Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Blog Tour: Guest Post w/ A.M. Hargrove + Giveaway!


WELCOME TO THE BLOG, A.M.! :)


One day on her way home from work as a sales manager, A. M. Hargrove realized her life was on fast forward and if she didn’t do something soon, it would quickly be too late to write that work of fiction she had been dreaming of her whole life. So, she rolled down the passenger window of her fabulous (not) company car and tossed out her leather briefcase. Luckily, the pedestrian in the direct line of fire was a dodgeball pro and had über quick reflexes enabling him to avoid getting bashed in the head. Feeling a tad guilty about the near miss, A. M. made a speedy turn down a deserted side street before tossing her crummy, outdated piece-of-you-know-what laptop out the window. She breathed a liberating sigh of relief, picked up her cell phone and hit #4 on her speed dial.

“Hello.”

“Boss, is that you?”

“Why yes A.M., who else would be answering my phone?”

“Er… right. Well, I’m calling to let you know you can pick up my luxury Ford Focus at Starbucks near the interstate because I quit.”

A.M. hit the end button and speed dialed her husband.

“Hi hubs, can you pick me up at Starbucks?”

“Sure hon… having some car trouble?”

“Not at all. I need a ride because I just quit my job.”

“You WHAT?!”

“It’s time for a new career and I am going to be a very famous novelist.”

So began A. M. Hargrove’s career as a young adult paranormal romance author of self-published ebooks.
Well, it didn’t happen exactly like that. The real story is that after years as a successful sales manager in the world of pharmaceuticals, her company was gobbled up by a larger one and her career came to a screeching halt. Always one to look at the glass as being half full, she took the job loss as an opportunity to forge down the path of her life-long dream– that of becoming a writer. Her series, The Guardians of Vesturon, centers around a family of six siblings and is a mix of humor, mystery, suspense and of course, love. The books in the series are listed in order: Beginnings (a prequel novella), Survival, Resurrection and Determinant. Beginnings can be read at any time and Determinant, even though it is the third book in the series, can be read as a stand alone novel.

 
Where to Find A.M.:

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The Creation of Jurek

I often get asked how I developed Jurek...where did he come from?

When I was writing Determinant, my third book in the Guardians of Vesturon, I wanted a bad guy. Someone who was powerful and had no conscience. I began writing about him...wove him into the story and somehow he started to take over. I had to temper him, reign him in so to speak. He came so alive on the pages.
After Determinant was published, I started getting comments about how the MC of the story, Rykerian, who was this kind, gentle soul, was super hot and sweet, but that Jurek was that bad boy everyone wanted more of.

That’s how Dark Waltz was born. I had to soften him in Determinant since it’s in the YA/NA genre, but I didn’t hold anything back in Dark Waltz. Jurek is a mess. He’s had a couple of bad experiences that have hardened him into this emotionless a**hat, if you will. If you read the reviews on Dark Waltz, you’ll notice how the readers say they dislike him at the beginning. But then...BAM! He hits them in the gut and takes over. That’s sort of what he does to Liasare too.  But he’s torn between wanting to protect her and wanting to keep her close to him as his very own. He just doesn’t know how to do it in the right way. In fact, everything he does is wrong. Add to this whole mix the fact that his species is the most powerful in the universe and a relationship between them could actually harm her.  It becomes extremely difficult for the two of them. But you learn more and more about him, and in the sequel, Death Waltz, you’ll learn even more.

But that’s all I’ll give away today...if you want to learn more about this really Bad Boy, you’re just going to have to read Dark Waltz. But I’ll give you fair warning-- you won’t get warm fuzzies from Jurek at the beginning.

~A.M. Hargrove

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Dark Waltz by A.M. Hargrove
Publisher: A.M. Hargrove (Nov 7th, 2012)
Series: Praestani, 1
Genre: Paranormal Romance


Attention: This is an ADULT Book!

Dark Waltz--A sizzling legend of loss, lust and love.


It’s the year 2030 and the human population has been annihilated by a virulent form of small pox. Liasare Davidson is desperately searching for her brother, who has been missing for three months. It’s been eighteen years since she was evacuated from Earth and she is horrified to see it’s become a cesspool of unimaginable things.

In her quest to find her brother, she meets Jurek, a powerful and enigmatic being that frightens her, yet she is unable to resist. When things begin to unfold between them, they both discover a paralyzing truth that puts Liasare at grave risk. She must make a choice to join Jurek and find her brother or fulfill a role she believes she is ill equipped to undertake.
 

 
Where to Buy*:
More Info:




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a Rafflecopter giveaway


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Ooh, love the cover -- I cannot wait to read this one! As well as your NA series, too. Thanks so much for stopping by! 









Enjoy!






Until Next Time,





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*TBQ's Book Palace is a member of both the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles affiliates program. By using the links provided to buy products from either website, I receive a very small percentage of the order. To read my full disclosure on the matter, please see this post!

3 comments :

Candace's Book Blog said...

I love a bad boy turned good! Or turned soft, lol. Thanks so much for hosting a tour stop today!

Anne Hargrove said...

Thanks so much for featuring the giveaway on your wonderful blog!Thanks, too, for being a part of the tour and allowing me to do to a guest post about the mysterious Jurek ;-) Annie xx

Donna Simmonds said...

Sounds great. Cant wait to read more.