Today we have Shona Husk, author of the paranormal romance series The Shadowlands. She also has a a new ebook Dark Vow, releasing February 18, 2013 from Carina Press. I love the sound of this one! But being the dork that I am, I thought Shona was touring for the final book in her Shadowlands series, For the Love of a Goblin Warrior so I asked questions about that series...
*sigh, blogger fail* Sorry Shona!
*sigh, blogger fail* Sorry Shona!
This is the beauty I was suppose to talk about and the one you can win
But in my defense, The Shadowland series is a beautifully dark fairytale that urban fantasy and paranormal romance fans will enjoy. Based on Shona's writing of The Shadowland trilogy, Dark Vow is sure to be worth the read. I now have it on my list of must reads and you can win an ecopy today!
Sharon: Welcome to I Smell Sheep. I am a big fan of your Shadowlands trilogy. I reviewed all three over at Love Romance Passion. For those who aren't familiar with the books could you tell us a little about it as a whole?
Shona: Thank you, I’m so glad you enjoyed the Shadowlands series :)
The Shadowlands series is about six cursed Celtic warriors. Banished to the Shadowlands they struggle to survive and break the curse. Each of the books follows one man and how he regains his humanity. There are three books, as some of the men died before the first story, The Goblin King. Sharon: When you approached your agent and said I have a PNR about Goblins, did she think you had hit your head?
Shona: I didn’t have an agent when I sold The Goblin King, but I’m pretty sure a few editors read my submission and thought that (and a few agents too) judging from the rejections I received :)
Sharon: How many rejections did you get before someone wised up and realized what fabulous writer you were and the beauty of the story?
Shona: Let’s just say I was getting ready to shelve the project and move on. By the time The Goblin King sold my novella’s had also started selling. For me The Goblin King will always be special as it was my first novel to sell, my first print deal and my first multi book deal.
Sharon: Your stories put more emphasis on the characters internal and emotional conflicts and how it affects their relationships than the external conflicts like most PNR. Is this just your natural story telling style or did you make a conscience effort to do this?
Shona: I’d actually never noticed that before, so it must be my natural style. I guess for me not everything has to be about saving the world. The smaller more personal conflicts are what make the characters interesting and relatable. How they grow when faced with adversity is interesting. By the end of the book they shouldn’t be the same people—and if they saved the world along the way, then yay!
Sharon: Ever been up close and personal with a Great White?
Shona: No!
Sharon: If a viral zombie apocalypse started in Australia, would you understand if the rest of the world quarantined your continent?
Shona: Er…I think I had a similar conversation with Larissa Ione at RT where she told me she destroyed Australia in her books. I guess that would be okay, however from TV and movies I *know* that everything happens in the US or London (Doctor Who) so I think Oz is safe.
Sharon: oh… good point.
Sharon: Which Greek god would you like to date and which Greek goddess would you like as your BFF?
Sharon: you cross stitch? I use too, but I couldn’t read and do it.
Shona: I cross stitch while I watch TV (which drives hubby crazy as he can’t understand how I can do both at the same time). The black and white mermaid I finished about 2 years ago (I haven’t had her framed yet, it’s on my to-do list for February). The Thai dancer is my current project. I think I’ve been working on it for six months—I don’t want much TV so it takes me a very long time to finish a project.
Sharon: Now that you are done with your goblins, you appear to be moving onto the Fae with Outcast Prince. The title reminds me of the Shadowlands series, are they set in the same world? How does the harsh and dark world of the Shadowlands compare to the Court of Annwyn world?
Shona: The Outcast Prince is set in a whole new world. I love building new worlds :). Where the Shadowlands is bleak and harsh the fairy Court of Annwyn is beautiful...but beneath the beauty is a corrupt heart. There’s power struggles, deals, forbidden love, black mail, schemes, magic and trickery…the usual kind of things one expects from fairies. There is a lot more interaction between Annwyn and our world than there was with the Shadowlands and the heroes are beautiful like all fairies.
Sharon: you had me at corrupt heart and forbidden love is my favorite troupe!
Shona: I was a checkout chick at a cheap clothing store.
Sharon: got any funny stories?
Shona: The endless folding of beige granny knickers (yeah the Bridget Jones ones) probably doesn't count. It was back in the days where credit cards were manually swiped and pay-packets were still yellow envelopes handed out one a week.
Sharon: Which of the 7 deadly sins have you committed most recently?
Shona: Which haven’t I committed? Lust and gluttony would be my favorites.
Rapid Fire:
Sharon: Surfing or sailing?
Shona: Sailing
Sharon: Sunshine on my shoulder or Rain Drops Keep falling on my head?
Shona: Rain
Sharon: Sweet or salty?
Shona: Sweet
Sharon: got a favorite sweet treat?
Shona: I love lemon tart and brownies—not together.
Sharon: King Kong or Godzilla?
Shona: King Kong
Sharon: Oranges or bananas?
Shona: Oranges
Sharon: The Prince or the Blacksmith?
Shona: Ooh that’s a tough one. Depends on the day.
Sharon: go ahead… take both ;)
Shona: I will ;)
Sharon: Basket of Puggles or Basket of Chicks?
Shona: Puggle the dog or puggle the baby echidna? Maybe chicks are the easy answer.
Sharon: the baby echidna! Chicks are only cute for a few days then they turn into chickens <G>.
Babbin from the Perth Zoo |
Shona: T-shirt
Sharon: Boat ride or plane ride?
