What a great way to kick off the Labor Day weekend! I have a very special guest on my blog today who is not only a great friend but one of the most talented storytellers I know—
Erin Quinn! You may recognize her as a past guest, you may know her from her wonderful new book,
Haunting Beauty or you may be discovering her for the first time. Any which way you ended up here… doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you’re in for a treat, because Erin is answering some fun questions and she’s giving away a copy of either
Echoes or
Whispers, two amazing books written as Erin Grady. The random winner will get to choose—and you won’t regret either selection!
A little bit about Erin:Erin Quinn is just the average girl next door in Gilbert, Arizona where she lives with her husband, two daughters and three dogs (all of whom have made debuts in her stories--the dogs, that is, not the husband and kids.) In
Haunting Beauty, Danni Smith's little dog is based on Erin's devoted mutt who lies at her feet every morning when she writes.
Check out Erin’s
website to learn more about her books--and Bean, the "devoted mutt!"
Calista: Welcome, Erin! Thanks for joining us this Labor Day weekend!
Erin: Hi Calista! Thank you so much for having me as a guest on your site. Since you’re one of my favoritest people in the world, I’m thrilled to be here.
CF: Aw, shucks! We do know how to shake things up when we get together, don't we! (Thinking of that Harlequin party in DC at the Ritz Carlton that turned into a late-night dance-fest!) The last time you were here, readers went wild over what was then your upcoming release,
Haunting Beauty, which is now available in all major bookstores and of course online at B&N and Amazon. Congrats on the new book! How does it feel to be writing under a different name? (Erin’s three previous releases,
Web of Smoke,
Echoes and
Whispers were written as Erin Grady.)
EQ: I think I’m finally getting used to the new name. I had a year to prepare and ease into it and during that time I used both names. If you add my married name into the mix I was actually using three. It got to a point where I didn’t even know who I was anymore so I finally had to put a stop to the madness and just go with Erin Quinn. Funny story, recently a local magazine did a feature on me and they got their facts mixed up. They said I now write under my married name, Erin Quinn. My husband—who is so not Irish—gave me this look that made me snort my coffee.
CF: I've met your husband, so I'm pretty sure I know the look he gave you! You’ve had quite a big year thus far. All kinds of great things are happening in your writing world, including two more releases in the
Haunting series, and a feature in the September issue of
RT Bookreviews magazine, with a beautiful cover that showcases your book! (And hey, thanks for noting my book,
Object of Desire, as one of your 5 last books read!) Can you give us a sneak peek at what’s to come as the
Haunting series unfolds? Just a little something to whet our appetites!
EQ: Next up is Rory’s story,
Haunting Warrior. When I was writing
Haunting Beauty, I fell in love with Sean Ballagh,
Haunting Beauty’s hero, and I really had a hard time getting over him. But Rory soon started filling my head and before I knew it, he had my heart.
Rory is at once a very cynical and very, very vulnerable man. He experienced some serious trauma as a kid and it changed him from normal and well adjusted into something hard and distrustful. When he gets in trouble as a teen and is sent to live with his aunt in California, he turns his back on Ireland, his family, and past. He doesn’t go home until he’s a man and he’s called—both physically and figuratively—by a woman he sees in a dream. He gets more than a trip home, though. Rory is about to journey to a realm beyond his wildest imagination.
Lured by the woman to the castle ruins where his father disappeared when he was a child, Rory is plunged back in time, and into the body of another man—a man betrothed to the very woman Rory has followed. In possession of the secrets of his past, his family, and his identity, her hold on Rory is inescapable. She is his doom. His salvation. And his destiny.
Following
Haunting Warrior, will be one more book in the series (possibly two—that’s still up in the air). I’m working on
Haunting Grace right now and I’m loving how it’s coming together. Once again, I will be bending time all over the place and, perhaps because I personally never have enough time, that excites the hell out of me. :-)
CF: Wonderful! Now, having had the privilege of reading
Haunting Beauty before it was even published, I was thrilled to hear that you were going to give Rory his own story! I can't wait to read these next two books!! (Hint, hint!)
Now for something fun... I know you have a tremendous amount of “real-life” responsibilities—beautiful and talented teenaged daughters; a hard-working, traveling husband; a challenging job; family, friends, pets; local RWA chapter commitments; etc. So if Erin Quinn were to be handed $3,000 and offered a 48-hour “stay of execution” from all things responsible, what would you do?
EQ: Oh, that is such a hard question! 48 hours and 3 grand . . . No big trips, not enough time. No quitting the job, not enough money . . . My philanthropic side wants me to say donate it, but I’m managing to squash that. I think I would take the hubby and girls and check into a nice resort (girls get their own room and budget) and do the massage, the nails, the hair. Probably two massages. Dine out, room service in. Sleep. I never get enough sleep. Sigh. I can picture myself on a lounger, romance novel in hand, Mai Tai an easy reach away . . . husband off golfing, kids doing their teenager thing on the other side of the pool. Solitude. Peace. Laptop at home. Surrounded by beauty, by the ones I love—but not having to do the mommy thing because my girls have been raised right and know that room service is not a luxury to be ignored, lol—and some serenity. I am in desperate need of some serenity.
When do I leave?
CF: Now that sounds like a fantastic impromput getaway! Can I come?? LOL
Okay... Multiple question time!
1) How would you prefer to spend a sweltering Phoenix summer day?
a. Curled up on the sofa, reading a book while your hunky hubs fans you with a large leaf (or feather… hmm…) and serves you fruit, cheese and wine (or empanadas, taquitos and rum and diet coke… whatever, it’s your fantasy! Though it’s making me hungry…)
b. Hanging poolside with misters on, while your hubs, playing Cabana Boy, serves you refreshing cocktails, spritzes you with cool water, salsa dances to Marc Anthony and promises a full-body massage after the sun sets
c. Hiking Camelback Mountain as so many love to do, even in 116-degree heat (FYI—this would put you in the clinically insane category… just sayin’)
d. Writing in a quiet, inspiring place without a single interruption for, like, six whole hours!
EQ: Cripes! You ask some tough questions. Okay, have to level the table with an assumption: Assuming I’m on track with my current work in progress. Right now I’m a little burned out from the pressure of the last two years, and I’m finding it hard to reconnect with my inner writer. This makes it difficult to relax while I write, and so that doesn’t sound like fun to me right now. Since you used the word PREFER, I’ll have to take
A.
2) If you could only see one movie this summer, which one would you choose?
a. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
b. Angels and Demons
c. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
d. Julie and Julia
e. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
f. G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra
EQ: Dang, you’re killing me, girl. Normally it would be a no brainer for the romance, but my daughter saw Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and said she wanted to shoot herself it was so bad. I guess next would be Harry Potter. I love movies though and it would be torture to only see one all summer. For the record, I’ve seen all but A, D, and F. :-) Erin ranking, Harry Potter was FAB—better than the last one. Angels and Demons was really good. MUCH better than DaVinci. Transformers—gotta love that cutie Shia LaBeouf, but couldn’t compare to the first one.
CF: Thanks for the movie reviews, Erin!! Always a blast to have you "stop by!"
Readers--If you want to be entered to win one of Erin’s books (either
Echoes or
Whispers--and I promise you, you want one of these!!--just leave a comment or ask Erin a question of your own! We’ll select a winner in a couple of weeks, so there’s plenty of time to enter!!
Thanks for hanging with us today, Erin! Congrats on the new book and here’s wishing you mega sales!
Best,
Calista
