Author Spotlight - Excerpt from "Undercover"

Thanks so much for supporting Maria during her week in the spotlight. Leave a comment today, Saturday, and Sunday along with your email and we'll pick a random winner to win a copy of Maria's book, "Undercover." Winner will be announced on Monday here on the blog and on the DB Connections Loop. Enjoy the Excerpt!
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Moderator Steph

*****
Jenny and Alex shared the row with a talkative elderly gentleman who chattered away about business opportunities. His story of when he went to Russia and had to bribe the customs staff to be allowed to bring his money out of the country made Jenny bite her lip not to laugh.

"So, where do the two of you come from?"

Jenny answered with a friendly smile, "Oh, I come from around here. I was born in Adams, actually, but I've been moving around a little since then. Just in the state, though."

Alex said with a lot of glee, "I'm Russian."

Their new acquaintance exclaimed, "Oh," and fell silent.

During the past few years, Jenny's unwilling brain managed to learn some of her husband's language, and she understood him very well when he said, "Sorry, I couldn't resist."

She entwined her fingers with his. "It's really funny."

It was of course too much for the man to resist. "Excuse me, you two are together, aren't you?"

She nodded. This trip over the ocean was much more entertaining than she'd expected. "Yes. We've been married for five years."

Glancing towards Alex, who made the seat look tiny where he sat reading the newspaper, visibly pretending not to listen, the man whispered, "Please, I don't want to offend you, but... Is it difficult?"

"Is what difficult?"

He kept his eyes on Alex. "You know, adapting between such different cultures. Don't they have very different ways of viewing things in Russia? Are you allowed to work or do you have to stay at home? What language do you speak at home? Are you allowed to handle money?"

Neither his curiosity nor prejudice knew any limits. She wanted to formulate a killer answer, but Alex beat her to it. He smiled innocently and leaned over her, to make himself heard better as he exaggerated his accent. "Of course she stays at home, she has to take care of the children. We have seven; four boys and three girls. It would be unthinkable for her to take care of all of them, the household, tend to my needs, and work at the same time. My second wife works though. She has only been with us for three years, so she only has three children, but the fourth is on the way."

Jenny had all the trouble in the world not to laugh.

"Since both my wives are American we mostly speak English at home. I have decided it's best for the little ones. Regarding money, I give them everything they need, and they don't need any money of their own."

The man seemed about to faint. He said, "Excuse me," and fled to the restrooms. Jenny laughed so hard she had to lean on Alex, and smacked him over the arm. "You're... you're terrible."

"Me? What did I do?"

Further up in the corridor, the man talked to the flight crew, all of them sending covert glances in Jenny's direction. She wanted to wave, and folded her hands in her lap to keep them from doing something stupid. After a couple of minutes a young stewardess walked by, looked at her with open curiosity, and peeked towards Alex. Jenny smiled her friendliest smile as the girl passed them. It only took a minute until she came back. "Can I get you anything?"

Jenny shook her head. "No thank you, I'm good."

The girl's eyes darted towards Alex, who now looked like the epitome of serenity and friendliness. He encouraged her, now sounding almost American. "Go ahead and ask. The gentleman who sits here had some interesting ideas about the habits in my native country. Perhaps he has taken time to share with you..."

She looked relieved. "So, it's not true that you have ten children and several more wives, and that..."

She turned to Jenny and whispered, "That you are his slave?"

The corners of Alex's mouth twitched when he said, "Of course not. It's probably just an old man's fantasies."

Their flight attendant exclaimed, "Thank heavens. You two look so good together, and it would have been a shame."

"Look what you did. You're impossible."

He regained his poker face. "I don't know what you are talking about."

People in the row in front of them turned around to watch. They seemed amused. When the older man returned, Alex said in a tauntingly calm and slow voice, "I must apologize, what I told you earlier isn't entirely true."

The man stared, not at all looking convinced, and Jenny filled in. "The only thing he's said that's true this far is that he's Russian."

As relieved as the man looked, Alex wasn't able to leave well enough alone. His eyes sparkled with mischief. "We do have a lot of sex."

Their neighbor looked as if he would choke on his coffee, and people all around them started to laugh. Alex put his new sunglasses on and leaned back in the seat, clearly very happy with himself.