Shona: Boat ride
Sharon: anything you would like to add… appearances, upcoming releases, where I might be able to find a Goblin of my own…
Shona: I’ll be at the ARR convention in Brisbane, Australia in March, and also at the Romance Writers of Australia conference in Fremantle Western Australia in August. All my news can be found in my monthly newsletter or you can find me on facebook
Sharon: Thanks again for your time! And I can’t wait to read Outcast Prince, I have a slight fae infatuation <G>
Jaines Cord plans to kill the man who murdered her husband, even though killing a Bounty Hunter is said to be impossible. One bullet took away her livelihood, her home and her love. One bullet made by her. Fired from the gun she completed for the Arcane Bounty Hunter.
Obsidian wears the scars of disobeying the powerful Arcane Union. He barely escaped with his life and now lives quietly, in a town the lawmen forgot. When Jaines arrives asking too many questions, he's faced with a decision. Help her or run...again. Obsidian knows that if he flees he'll always be looking over his shoulder. His name is one of the first on the Bounty Hunter's death list.
Yet when Obsidian is offered an opportunity to stop the stone taking over his body in exchange for retrieving the gun, he asks Jaines for her help. Now Jaines must choose: a dead man's vengeance or a living man's hope?
About the Author:
website-fb-blog-newletterObsidian wears the scars of disobeying the powerful Arcane Union. He barely escaped with his life and now lives quietly, in a town the lawmen forgot. When Jaines arrives asking too many questions, he's faced with a decision. Help her or run...again. Obsidian knows that if he flees he'll always be looking over his shoulder. His name is one of the first on the Bounty Hunter's death list.
Yet when Obsidian is offered an opportunity to stop the stone taking over his body in exchange for retrieving the gun, he asks Jaines for her help. Now Jaines must choose: a dead man's vengeance or a living man's hope?
About the Author:
Shona Husk lives in Western Australia at the edge of the Indian Ocean. Blessed with a lively imagination she spent most of her childhood making up stories. As an adult she discovered romance novels and hasn't looked back. Drawing on history and myth, she weaves new worlds and writes heroes who aren't afraid to get hurt while falling in love.
With stories ranging from sensual to scorching, she is published with Ellora's Cave, Samhain Publishing, Carina Press and Sourcebooks. She is represented by the Ruben Agency.
He kind of does :).
ReplyDeleteYes I can see an inkling of him in thispic !! greatgiveaway !!
ReplyDelete;)kat
A bit....Thanks for sharing the great post ;)
ReplyDeleteYes. Yes he does. "He looks like Dean Winchester" was the first thing I thought of when I saw the cover and I bought the book without asking any further questions! Thank you for the fun interview and the giveaway!
ReplyDeletethank you! that is what I thought too!
Delete:) I've heard that alot about The Goblin King cover.
DeleteI little bit!
ReplyDeleteKassandra
sionedkla@gmail.com
Yes, he does. I can't wait to get started with her books. She's a new author for me. Awesome interview :)
ReplyDeletelorih824 at yahoo dot com
Yes he does, but I don't think Dean would willingly pose for them.
ReplyDeleteHe does!
ReplyDeleteLOL yes he does! I've been wanting to try Shona's books out. They do look pretty good! Fantastic interview as usual Sharon :) It's always nice to start out the day with a chuckle!
ReplyDeleteThank ya!
~Anna
I loved The Shadowland Series....I can't wait to start this new series. Thanks for the giveaway and congrats on the new book!
ReplyDeleteHe does!
kcnrhtx (at) charter (dot) net
I'm so glad. It was a fun series to write :)
DeleteThanks for the giveaway! She is a new to me author and I would love to try one of her books.
ReplyDeletestrive4bst(At) yahoo(Dot) com
Totally!!! Thanks for the giveaway!!
ReplyDeletekandj7299 at verizon dot net
I think the guy on the cover looks just like Zachary Quinto (from Heroes). This sounds like a fantastic story and I'm looking forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteI think he does kind of.
ReplyDeleteI love Supernatural and I think you are right!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the fun post and congrats to Shona on her new release! Ummm... don't shoot but I don't know who that is... *ducks*
ReplyDeleteThe goblin price can kiss me any day...just sayin ;)
ReplyDeleteer prince*
DeleteDai in Kiss of the Goblin Prince was a very tortured hero, he really deserved his HEA.
DeleteHi Sharon,
ReplyDeleteI don’t mind talking about any of my books :)
The guy on the cover of The Goblin King is model Paul Marron I believe (he’s been on a lot of covers).
I’m not sure who the other guys are, but I have been very blessed when it comes to covers ;)
Oh! he is a biggie. thanks for stopping by to say hello to everyone.
DeleteThanks for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteUmm, yeah, kinda.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway.
I was talking about the cover of The Goblin King, that cover looks like Dean Winchester. The guy on Dark Vow doesn't look like him at all! he just looks like dinner... and desert ;)
ReplyDeleteI have no idea who Dean is, but LOVE these covers. Dinner...Desert...hmmm...YUM ;)
ReplyDeleteSharon, thank you so much for hosting! This was great!!! Shona, you are a "new to me" author and I look forward to reading your work. Your covers are very eye catching and the synopsis I have read above have me ready to read now. Thank you for sharing and happy writing!!
ReplyDeleterana.adams@verizon.net
ohmahgosh, you´re right! >.< Just like Dean..
ReplyDeleteLove this and can´t wait for my chance to read,
Thanks for the giveaway & Happy Friday!
//Linda
fr_larsson at hotmail dot com
You pegged it. sdylion(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteGreat interview ladies, I loved it. That little beastie, is that some kind of hedgehog? That tongue is disturbing.
ReplyDeletekind of does
ReplyDeleteI think he looks more like Zachary Quinto (the young Spock)in the new Star Trek movies. Either way the cover is delightful :)
ReplyDeleteThe guy on the cover is gorgeous! Enjoyed the interview very much. Thanks for the contest.
ReplyDelete