Hello and happy Friday! Today I bring you an exclusive interview with debut author, Stella Barcelona, who just released her novel, DECEIVED. If you like romantic suspense and a great story, be sure to check it out. In addition to the great interview, we've also got a fun giveaway for you so be sure to check it out!
Taylor Marlowe Bartholomew carries three of the most notable names in New Orleans society. She hoped to forge her own path in the world as an Assistant District Attorney, but that dream is dying as obligations pull her into the family shipbuilding business. In Taylor’s final days in the DA’s office, she receives a murder assignment that could unravel her perception of reality. Brandon Morrissey is haunted by demons that force him to keep his life simple and detached. He pours all of his energy into his thriving legal practice, until, overnight, he becomes the single father of an infant. For the sake of his son’s future, Brandon searches for a killer and faces the truth about his family’s unfortunate past.
Someone is willing to kill to use the past for their own ends. Thrust together, Brandon and Taylor have different views of their families’ intersecting histories. As they confront a sea of uncertainty, one thing is sure…no one is safe until they discover where the truth lies.
Their destinies have been set in motion by their ancestors.
Ghosts of the past shadow every step they take.
Together they have to find the truth…before it’s too late.
Stephanie: Have you always wanted to write?
Stella: Yes. The first thing that I wanted to be when I grew up was an author, and this desire came from being an avid reader as a child and teenager. While other kids played sports after school, I was turning pages. I only became other things--a middle school history teacher and then an attorney-- because I needed to earn a living and didn’t know how to do it as a fiction writer.
Stephanie: When you were writing DECEIVED, did you always intend to self-publish it?
Stephanie: When you were writing DECEIVED, did you always intend to self-publish it?
Stella: No. However, as I wrote DECEIVED, I realized that the industry was changing and independent publishing was becoming a more viable option for me. When well known, mutli-published authors started presenting talks on the advantages of self-publishing, I listened. It has been an incredible journey.
Stephanie: A popular thing authors are sharing these days are playlists for their books with songs that reflect or inspire scenes. Does music inspire your writing in any way?
Stella: Yes! I’ve had a lifelong infatuation with pop music. My creative writing process is ritualistic, and music is an important part of the ritual. I stumble out of bed early, well before daylight, get into my writing chair as fast as I can, slip on noise reduction headphones, and turn up Pandora radio. Currently, I’m addicted to OneRepublic, Imagine Dragons, Goo Goo Dolls, Matt Nathanson, Daughtry, and Train, just to name a few bands with the magic blend of vocals and lyrics that puts me in the mood to write. I also love anything by a band that originated in New Orleans, Better Than Ezra. To be honest, I don’t even know whether I’m actually listening to the songs as I write. There’s just something about the music, though, that makes the time that I get to spend in the writing chair fly by. Once I’m through with writing for the morning, I take off the noise reduction headphones, but I tune into music throughout the day. I’m a believer in keeping my subconscious thoughts running, so I seek anything that tweaks an emotion, or inspires an idea for a scene. Often, my subconscious inspiration comes from music.
Stephanie: Do you have a favorite place that you write in?
Stella: Yes. I reorganized my office a year ago, after deciding that the mess that confronted me in there was part of the reason I wasn’t meeting my goals. After spending a lot of time thinking about the design of the workspace, I came up with the idea of two desks and two chairs and, because I’m obsessed with time management, a giant clock. One chair is solely dedicated to creative writing. Nothing else happens in the writing chair or at the writing desk … no e-mails, social media, or phone calls. With my noise reduction headphones on, except for the occasional visit by one of my papillons or my husband, there are no distractions. The other chair is everything other than creative writing, and there’s certainly been a lot of the other stuff lately. I loved the result of my office renovation so much that I did a post about it on my website, at http://stellabarcelona.com/2014/03/03/time-management-musings/.
Here’s a photo of my office, with two desks, two chairs, and one giant clock:
Stella: Yes. DECEIVED introduces Black Raven Private Security Contractors. My current work in progress, SHADOWS, features Black Raven, and Sebastian Connelly, the founder of the company.
Stephanie: What can you tell us about the Friends Fight Together fundraiser you are doing at the RT convention along with Cherry Adair and Tina deSalvo?
Stella: Simply put, the Friends Fight Together Booth will put the F-U-N in the fundraising effort for the fight against breast cancer! For a small donation, there’ll be opportunities for photographs with cover models and chances to win thousands of dollars in raffle prizes (which will be shipped to the winners). We have plenty of other fun extras planned. Cherry, Tina, and I have had a great time putting this together, and the folks at RT have enthusiastically supported the fundraising effort. We hope that all conference attendees stop by our booth, contribute to the fight against breast cancer, and have FUN while they’re there.
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| From left to right: Cherry Adair, Tina deSalvo and Stella Barcelona |
Stephanie: Great time management post and I love both your office and the great picture of you, Cherry and Tina. Thank you so much for joining me today, Stella!
Stella is giving away an autographed copy of Deceived to one lucky reader and a $25 Amazon gift card to another lucky winner. Use the rafflecopter below to enter. Good luck!
Stella Barcelona, author of romantic suspense novels, has always had an active imagination, a tendency to daydream, and a passion for reading romance, mysteries, and thrillers. From her early days of reading, when she first escaped reality through the pages of a well-written novel, she knew that her daydreams needed an outlet, and she knew that her outlet would be writing.In day to day life, Stella is a lawyer and works for a court in New Orleans, Louisiana. Currently, Stella lives minutes from the French Quarter, with her husband of sixteen years and two adorable papillons who believe that they are princesses. Stella loves to hear from readers on her Facebook page and can also be contacted through her website, www.stellabarcelona.com, where there's information on appearances, her next release, and exciting contests that you won't want to miss! While she doesn't have a lot of free time with her legal and writing careers battling for her every minute, she does enjoy any chance she and her husband get to go out on their boat. In addition, she attends conferences, workshops, and retreats for writers. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and the Southern Louisiana Chapter of the Romance Writers of America.
Can't wait to read this!
ReplyDeleteGot this the other day :) Love the way you have your office set up staying off line I find the hardest... Good luck with it all
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