********

Book trailer link: http://youtu.be/YePFbRgPP9o

Review snippets:

"This book was riveting and just when you are sure you know what to expect, Hammarblad completely takes you by surprise with an incredible finale. Amazingly fun and enjoyable" -- Mrs. Michael, reader

"You easily connect with the characters and feel the tension of their various situations - You will be guessing at the outcome, which is very original! Well worth reading!" -- Robin Olsson, reader

Buy link: http://amzn.com/B0098TGWTW

Find me on the web:
Website: http://www.hammarblad.com
Blog: http://www.scifiromance.info
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariahammarblad
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mariahammarblad

Authors Spotlight - Maria Hammarblad talks about finding inspiration

The holidays are a time for sharing, so today I will share a secret. Well, I guess it won't be a secret any longer after revealing it here on the blog, but anyway...

I wrote the first draft of Undercover watching a Canadian TV show called Cra$h and Burn. The main character is called Jimmy Burn, and he works with insurance. When something goes wrong, he comes in to clean up the mess. He's stuck between an inner desire to do what's right for the accident victims, and management's demands that he give out as little money as humanly possible. His own past isn't exactly clean, and he also struggles with combining his sordid history with a wholesome girlfriend and her very enthusiastic family. It's a funny show. I don't think it was intended to be a comedy, but I had many laugh out loud moments when watching.

Anyway, the show also features a lot of crashed cars, and a hilarious side story about a gang of Russians making a living on a body shop and fake accidents. I do think they give Jimmy Burn some fresh gray hairs as the cars are stolen over and over again. As time goes by, they expand their insurance fraud business into accidents and start a clinic in an old strip club.

Canadian-Croatian actor Steve Basic plays the head of the Russian gang. He's one of my favorite TV and movie actors, and in this show he goes around saying, "Make it stolen" with a fake Russian accent to die for. When I first wrote Alexei in Undercover, Mr Bacic's mobster became his voice. This is years ago, and every time I look at the manuscript I still read Alexei's dialogue in that voice in my head. I don’t think there are any other similarities between the characters – they certainly don’t use the language in the same way – but the voice gets me every time.

~

Jenny cupped her hands around the warm mug. She should say something, but what? If she opened her mouth, something stupid might come out, like, "Nice weather," or, "What's the weather like in Russia?"

Alex's eyes glittered. "You have good coffee."

"Yeah, it's not bad. Mark usually makes a pot in the morning. He really likes coffee. So, what's the weather like where you come from?"

There it was, the stupid weather. Great for stalling a customer on the phone, but right now, not so much. Why couldn't she talk like a normal person instead of going from mute to babbling?

Alex chuckled, "Cold, colder, cold, really hot, and back to cold."

~


Book trailer link: http://youtu.be/YePFbRgPP9o

Review snippets:

"This book was riveting and just when you are sure you know what to expect, Hammarblad completely takes you by surprise with an incredible finale. Amazingly fun and enjoyable" -- Mrs. Michael, reader

"You easily connect with the characters and feel the tension of their various situations - You will be guessing at the outcome, which is very original! Well worth reading!" -- Robin Olsson, reader

Buy link: http://amzn.com/B0098TGWTW

Find me on the web:
Website: http://www.hammarblad.com
Blog: http://www.scifiromance.info
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariahammarblad
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mariahammarblad

Author Spotlight - Character Interview with Jenny from Undercover

Today, I’ll let my heroine, Jenny, take over the pen. She’s been slumbering in my mind ever since Undercover was published, and I think she wants to come out for some air.

Jenny, it’s good to see you here today. Reviewers say you can be a bit air-headed, but have a backbone of steel. What do you think made you such a strong woman?

Air-headed? How can I be air-headed when I’m stuck in my writer’s head? There’s no air in there, more like a vacuum… *fluffs hair* What was the question again? Oh yes, strong woman. I’d say breaking free from my first marriage. That taught me I really could stand on my own two feet and do things for myself. My friends and my job too. There’s nothing like solving a really tricky problem that seems impossible. The key is to believe in oneself. Even if you don’t believe in yourself at that very moment, pretend you do. If you can at least pretend to be on top of things, both your mind and other people will believe you.

Can you tell us something about your story?

