricane Katrina – she thinks – and her father in the Gulf War. Her grandmother, aunt and cousins have stepped in to fill the void left behind by the loss of her immediate family.
Eric – the hero is an Austin firefighter. He’s just out of an unsatisfactory relationship and has been having these unusual, really hot dreams of a beautiful dark haired woman who is making love to him. Unable to shake the feeling its real, he goes to a charity benefit at the Neuman Sculpture gardens and walks in on a perfectly rendered sculpture of himself – nude, magnificently aroused and engaged in coitus with the woman from his dreams. He demands to meet the artist – and the heat is on.
PYN: Who is your favorite character in your story? Why?
SH: My favorite character that is in both books is the matriarch of the family – Nannette. She is the glue that holds the family together and always there to help. I enjoyed the research that I did to make her magick realistic. All of the spells, herbs, and magical references in the books are real – or realistic, I should say.
PYN: Do you like happy endings or open endings?
SH: Oh, I love happy endings. Open endings just make me mad. I want all my loose ends tied up, unless it’s a series – but as far as the hero and heroine are concerned – I have to have assurance that they are on the road to a happily ever after.
PYN: Tell us a random fact about yourself.
SH: My husband and I ghost hunt for fun.
PYN: You grew up in New Orleans. In a city well known for voodoo as well as hoodoo, was it a big influence in your writing.
SH: Oh, yes. In the neighborhood where I grew up, the older folk practiced a mixture of both. Now, they went to church and didn’t think a thing about practicing both – in fact, in their minds – it all meshed very well. They would go to church, come home and light a candle and make a mojo bag.
So, yes that complete acceptance of the reality of the supernatural was very influential. I never questioned that magic existed or that people lingered around after death – it was just the way it was.
PYN: What is the thing you like best about being an indie author?
SH: As of last week, I am lucky enough to be both. I have 7 self published novels on kindle and print – in three categories – all erotic romance - paranormal, cowboy and contemporary. And the thing I like best is that I can finish a novel and start selling it immediately. I can control the exposure, But all of that is extremely hard work – I network, promote –I advertise on 20 sites, do blogs – I never knew there was so much to do.
Having said that – I am thrilled that Secret Cravings Publishing will release my T-R-O-U-B-L-E on October 10th. So, I will live in the best of both worlds.
PYN: As an author, how do you feel about the big blow up with not only indie authors, but ebooks?
SH: By big blow up I assume you mean the opportunity that an author has to get their work before the world.. We live in amazing times that this is possible. But, I would warn authors who want to self-publish. That’s just the beginning – it takes money to advertise your books and blood sweat and tears to get it in front of your audience.
PYN: Do you have any hobbies?
SH: I love to cook Cajun food. My husband and I RV as much as possible. It’s our living, but we raise registered Longhorns and Beefmasters. And like I said earlier – we ghost hunt.
PYN: Are there any projects you working on?
SH: Yes, I just finished BOBBY DOES DALLAS, have my 3rd HELL YEAH! Series coming out in about 6 weeks and a new paranormal coming out this fall. And of course, my association with SCP has, hopefully, just begun. I’m doing a free read there along with 6 other authors. So, I have a lot going on.
PYN: Where can readers purchase your book?
SH: You can go to my website – sablehunter.com
All my books are available at Amazon under Josie Arlington and Sable Hunter and TROUBLE will be available in all of the avenues that SCP uses – Barnes and Nobles and such.
PYN: Where can readers connect with you on the web?
SH: I twitter at huntersable, I have a newsletter - just go to my website and contact me or email me at sablehunter@rocketmail.com.
Holding her close, he mouth captured hers. Kissing her was the sweetest thing he had ever done. “God, I want you.”
“I want you too, Eric. More than you can imagine.” Now, she was about to be more generous than ever before. “Tonight, if you get home and have a change of heart. . . . . ” She couldn’t let go of the possibility that this was all part of the spell she had used to call him to her. A spell that was fueled by her repressed sexual appetite, and that as soon as he was out sight, she would be out of mind. “If you don’t show up at eleven tomorrow, I’ll understand.”
“No way, babe. No way in hell.” He held her close, already anticipating the delight to come. “There is nothing on this green earth that will keep me away from you.”
And he meant it. Eric meant every word. He fully intended to return to Evangeline at the exact time that he had promised. But when the phone rang at five the next morning, he realized that keeping his word would be impossible. There was a fire, a bad one in a hotel on south I-35. His first thought had been to pick up the phone and call her, but then it hit him that he didn’t have a phone number. In desperation, he tried to look her up in the directory, but there was no listing. Damn! She probably had a cell phone. He considered swinging by and trying to get her to come to the door, but he knew that he couldn’t take the time. Lives were at stake.
Sorrow tore at his heart. He knew what she would think. He could still hear her words, ‘If you get home and have a change of heart, I’ll understand..’ Hurting her terrified him. If he didn’t show up at eleven, Evangeline would think that he had changed his mind. She would think that he did not want her.
The fire had been horrendous. There was multiple origination points and if he wasn’t mistaken there was accelerant on the carpet and curtains. Chief Kirby’s words kept coming to mind. Somebody had set this fire, there was no doubt about that. Every truck had responded. Eric’s unit had been first on the scene, but he was surprised to find John Cammack already there, suited up. He hadn’t questioned him, but the Chief would sure be hearing about it.
Hell! Eric knew that it was late, but there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. There had been children trapped on the upper floors, he had fought his way up the stairs to find them. Poor design and sub-standard materials had made everything more difficult and more dangerous.
