Inkwell Guest: Interview with Sasha Summers

Hi, all! Today I’m happy to have fellow Princess, Sasha Summers here. Sasha and I–along with a few other Princess gals–will be doing a signing together next month. So if you’re in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, come out and see us on Friday, June 8 from 7 pm to 9 pm at A Real Bookstore in Faireview. More info to come on that so stay tuned! In the meantime, check out this interview with Sasha to get the skinny on her latest releases.

Thanks so much for being here at the Inkwell! When did you know you wanted to be a writer? And how did you get your start?

I’ve always loved writing. I wrote plays in Elementary school (may parents were big into community theater) and stories as I grew up. It was only after my business closed that I went on a writing frenzy. Maybe it was dealing with the ‘grief’ of losing something I was so passionate about – but it opened the writing floodgates (about 2 years ago) and I’ve spent a little part of everyday writing since then.

Where do you find your inspiration?

Dreams, music, and mythology.

What is the one writer’s tool you can’t live without?

Ummmmm… I guess laptop is too obvious. So I’ll say my voice recorder – I talk faster than I write, so it’s great when I’m having a ‘creative moment’.

How many words/pages do you do in a day/week/month? And how do you keep yourself motivated to do them?

It fluctuates. There are times when I’m writing 3500 a day and other days when I write a few hundred. If I push it, my pages are flat. So I really have to focus and ‘get in the groove’. Music, pictures, things that pull me in to the story normally help. If not, I walk away for a while – read something.

Whose work has influenced you the most?

I’m a crazy fan girl of Stephanie Dray. I love, I’m not alone here, Diana Gabaldon.

This month is the release of your novel, Medusa, A Love Story. Where did you get the idea for that?

One of the most vivid dreams I’d ever had. I woke up shaking and upset, the images didn’t fade. I jotted notes, but didn’t have a cohesive vision yet. On my way home from a critique meeting (an hour drive for me) I was listening to Florence and the Machine’s Cosmic Love and it all fell in to place – flowed. A really emotional write – but one I’m really proud of.

Here’s the book trailer:

How about a blurb?

It’s said love can change a person. Medusa wasn’t always a monster…

Medusa is ruled by duty, to her Titan father and the Goddess Athena. She’s no room for the tenderness her warrior guard, Ariston, stirs. When Olympus frees her from service, her heart leads her into the arms of the guard she loves… and curses her as the creature with serpent locks.

Ariston goes to war with a full heart… and dreadful foreboding. He learns too late of the danger Medusa faces, alone, and a Persian blade sends him into the Underworld. But death, curses, nor the wrath of the Gods will keep him from returning to her.

Poseidon will use Greece’s war to get what he wants: Medusa. He does not care that she belongs to another. He does not care that she will be damned. He is a God, an Olympian, and she will be his.

Do you find that you enjoy writing fantasy more? Or contemporary romance?

I like to rotate. I know it sounds weird, but it helps me ‘cleanse the pallet’ if you will. The fantasy takes a lot out of me, research wise. The contemporaries are more escape, fun, and a little bit… steamier too 🙂

You have another release, Hollywood Ever After. How about a blurb and a little something about that book?

With pleasure. I think H.E.A will be a great beach read!

She wasn’t meant for movie stars, Hollywood, or happy endings. And then she met him.

Happy Endings are for fairy tales. Or the movies. Not for real life. At least, not in Claire’s life. Even though she’s starting over, she knows better than to want too much this time. But when she falls, literally, into the strong arms of Hollywood’s ‘it’ boy Josh Wiley, Claire’s in for some surprises. Her plans for rest and relaxation are forgotten as one incredible night with Josh becomes two… And her heart begins to want him as much as her body. Will two kids, one bastard ex-husband, and Josh’s juggernaut career mean the end of their affair? Or can Claire find her happy ending after all?

Here’s the book trailer:

If you weren’t a writer, what would you be?

A sign language interpreter. I’m a little rusty now, but I learned quite a bit when I was a pre-school teacher. One of my students was deaf, so the class and I learned basic sign language. I was hooked. I have so many ASL and signing books. I might have to make one of my characters an interpreter?

What is something I would find on your TBR pile?

I’m ALL over the place. I have The Black Jewels Trilogy, Lure of the Wicked, The Hobbit (again), The Giver, Lure of the Wicked, Almost a Scandal, and My Life as A White Trash Zombie. All over the place – LOL!

Where can we find you online?

• On Facebook and Pinterest and Goodreads – Sasha Summers
• www.sashasummers.com
• @sashawrites on Twitter

Link to buy Medusa: Paperback – Barnes and Noble | Paperback Amazon | Kindle – Amazon

Link to pre-order Hollywood Ever After: Click here

Thanks so much for having me on the blog!