Giveaway & Interview with Futuristic Romance Author Jess Granger

Genre: Science Fiction Romance

Publisher: Berkley sensation

Format: Mass-market Paperbacks

Pages: 320

Released Date: May 4, 2010

Order Now!

A man of deception. A woman of justice. Can their fragile trust be strong enough to prevent a war?


Commander Yara knows perfect leadership requires perfect control and discipline. She has spent years living without the distraction of caring for anything—or anyone. It’s a sacrifice she’s willing to make. Yara has honed herself into the perfect heir to the Azralen throne, but a bloody coup could destroy everything she’s worked so hard for. She must return home to prevent war. Unfortunately the only ship available belongs to an Earthlen trader with no regard for authority—especially hers.


Cyn is a rebel, driven to protect those suffering at the hands of the Elite leaders of Azra. Using his alias to manipulate the lovely but icy commander onto his ship, he has to keep her from Azra long enough to ignite the revolution. But when he awakens a vibrant and feeling woman beneath that icy exterior, he gets more than he bargained for—love. He must find a way to convince Yara to join him, before they get caught in a web of deception that could tear their world apart.


Jess Granger excels at making this world she has created totally believable. As readers we are excited to find new authors who write well written stories that can take us away from our daily lives when we need to ‘get away’. And I’m very excited to have found Jess Granger. Even if you don’t normally read this genre, I HIGHLY urge you give this book a try. It represents everything I love about this genre. As with her first book, once again she knocked this one out of the park.
Kristie J – Ramblings on Romance Etc.

Read Excerpt.

Get to know the Author of the Day.

OVER THE EDGE BOOK REVIEWS

QUESTIONS WITH

SCIENCE FICTION ROMANCE

AUTHOR

JESS GRANGER

1.  It fascinates me, the different paths writers take to publication. Will you tell us about your journey as a writer? When you started were there any big milestones? What was your first book?

I realize now that I’ve always been a writer. I was a middle child between two rambunctious boys, and so I played a lot of imagination games by myself when I was growing up. My favorite assignments in school were the ones where I could write stories. In High School, my English teacher conveniently looked the other way while I wrote the epic and tragic adventures of Red Rose the Pirate in the back of my binder during class.


I came out of the Romance closet in college after I realized my grandmother was also a fan, and what was good enough for Grandma was good enough for me. I majored in Literature and took creative writing courses. When I graduated, that’s when I decided I really wanted to write a book.


Eight years later, I sold. It took a while to learn what I really needed to know to get published, but I’m grateful to all the writing communities I became a part of for showing me the ropes. It was an education I couldn’t get anywhere else.


As for my first book, I wrote it just after college. It was about shape-shifters during the California Gold Rush, and thankfully it will blissfully remain under the bed.

2. What is a typical work day for you?

My typical work day is a little hectic because I’ve been blessed with two precious babies who aren’t in school yet. I usually wake up and do promotion in the morning, then spend the day with the kidlets, and I write at night after they’ve gone to sleep. Right now I’m writing at a blistering pace, trying to get two to three chapters done a week on my latest work in progress. Consequently, I’m not getting much sleep, but I’m getting used to it.

3. For some writers research is a pain they’re forced to endure, and for others it’s their favorite part. What about you?

For my high-flying space adventures, I have the luxury of creating my own worlds. Unfortunately, I take world building very seriously, so I’m constantly going back to some of my roots in anthropology, evolutionary biology, history, and science to make my worlds as believable as possible. I’m not a very techie person, so I do have to take care to make sure things like spaceships are realistic, but also intuitive and easy to read about in my work.


I have just recently delved into the world of real historical research for my latest work in progress. I find it a little dangerous, because I tend to find little tidbits I have to fit in to the novel somehow. In the end, research always interests me because I’m a naturally curious person.

4. Are you a creature of habit, needing a routine to write? Or are adaptable to write when and wherever the mood strikes?

Well, with young ones, I’m afraid I have to scratch and scrape for any writing moment I can get. It’s the first law of survival, those who adapt survive. That said, keeping some sort of accountability is important. I’ve been known to reward reaching landmarks with decadent indulgences, like playing Sims for a couple of hours.

