Interview with Paranormal Romance author Sara Humphreys

   Welcome to RomFan Reviews Sara it is a great honor to have you with us today.  I will admit, I could not put Unleashed down! It was a wonderfully well-written book, and it has found a place on my keeper shelf.

   Tell us a little about your upcoming release coming Oct. 1^stUnleashed?
 

    SH: Unleashed is the first book in my Amoveo Legend series and features the unique pairing of Malcolm Drew and Samantha Logan. Malcolm is Amoveo and a member of the Golden Eagle clan. The Amoveo are dream-walking, telepathic shape-shifters comprised of ten different animal clans who are in search of their one true soul mate. They have to find their mate by the age of thirty or they begin to lose their abilities and eventually die. They can only have children with their life mate and this caveat makes their race rather fragile because if you kill one Amoveo their mate eventually dies and you eliminate the possibility of any off-spring. They’ve been hunted to the brink of extinction by the Caedo family, who are the one human family who know of their existence.

Malcolm has been searching for his mate for many years and when he finally finds her, he is stunned to discover that she is a hybrid—half human and half Amoveo from the Gray Wolf clan. According to legend, they are only able to mate with another Amoveo, so Samantha’s existence contradicts everything Malcolm’s been told.

 There’s one other problem—Samantha doesn’t know what she is.

Samantha Logan was orphaned as an infant and raised by her human grandmother, Nonie. Her abilities have remained dormant all of her life and although she’s had some very bizarre dreams…she is unaware of her unique heritage. After a very intense dream on her thirtieth birthday, she decides to give up her life in NYC and move back home with Nonie and start over.  Once she meets her mysterious new neighbor Malcolm… all of her powers start to bubble to the surface.

    

Your second book in the Amoveo Series, Untouched, will be coming out in April 2012. What can you tell us about it?
 

SH: You’ll meet the hero and heroine of Untouched when you read Unleashed but I can’t tell you too much because I don’t want to give away any spoilers. Let’s just say that not all of the secrets buried in Amoveo history are revealed in the first book, there are more surprises to come.  Everyone believes that Kerry has a germ phobia which has her avoiding as much human contact as possible but the truth is something far more frightening.  Dante comes with all kinds of baggage which complicates things further. Also, the two of them are rougher around the edges than Samantha and Malcolm, so let’s just say that things get turned up a notch in Untouched.

       

How many books are currently planned in the series?
 

SH: At the moment there are five books planned but I’m very hopeful that the readers will love the series and want to read more.

Prior to becoming a writer you worked in the television industry on A&E and then became a teacher and public speaker. What inspired you to begin writing?
 

SH: I’ve actually gotten back to my roots. When I started college, my goal was to become a writer for film and television but once I was cast in my first play—all bets were off and acting stole my heart.  Fast forward almost twenty years, marriage, and four kids and here I am. I love creating stories and delving into the mind of the different characters in my head. One thing I’ve learned about myself is that creating these stories and building these worlds nourishes my soul. Without a creative outlet, I’d probably go bonkers.
 

Unleashed is your debut how long did it take you to get published? Was Unleashed your first book that you sent out to publishers?
 

SH: Unleashed is a revised/revamped/rewritten/totally-over-hauled version of a book called The Amoveo Legacy. I sent that out in 2008 to just about everyone and was finally picked up by a tiny e-publisher. It’s amazing how far things have come in just a couple of years because when that book came out in 2009, I had to explain to people what an e-book was. Once I was signed by my agent in 2010, I bought back the rights to my series.  After that my agent was able to shop it around and it wasn’t long before she sold it to Deb Werksman at Sourcebooks.  It’s been an amazing journey and it’s only just beginning.

Is there any advice you would give to those who are looking to write their own books?
 

SH: If you’re writing romance then you absolutely should join RWA and go to the national conference every year. When I first started out, I thought that RWA was only for published authors but that’s totally not true! It’s an outstanding organization and has such cool workshops for aspiring authors.  Also, get an agent before you submit to any publishers. Seriously…Get. An. Agent.

How do you juggle your day job, family and writing?
 

SH: Some days better than others. I have an incredibly supportive husband who has cheered me on from the beginning of this odyssey. My four boys, although a tad embarrassed by the genre I write, are my biggest cheerleaders.  I also have a job that allows me some flexibility and both my bosses and co-workers have backed me up and cheered me on along the way. I’m really very lucky. I heard Mary Higgins Clark give a great speech once and she said something that really stuck with me. When it came to juggling work, family and writing she said, “I have a lot of balls in the air and there’s lots of juggling going on. Some of those balls are rubber and some are glass.  We’re not super-women and sometimes we drop the ball. I just try to make sure I only drop the ones that bounce.”

With your busy day I am sure it is difficult to find some “Sara” time, but when you do, what would we find you doing?

SH: Reading a great romance by a fellow author or watching one of my dorky sci-fi movies that I love so much. Probably a StarTrek or Aliens feature. I am a total dork.

      Quicky questions:

·         Outline or just go with the flow?
SH: I go with the flow in the beginning but by the time I get half-way through I outline the rest.

·         Background noise or quiet?
SH: Sadly, my house is very loud. With four boys, two dogs and bird there is always background noise.

·         eReader or good old fashion book?
SH: Both. I still like the feel of a book in my hand but my Nook is very convenient, especially for traveling.

·         How can readers learn more about you and your books?
SH: They can swing by my website http://www.sarahumphreys.com or my blog http://www.amoveoromanceseries.blogspot.com where they’ll find my blog tour schedule and my book tour appearances. I’m hitting 10 cities in 8 weeks throughout October and November, so I hope you’ll come see me if I’m in a city near you. Thanks so much for having me here!

Thank you so much Sara for spending some time with us it was a pleasure having you here and we hope you come back again soon.

UNLEASHED BY SARA HUMPHREYS—IN STORES OCTOBER 2011

What if you suddenly discovered your own powers were beyond anything you’d ever imagined…

Samantha Logan’s childhood home had always been a haven, but everything changed while she was away. She has a gorgeous new neighbor, Malcolm, who introduces her to the amazing world of the dream-walking, shapeshifting Amoveo clans…but what leaves her reeling with disbelief is when he tells her she’s one of them…

And shock turns to terror as Samantha falls prey to the deadly enemy determined to destroy the Amoveo, and the only chance she has to come into her true powers is to trust in Malcolm to show her the way…

Get swept away into Sara Humphreys’s glorious world and breathtaking love story…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sara Humphreys has been attracted to the fantasies of science fiction, paranormal, and romance since her adolescence when she had a mad crush on Captain Kirk. An actress and public speaker, Sara lives with her husband—who is very considerate of her double life—and four amazing boys, in Bronxville, New York, where she is working on the next book in the Amoveo Legacy, Untouched, which will be in stores in April 2012. For more information, please visit http://sarahumphreys.com/.  You can also follow her on Twitter and “like” her on Facebook!

Sara  will be giving away two copies of Unleashed to two lucky people!!  Leave a comment and include your email contest is open to all US and Canada residents.  Contest ends at 11:59 PM EST October 9th.