SECRET WORLDS
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Married and living in
Alabama, she roots for the Crimson Tide football team. Unlike the mermaid
characters in Siren’s Secret, and Siren’s Treasure, she loves cats and has
two spoiled feline companions. When not working on her upcoming books, Debbie
enjoys recumbent bicycling with her husband as well as spending time with her
two adult sons.
A past Maggie finalist
in both Young Adult & Paranormal Romance, she’s a member of the Georgia
Romance Writers of America. Debbie has a degree in English (Berry College, GA)
and a master’s in Library Studies (University of Alabama).
Changeling, part of the 21-book Secret Worlds set, is a reverse fairy tale about a human baby raised by the fairies. I’d always been curious what that would be like . . . so I made up my own story.
Despised by the fairies, the changeling meets a teen witch that just might be his ticket out of the fairy realm, if he can resist her quirky charm.
JET: What drew you to paranormal romance?
I’ve always been fascinated by magic and a sentimental kind of gal. I love that romances have happy endings – they are a great escape!
JET: What’s been your most challenging hurdle on the road to publication?
Finding an agent for representation was a humbling, difficult experience. I had hundreds of rejections. Looking back, I see that my earlier work wasn’t ready for publication, although it was the best I could do at the time. I don’t know how I persevered through all the rejection, but I’m so glad I did.
JET: What was your favorite moment in the journey?
It’s a tossup between the day my agent called to tell me Harlequin had bought my book and wanted a sequel, and the day my Harlequin editor phoned and told me she loved my stories and was excited to work with me. It was worth all the years of disappointment!
JET: Which authors had the most influence over you growing up?
Oh boy, I’m going to date myself here! I loved a book entitled, Harriet the Spy, and used to pretend I was one as well. I read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott over a dozen times, and loved Jane Eyre for the romance and Gothic feel.
JET: When did you know you wanted to take the plunge into the writing world?
I always wanted to be a writer but the dream seemed unrealistic and I married young and started a family. When I retired from the day job eight years ago, I knew it was time to begin in earnest instead of the occasional scribbles I’d played with over the years.
JET: What’s the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of book research? Most interesting fact you uncovered?
I researched some crazy, dark kind of material in writing about a serial killer. But the most fun I had researching was learning more about dolphins and other sea creatures for paranormal books that have mermaids as the main character. The octopus is extremely curious and intelligent. It can use tools and is a fascinating escape artist when held in captivity. In my book, Siren’s Treasure, I feature a mermaid encounter with a curious octopus.
That’s so hard! I’ll have to say the last book in my mermaid trilogy, Siren’s Call, which will be released June 1, 2015 my Harlequin. It featured a mermaid character who was fairly unlikeable in the previous books, so this story was all about character redemption. Another aspect that was fun, is that I incorporated the Choctaw legend of mermaids in the story.
JET: Any advice (from a writer’s standpoint) for the novices out there?
You’ve heard it before, but don’t let rejection stop you from always striving to write better stories and reach your publication dreams.
JET: All right - now
that I’ve hammered you with the big questions, let’s tackle my favorite (and geeky)
quick ten...starting with Star Trek or Star Wars?
Star
Wars.
JET: Steak or Tofu?
I’m suspicious of tofu.
JET: Beach or Mountains?
Beach all the way.
JET: Leather or Lace?
Lace, I’m super-girly.
JET: Angels or
Demons?
Angels.
JET: Twilight
or True Blood?
Twilight. (Team Jacob)
JET: Salty or
Sweet?
The two mixed together is unbeatable – I love to mix M&Ms
with popcorn.
JET: Cat
or Dog?
I’m the crazy cat lady. I have two cats and want more but my
husband thinks two are enough. Silly man!
JET: Chocolate
bar or Ice cream?
Chocolate! I crave some now.
JET: Dark
chocolate or White chocolate?
Must I choose? Sigh. Okay, dark. But I love white too!
I’m writing a paranormal romance that is Native American mythology meets Southern Hoodoo. It’s tentatively entitled, Bayou Shadow Hunters, and is under contract with Harlequin.
Thank you so much for taking the time to chat on my
blog. Folks, you can find out more about Debbie Herbert and her work at the following
places:
Until next time,
Ciao.
JET
1 comment:
Thanks for having me! I loved all the fun questions at the end.
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