Author Spotlight and giveaway with Margaret West



K.S. - Hello and welcome to the blog. I am very excited to have you here. Why don’t we start off with a small introduction? Tell us a little about yourself. 

Margaret  - Hi Katie. Thank you for having me today. I was born in London, England, and moved to the Kent countryside five years ago to get away from the busy life and pollution of city living. I’m married with two grown up children and I’ve worked in various fields of work. I’ve found my niche now. I’m a working  Clairknowing medium, Crystal Therapist, Parapsychologist and Psychic Development tutor.
I’ve been writing over 20 years and have numerous short stories, novels and articles published

K.S. - Any interesting writing quirks or stories you would like to share with my readers?

Margaret  - I’ve got a quirk that only my husband knows about lol When I write a characters dialogue I tend to jump up and become that character, saying their lines out a loud. My husband thinks I’m mad, but sometimes you just have to do the bizarre, before everything else makes sense.



K.S. -  When did you realize you wanted to be a writer? What sparked the desire to pen your first novel?

Margaret - When I started working for Eon |productions. I was fascinated by the scriptwriters and the way they sat around a big table scribbling down scenes and arguing them out. My first novel was born working for them.


K.S. -  What genre do you write?

Margaret  - I write romance and paranormals. Incorporating my spiritual experiences, into my  books where I can.

K.S.  - What would you say has inspired you most in your writing career? Or, who is your favorite author and why?

Margaret  - I know Catherine Cookson is considered ‘old hat’ but I can’t deny her books really did inspire me. The way she brought her characters to life was fascinating. You really did bond with them as you read the book. I wanted to write like that. I wanted my readers to ‘like’ my characters – see them as real people, even though they are fictional.

K.S. -  What does your family think of your writing?

Margaret - My son and daughter have no clue what I write, they just know I do LOL My husband insists on buying my books, wrapping them up and sorting them away. He says one day I’ll be famous and the books will be worth a fortune. I’m still waiting for that day!!

K.S. -  What was one of the most surprising things you learned while creating your book?

Margaret  - How it really does take over your life. When I’m not writing, I’m still with the characters. Thinking about what they can do next, scenes or what they are wearing. I get quite caught up with it sometimes.

K.S. -  What inspired you to write your novel?

Margaret - My new release The Heart of a Warrior came around by a bizarre chain of circumstances. I was writing about the Native Americans as a whole. A nonfiction story about the tribes that are now lost forever, due to circumstance and disease. Then one day the book took a whole new slant. I suddenly thought, I could get all this information out about them in a romance novel and highlight at the same time, how cultural differences that can come in-between love and romance.

K.S. - Can you tell us a little about your novel?


Margaret  - Yuma is the last of his ancestral line. He is the chief of a reservation closing to the world. and needs to have children to carry on his title of chief. When he falls in love with Belinda, fresh from the UK and no idea about reservation life, his life takes on a dramatic turn. He begins to question the traditions and culture he has lived for all his life.

Excerpt
Yuma stood for a moment and watched in disbelief as his people’s
precious saleable goods, flew out of the door and into the dirt. When a
pile of new winter blankets landed in a heap at his feet, his temper
finally boiled over. He walked to the doorway and stood, arms crossed
over his chest. She would not throw anything else out if he could help it.
“Who’s in here?” he barked into the semi darkened room.
A pretty, red face with a button nose and pouting lips peeked out
from behind a cardboard box and frowned. “Can I help you?”
“You can. By leaving now,” Yuma replied.
Belinda frowned. “What…why?”
Yuma’s eyes narrowed in anger. “What do you think you’re doing?”
He saw a flicker of impatience cross the woman’s hazel eyes, flecked
with gold, as she stared at him. That fuelled his anger even more. What
right did she have to feel irritated?
Belinda stood up and walked from behind a tall box. “Isn’t it obvious
what I’m doing?”
“Well I can see you’re touching things which don’t belong to you,” he
barked. “I demand you leave immediately.”
Belinda’s eyebrows shot up indignantly. She placed her hands onto
her slender hips and with legs apart, stood and faced Yuma like a
gunslinger waiting for him to draw. “What do you mean, you demand?
I’m not going anywhere,” she said defiantly. “I don’t know who you are,
but I’d appreciate it if you’d go away and take your bad manners with
you.”




K.S. -  Where can we find your novel?

Margaret  - You can buy my novels here. Amazon
 http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=two+faces+One+Life+by+Margaret+west&x=12&y=24
Eternal Press.  http://www.eternalpress.biz/people.php?author=318



K.S. -  Do you have a website, fan site, or Blog that we can visit?