Absolutely. I sat at work one day, pretty bored at that, and this amazing man appeared by my desk. I bet you know the type: tall, handsome, foreign… I had to figure out a way to talk to him, of course, so I made sure the guys invited me for lunch. He was interesting and charming, and as the day went by, I sort of fell for him. He seemed to like me too. Then, I discovered that he was a Russian spy. What a mess! It was really scary at times, but there’s nothing more important than family, and once you find the person you belong with you have to stick together, you know.

Do you have a favorite quote?

Actually, I do. Dalai Lama once said, “Be kind whenever possible. It’s always possible.” I like that one.

It’s Christmas time. How do you feel about the holiday season?

I love it. Love, love, love it. I think Christmas decorations are magical. I mean, imagine Christmas morning. The lights never shine brighter, tinsel never glitters as much, and the colors are never as full and bright as on Christmas morning.

Anything else you want to share?

Only one thing. Se-quel. Can someone please tell my writer to stop procrastinating and playing with imaginary space ships? She made such a big mess of my life she really needs to straighten it all up, she’s just too easily distracted to get anything done. From what I hear, my daughter wants a book too. She claims she’ll be kidnapped and locked in a box on some boat by people wanting to sell her as a slave. I think she’s just talking, but it might happen. If it does, I hope Alex and I taught her to take care of herself. You can’t imagine the worries of being a fictitious mom!

Book trailer link: http://youtu.be/YePFbRgPP9o

Review snippets:

"This book was riveting and just when you are sure you know what to expect, Hammarblad completely takes you by surprise with an incredible finale. Amazingly fun and enjoyable" -- Mrs. Michael, reader

"You easily connect with the characters and feel the tension of their various situations - You will be guessing at the outcome, which is very original! Well worth reading!" -- Robin Olsson, reader

Buy link: http://amzn.com/B0098TGWTW

Find me on the web:
Website: http://www.hammarblad.com
Blog: http://www.scifiromance.info
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariahammarblad
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mariahammarblad

Author Spotlight - Merry Christmas from Maria Hammarblad - Christmas in Sweden

Merry Christmas! I am honored to be here on the Desert Breeze Publishing blog on Christmas Day. Regardless of what you celebrate this holiday season, I hope it finds you well.

I’ve always been especially fond of this time a year. For a few days, life slows down to a pleasant pace and most people make an extra effort to be nice. Even those who normally steal parking spots from old ladies make an effort to behave and be kind. Imagine if we could keep this spirit all around the year!

I’m Swedish originally, and our Christmas habits are just different enough from the American to confuse me. Like… We celebrate Christmas Eve, handing the presents out late in the afternoon. No stockings, just presents. We have Santa nowadays, but when my mom was a little girl, back in the 1940’s, her family still adhered to an older Scandinavian tradition with a goat bringing presents. Many homes still have a symbolic straw goat we call “julbock” and many of our Christmas cards are decorated with a santa-like little man accompanied by a goat. One of these santas – well, we call them “tomte” -- were thought to live secretly on each farm in the countryside, helping the farmer care for crops and animals. Better stay on his good side, or he might not help!

Most homes put the tree up December 23rd, and we keep all decorations up until January 13th. On that day we have a ceremony called “Julgransplundring” – plundering the tree. It’s a festivity mostly for the kids, with lots of candy and games.

Even though I’ve been in the US since late 2008, I’m still in the Swedish rhythm. Early December my husband fidgets because we don’t have any Christmas stuff up. I’ll say, “But… It’s so early.” A couple of days into January each year, he says we have to do something, because everyone else already took all the lights down. I’ll be like, “C’mon, it’s just the third. They can sit for another couple of weeks.” Back home I’d happily leave them up until February, but I wouldn’t dream of putting them up before Christmas. When I look around I see he’s right; we’ll be the only ones with lights and glitter, and people in passing cars stare.

This difference in rhythm shines through in my writing. My novel Undercover starts just after Christmas, when the main character Jenny returns to work after a well-deserved break. Observant readers will note I claim she took a vacation between Christmas and New Year’s, and when she returns, all decorations in the office are still up. No one moves a finger to take them down. I didn’t even consider people here might find it odd.

