Getting to know Elle Hill/Giveaway

Welcome to my Reading Nook, Elle Hill. Please make yourself at home and let my cabana boys/girls get you a drink.

Comfortable? Wonderful. Now let’s get started.

To get us started can you tell us a little about what you are working on or have coming out? 

Soul Mate Publishing just released my latest book, Hunted Dreams, in April 2013. I’m super excited to get the word out, since it’s a modern, slightly dark retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale. It’s all about a dreaming woman haunted by her past and a psychic man who tries not to be a villain. It’s quite tasty.

How would you describe yourself using only five words? 

Loves writing, furkids, and teaching.

If you could write a warning label for yourself as a person or an author, what would it say? 

Warning: Don’t let the dramatic performances fool you; this person is an extreme introvert who will need hours of rest and silence after vigorous or prolonged social outings.

Do you have any guilty pleasures? 

I’m a tireless advocate for equality, yet I still listen, and sing and dance to, bubblegum pop music, with its dubious political messages. I don’t even like Katy Perry, and yet I’m a devoted listener. Ugh!

Name one thing readers would be surprised to know about you. 

You know those annoying people who buy Hello Kitty everything? Yeah. Guilty.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? 

Anywhere, as long as my loved ones are near. Oh, and without big bugs. I hate big bugs.

How do you get yourself in the mood to write? 

I try to stop writing each day during a scene’s climax. This way, it’s super easy to pick it up again the following day.

Can you share with us your typical writing day?  Is there anything you have to have while writing? 

There is no typical writing day for me, since I work full-time as a college instructor and have erratic hours. Usually during the weekend, I will sit at the computer with a cup of coffee or a soda (caffeine is always a must!) and tippy-tap my little heart out.

I was lucky to get most of this summer off. I really wanted to finish my latest novel, The Tithe, before the latest semester started, so from mid-July onward, I vowed to try and write at least 1000 words every day. It worked, and I finished my novel a week before classes began. Hooray!

Who are some of your favorite authors? 

I wish I could sound super cool and cite obscure, 18^th –century, Lebanese authors or something, but alas, my favorite authors are more along the lines of Dean Koontz, Patricia Briggs, Terry Pratchett, Holly Black, and Ilona Andrews.

What is in your To Read Pile that you are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for? 

I just downloaded the last book in Holly Black’s White Cat Series. Since the new school year just began, though, for a while I just won’t have the time to read.

Is there something special you do to celebrate when one of your books is released? 

Squee like a schoolchild! Well, and maybe publicize it a little.

Do you have a favorite TV show you can't miss? 

I don’t actually watch TV or movies. I also don’t read magazines. Aside from NPR, fiction and nonfiction books, academic journals, and my questionable pop music, I’m kind of isolated from media.

If you could date any character from any book, who would it be and why-no it doesn't have to be from your books?

That’s an awesome question, but for my sake, I’m going to have to plead The Fifth.

What is the strangest source of writing inspiration you’ve ever had?

I’m terribly embarrassed to admit this, but here goes: I conceived of the general plot of my latest novel, The Tithe, while first listening to – brace yourselves – Katy Perry’s E.T. song.

If your muse were to talk behind your back, what secrets would he/she tell?

“OMG, peeps, you cannot believe how much coffee this Elle woman packs away. What is she, a coffee camel?!”

Anything else you want to add? 

Blog: http://ellehillauthor.blogspot.com/

Website: http://www.ellehill.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Elle-Hill/155409064486649?ref=hl

Purchasing the book: http://www.amazon.com/Hunted-Dreams-ebook/dp/B00CHUEIIG

Twitter: @ellehillauthor

A woman trapped in an endless cycle of nightmares. A handsome hero committed to rescuing her. It’s just like Sleeping Beauty – except the dreaming damsel is the sword wielder and the hero is a psychic vampire feeding off her pain.

Hunted Dreams by Elle Hill

Available at Amazon

Her history, her whereabouts, her name: She knows nothing. Nothing but her current reality: a constant stream of horrific, surrealistic scenarios in which she fights not only monsters and unseen attackers but also her own pain and despair.

Reed Jayvyn is an ex-Army vet, penniless and living in his truck. After saving a young man from attackers, he finds himself embroiled in a superhuman drama between the Broschi and the Clan, two groups engaged in a centuries-long war. Worse, he finds he is one of them—a Broschi, a psychic vampire that feeds off the pain of humans. But Reed’s greatest surprise comes each night, when he finds himself dreaming of a fierce, nameless woman.

She is dreaming. So says the handsome man who uses his heretofore latent psychic ability to flicker in and out of her dreamscape. With Reed’s help, she slowly learns more about who she is, why she is here, what trauma in her past keeps her locked inside her mind. Meanwhile, Reed explores his own heritage, discovering enemies and allies in unexpected places.

But most important to Reed is freeing this woman caught in an endless loop of nightmares, someone he considers in every way to be the woman of his dreams.

 Teaser Excerpt:

“I know you’re not bad,” she reassured him, smiling.

“You don’t know anything of the sort,” he said.

“Don’t you dare invade my dream and then question my judgment!” She meant to snap it but couldn’t manage anything beyond a biting edge to her tone. “We’ve been in some, um, challenging environments, and I think I know you pretty well.”

“Says the woman who only recently started thinking of me as real,” he said.

Katana felt the cold of the rock under her behind wind upward into her head. “Recently for you,” she said quietly, all teasing gone. “You have no idea how long it feels in here. I’ve spun from dream to dream, always fighting, always endangered, always waiting for the pain and the terror. I haven’t had a lot of time to think, but I’ve done what I can when I have a moment or two. I feel I’ve known you for months and get to see you every few weeks, even though I know it’s once per day for you.”

Reed exhaled once, slowly. Then, gently, he placed his hand against her cheek and helped guide her face upward.

Knowing what to expect, Katana closed her eyes and stretched upward. Reed wrapped both arms around her, and she flowed against him.

After a moment, Reed pulled away very slightly and kissed her nose. “You feel warm and . . . good,” he murmured against her lips. She felt his moist breath against her face and inhaled the mintiness of his toothpaste.

“You feel real,” she whispered.

About the Author:

An inveterate fan of fairy tales, particularly the darker ones, Elle pens paranormal romance. Her urban fantasies envision an alternate Los Angeles (or is it?) in which Leeches -- scheming psychic vampires -- and Hunters and Psychics -- the beings that exist to thwart them -- fight fierce, primal battles in the land of movie stars, silicone, and sunshine.

Born in Idaho during the height of disco, Elle Hill now chicken-pecks at the keyboard while rocking out to Donna Summer and KC and the Sunshine Band. She worked in Idaho for several years as a secretary and journalist before moving to California and selling her soul to academia. After receiving her PhD in Sociology, Elle Hill became a not-so-mild-mannered college instructor by night and a community activist during the remainder of her waking hours. Always a journalist and writer at heart, one of her favorite pastimes includes publishing commentary on the political and social states of the world; some of her thoughts are posted on her blog at ellehillauthor.blogspot.com.

Elle welcomes visitors to her website at www.ellehill.com. She also urges everyone to become a superhero and adopt their next non-human companion from a local animal shelter.

Blog: http://ellehillauthor.blogspot.com/

Website: http://www.ellehill.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Elle-Hill/155409064486649?ref=hl

Giveaway Information: Elle will be awarding a $50 Amazon Gift Certificate to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

To enter, fill out the raffelcopter below and make sure to follow the tour at http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/08/virtual-book-tour-hunted-dreams-by-elle.html

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