Author Interview

Kissed by Literature: Welcome, one and all, to meet our next author!  Grace M. DeLeesie comes to you from Virginia to bring you stories of magic and romance.  Who doesn’t need a little of that in their life?  Welcome, Grace.  Tell us about how you first got started writing.

Grace M. DeLeesie: I started in preschool, actually. My mother likes to say

how I would come home and tell the tales of my daily adventures, and they

were so detailed they could actually be believed…until I added in the little

green aliens who joined in on my fun. After a while (and I learned how to

write) my mother gave me a notebook and told me to write my stories down.

Over the years, I continued to write, though those stories will never see

the light of day and are currently collecting dust in an undisclosed

location. My true novels, the ones that will be published, started about

five years ago when I was a freshman in college. To this day, though, you

will never catch me without a pencil and a notebook in reaching distance.

KBL: What is your favorite genre?

GMD: I mainly write romance (paranormal, fantasy, sci-fi, contemporary…).

I’ve tried my hand at non-romance, but always seem to have that element slip

its way in somehow.

KBL: I have with me here CROSS MY HEART, book one in the Wolfe Lodge series.  Tell me about that series. 

GMD: “Wolfe Lodge” has to be one of my favorite series I’ve written and

published. I actually created the beginning to “Cross My Heart” in the car,

commuting to and from college almost three years ago. “Wolfe Lodge” is a

paranormal romance about a pack of werewolves in Little Rock, AR. Throughout

the series we learn what it means to be a werewolf, to a human among

werewolves, and even how far a werewolf will go to protect his/her mate.

KBL: What is CROSS MY HEART about?

GMD: Grave is the prince of the largest pack of werewolves in Arkansas.

After the death of his mate and childhood best friend, Grave leaves the pack

to mourn, accompanied only by his bodyguard (or “Hash”) and friend Phax. On

a nightly run, the two werewolves meet a sassy young huntress named Sam,

with a vengeance against werewolves unlike anything the prince has ever seen

before. To learn more about the sexy huntress, Grave fools her into

believing he’s human—but this comes at a cost. Grave falls in love with Sam,

hard and fast, but Sam fights him every step of the way.

When an old enemy comes to town, Grave must reveal the truth about himself

to Sam. In doing so Grave will be risking turning her wrath against

werewolves on him and ruin any chances Grave has at finding happiness after

Amnilia’s death—but it also might just save her life.

KBL: Many of this blog’s readers are aspiring authors.  I understand you go through Abbott Press.  Can you tell us about that experience?

GMD: Actually, “Cross My Heart” was published through my own company

DeLeesie Books. It’s new (only started 2013), but I have a couple of

potential authors I’m working with. My newest series “Interdimensional

Species” (Spring 2014) will be published through Abbott Press.

KBL: Do you go through an agent?

GMD: In the past three years, I have had 2 different agents, 2 different

editors, and 1 small publishing house, and have dropped every single one of

them before any contracts were signed. To be honest, I don’t like a lot

about traditional publishing, mainly because most of the decisions are made

for the author rather than by the author. That is why I created my own

company; it’s small, but I get to publish how I want to publish.

KBL: What can we expect to find in the future of Wolfe Lodge?

GMD: The first two books (“Cross My Heart” and “Hope to Die” [2014]) are

about Sam and Grave, who find and fight for their love of each other and

their pack. The next two books (“Ready or Not” [2015] and “Here She Comes”

[TBD]) tell the story of Phax (Grave’s bodyguard) and how he struggles

between his duties to his Alpha and his need to claim his newfound human

mate, Anna. There are three novellas throughout the timeline of these four

books (“Passion Only”, “Mission Save”, and “Submitted Freely”[TBD]).

KBL:  Thank you, Grace!  If our readers want to personally get in touch with you, what would be the best way?

GMD: My email is grace@deleesiebooks.com <mailto:grace@deleesiebooks.com>

or “like” me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gracemdeleesie

<http://www.facebook.com/gracemdeleesie>  

KBL: Here comes the special surprise for all of you.  Grace is giving away a copy of CROSS MY HEART to a lucky commenter.  Leave a comment here with your name and email address.  On February 1^st, Grace will choose a winner and send that individual a paperback copy.  Let the comments begin!