Thanks for chatting with me today, Valerie. Let's get started.
Author Interview
I don’t know if you would call it quirky, but there are several steps I have to go through before I start writing my book. I write out all the ideas I have for story, then I write what if questions to try and fill in the holes that bother me, and after that, I outline using plot points. All of this is written freehand. Once I am finished with my outline, I enter it into Scrivener and go over it to see if I am missing anything and only then do I start writing. Being so detailed oriented allows me to write the story faster and with fewer problems.
The biggest surprise you had after becoming a writer
The biggest surprise you had after becoming a writer
That if you want to be a writer, you have to write. For years, I studied different books on how to write a novel, how to be a romance writer, and everything under the sun on plotting, outlines, character arcs, you name it, I read about it. But it wasn’t until I sat down and wrote my first book (which I have to admit it was horrible), that I realized that the only way you become a writer is to just write. I still study material on writing, but nothing compares to putting something on the page.
A fun fact about writing your book
A fun fact about writing your book
Well my entire Dark Assassins series has a completely different spin than most paranormal romances. Vampires and shifters work together as immortal assassins, but they are also close to each other and care for one another. They are family to one another. Also, while they feel a pull to their mates, there isn’t an instant connection or automatic knowledge that they are meant for one another.
What you struggle the most with when you write the story?
Routine or when inspiration struck
What you struggle the most with when you write the story?
There is always a spot, usually around the first plot point or midpoint, when I notice there is a lack of conflict or tension between the characters. I have to take a couple of days to work through it, but my story is always stronger after. But it’s a little frustrating.
Which kind of scenes are the hardest for you to write? Action, dialogue, sex?
Which kind of scenes are the hardest for you to write? Action, dialogue, sex?
I would have to say action. It drives me nuts when I read over an action or fight scene and it makes no sense. Instead of writing too much, I tend to write very little and add more later. I end up with a scene that lacks flow, and it takes me a bit to fix it, but it’s worth it.
How do you keep from resenting your duties and every human’s sleeping requirement when you have to stop writing to take care of them?
How do you keep from resenting your duties and every human’s sleeping requirement when you have to stop writing to take care of them?
I’m very lucky that I have such a supportive husband who encourages me and my writing. He also is very good and telling me when I need to quit or gives me encouragement when I need motivation to finish. Errands and other responsibilities make for a good break from sitting in front of the computer, but I usually wait until my husband is with me.
How long does it take to write a story?
How long does it take to write a story?
I learned the hard way to make an outline and to have as much information as possible before writing the story, so between outline and finishing the first draft, anywhere between 3 months for novellas or 6 for novels.
Pen or computer
Pen or computer
Pen for outlining and computer for writing.
Music or silence
Music or silence
Music, silence drives me batty.
Alone or in public
Alone or in public
Alone, while I love music I can’t stand low-level conversation, it’s very distracting.
Routine or when inspiration struck
Routine, every day, even on the weekends. It’s like my favorite quote about writing. “Waiting for inspiration to write is like standing at the airport waiting for a train.”
You were stranded on a deserted island and can have only 2 people with you, a person from your book and a person from any other book which would they be?
You were stranded on a deserted island and can have only 2 people with you, a person from your book and a person from any other book which would they be?
The only two people that come to mind is Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. I think they are the epitome of love and it would be interesting to hear their conversations. I love the characters in all my books, but it would be hard to pick only two.
Have you ever found someone in a story who’s exactly like you?
Have you ever found someone in a story who’s exactly like you?
To be honest, no, I’ve never met a character that resembled me, but I have read author interviews and I have noticed that I have a lot of qualities that other authors have. A wicked sense of humor, introverts, a love of reading, and a love of writing.
Reaper (A Dark Assassins Novel Book Two)
Valerie Ullmer
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Blurb
A wolf-shifter and his powerful human.
Reaper had expected it to be an easy assignment.
Break into a biotech facility with minimum security and rescue a group of
immortals who were subject to deadly experiments and eliminate those who might
try to fight back. But the moment he walked into the glass prison and spotted a
human woman being held with the immortals, his mission changed.
She became his mission.
Before Reaper had a chance to explain that he
was there to help her, she blinded him and the rest of his team and slipped
away. Although she had escaped him, a protectiveness that he'd never felt
washed over him, and he became determined to find her.
