Interview & Giveaway: Lisa Darling

UFI welcomes Lisa Darling Author of The Heart of War. Thanks for Joining us!!

What can you tell my readers about yourself that they might not know from looking on your bio or reading in another interview?

Not too much I'm afraid. My life is literally an "open book", anything you ever want to know about me just ask me or read my blog—but you may end up with more than you ever wanted to know about me if you do that!

What do you enjoy doing on your down time?

In the warm weather—which we don't get too much of here in New England—I like to garden, or try to. We have a lot of critters that come to visit our yard: deer, foxes, gophers, rabbits, squirrels, and the like. I had to stop gardening in-ground and I started container gardening which is turning out wonderfully! I have four HUGE tomato plants this year, a mass of cucumbers and pumpkins, and a few strawberries. My husband and I enjoy playing FRPGs together, currently we're playing "Dragon Age II"…good game!


What is your Favorite part of writing?

When it flows like Niagara Falls and the whole world just fades away, I can't see the monitor or even feel my fingers flying across the keyboard. I love it when there's nothing but the Muse and me.

Do you have any certain routines you must follow as you write?

I have a schedule for writing 1-4:30pm. That's my time to write—in between cleaning the house, running errands, and doing the laundry, of course! Must haves: Coffee, Coke, Cigs, Candles, Incense, and a bit of herbal inspiration doesn't hurt.

What are some of your Favorite books or Authors in the Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Genres?

Unfortunately, I'm one of those authors who just doesn't get a lot of time to sit down and read. Somebody always wants something in my house! I'm not sure he qualifies in the paranormal genre but I suppose he does, anyway, my favorite author has always been Stephen King.

How would you pitch The Heart of War to someone who has not heard of it before?

Firstly, I'd have to tell them the story is NOT for the faint of heart, it's not for the Harlequin/Avon/Twilight crowd by any means. If you don't like your reading material hot, dark, and gritty, you'll never develop a taste for my stories. They're hard-hitting and in your face. I liken them to a rollercoaster ride on a really good coaster that makes your stomach turn, your throat scream in terror and when it's over say: "Man that was FUN, let's do it AGAIN".

Can you tell us a little bit about the world that The Heart of War is set in?

The Heart of War is set in modern-day and takes place mostly on Ares' secluded Greek Isle though we do take several trips to Olympus to visit his Divinely Dysfunctional Family and we take a trip to Ceres Agar, an African Refugee Camp where the heroin, Alena MacLeod, has been living for the past 7 years. We go to the Celtic Lands and finally, we end up in Boston, MA which is where Alena spent most of her life in hiding from her husband, Cernunnos.

Do you have a favorite scene in The Heart of War?

Near the end, as we're in Boston, we go to a Red Sox game. Ares at the ballpark! It's a cute little scene, a little fluffy I suppose, but it started out as a private joke between myself and my blog readers. I put The Heart of War online in rough draft as it was being written—yes, warts and all! It got so many hits I kept blogging that the Red Sox could really use a heavy hitter like Ares on the team. So when we got near the end, we worked that in. We were going to take it out but everyone loved it to much it ended up staying. We were even able to find a Red Sox jersey to fit the God of War and Alena had much fun taking it off him.

Which character was your favorite to write about? What about the hardest to write about?
 
Ares is my favorite character in the novel he's also the hardest to write because he's a such a sharply honed double-edged sword. It's difficult to be honest about him as the hero but we (the Muse and I) did it, we put in a lot of the bad things he's done over the course of his life as the God of War. It wasn't easy to realize my hero had very tarnished armor but hopefully, by the end, we shined it up just a little bit.

What Other Projects can we look forward to reading from you?

The sequel, "Child of War" will be available 12/31/2011. It's currently slowly going online in very rough draft form and it should turn out to be a good roller coaster ride.

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Author Bio: Lisa has been married for the last 25 year s to her wonderful husband, Roy. The two live in New London, CT where they raised two (now adult) daughters.

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The Heart of War
Of War #1
November 21, 2010

Inside the heart of every warrior breathes the soul of a hero--even within The Heart of War.


Meet Ares God of War is the greatest Warrior the world has ever known, he's also moody, grumpy, dominant, ravenously sexual,and above all, built like a Greek God.

Suspected of killing his Daughter in-Law, Psyche, and long in exile from Olympus, the solitude of Ares' island is interrupted when Magdalena MacLeod a brash and sometimes manipulative Fey washes up on Ares' island after believing she's been shipwrecked. There is no wreck and her memory of events is sketchy at best. Branded with a golden chastity belt bearing the mark of Cernunnos, Celtic God of the Forest and Death, Alena has been on the run from the Great Horned God for 200 years. As Ares and Alena grow closer discord erupts on the island as his head woman, Kat, plots to get rid of Alena and the Olympians plot to use her in their endeavor to discover who killed Artemis. Ares will have to choose between his Divinely Dysfunctional Family, his pride, and Alena before dueling to the death with the God of the Forest.
Come along for an epic adventure of erotica, steamy romance, and drama in this Modern Day Greek Tragedy. Battle Ancient Gods and Fall in Love along side Ares God of War and Alena MacLeod. Theirs is a love that will rock the world from the heights of Olympus to the Celtic moors.

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Find Lisa and her books

Website / Facebook / Blog / Goodreads

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Winner will receive
- One e-Copy of The Heart of War

 RULES
1)  Leave a comment or question for Lisa =)
2) This giveaway is open to both US and International readers
3) Must leave an email address so I can contact you.

Giveaway Ends 7/23/2011 at 10pm EST

Winner will have 48 Hours to reply to my email or I will pick another

Winner chosen randomly with the help of random.org