Wednesday, September 1, 2010

A B*tch Named Karma

Woohoo!!! Happy Hump Day all my fabulous bloggers!!!

Today is a very exciting and also very sad day!!! I have a very special blogger & author to interview and it will be my LAST INTERVEIW for awhile!!

I've had so much fun in all of this, but it's time this tough cookie takes a break from giving the blog love and starts treating herself to some hot fudge brownies, sparkles & blogging. Oh yeah... be on the look out for tomorrow's blog... it's going to be epic!

NOW MEET TODAY'S FEATURE!! She's fabulous!! I just dove into her novel last night and ALREADY I'm in love! This is an ADULT novel.



Featured Writer: Stephanie Haefner

Novel - A Bitch Named Karma

When author Lexi Marshall’s perfectly fabulous life of designer clothes, nights on the town with her sexy boyfriend, and a successful writing career literally go up in flames, she must take on Karma and fight to gain control over her life.

Lexi believes her cliché-filled novels are the reason for Karma’s wrath and after a high calorie pity party, she’s determined to rebuild her life to what it once was...that is, until her gynecologist utters a phrase she never expected or wanted to hear: she’s pregnant. Unfortunately, the father is her fresh out-of-the-closet best friend and not the new man in her life.

1. Do you believe in Karma? Have you ever had to face it head on?

I’m not sure if I absolutely believe in karma per say, but I do believe in treating people the way you would want to be treated. And there have been a few times where I’ve definitely got what was coming to me! LOL!

2. Any other books currently in the works? Care to share some secret sexy details?

Of course I can share!! I recently signed two contracts with Lyrical Press. They are both romantic fiction stories, much shorter than a novel though. The first is Paradise Cove, a story about a woman, who in the blink of an eye, decides to leave her boring life and buy a resort in Cancun. The second is titled Soap Dreams, about a woman and the love from her past, who is now back in her life. And I’m currently hard at work on the sequel to A Bitch Named Karma, titled Karma Kameleon. Very excited for that, and hoping my readers will be just as excited to read the next chapter of Lexi’s life.

3. What is a day in the life of Stephanie like?

LOL, well, it’s not all that exciting! I have two kids and am lucky enough to be able to stay home. While school is in session, we are up around 7:15 and the next hour is a whirlwind of breakfast, getting dressed, teeth and hair brushing, lunch making, etc… Once my daughter is on the bus, it’s just me and my son. We go to the gym in the morning and then clean up and do any household chores that need doing. After lunch, my son takes his nap and I have the house all to myself. Silence is never as golden! I hop on the computer til my husband comes home from work, then my son gets up, my daughter comes home and we have dinner. After dinner is cleaned up, there’s homework, family activities, baths, whatever else. Bedtime for the kiddos then it’s either some TV time, or I am back on the computer. But right now it’s summer, so that entire routine is out the window. Not entirely sure how I managed to add almost 30,000 words to my manuscript in July!

4. Did you always know you’d be a writer or did you set yourself up first on a different path before discovering? Did you know you’d always write Romance?

Ha…I will try and keep the answer to this one brief! I had always had my hands in artsy things when I was a kid and writing little stories and even illustrating them was something I did. And I kept a diary…religiously. I have several of them….chronicling every day of my preteen and teen years!! I ended up going to a vocational high school and took Horticulture. (We learned how to arrange flowers, do landscaping and grow plants in the greenhouses.) I joined the FFA, but we didn’t really do the things most FFA kids did…we were a city school and mainly participated in floriculture contests and parliamentary procedure contests. I was the reporter for our chapter and started writing little articles about our club’s happenings and had them published in local newspapers. That was when I first saw my name and words in print and I liked it! My senior year I applied to two colleges- one for Floriculture Merchandising and another for Journalism. I was accepted for both programs and chose Floriculture. To this day I am not even sure why. I worked in the floral industry for several years as a floral designer, even ran my own business for a while, specializing in wedding florals. But then I started writing fiction. One day I just picked up a pen and wrote down one of the many ideas that popped into my head. I remember feeling so accomplished after writing 11 pages of text (single spaced). I went on to work on other stories and it just took over my life. I lost all interest in my flower business and decided to give it up.

When I first started writing seriously, I didn’t have a clue what to even call it, but romance was definitely there. My early inspirations were from the diaries I wrote as a kid…when crushes and teen romances were my entire world. And that’s what I enjoyed reading about, so naturally that is what I wrote about. I think romantic stories speak to everyone, even if they won’t admit it. I don’t know one single person who is not looking/hoping for love!

5. Do your characters speak to you? Or do you make them talk?

When I write, I kinda watch a movie in my head….and then write down what happens. So I guess they talk to me!!

Fun & Random Facts

Pizza joint: Little place near my house called Deniros…love the blackened crispy pepperoni!
Sweet or Salty: Not sure if I can answer that one….whenever I eat one, I always crave the other right afterward!
Snow Princess or Cloud Princess: I’d have to say Cloud Princess. Not a big fan of snow.
Fashion Designer or Floral Designer: LOL!! Too funny that you ask that!! I’d have to say Floral Designer…because I already know that is something I am good at!!
Zombies or Vampires: Definitely Zombies! But I have a soft spot for them…I won a trip to LA last year and was fortunate enough to see a scene being filmed for Zombieland. So so cool!
Book: I have to say The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, by Ann Brasshares. They’re the only books I have read several times and can still cry and laugh every time.
TV Show: Man, another tough question! Just one??? How I Met Your Mother, Glee and Dancing with the Stars. Sorry…don’t think I could pick a fav out of those!

Stephanie is one of my favorite bloggers! Always a sweetheart, and some of the best posts!! Be sure to stop by and say hello!!! Here is her website and lyrical press site as well!

