Welcome to Summer's Point! I'm always thrilled when I get the chance to interview other authors. I love hearing what inspires them and what inspires them. Today I'm grateful to bring you Isabella Carter! This talented author will need to be on your To Read shelf quickly. Without further babbling from me, here is Isabella Carter.
About You: The Person
Where do you call home?
I've lived in Maryland around the Baltimore-Metropolitan
area all my life apart from the four years I went to school on the eastern
shore.
Do you have any siblings?
I have one older brother who lives on the other side of
the country. We're complete opposites so it's strange when we get together. He
serves in the military currently, like the rest of my family has at some point.
I'm the odd person out since I've never served.
Favorite place traveled?
In college, I went to Japan for four months for study
abroad. It was my first time away from home, so it was terrifying, but it was
so much fun. I went to Jpop concerts and to a hot spring. The best part though
was the complete immersion in another culture. And I think it's better when you
get the change to travel to another culture to experience it rather than just
hearing it. Because when you hear about it, you only hear the good parts, the
idealized parts. But being there, you have a chance to learn all the bad parts
and fall in love with them as well.
Besides writing, what do you
do in your free time?
I spend a lot of time reading of course, romance and a
large amount of young adult fiction (more than I'm comfortable admitting). Last
year, I learned how to knit with the help of a coworker. I make a lot of
scarves since I'm too scared to try anything harder. I love RPGs, so whenever
one comes out, I play like mad. I'm also an online gamer. I started on Final
Fantasy XI, went through a World of Warcraft phase, did a bit of Guild Wars,
and right now I occasionally play Star Wars while waiting for FFXIV to come
out. My father encourages the gaming the same way my mother encouraged my
reading so I always have a partner in crime, which makes gaming all the more fun.
(My dad encourages a lot of my bad habits actually)
I also work with computers for both fun and profit. I was
lucky enough to find a day job in something I like doing.
About You: The Author
What was the first book you ever published?
My first story accepted for publishing was a story for
Less Than Three's serialized anthology Something
Happened on the Way to Heaven which came out on the same day as Shadow (Feb 20th). My first ebook however was a part of
the Kiss me Quick Collection, a cute little story about a clerk that's had
enough of his rude neighbor.
What made you decide to write in the MM genre?
When I was younger, I read every romance novel I could
find and after a while, I tired of the dynamics in them. I discovered yaoi
fanfiction and spent hours reading. When I started writing again, it seemed
only natural that I'd write MM. I still write hetero as well, and I love
writing F/F when the urge hits me.
Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
A lot of my inspiration began in tabletop gaming. My drug
of choice was World of Darkness and between tabletop and Live Action, I've
played nearly all the games. I used to run them as well, which seriously tested
my creativity. In a story, you have some reasonable ability to predict what
your characters will do, but you can never guess what the dice will roll and of
course, what your players will do. More than once, I had players ignore
critical plot evidence, or take the game down a completely different track. I
had to be ready to roll with the punches. And with live action, there were the
costumes of course, and the props. You'd be surprised what we could do in a
night with fifty dollars and the dollar store.
I love listening to music as well, and when I'm running
on empty, sometimes a picture (Like the one I found for Phoenix Knight) inspires an entire story in my head. And sometimes,
it's just the things I see. When I first started writing Shadow in the Winter
of 2011, I had just adopted the cat I hadn't planned to adopt (It was a two for
one special). His behaviors amused me so much I wanted to write a character
that utterly baffled his human with that same behavior.
Who or what influences your writing?
Of all the things I've given up and been terrible at,
there's always been one aspect I'm luck in, and that's picking good friends. I
have one friend in particular who pulled me into gaming, then showed me the
long stories she wrote about her characters and talked me into writing my own.
After college, she challenged me to write small dirty fanfiction drabbles with
her (That will never see the light of day). For her birthday, I wrote her a
silly fairytale that she loved and I kept going. Most times, if I'm writing, I
bounce my ideas off of her. She's the one who bullied me into submitting my
first story as well as the one who yelled at me when I considered not
submitting Shadow.
What current WIP are you working on?
Right now, I'm about to get into a new project about a
witch and a demon. I'd say more about it, but these stories never end up where
I plan them, so we'll see where this one goes. So far though, there's a dead
body in an alley, and that's good enough for me.
I just finished writing The Dragon Slayer which is contracted with Less than Three. It's
one of my favorite types of stories actually, about a prince that finds his
courage. Also, it has dragons, so that's hard to beat. It's a sequel to The Phoenix Knight, but it's pretty easy
to read without ever having read that story. (Since I know how some people feel
about the female parts even though I, as its author, think it's an awesome
story)
A Bell Jar Moment you will never forget as an author?
