Death brought them together…
…Now Death may tear them apart.
After a couple blissful months exploring their new relationship—while balancing their hectic soul-guiding jobs—Deacon and Mia are faced with their biggest threat yet. Fellow Death Dealers are being murdered and the one thing they know for sure is that no human is capable of such a thing. Their cryptic Death Angel boss has some answers, and discovering them could put Mia in more danger than ever before. The battle between good and evil wages on and time is of the essence to find the killer before another murder can happen. But learning their identity sends shock waves throughout the underworld, and the threat of an apocalypse looms. When Mia finally uncovers the reason her Death Angel boss saved her from dying, her life is turned upside down… and now the whole world depends on her to save it.
Interview with ASHLEY ROBERTSON:
Motivation is very important for an author or writer to have. Where do you seek and find your
motivation to write?
Writing is something I really enjoy doing, so I’m lucky with that aspect. But in any job where we are our own bosses, with no one telling us what to do or when to do it, I think there has to be an inner motivation to succeed. It’s also very important to create some kind of schedule—and do whatever it takes to stick to it. More often than not, I’ll see writer friends of mine complaining about being on Facebook and not finishing their edits. I’m certainly guilty of doing that myself, so that’s why I think it’s very important to set social media boundaries, and including that in your schedule can be very helpful. Also, setting a goal as to how many words you’re required to type each day is a crucial detail.
Know how much time it typically takes for you to reach your daily word goal. That way when you block out X amount of time for writing, you’ll know how much to allot yourself. What other daily tasks do you have? Perhaps you can bundle those up and do them weekly instead? For example, house chores and laundry can be done once or twice a week, and the same can apply to grocery shopping and running other errands. On the days you have those extra things going on, obviously it’s going to cut into your writing time, so try to get extra words typed on other days to make up for the slack.
Can you say that your journey to publication was difficult? If so, what were the hardest moments
to get through?
At first, it was extremely difficult. **sighs** I mean, who would enjoy being rejected by countless literary agencies? Even though lately it seems that most of the literary agents are targeting successful indie books anyway (take, for example, The Hunger Games, Beautiful Disaster, and several books by Amanda Hocking). But another thing I’ve learned is that a lot of literary agencies are sick of vampires, and anything to do with them is an automatic “no,” so with the few personalized rejections I received—yes, most rejections are generic, impersonal “no thank you’s”—responding with “I like your writing style, do you have something else you can submit to me?” that actually motivated me to self-publish. I knew I couldn’t just put my book to the side and abandon it; there had to be others out there just like me that still loved the mysterious, sexy, and sometimes malevolent undead. So I moved forward to publish Crimson Groves, learning everything I could about the indie industry along the way. By the time I had UnGuarded ready to publish, the whole process was a LOT easier. Thankfully I’ve formed a system to the madness of self-pubbing, and so far, it seems to be working. I have a wonderful editor (Stephen Delaney with Close Reader Editing Services) and amazing graphic designers that do my book covers (Claudia with PhatpuppyArt did UnGuarded and Crimson Flames—Stephanie with Once Upon A Time Covers did Crimson Groves, Death Dealer, and Blood Promise). Yes, these are additional expenses to your book, but they are essential for your success as an author. I tried to cut back on interior formatting and learned some of it myself, but with the ever changing rules and multi-formatting needs per book dealer, I luckily found Stacey with Champagne Formatting—and not only does she do an incredible job, but she also keeps me within my budget
How do you overcome i-suck-itis, that little voice in your head that tells you your writing isn’t good enough?
Trust me, it’s tempting to pick up my laptop and throw it across the room in a fit of rage when this happens, but once I find a way through the barrier, I’m going to need my computer, so destroying it isn’t an option. After all, it’s not like it’s my laptop’s fault that I’m going through that, it’s more than likely my brain’s—but there’s hardly a way to rip it a new one. (chuckles) So figuring out how to trick it back into functioning the way I need it to is the key. One of the things that’s worked for me is walking away for a bit. Staring mindlessly at the screen is only going to make things worse, and sometimes a momentary break is all you really need to get back on track. If the weather is nice, go for a short walk. Or maybe this is the perfect time to run those errands you’ve been putting off. Usually this really helps me, and once I’m back in front of my computer, I feel refreshed and ready to resume the story.
What is your dream vacation?
Relaxing by an infinity pool overlooking the ocean in Cabo San Lucas sipping on a spicy mango margarita.
What are you currently reading?
50 Ways To Create Great Relationships by Stephen Chandler (I try to read one chapter every day in addition to any of my other training and leisure readings).
What are two of your pet-peeves?
People who leave grocery store shopping carts in the parking lot! Really, are you that busy that you can’t spend fifteen seconds wheeling it to the cart return or walking it back up to the store? Another thing that really irks me is flaky people. Last minute cancellations or ‘no call—no shows’ are the worst.
To you, what makes a good story?
Sexy characters, lots of page-turning action and drama, and heart-gripping romance.
What usually turns you off about a story?
When I can’t connect with any of the characters, or the story falls flat.
So what’s your latest release—Blood Promise—about?
It picks up right where Death Dealer left off (which is something I personally love with a book series)
Death brought them together...
...Now Death may tear them apart.
After a couple blissful months exploring their new relationship—while balancing their hectic soul-guiding
jobs—Deacon and Mia are faced with their biggest threat yet. Fellow Death Dealers are being murdered and the one thing they know for sure is that no human is capable of such a thing. Their cryptic Death Angel boss has some answers, and discovering them could put Mia in more danger than ever before. The battle between good and evil wages on and time is of the essence to find the killer before another murder can happen. But learning their identity sends shock waves throughout the underworld, and the threat of an apocalypse looms. When Mia finally uncovers the reason her Death Angel boss saved her from dying, her life is turned upside down... and now the whole world depends on her to save it.
Check out Chapter One Sneak Peek here: http://ashleyrobertsonbooks.com/2014/07/05/blood-promise-available-now-ch-1-sneak-peek/
Add Blood Promise to your shelf or purchase here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18684894-blood-promise
Get Death Dealer (Book 1) for Free here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18098934-death-dealer
Amazon /Good Reads /Smashwords
Pick up Death Dealer for FREE Amazon / Goodreads / SmashwordsAbout Ashley Robertson 2014 Romcon Reader's Crown Finalist 2014 National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist 2013 Chatelaine Awards First Place Winner for Romantic Fiction 2013 National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist 2013 Paranormal Romance Guild Viewers Choice Awards Finalist 2013 Honorable Mentions for the Top Books of 2013 by A Girl And Her Kindle Blog 2012 Voted Best New Author by Popular Book Blog Nose Graze Sagittarius Ashley Robertson resides in sunny Orlando, Florida, and loves writing about anything paranormal. She also composes poems and songs, though she learned long ago she doesn't have a singing voice. When she isn't writing you'll find her spending time with family and friends, sharing personal training and nutrition advice via ExtremeMakeovers.com, traveling and exploring new places, and drinking fine wines and gourmet coffees from her Nespresso machine. Visit her website to learn about her upcoming releases, guest blog posts, and featured giveaways at: AshleyRobertsonBooks.com
Amazon author page: http://www.
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