We are thrilled to welcome Sarah Grimm to BLI today. I came to know of Sarah’s latest release After Midnight when she submitted an ARC for review to Book Lovers, and am I am so happy she did because I can honestly say I found her novel to be an emotional and gripping romance that I was unable to put down. After Midnight is receiving high accolades, was released on September 30th and is published by Wild Rose Press. Before Sarah published her first book, she spent years scribbling in notebooks, filling the pages with partial chapters and the margins with titles and story ideas. She told friends that the characters spoke to her, and she felt compelled to get their stories on paper. Eventually, she sat down at a computer and wrote her first tale of dangerously sexy suspense. That book, Not Without Risk, earned rave reviews and is an award winning novel.

Lea: Sarah! Welcome to Book Lovers I can’t tell you how delighted I am to chat with you today about After Midnight!

Sarah: Thank you. I’m delighted to be here, and thrilled that you enjoyed After Midnight. I can’t tell you how incredible it is when I learn someone not only read one of my books, but they enjoyed it as well. Whenever I get that type of feedback, I can honestly say my first response is usually, ‘Really?’

Lea: Sarah can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

Sarah: Sure. I’m a romantic—a die hard romantic. I believe in love, not just as a fundamental part of human relationships, but as a force that can heal emotional scars. I truly believe there is someone for everyone—the person they are meant to find. Their other half, a soul mate.

I live in West Michigan, along the shore of Lake Michigan, with my husband of 19 years, and two teenage sons. I write sizzling, dangerously sexy contemporary romance and romantic suspense—no intimacy hidden ‘behind closed doors’ in my books. Nope, with me you get detailed, explicit love scenes.

Lea: Describe a typical day of writing? Are you a planner or pantser?

Sarah: For me, there is no such thing as a typical day of writing, but I’ll try. 😀 I’m a pantser, which, for those of you who don’t know what that word means, is a writer who doesn’t use an outline. I get an idea, usually planted in my head by one of my characters, and I run with it. I literally sit down and begin typing with no idea where the story is headed. So I ‘discover’ the plot as I write, much like a reader would.

I begin my day at 4 a.m. (not by choice, that’s just when my internal alarm goes off). After checking emails, I get down to business and write until about 6 when I have to wake my sons and make sure they head off to school. Once the kids are gone, I get a bit more writing time before my husband wakes up and starts talking to me. I need silence when I write, so if anyone is moving around or talking to me, forget about getting anything done. By then it’s usually time to get ready for the day job, so I have to let my characters sit and wait until evening when I can get back to the story. Which is more difficult than it sounds, since my characters don’t care that I’m working. They just want their happily-ever-after. LOL

Lea: What do you think is the difference between a reader and a real Book Lover?

Sarah: Withdrawal. No, really. I think readers enjoy books and the act of reading, while Book Lovers need to read. Whatever genre they prefer, reading for the Book Lover is an addiction. Because of this when they go too long without reading, withdrawal strikes. I should know, because I’m going through withdrawal right now. I’ve been extremely busy with my job and the blog tour I’ve been doing to promote After Midnight. So busy I haven’t been reading. And I need to read. Soon.

When I finally get the chance, I’ll wind up bingeing – reading nonstop for days on end, book after book after book until I finally feel sated.

Thirteen years—that’s how long Isabeau Montgomery has been living a lie. After an automobile accident took her mother’s life, Izzy hid herself away, surviving the only way she knew how. Now she is happy in her carefully reconstructed life. That is until he walks through the door of her bar…

Black Phoenix singer/front man Noah Clark came to Long Island City with a goal–one that doesn’t include an instant, electric attraction to the dark-haired beauty behind the bar. Coaxing her into his bed won’t be easy, but he can’t get her pale, haunted eyes nor her skill on the piano out of his head.

Can Noah help Isabeau overcome the past? Or will her need to protect her secret force her back into hiding and destroy their chance at happiness?

Excerpt
BLI Review

Lea: What can we expect of After Midnight?

Sarah: A haunting, emotional story of finding love and redemption.

Lea: One of the many things that impressed me about this book was your portrayal of Isabeau Montgomery’s issues as a child prodigy. Her musical gift as a pianist was discovered at the age of 5 and she travelled with her mother extensively performing to sold out concert halls. She also recorded a number of CD’s. I felt you gave such a realistic and touching view of how she felt having her ability on display. Did you do any biographical research into virtuosos like Isabeau before you wrote her story? Or was it a case of putting yourself in her shoes and letting your muse run wild?

Sarah: I put myself in her shoes and let my muse run wild. I imagined what it would be like to have the natural, awe-inspiring ability to sit down at the piano and have music flow from my fingers, and then turned it into a story about what could happen if that gift became my worst nightmare.

Personally, I can’t imagine what it would be like to suddenly have the world watching my every move, wanting—demanding—performances, interviews, and the like, all at such a young age. How would all of that affect me, a child who was only doing something she loved?

Lea: After her mother died, Isabeau had an extremely difficult life, without giving away any spoilers can you talk about her a little Sarah and how she came to own “Izzy’s Place”? As the synopsis of your book indicates, she has meticulously reconstructed her life hasn’t she?

Sarah: You know what? I actually cried while writing a few of the scenes about Isabeau’s life. I hate to cry. Loathe it. Seriously, I cannot stress how much I don’t like it, but Isabeau’s life after her mother died…how could I not?

Isabeau inherited the bar from her biological father. At first she didn’t want it – she didn’t want anything from him – but then she decided to keep it. After all, a dimly lit bar is the perfect place for her to hide from her music. Or is it?

Lea: Before we talk about Noah, I wanted to mention Thomas, because he plays an integral role in After Midnight. Isabeau and Thomas have a close, very unique relationship and I wondered if you could talk a little about him and touch on the history of how they became ‘family’.

