Featured Author: A.D. Blackburn

Carolina Girl in the house! Please welcome Monday's Featured Author, A.D. Blackburn, and check out her awesome giveaway at the end of the post!

Tell us a little about yourself, A.D:

I live in the small mill town of Lincolnton, North Carolina with my fantastically supportive and uber hot husband, our three children, one very piggish dog and two intellectually inferior cats. Obviously I love to read and write but I also love to cook and do home improvement projects. Something about using a nail gun and whipping up a superb Seafood Alfredo serves as excellent inspiration.

Give us the basics about your story:

Possession is a Paranormal Romance, published by Evernight Publishing on February 2^nd, 2011.

What is Possession about?

The story is about a gang of one-time outlaw bikers turned reluctant demon hunters. This first installment centers around the clubs President, James Gunn and the war he wages with a high-level demon for the salvation of his soul. The demon forces him to make an unthinkable choice; James' soul or the life of his soul mate.

How long have you been writing? Have you been at this for a while, or is this a new journey?

I've wanted to be a writer since I was fourteen years old and since that time I  have written many things that simply didn't see the light of day. It has only been recently that I actually had the courage to submit my work. It is paying off so far.

What inspired you to write Possession?

I had a very strange dream about a solitary biker traveling down a dusty black road. Aside from the dark Harley rider, the only other discernible element of the dream was a sign that the biker passed that said Graves Hollow. I couldn't stop thinking about the dream and eventually, the gears in my brain spun it into a fantastical story that I knew I had to get down on paper.

What tools have you used in your journey to improve your writing?

I know this isn't fashionable but I try not to read anything when I am writing. I have learned to focus on one story at a time. I've found that the fewer distractions, the better. If I'm trying to write an important scene and my husband is watching the DIY network, I'm done for.

Are you a solitary writer, or do you utilize critique groups?

I have a few people that will look over my work and critique it for me. Having an extra pair of eyes to see typos and ears to bounce plot points off of is always helpful.

How much of yourself is present in your writing? Do you look back and find that characters possess a little of your own self in them?

I have such a dark and dry sense of humor and I find that my characters tend to at times. My favorite is when the characters take on elements of their own personality. Then I don't have to worry so much about whether they like Monty Python or not.

Tell us a little about you, the reader. What authors/genres do you love and why?

I love every genre of romance. It is truly the one genre where you can literally find everything. You want a historical story? Got it. Something a little darker with a more sinister vibe? Romance has that too. A futuristic cowboy who fights alien vampires? You bet it can be found. At the end of the day of there is a Happily Ever After and the story sucked me in, I will read it. The authors I enjoy truly range from Nora Roberts to J.R. Ward.

Who is your literary idol and why?

The Lit major in me wants to say William Shakespeare...but the romance lover in me is winning out. I adore Jude Deveraux. Absolutely adore! I wholeheartedly consider her one of the true pioneers of the genre as we know it today. She can write a medieval historical, then pen a contemporary without missing a beat and do a complete one-eighty and hit you with a time travel romance and every single one of them will be perfection. Obviously I am such a Jude fangirl!

Name one character in any book that you would like to share a cup of coffee with. What would you discuss?

I didn't even have to think about this one! I would definitely sit down and have a steamy hot cup of coffee with Vishous from J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood. We of course would make small talk about cars, the weather, the Boston Red Sox but when the conversation really got down to the marrow of the matter, I would ask him how he really feels about the whole situation. 

To learn more about A.D. Blackburn and her writing, please visit the following links:

http://www.adblackburn.com/

http://www.evernightpublishing.com/products/'Twas-a-Dark-and-Delicious-Christmas.html

http://www.evernightpublishing.com/products/Possession-by-A.D.-Blackburn.html

A.D. Blackburn has generously offered a free copy of Possession to a random commenter on this post! Winner will be picked on Wednesday.