Please Welcome My Guest

Please welcome my guest, LaVerne Clark.  

LaVerne lives in the beautiful coastal town of Nelson at the top of the South Island, the sun capital of the country.  She is a member of Romance Writers of New Zealand.  I am so very pleased to have her as my guest today.(And intensely jealous that she lives in the sun capital. I'd love to live in a sun capital.)

Tell us something about yourself both writing and not writing related.

I adore writing from the villain’s POV. I think the fun is writing from a ‘normal’ person’s perspective, and twisting it slightly. I’ve often been asked how such nastiness can come from such a nice person. :o)   I tell them the truth – it was the character talking – not me!

When I’m not writing, I take my greyhound out for a run on the beach [I watch her run – not join in ;)] and play social netball pretty badly. If you’ve read my books, you’ll notice greyhounds feature in both of them. I’m involved with an organization here in New Zealand that helps to re-home retired racers. They really DO make the best pets and are the ultimate couch potato. I’m madly in love with my one.

I'd like to take a brief moment and thank you for your work with former Greyhound racers. I have a friend who does similar work with retired racehorses. It's amazing how many owners no longer want the animal once they stop winning.  Okay, back to the interview.  Do you have a writing routine?  Where do you usually do your writing?

I write every day but Fridays. With a preschooler at home, I’ve found it impossible to do any writing while she’s here. Instead, I write in the evenings on the computer in the bedroom. After hubby goes to bed, I’ll continue on the laptop in the lounge till around 12 - 1am. It’s lovely at the moment with it being winter here and the fire roaring to keep me warm.

I'm jealous of your roaring fire.  I live in upstate NY and the leaves are just starting to change and the days and nights becoming cooler.  I'm dreading the upcoming winter season.  Why do you write in the genre/sub-genre that you do?  Any plans in the future to write in a different one?

I love writing suspense and although my latest is a fantasy, elements of suspense still managed to find a way into it. It is what excites me and what I find interests me most in my chosen reading material. Blame all those Linda Howard, Tami Hoag and Nora Roberts books I’ve devoured over the years.

Linda Howard is one of my favorite suspense writers.  How do you stay motivated when writer’s block hits or your muse won’t cooperate?

I’ve got a fantastic online group of writing buddies that include people from Australia, Japan and America. I swear I’d be lost without them in my life. They’re very good at giving me a kick-in-the-butt when I need one. 

Going to my desktop on the computer and seeing the covers of the two books I’ve managed to produce so far is always a motivating factor too. It’s still such a cool and inspiring sight to me.  :o)

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever done in the name of research?

My husband is a 5^th dan black belt in jujitsu, so a couple of times, he’s allowed me to ‘try out’ a character’s actions on him when in a fight scene. It’s so much fun! I’m just glad the neighbors didn’t see us, or they might think us even stranger than they do!  :o)

What a great husband! I love that he helps you work on your fight scenes.  What’s the best writing advice you were ever given? 

That definitely had to be during my first attempt at NaNoWriMo. Even if you don’t feel like it, sit down in front of the computer and make yourself write something – anything – for at least half an hour. Writing is a habit.

Great advice.  Monday through Friday, I make myself sit down and write when I get home from work and before it's time to start dinner even when I don't want to. Usually I can get a few pages done in that hour or so.  What do you like to do in your leisure time?

Oh – to have leisure time! Sigh… No, seriously. I love catching up with girlfriends, spending time with my family and dog at the beach, reading, riding my bike or playing netball. Anything that takes me away from housework is a wonderful day for this stay-at-home-mum.

Tell us about your current release in a couple of sentences.

Jenna’s family moved to NZ after the atomic bombing at Hiroshima changed their lives – and their DNA. Years later, living a quiet life isn’t possible when Jenna saves a young boy from drowning in extraordinary circumstances, bringing her unwanted attention not only from the media, but the policeman in charge of the case, and a power-hungry villain bent on revenge.

Sounds great!!  Can you tell us a little about your next project?

I’m nearing completion of my first full-length novel as we speak J Although I’ve delved into the paranormal slightly again, this book is a suspense through and through. True to form, I’ve particularly enjoyed writing the villain. I don’t think I really want to know what that says about me J

Anything else you’d like to share?

I’ve really enjoyed this interview Katherine and am thrilled to be on your blog. Thank you for having me. :o)

If you’d like to visit me or know more about me and my writing, you can find me here:

Blog (Novel Natterings) – http://www.laverneclark.blogspot.co.nz

Twitter - https://twitter.com/LClarkAuthor

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/AuthorLaVerneClark 

 Blurb:

In the wrong hands, Jenna Thomas’s legacy could be a curse—in her mind it already is.

As a child, a routine x-ray awakened an abnormality in Jenna’s DNA giving her the ability to “call” creatures and take on their attributes. Labeled a freak since then, Jenna’s learned to keep everyone at a distance. But all that changes the day she saves a young boy from drowning, and the story goes viral.

Nick Hawke, an off-duty policeman, witnesses part of the drama. Captivated by Jenna’s exotic beauty, he decides to investigate, not sure what to believe. Jenna puts his cynicism to the test—even as the attraction between them grows.

As word of her extraordinary rescue spreads, a dangerous man who will stop at nothing to control Jenna’s abilities draws near. With her feelings for Nick putting him in danger too, can Jenna risk everything to protect them both?

Excerpt:

“Back off everyone, give us room,” boomed Nick with authority. Everyone took a step back. An attractive woman holding a microphone stepped into the created space. Her phony smile flashed teeth like a shark. Circling, she came in for the kill, her cameraman capturing the moment. 

“Are you the lady who jumped in to save the boy? What made you do something so heroic? Witnesses say you were under for over ten minutes. How is this possible?”

The questions fired at her like a volley of bullets. Jenna flinched as each one hit its mark. She couldn’t answer honestly without sounding like a freak. So she said nothing, burying her head into Nick’s chest. His arms tightened around her. The subtle turning of his body shielded her from all those eyes. 

He pitched his voice to address the crowd. “It’s been a traumatic event for everyone involved, and as you can imagine, it’s not over for us yet. We’ve no comment to make at this stage, so please, give us some time to come to terms with what’s happened. Thank you.”

“Could you at least give me a little snippet, Sergeant Hawke?” pouted the reporter, pushing her chest out and fluttering her lashes. 

Jenna’s spine went rigid. A sick feeling of dread settled in the pit of her belly.

Police. Nick is a policeman. Dear God, I’m in trouble.

 Her head pounded and her hands shook. His arm tightened when she tried to pull away, holding her firmly in place. Any other person she could have fobbed off. Now she understood his aura of authority, his all-seeing gaze and concern at the thought of a child left alone in her car. He would be relentless uncovering the truth. 

Buy Links for Affinity:

The Wild Rose Press - http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=177_139&products_id=4888

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Affinity-ebook/dp/B008EX2MSS/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345365492&sr=1-3&keywords=affinity

Barnes and Noble – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/affinity-laverne-clark/1111794241?ean=2940014625913

Great blurb and excerpt, LaVerne.  Definitely putting Affinity on my TBR list.  Thank you for being my guest today.  I enjoyed learning more about you and your writing process.