Welcome Ballantine Books author, Laura Moore...



 Welcome Laura! It's great to have you here - I'm looking forward to learning more about you and your work :)

What is the best and worse thing you have learned from an editor/agent?

 I’d say the best piece of advice I received from an editor I learned from an editor was the following: Concentrate on writing the best book you can. The readers will only come back if the books are good.
I think this is especially pertinent now when so many writers are on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and whatever hot new social media is making a buzz in an attempt to build their audience. It can become a huge distraction to what’s really important: writing stories.

What is your typical day?

I wake up at six a.m., drink lots of coffee, walk my dog, come home, make some more coffee, and start to write--trying not to waste too many precious minutes online and often failing. Just because I recognize the good advice dispensed by my editor doesn’t mean I always follow it! At two p.m. I take a break and walk the dog again and when I return I try and get another hour or two in before I stop for the day to exercise, get the groceries, cook dinner, and engage with the world. If I’m getting close to my deadline, I’ll write in the evening, too. That’s when things get ugly.  

What do you read while in the midst of a project? Or don’t you?

I read all the time but when I’m working on a manuscript, I avoid my subgenre (contemporary) because I worry that my own voice and story will be affected. It can be frustrating at times because there are so many contemporary authors I absolutely love. Luckily I love historicals and paranormals so there’s plenty of material to enjoy.

What do you do with a paperback once you’ve read it?
If the book is good, it finds a place in my home (I can’t promise it a bookshelf because ours are already crammed). I may also lend it out to friends I’m trying to convert to romance or introduce to a new author or subgenre. If the book is so-so, I’ll donate it to a neighborhood bookstore that sells used books for a dollar and donates the proceeds to a literacy charity. 
Are you nervous about friends reading your book?
I used to be but I’ve been writing for more than a decade now. At this point in my life I’m actually far less concerned about peoples’ attitudes and opinions than I used to be--there’s got to be some perk to aging, right? And my friends are in general pretty cool people. They’re not at all like some of the know-nothings one meets whose noses shoot into the air when they hear the words “Romance writer.” Those people are just too funny, aren’t they? 
What things inspire you to write? Location, music, film or even in a book?
I often get inspired by a location when I’m writing. A lot of my stories involve people who work out of doors take place (ranchers, vets, builders, professional riders) and so I think a lot about the settings they’re in. Sometimes an article I’ve read in the paper or magazine will grab my imagination and all of a sudden I’ll have an idea for a story or details about a new character I want to create.
  Share your blurb or short excerpt from your latest release with us.
My new book is called Once Tasted. It’s the second book in my Silver Creek series and here’s the blurb for it:
Three siblings, an extraordinary family, a lasting heritage—in the irresistible Silver Creek Ranch trilogy, they’ll fight for the land and the people they love.
Everything has come easily to Reid Knowles, the middle son of a California ranching family. But his charmed life is suddenly complicated when his neighbor, Thomas Bodell, persuades him to help with the business management of his winery, which he is leaving to his niece, Mia.
In a life marked by loss, nothing has ever come easily to Mia Bodell. Love included. In high school her heart was crushed by Reid. The hurt lingers. When Mia learns of her uncle’s plan, she makes it clear that she’d rather be roped to a steer than to Reid Knowles.
A night of unbridled passion changes things. One taste of Mia awakens an unfamiliar yearning in Reid, and he vows to find a way to win her trust.
            Mia is achingly aware that her teenage heartthrob has matured into a devastatingly handsome man. But can the budding winemaker trust her heart to a playboy with no interest in settling down? From Reid’s first intoxicating kiss to his unexpectedly tender seduction, Mia is swept into a passionate affair that could leave her heart in pieces . . . or give her everything she has ever wanted.
 What’s next for you?

I’m working on the next book in the Silver Creek series, Once Touched. It’s Quinn Knowles’s story--she’s Reid’s younger sister and a cowgirl and animal lover. Were Quinn to be handed a frog with the promise that her kiss could transform the amphibian into a prince, she’d open her fingers and let it hop away unbussed to the nearest lily pad. She’d much rather the frog remain a frog. What would she possibly want with a human male--prince or commoner--hanging around? I had to come up with a pretty amazing man to make Quinn rethink her position.
  
You can find Laura here:


Buy links for Once Tasted:

Amazon link:


Barnes & Noble:


Indiebound:

 Laura is waiting to chat! Bring on your questions and comments….

No comments

Post a Comment