Romance author Q&A: new novelist Sara Humphreys

First-time author find Sara Taney Humphreys’ paranormal romance novel, The Amoveo Legacy, was released on May 15, 2009.  As a special thanks and tribute to service men and women, she is running a Military Wives ONLY Contest.  Get the details on her website http://www.novelromance.net/site/?page_id=68:.   Here’s the teaser for The Amoveo Legacy:
What if everything you knew turned out to be a lie?  You find out that you aren’t even human—at least not entirely. What if, one day, you realize your world will never be the same again? These are the questions that Samantha Logan must face in The Amoveo Legacy.  A dream on her thirtieth birthday compels her to leave her artists loft in New York City and move back to the beach with her Grandmother, Nonie.  However, the instant Samantha steps foot on the salty shores of her childhood home, she realizes the landscape has changed.
The moment she encounters the mysterious, arrogant neighbor Malcolm Drew, her life is never the same. Through a seductive courtship, he introduces her to the magical mystical world of the Amoveo. The dream walking, telepathic, shape shifters that he claims are her true heritage.  However, Malcolm holds back a secret that could destroy them both. Will he be able to protect Samantha and convince her of the secret legacy buried deep inside of her?
 

Q:  Congratulations on publishing your first novel!  That’s an exciting event. Talk about the *First Sale* experience.  How long had you been writing and how many novels had you written before getting published? 

A:  Actually, The Amoveo Legacy is the first novel I’ve written. I came up with the idea for the series a few years ago and last year I finally sat down and began to write.  To be honest, when I started submitting query letters the manuscript wasn’t even finished. Everything I had read about publishing told me that it could be months before I’d hear anything. Well before I knew it I was getting requests for the partial manuscript and not long after requests for the full manuscript. It was wild! I love the publisher I am with and definitely made the right decision to go with them. A small publisher like Devine Destinies tends to be very author friendly.

Q:  I understand that you are running a contest for Military Wives Only as a thank you to service members and their families.  Please tell me what inspired this contest and some of the details.

A:  I've recently been working closely with various Military and Veteran organizations for my day job and had the privilege of meeting some of the families first hand. I  thought  it would be nice to do a contest that was just for the women behind the scenes. I think these ladies sacrifice a great deal and don’t get the recognition they deserve. I think this contest might be a nice way to shine a light on them.

Q:  What other genres have you written and what would you consider writing in the future besides paranormal romance?  What else are you working on and what do you have coming up for publication?

A:  Currently I’m writing Book 2: An Amoveo Heart and have the story lines in development for Books 3 & 4. I am also working on a Vampire series. It’s kind of a Sex in the City but with vampire chicks. I don’t have that contracted yet because Book 1 is still being written. LOL!

Q:  What made you choose to write paranormal romance—besides that you love to read it?  Did you always want to write novels?

A:  I guess I’ve always had a very fertile imagination. I was an actress originally and then after marriage and 4 boys….my creativity needed an outlet. Daydreams from my teen years definitely have impacted what I’m writing.

Q:  Have you had any good reviews and sales success with The Amoveo Legacy  that you’d like to share?
 
A:  I’ve been really lucky to have readers post reviews right on Devine Destinies site. My book has only been out for 10 days, so I’m pretty happy to have such positive feedback so quickly. Here’s a sample of what they said.

"This story is captivating from the very start and so good you can’t put it down. You fall in love with the characters and every woman would love to have a Malcolm in their love life! There are stories out there that you know exactly who the evil one is and this had a very surprising twist. I look forward to reading the upcoming books within the series!"—S. Petersen

Q:  Who is your favorite romance author?  Who’s your favorite non-romance author, if any?  What books are you reading these days?

A:  My favorite romance author? Hmmm…that’s definitely a toss up. I adore both Lori Handeland and Christine Feehan. They are hands down my favorites! My favorite Non-Romance would be any cookbook. I am the worst cook ever! I’ll take all the help I can get.  As for reading these days, sadly I’m not doing much. Between my regular job, my boys, hubby, writing and marketing….there’s barely time for sleep!

Q:  If you were going to write a non-fiction book, what would the title be? (this is my novelist’s version of the Barbara Walters’ special question of “If you were a tree what kind would you be?”)

A:  It would be my auto-biography about having 4 sons and a husband.  An Island of Estrogen in a Sea of Testosterone: My Life Among Men and Boys

Q:  Please tell me your favorite “when I was doing research for this novel you wouldn’t believe what I did/what happened” story:

A:  Well I did write much of this novel up at our family beach house in Westerly, RI. This book takes place entirely in Westerly. I went to Paddy’s one day and did some serious people watching. I should mention, Paddy’s is a great beach side restaurant with a mixed bag clientele. They’ve got the preppy set and the head bangers all in one spot.  Whenever you’re doing real people watching, you run the risk of looking like a stalker. I definitely looked stalker-esque that day!
Q:  What makes your stories unique compared to other paranormal romances out there—and there’s lots of them?
A:  This series is not just built off of old paranormal lore. My goal was to create an entirely unique race with their own history, challenges and gifts. I’m hoping that when people read this, they’ll be introduced to an entirely new species. Amoveo, the name of their race, means “to shift” or “to change” in Latin. I wanted something of their story rooted in reality, so the language of their people is Latin.
Q:  How long, on average, does it take you to write a novel and how long are your novels?  

A:  It takes me about 3 months to really write it and edit it. The story development takes me longer than the actual writing. Editing is the most arduous and least fun process. Each of the novels will range between 70,000 to 90,000 words.

Q:  Describe a typical day while you’re writing on deadline or working on a novel. 

A:  I write mostly at night when the house is quiet. However, if I’m on deadline for edits I take my laptop to Borders and hibernate in the coffee shop for hours at a time.

Q:  Tell me about your day job and whether you plan to write full time any time soon? 

A:  I have my job as Director of High School and Community Relations at The College of Westchester.  It’s tons of fun! Being able to make my living as a full time writer would be ideal. However, just like acting, there are very few writers that can make a real living doing it full time.

Q:  I know you were once an actress—has that helped you as a writer, and if so how?  Would you ever go back to acting?

A:  I love acting. I miss it quite a bit. To be very honest, if I didn’t need to have an income I’d be pursuing it full time along with my writing. I think my background as an actress has given me a unique insight into human behavior and my mind can slip easily into another “character”.
 

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