Book Lovers Inc.
Romance Novel Reviews, Author Interviews, Commentary
Interview with Heather Snow + Giveaway
It is my great pleasure to welcome to BLI today and introduce to you debut author Heather Snow, whose first historical romance novel Sweet Enemy was released recently and which completely blew me away (You can read my review here)! So of course being the good Book Lover that I am, I absolutely had to share the news about this amazing book and thought you might like to learn more about the author behind it, so please give Heather the warmest welcome, she doesn’t come empty handed! 😉
Stella: Hi Heather, welcome to Book Lovers Inc! Can you please tell us a bit about yourself?
Heather: Hi Stella ! Thank you so much for having me ! Well, I’m a historical romance author with a chemistry degree who discovered I preferred creating chemistry on the page, rather than in the lab! I’m also a wife and mom of two boys, known affectionately on the web as The Heir and The Spare. This is, of course, some historical romance author humor, and not an actual reflection on how we view our children ;). The boys are 3 ½ years old, and 7 months. As you can imagine, that makes me a little crazy at times…I’m imagining that will pass…in 18 years or so…
I’m also a movie lover—a lake girl—I prefer water skiing over snow, despite my name—and I love solitude, though I rarely get it with young children.
Stella: Describe a typical day of writing? Are you a planner or pantser?
Heather: Sadly, right now I don’t have a typical day of writing. With the baby being so young, I have to write when I can. However, we’re almost to the point where he will start sleeping better and I can hopefully get back into some kind of routine. As for being a planner or a pantster, the chemist in me is a HUGE planner, a stubborn one who feels terrified if I don’t know exactly what is going to happen. However, the creative writer in me feels stifled if I over-plot. So I guess I’m a pLAnster…I compromise and loosely plot the mystery, character arc, and romance arc, then discover the fun details about the characters and story during the writing process. I will jot down the points I want to hit within a scene before I write it and then give it a go!
Stella: What do you think is the difference between a reader and a real Book Lover?
Heather: Hmmm…a book lover will stay up all night to finish a book because she knows she won’t be able to sleep without knowing what happens anyway. Believe me, I’ve dragged into work many a morning because I’ve loved a book. A book lover will ship off perfectly good pieces of furniture to the Good Will store to make room for more bookshelves (or at least she would in the days before electronic readers!), and will tell her husband that he married her for better or worse and that included carrying her boxes and boxes of heavy hard-back novels every single time we…er, I mean SHE moved.
Stella: Your debut novel Sweet Enemy was released two weeks ago, congratulations! It is the 1st book in the Veiled Seduction series, can you tell us a bit about the series and what we can expect of Sweet Enemy?
Heather: Thank you so much! I can’t believe it’s finally in stores. Let’s start with SWEET ENEMY—readers can expect an interesting lady chemist heroine, a fast-paced plot interspersed with mystery, a slow building love story with very sensual scenes, and a highly emotional ending. While I was writing SWEET ENEMY, I found many people were intrigued with the idea of a chemist heroine—a lady outside of your average bluestocking. I loved delving into the mind of a brilliant heroine, and decided then I would like to write a whole series about science-savvy heroines who were faced with a mystery to solve, and that’s how the Veiled Seduction series got its start.
Stella: Is Sweet Enemy the first novel you have written? Any particular moment, event that sparked the inspiration for the story?
Heather: Yes, SWEET ENEMY is my first completed manuscript. I’ve always been an avid reader, but when I took a break from my career to try to start a family, I had a lot of extra time on my hands. One evening, I attended an interesting museum exhibit detailing an event that occurred during the Regency period (Sorry to be so vague, but I don’t want to say what exhibit, lest I give away part of the mystery! It is explained in the author’s note when you finish the book). However, I can say that scientists were involved, which started a “What if?” mystery in my mind. I couldn’t get the idea out of my head, so I decided to try my hand at writing it.
I thought a lot about how I could make my book stand out…how could I twist things to make it fresh and yet still deliver a great story? That’s when I decided to make my heroine the scientist. In most books I’d read, if anyone got to be a scientist-type, it was always the hero. And blast it all, why should the men always get to be the interesting ones? Plus, having a chemistry degree myself, I thought I could lend my voice well to her character.
Stella: Sweet Enemy is a quite unique combination of historical romance and mystery, why this unusual (but fantastic!) blend?