Book trailer link: http://youtu.be/YePFbRgPP9o

Review snippets:

"This book was riveting and just when you are sure you know what to expect, Hammarblad completely takes you by surprise with an incredible finale. Amazingly fun and enjoyable" -- Mrs. Michael, reader

"You easily connect with the characters and feel the tension of their various situations - You will be guessing at the outcome, which is very original! Well worth reading!" -- Robin Olsson, reader

Buy link: http://amzn.com/B0098TGWTW

Find me on the web:
Website: http://www.hammarblad.com
Blog: http://www.scifiromance.info
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariahammarblad
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mariahammarblad

Author Spotlight - Q&A with Maria Hammarblad

STEPH: I don't know much about “Undercover.” What's it about?

MARIA: Undercover is a contemporary romance. It’s about Jenny Moore, whose life is pretty safe and a little boring. She dreams about adventure and being swept off her feet, and when this actually happens she gets more excitement than she ever wanted. If I may quote my friend Patty Froese, it’s about “dangerous men and the women who hold them back from the edge.”

STEPH: How long did it take you to write?

MARIA: I always have problems with that question because I tend to write in little bursts of energy… The first draft came together fairly quickly, a matter of weeks, but since then I’ve re-written it a number of times. It took either a few weeks or a couple of years, depending on point of view.

STEPH: How much research did you have to do?

MARIA: Quite a lot, actually. The book takes place in several countries, and I’ve been to most of them, but not to Russia and not to Mexico. When I looked at photos and talked to people who have visited these places, I realized my mental images were completely wrong. It’s a novel sprung out of my imagination, but I still wanted to get as much right as I can.

STEPH: How does the cover reflect the story within?

MARIA: I think the cover artist did an amazing job conveying the feeling of the book, and I love this cover. It makes me think of spy movies and classic thrillers. My hero is a soldier -- and spy -- who has performed some horrific deeds. Love transforms him, and once he tries to fit into a normal way of life, he constantly has to put himself in harm’s way to protect those close to him. In my mind, that’s just what he does on the cover.

STEPH: Jenny is the heroine. What are her strengths? Weakness?

MARIA: Jenny is a romantic and naïve dreamer, and she’s so infatuated with the hero common sense goes right out the window. All of a sudden she puts up with things that would normally send her screaming and running in the other direction. Luckily, when put to the test, she also has a backbone of steel. When she sets out to do something, she’ll do it, and she’s strong enough to sort of the strangest situations, saving the day for both herself and him.

STEPH: What does Alexei find appealing about her?

MARIA: She’s kind, caring, and teaches him to appreciate the little things in life. He didn’t know how unhappy he was until he met her. He tries to explain the phenomenon to her in the book: "My life had been a black and white movie on a tiny little screen, and now it was full color IMAX with Dolby surround."

STEPH: What is the theme of the novel?

MARIA: Love conquers all. Definitely. They have to go through some horrible ordeals to stay together, but as long as they have each other, they’re okay.

STEPH: As a writer, where do you draw inspiration from?

MARIA: Everything. My head is quite a bizarre place, and my mind is always asking, “What if.” I can look at the vacuum cleaner and think, “Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if this thing could fly?” I sometimes see interesting people on my way to work or going to the store, and by the time I get home I have a complete story ready about them. It doesn’t even stop when I sleep. I often wake up in the middle of the night with a story burning on my eyelids.

STEPH: Do you have an ebook reader? If so, which one?

MARIA: I do. I have a Kindle Touch and I really like that it can read aloud. It took a while to get used to the voice, I thought it sounded kinda snarky at first, but now I just think it’s practical. I also love that it works in sunshine.

STEPH: Fun question: Do you put a star or an angel on the top of your Christmas tree?

MARIA: We have a silvery star. I bought it for my first apartment in Sweden and it’s been with me for well over twenty years. I bet it didn’t expect to end up in Florida. ☺


Book trailer link: http://youtu.be/YePFbRgPP9o

Review snippets:

"This book was riveting and just when you are sure you know what to expect, Hammarblad completely takes you by surprise with an incredible finale. Amazingly fun and enjoyable" -- Mrs. Michael, reader

"You easily connect with the characters and feel the tension of their various situations - You will be guessing at the outcome, which is very original! Well worth reading!" -- Robin Olsson, reader

Buy link: http://amzn.com/B0098TGWTW

Find me on the web:
Website: http://www.hammarblad.com
Blog: http://www.scifiromance.info
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariahammarblad
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mariahammarblad