Author Interview: Margaret West

Romance Author Margaret West joins us
today at the Book Boost to discuss her novel
The Heart of a Warrior!

TBB: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

MW: When I completed and published my first book. I think all the little short stories, columns and modules I’d written still didn’t establish me , in my mind, as a writer. I had to do the biggy. Write a book and get it published.

TBB: How did you come up with the title for this book?

The Heart of a Warrior started off an information book about the culture of American natives. However, it changed when a colleague pointed out that facts would be met with a keener eye, if it were put into a storyline. It was that day the book became a romance, but with a difference. It isn’t sweet, it isn’t easy - it’s a reality that’s based on very real obstacles in a lot of different cultures. In this story we delve into Yuma’s Native American traditions as he opens his heart and soul to the reader. He’s a chief, a warrior, who fights for his people politically and emotionally. From his struggle, The Heart of a Warrior, title was born.

TBB: Tell us a little more about the story.

MW: The Heart of a Warrior is a love story, plain and simple. But this love comes at a high price. Yuma, a Native American Chief will soon close his reservation to the outside world. But he has fallen in love with Belinda, a nurse from the UK. Neither have a clue about each others worlds, yet they come together in an explosion of emotion that rocks traditions and beliefs that Yuma's lived by all his life. What happens when two worlds collide? Can cultural differences really be overcome? ? Some romances are sweet, some bittersweet. The Heart of a Warrior is a mixture of the two and will leave you sitting on the edge of your seat with every turn of the page.

TBB: Sounds like an amazing story. What was your first reaction when you found out that you were going to be published?

MW: Now here’s the story. I was in the kitchen mashing potatoes when my daughter (who was 11 at the time) brought me the phone and said there was a lady on the phone with a funny accent. I stuck the phone on my shoulder and began talking as I mashed. When I heard a voice saying she was from a publisher in America, and she loved my book and wanted to take it on, I was so shocked that the phone slid from my shoulder into the sauce pan. I quickly fished it out and had to put the phone, caked in hot potato, to my ear to hear what she was saying. It was the best blister I’d ever earned!!! My ear was red for a week, but my smile remained in place for months.

TBB: Oh, my! That is funny and terrible at the same time. Your poor ear!

TBB: What are your other current projects?

MW: I have a paranormal romance that I’m just editing and a darker paranormal I’m getting ready to submit.

TBB: What do you like to do when you're not writing?

MW: I’m a crystal Therapist, Psychic Development tutor, Angel Therapist and working medium. When I’m not teaching, I work in church giving spiritual messages. Sometimes I’d like time just to breathe.

TBB: That is so fascinating. We'd love to have you back at the Boost to discuss this more one day! I've always been very intrigued by mediums! Hope you'll come back and tell us more about your amazing gifts.

TBB: How can our readers find you on the internet?

MW: I have a writers blog that anyone can be a guest on located at:

http://margaret-paranormalromanceauthor.blogspot.com/

My spiritual blog, where I have all things paranormal is located at:

http://magsx.blogspot.com/

My Website: www.margaret-west.com

TBB: I think you can bet on folks checking out all of the above. I know I'll be checking out your paranormal blog!

Margaret, thanks for joining us and we will see you back here at the Boost on May 20th for a Guest Blog & even more information on your wonderful book.

In the meantime, I'll leave the readers with a few more details about this amazing book!

Want to watch the trailer? Click here.

Want to pick up your copy today? Click here.

True Lies starring Kerri Nelson: A Blog Award & Contest!

Click on the Award to see my nomination!

This week I (Kerri Nelson) was nominated via my Book Boost Blog for the much sought after Creative Writer Blogger Award (hehehe). Thanks (I think) to the utterly smashing Nicole Hadaway for the nomination!

So, this is one complicated award because it requires me to complete several tasks as well as nominate 7 other lucky (poor souls) bloggers to carry on the award with pride! Please stay tuned for my nominations at the bottom of this blog post.

Basically, I'm required to tell you 7 things about myself. They can consist of either 6 outrageous truths and 1 outrageous lie. Or 6 outrageous lies and 1 outrageous truth. Which way I choose to go is for me to know and you to find out!

In fact, I double dog dare you to try and figure out which are true and which are lies! For the first person who gets it correct (post your idea here in the comments section), I will award a personally autographed copy of my new release Cross Check My Heart and your choice of 1 autographed book from any of the following authors (all of whom I will be co-attending an author event with on May 15th!) Here's the list of authors to choose from:

Sabrah Agee
Beverly Barton
Kay Cornelius
Shannon Dauphin
Debra Glass
Lynn Raye Harris
Laura Hayden
Pamela Hearon
Linda Howard
Linda Winstead Jones
Kimberly Lang
Janice Lynn
Kate Lyon
Tanya Michaels
Tanya Michna
Trish Milburn
Tricia Mills
Kerri Nelson
Rhonda Nelson
Christy Reece
Ramona Richards
Naima Simone
Kira Sinclair
Lyn Stone
Vicki Lewis Thompson
Debra Webb
Peggy Webb

If no one gets it correct, then I get to keep all the autographed books for myself (hehehe) but I will still draw one random winner from all the participants for an autographed copy of my book. The contest will run from today until next Friday (May 14th) when I will post the correct answers and announce the winner. So, get your response in no later than midnight (Central time) on Thursday May 13th to be eligible for the prize(s)!

