January 27, 2011

Spotlight On... Laura Hogg


Welcome to 'the keyboard' Laura, can you tell us a little about yourself?

Thanks for the welcome!

Let’s see, I’ve been married for 21 years to a younger man, and I have a daughter in college. Most of the work I have out is historical or paranormal fiction, romance, but I sometimes venture from that. Oh, I also play a little guitar and piano and hope to be in a band again someday. During the day, I work in a school, and at night, I edit for an epub and work on my own novels among other things.


Wow, you're a busy lady. How did you start writing?

I wrote poetry and songs as a young girl and a teenager then books when I was grown. I finally submitted them for publication in my mid-thirties. My mother was a writer and inspired me.


Describe your writing in three words.

Romantic, adventurous, passionate.


How many books have you published?

Five books, five short stories (paid—I have some free one out there), one novella, one short story collection, and other work coming out.

The 12th Kiss:  Historical Romance, Wings Press

Descent into Darkness:  Historical, Moon Gypsy Press

Emma the Outlaw:  Western Short, Eirelander Publishing

Copacetic:  Historical Short, The Wild Rose Press

Baby Vamp:  Historical Short, The Wild Rose Press

Romeo vs. Juliet:  Time Travel Romance, The Wild Rose Press

Romeo vs. Juliet II: The Questrist:  Time Travel Short, Eirelander Publishing

Isanne's Revelation:   Medieval Inspirational Romance, White Rose Publishing

The Experiment:  Time Travel, Willow Moon Publishing

For the Love of a Queen:  Post-Apocalyptic Romance, The Wild Rose Press

Why, My Love?:  Sequel to For the Love of a Queen, Eternal Press

Double Vision:  Paranormal Romance, Aspen Mountain Press

Deadly Karma:  Three paranormal tales, Melange Books



Can you give us a sneak peek of your next book?

Margot ~ a Victorian-set novella
coming soon with
Melange Books.

What if a courageous pioneer who is called to inspire a generation becomes a victim of hatred and prejudice by the one who loves her most, leaving her stunned?

This is the time when women who pursued intellectual pastimes were considered a waste of reproductive energies, the time of Victoria, Dickens, and Courbet, when women kept their mouths shut. An impoverished orphan, Margot, decides that she must be among those to lure society out of their illogical expectations of a female’s potential, so she gathers her talent and convictions with the intention of proving them wrong. She banks only on her intellect and the passionate love of her life, Brad, a man who went from London’s filthy streets to one of Britain’s most opulent and inspiring situations.


Margot has enemies: the beautiful Sophia who has decided that Brad will be hers, and Brad’s powerful father, Henry, who threatens to destroy his son’s future if he does not give up his foolish notions of marrying the orphan girl, Margot. Brad abdicates a financial empire, stepping into dreadful poverty for the sake of his zealous love of Margot.

Margot has a plan until Brad discovers her secret past and viciously turns on her. She is left struck with devastating sadness, but she will discover that she truly has a voice after all.



Have you noticed your voice has changed as you’ve gained experience? If so, how?

My critique partners have really helped me and still do. Less passive writing etc. but as for style, I still write romantic and adventurous work. My mother taught me about the supernatural. That, and my music tend to slip into my work often. So, maybe my voice hasn’t changed all that much, but thanks to other lovely writers, I have learned a lot and like to continually grow as an author.


What advice would you give to the new/unpublished author?

Please don’t give up. It’s tough in the beginning. Take the best advice you get and apply it to your work. Throw out the rest. Mean people can be wrong!


And often are! What has been your highlight of your career to this point?

The first book contract I was offered (for The 12th Kiss.) There’s a little bit of the supernatural behind that (but not actually in the book itself).


Intriguing. You'll have to share the story with me one day. Do you have a favorite vacation spot or place you’d like to visit but haven’t yet?

My husband’s family is from Scotland, and I’d love to go there, that and France. I got my degree in French but never even had enough money to go to Canada. Or…Wales, where I hear they have the world’s largest bookstore. Books, books and more books. I’m going to learn to speed read so I can read even more.


Where can we find you on the web?

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=62648343/ 

http://www.twitter.com/lovebooksmusic

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003F977GI

http://traveltheages.blogspot.com/

http://www.myspace.com/l_hogg

http://www.wings-press.com/


Is there anything you’d like to ask our readers?

I love to host other writers at my blog, Travel the Ages. Please contact me if you’d like to be my guest there.

Oh, a question. What do you think is the next big trend in romance?

Okay, thanks so much for having me here!

Thanks for visiting with us, Laura.



6 comments:

Sandra Sookoo said...

Hi Laura! Terrific interview :-) So good to learn more about you. Best wishes for continued success. I'm on my way to pick up Descent into Darkness. :-)

P.L. Parker said...

Good Morning Ladies. I wish I had Laura's get up and go. Busy busy lady. Interesting post!

Emma Lai said...

Hi ladies. Great interview! You've been busy, Laura. The next biggest trend in romance? Who knows, but I'm thinking cyberpunk would be awesome.

Sarah Grimm said...

@Emma Lai I just read someone's 'To Write' list the other day and a cyberpunk romance was on the list.

Thanks for visiting, everyone!

Historical Writer/Editor said...

Thanks again so much for hosting me here today, Sarah, and thank you everyone else for dropping by! I'll be honest, I'm not a high energy person. I have to eat right and be active to get the energy I have. Sometimes, all I can do is walk to get in that exercise, but I don't drive, so that's not a problem.

Cyber punk sounds very intriguing. It would be cool to see more of that. Always good to extend the genres in which I read. I've read the work of a couple of the authors here, and it's terrific stuff.

I really appreciate all your good wishes and support and offer you the same. Best of luck to you. -laura

Margaret Tanner said...

Hi Laure,
Interesting blog, I enjoyed reading about you and all your writing and musical endeavours. How do you fit so much into your day?

regards

Margaret