Today I'm excited to share with you a book by a wonderfully supportive author friend who has the most amazing stories. If you love a story that will dig deep into your soul and never let go, Allison Merritt's books are for you! Her stories will make you remember falling in love again! Tell us about yourself: I grew up in the Ozark Mountains, where I still live with my husband and our dogs. I love to hike and take some amateur photography of nature when I'm not writing. I read, I write, I walk, I blog, and get far too distracted by Facebook. What television sitcom is most like your family? Why? Mad About You. We're the married couple with no kids and crazy dogs. We're the bickering type and we make people laugh all the time when we're out because of it. What’s your favorite thing to do to relax? I love hiking. Not rugged, mountainy hiking (no, thank you!), but there are a lot of coversation areas and parks close by where we live. There's always a great array of wildlife and scenery. I love taking a long walk to clear my head. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Do you prefer… Public speaking or public singing? Public speaking. I wouldn't want anyone to suffer from my singing. Writing in a notebook or typing on the computer? Computer all the way. Coke or Pepsi? Eww, neither! Coke product: Dr. Pepper. Living without your cell phone or living without your computer? Without a cell phone. I remember a time before cell phones, do you? Not that I don't remember the time before computers, but I really like them. Erm, most of the time anyway. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Now about you as an author… Did you always want to be an author? Pretty much. I made up stories as a kid and when I was 11 or 12, I declared my intentions to become an author after stealing the idea from my best friend. I stopped writing for almost six years, but in the end, ideas came to me and I had to write them down. I couldn't hold back any longer. What authors had an impact on you growing up and as an adult? I read a ton of Leigh Greenwood and Linda Lael Miller. I love Louis L'Amour novels too. Anything to do with horses when I was a teenager, so there was a lot of Joanna Campbell on my reading menu. Did anyone in your life influence you or encouraged you to be a writer? (teacher, family member, friend) I had great English teachers. They always encouraged me to write short stories and essays. Both of my grandmas liked to read my work and my parents always knew I was never going to be a math whiz, so they encouraged my writing. My dad actually told me once I'd have to stop writing if my grades slipped in high school. I'm not sure how he planned to make me quit . . . They didn't slip, by the way, unnessary threat! What is your favorite aspect or writing? Your least favorite? I like to just get into a story and let the characters take over. I'm all pantser and that works for me. My least favorite thing to do is edit. Hate, hate, hate it. What aspect of writing would you most like to improve on? I love dialogue. There's nothing better to me that witty conversation or sarcastic barbs. So my descriptions suffer. I have to go back after writing and fill in descriptions. I wish I could just get it all down at once. Do you have any “must haves” with you while you’re writing? No TV! The screen must be black or I'll be distracted, even if I've already seen the show or movie that's on. I also like food that easy to eat with my fingers and a drink handy because there's nothing worse than needing to get up when you're in the middle of a big scene. Do you have a common theme or item that appears in each of your books? Right now in the Legends and Lovers Series there's a person who appears in each novel. She's not exactly human and it's all leading up to her book. The other characters call her Hummingbird or Renee (which means reborn). I'm excited about writing from her point of view--eventually. What have you learned the most from being in the writing business? That just when I think I have one step mastered, something else comes along to throw me off. Like writing. Yay! I wrote a novel. It needs editing? Okay, that's not so hard. Wait, I'm going to e-publish it--there's a ton of formatting to learn? Um . . . Then I started doing my own covers. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tell us about your latest release: (blurb, excerpt, cover) The Sky Pirate's Wife is the second book in my Legends and Lovers Series. After a tragic airship wreck, Captain Alwin van Buren makes a drastic decision to obtain a wealthy bride in order to save his flagging business. He meets his match in Sophie Barnes, heiress to an airship empire. After he seduces her and ensures their marriage—igniting a rivalry with her godfather—he learns the green-eyed beauty is as headstrong as he is. Sophie knows Van Buren's reputation based on a series of dime novels written about his adventures. Determined to be more than an end to a means, she despises him for luring her into marriage. In fiction, he's a no-nonsense captain on the verge of piracy, but the flesh-and-blood man wins her heart by proving she's worth more to him than her money. Their love is threatened when Sophie learns Van Buren's airship accident was a result of mythical creatures. Winged predators that appear to have a grudge against him, a fact he deliberately hid by accusing her godfather of sabotage. If she can forgive him for that, they still have to face the danger when they're cornered and at the mercy of beasts and the evil that controls them. The real test comes when Van Buren is asked to make a sacrifice that could destroy them both. How did you decide on your story plot? The hero, Van Buren, made a minor appearance in The Treasure Hunter's Lady. He wouldn't leave me alone after I wrote that one, insisting on his own book. So I knew right away he was the main character and that he's an airship captain. I had to figure out what kind of dangers would potentially put an airshipping company out of business—two things, of course a lack of money and a danger in the sky. I'm very interested in myths and legends, so I started researching thunderbirds. It turns out that a lot of people have claimed to see giant birds in the sky and a few even know someone who