Q+A with S.J. Harper (Cursed) + Giveaway

Please welcome today's paranormal guest authors Samantha Sommersby and Jeanne C. Stein who form the writing team S.J. Harper.  Samantha and Jeanne are the authors of Cursed.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Jeanne:  I really didn't start writing seriously until I moved to Colorado almost twenty years ago. I had played around with writing before that, but it was joining Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and getting involved in a critique group that made the difference.

Sam:  I’ve always enjoyed writing, but I came from a very pragmatic family and it never occurred to me that it was something I could pursue as a career. I put writing aside for graduate school, career, and family. It wasn’t until I was forty that I returned to it. My job was very demanding and I turned to writing as a way to relieve stress. Once I rediscovered that passion, there was no turning back. In 2007 I left my full time job – best decision ever.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Jeanne:  Vampire novels and movies have always been my guilty pleasure. Then I got hooked on Buffy, and the rest, as they say, is history!!

Sam:  And this is one of the reasons Jeanne and I are such good friends! I grew up watching “B” horror films and reading Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes before graduating to Stephen King and Anne Rice. Then there was the Buffy period – which I’ve never gotten over.

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?

Jeanne:  I'd like to be an immortal. I'd love to be around to see where we go as a race in the next hundred years. Maybe it would be disappointing and/or appalling, but I'm an optimist. I'd like to think we'll finally see the errors of our ways.

Sam:  Supernatural talent? I’d love to have the ability to heal. Not just myself, but others.

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.

Jeanne:  I hope they find Cursed entertaining, sexy, exciting, well-written and clamor for more!! Emma is a great character, immortal but with human frailties. She and her partner, Zack, are FBI agents whose mission is to seek redemption by saving others. Emma was cursed for failing to protect Persephone. Zack is a werewolf whose past as a black-ops assassin still haunts him.

Sam:  As Jeanne pointed out, there’s something in CURSED for everyone. There’s a mystery to solve, some suspense, romance, magic. But most importantly are the characters. I really admire both Emma and Zack. They’re supernatural creatures, yes, but they are individuals readers can relate to. They’ve made mistakes, they have struggles, but they are resilient, heroic, and have wonderful hearts.

EJ:  If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?

Jeanne:  For Zack, I picture a rugged David Beckham kind of character. For Emma, maybe Sandra Bullock, who can look both plain and glamorous with a change of hairdo. I'm not too versed on the younger actors and actresses of today, so I'll leave it up to you to come up with actors that fit the bill.

Sam:  My other thought might be Chris Hemsworth for Zack. Nina Dobrev for Emma. Vital, though, would be the chemistry between the leads. They would have to click and pull off being able to work side by side yet exude an underlying heat. With Emma and Zack it’s apparent they connect because they share a mission, they are alike on so many levels – but there’s also a subtext, an underlying passion.

Cursed (Fallen Siren #1) by S.J. Harper.

Meet FBI Agents Emma Monroe and Zack Armstrong. She's cursed. He's damned. Together, they make one hell of a team.

Emma Monroe is a Siren, cursed by the gods and bound to earth to atone for an ancient failure. She’s had many names and many lives, but only one mission: redemption. Now that she works missing persons cases for the FBI, it could be just a rescue away. Unless her new partner leads her astray.

Special Agent Zack Armstrong just transferred into the San Diego Field Office. He’s a werewolf, doing his best to beat back the demons from his dark and dangerous past. As a former Black Ops sniper, he’s taken enough lives. Now he’s doing penance by saving them.

Emma and Zack’s very first case draws them deep into the realm of the paranormal, and forces them to use their own supernatural abilities. But that leaves each of them vulnerable, and there are lines partners should not cross. As secrets are revealed and more women go missing, one thing becomes clear: as they race to save the victims, Emma and Zack risk losing themselves.

Release Date: October 1, 2013 (Roc)
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Thank you Samantha and Jeanne for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about the Samantha and Jeanne and their writing, please visit the S.J. Harper website.

***Cursed Giveaway***

We are giving away a Kindle copy of Cursed, the first novel in the Fallen Siren series by S.J. Harper.

To enter, please leave a comment on this post (include your email address so we may contact you if you win).  This giveaway is open internationally to anyone who can utilize a Kindle book.  Giveaway ends November 27, 2013 at midnight EST.