Beverly and Tamara: Welcome to SSLY. Thanks so much for joining us today. So first why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?
Hi! I’m a multi-published award-winning author with nine books available through three publishers. I write YA paranormal, but my first love is horror, so sometimes the YA is more NA, and definitely dark and edgy. I live in Southern California with my husband and two great kids.
Tamara: What do you HAVE to have when you are writing?
Ice tea and my iphone. I keep tons of notes in there. And my slippers.
Beverly: When did you start to write?
So, like most authors, the answer is since I started to breathe. I was writing before I could write. But I got serious about it in 2010. That’s the year I decided I was going to get published.
Tamara: What do you think are the qualities that make up a “hero”?
Integrity, respect, and selflessness.
Beverly: Can you describe your favorite character? And which of your books is he/she in? How do you come up with your characters?
Most of my characters are based on people from my life. My favorite character, from my second book, Ghostly, is the sidekick BFF, Sixx. She is the personification of an insanely cool chick I knew in high school.
Tamara: What are the hardest scenes for you to write? Suspense? Sex? Dialogue? And why?
Since I am in the middle of writing my first official New Adult genre novel, I’m tackling my first sex scenes. I’m trying not to get too squidgy about them. LOL
Beverly: What writer, if any, influenced how you write?
Also an automatic answer: Stephen King. I always wanted to write like he did; introducing you to normal people, and then slowly, insidiously peeling back their layers to reveal their inner darkness. Mr. King takes you by the hand and you stroll together until you realize he’s led you into a scary place and you never even knew he was doing it. The subtle changes in direction and focus hooked me from the first book of his that I read.
Tamara: Who would you choose as your “book boyfriend/girlfriend”? From what book? Author?
You know, I never thought of this question. I guess I’d date Holden Caulfield. He’s got game.
Beverly: *grins* Game is good!
Tamara: What are your favorite types of heroines? Do you like the damsel in distress who needs saving or the kick-ass variety? Why?
I like the heroine who is unaware of her own strength and sense of self until she’s cornered and her Superman “S” bursts out of her chest.
Beverly: What was your worst date ever?
A fix-up in high school who got lost on the way to my parent’s house and kept stopping at the same 7-11 to get directions. (Yes, I have just terminally aged myself; the age when there were no cell phones…gasp!)
Tamara: If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you want to have with you? (you have food, water, shelter, all the necessities, so nothing mundane)
My favorite pillow (so I’d comfortable on the sand), my pink lipstick (so I’d always feel fabulous even with dirty hair), and pictures of my kids (so I’d never lose the hope they give me)
Beverly: What is your “guilty pleasure”?
Reality television and the Food Network Channel
Tamara: What dream or goals have you yet to realize?
I want to see a book of mine transformed into a movie or a screenplay.
Beverly: What was your most embarrassing moment? It can’t be worse than mine….
It might be. I spent all day making “company’s coming” fish for dinner for the first time and then as I carried it across the living room to serve it, tripped and watched it shoot off the serving platter. My boyfriend at the time remarked now he knew why rice was called pilaf…wait for it…because we had to peel it off the floor.
Tamara: If you were a color what would you be and why?
I would be green because there would be a million different shades of me and they would all be rich and warm.
Beverly: Who has influenced how you perceive love? Why?
My mum. I have learned to love like her….fearlessly.
Tamara and Beverly: Okay. We are SSLY so I have to ask. Who loves you?
People who love to be loved.
Now for some quick fun questions:
Boxers or briefs? Briefs. I don’t like packages that are all loosey-goosey
Coffee or Tea? Tea. Always.
Tall, dark and handsome or Blond and buff? Brooding and kind.
Hairy chest or smooth? Hair. Smooth makes me think of Ken dolls with, um, no anatomy
Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla with a dizzying array of toppings
Kinky or Sweet? Sweet, but willing.
Fast or slow? Slow. However, there is definitely something to be said for fast and fierce. Am I right?
Public or private? Private. Leave the publicity for the sex-tape-making-teen-moms. Been there, done that.
Top or bottom? Top. This did not surprise you, did it?
When Calliope Flood catches the unwanted attention of prettiest and most privileged girls at her new school, she learns they are possessed of more than just good ole’ Southern charm; they are also possessed by the demons of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Whether she likes it or not, the Ravens want the pretty new girl to become one of their members. Their club is so secret, only a select few know their truth. As a budding journalist, Callie is more interested in investigating them than joining them. When people begin to disappear, she soon discovers the Ravens aren’t just interested in her for her looks; slowly, she learns she’s a legacy. Calliope enlists her eccentric Aunt, her new friends, and a quietly disarming Southern boy to form their own group, The Virtues, to free the girls, and the town, from the demons that have taken over their lives.
Buy links:
Sweet Cravings Publishing
Amazon
About this author
Samantha Combs is a Southern California author with eight published books: Her Young Adult paranormal titles, the Global Ebook Award-winning debut title SPELLBOUND, SPELLBOUND’s sequel, EVERSPELL, GHOSTLY, and WATERDANCER, a middle grade horror called THE DETENTION DEMON, and her adult horror collections, TEETH AND TALONS, WAY PAST MIDNIGHT, and HELLOWEEN. THE DEADLIES is her ninth published book. She enjoys writing YA paranormals, both dark and light, and supernatural fantasy and romance, but it is her love of horror that started it all. Thanks, Mr. King.
When she’s not writing, she works full time and enjoys spending time with her husband and two children. Her guilty pleasures include reality television, the Food Network channel and shoes. She truly believes she can accomplish anything if she has the right pair of shoes. And she adores totally inappropriate earrings.
Samantha loves writing and publishing her work and is in awe of the technological advances of our lives. With all of the genres there are for a reader, she has learned that writing paranormal and horror lets her share all the weirdness of everyday life in a not-so-everyday way. The foundation of a good story is all around her. All she has to do is….breathe.
Samantha loves to hear from her fans. Connect with her here:
Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Samantha-Combs-Fan-Page/205186202866933
Email: SamanthaCombsWrites@gmail.com
Blog: http://www.samanthacombswrites.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/samanthacombs1
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4953744.Samantha_Combs
Amazon Author Central Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0055WS25S
Check out all nine of my books:
GHOSTLY http://www.amazon.com/Ghostly-ebook/dp/B005ONM5RE/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336187148&sr=1-1
THE DETENTION DEMON http://www.amazon.com/The-Detention-Demon-ebook/dp/B0077DTQHG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336187185&sr=1-1
TEETH AND TALONS http://www.amazon.com/Teeth-Talons-Horror-Anthology-ebook/dp/B006X51I4S/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336187215&sr=1-1
WAY PAST MIDNIGHT http://www.amazon.com/Way-Past-Midnight-ebook/dp/B0088DXFP8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1338755543&sr=1-1
HELLOWEEN http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009X3N9IA
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