Monday, February 3, 2014

Author Interview & Giveaway: One Night with the Shifter by Theresa Meyers

One Night with the Shifter
Sons of Midnight Series
Book 4
Theresa Meyers


Genre: Paranormal romance
(vampires and werewolves)
Publisher: Harlequin  Nocturne
Date of Publication:  February 2014
Number of pages: 304 pages


Book Description:
A one-night stand with a werewolf has unexpected consequences in Theresa Meyers's latest romance in the Sons of Midnight series.
After he is exiled from his pack, Tyee Grayson must learn to make it on his own. But one night with a beautiful stranger who has luminous blue eyes changes everything…. Especially when his instincts shout that she is the one.
All elementary school teacher Jessica Brierly wanted was a night on the wild side, but when she finds herself pregnant, all the rules change. Not only does her lover have more secrets than she ever imagined, but suddenly they're both fighting off vampires.
When vampires attack the town she dearly loves, Ty must work with his old pack to save them from a ruthless enemy who could kill not only his mate and his unborn child—but the entire human race.



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Interview: Paranormal Romance Fans for Life would like to extend a warm welcome to Theresa Meyers, author of One Night with the Shifter.  Theresa, first please tell us where you are from and  where/who did your love for writing come from?
Hi! Thanks so much for the invite to hang out here today. I’m really fairly average as people go – I’m a mom with kids, cats, a dog, horses and a parakeet.  I’ve been an avid reader most of my life and I think storytelling is part of my genetics. While she wasn’t a writer, my mother was an elementary teacher and a storyteller her whole life. She influenced me in a number of ways. Storytelling was the first gift from her. A love of books and learning how to read was the second gift, which was a big deal for me since it took me nearly until fifth grade to read easily with my dyslexia. The third gift she gave was a belief in what we can’t see – the paranormal if you will. 
Just as example, when I was little she read the story of the shoemaker and the elves to me right before bed. My room was a mess. Right after she’d finished the story she got very quiet and asked if I heard something. Sure enough there were little squeaky voices outside my window! They were talking about how they were going to clean up my room. My mother convinced me we had elves living in our big tree stump in the back yard. In the morning I woke to find my room clean. My mom even helped me make cookies and little clothes for the elves as a thank you. It wasn’t until I was in my 20s that I learned she’d put a tape recorder with a long blank space at the beginning of the tape and had recorded the little voices herself. But it didn’t matter. It was things like this that taught me to be open to the world around me in a different way which is likely why writing paranormal romances, steampunk with a paranormal twist, and urban fantasy stories are some of my favorites. 
Right now I live on a mini-farm outside of Seattle in the little town of Port Orchard. LOL. I say little, but it’s at least four times bigger than the town I grew up in Sutherlin, Oregon! My office in the turret of my Victorian house looks out over the horse pasture and fruit trees lining our driveway. It’s a great room, with five windows. The only drawback is there’s not much wall space for bookshelves! I’ve got a spot for my long-haired calico to supervise my writing and usually my day starts and ends around the schedule of my two busy teens and the feeding times for the animals. 
Can you say that your journey to publication was difficult? If so, what were the hardest moments to get through?
That’s kind of a trick question when it comes to me. I started having my writing published nationally when I was 17 and got a short story piece published in Merlin’s Pen as part of an extra credit English assignment in high school. I wrote for newspapers for years and magazines, but in fiction I’ve been writing far, far longer than I’ve been published. I started writing my first romance novel when I was seventeen as a self-created elective my senior year along with a few friends. As long as we produced written pages and showed progress in our chosen writing projects, we were given an A for the class. My first novel was published by Harlequin in 2009 and since then I’ve been thrilled to have several more. One Night with the Shifter will be my sixteenth published book, but probably the twentieth I’ve written. 
How do you overcome i-suck-it is, that little voice in your head that tells you your writing isn’t good enough?
Honestly, most of the time I just tell it to shut the hell up and go get an ice cream or something, I’m busy. I learned a long time ago that EVERYONE sucks at the first draft. That’s not important. What’s important is what you do with the raw material once you’ve got it down on the page. Once I learned that the little voice couldn’t intimidate me anymore because it was a non issue. It’s kind of like when someone says, something they think will mentally tear you down like “You’re fat.” Or “You’re a bitch.” If you look them straight in the eye and answer “Yeah, and?” the taunt becomes totally flat and powerless. Own that you suck, and know you will fix it because that’s your job as a writer, then move on.
What is your dream vacation?
A trip all over Europe with family and friends in the sunshine with great food, drinks and music.
