Guest: Angela Quarles

Tell us about yourself.

Sure thing! I work at an independent bookstore and live in an historic house in the beautiful and quirky town of Mobile, AL, with my two matched gray cats, Darcy and Bingley. When I’m not writing, I enjoy the usual stuff like gardening, reading, hanging out, eating, drinking, chasing squirrels out of the walls and creating the occasional knitted scarf.

 

I’m definitely a bit of a geek and can be quite obsessed with the TV show Firefly. As far as schooling, I have a B.A. in Anthropology and International Studies with a minor in German from Emory University, and a Masters in Heritage Preservation from Georgia State University. I was an exchange student to Finland in high school and studied abroad in Vienna one summer in college. I’m also excited to say that I recently found representation with Maura Kye-Casella at Don Congdon, Assoc.

 

Find Angela here

website | blog | twitter | facebook

What genre do you write and why?

I mainly write paranormal romance, specifically time travel, but also other types of romance where I can incorporate something a little out of the ordinary, whether it’s a wish-granting djinn, or steampunk, or meta fiction—a ‘What If’ that can’t actually happen in real life. Usually, though, it’s a little dabble that is inserted into the normal world, but has big consequences. In my time travel romance, Must Love Breeches, it’s a wish made on a calling card case that brings her back in time, but then that’s it as far as paranormal events. With Beer and Groping in Las Vegas, it’s an accidental wish made with a djinn, and except for little things they notice during the story, it takes place in our normal world.

 

What made you become a writer?

I don’t know if anything made me I love history and had written non-fiction for a long time and toyed with the idea of taking creative writing to help improve my non-fiction. But then in 2005 I got into writing Jane Austen fan fiction and found I really enjoyed it. It wasn’t until 2008, however, that I got inspired to try my hand at writing fiction. At the time I thought it was not something I’d be good at, but like anything I take up, I get obsessed about it and I really applied myself to learning the craft. I completed my first novel in 2009 (trunked) and my second in 2010, which is the one I really applied myself to and landed an agent for it in October.

Tell us about your recent book or series.

Sure thing! It’s BEER AND GROPING IN LAS VEGAS, an erotic geek romantic comedy with a touch of the paranormal by way of a wish-granting djinn. (Can I get one?) It’s a novelette, so if you’re looking for a quick but fun read, this might be just for you. Here’s the blurb:

Can a djinn and a magic slot machine bring two geeks together?

Riley McGregor is a geek trapped in a Good Ole Boy body and as owner of a microbrewery, smart chicks never look at him twice.

Rejected by a geek who wanted to “trade up,” Mirjam Linna would rather immerse herself in work than be the girlfriend-of-the-moment. Stranded in a Vegas hotel, she makes a wish—a night of hot sex with the man of her dreams. It’s granted. She agrees to dinner, but afterward, she’ll say thanks, but no thanks, and see what’s on the SyFy channel. But when they meet, they’re surprised to find they had a shared connection in their past. Sparks fly as these two learn to be in the moment, be themselves and find love.

 

Fans of Star Trek, Star Wars, Monty Python, Firefly and Marvin the Martian will enjoy this romantic comedy.

 (Buy links at the bottom)

What have you found to be the most challenging?

Being reconciled to the fact that my writing is not yet at the level I wish it could be. It can be hard to read other writers and see how wonderful their prose and characterization is, and then looking at your own writing and getting frustrated. But then I tell myself this is a journey, and all in good time.

Few fun questions.

 

 

Does size matter?

LOL, can I plead the Fifth?

 

Christian Grey or Gideon Cross?

Actually I haven’t read either one, so I can’t say

 

Flowers or Chocolate?

Chocolate

 

E-book or paperback?

Paperback

New release, Beer and Groping in Las Vegas:

 

Contemporary Romantic Comedy w/paranormal elements
by Angela Quarles

Secret Cravings Publishing

ISBN: 9781618854612

Release Date: December 19, 2012

Length: Novelette (13,500 words)

Price: 3.99

Content advisory: Adult language, explicit sex

 

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