What can you tell my readers about yourself that they might not know from looking on your bio or reading in another interview?
I'm the atypical poet that can do math. Most people are surprised to learn that I used to manage a very large jewelry retail store and have sold some pretty spectacular diamonds over the years.
What do you enjoy doing on your down time?
Anything. I’m totally down for anything and that is why I have great stories to tell. I’m also completely content doing absolutely nothing which is why I have time to write those stories down.
What is your Favorite part of writing?
Those lightbulb moments when something totally unexpected comes together so perfectly you sit back and marvel.
Do you have any certain routines you must follow as you write?
It almost always has to be either gloomy and rainy outside or the middle-of-the-night for me to even entertain sitting down to write. I also have to listen to music while I write. I assemble songs in a playlist based on the moods of the storyline and/or characters. I can listen to the same song over and over again for hours while I write. You said see the number of times certain songs have been played. I also have to drink coffee – cold, with flavored creamer or chai tea. I know I know... that sounds so hipster. Sorry.
What are some of your Favorite books or Authors in the Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Genres?
I’ll read anything – especially if someone recommends it to me (feel free to jump on my website or social media pages and send me your recommendations for my next read!) but if you turn me loose in a bookstore my go-to genre, of course, is Young Adult Paranormal Romance.
Obviously one of the most well-known authors in that genre and perhaps on earth is Stephenie Meyer. The Twilight Series was groundbreaking in her ability to inspire such enthusiasm and fan commitment. I respect that she stood her ground and branched out after the Twilight Series with The Host, despite the fact she could have continued Twilight for the next decade and possibly beyond.
I actually don’t have a “favorite” book in any genre parse – because I can always find good in someone’s writing. Sure, there are some pieces of work out there that could use a hand and then there are those exceptionally well written books, but, in my mind, if anyone has enough gumption to sit down and write a story, I admire that and I’ll read their work. I would never knock someone for standing behind something they believed in and obviously loved. I think this mindset makes it rather difficult for me to pick just one “favorite.”
What can I say… this chick loves books!
How would you pitch The Violet Hour Series to someone who has not heard of it before?
The Violet Hour is not just a coming of age moment, but really for anyone on the cusp of something new and dangerous and looking for the inspiration to hold out for one more fighting day. My idea was to capture that unique experience – those rare moments in life where everything that comes after will be defined by that event. Most people in those moments describe it as fate, as if they have no control. If there was one belief I wanted to share with others it is that you never have no control, there is no fate... you have the strength to change the course of your own future, even if it involved werewolves.
Can you tell us a little bit about the world that The Violet Hour Series is set in?
The lights of Hollywood meet the werewolf filled mountains of Wyoming.
Which one character out of all your books was your favorite to write about? What about the hardest to write about?
My favorite is easily Logan Keller. On the outside, she seems like the popular girl that everyone wanted to be in high school, but on the inside she is the most humble, fair, and loyal character in the novel. If there is one person that has a solid moral center and sticks to her guns, it is Logan.
Xavier was easily the most difficult because he is irredeemably unpleasant. It could seem that he is one-dimensional because you don't know his backstory, but we dive into that with Book #2 in the series. The more you know about him, the more there is to dislike.
What Other Projects can we look forward to reading from you?
The Violet Hour Series is a total of 3 books starting, of course, with The Violet Hour. This series is going to last over the course of the next year or so as I wrap up and release Book #2 and finish writing and release Book #3. These books are all told from the prospective of Logan, but through the writing process, I have outlined ideas/stories told from the prospective of other characters in the series. There’s always the possibility that one of those stories could set fire in my mind – forcing me to tell it.
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Find Andrea and her books
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The Violet HourThe Violet Hour #1
Still shocked over her mother’s mysterious death, California socialite Logan Keller is handed a one-way ticket to her long lost roots in Wyoming where love, deceit and danger await. Though she could forget everything staring into Luke Callahan’s eyes, Logan is quickly thrust into a fight for survival. Taking fate into her own hands, she begins unraveling the dangerous deceptions that abound at every turn. Her father is keeping secrets and Luke is keeping more. But Logan is keeping the biggest secret of them all.
The Violet Hour is a page-turning captivating twist of young romance and the supernatural.
Excerpt:
I sat up and pulled my knees in close to my chest. Electricity flared in the air as Luke inhaled.
“You know, Logan, you’re not who I expected you to be,” he said, taking a long thought-filled pause. “I thought the next twelve months were going to be hell living with a California socialite, but you’re pretty amazing. I guess I owe you an apology.”
“So, it’s a good thing that I’m nothing like you expected?” I asked.
“It’s a really, really good thing.”
As I started to smile back he craned his neck to look away from me. His eyes focused. Something black flashed across the road but I was more scared by Luke’s reaction. The warmth had vanished from Luke in a heartbeat. The object stopped moving toward us when it got to an opening between the trees. Even though I could feel Luke’s concern, I leaned forward toward the window, curious. It was a wolf – a really big wolf, staring directly at us with bright green eyes. It was close enough I could see quick breaths escape into the crisp rain-drenched air. I was startled when the engine roared to life. Luke threw the car into reverse, and I nearly slammed into the dash as the sound of gravel scattered everywhere. He quickly jockeyed around and pulled back onto the road heading home. I kept my eyes on the wolf until he was no longer in sight.
“Was that a wolf?” I asked. Everything happened so quickly, I had to be sure.
“Yes,” he spit.
“I’ve never seen a wolf before – that thing was huge.”
Luke immediately turned to look at me with an expression that I couldn’t begin to read.
“What’s going on?” I pressed, puzzled.
When he looked toward the road and didn’t answer, I knew my question needed to be more specific to get results.
“Why are you freaking out? It was just a wolf.” I was worried. He had gone from warm and comforting to moody and distant over such a small thing and I second-guessed how quickly I had fallen for him.
“Because I need to get you home, it’s getting late,” he muttered, failing to control his tone.
“That doesn’t make any sense, Luke. I have no curfew and you flaked as soon as you saw the wolf.”
“Wolves are dangerous.”
“We were in the car,” I countered.
“Doesn’t matter.”
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