Julie, I am so excited to have you on my blog today! I’m looking forward to getting to know a little more about you. For the first question, what is the first book that made you cry?
I can’t remember the first book that made me cry but the one book that makes me cry every single time without fail is Me Before You. I relate to the character of Lou Clark in many ways and the way the author writes the emotions always get to me.
That book makes me cry too. And the movie. What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?
I’m friends with several authors but two of the ones I chat and discuss my work or their work with all the time are A.R. Ford, Sally Dawes and Annie Jones. A. R. Ford helps me tremendously with reading my stories before anyone else does and offering me advice on how to word things better or on editing and plot holes. She’s probably my closest writing friend. She writes darker stuff than I do but I really love it. Sally and Annie are both English authors like myself, so we all read and review each others books as we all enjoy each other’s styles and we want to help each other as much as we can.
What does literary success look like to you?
Literary success to me is knowing that I make other people happy with my stories. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.
That’s a great goal! With that in mind, do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
Yes. I read all book reviews that are left for me. For the most part, I get good reviews and they make me feel really happy that other people are enjoying the stories that I write. I have received a bad review to one book and at first, it really hurt because the person dissected exactly what they didn’t like about it. Consequently, I felt miserable for a couple of days but then I pulled myself out of my funk and remembered that not everybody is going to like my stories and that I shouldn’t let it get to me. So now, I don’t.
I can definitely relate. Sometimes you just have to allow yourself to be sad for a bit before moving on. But it’s the good reviews that you should concentrate on the most! Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
Yes. There is a small piece of information about myself in every book that I write. I find it better to talk about certain things when you draw from your own experiences so I write about my own experiences at certain points in the stories. And yes, that includes the latest paranormal story 🙂
Do you believe in writer’s block?
Yes, very much! Although I find I get writer’s block pretty much depending on my attention span. If I start thinking about another story idea whilst I’m writing one down, then I find it hard to continue with the one I’m writing until I’ve written some of the new idea down.
This is me to a T. I have to block all new creative juices until I’m finished with a project. Julie, thanks for being a guest on my blog! It was great to get to know a little bit more about you and your writing. Good luck with your latest release, Immortal Dawn!
Blurb
Amiria isn’t like every other vampire. One fateful night, she discovers her true heritage which sets in motion a life of hiding and fear. A friend protects her from afar as she navigates her new world until she stumbles upon the man she was destined to be with. Will Amiria let him help her? And when the King of the Vampires captures her, who will survive?
Excerpt
I yanked the bathroom door open and strode out purposefully, bumping straight into Amy. Our bodies collided and I heard an ‘oomph’ escape her lips as she stumbled backwards at the impact. I grabbed her arms and held her steady as she regained her balance.
“I’m so sorry Amy! I didn’t see you. Are you alright?” I asked her in a rush, giving her a once over to ensure I hadn’t hurt her. It took me a moment to notice that she had frozen where she was stood, her mouth hanging slightly open. When I did, I stopped fussing over her and bit back a grin. She was staring at me, although ogling would perhaps be the better word for it. Ogling at my exposed chest that still held droplets of water in various places. I watched as her gaze darkened when her eyes travelled slowly over my body. Perhaps she wasn’t immune to me after all. She didn’t move, seemingly entranced by the sight of me. I cleared my throat after several minutes, wondering what she might say when she realised what she had been doing but instead of speaking, she lifted her gaze to my face and closed the space between us in one stride. She placed her hands on either side of my face and pulled me down, planting her lips on mine in a frenzied, passionate kiss. I felt it like electricity, the charge racing through my veins as the bond surged to life at contact with my other half. I kissed her back hard as the heat flared to life inside of me but all too soon, it was over. She gasped and thrust herself backwards, placing a hand against her chest as she stared at me in wide eyed panic.
“I’m so sorry! I don’t know what came over me!” she squeaked out. Without waiting for me to say anything she turned on her heel and ran into her room, slamming the door closed behind her.
I gaped at the door she had just disappeared behind in puzzled amusement. She was still fighting the bond but it would seem she wasn’t totally immune to it and for that, I was glad. It meant there was hope.
I lifted my hand to my lips, relishing in the tingling sensation left there by the phenomenal kiss we’d shared.
Sydney Winward 
Great interview! Best of luck with Immortal Dawn!
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