Featured Author: Emma Shortt

 Today's Featured Author is Emma Shortt, an author with her head in the clouds. Literally. Read on to found out how a woman with a degree in planetary sciences ended up writing romance. And don't forget to check out Emma's giveaway at the end of the interview!

Tell us a little about yourself, Emma:

I wanted to be an astronaut so I spent years studying planetary science and physics. Unfortunately NASA had this pesky thing called a residency requirement and I didn’t quite meet it!  

I was left wondering what to do with myself and had no choice but to take a bunch of pressurized office jobs – my kids did insist on being fed and having toys! 

It wasn’t what I wanted to do with myself though, and so a year or two later I started writing with a view to publication. I’d always been an avid reader and wrote my first book when I was fifteen. Crimson Wars was an awful vampire type tale and I wish I still had it; it would be so fab to re-read it again.  

It took me a little while to find my genre, but once I did I was off and away!

Tell us a bit about your upcoming release:

The Valentine’s Fae is a paranormal romance that will be released by Evernight Publishing on 04/02/2011.

What is The Valentine's Fae about?

The Valentine’s Fae is the second story in my FairyTales series. Here is the blurb…

A Valentine’s Fairy who doesn’t believe in love, a human who can’t let go... can one wish change them both?

It’s her first year as the Valentine’s fairy and Amelia has been given an impossible task. Gavin Peters wants his ex-girlfriend back but fae magic can’t make people fall in love. If Amelia is to complete her task she’ll have to get creative, and that creativity includes ignoring her own, rapidly developing, feelings for the human she’s been tasked with.

Gavin has pined for his ex-girlfriend for months so when his kooky new secretary Amelia offers him a wish he knows exactly what to request. But when his ex returns Gavin begins to wonder if what he’s wished for is really what he wants. Can his Valentine’s fairy grant him another wish, and if so, will that wish bring them more than either could ever have imagined?

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

It’s about 6 years now, seems like a long time! It’s taken me a little while to get published, but I got there in the end.

What inspired you to write this particular story?

I was inspired by an anthology call for Evernight Publishing’s ‘Twas a Dark and Delicious Christmas. The Christmas Fae just came to me, was accepted for publication, and then it seemed obvious to follow it with more. The Valentine’s Fae was plotted and ready to go as I was finishing edits for The Christmas Fae. 

I loved the idea of fairies out and about in the human world granting wishes to humans and getting into all sorts of trouble in the process!

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

I’m a member and moderator on Litopia, the net’s oldest online writer’s colony. We support and help one another on there and it’s really helped with the whole journey to publication. I’m also an editor and the training for this helped me to improve my own work. 

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

I don’t utilize critique groups because I can’t bear for anyone to see my work before it’s finished. That said I did have a crit partner (he was the exception), but we both grabbed publishing deals within a few weeks of hooking up, and so decided to put the relationship on hiatus. 

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?

Yes! I always create strong willed, feisty heroines. They’re a lot like me.I also find myself in the phrasing and actions. It’s not purposeful and often I don’t notice it until months later.

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

I read what I write, which is romance. Paranormal, historical, cyberpunk—I love it all. 

I’m excessively fond of Nicola Cornick and, Kresley Cole. Nicola writes historical romance exactly as it should be, and Kresley creates the most amazingly engaging characters.  Nicola reviewed The Valentine’s Fae for me and it was one of those surreal type moments. I was reading her review and thinking, Oh. My. Gosh. I’ve been reading her books for years!

I also love the classics, can’t get enough of Austen, and I have a bunch of other authors such as P.J Tracey and Sue Grafton who enjoy.

Who is your literary idol and why? 

Nicola Cornick! I read The Earl’s Prize and remember thinking, this is it, I have to write something as good as this. It was, and still is, my benchmark. 

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

It would have to be Elizabeth Bennet from Pride, Prejudice and Zombies. We’d discuss women’s rights and the scourge of the unmentionables. 

Failing that I’ll take Louis from Interview with the Vampire… I’m sure you could imagine exactly what we’d be discussing…

Want to learn more about Emma Shortt and her writing? Visit her website at www.emmashortt.co.uk, and her blog at www.emmashortt.blogspot.com.

Emma has kindly offered up a ecopy of her story, The Valentine's Fae, to a random commenter on this post! Good luck, and a big thank you to Emma for appearing on the blog!