The hellish blaze had been impossible to contain, and hotter than any he could remember. He and his unit had fought fiercely for four hours, and then to make matters worse, a portion of the structure had collapsed. The air was so hot that Eric could barely breathe, even with his self contained breathing apparatus. He desperately needed to concentrate on what he was doing. But he kept seeing Evangeline’s face. She would think he didn’t care. Lord, she would think that he had changed his mind.
On one of the upper floors, he realized he needed to break out a dormer window to ventilate the fire. When he reached in, his sleeve got caught and pulled back from his arm, exposing it to the extreme heat. Eric winced, that was at least a second degree burn! But the pain of the injury was nothing to the worry that he was feeling, imagining Evangeline waiting for him and the minutes passing and passing . . . .
When it had came time to get ready for Eric, Evangeline was beside herself with excitement. She looked at the clock, only three more hours to go. Three more hours and she would have Eric to love, to kiss, to cherish. She bathed, lotioned, waxed, did her nails, did her toes, washed her hair, rolled her hair, did her make-up, then sat down to wait. Okay, so she was early - it was only ten o’clock.
At ten till eleven, she stood by the door. She stood there until noon.
Sitting on the couch, watching the door until one, she finally realized that he wasn’t coming.
At two, she had took off the little black dress that she had found at the vintage shop on Bee Caves Road.
At three, she cried.
After twelve hours, the fire was out. He met with Chief Kirby, long enough to share his suspicions about John Cammack. Other than that, Eric didn’t take time to shower, he didn’t even take time to get his burn treated. All he could think about was getting to her. When he pulled up in her driveway, it was six o’clock. He hurt all over. But he was here.
The pounding on the door finally registered. Evangeline had cried herself to sleep. The tears had shorted out her radar, so she didn’t even try to figure out who at the door. Opening it, her eyes downcast, she was only interested in getting rid of whoever was there. But then she looked up and her heart melted. It was Eric. He was leaning against the door, face and body covered in sweat and grime, looking exhausted and in pain. “Oh, my love.” She opened the screen door and took him by the hand. “Where are you hurt?”
She helped him in. Her tear-streaked face broke his heart. “I’m so sorry, baby. It was a hotel fire, a bad one. I wanted to call, but I didn’t have your damn phone number.”
Again she asked, “Show me where you’re hurt.” He showed her the burn on his arm and she tenderly checked it. “Why didn’t you go to the doctor?”
“I had to get to you. I knew you were thinking that I didn’t want you.”
“Taking care of yourself was more important,” she chided him, but there was a catch in her voice. She brought a big glass of ice water and while he drank it, she ran water in the shower.
After he had quenched his thirst, she helped him off with his clothes. “I wanted you to undress me, but this wasn’t how I had planned it.” His voice was weary, it made her want to cry all over again.
“I’ll still be here when you feel better, but until then I’ll take care of you.” She helped him undress, wincing at the burns on his body. Stepping into the shower, he laid his head on the tile and let the warm water run over him. Shocking herself, Evangeline shed everything but her underwear, boldly stepped into the shower and began to wash him.
“Oh, baby - what are you doing?” Eric watched her taking care of him. She was absolutely beautiful, but he was simply too exhausted to do anything about it. Soon, he promised himself, soon.
“Loving you.” Evangeline washed the smut and sweat from his body, tenderly avoiding the places where he hurt the most. There was nothing sexual about her attention, it all had to do with love. When he was clean, she dried him off. Digging in his duffle bag, she took out clean clothes. “Let’s get you into bed, then I’ll doctor you.” He let her pull the T-shirt over his head and didn’t argue when she pulled back the covers and brought him something for the headache that was blurring his vision.
Despite his discomfort, he was asleep within minutes. Evangeline went to where she kept her herbs and gathered what she needed. She made a paste of aloe vera and the oil from St John’s wort. Next, she added dried echinacea and calendula that she had ground with a mortar and pestle. Putting the soothing concoction in a small container, she took it downstairs. Softly and silently, she crawled into the bed with him and applied the salve to the injured places on his beautiful body. The worst burn was six inches long and spread from his right wrist up his arm. Small blisters clustered on the skin. Taking his hand in her own, she whispered “Burn, I blow on thee.” She blew on the site three times, then made the sign of the cross three times over the wound with her thumb. Lying down next to him, she took him in her arms and concentrated. She surrounded him with a healing blue light and willed him to feel strong and well. Evangeline held him for over two hours, until the blisters on the burn were gone and the color had lightened from an angry red to a light pink. Kissing him on the forehead, she got up to fix him something to eat. Hopefully, he would wake up hungry not only for food, but also for her.
***
We would like to thank Sable for stopping by to talk with us. She will be our guest on Blog Talk Radio this Wednesday at 3:30pm PST, so be sure to stop in and listen. The link to our show is here. Don't forget to leave us a comment for your chance to win one of the two eBook copies of Sweet Evangeline.
Also, we are a proud sponsor of the Blog Tour de Force, hosted by our sister stream and sister blog, The Indie Book Collective. We will be doing a couple interviews and possibly a a review or two with authors on this tour who write in the paranormal genre. Blog Tour de Force begins April 18. Not only will you win eBooks, there will be as a grand prize winner for a brand new Kindle #yay! You won't want to miss this tour. For more information, visit Blog Tour de Force
That's it for us for now. Thanks for stopping by to check out our interview. Good luck to all those who comment. We're confident that you will enjoy Sweet Evangeline. See you on the stream.
This book sounds great! I would love to read it! ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the giveaway.
Katie
Katiewalthall AT ymail DOT com
Thanks for your comment, Katie. Sable is a fantastic writer. You are entered into our contest for the eBook copy of Sweet Evangeline.
ReplyDeleteWow! Great interview! Self publishing in the age of technology, fascinating. Great excerpt!
ReplyDelete