Whew! Complicated stuff. Now, on to my True Lies...

1. I once locked lips with a famous musician.

2. I once spent the night with a famous actor.

3. I once was the personal chef to a high ranking military officer.

4. I once broke my butt.

5. I once dated a guy just because he had the same name as a celebrity.

6. I once gave my underwear to a complete stranger.

7. I once shook hands with a leprechaun.

There's my list. Let the guessing begin. And to quote my fave primal Slayer "You think you know what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun." In other words, just when you think you know someone...

Now to pass the torch on to 7 wonderful people that I know and love (xoxo) here are my nominations:

1. Rebecca Lynn (a hardworker, dear sweet person, and my newest BFF)
2. C.J. Ellisson (a motivated new author, an inspiration to others, and someone you want on your team)
3. Denise Alicea (a generous person, my guardian angel, and a blessing to authors near and far)
4. Emma Lai (a wonderful Mommy, a loving friend, and a talented author)
5. Sarah Templeton (a Book Boost Blog supporter, a pal from FF&P, and an up and coming author)
6. Nicole Zoltack (a fabulous historical author, a friend for the long run, and a Celtic sister)
7. Sandra Cox (my personal fave YA author, best buddy around, and a blogger extraordinaire)

I'm off to notify these nominees (unsuspecting victims) of their awards! TGIF, ya'll. :-)

The Most Read Books in the World with Guest Blogger: Berengaria Brown

The Most Read Books in the World...Did Yours Make the List?

James Chapman at A Passion for Writing has compiled this list of the 10 Most Read Books In The World.

He begins by saying it took a lot of research to establish exactly which are the most read books in the world because just selling the most books doesn’t actually mean they have been read.

Some of the books on his list were pretty easy to guess. Others came right out of left field—or at least to me they did.

His list?

#10. The Diary of Anne Frank (27 million copies). Yes, I guessed that one.

#9. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill (30 million copies).

#8. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (33 million). I guessed that one too.

#7. Twilight - The Saga by Stephenie Meyer (43 Million). Pretty easy to guess.

#6. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (57 million). Foregone conclusion.

#5. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (65 million). No, wasn’t expecting that.

#4. Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (103 million). Oh yes, I was waiting for that one.

#3. Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling (400 million). The only surprise here is that it wasn’t #2.

#2. Quotations from the Works of Mao Tse-tung by Mao Tse-tung (820 million) Caught me by surprise, but given the population of China, it probably shouldn’t have.

#1. The Bible (3.9. billion). I knew this one. But the differences in number of copies sold between #1, #2 and #3 says a lot, I think.

Some of the books I thought might have made it into the top #10 and didn’t were:

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë

Catch-22, by Joseph Heller

Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë

Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll

Animal Farm, by George Orwell

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

Personally, I don’t have favorite books, I have favorite authors. And because I like to read pretty much anything and everything, the list changes depending on what sort of reading phase I am in at the time.

My all-time favorite author is Georgette Heyer, who gave me an enduring love for historical fiction, but I have to thank Jaid Black for introducing me to erotic romance.

What about you? Which books would you have expected to see on that list? And what is your favorite book or author?

Note from The Book Boost: Thanks to Berengaria for joining us today and giving us food for thought. I have to say that the list surprised me as well. Can't believe some of the ones that beat out Anne Frank! Gasp! Shudder!

Now, let's take a moment to check out Berengaria's book...




Now available from Siren BookStrand! Just click the cover above to pick up your copy today!

Blurb:

Amos, Wesley and Keziah have been bed partners for a while. Amos and Wesley want Keziah to move in with them and become a permanent partner but she has refused, wanting to be independent. Then she stands up for her friend and loses her job.

Amos and Wesley convince her to move in with them and plan to fuck her insensible to make her want to stay. To that end they have sex on the kitchen table using food for titillation, in Amos's office, and in the gymnasium hot tub as well as in bed.

But chaos erupts at the company Board meeting as Amos's incompetent father tries to use the ménage as a weapon to take control of the company from Amos, so Keziah decides the only solution is for her to leave.

And the ghost has his own agenda…

Check out the book trailer by clicking here!

Want more Berengaria?

Enjoy a FREE read at her blog: http://berengariasblog.blogspot.com/