Please Welcome Melissa Jolley...Remember this name

She's going to be BIG... In an author sense that is.


Today, I'm welcoming first time author, Melissa Jolley onto my blog.

 Her first book Wolf's Heart was released on 18th May 2012 by Breathless Press

Hi Melissa, glad you could drop in.

Pleasure to be here Raven, thanks for letting me invade.

Let's find out little bit about you.

Well I'm a Kiwi girl, who came to the UK to do some travelling and ended up getting married and having two kids instead. I started writing in November 2010, as a way of finding some 'ME' time and that first little foray became 'Wolf's Heart'.

How did you get the idea for your book?

I went to a Buffy Convention in New Zealand years ago, and I liked the idea of the supernatural hero actually BEING supernatural. I also remember stories of my grandparents and aunts going hop picking with gypsies in Surrey, before they immigrated to NZ in the 50's.

Who gave you the inspiration for your hero and heroine? Do you use pictures or music to inspire you?

"There's a boy I know, he's the one I dream of…" (I do an awesome Whitney impression ;)) does that help answer the question? I love music but can only write with instrumental stuff, otherwise I'll just end up singing and, yes, dancing! Pictures on the other hand are a must, especially for my hero, think Niall Matter (Zane on Eureka). My heroine's name, Larissa, was inspired by an old school friend I'd recently caught up with. I always thought her name was pretty, and when I found out I was going to be published I sent her a very apologetic email. Thankfully she was extremely understanding and will be buying a copy! Right, Larissa?!

What's next?

I am currently working on Cat's Eyes, the second book in the Feral series. It's Sarah's (mentioned in excerpt) story.  I also have an Angel novella 

I'm working on set in one of my favourite places in the world, Edinburgh. (Edinburgh gets an honourable mention in Wolf's heart as well :)

Now we've got the serious stuff sorted, lets play the quick fire round.Favorite color? Green, all shades.

Music? Anything, I like stuff I can sing along and dance to 

mostly, but it's more about whatever suits my moods ;)

Food? 

Seafood, I'm a Kiwi/Maori girl after all.

Place on earth you've visited/lived? 

Turangi, New Zealand

Where you would love to go and haven't yet? 

New York, Lapland, Hogwarts!

Author?

Okay going against type here to say JK Rowling. Is that wrong considering what type of books I write? Though I'd always wanted to be an author, JK's story, gave me the first inklings that you didn't have to be this massive intellectual or celebrity to write a book.

Book? 

Back on track White Hot Christmas By Serenity Woods. She brings my homeland to life so vividly.

Best present you've ever had?

Well I got offered my contract Christmas Eve, does that count? The following day hubby gave me a netbook for my writing, so that was awesome. A friend gave me a little laptop charm when I got my contract, and another gave me a notebook with a mills and boon style cover with my name and book title on it. I'm so spoilt!

Anything else you'd like to share?

If you've always wanted to write, just give it a go. I did, and I'm so happy I made that decision.  Thanks again for letting me come and play Raven, it's been fun.

Hey, it's been lovely to have you here,

So now, lets get your blurb and excerpt, and a look at this amazing cover...

As reality and fantasy collide, will Zane be able to convince Larissa that she has the strength to ensure her own survival as well as protect the existence of the world she turned her back on long ago?

Excerpt

Larissa leaned back, taking a sip from her wine glass before speaking. "It's funny; you say you've known Sarah a long time but she's never mentioned you. And believe me, she'd love to tell everyone she's ever met that she knows a TV star!"

Zane smiled ruefully. "We hadn't seen each other in years so when we caught up again, I asked her not to make a fuss. She knows me well enough to respect that."

Larissa still was not convinced. She knew Sarah pretty well too, and it was not like her friend to keep something this big to herself. She let it go, though; Larissa had more important questions to ask. "So, Zane, what else did Sarah tell you about me?"

His eyes flashed at her, too knowing, and her confidence faltered as he stared into the flame of the candle placed between them. "You've shunned your gypsy roots and don't believe in the folklore of your family, but you're a free spirit who doesn't like to be tied down and moves often. You prefer all things modern, yet your favorite city is Edinburgh. Rather gothic for a modern girl, don't you think?" He looked up at her, smiling. "You're cautious when you meet good men, but reckless with your heart when it comes to less savory characters. It seems you like the bad boys." Zane paused, eyeing her with fascination. "You really are a mass of contradictions."

Larissa felt the fire in her cheeks. Sarah is definitely in the bad books. "Anything else?" She spoke through gritted teeth.

"Oh, and you're incredible in bed," he added, seemingly unfazed by her obvious irritation.

She felt her cheeks burn deeper still, but her jaw unclenched at the shock of his words. She drank half her glass of wine in one gulp, before speaking again, whilst Zane eyed her patiently, a cheeky grin planted firmly on his ever-so-tasty lips. Gorgeous smug bastard. Larissa fixed a smile of false indifference on her face. "Sarah has been a busy girl."

Thanks for spending some time with us today, I'm off to check out this great sounding book.

 So, here's the buy links and how to keep in touch with Melissa 

jolleyromance.weebly.com

jolleyromance.blogspot.com

facebook.com/jolleyromance

or tweet her @MelissaJolley

 Melissa is giving a copy of wolf's Heart to one lucky commenter... so get commenting!