Sarah: Thomas – I think I fell as much in love with Thomas while writing the book as I did Noah. Yes, I fall in love with my characters. 😀

Although he isn’t her biological father, Isabeau loves Thomas and refers to him as her ‘real’ father. Thomas and Isabeau met when Izzy was two years old, when her mother dated and then moved in with Thomas. He helped raise Izzy, and for ten years he called her ‘daughter’ and she called him ‘dad’ – until Izzy’s mother died and the court system took her away to live with her biological father.

Lea: Noah Clark is the handsome, electrically sensual lead singer of Black Phoenix, a famous rock band. Black Phoenix had disbanded 10 years earlier in the aftermath of the tragic death of their drummer who was Noah’s best friend. Noah has now reassembled the band in New York to record a demo CD. Noah is 41, has known fame and lived the wild life and learned some hard won lessons. I really liked him because he is mature and focused. Then he walks into Isabeau’s bar and lightening strikes so to speak. lol Please share more about the hero of your story and touch on the challenges Noah faces in trying to get to know Isa.

Sarah: Ah, Noah. When I first decided Noah should be a rock singer, I knew he had to be older – mature and focused, as you stated so well. I mean, how would anyone believe he remained with the heroine after the book ended, if he was young and still caught up in what being a rock star is all about? I certainly wouldn’t. Even if I concluded the story that way, I would have never believed my own ending.

Noah’s been around the block a time or two. He’s had his fair share of women, but is totally unprepared for what happens when he meets Isabeau. One look, one smile from her and he is lost. And not because she’s exceptionally beautiful, either – she’s not. But because of something else, something he can’t name. All Noah knows is he has to have her, so he sets out to make that happen.

He didn’t count on Isabeau not only resisting him, but going out of her way to discourage him from coming around at all. But Noah’s the type of guy who sees something he wants—whether it’s a recording contract or an ebony haired bar owner—and he goes out and gets it.

Lea: You incorporate a number of themes into this story and I thought the plot was brilliant because there is suspense involving an antagonist who is out to get Isabeau. Was the impetus for After Midnight Isabeau or Noah? Or, did you construct the plot and flesh out the characterization later?

Sarah: After Midnight is Isabeau’s story. Usually my heroes ‘talk’ to me first, but in this instance I heard Izzy. She just showed up in my head one day, sat down and started a conversation. At first she was all I had – a woman sitting alone in a darkened bar, playing the piano. Then came Noah, the one person who could throw a monkey wrench into her carefully reconstructed life. Once I had the two of them, the story just sort of wrote itself.

Lea: I noticed on your website that Midnight Heat which is Dominic Price’s story and Book II in your Midnight Series is next. Dominic is the sexy bassist of Black Phoenix, and he plays a pivotal role in After Midnight. When can we look forward to its publication and would you be willing to tell readers a little about the novel?

Although I know all of Dominic’s story, I’m only about half-way through writing Midnight Heat. It hasn’t been contracted yet, so I don’t have a release date to share, but I hope to rectify that soon. Midnight Heat is a reunion romance that begins about seven months following the conclusion of After Midnight.

Lea: How many books will there be in the Midnight Series?

Sarah: After Midnight was supposed to be a stand alone – then while writing it Dominic demanded he get his own HEA, so at the moment I have just the two books. However, I’ve already had a request to write Alex’s story – sort of a ‘playboy meets his match’. I don’t know that I’m ready for the challenge just yet, but there’s always a possibility I’ll decide to tackle Alex’s story, which would be Book III in the series.

Lea: Any other stories percolating on your desk?

Sarah: Lots and lots of them. The one speaking the loudest, is a story about a homicide detective who falls in love with the only woman to survive a serial rapist/murderer he’s been tracking.

Lea: Can you please summarize After Midnight for us twitterstyle (in 140 characters or less)?

She wants to forget her past.
He wants to reclaim his.
Sometimes the moment that changes everything comes After Midnight.

Lea: Now, can you tell us 3 reasons why people should read your books?

Sarah: Probably not. Honestly, I think I’m my toughest critic. Don’t bother, they’re drivel.

Oh, boy, did I get yelled at when I sent that answer to a couple of writing pals, asking if I could use it in an interview. LOL

Let’s see, my son says:

• So I can quit my day job, and not have to replace it with one at the local fast food chain.

And my writing friends suggested:

• Because Not Without Risk won the Silver in the 2011 Readers Favorite Award Contest, and After Midnight has received some fantastic reviews.
• Because it’s a rare thing in life to find a story that so deeply impacts the reader, the characters will remain in their hearts for years. Read it. You’ll love it!

Lea: Wonderful answers Sarah!

Sarah thank you so very much for agreeing on such short notice to visit with us today, it’s been wonderful to chat with you. I have to admit to being just gobsmacked by After Midnight. It’s a memorable, sensual page turner, one of my favorites of the year. 😉

Sarah: Thanks for inviting me to visit. I still grin like The Joker from Batman when I read the above.

Where to find Sarah:

Website
Blog
Twitter
Facebook

~*~*Giveaway*~*~

Sarah has generously offered a digital copy of After Midnight to one lucky commenter! 🙂

All you have to do is leave a meaningful comment about the interview or a question for Sarah!
(You can read our full giveaway policy here)

Please leave us a way to contact you.
(Email in blogger profile or twitter name – no way to contact you – no entry).

This giveaway is open worldwide!

Giveaway ends on Saturday, October 22, 2011; and we will announce the winner on Sunday.

Good luck!

About Lea

Lea is an animal loving, tree hugging vegetarian who lives in Toronto, Canada with her family, which includes three dogs. She is a prolific reader and has been blogging and reviewing since 2008. Lea is a contributor at the USA Today HEA Blog and an active member at Goodreads.

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