Author Interview & Contest with Suzanne McLeod

There are many British authors out there but in my opinion there are just not enough Paranormal Urban Fantasy ones! Being British I have always looked for British authors writing stories in my favourite genre and a few years ago I came across Suzanne Mcleod.

Since then I have been hooked on Suzanne's Spellcrackers series and try and keep in touch with the author and invite her on the blog as often as possible.

Her fourth book in the Spellcrackers series, The Shifting Price of Prey, was just released and if you haven't already tried out this series you really need to catch up!

Want to know about the series and read sample chapters of Suzanne's books? Make sure you go here!

But right now you can get to know the author a little better. Read the guest blog Suzanne so nicely put together and make sure you enter the contest!


---------------------------------

Hello, I’m Suzanne McLeod, author of the Spellcrackers.com urban fantasy series! And many thanks to Amber for having me over to guest blog.

Since becoming an author I’ve had some fantastic experiences that I doubt I’d have had otherwise – experiences that when I was first published I’d never have imagined happening, unless I was lucky enough to hit a Bestsellers’ list*.

I’ve been interviewed by the local paper a few times, I’ve been on the radio twice, and I’ve even been on a TV show talking about vampires with Anne Rice - which is very cool, though as my five minute spot (which actually took nearly two hours to shoot!) was filmed in London, and the segment with Anne Rice was filmed at a literary festival in Wales, I never actually got to meet her :-(. Still, I do get to say I’ve been on a TV show with Anne Rice!! *g*

But one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had was when I was invited to be a guest at the HeadRead Literary Festival in Tallinn in Estonia. It was the first time I was asked to be a guest and, as I’d never been to the Baltic area in Northern Europe before and have always thought it looked a fabulous place to visit, I was doubly thrilled.

The five days were absolutely wonderful and the festival organisers, along with my Estonian publishers, gave us (I was invited along with three other British authors) the VIP treatment. I have a lot of fabulous memories*.

I met some awesome readers* who’d read my books in English and Estonian, which was slightly surreal. I asked if the British sayings and Genny’s snarky humour translated okay, and apparently it does! Yay! (It’s also super cool to know that Genny’s cracking spells, and she and the rest of the gang are having their adventures in another language – author-geeking-out moment *g*).

We also had a great time with the wonderful folk who were looking after us. They treated to some fantastic tours of Tallinn (the capital of Estonia, and a truly gorgeous place to visit*) and we learned all about the town’s fascinating history: Tallinn’s old town is a World Heritage Site and archaeologists have found traces of human settlement dating back to around 5000 years ago! Plus it’s been occupied by other nations for around seven hundred years right up until August 1991 when it regained its independence, which is pretty mind-boggling.

Along with the tours, I was interviewed for Estonian TV, I did a reading and a panel interview for the festival, and along with the other Brits, I got to spend lots of time with all the other writers there, some of whom were from Estonia, but also Russia, Sweden, France and Portugal (and all of whom, embarrassingly, spoke great English).

And possibly most unbelievable of all, I had the honour of dining at the British Embassy, at with the British Ambassador to Estonia! He was a lovely, friendly man and very easy to chat to, and turned out to be a huge Doctor Who fan! He happily let me take the picture below which is in the hallway of the Embassy, which also doubles as his home. :-)

Thanks for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed this peek in to what a life-changer becoming an author has been for me. :-)


*Which I haven’t . . . *dreams*
*I took lots of fabulous pictures, which can be seen here.
*I love meeting my readers; they Rock!
*History is brilliant for story inspiration – which is one of the reasons I love London and why the Spellcrackers books are set there.

---------------------------------

#1 - The Sweet Scent Of Blood #2 - The Cold Kiss of Death #3 - The Bitter Seed of Magic #4 - The Shifting Price of Prey

---------------------------------

Contest Time!

Suzanne is very kindly giving away a copy of The Shifting Price of Prey. The contest is international (where ever Bookdepository delivers!)

How To Enter

Spells would be a handy thing to have. What spells would you like to have to make life a little easier or more fun?

No Answer = No Entry

'Please enter me' posts will NOT be counted as an entry

Earn more entries for each link you place about this contest on the net. You can post on Facebook, Twitter & MySpace but make sure you add links here for me to confirm your entries! However please do not make individual postings for each entry. Please post all your entries in one post.

Advertise Amberkatze's Book Blog on your site and get an extra entry for this and every other contest!

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

Have you 'Liked' Amberkatze's Book Blog on Facebook?

You can also earn extra entries by emailing your friends about the contest. Just make sure you send a copy of your email or receipt to me at Amberkatzes_book_blog at gmx dot net.

Make sure you post your links here so I can confirm your entries.

Keep the contests going by using the Bookdepository.com and Amazon.com links/Banners below and around the site.

The contest will stay open until 4pm on Sunday 9th of September (Central European Time) and the winner will be picked by a randomizer. Entrants should check back to see if they have won. I do not hunt down winners and will pick new winners for any prizes not claimed within 7 days.