38 comments:

Emily White said...

Great interview! I'll have to check this book out. :)

Jessica Bell said...

Stephanie is great. I follow her blog already. Thanks for all the interviews! You've done an awesome job! But you SOOOOO deserve some time to yourself, honey! :o)

Diana Mieczan said...

Love the title and the interview as well...She sounds like such a great person and I will check out her book for sure:)
Happy Frist day of September,sweetie
Ready for fall?

Ps: I will be hosting a really lovely GIVEAWAY today… so please join in !!!!

Lenny Lee said...

hi miss jen and miss stephanie! this is a really good interview. that part about keeping a diary is right off those rules from writing i got on my blog! and saving that stuff is how she got going on writing. wow how cool is that. i do movies in my head too and write it down. its fun seeing a movie in your head. im with miss stephanie cause i think zombies are soooo cool.
...hugs from lenny

Bidisha said...

Ooh, this is such a fun interview.
And, Stephanie's book looks wicked sexy!

Renae said...

Gret interview! This book sounds soooo good! Thanks Jen!

Angie said...

Fab interview!! I love hearing stories about people who change their careers mid-stride. She sounds great and the book sounds really good. Can't wait to see what tomorrow is all about!

N. R. Williams said...

It's always interesting to learn how different writers became inspired and began to write. I too love flowers and in my past life, (not really) I was a florist.
Nancy
N. R. Williams, fantasy author

Christina Lee said...

First off, the title of this book is SO Kick A**!!!!!! And so is the premise! Great interview guys!

Vicki Rocho said...

That's just gotta suck when the father of your child decides he's playin for the other team LOL! Haven't experienced that one, thank goodness, though I might have a little chat with my hubs JUST TO MAKE SURE.

Another great one...looking forward to your epic post tomorrow!

Lindsay said...

Great interview, Jen.
I can't believe Stephanie got to see a scene from Zombieland being filmed. Love that film :)

Plus, Karma Kameleon...ha, great sequel title.

Jemi Fraser said...

Sounds like a fun book by a terrific person :)

Jennifer Shirk said...

Ha! My schedule goes out the window in the summer too. LOL
I would have loved to have written 30K!
(Or even 3K) :)

Erica Mitchell said...

Thanks to you both for a great interview. The premise rocks and I might have to venture out into the adult world to check this one out. The fresh "out" father was what got me out of all the Karma based business lol. Fab job and although this is the last one for a while it was the perfect one to leave us hanging on for a while.
Happy September!
PS emailing you soon now the net is obviously working again...for how long...we'll see. *shriek*

Summer Ross said...

great interview! I'm currently reading her book now too inbetween literature reading :) I can't wait to post my review for her.

Bish Denham said...

Nice closing interview Jen. You've done a wonderful "job" with all of them.

Beth Fred said...

This should be an interesting read and sounds funny. Great interview.

Meredith said...

Love this interview! This book looks like such fun--poor Lexi! And yay for the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants :)

Laura S. said...

Awesome interview! It's so great how Stephanie came to realize her calling to be a writer. I like hearing how other writers decided this career! I'm looking forward to reading her novel!

Jillian said...

Hi Jen!!! It is kind of sad news isn't it....

Anyway I love Stephanie... her blog is awesome. I really do need to get a copy of her book soon

Great post as always!!!!

Fickle Cattle said...

Great interview! :-)

http://ficklecattle.blogspot.com/

Elana Johnson said...

I espeically like the part where she says she watches a movie in her head and writes down what happens. Brilliant.

Ann said...

Another great interview Jen. Her daily routine sounds so familiar to me.

Jen said...

Oh my gosh, this is my kind of post!! I so believe in karma. Any time something happens to me, I always wonder what I did to deserve it... good or bad. Love this!!

Talli Roland said...

Wonderful interview, ladies! I LOVE the title of this book and Stephanie sounds lovely!

Lisa_Gibson said...

What a great interview. One to add to the TBR pile. :)
Lisa ~ YA Literature Lover

Kittie Howard said...

Great interview! I like the karma twist. Thanks for all the interviews, Jen. You've done a great job. Really enjoy your posts. Know you've got some treats for us coming up!!

Shannon O'Donnell said...

I love Stephanie and follow her blog. I'm so excited for her and her book, which sounds totally awesome!! :-)

Amy Saia said...

You've done such a good job with these interviews, Jen. They were each very informative and fun, and not only that, they were always positive and gave a real glimpse of what it's like to be an author. I really love what you did here. And now, take a break and get cracking on that chocolate!

Michelle D. Argyle said...

What a fantastic review! Stephanie's a lucky girl to have you review her book. It's on my list and I'll be reading it in the next few months.

Kimberly Franklin said...

What a great interview to end you segment of interviews. Thanks for sharing another fabulous interview with us, Jen! You rock.

Talei said...

Very sexy cover! And another great interview Jen! Well done, I'm going to add it to my reading list!

Jai Joshi said...

Great interview, Jen, although I think it's wicked that you're going to take some time out for yourself. You deserve it!

Jai

The Words Crafter said...

What an interesting interview! From florist to writer, cool. Thanks for posting it!

Debbie said...

Another wonderful interview. And I can understand why you need a break.

Unknown said...

I love the premise of this book, cool interview!

Amy Holder said...

Okay, A B*tch Named Karma is SUCH a fun title! The title alone grabbed me. And I totally agree with Stephanie on her answer to #5 - I write books as if I'm seeing a movie in my head too!

Stephanie said...

You guys are just awesome!!!! Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my interview!!! Thanks Jen for having me!! You are the best!!!