Author Spotlight: Lisa Kessler

Lisa Kessler

Join me in welcoming Lisa Kessler, an award-winning author of dark paranormal fiction. Her debut novel, NIGHT WALKER, won a San Diego Book Award for Best Published Fantasy-Sci-fi-Horror, as well as the Romance Through the Ages Award for Best Paranormal and Best First Book. Her short stories have been published in print anthologies and magazines, and her vampire story, IMMORTAL BELOVED, was a finalist for a Bram Stoker award. When she's not writing, Lisa is a professional vocalist, performing with the San Diego Opera as well as other musical theater companies in San Diego. You can learn more at Lisa-Kessler.com or follow Lisa on Twitter or Facebook.

Available at all e-book retailers.

Lisa's newest book is Kerrelyn Sparks called HUNTER'S MOON "A fabulous read!" (Kerrelyn signed a poster of the book cover for VAMPIRE WITH A DRAGON TATTOO for me at RWA, so we're thick as thieves, ha-ha, but I digress . . .)  Here's the blurb for HUNTER'S MOON, book two in the Moon Series, from Amazon.com, where you can get your Kindle Edition of the book for only $3.71:

Sasha's future was stolen from her the moment she was bitten. Now she's on the run from the Nero Organization that transformed her from a human detective into a shape shifting jaguar assassin. When a rogue bounty hunter threatens her younger sister, she'll be forced to fight, and with nowhere else to turn, Sasha will need to trust the one man who has every reason to want her dead.

Aren is a werewolf with a secret. While protecting his twin brother and Alpha of the Pack, he found his one mate for life. Sadly she's also the jaguar assassin who tried to kill them both. Now Aren is struggling between his animal nature to love and protect her, and his loyalty to the Pack.

And now for the moment you've all been waiting for (drumroll please . . .), my exclusive interview with Lisa:

NM: What drew you to the genre?

LK: I started out as a horror reader and my first publishing credits were horror short stories. As the paranormal romance genre grew, I loved being able to add romance into a dark paranormal story and I was hooked!

NM: How would you describe your style/voice as a writer?

LK: Tough question! I tend to write very dark, passionate stories with lots of action and villains that push the hero and heroine to their limits. It’s a hard won happily ever after in my books…

NM: What other authors inspired you to write? 

LK: Anne Rice, Kelley Armstrong, Angie Fox and Sherrilyn Kenyon.

NM: Who else do you read in your genre?

LK: I read so many… Yikes!  Okay here are a few of my favorites: Kelley Armstrong, Jeri Smith-Ready, Jackie Kessler, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and many more!

NM: What other writing projects are in the works?

LK: I’m finishing up NIGHT CHILD the final book in my Night Series and then I’ll be finishing up BLOOD MOON, the next installment in my Moon Series.  Busy!

 NM: How many years have you been writing? How did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

 LK:  I always enjoyed writing, but it never occurred to me to try and get published until I had a palm reading in New Orleans. At the end of the reading she asked me if I was a writer. I told her I wrote but just for fun and she smiled and told me I was going to be a famous writer someday! *boggle* I haven’t achieved famous yet, but after I got home I published several short stories and six months later I had the first draft of Night Walker done. I’m SUPER grateful to her for giving me a nudge!

NM: How do you come up with your story ideas?

LK: It usually starts with a character I’d like to write and then an opening scene… I don’t plot when I write, it’s very organic.

NM: What is the most important thing you want people to know about you and your work?

LK: I put my whole heart into everything I write. It goes out into the world and I neurotically hope that the story will connect with people.

NM: Please tell us where you live, what your family’s like (including pets), and what you do for a living if you work outside of writing.

LK: I’m in San Diego with two grown kids, three dogs and a cat. Right now I’m writing full time. I hope I’ll be able to sell enough books to continue…  *knock on wood*

NM: Anything else you want to tell people about yourself or your work?

LK: Hmmm… I’m also a Disney-a-holic with a soft spot for the villains. The Evil Queen from Snow White is my favorite.

NM: Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge with us. I appreciate you and your work.

LK: Thanks so much for inviting me to visit your blog!