Laurel Hawkes Interview & Excerpt

Please welcome debut author, Laurel Hawkes!  Thanks for joining me today, Laurel.  I look forward to learning more about you and your new book. 

[Anne]Is there one particular book you read as a child that continues to stick out in your mind?

[Laurel] Lord of the Rings. I read it as a tween, and it was my first "grown up" book. It's still one of my favorite books.

[Anne] Do you have a favorite author? What do you like most about their work?

[Laurel] JRR Tolkien. He had an amazing gift for description. He would describe a scene down to the rocks and flowers and blades of grasses and yet kept it so general anyone could read the scene and think of a place they knew exactly like it.

[Anne] Name a favorite character from a book you've read in the last year?

[Laurel] Wanda from Stephanie Meyer's The Host. I expected to dislike her, to put it mildly, and ended up admiring her.

[Anne] Congratulations again on your new release. How exciting! Please tell us a little about it.

[Laurel] In A Promise of Possibilities, Elizabeth Thorn is a spinster with no prospects but a life of servitude in her father's house, unless he marries her off to one of his cronies. Jonathan Silverton wants to escape the secrets of his past, but his perfect solution of a home in the country lands him in the middle of one of his biggest secrets.

[Anne] What inspired it, and how long did it take you to write it?

[Laurel] Regency romance is one of my favorite genres. A friend challenged me to write the story I wanted to read, and I did, in 2006. After a rejection in 2007, I did a lot of rewrites, as I learned my craft. The final draft was finished in December 2012 and accepted by Desert Breeze Publishing.

[Anne] So far, what's the most exciting thing about being a newly published author?

[Laurel] Being offered a contract. I never really believed I'd be published.

[Anne] What's your least favorite thing about your publishing experience so far?

[Laurel] Worrying. I've had so many amazing people believe in me, and I don't want to disappoint them.

[Anne] Do you have another book in the works?

[Laurel] Endless Possibilities is a series of three Christian Regency romance novels and the next, Hidden Possibilities, is scheduled to be published in March 2013. I also have a contemporary series, The Silver Locket Sisterhood, the first of which is scheduleded for November 2012, Luck In Love.

[Anne] Let's say Hollywood wants to turn your book into a movie. What actor/actress do see portraying your main characters?

[Laurel] A younger Daniel Craig and an older Rachel Hendrix.

[Anne] Other than writing, what do you enjoy doing?

[Laurel] Reading! I also enjoy time with friends.

[Anne] If you could go anywhere in the world on a vacation or to research your next book, where would you go?

[Laurel] The neverending list - Wales, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, the beach, in no particular order.

[Anne] You’ve won a talent show!  What act did you perform?

[Laurel] I sang On My Own from Les Miz. Really, only I didn't win. J

[Anne] Where do you go when you need to get inspired to write?

[Laurel] P.Croissant, my favorite eatry.

[Anne] Do you have any writing quirks?

[Laurel] Probably, but since they're mine, I don't think they're quirky.

[Anne] What do you think makes a good story?

[Laurel] I think what my favorite books, be it fiction or nonfiction, and they have in common are honor, hope, and love.

[Anne] Laurel, thank you so much for joining us today!  I wish you tons of success with your new release. In closing, why don't you give us a brief excerpt and then tell us where we can purchase your book.

Book Blurb:
In England, 1816, spinster Elizabeth Thorn has been more slave than servant as her father's housekeeper. The courageous war stories shared by author Paul Silver inspire her to correspond with him. But after years of heartfelt letters, he stops replying...

Johnathan Silverton blames himself for the brutal death of his best friend. When he moves to the countryside and unexpectedly meets his correspondent, he chooses not to reveal his secrets. But he cannot deny his desire to marry her, while hoping she'll never discover the truth. Shattered trust and faith may tear them apart...until they each learn a vital lesson.

Excerpt:

"Matthew," Elizabeth hissed.

He grinned, unrepentant. "My sister instructs me I am not to ply you with my myriad questions, at least, not yet."

"You're incorrigible," she muttered. It was all she could do not to clamp her hand over her mouth. She'd never meant to utter the words aloud.

Mr. Jonathan Silverton turned his full attention on her, his gray-eyed gaze flicking over her from head to foot and back again.

Vague discomfort rippled through her. She knew she was unaccustomed to a man's attention, but had he lingered overlong in his perusal of her? Had she ever endured such scrutiny? Under her sire's critical gaze, of a certainty, and perhaps his cronies as well. This had felt different. The latter invariably filled her with the sensation of being one of her father's breeding mares, but not coming from Mr. Silverton. Instead, she had sensed something more -- familiarity or perhaps recognition -- and yet how could such a thing be when they'd never met before this moment? She would remember if they had, without a doubt. His brooding world-weariness and striking appearance were unforgettable.

She concentrated on keeping her own gaze directed to the gentleman's face, endeavoring not to notice his broad shoulders and chest, encased in a close-fitting coat and waistcoat, or his trim waist and lean hips and legs, in tailored trousers and boots, all of chocolate brown. In contrast, his shirt was stark white, and the cravat was tied with practiced carelessness. She suspected his piercing gray-eyed inspection of her discerned a great deal more than she wanted to reveal. Dragging her gaze away from his eyes to the rest of his face, she noticed it was tanned, his cheekbones high, his forehead broad, framed with light brown locks curling in disarray. His straight nose drew her perusal to his bow-shaped lips, the lower being fuller than the upper, and accentuated by his square jaw.

He stepped forward, and she offered her hand, smiling, hoping her own nervousness did not show. As handsome as he was, a darkness overshadowed him, a burden on his soul.

Tucking away her contemplations, she interjected, "Please pay no attention to my brother. He may be three and twenty, but when it comes to horses he is more like three and ten."

"Ellie, never say so. Seven and ten, at least, was when I knew enough to appreciate quality, when I saw it, and even you cannot deny those horses were prime quality."

Though Mr. Silverton offered a pleasant smile, it did not reach his eyes.

http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-331/Endless-Possibilities-Book-One-cln-/Detail.bok

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iBook