**Shona Husk** Author interview & international ebook giveaway

Shona Husk is the highly accomplished author of many various Fantasy/Romance novels, including the recently published and absolutely wonderful Dark Vow, which I reviewed here on Pen to Paper earlier this week (click here to view my review).

We have been extremely lucky here at Pen to Paper, to be able to speak to Shona and ask her a few questions about herself and her writing!
So without further ado, I'd like to welcome Shona to the blog!


Would you be able to tell us a little bit about yourself to start us off?
Thank you for inviting me! To me my life isn’t very exciting. Between work and family I write. I feel very lucky to be able to share my stories as making things up is something I’ve always done—even before I knew what world building and characters were. Life was always more exciting in the other places I invented as a child.

What were your favourite books as a child? I had a couple of big volumes of fairy tales from around the world. I loved them. Because I was a voracious reader I read everything but always kept coming back to fantasy novels and the adventure they promised.

What is your favourite book and why?Only one! Daggerspell by Katherine Kerr. I love the interwoven past lives and I love Rhodry, the hot half elf and silver dagger. He fought like a demon, was the banished son of a lord and my first literary crush. I’ve read it so many times, yet I feel it calling again.

Have you always wanted to be a writer? What finally made you decide to put Pen to Paper?As a child I was told I had an overactive imagination, and it wasn’t meant as a compliment, but I didn’t write as an adult until I was on maternity leave. At first it was just for fun to see if I could write a book that combined my love of fantasy with a HEA, then while doing some research on how to write I discovered paranormal romance (I was a late starter to the romance genre). That was when I first thought I could become an author. Several years, a few hundred thousand words, and many re-writes later I got there.

Do you have a specific place that you find most comfortable to be when you sit to write?I have a writing desk where I usually sit to edit, but for first drafts I write anywhere. I carry around the notebook and will squeeze in words before breakfast, on my lunchbreak and just about anywhere I can because I like to do a fast first draft then go back and tidy up and pick up any dropped threads etc. Most of ‘Dark Vow’ was actually written by the side of a pool while my kids were doing swimming lessons.

When you're working on a novel, do you set yourself a daily schedule?I have daily, weekly and monthly targets. I always build in flexibility and if I’m working to a deadline I always leave myself extra time, just in case something happens.

What inspired the idea for Dark Vow?

I was doing a community education class in pewter casting and the instructor was giving us all kinds of fascinating bits of info. When he mentioned personalising guns I knew then I had to use it somewhere. By the time I’d driven home the idea was halfway formed.

Will we be seeing any more from Jaines in the future, or does her story end here?

I think Obsidian and Jaines will be back but not until later. Obsidian has unfinished business with the Union and a debt to pay with the Rogues.

Do you have any more story ideas for the future? (Could we be lucky enough to hear a little about them?)

I am working on another story set in the same world of Prasine (the country where Dark Vow is set). The Rogue Arcane will strengthen and the divide will widen between Union and Rogue. Lines will be drawn and the lights will be turned off (that is a big deal, but I won’t give any spoilers). I’m enjoying exploring the rising conflict through the eyes of different people. In 2012 I have two more Shadowlands books out, ‘Kiss of the Goblin Prince’ and ‘For the Love of a Goblin Warrior’, the third of my erotic vampire rock stars, ‘Sharing Sirius’, and a shape-shifter paranormal romance, ‘Brightwater Blood’. It’s going to be a busy year for me :)

Do you prefer...

Tea or Coffee? Neither
Sweet or Savoury? Sweet
Physical books or eBooks? Both
Hardback or Paperback? Paperback

And a little more about Shona...

Apart from reading and writing, what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I like to watch TV (Supernatural, Terra Nova, Farscape…), listen to music, cook and do cross stitch—although I haven’t done much of that lately.

If you could choose to do anything in the world, and someone else was paying for it, what would you choose to do?
Go on a round the world holiday for a year. There are so many places I’d love to see. I’m going to the US next year to the RT convention in Chicago which will be fun. I’d also love to see Europe and the old castles (we have none in Australia) and big museums.

If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?
Where I am. Although as I write this on Sunday morning Sydney is getting ready to host the ARIAs (Australian Rock Industry Association awards). I love live music and some of my favourite bands are nominated, so it would be fun to go. Instead I’ll be watching it on TV.

What is your favourite food?
Something someone else has cooked? I love seafood, but I’m also very partial to good quality chocolate (read addicted to Green and Black’s Maya Gold).

If you could have any super power, what would it be?
I’d love to be able to travel anywhere in a blink.

And finally, what are the simple things in life that make you happy?
My children’s random hugs, catching up with friends and the first look at a new book cover.

Thank you again to Shona - you've been a really wonderful guest, and I've really enjoyed having you here! I hope my readers enjoy the interview as much as I did!

________♥________

Now for even more excitement! Shona has very kindly agreed to give one lucky international follower of Pen to Paper an eBook copy of her book that I reviewed earlier in the week, Dark Vow (You can click the image of the book cover on the left to view my review, which includes the goodreads synopsis). The eBook will be in either ePub or PDF format, whichever suits the winner best.

So what else do I need to know about this giveaway, I hear you ask?

• You must be a follower of Pen to Paper. Please read the instructions on the first entry section in the rafflecopter below.
• This is open internationally, so anyone can enter. Please note that the email address of the winner will be forwarded on to Shona only, so she can get their prize to them. It will not be used for anything else or passed on.
• The giveaway will end on December 14th 2011. Again, because I shall be using Rafflecopter, the giveaway will technically end on December 15th at 00:01 EST, so you have a bonus couple of minutes to enter!
• You may tweet for an extra entry once a day through the rafflecopter form.
• Please read the instructions in the Rafflecopter form for each extra entry. To find your blogger follower profile, go on to the blogger home page and click to view your profile. This page should list all the blogs you follow. This is the URL I need. Unfortunately this caused some confusion last time, so if you do have trouble, please post the exact name that you follow by in the extra info bit.