Describe your writing style in five words.
Adventurous, otherworldly, sexy, descriptive and fun.
What movies are you currently excited to see?
I still haven’t gotten to see Catching Fire and I want to see that. I’m also still want to see The Great Gatsby and Anna Karenina. I love watching movies, but I usually tend to save them as rewards for getting my current work-in-progress finished.
What are you currently reading?
A book about the spice trade for a historical I’m researching, several fiction books, some contemporary and others paranormal, and The 5 Love Languages which is a relationship book.
If you weren’t a writer, what other careers would you pursue?
The funny thing is I’ve already pursued a lot of other careers. I’ve been a professional florist/hotel decorator, a magazine freelancer, a public relations maven working at some very impressive agencies, a business owner of my own public relations agency, a substitute teacher, and an office secretary. I guess if I ever pursued something other than writing I might want to run a bed and breakfast in a very cool humongous Victorian house or castle or become a painter.
If you could create a holiday of your own, what would it be called?
Humm. A holiday. I’ve never contemplated that before. It would have to be in June (my birthday month), and it would have to involve giving flowers because I adore flowers. And tea. And cake. And dancing—but only if you want to. Maybe Carpe Diem day?
For people who haven’t read your novel, how would you summarize the plot?
A one-night stand with a sexy werewolf has unexpected consequences for an elementary teacher from a small town.
After he is exiled from his pack, Tyee Grayson must learn to make it on his own. But one night with a beautiful stranger who has luminous blue eyes changes everything…. Especially when his instincts shout that she is the one. 
All elementary school teacher Jessica Brierly wanted was a night on the wild side, but when she finds herself pregnant, all the rules change. Not only does her lover have more secrets than she ever imagined, but suddenly they're both fighting off vampires. When vampires attack the town she dearly loves, Ty must work with his old pack to save them from a ruthless enemy who could kill not only his mate and his unborn child—but the entire human race. 
What are two of your pet-peeves?
*shakes head* This sounds so damn petty, but I really hate it when the kids put the toilet paper on so that it rolls from underneath instead of over the top because then the cats can completely unroll the entire thing leaving me to reroll it from the pile of tissue on the floor. Second pet peeve is when people in my family rearrange my kitchen cupboards or my office thinking they are helping. I really like to cook so I know where all my spices and baking goods are and when they “clean it up” I can’t find anything!
To you, what makes a good story?
I guess the same things I write into my stories. Depth of character and world-building. A vibrant, lush story that takes you somewhere else for awhile. Great characters with strong motivations and a fun fast-paced plot with lots of action.
What usually turns you off about a story?
Stories with characters who make silly decisions without any motivation. Writers call them TSTL (or Too Stupid Too Live) – you know what I’m talking about—the girl who walks down the steps of the abandoned house in the dark towards the weird noises in the basement after all her friends have been brutally murdered around her.
If you could collaborate with any author, who would you choose, and why?
I’d love to collaborate with my critique partner, Cherry Adair, someday and write a book with her, rather than just the two of us picking apart and re-shaping one another’s stories in critique.
What is on your night stand?
My Kindle Fire and a cold cup of tea.
What is your favorite book?
So not fair! I can’t tell you that because I love all kinds of stories, but what I can tell you is some of my favorite authors: James Rollins, J.K. Rowling, Yasmine Galenorn, Julia Quinn, Cherry Adair, Arnette Lamb.
Thank you so much for joining us today, Theresa! We really enjoyed the insights. Good luck with One Night with the Shifter. 

About the Author:
Raised by a bibliophile who made the dining room into a library, Theresa has always been a lover of books and stories. First a writer for newspapers, then for national magazines, she started her first novel in high school, eventually enrolling in a Writer's Digest course and putting the book under the bed until she joined Romance Writers of America in 1993. In 2005 she was selected as one of eleven finalists for the American Title II contest, the American Idol of books.
She is married to the first man she ever went on a real date with (to their high school prom), who she knew was hero material when he suffered through having to let her parents drive, and her brother sit between them in the backseat of the car.
They currently live in a Victorian house on a mini farm in the Pacific Northwest with their two children, three cats, two horses, an energetic mini-Aussie shepherd, a rabbit, parakeet and an out-of-control herb garden.


Author Contacts:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads 



Tour giveaway details:
Four prize packs-
What better way to read a book than with killer fudge and amazing truffles?
Win $25 in your choice of decadent sweets from The Candy Shoppe LLC in Port Orchard, WA, and an autographed copy of One Night with the Shifter from author Theresa Meyers.
Open to US Shipping

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