Interview and Giveaway with Author Valerie Douglas

 Today I'd like to welcome Valerie Douglas to the blog. Read this fun interview and enter her giveaway! 

Q: Who are you, and why should readers read the rest of this interview?

Hmmm, I’m old enough to know better but young enough to still do it. I collect odd animals – one submissive and one schizophrenic dog, a one-eyed cat, another whose jaw has been broken and I’m pretty sure is dain-bramaged (we don’t say that out loud) and another who sucks her tail. The fourth cat is normal. More or less. I also have nearly twenty books published either as myself or under my pen name – and the genres tend to vary depending  on my muse. Why read the rest of the interview? Because you KNOW you want to…

Q: Tell us a little about the work you are here promoting.  

Heart of the Gods is a nifty little thriller full of myth, magic, mummies and romance with a little paranormal thrown in for good measure. An archeologist, Ky Farrar has been fascinated by the legendary Tomb of the Djinn since he first learned of it as a boy. The stories of its Guardian and the treasures contained within intrigued him. Of course, he believes that most of those tales are myth. Until he finds out the Guardian is all too real, and she’s as lovely as she is lethal.

Q: Mummies sounds like something I can get into.  As a writer, do you have plans for world domination, or do you have a day job as well?

I’m lucky enough to support myself as a writer – so I have lots of time to plot world domination.

Q: Nice! Self-published, traditional, indie or part of an indie collective? If not yet published, what are you doing to make it happen?

All of the above, except the last. My first novels were published traditionally under my pen name, but I found I didn’t like giving up the control. I just don’t handle authority well. *grins* What a surprise. Now I have all the control, all the headaches, but all the money as well. I’ll take door number two in exchange for one and three any day.

Q:  How do you handle bad reviews?

Ya know, I just don’t like every book I’ve ever read and I don’t expect other folks to do the same. Even so, I’ll admit it still hurts. Less so from the person who admitted they didn’t read the book but failed it on the blurb. Now, most of the time I just avoid looking at them, so when I find a good one it’s such a wonderful surprise.

Q: I like that attitude!  Are you nervous yet and do you prefer white or wheat bread.

Nah, and I don’t eat bread much. (Love the taste, but carbs put me to sleep.)

Q: I don’t think I’ve ever heard of carbs putting someone to sleep. =) Do you blog? If so, don't you wish you were as cool a blogger as I?

I started guest blogging for someone else, and now I almost never post on my own blog page.

Q: What is your favorite creature, monster, or fantasy based thing you write about?

I like almost all of them except sparkly emo vampires. Sorry Twilight fans, not picking on it much, but then I’m over 30 and that can be a handicap.

Q: Are you planning to give something away (if not, good luck getting anyone to read this thing) and if so, what are your demands for winning (I assume, your book because why else would you stop by?) 

I’ll give away a free copy of both Heart of the Gods and Servant of the Gods to each of the first three people who can find my blog and prove they’ve read the blurbs for both.

Q: Any advice for aspiring writers?

Do the work. Put out a quality product. Then, stick with it. It won’t happen overnight.

Q: Tick off a few authors you look up to.

Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird). Anne McCaffrey (One of the first women to be awarded a Hugo and Nebula).  Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb, bestselling novelist.

Q:  Are you, or are you not a douche bag? Heh, you don't have to answer that. That's just for my enjoyment.

Not in general practice.

Author Bio: 

Valerie Douglas is a prolific writer and a genre-crosser, much to the delight of her fans. A fan of authors from almost every genre from Isaac Asimov to Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, she writes classic fantasy, romance, suspense, and as V.J. Devereaux, erotic romance. Who knows what will pop up down the road!

She’s the author of several series – the Servant of the Gods series (historical romance),  The Coming Storm series (epic fantasy), and The Millersburg Quartet series (romance), and a dozen more.

Happily married, she's lives in the wild farmlands of Ohio. In addition to her husband she’s companion to two dogs, four cats and an African clawed frog named Hopper who delights in tormenting the cats from his tank.

Q: Alright, where can readers find you on the web?

http://valeriedouglasbooks.com (website) http://valeriedouglasbooks.blogspot.com/ (blog)

https://twitter.com/#!/ValerieDouglasA (Twitter)

http://www.facebook.com/Valerie.Douglas.Books (FB) 


The giveaway 
Alright, folks. The giveaway will end May 26th. The author listed her demands above... locate her blog and comment that you read the blurb, the first three comments win!

Heart of the Gods synopsis:

Tales of the fabled Tomb of the Djinn and its Guardian have fascinated archaeologist Ky Farrar since a visit to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo when he was a boy. The story of the star-crossed lovers and their battle to save ancient Egypt from the Djinn made him choose his career. He believes he’s finally found it - only to discover the Tomb's Guardian is all too real. And she's as lovely as she is lethal.
 

Ky, however, isn't the only one searching. It's a race to reach the Tomb before the others accidentally unleash what lies within it in their effort to claim the ancient artifacts which lie within - the legendary Horn of the Djinn and the Heart of the Gods.