Heather: A couple of reasons. First, the story idea started with a mystery—that’s sort of how my mind works! For many years, I read just as much mystery as I did romance. Second, while I do love the occasional light Regency, the stories I am drawn to are the ones that have more going on in them. When I sat down to write SWEET ENEMY, I wanted to write the kind of book I would want to read. However, it was tough going—mysteries can be difficult to pull off, and this was my first attempt at writing. At one point, I thought it was too much for my skills at the time, and tried to pull all of the mystery out and just make it a romance, but I found I hated the story then. So I had to go back and figure out a smarter way to put the mystery back in.
Marie Curie the ultimate “Lady Scientist”
Stella: Liliana and Goeffrey were wonderful characters, and I loved how you managed to make Liliana a modern, independent and intelligent heroine, yet all the while staying true to her time period and the etiquette and traditions of that era. Could you please introduce your hero and heroine for our readers?
Heather: Thank you! I’m thrilled with how they have been received. I was a little nervous that people wouldn’t “get” Liliana, since she’s a little different than your typical Regency heroine! Here’s a little about my characters:
Miss Liliana Claremont: chemist, healer and sleuth by necessity who is happy on the shelf and in the laboratory, but for two short weeks at a country house party she’ll be trading in her beakers for ball gowns for a chance to solve the mystery of her father’s death.
Geoffrey Wentworth, Earl of Stratford: war hero, reluctant earl and rising political star who wields his influence to better the lives of ex-soldiers, until a tempting houseguest and a secret from his past threaten his freedom…and his heart.
Stella: What is your favourite part about writing a novel? The initial moment when inspiration strikes? Or when you are canvassing all the small details of the story? Or when the h/h meet for the first time? Or something completely different? (maybe when you type THE END?) I’m curious 🙂
Heather: Truthfully, it IS when I type THE END! Cherry Adair once said there are writers who enjoy writing and writers who enjoy having written. I am DEFINITELY one who enjoys having written. I love the accomplishment of it. But the process itself is AGONY for me (and for my poor family!).
Stella: Can you summarize Sweet Enemy for us Twitter style (140 characters or less)?
Heather: A lady chemist goes undercover as a husband-hunter at a house party to investigate the earl whose family she thinks murdered her father.
Stella: Now can you tell us 3 reasons why people should read Sweet Enemy?
Heather: Well, you’ve already mentioned that Liliana and Geoffrey are wonderful characters, so let’s think of three more…
1. Liliana gets to blow things up. How often do you see THAT in a romance heroine?
2. You hated chemistry in the classroom, but you’re a big fan of it in the bedroom… Once Geoffrey decides he want the little scientist in his bed (and as his wife) he decides to use her natural curiosity and experimental nature to bind her to him, first with kisses and then with more…
3. Because even though you like some mystery with your romance, you like to laugh out loud when you’re reading, too… “Fast paced and well written; witty and fun; sensual and mysterious and I loved the laugh-out-loud moments so much I had tears in my eyes!” ~Melanie, Bookworm2Bookworm
And we can’t discount the fact that Stella, your own Latin Lover, was one of my very first fans!
Stella: So true! (*turns to BLI readers and whispers* As soon as I started Sweet Enemy I couldn’t stop, it is terrific!) Can I ask how many books you have planned in the Veiled Seduction series and how they are connected? (e.g. the heroes are friends, etc.)
Heather: Right now, there are three—though I’d love to write more. There are so many different interesting pursuits my heroines could be involved in! However, let’s talk about the two additional books that are definitely coming out. SWEET DECEPTION features another science minded heroine—a Regency-era Bones-type character (think Temperance Brennan, not Star Trek!) who gets tangled up with a James Bond-type hero we meet in the first book. The third, tentatively titled SWEET MADNESS, features a heroine we also met in SWEET ENEMY.
Stella: Have you been a longtime romance fan? Do you still remember that first romance novel that got you hooked? Or the person who introduced you to the genre?
Heather: Yes, I’ve been reading romance as long as I can remember. I’ve been hooked since I found my Nana’s secret stash, hidden on the lowest bookshelf, tucked behind her recliner. She was a historical romance fan, so that’s what I started with and it is my first love. I don’t remember specific books, though they were Kathleen Woodiwiss, Judith McNaught, Johanna Lindsay, Julie Garwood, Janelle Taylor, amongst others.
