INTERVIEW & CONTEST: Molly Harper

This is a week of big releases. One book I have been really looking forward to, is HOW TO FLIRT WITH A NAKED VAMPIRE by Molly Harper. She is also the author of the Nice Girls series, which follows ex-children's librarian, turned vampire Jane Jameson and her many shenanigans. Molly has been kind enough to stop by and answer a few questions about HOW TO FLIRT WITH A NAKED VAMPIRE and her other amazing books. Also, scroll down to the bottom of this post for my HOW TO FLIRT WITH A NAKED VAMPIRE eBook contest!!!


Title: HOW TO FLIRT WITH A NAKED VAMPIRE
Author: Molly Harper
Release Date: February 22, 2011
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Pocket
List Price: $7.99
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1439195862
ISBN-13: 978-1439195864



Molly Harper - Q & A


Q: What lead you to first start writing? Tell us about yourself.

MH: I’ve been writing ever since I was very young. My mom remembers an 8 year old me, setting up a “writing office” in the living room, complete with an old manual typewriter and a toy phone. Still, I never considered a writing career until a high school English teacher compared me to Erma Bombeck. I became more interested in column writing and journalism. I majored in print journalism at Western Kentucky University. After graduation, I got a job at my hometown newspaper, The Paducah Sun and married my high school sweetheart, David, a local police officer. After six years at the newspaper, I took a more family-friendly secretarial position at a local church office.

David worked nights and I was alone with our young daughter in the “The Apartment of Lost Souls,” where small appliances went to die. It was either go nuts or write a book. A big fan of vampire movies and TV shows, I decided to write a vampire romance novel. I wondered what would be the most humiliating way possible to be turned into a vampire—a story that a vampire would be embarrassed to share with their vampire buddies over a nice glass of Type O.

The story that emerged was that of Jane Jameson, a single, almost-30 librarian working in Half-Moon Hollow, Ky. Despite the fact that she’s pretty good at her job, she just got canned so her boss could replace her with someone who occasionally starts workplace fires. Jane drowns her sorrows at the local faux nostalgia-themed sports bar. On her way home, she’s mistaken for a deer and shot by a drunk hunter. And then she wakes up as a vampire.

It took me a year to write the book, but only three months to find an agent, Stephany. We signed a representation agreement and two weeks later, I was driving to the post office. The cell phone rang. It was Stephany and I asked if I should pull over. And it was a good thing she did because I started squealing like a five-year-old girl when she told me there was an offer. I hung up and the phone, and then immediately called back because I thought I hadn’t said thank you. She assured me that I had, several times, but calling back was a nice gesture. And then I called my husband and burst into tears.

Q: What should people know about HOW TO FLIRT WITH A NAKED WEREWOLF?

MH: I wrote a good bit of the initial notes for HOW TO FLIRT WITH A NAKED WEREWOLF during the January 2009 ice storm. Thousands of homes in Kentucky, including mine, lost power. With no light, heat or hot water, my family had to bunk at my inlaws’ house. My husband was working twelve-hour emergency shifts. This left me with our six-month-old and five-year-old. All day long. With nothing to distract them except crayons and matchbox cars. And Darcy could not understand why the TV wouldn’t come on. It was either come up with a new book or just go straight-up crazy Jack Nicholson style. By the time the power came on a week later, I had about 20 pages of notes.

Q: Tell us a little about Mo and Cooper?

MH: Mo moves to Grundy, Alaska to escape her intrusive, hippie parents. But even in Grundy, it’s unusual to find a naked guy with a bear trap clamped to his ankle on your porch. But when said guy turns into a wolf, that merits attention. For Cooper, an Alpha in self-imposed exile from his dysfunctional pack, it’s love at first sniff when it comes to Mo. But Cooper has an even more pressing concern on his mind. Several people around Grundy have been the victims of wolf attacks, and since Cooper has no memory of what he gets up to while in werewolf form, he’s worried that he might be the violent canine in question.

If a wolf cries wolf, it makes sense to listen, yet Mo is convinced that Cooper is not the culprit. Except if he’s not responsible, then who is?

Q: This book is part of a series, how many books will be in this series?

MH: I have plans for a third, but I don't know whether that will be picked up.

Q: Do you normally write to music? If so, what would be on your HOW TO FLIRT WITH A NAKED WEREWOLF soundtrack?

MH: I do listen to music when I write. In fact, I've posted the playlist I used while writing this book on my blog.

Q: The cover art for this series and AND ONE LAST THING is beautiful, who is the artist?

MH: The fabulously talented Renata Dibiase. I love her!

Q: Which of your characters is your favorite? Why?

MH: Probably Jane, because she's so similar to me, from our social ineptitude to our shared clumsiness. I once went on vacation and was stung by a jellyfish, suffered a puncture wound from a wrought iron pineapple and was struck in the cleavage by a flying champagne cork all in the span of a day or two. I based Jane’s multiple humiliations on real life experiences… though I have never been mistaken for a deer and shot.

And she’ll always be my favorite, I think, because she was the first heroine I was able to bring to life.

Q: So far, which book has been the hardest to write?

MH: The second Nice Girls book, NICE GIRLS DON'T DATE DEAD MEN. I had to rewrite that thing five times. By the time I was done, I was mentally exhausted.

Q: Your dialogue is full of snaky comments and funny one-liners. Does funny come naturally to you?

MH: My parents are the funniest people ever. If you wanted to survive Thanksgiving, you learned to quip.

Q: What is coming up next for you?

MH: Well, the sequel to HOW TO FLIRT, will come out on March 29, 2011. It's called, THE ART OF SEDUCING A NAKED WEREWOLF.

Q: What are you currently reading?

MH: BRUSH OF DARKNESS by Allison Pang. There's a foul mouthed unicorn. That's all I have to say.

Q: What is your favorite genre to read?

MH: Contemporary romance.

Q: What is your favorite television show?

MH: Ever? Probably Buffy. Currently on TV? The Office.

Q: Which authors do you admire?

MH: Teresa Medeiros, Nora Roberts, Stephen King, Olivia Goldsmith, and a lot more.

Q: What is your guilty pleasure?

MH: Chinese food. I've never met a fried dumpling I didn't like.

Q: Which is sexier: vampires, werewolves, or snaky writers that lock themselves inside lake cabins?

MH: I'm going to say sexy, snarky writers who lock themselves away in cabins. Because I know those guys actually exist!!

Q: If you had your choice between a naughty or nice book, which would you pick on a cold winter’s night?

MH: Naughty, how else am I supposed to keep warm?

Thanks Molly, for taking the time to stop-by and answer a few questions! Congratulation on the up-coming release of HOW TO FLIRT WITH A NAKED VAMPIRE. Just like your other books, I'm sure this one will be witty, sexy, and refreshing.

Molly Harper - Books

ENTER TO WIN: HOW TO FLIRT WITH A NAKED VAMPIRE

Enter below for the chance to win one an eBook copy of Molly Harper's HOW TO FLIRT WITH A NAKED VAMPIRE. The contest closes Saturday, March 5, 2011 at midnight. The winner will be notified via e-mail and will have FIVE days to respond & claim their prize! Since I'm gifting this eBook through Amazon.com, the winner must be have a US amazon.com account set up to receive their prize.

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