By Amy Armstrong (Guest Blogger)
Thanks
so much for welcoming me onto your blog today, Lisabet!
When
I was younger, I never appreciated living in the place where I grew
up. Coming from a small village in Wales which is surrounded by
mountains always seemed boring to me. I craved the excitement of big
towns and cities ― the sights and smells, the noise and traffic ―
the people. But as I’ve got older, I’ve begun to appreciate it
more and more. I see the beauty now where I never did before. Lots of
writers talk about the places where they write or where they’d love
to write. It’s surprising how many authors say they’d like to be
able to look out to a view of the hills. When I read an author
discussing that dream location now, I realise how lucky I am. Wales
is a beautiful country. It’s lush and green with an abundance of
mountains and forestry. If you’ve never visited, it really is worth
a visit.
At
home I write from an upstairs bedroom that has a window looking out
at the type of vista I’m sure most authors would envy and I’m
grateful for every second I spend in front of it. Would I want to
write in any other location? Of course I would. There’s nothing
quite like change and variety to get the creative juices flowing. At
least once or twice a week I try to get out to write. I go to coffee
shops, to hotel bars, to quiet little country pubs.
I
live close to the coast and several times I’ve parked up in front
of the beach and worked on a novel while looking out to sea. I did
this while working on my current release, A
Merman in Miami.
Because the novel focuses on the merpeople’s secret underwater
realm, I found it beneficial to write whole chunks of the book while
looking out to sea, imagining their realm somewhere below the
surface. The two previous books were based in Texas and oh how I
would have loved writing the books while visiting the state and
soaking up the atmosphere.
There
are many places I’d love to write. A cafe in Rome or Paris would be
wonderful, but there’s one thing I know I wouldn’t get in a place
like that which I get here in Wales. Peace and quiet. The perfect
writing location for me is somewhere with no noise. In an ideal world
it would be somewhere with a view of the sea or ocean, but hey, we
can’t have everything, right? I know many writers who have to have
music playing when they write and even create playlists to go with
their books, but personally, I prefer it to be quiet. The background
music in pubs distracts me and I even find it difficult to block out
the conversations in cafes and coffee shops.
What
would your perfect writing location be? Would you like to look out at
the sea like me or would the green vista of fields and mountains be
more to your taste. Would you prefer to have music playing in the
background or would a quiet room be preferable?
Thanks
for taking the time to learn a little bit more about me. I hope
you’ll enjoy the short excerpt from A
Merman in Miami.
Blurb
for A
Merman in Miami
Mia
Harding has been hunting vampires since she was sixteen years
old—almost as long as she’s been in love with her overzealous
hunting partner Drew Caine. Unfortunately, the only thing Drew seems
passionate about is his job. Tired of longing for someone she can’t
have, Mia makes the heart-breaking decision to find a new partner and
cut all ties to Drew. But before she can make the request to the
council, Mia and Drew are sent to Miami to retrieve one of the lost
grimoires. Mia is determined to make it their last mission
together—but first they have to survive it.
Drawn to the dark magic of the book, vampires and warlocks begin congregating in the city adding extra pressure to an already difficult mission. When the marine biologist thought to be in possession of the book turns up dead, the trail leads to the highly secretive merpeople. Entering their underwater realm will be problematic, but getting back out will be nearly impossible, especially when the merman king decides he wants Mia as his queen. Lonely and unhappy, Mia at first warms to the advances and the magnetic allure of the king, but maybe Drew isn’t as far out of her reach as she has always believed.
Drawn to the dark magic of the book, vampires and warlocks begin congregating in the city adding extra pressure to an already difficult mission. When the marine biologist thought to be in possession of the book turns up dead, the trail leads to the highly secretive merpeople. Entering their underwater realm will be problematic, but getting back out will be nearly impossible, especially when the merman king decides he wants Mia as his queen. Lonely and unhappy, Mia at first warms to the advances and the magnetic allure of the king, but maybe Drew isn’t as far out of her reach as she has always believed.
In
the ten years since Drew and I had left the training school, we’d
never encountered any angels or demons and I had no idea what to
expect. Any preconceived notions I’d had, however, disappeared the
very second Malaki walked into Drew’s motel room. It might have had
something to do with the fact that he was an angel, but I’d
expected him to be holy in some way—to be somehow
otherworldly or divine.
He
wasn’t.
Malaki
looked like the lead singer in a rock band.
He
was dressed head to toe in leather and the faded black T-shirt
underneath his waistcoat proclaimed that ‘The Screaming Skulls
Are The Shit’. He had dyed black hair with neon pink tips that
hung down partly obscuring his eyes. They were just visible enough
that I could tell he was wearing eyeliner—lots of it. I must have
stared at him for a full ten seconds before I remembered to close my
mouth. He was handsome and I’d be surprised if he didn’t have his
pick of women, but he wasn’t my type—not that I had one. Maybe I
wasn’t the best person to judge. I’d been in love with Drew since
I was fifteen years old and as a result, I was blinded by him. I
barely noticed other men.
If
it hadn’t been for the way Malaki was dressed, that preconceived
idea of mine would have still gone out of the window when he cast a
lascivious eye over every inch of my body.
Drew
cleared his throat noisily, and when I switched my gaze to him, he
was glaring at the angel.
“Can
we get this over with?” he huffed. “Mia and I have got a plane to
catch.”
About Amy
Armstrong:
Amy
Armstrong is a Brit that loves chocolate, prosecco, and sunshine. She
lives and breathes paranormal romance and urban fantasy, but is also
a fan of the classics and pretty much anything else she can get her
hands on, including but not limited to contemporary romance,
thrillers, horror, dark fantasy and young adult fiction.
Amy
writes stories filled with heart, heat and passion. She loves to read
about strong woman, but believes heroes come in all different shapes
and sizes. She is happiest when writing or soaking up the sun with a
pina colada in one hand and her kindle in the other. Her family and
friends are an important part of her life and she loves meeting new
people with similar interests. She is a full time, multi-published
author and loves to hear from readers. She writes M/M romance under
the pen name Lavinia Lewis.
3 comments:
Thanks so much for having me as a guest on your blog today, Lisabet!
Wow that blurb caught my attention! Sounds good... I am not a writer, but to relax I enjoy soothing music and looking out at Nature...
Thanks so much for taking the time to read the post, Colleen. That sounds like the perfect way to relax. I find that soothing music is the best accompaniment to a hot bath. I'm glad you like the blurb. I hope you enjoy the book as much should you read it.
Best wishes,
Amy
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