Stella: What shall we expect from you, what is next on your schedule?
Heather: SWEET DECEPTION comes out August 7th, and SWEET MADNESS should follow sometime in 2013. After that, I’m not sure yet!
Stella: Can you tell us a small trivia about yourself not many people know?
Heather: I was in the newspaper as the youngest person to pass Red Cross swimming lessons in our city—my mom made me take them before she would let me start water-skiing, which I then proceeded to do at the age of 4.
Heather Snow is a historical romance author with a degree in Chemistry who discovered she much preferred creating chemistry on the page, rather than in the lab. She is forever trying to wrangle her left and right brain to work together (some days with more success than others!), but if her two sides had to duke it out, left would win every time—which can be a creative challenge. Luckily, she loves challenges…she just goes about solving them analytically.
Heather lives in the Midwest with her husband, two rambunctious boys and one very put upon cat. She sincerely hopes you find her stories have just the right chemistry…
Where to find Heather:
Website | Twitter | Facebook
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~*~*Giveaway*~*~
Heather has generously offered a paperback copy of Sweet Enemy to one lucky commenter!
All you have to do is leave a meaningful comment about the interview, or answer Heather’s question and tell us: what do you think is the difference between a reader and a real Book Lover?
(You can read our full giveaway policy here)
Please be sure to include a valid email address in the comment form (need not be in the actual body of the comment).
This giveaway is open to all!
Giveaway ends on Saturday, March 17th, 2012; we will announce the winner on Sunday.
Good luck!!!!
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Great interview ladies, that was fun reading. I think you really have some great points about what it means to be a book lover. I think a book lover just has to read, will talk about authors and books like they are friends, and treat her books with love and care. A reader is someone who prefers magazines, and only picks up a book for the holidays. A book lover is always looking for new books, new authors, and laments the lack of reading time.
I so agree, aurian. There are characters that I read 20 years ago that still pop into my head from time to time, like old friends 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
i don’t know.. maybe the difference lies in the degree of attachment. a book lover will fall in love or hate the cast in the book they’re reading, but a reader will only read them
Great point! And a true one, I think. As an author, I’d rather have people LOVE or HATE my story, rather than feel “meh”. Thank you for stopping by!
I totally want to meet this heroine who gets to blow things up! LOL, thanks so much for the interview. I love meeting new-to-me authors 🙂 Oh, and the difference between a reader and a book lover- the book lover hordes books and buys multiple copies of favorite books-1 for reading and 1 for sitting pretty on the shelf 🙂 Book Savvy Babe
LOL! Yes, you’re SO right! Now, I’ll buy one version on my e-reader and another to sit on my shelf…ha! Or, I’ll rebuy the same book because of a new, prettier cover, and then read the old one again, not worrying about getting water spots on it from the tub or creases in the spine. We’re strange individuals, book lovers 🙂
Appreciate you saying hello. Lovely to *meet* you, too!
I so agree with Heather’s answer about a Book Lover NEEDING to get to the end of the book so she can sleep. That happens to me too much!
I’m looking forward to reading Heather’s series. Sweet Enemy and Sweet Deception sound so interesting. Thanks for the inteview.
Hello again, LSU. Lovely to see you. I’m thrilled you find the series interesting. I just finished plotting SWEET MADNESS and am sitting down to get started…SO excited about it, too!
great interview ^^
i agree a book lover will want to finish a book but also a book lover will take very good care of her/his books as a readers will only see them as a pastime, no precious
thanks you a lot for opening your giveaway to international
all the best
isabelle(dot)frisch(at)gmail(dot)com
You’re very welcome! I’m very excited about having international readers 🙂
And I love the idea of books as precious…they certainly are!
Reader- someone who reads without much emotional attachment to the book.
Book Lover – someone who reads books and are able to immerse themselves into the world that they are reading about and experience the story as if they were in it.
email: cruz042@cougars.csusm.edu
I agree, Arianne! I also don’t see the point of reading something you don’t get emotionally invested in! Life’s too short 🙂
Congrats on your debut release, Heather. I think a book lover is someone who cannot live without books and reading brings real enjoyment to them.
janie1215 AT excite DOT com
Thanks, Jane! Very good point…and will all of the other distractions today, I believe more and more readers ARE book lovers, because if they weren’t, there are so many other ways to occupy their time.
