Interview & Giveaway with Anita Clenney

Hi Anita, Welcome to Anna's Book Blog! I'm glad to have you here. To start off can you tell the readers a little about yourself?

AC: I live in Virginia, not far from DC. I’ve always loved reading, even as a kid. I’m a bit obsessive about things I love. I’m crazy over diamonds, and I just have this fetish for mirrors. I don’t look into them but at them. They’re my artwork. And I love trees. A tree can just put anyone in a better mood.

Awaken the Highland Warrior is your newest release, can you tells us a little about it and the series?

AC: This story was so much fun. It started with a dream. A very scary dream, but the story, while loaded with demons and warriors, castles and swords, isn’t really dark. There’s romance, adventure, suspense, and humor. The attraction between Faelan and Bree is instantaneous, and for a good reason, but so is the frustration, because they’re from vastly different cultures. Faelan can’t fathom a female being so bold and rash. The woman attracts danger like a bloody magnet. And she won’t let him protect her; he, a renowned warrior since before she was born. If he could drive that bloody thing she called a car, he’d toss her over his shoulder and get her away from her house before the demon who locked him up comes looking for him.

Bree feels something for Faelan that goes way beyond attraction, frighteningly so, but on the other hand she’s ready to stick him back in the time vault if he doesn’t stop with this over protective nonsense. It’s not the 19th century, for God’s sake, and he’s treating her like a child. Women are tough and independent. But after she finds out what has this big, bad warrior so worried, she’s glad to have all that muscle close by. And she’d give her pinkie toe to get her hands on that talisman hanging around his neck.

What is your writing day like?

AC: I don’t have a particular schedule, although I wish I did. Sometimes day turns into night and night into day. For instance, last week! I was still exhausted from a weekend signing with Nora Roberts, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Kristan Higgins, and a bunch of other authors (check out my blog post all about it http://casablancaauthors.blogspot.com/2011/05/fairytale-booksigning-with-nora-roberts.html), so I was moving slow. I had so much work waiting for me. I tried to catch up, but then I had a softball game for my daughter, which meant I was up until four am finishing my work. Actually, I didn’t finish. I crawled into bed IN MY JEANS, and started again the next morning. After the kids went to school, I had to take a nap. My ideal schedule is get in bed early, get up and start writing, get the kids off to school, write until noon, handle promotion until the kids come home. But it never works like that.

When you’re not writing what kind of books do you like to read?

AC: I’m a huge Diana Gabaldon and Kristan Higgins fan. I love romance, humor, and mysteries, and if the story has a little eerie paranormal stuff happening, even better.

When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

AC: About five and a half years ago after a long frenzy of reading I decided that I wanted to write my own book. I had no idea what I was getting into, but I loved writing so much it was too late for me to back out. I worked hard, learned, make mistakes, and learned some more, and here I am.

What are 3 things that are "must haves" for you when you sit down to write a book?

AC: Basically, just my computer, my keyboard, and my fingers. It doesn’t hurt to have a Diet Coke or Pepsi nearby. And I always have a notebook to jot down quick thoughts I don’t want to lose. I keep a digital voice recorder at hand, but I don’t use it as often.

What type of research did you do for the book/series?

AC: Since the story is set in modern times, it didn’t require as much research as if it had been historical, but I had to make sure that Faelan’s “past” was accurate. I ran into one issue with the word virus. Originally, I had Faelan use the word but actually viruses weren’t discovered until after Faelan’s time. According to my world, the demons created AND NAMED viruses, so it was okay, but the copy writer, my editor, and I decided it would be simpler if Faelan called it a disease instead of virus. That way I didn’t have to add a note to the reader explaining my logic.

If you could give your lead characters one piece of advice, what would it be?

AC: Faelan needs to let go of some of the responsibility he’s been shouldering since he was a child. He had something very tragic happen early in his life. Bree needs to accept herself for who she is. She’s extremely bright, but quirky, and as Faelan notes, her feet have a mind of their own and they’re good at finding holes. She needs to realize that some of the things that made her feel different are there for a reason. An earth-stopping reason.

Since becoming published, what has been your favorite part of the process?

AC: As mentioned before, I had the opportunity to do a book signing with Nora Roberts, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Kristan Higgins and several other wonderful authors at Turn the Page Bookstore which belongs to Nora Roberts’ husband. It was part of the Washington Romance Writers Spring Retreat. I didn’t expect to sell many copies, not with those fabulous writers there, but how could I not go? Not only was it a success, but I sold out. That was a glorious moment.

If you can, tell us what is up next for you?

AC: I’ve finished Embrace the Highland Warrior, which comes out in November. Now I’m working on the third book in the series, Unleash the Highland Warrior. Here are blurbs for both:


Embrace the Highland Warrior
When the powerful demon that left Shay for dead discovers her empty grave, he comes seeking retribution, believing she possesses an ancient book he has sought for centuries. Knowing she can’t fight the demon alone, Shay returns to her clan and the Scottish Warrior who betrayed her…the only man she’s ever loved, where she discovers that betrayal isn’t always what it seems. Sometimes it’s far worse.

Unleash the Highland Warrior
A talisman belonging to Tavis Connor’s brother is the only weapon powerful enough to kill the demon hell-bent on stealing the clan’s Book of Battles so he can destroy the world. But the talisman has been locked in a time vault with Tavis’s brother and won’t open for 150 years. In desperation, the Scottish warrior breaks the clan’s sacred rules and uses another time vault to travel forward so he can protect the book and rescue his brother, or if he’s dead, finish his quest. But when Tavis finally wakes in modern-day New York, he discovers he’s the one in need of help. Anna MacKinley has been searching for her clan’s Book of Battles which has been missing for 150 years, but instead she finds a warrior with no memories who claims he’s come to save the world.

AWAKEN THE HIGHLAND WARRIOR 

BY ANITA CLENNEY

A Man From Another Time…
Faelan is from an ancient clan of Scottish Highland warrior, charged with shielding humanity from demonic forces. Betrayed and locked in a time vault, he has been sleeping for nearly two centuries when spunky historian Bree Kirkland inadvertently wakes him. She’s more fearsome than the demon trying to kill him, and if he’s not careful, she’ll uncover the secrets his clan has bled and died to protect…

Could Be the Treasure She’s Been Seeking All her Life…
When Bree inherits an old treasure map, she discovers a warrior buried in her backyard. But the warrior isn’t dead. Bree shocks Faelan with her modern dress and her boldness, and he infuriates Bree every time he tries to protect her.

With demons suddenly on the move, Bree discovers that Faelan’s duty as protector is in his blood, and that her part in this fight was destined before she was born. But nothing is ever what it seems…

Where to Buy:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Borders | The Book Despository

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anita Clenney writes paranormal rormance and romantic suspense. Before giving herself over to the writing bug, she worked in a pickle factory, at a preschool, booked shows for Aztec Fire Dancers, and was a secretary, executive assistant, and a realtor. She lives with her husband and two children in suburban Virginia where she is working on her next book, Embrace the Highland Warrior, which will be in stores in November 2011. For more information, please visit http://www.anitaclenney.com and http://www.sourcebookscasablanca.com.

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GIVEAWAY:

Thanks to Sourcebooks I have 2 copies of Awaken the Highland Warrior to giveaway. To enter leave a comment along with your email address. Open to U.S. & Canada. The winners will be announced on May14th. Good Luck!