Meet Zoe Archer and celebrate the release of the Prequel to her upcoming series!

Come help us welcome Zoe Archer! And celebrate the release of The Undying Heart that is offered in the anthology Half Past Dead! The Undying Heart is the prequel to her upcoming series The Blades of the Rose! The Blades of the Rose series will have a book out a month! The release dates are as follows:

Warrior - September 2010
Scoundrel - October 2010
Rebel - November 2010
Stranger - December 2010

Now lets get to know Zoe a bit!

Hi Zoe! Welcome to HowlingGoodBooks! We just have a few questions for you, although I am sure that you will have others ask some too!

What was the first thing you ever wrote for yourself that you enjoyed?

The weird thing is that I can't remember a time when I didn't write.  I was always writing stories.  In elementary school, I was writing fan fiction about Duran Duran before the term "fan fiction" had been invented.  My magnum opus came at the age of 11 when I wrote a typed 60-page fantasy epic inspired by the musical Cats, but I don't know what ever happened to that story.  Maybe it's for the best that it's missing....

What gave you the idea for the series?

I'd sold two straight up historical romances, but wasn't making a lot of progress with getting a third sale.  It was really frustrating.  Everyone tells you to "write the book of your heart," and the rest will fall into place.  So I started to think about what I, as a reader, would really enjoy.  After a lot of thinking and hair pulling, I said, Screw it, this is what I'm going to write: high adventure.  I've always loved the idea of racing around in exotic places, running and gunning against the bad guys, just being out there in the world and having fun.  That was key.  Fun.  I wanted to read and write something that was just an awesome good time, where the heroines were smart and strong and the heroes were sexy as hell, in their dusty adventurer clothes, their leather braces crisscrossing their backs, rifles strapped across their broad shoulders, long legs wearing tall boots...I'm sorry.  What were we talking about?

Are any characters based on real people?

No, all the men and women of The Blades of the Rose are products of my fevered mind.  Though in the fourth book in the series, STRANGER, the heroine is a journalist and was somewhat inspired by the incredible Nellie Bly. 

What are your plans now that you have sold the whole The Blades of The Rose series? 

I'd love to write more Blades books, of course!  We have to see how readers respond before moving ahead with more Blades, though.  In the meantime, I'm working on a historical fiction novel.  It's not a romance, though it definitely has romantic elements.  But I can't talk about it, because the idea is so smoking hot that I don't want anyone absconding with it before the book is done!

I love the “snarky” humor on your site! Is that weaved throughout your books as well?

Integrating humor is really key.  Think about Indiana Jones cracking wise and rescuing his hat as he escapes death yet again. I'm not much into Broody Von Sturm und Drang.  A guy who's a bit of a wise-ass is also damn sexy, in my opinion, and nothing's hotter than a hero and heroine trading witty jabs.  But I don't write "wacky," and I try to keep the humor natural.  So it's definitely in there. 

What made you think of the name of the series?

It had to be something sexy and dangerous with a fun adventure element.  The compass motif is one I return to again and again in my life.  I even have a compass tattoo!  And compasses represent the global scope of The Blades of the Rose series.  The pointed star of a compass is called a compass rose, and each cardinal direction is indicated by a knife-like point.  A rose is a feminine image, while a "blade" is also another word for a daring young man.  So I combined it all together to get The Blades of the Rose, a group of daring men and women who travel the globe to find and protect the world's magic.

What is it that you enjoy most out of being an author?

No commute!  Pajamas until lunch!  Actually, I love just about everything about writing.  I love thinking up new ideas.  I adore doing research (yeah, I'm a former grad school dork).  I love the writing itself and imagining and then describing people, places, action.  Rewriting is not so awesome, but it has to be done in order to make every work as good as it can be. 

What about the least?

Unless you're a certain author whose name rhymes with Shnora Schroberts, there's a lot of uncertainty in writing.  Even getting published is no guarantee of consistent sales and a long career.  You have to write because you love writing, not because you think you're going to make a sale or that that's what the market wants.  Sometimes the only validation you get is from the work itself.  So you just have to sit your tush down in the chair every day and get the work done.  And stop surfing the internet!  (Except to read romance sites like this one, ahem.)

I notice that your husband writes as well. Does he have something we would know?

He was a working screenwriter for a long time but got fed-up with the Hollywood system and has been writing fiction for a few years.  He's also my not-so-secret weapon.  Every time in The Blades of the Rose you read about a very cool steampunk invention, he thought of it.  And he's also my first reader, my plot guru, my fight choreographer, my weapons expert, and generally just the most awesome guy in the history of guys.  We share an office.  Our desks are literally eight feet apart.  (We measured.)  Currently, he's on the agent hunt (**stares pointedly at any agents reading this**).  But you can read a great, gritty neo-noir blog fiction by him here.  http://deaddropzd.blogspot.com/

What is the strangest thing you have ever been asked?

 So far, all the questions I've been asked have been really normal, so I'm eagerly awaiting my WTF question.

Do you have any deep dark secrets about… writing that you want to share with people?

 My earliest inspiration came from music videos, especially the oeuvre of Duran Duran.  When I write, I'm often listening to either "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" or else Duran Duran's breakaway group, Arcadia.  But I refuse to wear leggings.

Lol! Isn't Zoe funny? And that humor is found throughout The Undying Heart! Now on to the contest portion! There will be many ways you can enter! And the contest will run from December 29th to midnight on January 3rd. Would you like to know what the prizes are?

1st Prize is a $25 Amazon.com Gift Card and a signed copy of Half Past Dead

2 runner ups will recieve their own signed copy of Half Past Dead!

Thats right! She is offering 3 prize sets! How awesome! Now on to the ways you enter! REMEMBER to have an entry count you MUST come back here and post what you did and the LINK within the comments section!

For 50 entries you can register on the site!

For 100 entries you can buy Half Past Dead using the Link below OR the Amazon box on this page! They MUST be bought using the link below OR the search box for the entries to count! If you win just think! You can give the copy you bought to a friend and share in the wealth of entertainment! Make sure to forward me the confirmation of purchases to contest@howlinggoodbooks.com

Half Past Dead

For 50 entries you can buy ANYTHING through the Amazon box to the side! Make sure to email me the confirmation of your purchase to contest@howlinggoodbooks.com

For 25 entries you can become a fan on TheBlades of the Rose FaceBook Fan page HERE!

You can follow Zoe Archer for 10 entries on Twitter! Make sure you tweet to @HGBreviews once you follow them.

Zoe Archer- Twitter

You can friend Zoe Archer on her MySpace for 10 entries! Forward the confirmation to contest@howlinggoodbooks.com

Zoe's MySpace

You can Twitter this link ( http://howlinggoodbooks.com/index.php?id=248  ) for 10 more entries ONE time EACH day!!! Just make sure you come back each day you Twitter you come here and post it!

You can follow HGB on Twitter for 10 entries

HGBreviews - Twitter

For 25 entries become a fan of HowlingGoodBooks fan page on FaceBook HERE

You can go to the review and comment for 10 entries! Just make sure to come back here and tell us you commented! The review is HERE

For each place you blog about the contest you will get 10 entries! Use the link at the top of the page and make sure to post links to each blog in the comment section below!

And if you have people come and comment saying that you sent them They will get 5 entries and you will get 10! For each person! So GO! Spread the word! And have fun while you do it! The contest will run until 11:59 pm Central time Sunday January 3rd! The winners will be randomly chosen and announced on the 5th!  Good luck everyone!

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