I’m really looking forward to reading Sweet Enemy, it sounds so good! I think the difference between a reader and a real book lover is that a reader picks up a book when they feel like reading and a book lover always feels like reading. When I was a kid, I used to try to do my chores around the house with my nose stuck in a book. It worked okay when drying the dishes, not so much when washing them. 😀 I love all the awesome ways to read now, I’m never without a book since I always have one on my iPhone.
Barbed1951 at aol dot com
Oh, what a good point, Barbara…what a succinct way to put it. A book lover always feels like reading… you’re so right!
Great interview! I liked learning more about the very interesting characters.
Thanks, bn100. Lovely to see you again 🙂
For me the difference is a reader reads everything, she/he love to read, not must a book. She doesn’t have to HAVE the book she read.
But a book lover loves books. She collects books. She usually has at least a little library. She’s happy to be surrounded by books. 😀
Hi ladymilano 🙂 love the idea of being happily surrounded by books! I’ve always had a small library in my home, even if it was only a bookshelf in my guest room!
😀 GREAT! I just love read books, so wish I could have my own little library ASAP! 😀 Saving money for the shelves..
Congrats for your 1st book, wish could win it this time… 😉
And thanks for this international giveaway, I’m from Indonesia, hope your book get big hit, and would be translated in my country! 😉
Congratulations on your debut release!! A book lover devours books & has a massive pile of must reads. Don’t get between a book lover & their book.
Ha, Mary! Great advice 🙂 Disrupt our reading at your peril!
First of all, congratulations on your debut release! That was an awesome review and I love the hero and heroine already! Thanks for making this giveaway international.
tamsyn5(at)yahoo(dot)com
Tamsyn, thank you very much! I’m happy to include my international readers 🙂
Congrats on your debut release, Heather. I think the difference between a reader and a real book lover is that a reader can pick a book when she want read. But a book lover have a massive book in his little library, collect them for satisfication and she always happy when new book arrive in her home. Look like i talk about myself. LOL!!
Thanks for making this giveaway international.
Hi Filia! You’re so right…I’m never so happy to see a package on my doorstep as when I know it includes a new book I’ve ordered 🙂
Congrats on your first release! I think there is on big difference between readers and book lovers. Readers can either read or not, they may go long times between books, while they enjoy books, they don’t have huge collections. Book lovers have to read, they can’t go without reading easily, they think of books often and have large collections of books, often multiple copies of books. Autographed editions are prized possessions. (Yes this is me)
June
manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com
Hi June! I’m guilty of having multiple copies of my favorite books 🙂
I can’t wait to read this book. I love it that it features a lady chemist and I’m looking forward to reading little tidbits about what the study of chemistry was like back in Regency times. As for book lovers vs. readers, I think that book lovers get pleasure not just from reading, but also from looking at and thinking about their books.
jen(at)delux(dot)com
Hi Jen, thank you! I’m thrilled with how people have been responding to Liliana! When I first wrote a lady chemist, I didn’t know whether anyone else but me would find her interesting. I’m glad to know I worried for nothing 🙂
Thanks for the wonderful interview and giveaway!
Congrats on the new release! I’ve had book lust for this title every since I read the main female character was a chemist 🙂
I agree with everyone’s definition between a “reader” and “book lover”. A book lover is almost obsessive. They haunt book blogs, always know the new release schedules, know the author’s middle name, have the entire backlist and have read them several times, and have a massive TBR pile that has taken over their lives and caused them to spend waay to much money on books. A reader is more blause about their books, don’t have to finish it one sitting and read primarly the “popular” titles before the movies come out.
I’m a proud, loud book lover!
Hi erin 🙂 Proud, loud booklover. We should have t-shirts made… 🙂
Tough one, what is the difference? I have no idea. Perhaps that a reader loves to read, but a booklover can’t live without a book. It’s like air to them
Hi blodeuedd 🙂 While I could live without books, my life would be much lesser for it… Thanks for stopping by!
Hmmm …. a reader reads to have something to do, a book lover reads because they have to, and they don’t just read a book – they devour it and live it in their mind, and it stays with them even after they are done 🙂 At least that’s what happens to me when I read!!
