Monday 9 July 2012

Author Spotlight - Q&A with Stephanie Burkhart

Question: I don't know much about The Faberge Secret. What's it about?

Steph: Elise Goodwin runs a small heritage museum in Brattleboro, VT. It's a week before Christmas and she travels to Boston with her friend, Lucy to aquire some items for her museum from Sotheby's. While she's in Boston, she finds a rare Faberge egg and buys it. Quickly, she learns that the egg is owned by a Russian businessman, Dimitri Romanov, and his rival, Gustav Kelch, wants the egg – at any cost. Can Dimitri keep Elise safe?

Question: How long did it take you to write?

Steph: About two months. The story really flowed and took on a life of it's own as I wrote it.

Question: What was the inspiration behind the story?

Steph: Well, I wanted to write a Christmas story with a Russian "backbone" and I thought of Faberge eggs. Now, Faberge made Easter eggs for the royal family, not Christmas eggs, so came up with a fictional back story for the Christmas eggs that Dimitri owns. Once I had that, I asked myself, "what-if" someone stole a Faberge egg and the plot grew around that.

Question: How does the cover reflect the story within?

Steph: The cover depicts a green/red/gold Faberge egg, which is the heart of the story. Just how far would someone go to own one?

Question: Elise is the heroine. What are her strengths? Weaknesses?

Steph: Elise's strength is that she's confident in who she is and she's comfortable in her world. She's gotten used to being alone. She's strong in that she's loyal to her friends and family. Her weakness is her sentimentally. Her kind, caring, nature makes her vulnerable for someone to take advantage of her.

Question: What does Dimitri, the hero, see in Elise?

Steph: He's attracted to the fact that she's confident in who she is. She's not materialistic like his previous girlfriends.

Question: Are you a plotter or a panster?

Steph: A panster. I plot the 1st 3 chapters and see where the characters want to go from there.

Question: Do you own an ebook reader? If so, which one?

Steph: I own a Kindle 2 and a Kindle Fire. I like the K2 for the text to speech feature and the Fire to play movies and apps.

Question: What's your favorite summer fruit?

Steph: Oh, that's hard. Blueberries, raspberries, watermelon and grapes!

REVIEWS:
5 STARS, Celia Yeary, Author
You will thoroughly enjoy this fast-paced tale of danger, a mystery, and a satisfying conclusion. Elise and Dimitri make sparks fly!

5 Stars, Reader's Favorites
Fabulously written, the story combines elements of mystery, action, love, and tender family moments all at the right places, making a perfect fit. If you want a good story combining history, crime, and passion, "The Faberge Secret" is the book for you.

Sue Perkins, Author
The Faberge Secret exceeded my expectations. Definitely worth reading more than once. It is such a good book.

5 Hearts, Sizzling Hot Book Reviews
As the love story thicken, the suspense heightens and it won't let your eyes leave the page. I recommend The Faberge Secret to all of the romance readers. Even if you have never read romance, The Faberge Secret would be a great place to start.

4 Stars, Manic Readers
"A satisifying read."

4 Stars, Night Owl Book Reviews
The Faberge Secret is a fast paced, delightful adventure with plenty of love and adventure sprinkled in for spice.

3.5 Stars, Long & Short Reviews
"All this suspense had me flying through the pages so quickly I was able to read the book in one sitting."

BOOK TRAILER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf5ujOoDRXs

BLURB:
Elise Goodwin finds herself faced with danger when she learns the Faberge egg she's bought belongs to a Russian mogul, Dimitri Romanov, but is Dimitri playing a game with Elise's heart to get his heirloom back?

Elise Goodwin runs a heritage museum in Brattleboro, Vermont. She travels to Boston to buy some items for her museum at Sotheby's auction. What she acquires is a delicious surprise that would excite any curator – a Faberge egg.

Enter Russian businessman Dimitri Romanov. He goes to the auction with the intent of buying the egg only to discover that Elise is in possession of it. His dilemma? He's attracted to the petite brunette with doe-like eyes and a trusting disposition.

Complicating matters is Dimitri's rival, Gustav Kelch, who wants the precious jeweled object for his own collection. Can Dimitri protect Elise from Kelch?

BUY LINKS:
AMAZON KINDLE:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Faberge-Secret-ebook/dp/B006LTE2ZS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324310728&sr=8-1

B&N NOOK:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-faberge-secret-stephanie-burkhart/1105070465?ean=2940013874596&itm=1&usri=the+faberge+secret

ALL ROMANCE EBOOKS:
http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thefabergesecret-657577-149.html

PUBLISHER'S LINK:
http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-236/The-Faberge-Secret-Stephanie/Detail.bok

FIND ME ON THE WEB AT:
WEBSITE:
http://www.stephanieburkhart.com

TWITTER:
http://twitter.com/StephBurkhart

FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor

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

YOU TUBE CHANNEL:
http://www.youtube.com/user/botrina?feature=mhee



4 comments:

  1. Sounds great, Steph. I enjoyed reading about your creative process. I'm a hybrid, but lean more toward plotter than pantser, so I admire you for being a pantser. HOw nice to be able to sit there and let the characters dictate the story.

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  2. Thanks for popping in, Maggie. Heck, I admire you for being able to plot a story in a more thorough manner. That takes talent.

    Steph

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  3. I saw that same picture of you just a moment ago, you are a busy lady. I am Panster and WBMD (Write By My Dreams) author. I've tried pert near every writer program known to mankind, okay part of them, and gave up.

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  4. Tina, yeah, I get around, being a Busy Bee and all. Good for you for writing by your dreams. I could never use a writer program. It would make me pull out my hair. LOL!!

    Thanks for popping in.
    Smiles
    Steph

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