Tri-blog with Stephanie Julian Interview & Giveaway

LITERAL ADDICTION Paranormal Book Club, Book Monster Reviews and For the Love of Books are very happy to welcome Stephanie Julian to our sites today.  
Stephanie is the author of the Magical Seduction, Lucani Lovers, and The Fringe series, as well as the new Forgotten Goddess series. 

A former reporter for a daily newspaper, she enjoys making up stories much more than writing about real life, and is happily married to a Springsteen fanatic, with whom she shares two sons who love her even when they don’t have any clean clothes and dinner is a bowl of cereal. 

Want to read more? Click HERE


Stephanie’s other current release, ”What a Goddess Wants”, Forgotten Goddess Book #1, was released on July 1^st and has been hailed “Brutally vivid” with “Flaming hot passion that just leaps off the pages”.  Book #2 of the series, “How to Worship a Goddess” is due out on 12/1/2011, and we’re sure it will get similar praise. 

It’s OK no one remembers Etruscan Sun goddess Tessa. But when a demon threatens her life, she must turn to mythology’s darkest warrior for protection.. 


Caligo of the Cimmerians has never met a woman as warm, sunny and inviting as Tessa. Their sizzling mutual attraction quickly sweeps the two of them into a love story that’s worthy of the gods.

LITERAL ADDICTION/Book Monster Reviews/For The Love of Books:  Hi Stephanie, thank you so much for joining us all today!  We can’t wait to learn a little bit more about you and your new series. 
Stephanie: And I’m thrilled to be here.


LITERAL ADDICTION/Book Monster Reviews/For the Love of Books:  We usually start out our interviews learning a bit more about our Guest Author.


Q1):  Can you tell us 3 things about yourself that we couldn’t find out on the Internet? 
Stephanie: My favorite running shoes are my new Adidas Marathons. Love them. I have a bright red cruising bike I compare to the Wicked Witch’s bike in The Wizard of Oz that I ride whenever I get the chance. And I’m an Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja addict. I spend way to much time killing pigs and chopping fruit.


Q2):  What is a typical writing day like for you?
Stephanie:I roll out of bed, stumble to my desk around 7 a.m., clean out my email and start to write around 8 a.m. I try to write at least 2,000 words a day, hopefully more, sometimes less. I try to spend most of it writing but I’m easily distracted. I run every other day so I have to work that in too. I try to write from 8 to 4, but I always spend some time talking to my guys when they get home from school.

Q3):  Did anyone or anything special inspire you to become an author?
Stephanie: I have always been a reader and that more than anything inspired me to be a writer. I wanted to tell stories and have readers fall in love with my characters. When I was in sixth grade, I found my mom’s copies of Kathleen Woodiwiss’ books. The Flame and the Flower and The Wolf and the Dove really got me into reading romance. Then I discovered Harlequin Presents and Bertrice Small and Rosemary Rogers and I never looked back.

Q4):  Was there any special inspiration behind the creation of the Forgotten Goddess series?
Stephanie: I was already writing books in my two Etruscans series, Magical Seduction and Lucani Lovers, and I’d already mentioned a few of the goddesses in some of those books, so I knew the gods and goddesses were hanging out on the periphery of the world. I got to thinking about what exactly these deities did now that they didn’t really have much to do in the world anymore. And that’s how the Forgotten Goddesses were born.

Q5):  Out of all of your series and books, is there one that you are particularly proud or fond of?  Why?
Stephanie: I love them all but I’m particularly proud of the way the Forgotten Goddesses series expands on my Etruscan world. I’ve got all these characters floating around and I’m very proud that I’ve been able to make all the themes and story lines fit.

Q6):  If you could sit down with 2 of your characters in a room full of readers, who would you want there, what question would you be sure to ask each of them, and how do you think they’d reply?
Stephanie: Cat would be one. She’s been a reader favorite since she showed up in Kiss of Moonlight. I would have to ask Cat how she sees Tivr, the Etruscan God of the Moon, fitting into her life. She would turn bright red, smile and deflect the question. The other would be Salvatorus, the salbinelli. Sal is an Etruscan satyr who’s been around for a really long time. I’d love to know how he got that New York accent but he’d probably tell me to do something anatomically inappropriate with that question.

Q7):  With Fantasy and Paranormal Romance being such popular genres these days, what intrigued you most about it, and how did you decide which ‘Super Group’ your characters would fall into?
Stephanie: I love that I’m able to create worlds within our world. I can play with magic and have fairies and elves and witches and werewolves. Since I based my books on an Etruscan mythology, there is some fact in almost everything I have in my books. The ancient Etruscans actually believed in magic and deities so I had to be faithful to some of that.


Q8):  Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
Stephanie: I love research. I love thousand-page books I get from Amazon about Etruscan religion and culture and art. I scour those books for the tidbits of information to use to give my stories flavor and then I let my imagination fly.

Q9): What do you like to do when you’re not writing? 
Stephanie: I like to run and ride my bike and read. I read at least an hour a day, if not more. I love to spend time with my guys, my husband and two sons. And I love talking writing with my writing buddies.


Q10):  When did you first realize you wanted to become a writer?
Stephanie: It’s the only think I’ve ever really wanted to do. I think I was in elementary school, reading Little House on the Prairie, and I knew that writing was what I was going to do with my life. Luckily, after college, I got a job at a newspaper that allowed me to write for a living.


Q11): Since creating the Forgotten Goddesses series, how much research time do you put into this series?
Stephanie: Lots. I probably had at least a hundred hours in but I’ve been using this information through three series, about to be four.


Q12):  What is one of your fondest childhood memories?
Stephanie: Spending time with my mom at bookstores. Toys were something she’d usually say no to but she never said no to a book.

Q13):  When you sit down and begin to write, what are some of the things you MUST have with you for the process?
Stephanie:  My Junior Mints. I’m a self confessed addict. I have them on the desk to write with every day.


Q14):  If you could co-write a book with any other any other author who would it be and why?
Stephanie: Hmm. JR Ward comes to mind right away. I love her Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Nalini Singh would be another. Her Psy/Changeling series is amazing.


Q15):   Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Stephanie: Yes, for as a long as I can remember.


Q16):   Your thoughts on e-books vs. traditional paper books?
Stephanie: Personally, I never thought I would be an ebook reader but then I got a Nook Color and now the only paper I buy is for research. The convenience of ebooks is just impossible to beat.