Interview with Debra Anastasia & Giveaway

August 25, 2014 04:17 PM Posted by juliannadouglas

If you've been following my blog, then you'll know that I chose Debra Anastasia's Poughkeepsie as my first Book of the Month pick a couple of weeks ago. (If you haven't, you can still read my Book of the Month write-up on it and my review of the book.) Well, word of this got back to Debra via social media. As it turns out, she's a generous person who is very supportive of both her fans and her fellow indie authors. After exchanging a few pleasantries online, I was very excited when she agreed to an interview for my blog. Debra also offered to do a giveaway for an eBook set of Poughkeepsie and Return to Poughkeepsie, the first two books in her Poughkeepsie Brotherhood series. I hope you enjoy my Q & A with this very talented author. Scroll to the bottom to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway.

Since it's release in Nov. 2011, Poughkeepsie has become incredibly popular with romance readers. Were you surprised when it became a runaway hit? I’m always surprised when someone spends time with my words. It’s an amazing gift to get from someone, to be allowed to play in their imagination. I love that Poughkeepsie now belongs to the people that have read it. They find a part of themselves in it and that is very valid.

Which one of the six main Poughkeepsie characters is most like you and why?

I think I’m a little like all the girls. They are a mix of various sides of me, then enhanced for entertainment value! I can be nice, I have a filthy mouth (or keyboard) and a temper. Poughkeepsie in particular is a very personal world. A lot of my actual real life events wound up in there.

I adore Blake, in part, because he's such a unique character to the romance genre. What inspired you to write a hero who's homeless and delusional? I wanted girls to have a hero that would (hopefully) make them swoon even if he didn’t have a lot of material goods to give them. I wanted a hero that celebrated the regular guys that are so worth our time. The kind you can find in your everyday. So, I took Blake to extremes. He had nothing at all, except his love to offer. And the delusion represents the things we have to fight for with love.

Blake is also an incredibly talented pianist. Do you play any musical instruments?

No! I’m lucky I can turn on the radio. My husband can play a few instruments and had a band with his brother, but I sucked at everything musical. I tried learning piano when I was a kid and once the teacher took the numbers off the keyboard, I could do nothing.

As a psychology geek, I can't help wondering what inspired you to make Livia a psychology student. Do you have any background in psychology?

My degree is in Political Science, but I’ve always been interested in psychology. I feel like psychology is fascinating. Observation combined with common sense appeals to me.

For you, what's the most fulfilling thing about being a writer? Showing my children that even crazy dreams can come true if you work really hard, and that the right path opens itself to you. I also adore my readers. I feel like I have friends all over the world because we have the connection of Poughkeepsie together. What's the most challenging thing you've done as a writer? Sitting down to write that first scene as fiction had to be the hardest. Not knowing

how it would be received, how people would react to knowing what was going on inside my head—that was flat out scary.

What do your family and friends think of your writing?

Now, everyone is used to it. I have a very supportive family and extended family. My friends tease me and support me. I’m very fortunate.

When you aren't writing, what do you like to do for fun? I like interacting with readers, bloggers and other authors for fun! It’s a really great group of people in the book game right now. I like reading a lot as well. I knit and make my own swag, too. If you could trade places with a romance novel heroine for a day, who would it be and why? Bella from Twilight for just a little bit. I think it would be amazing to feel that teenage/paranormal experience.

If you could bring any romance novel hero to life, who would it be and why? I would bring Satan Jack from my own book (Crushed Seraphim) to life! I’ve never had a character as demanding as him. He was supposed to be a side character and a villain and he just insisted on romancing the angel in the story. It made me laugh and I’d like to see him in vivid color. This question is inspired by The Players Club, a favorite romance series of mine: If you knew you had

only one month to live and had virtually unlimited resources, what three things would you want to do?

All three things would be about my family. Probably scoop up all my loved ones, put them on a Disney Cruise and sail the world. Is that three? I think it could be.

What are you currently working on? I’m working on editing Saving Poughkeepsie (the third and last book in the series) and writing The Revenger (it’s a superhero novel where the hero is actually a heroine.) Since books are my favorite things in the world, I can never end an interview without asking: What is your favorite book and why? That’s such a tough question; I think I would have to say A Time to Kill by John Grisham. The literary twist in that one really showed me the power of words.

Thank you for taking the time to do this interview, Debra. It's been a delight having you. Good luck with all your projects. I wish you all the best!:-)

Thank you so much for talking to me!

Connect with Debra via Social Media

Buy Debra's Books

Giveaway

For a chance to win an eBook set of Poughkeepsie and Return to Poughkeepsie, the first two books in Debra's Poughkeepsie Brotherhood series just enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Categories: Giveaways, Interviews

Tags: Debra Anastasia, Poughkeepsie