Welcome, Romance Lovers! Award-winning Romance author Teri Thackston is joining me this morning!

   Available now from Cerridwen Press

Welcome Romance Lovers!

I'm talking today with award-winning author Teri Thackston. Teri just won the coveted EPPIE  Award for 2009 for the best eBook Paranormal/Fantasy Romance! Congratulations, Teri! Teri writes suspense/romance for Cerridwen Press, and I am thrilled that she has joined us today.

Tell us a little about yourself, Teri.

I’m married to my high school sweetheart, have two great kids, two great dogs and a truly blessed life. I’ve been telling stories since I could string two sentences together and I hope to keep telling them for many years more.

Congratulations on your success as an author. How many books do you have in print now? Which is your favorite?

I have two books in print and six in ebook format (the six includes the two in print also). My favorite? That’s tough but I do love paranormal so I’ll say Final Words. It’s about a medical examiner that discovers she can communicate with the spirits of the dead who come to her autopsy table. They tell her how they really died and then she has to prove it. It’s spooky and suspenseful and sexy, and I have to say I’m particularly proud of the title (grin).

What does your writing schedule look like? Are you a morning writer? A night owl?

Schedule? What’s that? Actually I make myself a schedule every night and then toss it by the next mid-morning when it becomes obvious I can’t stick to it. Lately I’ve been writing in 30 to 90 minute bursts throughout the day, with breaks in between to run errands, answer email, exercise (okay…sometimes) or work on my own Examiner column.

You mentioned that you, too, do an Examiner.com column! Can you give us your URL so that everyone can check it out?

You bet!

http://www.examiner.com/x-3098-Houston-Romance-Novels-Examiner

Do you have a day job? How do you balance the two?

I have worked full time for all of my adult life, but was recently layed off. When I was working, I actually found it easier to squeeze in writing time after work and on weekends than I do now that I’m off the job. While working, time seemed more precious and therefore writing time took on a powerful priority. Staying home, I find myself constantly faced with all the stuff I want to do around the house…it’s very distracting.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

Never give up. I came really close a few years ago and am so glad that I didn’t listen to that evil little voice in my head that tried to tell me success would never happen. Enjoy every little success and appreciate any rejections…they both pave the path.

What is your next project?

I am currently working on another romantic suspense. The first draft is almost done, but the villain is being difficult…he won’t even tell me who he is.

Do you have any writing rituals? Like special music, times of the day, food quirks, etc?

Only one ritual: I let myself play one game of Freecell and one game of Spider solitaire before I write each day. As for music, I find it distracting to the mood I’m trying to write. Oddly, though, I can write with the TV on with very little problem.

Today, writers need not only write great books, but be great promoters of their books, too. What kinds of things do you do?

I belong to several online social groups and loops that allow promotional activities—and through which I’ve made some amazing friends. I’ve had magnets printed and created excerpt booklets to send to RWA conferences and workshops. I’ve done a few book signings and I bribe (beg?) friends and family to tell everyone they know about my books. I’ve never been comfortable talking about myself and for many years I didn’t tell anyone but immediate family that I wrote. Now I’m learning to network and promote and blow my own horn. It’s tough but I’m actually learning to enjoy it.

Now, here is the totally off-writing subject question. What’s the coolest, wackiest, most risk-taking thing you’ve ever done?

The most risk-taking thing I ever did was picking up a hitchhiker once when I was about 20 years old. I honestly thought I recognized him as a friend of my family who often hitchhiked in the area. It wasn’t until he had the door of the car open and one foot inside that I realized it wasn’t him! I actually took my foot off the brake, intending to drive off. But as the car started to roll forward, he almost fell. Afraid I might run him over if he slipped under the car, I hit the brake again. My heart was pounding so hard when he dropped into the seat. Thank God I was getting off the road at the next exit and before he could really say much of anything, I was pulling over into a busy parking lot. Believe me, I got a royal chewing out from my dad and my husband and I have never done anything like that again.

You have a special book you want to mention, I hope! Tell us about it. How about a blurb and maybe an excerpt?

Certainly! Glad you asked...

Blurb:

Final Words (EPPIE Winner 2009!)
by Teri Thackston
Cerridwen Press

A hit-and-run driver kills Emma St. Clair. When an emergency team brings her back to life, the young medical examiner learns she can communicate with the dead. Using her ability to solve murders, she hides her dubious gift to avoid being labeled emotionally disturbed and removed from her job.

Detective Jason MacKenzie lost a friend in the accident that critically injured Emma. With his sister's year-old hit-and-run death still unsolved, Jason vows to bring this deadly driver to justice. When Emma solves cases with information she shouldn't know, he focuses his investigation on the beautiful coroner. But his investigation quickly becomes attraction.

Discovering a killer at work in Clear Harbor, Emma puts her own life at risk to identify him, using her new skills. Learning that another detective was one of the killer's victims, she enlists Jason's help. But can she keep him from discovering her secret? Or will her ability to talk to ghosts prove deadly…in love and life?

Excerpt:

“Here now.”

Emma’s eyes popped open. Feminine and faint, the voice shimmied up her spine.

“I wanted to watch that hospital show,” the voice went on. “I always watch that hospital show on Monday night.”

Looking up, Emma saw a woman standing in the shadows near the cooler room door. Her features were difficult to make out in the dimness, so Emma lifted her face shield. It didn’t help.

“Jaime wanted to watch that silly game. ‘Here now,’ I said to him, ‘I watch my hospital show on Monday night’.” The woman’s voice quivered with age. She sounded Hispanic.

Emma narrowed her eyes, taking in the woman’s white cotton housedress and slippers. This isn’t one of the new technicians, she realized.

The woman gestured toward the body. “Jaime did this.”

Shaking off her surprise, Emma moved forward. “Ma’am, you can’t be in here.”

“I had to tell you about Jaime. My brother. He shot me and ran out the back.”

Tiny hairs on Emma’s arms prickled beneath the sleeves of her lab coat. She stopped near the middle autopsy station and studied the other woman’s form again. Small and slight, the figure seemed almost a part of the shadows and, somehow, not quite right. Emma wished that Skitch would return.

“Ma’am, you really have to leave,” she said.

“Here now, young lady.” The woman’s voice shook again, as if she couldn’t quite catch her breath. “I had to tell you what my brother did.”

Emma’s gaze ran over the shadowed form. “You said your brother shot you. Are you hurt? Shall I have someone take you to a hospital?”

“I’m getting tired but I do not hurt, Dr. St. Clair.”

Emma caught her breath. “You know my name?”

The woman stepped forward at last, into the pale light.

Bile welled in the back of Emma’s throat. That face. The woman’s face, lined with age and as dry and pale as paper, stared at her with dark eyes.

Emma jerked around and looked at the body on the table.

“You’re…” Words wedged their way past the bile in Emma’s throat. “You’re her.”

When Emma turned back, the space in front of the cooler room door was empty. The woman had vanished.

Wow! Thanks for the excerpt! Where can we buy this book?

Jasmine-Jade/Cerridwen Press 

Thanks so much for being here today, Teri! I was a pleasure talking with you.

Teri Thackston's website:
http://www.terithackston.com/

Coming Up Next...An interview with Romance authors Mary Ann Stephens...aka April Ash!  See you tomorrow!