Margaret  - Find me at
 www.margaret-west.com

Writers Blog. http://Margaret-paranormalromanceauthor.blogspot.com/  Where I am currently doing a virtual book tour.

Spiritual Blog.  http://magsx.blogspot.com/  That gives lots of information on the spirit side of life that I’ve just discovered paranormal authors love to browse for information for their books lol

Facebook    Margaret west

Twitter   mwest1962

K.S.  Do you have any closing advice to aspiring writers?


Margaret  - You know, it’s hard being a writer! When you’re new it’s very easy to be crushed by someone’s harsh criticism of your work. You need to develop a thick skin. So that’s my advice. Grow that thick skin, BEFORE you submit your work anywhere.

And now for the part you've all been waiting for!








THE BOOK GIVEAWAY!


Margaret has made available ONE a free copy of her ebook, Two faces One Life . A coffee break short story!

All you have to do is leave a comment, indicating you want to enter, and your email address.

Only one entry per person.

Margaret will pick one lucky winner (at random) from the comment section.
If you do not wish to leave an email address, please make sure you are signed in to your blogger profile so we have some way to contact you.)


Winner will be announced no later than Monday.

Good Luck!

This Author is a part of an ongoing Blog tour, please check this link for the Authors schedule and future stops.

A Message from ASA!

For everyone that leaves a comment with each author on an ASA tour,  they will be entered into a drawing to win a $25 Visa Gift Card (I have 2), book light (I have several to give away),  A free of charge virtual book tour,  and one writing package which includes a journal,  pen,  book light,  and book marker. Plus when they leave a comment they are entered to win a copy of the author's book.

Prizes are generally awarded at the end of each authors tour. Please check the link above and stay tuned for any award announcements connected with ASA tours. 

13 comments:

Cate Masters said...

Great interview, ladies! Margaret, I don't think that's a quirk at all. Hearing dialogue out loud lets you determine whether it's realistic or not. Many advise reading your work aloud to hear the cadence of the words, so you're a step ahead! Congrats on your release, and wishing you much success.

Unknown said...

Ooops. I think I posted in the wrong place. just chalk it up to a Lorrie goof. Read the message on the next posting.
I love that you take on the persona of the characters,Margaret. Fab cover. It's in by TBR pile. Good luck with more sales.

Kelly A. Harmon said...

Fabulous interview! And I agree with Cate: when you say the dialogue aloud you'll know if it's going to work or not, if it sounds right for those characters. Good luck!

Unknown said...

Margaret, I truly enjoyed your interview, but would love to know more about your "clairvoyant" side. I also love the excerpt from your book. If you are interested in having me review it for you at Examiner.com, please contact me. I think this is one people would love. Sounds like I would, anyhow. :)

Margaret West said...

Thanks Ginger, I'd be honoured for you to review my book. We can have a chat about my 'other' job too.

I'm glad that I'm not totally bonkers then. You see, only a writer can understand what I'm doing without wanting to call in the white coat brigade!!

Heather said...

Loved the interview Margaret. I have a similar quirk; so that I may better describe a scene I will act out my character's movements (such as hand gestures). I started doing that a couple of years back and it really helped my ability to describe things.

Good luck and many sales!

Walking Tiger said...

Great interview, Mags & Katie. I desperately need a "quirk" to help me write more.

Yolanda Sfetsos said...

Hi Margaret! Cool interview. I think writers have a lot of 'quirks', so don't think of yours as strange. :)

Anonymous said...

Awesome interview, Katie and Margaret. Good to see CCers supporting each other. Remember to thumb your nose at non-CCers, now!
;) (kidding)

Margaret West said...

lol you're a nutter, Scot...but It's a thought. I'll have to do a blog one day on writers quirks and get you all to participate.
Thanks everyone. I wish you luck in the draw.

Angela Ackerman said...

Great interview, Mags! Glad to see some many CCer pals here!

nikki said...

Interesting interview, I smiled when I read about your quirk.

Unknown said...

Hey ladies,
wonderful interview. The cover is really eye catching. Thanks for this opportunity!

-Leilani
leilani@leilanilovesbooks.com

About The Author

Katie Salidas is a USA Today bestselling author and RONE award winner known for her unique genre-blending style.

Since 2010 she's penned five bestselling book series: the Immortalis, Olde Town Pack, Little Werewolf, Chronicles of the Uprising, and the all-new Agents of A.S.S.E.T. series. As her not-so-secret alter ego, Rozlyn Sparks, she is a USA Today bestselling author of romance with a naughty side.

In her spare time Katie also produces and hosts a YouTube talk show; Spilling Ink. She also has a regular column on First Comics News where she explores writing from a nerdy perspective.