Monday 9 January 2012

Author Spotlight - Q&A with Stephanie Burkhart


Question: I don't know much about "Twilight Over Moldavia." What's it about?

Steph: "Twilight Over Moldavia" is a paranormal romance set in the 1880's in Romania. Prince Stefan is cursed to become a werewolf on his 18th birthday. He learns this just as he's getting engaged to Caroline. She must make a choice to go ahead with the engagement or not. Timon, the werewolf who cursed him, hunts Stefan throughout the Romanian principalities, determined to claim Stefan for his pack.

Question: How long did it take you to write?

Steph: I wrote the first draft in 2005 and it was very different from this version. I put the draft aside and focused on other projects. From 2006-2009, I started a 2nd and 3rd draft, but didn't settle upon this draft until last summer. It took about eight weeks to write this version.

Question: Where did the inspiration for the story come from?

Steph: I love supernatural creatures, but decided I'd focus on werewolves instead of vampires because the basic premise of the wolf has a living, breathing man behind the beast. I wanted to focus on how the wolf struggles to retain his humanity. For me, witches are a natural fit for the wolf, an organic companion. Witches also have struggles, like learning to fit into the human world.

For "Twilight Over Moldavia" the premise was simple. I wanted to write a fairytale in reverse where the princess had to save the prince. The plot and characters grew from that.

Question: How did you come up with the title, "Twilight Over Moldavia?"

Steph: For Stefan's principality, Moldavia, it's truly twilight when the promise of the nation, the crown prince, is cursed to become a werewolf. By using "twilight" in the title, I hope to provide a small amount of hope that Stefan can be saved and find "happily ever after."

Question: How much research did you do?


Steph: Tons! I researched werewolf myths, witches, Romania, Romanian customs, Orthodoxy, Romanian names, Transylvania, Wallachia, Dracula, the Black Sea, and Bran Castle just to name a few.

Question: Tell us a little about the heroine, Caroline. What are her strengths?

Steph: When the story opens, Caroline has just been name the Crown Princess of Carpathia. She did not expect to have the title since she was her parents' second daughter, but her older sister, Edwina, died in a riding accident.

Caroline knows her own mind. She's the best horsewoman in Carpathia and she's skilled in archery, very non-princess traits her dancing is passable and her embroidery is abysmal. She knows she disappoints her mother, yet it's her understanding of duty that her father teaches her which drives her choices. Caroline hopes that ultimately she can make her mother proud of her.

Question: How did Stefan come to be cursed?

Steph: For that, you'll have to read "The Wolf's Torment," book 1 in the series.

Question: Do you have to read "The Wolf's Torment" before reading "Twilight Over Moldavia?"

Steph: No. I believe "Twilight Over Moldavia" can stand alone, but "The Wolf's Torment" will help the reader better understand how Stefan came to be cursed.

Question: Do you have an ebook reader?

Steph: I have a Kindle 2nd generation and a Kindle Fire. I love them both.

Question: Did you make any new year's resolutions?

Steph: To lose weight. I'm back at Weight Watchers and joined the weight loss challenge at work. If you want to follow my journey, I'm blogging about my experiences every Saturday on my blog, "Romance Under The Moonlight."

BLURB: Would you marry a man cursed to become a werewolf?

4 Stars, Vijaya Schartz, author
In this novel full of danger and intrigue, sexy scenes, and unspeakable secrets, the werewolves are the villains, and oh how dangerous they are, and unwashed, and uncivilized. The kind of villains you love to hate.

5 Stars, Mona Risk, Author "No More Lies"
Burkhart's writing style grabs the reader from the first page. She keeps you breathless with her suspense as she transports you to exotic areas you will enjoy discovering.

Barbara Hodges, Author, "The Blue Flame"
Twilight Over Moldavia whisked me into a part of the world I knew nothing about, and gave me a wonderful love story filled with suspense too. What more could a reader desire? I will be reading the first book in this series and will be looking for the third, I can’t hardly wait.


BOOK TRAILER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSAhxv0lTIM

BUY LINKS:

ALL ROMANCE EBOOKS:
http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-moldavianmoonbooktwotwilightovermoldavia-667833-139.html

AMAZON KINDLE:
http://www.amazon.com/Moldavian-Moon-Book-Two-ebook/dp/B006RQ7LU8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325479348&sr=8-1

PUBLISHER'S BUY LINK:
http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-247/Moldavian-Moon-Book-Two/Detail.bok

WEBSITE:
http://www.stephanieburkhart.com

TWITTER:
http://twitter.com/StephBurkhart

FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephanie-Burkhart-Author/149938795021166

GOOD READS:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart

6 comments:

  1. Steph, interesting thought about the werewolf being a living man while vampires are not. You know I'm not a paranormal buff, but I do find it intriguing as to why others are. ;-)

    Nice interview.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for popping in. Yeah, I think I watched too much Creature Double Feature as a young girl.

    I agree - I think it's more interesting to explore a living beast than the undead, but I've been mulling around a vampire story in my head with a twist, but that may have to wait for next year.

    Smiles
    Steph

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  3. Steph,
    It sounds intriguing and it sounds as if you really enjoyed doing the research. Best of luck here's wishing you many sales.

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  4. I love that you chose Romania for the setting--so mysterious and filled with old legends. Mad Vlad is a hero there. I love the cover. It positively sent shivers down my spine. I've read some of your work and feel confident that this book is going to be an excellent story.
    All good things to your corner of the universe, Steph--and wish you well in Weight Watchers.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Angela, the research was the best part. hehe

    Sarah, thank so much for popping in. WW is off to a good start. Jenifer does a wonderful job with the covers, doesn't she? I melted when I saw it...

    Smiles
    Steph

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  6. Congrats on the book, Steph. The cover is amazing.

    ReplyDelete