Interview and giveaway with author Lori Brighton

Please welcome Lori Brighton author of The Ghost Hunter. I hope you guys enjoy the interview and please check out The Ghost Hunter I really enjoyed it.



Laurie-Lori, thanks so much for doing this interview. Would you please tell us a little about yourself?


Lori-Thanks for having me! I started reading romance when I was a teenager and I became obsessed! Not only with the wonderful emotional aspects of the books, but with the suspense and adventure. Wanting to do something just as adventurous, I went to school for Archaeology/Anthropology. I ended up working in a museum as a natural science curator. When we moved, I had to quit and museum jobs are hard to find. I’d always had a huge imagination and so with time on my hands I decided to try and write down one of those stories I’d been imagining. It took me over seven years to get published. Lot’s of rejection and heartache. But those stories wouldn’t leave me alone, so I continued to try.

Laurie-What has been the hardest thing to cross in writing?

Lori- Well, getting published is incredibly hard. For most people it takes years and many rejections. Publishers are very picky, and rightly so, about what they want. Now that more people are self publishing, forgoing publishers in New York, it’s more about promoting. A person can spend hours a day trying to figure out ways to get their book into the hands of readers. It’s rather exhausting. So after your book is published, you then have to worry about sales numbers and what your readers will think of the book.

But the hardest thing is trying not to let rejections and bad reviews get you down; to write for the joy of writing.

Laurie-Now that you’re selling books what’s become you favorite thing to do?

Lori-Well, when you see your book available there is an amazing feeling of accomplishment.

But best of all are the people I’ve met since becoming an author. Bloggers who take time out to help me promote, and readers who email to tell me they enjoyed my book. I’ve met so many wonderful people from all over the world.

Now I have had the privilege to read your Ghost Hunter and loved it. Laurie-What I really loved was your idea of an Angel warrior having to have a seer to capture the ghost, would you tell us more about this? And are you planning on writing more?

Lori-When you write a book there has to be some way to connect plot and characters, there has to be a reason for things. I needed a reason for Cristian (my hero) and Ashley (the heroine) to be connected on a deep level. Somehow I came up with the Seers and Angels working together; forced together really.

As for if there will be another book, I’d love to write a sequel with Devon (who is a secondary character) as the hero. But that will depend on how well The Ghost Hunter does.



Laurie-What prompted you to write a ghost book with a demon in the basement?

Lori-I came up first with the idea of a book about a woman inheriting a mansion that is haunted while on the Haunted Mansion ride at Disney World. As for the demon part, I can’t remember how that came about! Some writers plan, in detail, their books before they write. Others just write. I just write. So when something comes to me, it goes into the book. Somehow it all comes together in the end.

Laurie-What do you do for fun when you’re not writing?

Lori-I love television and movies! Fewer movies now that I have a child. Because I spend so much time on the computer, reading my own books, sometimes I’d rather watch T.V. than read. I know, terrible thing to say!

As a family we like to go hiking and traveling. We just got back from St. Augustine, Florida. It was amazing! A new favorite place.

Laurie-What are some of your favorite books?

Lori-I’ll tell you a horrible, horrible secret…

I’d rather watch the movie than read the book. lol. When I was a kid I loved Anne of Green Gables and Chronicles of Narnia books. Both have wonderful movies. I’d definitely rather watch either Pride and Prejudice movie rather than read the book. Same with the Harry Potter books, love them, but would rather watch the movie.

As for books that haven’t been made into movies…anything Julie Garwood. She was the first romance author I read and I love her historicals!

Laurie-Now that you have written historical and paranormal do you have a favorite? And was either one easier to write?

Lori-Historicals are more difficult because there’s usually more research involved. I don’t have a favorite. If I’m writing a historical I usually want to write a contemporary. If I’m writing a contemporary I’m longing for historical. lol. The grass is always greener…

Laurie-You have a book called Wild Desire coming out March 2011, can you share some of that story with us?

Lori-Sure! Wild Desire is the second book in a series. The first book, Wild Heart, is available on Amazon as an Ebook or printed book. It may also still be at some bookstores. But you can read Wild Desire without reading Wild Heart. Wild Heart is a bit darker while Wild Desire is more adventurous. Below is the blurb for Wild Desire:

In what feels like a moment, Beatrice Edmund goes from being a proper lady cooped up in a stuffy Scottish castle to traveling miles from anything she’s ever known, in the midst of the wildest adventure of her life. And at the center of that adventure is the most infuriating, puzzling scoundrel on earth. She cannot take her eyes off him.

Colin Finch cannot deny he’s drawn to Beatrice—but lust is all he could possibly feel for the sharp-tongued minx. Still, if there’s a chance she can help him stop the madman he pursues, he must withstand her obvious disapproval. Yet withstanding the longing he feels for her is growing more troublesome by the second… And Colin has never been terribly good at staying out of trouble…

Laurie-Can you tell us some of what to expect next?

Lori-Well, I have a young adult book that is with two editors. They’ve had it awhile. It’s one of the pitfalls of publishing, it can take forever to hear back from an editor if they want your book. If they reject it, I’ll publish it myself on Amazon Kindle. So in some format, it will be available.

Wild Desire will be in stores in March and I’m really looking forward to that.

As for what book I’ll work on next, I have plenty of ideas, but probably a contemporary paranormal romance I started awhile back. Like The Ghost Hunter it’s a bit more unique and different than many of the paranormal books out there.



Fun questions

Laurie-Do you have a favorite pair of shoes? And do you have a truck load of them or not? LOL.

Lori- stay home so I’m usually wearing no shoes or tennis shoes. lol. Pretty glamorous! I love heels, but on the rare chance I do wear them, they kill my feet because I’m not used to them. I love purses more. A friend of mine said that she loved shoes and purses because it didn’t matter how much weight you gained, you could still use them. So true.

Laurie-What is your favorite color?

Lori-Hmm, I don’t know. I love all colors. If I had to choose, maybe green? Just reminds me of life and lushness 

Laurie-Do you have any pets? If so what?

Lori-Yes, we have a dog and a cat. Years ago we lived out in the country and one day a Golden Retriever showed up at our house. After no one claimed him, we took him in. He’s awesome. A super sweet dog. Everyone loves him. Our cat belonged to someone else and she had to get rid of her, so we took her in. For the first three years, she wouldn’t come downstairs. lol. She hated our dog. Only took about 6 years and I think she’s finally accepting him… reluctantly.

Laurie-Do you have a favorite music band? And what song do you like best from them?

Lori-I don’t have a favorite band, I like a little of everything. In the city where I live they have a radio channel called Dave, after Dave Matthews and they play music along that lines. That would probably be the type of music I listen to the most. But I’m usually watching television rather than listening to music.
 
Where to find Lori
Website
Blog
Facebook
 
 
Now for the giveaway Lori is giving away TWO Ecopies of Ghost Hunter. This is for US and International so please leave a comment or question for Lori below. Ends Oct. 13th. Please leave your email.

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