Originally, I went to college with dreams of being a
writer. I took part in a freshman creative writing seminar and I thought it would
be the best thing for my writing. It was and it wasn't. My teacher told me in
far kinder words that I wasn't suited to be an author. As this had been my
dream for years, I was understandably broken. I didn't write again for nearly
four years.
But as bad as that experience was, it taught me a
valuable lesson about dealing with criticism. And it taught me that sometimes,
you really can't please everyone.
Giveaway
Blurb:
Solving a murder is never an easy matter, even when
circumstances are ideal. For Basil, circumstances are far from ideal. Because
the murder is far more complicated than at first it seems, and before he can
even begin to solve it Basil must contend with a council that refuses to listen
to him, a partner he despises, and a thief who is a temptation that Basil
cannot seem to resist …
Stop by Less Than Three Press, All Romance Ebooks, and Amazon to purchase your copy of Shadow of a Dream.
Isabella has been gracious to give us a small preview of Shadow of a Dream! Enjoy!!
Excerpt:
The Duke of Rutland was
shorter than Basil had expected, but there was something about him that
demanded obedience. He also looked quite young for his age, his hair full and
dark with nary a line on his face. Rutland stood there and studied the both of
them. For a moment, Basil thought he might have decided they weren't enough to
investigate his robbery, but then Rutland nodded politely at the both of them
and stepped fully into the room.
Two men entered behind
him: only one of them resembled the Duke
so much that Basil immediately knew he was the Duke's son. He wore his dark
hair as short of his father's, though his gaze wasn't anywhere near as intuitive.
However, Basil was far more intrigued by the other man who stood next to the
Duke.
Whereas the Duke and his son
were dressed in the muted colors that were common among the nobility in St.
Michaels, the other man's dress made it obvious that he was from Augustine. His
pants and coat were a deep purple and his waistcoat was light blue. The
handkerchief and tie were an amethyst that matched the earring dangling from
his ear. His coat hung past his waist, the sleeves wide and edged with lace.
But it was the hat that made
Basil stare in a mix of wonder and horror. The wide-brimmed hat covered his
eyes from sight and matched the purple of his earring. A lily sat daintily on
the side. The Duke was speaking, but Basil couldn't tear his eyes away from the
hat. He'd heard such objects were completely normal in Augustine, but he'd
never seen such an article of clothing before. He half wanted to reach out to
see if the flower was real.
As if sensing Basil's stare,
the man shifted and now Basil could see his face. He was pretty, though his
features were far too fine to make him handsome. He was trouble. Basil could
see that in the slight smile on his face, the kind that looked as though he
were laughing at a private joke no one else would understand. His eyes danced
with mischief, and he winked at Basil before turning his attention back to the
Duke.
"—my son has taken an
interest in the affairs of late and thus will be joining us." The Duke was
saying, "This is Mirza Delano from the Royal Academy in Augustine."
He gestured to the pretty man in the hat. "My nephew."
Delano's mouth spread into a
full smile as he held out his hand to a startled Alexander. "How lovely to
meet you." Alexander didn't respond as he shook Delano's hand. He seemed
to be just as distracted by the hat, and at least Basil wasn't alone in that.
He held his hand out to Basil and Basil took it tentatively. "You may call
me Mirza."
"Mirza? That's an odd
name." Up close, Basil could smell the lily, which meant it was definitely
real, but how had Delano gotten it onto his hat? And why had he done so?
"I was named for a friend
my parents met on one of their adventures." The handshake was over and
still Delano had not let go. His thumb brushed over the sensitive skin on the
back of Basil's hand, turning the simple handshake into a caress that seemed
far too intimate. Basil wanted to yank his hand back, but he found himself
enjoying the warmth of human contact. Especially the way Delano's touch made
him exceedingly aware of his body's reaction. Delano's eyes met Basil's once
more, and Basil could see the answering interest. "And your name is?"
"Mirza!" Rutland
scolded before Basil could decide whether or not to answer.
Delano released his hand with
a quick laugh, "My apologies, Uncle. You were being far too slow with the
introductions."
Rutland's smile was tolerant,
"Please excuse my nephew. He was raised in the wilds."
"My parents would not
appreciate that sentiment. They spent quite the fortune to tame me."
"All of it wasted."
Rutland shook his head sadly and Delano laughed, the delighted sound filled
with a magic all its own.
As always, thank you all for stopping by! A special thanks to Isabella Carter for opening up and allowing us to enter her world. Don't forget to enter your chance to win Shadow of a Dream!
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