know someone who's second cousin twice removed has been picked up by a giant bird. How did you choose your characters names and location for your story? My characters have always been good about telling me their names, even before they have plots and backgrounds. The original drafts of The Treasure Hunter's Lady and The Sky Pirate's Wife were set in Australia, which in the 1700's, the western half of that country was controlled by Dutch explorers. It made sense to me that the airship captain was Dutch. When I changed the setting to Amerca, I didn't touch Van Buren's name or history at all. In Old Germanic, Alwin mean “elf friend”. Sophie Barnes was originally meant to be a native Australian. Her last name was Barnesworth, but with the setting change I shorted her surname up. In Greek, Sophia means “wise”, but she makes a few choices throughout the story that show her impulsive side. The book is largely set in Tulsa, Oklahoma Territory (Oklahoma became a state in 1907). It's a great setting for this book because it's the town that's considered to be almost directly in the center of the US, which would make it a fairly major docking port for airshipping. It was also referred to as Indian Territory in the 19th century because of the reservations and forced migration of several tribes to the area. One of the reoccuring characters in the Legends and Lovers Series is Native American. She was right at home in Tulsa. Do you have a favorite scene? Why? One of them is toward the end of the book right before the major black moment when Van Buren gives Sophie a replica of a phoenix pin he always wears. She admired it almost from the start of the book. He bought her an expensive ring after they were married, of course, but the presentation of the pin really meant a lot to her because she knows it could very well be the last thing he ever gives her. I cried when I wrote that scene. Do you have a character that you identify with? Who and why? I have to say I tend to identify with my hot-headed characters a little more. Van Buren and the heroine from The Treasure Hunter's Lady, Romy, both have quick tempers. I can be a bit of a hot head myself. Let our readers know how they can get a hold of you… Blog – http://havenovelwilledit.blogspot.com Facebook – http://facebook.com/allisonmwrites Twitter – http://twitter.com/allison_merritt Google Plus- http://gplus.to/AllisonMerritt & http://gplus.to/LegendsandLoversSeries Is there anything else that you want to share… feel free!! As always, thanks for reading and I hope that maybe you got a giggle or two out of the characters' clashing personalities and that they kept you entertained!  The Sky Pirate’s Wife by Allison Merritt After a tragic airship wreck, Captain Alwin van Buren makes a drastic decision to obtain a wealthy bride in order to save his flagging business. He meets his match in Sophie Banes, heiress to an airship empire. After he seduces her and ensures their marriage—igniting a rivalry with her godfather—he learns the green-eyed beauty is as headstrong as he is. Sophie knows Van Buren's reputation based on a series of dime novels written about his adventures. Determined to be more than an end to a means, she despises him for luring her into marriage. In fiction, he's a no-nonsense captain on the verge of piracy, but the flesh-and-blood man wins her heart by proving she's worth more to him than her money. Their love is threatened when Sophie learns Van Buren's airship accident was a result of mythical creatures. Winged predators that appear to have a grudge against him, a fact he deliberately hid by accusing her godfather of sabotage. If she can forgive him for that, they still have to face the danger when they're cornered and at the mercy of beasts and the evil that controls them. The real test comes when Van Buren is asked to make a sacrifice that could destroy them both. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Excerpt: Sophie looked at the book in his hands. No one held the wheel but her. “You let go!” He grinned. “You're doing fine, zoete. Keep her steady, she's climbing on her own.” It wasn't the idea of being the only thing that stood between them and another flaming airship wreck that made her tremble. It was his smile. The kind that all women yearned to receive from a handsome man. “You should really take the wheel.” “My hands are full.” He waved the logbook at her, but replaced it and remained standing beside her. “You're doing very well.” “Are you certain?” The wind blew her hair and snagged her skirt. The horizon filled her line of sight and she suddenly understood the thrill of piloting a ship. It was like having the same freedom as a bird. She could point the ship in any direction and go wherever she pleased. Nothing had ever made her feel so alive. Except kissing Van Buren. Her head turned his direction like it was on a spring. She covered the sudden movement with a laugh. “I think I'm in love with your ship.” His eyes darkened from icy gray to the shade of wet concrete. He lowered his mouth to her ear again and put his hand on her back. “Flying is a great deal like making love, Sophie.” She nearly melted at her name on his lips. “W-why do you say that?” “It's instinctual. The mind and body work together, creating a moment of beauty. The first time is a little frightening, but once you find the rhythm, the proper technique, you have something very enjoyable on your hands. Something that you feel deep within your soul. Something that you never want to give up. With the right person, the kind of relationship you'd die to protect.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  About the author:
A life-long love of reading turned Allison Merritt into an indie author who writes historical, paranormal and fantasy romances, often combining the sub-genres. She lives in a small town in the Ozark Mountains with her husband and dogs. When she's not writing or reading, she hikes in national parks and conservation areas. Allison graduated from College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri with a B.A. in mass communications that's gathering dust after it was determined that she's better at writing fluff than hard news. Connect with the author: Site Twitter Facebook |
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