New Release!
Spice Bringer
by H.L. Burke
Book Description:
A deadly disease. A vanishing remedy. A breathless journey. All her life, Niya's known she will die young from the fatal rasp. She survives only with the aid of vitrisar spice and a magical, curmudgeonly fire salamander named Alk. Then an ambitious princess burns down the vitrisar grove in an effort to steal Alk so she can claim her rightful throne. Joined by Jayesh, a disgraced monk, Niya and Alk must flee to the faraway Hidden Temple with the last vitrisar plant, or all who suffer from the rasp will perish. But even as Niya’s frustration and banter with Jayesh deepen to affection, the rasp is stealing away her breath and life. For a girl with limited time and a crippling quest, love may be more painful than death.
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Author Interview:
Heidi Lyn Burke
1. How many hours a day do you write?
Usually one. I do a lot of other author related stuff throughout the day, but concentrated writing is usually delegated to the rare “no interruptions” section of the between when my kids go to bed and when I go to bed. Sometimes I might sneak in a half hour in the morning or afternoon or write a little bit while in a waiting room or at the park with said kids, but mostly it's that hour at the end of the day. Sometimes if it is going well, I will stretch it over an hour, but I do more of “word count” than time spent. I try to do a thousand words a day. This usually takes about an hour.
2. What was the first book that you wrote and did you publish it?
Really depends on your definition of “book.” I've been writing constantly since grade school. My friend and I co-wrote an “orphaned kids going on adventures” series that we'd pass back and forth in a three-ring binder, adding to a little at a time. I kept the binder more often and it was a lot of words with a semi-coherent plot. I have a lot of finished works of various lengths from my teen years. I sometimes mine them for ideas because they had kernels of awesome in all the melodrama and bad writing, but none of them were even close to publishable.
3. How long on average does it take you to write a book?
Two months. If you add in editing maybe three. I write on average 1000 words a night, but sometimes more like 2000. I also generally don't write long books. My average is probably about 60,000 words. I used to spend double or triple the time writing that I did editing, but I've learned a lot about writing a clean first draft and easy self-editing tricks, so I've cut that down a lot (so there IS hope, writers stuck in endless editing cycles. It just takes like five or six books to get over that stage).
4. What would you like readers to know about your latest book or book project?
Spice Bringer is sadder than my other books, but it is a hopeful sad, and I PROMISE it does not have a throw-the-book ending. Plus it has a lot of cuteness, banter, and snark, just like you want. However, I kept getting deeper and deeper in this book. It wouldn't let me just “be.” It needed to say something and feel things. All the feelz. So yeah, maybe be ready for some tears.
5. As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot or avatar?
Cat Dragon!!! I love cats. Cats are awesome. Cats are my favorite … but I write fantasy, so I also am really into dragons. Dragons are awesome. Dragons are my favorite.
How can I choose?
Answer, I don't choose. I combine them into one majestic creature with the awesome of both. I choose CAT DRAGON!
6. What’s the best way to market your books?
Get a cat. Cats rule the internet. The internet loves cats. I can post some deep, thoughtful, inspired post and get a few likes. Or I can take a picture of my cat sitting on my keyboard refusing to let me type and post that for sympathy and EVERYONE likes that. If they don't, they're heartless. People who don't like cats worry me.
7. What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?
Falling in love with them. I try to imagine most of them look a little like my husband, at least during kissing scenes. It makes it easier. This is also why most of my guy characters tend to be really really tall. (Matt's 6'5'')
8. How do you select the names of your characters?
I'm so bad about this. I've been known to look around the room, pick an object and go “Chair... Chaira … Chara … Charita … sure, that sounds like a name.”
I've also done that, “Hey, I need to name a minor character. First person to comment under this post, I'll name them after you” on my social media a few times. I did a giveaway for the MCs name in Beggar Magic (she's named after the daughter of someone who followed my blog and won the right to name the character).
But that's just most of the time.
Other times it comes to me. Who knows from where and I'm like, “Yes, that one.”
Other times I have a meaning I really want to get across (I have a character named Jericho who is named that because he likes to build walls around himself. It just suits him).
9. Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
I snark at them … in my head. I know better than to reply to reviews, but I kind of pretend I'm at a comedy roast and there's some heckler in the crowd and I'm like, “That's the best you got? My six-year-old has better insults.”
Good ones are nice. Sometimes they make me very happy, but I try not to get too caught up in what people say about my books. I write for a core group of readers at this point, and how they interact with my books means more than reviews.
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| Heidi and Me |
The Green Princess Trilogy - Book 1
Dragon's Curse - Book 1
Dragon's Debt - Book 2
Steampunk Fiction
Steampunk Fiction
Apocalyptic Fiction
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My Latest Book Reviews:
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Welcome to my weekend blog hop -
Make My Saturday Sweet #280
Make My Saturday Sweet is a weekend blog hop for all family friendly blogs. You are welcome to link your favorite post from the past week(s) and to visit the last link before yours and leave a sweet comment. It's a really easy and fun way to make new friends and to catch up on old acquaintances.
Now on to my blog hop...
It's time for another Make My Saturday Sweet blog hop!
Join me (your host) for this fun and easy hop.
All family friendly blogs are welcome!
I would love for you to follow me on
Here are the easy rules:
- Follow Tina (your host) on one or more links listed above.
- Link up a post from your family friendly blog.
- Please try to add my hop button on your post or side-bar.
- Share about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.
- Visit the last link before yours and leave a sweet comment.
Blog Button Code:
Weekend Linky
How to use the linky widget:
Visit my Blog Hops page to see
what link-ups I take part in.
How to use the linky widget:
Type in the name of your blog or blog post under Link Title, then type in your email under Email Address (which I don't sell to anyone), then copy your permalink to your post (most link parties ask for blog posts and not blog homepages) and paste that under URL (make sure that you use http:// or https:// only once), then click Submit Link and that's it!
Visit my Blog Hops page to see
what link-ups I take part in.
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