Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Blog Tour: Hemphill Towers by Leona Pence

Romantic Suspense
Date Published: 10/25/2013


Riley Saunders has her dream job. As an art director at a leading advertising agency, she works every day with her two best friends, Stella and Birdie. All three have been assigned to ensure that the Grand Opening of the Peterson Art Museum is nothing short of a success.


When a girl’s night out at a hot new Italian restaurant ends with a spilled bottle of wine, it sets in motion a series of events that leaves Stella and Birdie caught up in whirlwind romances, and Riley fearing for her life at the hands of a deranged stalker. But, when the handsome museum curator, Trent Peterson, learns of her situation, he vows to keep her safe.

In a quick-paced tale of fine art, wine forgery, and the Russian Mafia, Riley and her friends soon discover their pursuit of love will require them to expose a crime, thwart a murder, and trust the one thing that has never failed them…their friendship.
Interview
Is There a Message in Your Novel That You Want Readers to Grasp?

I don’t think so, unless it might be the idiom, ‘What Goes Round, Comes Round.’


Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

The biggest challenge or hindrance is scheduling time to write. Procrastination is a terrible thing in writing. The longer you wait, the harder it is to get started again.

Research is not one of my finer points either. I envy those who love to do research.



How many books have you written and which is your favorite?

Hemphill Towers is my debut novel. I have a flash story in two anthologies, but they are just 200 and 250 words respectively.

  

If You had the chance to cast your main character from Hollywood today, who would you pick and why?

I have three main characters and their love interests. I chose these actors because they’re beautiful people who fit the descriptions of my characters. I’ve added a link to my blog to show you.

Stella: Alexis Bledel                                JB: Gerard Butler
Riley: Amy Adams                                 Trent: Jake Gyllenhoal
Birdie: Rachel Weisz                              Federico: Antonio Cupo
Dierk: Emerson Smith

http://leonaschatter.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-cast-of-characters.html


  
When did you begin writing?

I didn’t start writing until two years after my husband’s death from lung cancer. I was sixty-five years old, and writing a novel hadn’t even entered my mind.
  
How long did it take to complete your first book?
I wrote a very rough draft in three months. It spent a lot of time on my computer shelf, but from start to publishing took five long years.

  
Did you have an author who inspired you to become a writer?

Barbara Cartland and a gazillion Harlequin authors inspired me to write in the romance genre.
  
What is your favorite part of the writing process?

Just sitting at my computer and letting the words flow. And, of course, writing: The End.


Describe your latest book in 4 words.

Romance, Intrigue, Fraud, Italy

Can you share a little bit about your current work or what is in the future for your writing?


My second book WIP uses many of the characters from Hemphill Towers. I’ve only written about five chapters.  I’d like to try my hand at Flash Fiction. An F2K friend keeps encouraging me to try flash. It’s a challenge to put a whole story into an extremely limited amount of words. 

Leona Pence started reading romance novels as a teen. She graduated from Nancy Drew stories to Harlequin Romance, and then to her favorite author, Barbara Cartland and her vast Regency romance collection. Happy endings were a must.
Leona began writing late in life after the death of her husband of forty-four years. They married on her 19th birthday after a three month courtship – and yes – love at first sight really did happen.
She enjoys reading, writing, online pool, and especially being a Mentor in F2K, a free online writing course.









5 comments:

Unknown said...

Great interview!

Leona~Author said...

Thanks, Jessica, glad you stopped by to read it.

Anonymous said...

Hi Leona. I enjoyed the interview. It is very inspirational. I'm glad to know that it actually does take some of us a number of years from start to the publishing finish of the first novel. I'm in my second year now. Congrats on crossing the finish line :)

Patricia McCommas

Leona~Author said...

Thanks, Patricia. It was a long journey. Hopefully book two will be quicker.

I'm glad you stopped by.

Leona~Author said...

Thank you very much for hosting me on your beautiful blog.

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