Thanks for the thought provoking question, and for the amazing giveaway! The cover of this book is absolutely gorgeous!!
jwitt33 at live dot com
Hi Julie! Thanks for stopping by. I DO love the cover, and I can’t wait to reveal the cover for Sweet Deception…it’s equally lovely! Maybe even more so 🙂
Love that you’ve incorporated your degree in chemistry into one of your characters. Makes it very interesting. 🙂
I think book lovers love to collect the books not just because of the story but, also because of the author and the covers. It’s interesting to me how many different ways I’ve seen people have their collections but, the hard core ones, no matter what, always have their fav authors/series right up front. I know I do. I have my favorite authors all together and then if they have series I collect the series by how the author wrote them. 😛 LOL
Hi meninaiscrazy 🙂 You’re so right…looking at my own bookshelves, my favorite authors and series are on the first shelves, with lone books taking up the bottoms. I do tend to have them ranked in favorites, too 🙂 We crazy booklovers!
I think a book reader is someone who enjoys reading books on occasion. But a real book lover is one who reads often, builds a large, personal library, calls the library and the book store his/her second home, most likely has a book blog, and enters these kinds of book giveaways frequently. In essence, I’m describing myself!
Thanks for a chance at winning your book in this giveaway!
Zara
Email: zgarcia(dot)alvarez(at)gmail(dot)com
On Twitter: @ZaraAlexis
Hi Zara! I’m just now discovering the world of book blogs 🙂 What a fabulous avenue for readers to discover new authors and talk about the books they love!
I believe a reader is what I was when I was in school and had to read books for certain assignments. I am a real book lover now because now I just love to read for the love of reading not because I have to. Anyone can be a reader but there are those of us who are real book lovers.
yadkny@hotmail.com
Hi Yadira! I think it’s a beautiful thing when a reader who reads because they have to discovers that author or that genre that turns them from casual reader to book lover! For instance, my mom struggled to read until she found romantic suspense, and now she devours books by the scores. It was wonderful to see that transformation 🙂
I think the different between a book lover and reader is that a book lover has a passion for books and a reader just reads because they have to or reads once in a while. A real book lover is a person who thoroughly enjoys reading and loves to talk about books and authors. A real book lover loves to lose themselves in books and is constantly looking for new books to read and authors. Tore923@aol.com
Hi Victoria 🙂 Definitely, always looking for new authors. It’s amazing that readers can devour in only a few hours something it took an author months to create, but that’s the beautiful thing about it, too…there’s always room for new authors for that reader to find! Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment
Wow, I just love the picture of your trading card! The difference between a reader and book lover is the drive to read. I know lots of people who read and enjoy it but don’t make the time for it. I have one friend who complains it takes her forever to read a book but she makes the time every day to read. Sometimes, just 5 or 10 minutes but it really means something to her to make that time. She is a book lover! jepebATverizonDOTnet
Hi Jen…that’s awesome that your friend is a book lover, even though it takes her so long to finish a book! I adore book lovers 🙂
A Book Lover reads many kinds of stories & falls into the book as if they were living the story. sallans d at yahoo dot com
I think the difference might be how one feels about their books. A reader might read a book once, pass it on, give it away, turn book pages down, where as a real book lover does not part with books, does not dog ear book pages, and keeps books to reread again and again. I consider myself a real book lover. I keep books and reread them over and over again. Don’t get me started on people turning down book page corners.
e.balinski(at)att(dot)net
I like the idea of a female chemist as the heroine in a historical romance. She sounds unique. I think a book lover needs to have a book with him/her at all times just in case they find a few minutes to read.
I think a reader is someone who reads a book and passes it along, but a book lover keeps the book (or asks for it back when the loanee is done reading it), goes back to the book, recommends the book to others, and looks for more books written by that author. They also follow several blogs about books, enter contests to win more books, scour Amazon for deals on books, ask for gift cards for their birthdays, and still finds time to go to the library and check out more books. Also, when you go into their houses and find there are more books than places to sit, then you are in the company of an avid book lover.
Margay1122ATaolDOTcom
Enjoyed reading the comments. I think a real Book Lover reads a lot of books in all genres and is able to discuss the book with another reader. A real book lover enjoys the written word!
a reader just picks up a book, reads it and decides if s/he likes it or not. A book lover carefully chooses a book, get engrossed by it, knows exactly why s/he likes it or not, get info abouth the author or the seires…talks about the book with others!
aliasgirl at libero dot it