Ara has always depended on herself, but there
was something about the shifter that made her want to trust him. She recognized
him as someone who was capable of protecting her as well as understanding her
secrets without turning her away, but before she could allow herself to trust
him, she ran.
But with no resources and running out of ideas
about how to protect herself, will she be able to lower her defenses and allow
the shifter to help her?
Excerpt
Copyright © 2016 Valerie Ullmer
All of his muscles locked down as he
scanned her, making sure that she hadn’t been hurt. When he found her injury-free, he blew a sigh
of relief.
Comparing the last memory he had of
her, he took note that she had lost even more weight from her time on the
run. Her body, clothed in scrubs that
were similar to the pair she wore close to a month before, hung loosely on her
curvy frame.
Before he could rein it in, a low
growl of disapproval slipped past his lips.
Either too tired or determined to get into the house, she missed the
noise.
He kept his gaze on her as she ran up
the porch and hesitated a moment, before she waved a hand in front of the
door. When the door unlocked, she pushed
her way in and closed it behind her. He
heard the distinct click of the lock sliding back into place.
Although he wanted to rush after her,
scoop her up, and take her home while she would be too tired to launch him down
the block, instinct told him to wait. If
he found her, then someone else could’ve as well.
Less than five minutes after she
entered the house, a figure emerged from the woods several yards from where he
stood. Without disguising his movements,
the man ran up to the porch and jiggled the doorknob. His amateur actions covered the noise of
Reaper’s advance.
As Reaper stood feet away from
eliminating the new threat, a male voice erupted through the man’s earpiece,
making the asshole jump. Reaper paused
and listened to the angry voice.
“Have you got her yet?”
Instead of answering, the stupid git
removed the offending object from his ear and stomped on it. “I’m going to kill that bitch when I get a
hold of her.”
Reaper waited until the man went back
to his futile attempt at picking the lock before he unsheathed a knife from his
thigh. Not giving his target time to
make any more progress on the lock, he stepped forward and wrapped a hand
around the man’s mouth and nose, silencing his shout of surprise. Rage filled Reaper at how close this man had
gotten to her. So with precise
movements, he drove the knife into the man’s chest to the hilt and
twisted. The man was dead within a
matter of seconds.
He hid the body on the side of the
porch. The bushes would prevent anyone
from the street happening upon him.
After the woman was secured in his home, he would call for a cleanup
crew to make the body disappear.
Reaper hadn’t been surprised that they
caught up to her, and he knew that this one man’s incompetence didn’t mean that
whoever chased her would make the same mistake twice. He had to rush before the man in the earpiece
realized that his colleague lay dead.
Stepping up to the door, he placed his
hands, several inches apart, and pressed until the locks gave way. He slid inside without a sound before
shutting the door. Taking a deep breath to
get a trace on where she might have gone, he was surprised because it seemed as
the entire house smelled of her. Light
and sweet.
He darted from room to room. They were running out of time before they
were discovered. Desperation clawed at
his chest as he found each one empty. At
the top of the stairs, he paused when a faint cry reached him. Unsure of where the sound came from, he
wandered farther down the hall, hoping that the sound would repeat.
Mumbles and whines of pain came
through the door farthest away from the master bedroom. As he opened the door, the floor beneath him
started to shake, which intensified the closer he moved into the room. Not knowing what had caused the house to
move, his need to protect her ramped up.
About the Author
Valerie writes romances.
Contemporary, Paranormal, Erotic, and M/M.
She lives in Denver, Colorado with her wonderfully supportive husband and their funny and wise black lab, Maddie. Valerie is addicted to coffee, crime shows, and reading and writing character-driven romances.
As a voracious reader, she’s believes that all writers are rock stars, and she hopes that people enjoy her stories as much as she loves the romance novels she’s devoured over the years!
When she’s not writing or learning about the craft of writing, she can be found surfing the internet way too much, watching Investigation Discovery and thinking that her neighbors are up to no good, and finding new ways to get her husband to laugh.
She loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her at valerieullmer.com, Facebook at facebook.com/valerieullmer.author, or Twitter twitter.com/valerieullmer.
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