5. Do you have any advice for new writers—maybe things that you’ve learned through trial and error?

The greatest advice I can give new writers is to get involved with other writers. Join writer’s communities, learn, and then start to critique. I’ve learned the most about writing from reading and analyzing what works and what doesn’t in other people’s work.
Once you get to the critiquing point, remind yourself every day you are still and always will be a student of writing. Keep an open mind to all the ways you can make your work better.


Then develop your professional self. Be disciplined, generous, kind, interested, open, honest, and trustworthy. Keep putting one foot in front of the other, dodge punches when you can, and if one happens to smack you, don’t let it knock you out.


Keep fighting.

6. Other than writing, what do you love to do?

I’m an avid butterfly gardener, and during the summer months, I indulge in my hobby of photographing the butterflies that come into my garden. I post the pictures on my blog every Saturday. During the winter I talk mostly about writing and baking. I’m also a roller-coaster enthusiast, I brew my own beer, and I write slightly naughty haiku about innocuous objects and post them on Twitter.

7. Please tell us more about your latest release Berkley Sensation, “BEYOND THE SHADOWS”.

BEYOND THE SHADOWS is the story of two very dynamic leaders who are on the opposite sides of an impending revolution. Here’s the blurb.


His renegade wit. Her rigid code of honor. And a betrayal so deep it could tear their world apart.
Commander Yara knows perfect leadership requires perfect control and discipline. She has spent years living without the distraction of caring for anything—or anyone. It’s a sacrifice she’s willing to make. Yara has honed herself into the perfect heir to the Azralen throne, but a bloody coup could destroy everything she’s worked so hard for. She must return home to prevent war. Unfortunately the only ship available belongs to an Earthlen trader with no regard for authority—especially hers.
Cyn is a rebel, driven to protect those suffering at the hands of the Elite leaders of Azra. Using his alias to manipulate the lovely but icy commander onto his ship, he has to keep her from Azra long enough to ignite the revolution. But when he awakens a vibrant and feeling woman beneath that icy exterior, he gets more than he bargained for—love. He must find a way to convince Yara to join him, before they get caught in a web of deception that could tear their world apart.

8. What was your inspiration for “BEYOUND THE SHADOWS”?

The inspiration for BEYOND THE SHADOWS came from many places. I took a lot of inspiration from the French Revolution and ancient Rome. But the most personal inspiration for the book came from my feelings about my husband’s deployment at the time the book was written.


Yara, the heroine of the story, has to face true life or death fighting for the first time in her life, and it is hard for her. She makes mistakes. She panics. But in the end she comes out of her hardships with the true strength and conviction of character that she needs to be the leader she was born to be.

9. In your new release did you find you had had a favorite character? Did you notice that there was one character over the other that was more intriguing to write than the others?

I’m so in love with the hero, Cyn. He was such a dynamic personality to write. He’s witty, brilliant, and devious. The type of bad boy who won’t muscle you into something, he’ll trick you into it. I’ve compared him to a really naughty mix of Han Solo and Lex Luthor. It was fun bringing him to his knees.

10.What’s up next for you and when can we look forward to seeing it out in our bookstores?

Well, right now I’m trying something new. I’m working on a Steampunk inspired young adult project. We’ll see how it goes.

Thank you Jess, it was a delight to have you drop by and chat with me and my readers here at Over the Edge. :)

I am so happy to be here. Thank you for inviting me.

You may contact Jess at the following sites:

Jess Granger’s Website: http://www.jessgranger.com/
Jess Granger’s Butterfly Blog: http://jessgranger.blogspot.com/

Jess loves hearing from her fans so drop her an email at jess “at” jessgranger (dot) com

**GIVEAWAY**
Two randomly selected commenters will win a copy of "BEYOND THE SHADOWS ", book two in THE BEYOND series" by author Jess Granger by Berkley Sensation. To enter here are a few simple rules.

* +2 Leave a comment for Jess Granger including email.
* +2 Spread the Word! ( this means go out into cyber world and post it on any network sites that your are a member of, or on your blog or website. +2 Then come back and leave a link so I can verify the post.)
*Follow me on Twitter. (+5) already a follower--GREAT!+10
* Friend me on Facebook. (+5)- already a follower-AWSOME! +10
* Become a follower of Over The Edge! (+3 Already a follower--You ROCK! +2 Become a follower.)

The giveaway is open to All and will be running until August 29, 2010. I'll be picking and contacting the winners directly on August 30, 2010. Please make sure to include your email with your comment. Happy Reading!