Interview & Giveaway with Ashley Robertson

Hi Ashley, Welcome back to Anna's Book Blog! It's great having you here again. To start off can you tell the readers a little about yourself? I live in sunny Orlando, Florida with my husband, stepson, and three fury children (2 labs and a cat) and I love reading and writing about everything urban fantasy and paranormal romance. When I'm not writing you'll find me spending time with family and friends, training in my home gym, horseback riding, traveling and exploring new places, drinking medium to full-bodied red wines, and making gourmet coffees with my Nespresso machine. Visit my website to learn about my upcoming releases, guest blog posts, and featured giveaways at: AshleyRobertsonBooks.com

UnGuarded is your latest release. Can you tell us a little about it? Hey Anna, I’m thrilled to be back on your amazing blog and would absolutely love to tell you about my new mature YA/urban fantasy/paranormal romance UnGuarded. Guardian angel Selene was so close to becoming an archangel—the supreme of all beings—until she fell in love with Cole, a forbidden dark one. Once she discovers her vampire lover has been kidnapped and the only way to save him is by abandoning her number one priority—Caitlyn, her human charge—there really is only one answer in Selene’s mind, even though leaving Caitlyn unguarded will most likely cause Selene to fall from grace.

 But her choice to save Cole doesn’t come without a price…and now Selene is racing against time to not only save her dark lover, but find a way to keep Caitlyn alive as well.

With the help of a new vampire ally, Luke, Selene will push her diminishing angel abilities to the point where her very existence lies in the balance. Now threatened with the chance of becoming a fallen angel or even dying, Selene can only pray she’ll have enough time—and good grace—to save the ones she loves.

When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

Just before I hit my teens, I started writing poems and songs—of course at the time they were a bit “bubblegum,” but once I got into high school they transformed into my poetic personal diary, exposing my accomplishments and struggles, the highest and lowest moments of my life, and the words would just flow from my mind, my hand barely able to write them down fast enough. My senior year was when I became obsessed with my English class, reveling in every essay I had to write, and my teacher also had us keep a daily journal, some of which I turned into very brief short stories. That’s when I started coming up with some fictional ideas for novellas, and thankfully I was able to save some of them—keep in mind, computers weren’t so popular in 1996. In the midst of my college years, I became a real-estate sales agent and put my writing on hold (hey, I had to go where the money was at the time since I was taking care of myself) but fast-forward thirteen years of working 24/7 as a realtor to when my husband finally gave me an opportunity of a lifetime: walk away from real estate and be more available for my family, and do something else that I’ve always wanted to do—write urban fantasy/paranormal novels!

What is your writing day like? 

The best time for me to write is between 10 am and 5 pm. Before 10 am is my gym time and after 5 pm is my family time, though some evenings I’m able to steal a little extra time to write. I’m about a thousand-words-a-day kind of author, so whenever I’m extra creative and get more written, it’s time to celebrate.

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

Anything and everything urban fantasy and paranormal romance (both YA and adult).

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

Aside from my laptop, I need my eyeglasses since I can’t read a thing without them, though I don’t need them for anything else—yet. I always need a drink (club soda, smart water, coffee, or unsweetened green tea). And my two dogs are always lying nearby; whether I’m working in the dining room, family room, or out by the pool, my labs are always shadowing my every move.

How did you come up with your idea for UnGuarded? Anything particular inspire you while writing? 

This is actually hilarious to some of my friends. I’d already started Crimson Rain, the sequel to Crimson Groves (book #2 of The Crimson Series), and one day I was taking a long, hot shower, feeling somewhat aggravated with the flow of the book, and all of a sudden Selene—my guardian angel protagonist—pops up in my mind and she is screaming at me to forget about Crimson Rain and tell her story. And she was pretty darn pushy about it. So once I was out of the shower and dressed, I rushed to my computer and the first chapter flowed on my screen as easily as the water flowing from my shower. But now that UnGuarded is done, I’m back on Crimson Rain and it’s coming along very nicely now—I’ve even included the unedited chapter one at the back of UnGuarded for an added bonus to the book, but the content is subject to change once my editor gets his hands on it.

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

Due out in the winter of 2013, Crimson Rain will pick up right where we left Abby and her quest to learn more about the sorceress powers that were awakened inside her when she was turned into a vampire—making her a whole new hybrid species. There’s a group of rogue vamps banding together and forming a Resistance against the vampire governing body, The Head Council, and Abby’s newly discovered powers are the key to the Council’s victory. Now the Resistance will do anything possible to remove the hybrid threat, and with no other options, Abby is forced to rely on the aid of the Council, yet can she trust the very vampires that hunt for her human lover? And even worse, can she fight the unwelcomed attraction that’s growing between her and one of those ancient vampire rulers?

UnGuarded

By Ashley Robertson

Guardian angel Selene was so close to becoming an archangel—the supreme of all beings—until she fell in love with Cole, a forbidden dark one. Once she discovers her vampire lover has been kidnapped and the only way to save him is by abandoning her number one priority—Caitlyn, her human charge—there really is only one answer in Selene’s mind, even though leaving Caitlyn unguarded will most likely cause Selene to fall from grace.

But her choice to save Cole doesn’t come without a price…and now Selene is racing against time to not only save her dark lover, but find a way to keep Caitlyn alive as well.

With the help of a new vampire ally, Luke, Selene will push her diminishing angel abilities to the point where her very existence lies in the balance. Now threatened with the chance of becoming a fallen angel or even dying, Selene can only pray she’ll have enough time—and good grace—to save the ones she loves.

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GIVEAWAY:

Thanks to Ashley I have 2 digital copies of UnGuarded to giveaway. To enter leave a comment along with your email address. Open to everyone (Int'l too). The winners will be announced on July 11th. Good Luck!