Author interview with Melisa Hamling by Kimmi from LipSmackin GoodBooks

Goodmorning! I would like y`all to meet  very good friend of mine Melisa Hamling, the author of the latest book I've read Of Love and Deception. Melisa and I met somewhere in the virtual world between FB and Goodreads and became quick book besties gabbing about characters and the books we love.Little did I know my new Book BFF was not only reading books with me but writing her own! Finally when curiosity got the best of me one day I asked her what was taking her so long to finish a book we were reading together and she told me she was trying to get her own book together. I was absolutely floored! Here my new book BFF is always kind and commenting on my reviews and making my chest puff with pride, mean while she's been over there being an Author! Lol, so I asked her is she would send me something. She sent me her book Of Love and Deception and was kind enough to do an  author interview for my blog. So, without further ado, I give you Kimmi's LipSmackin GoodBooks author Interview with Miss Melisa Hamling:

1) Can you give me a brief biography on yourself and tell me where your inspiration comes from to create your stories and characters?

In my head, I’ve been writing all my life. Ha! But I really started my journey in 2009. My biggest inspiration are people, all types and ages. I like to speak to the heart, trigger numerous emotions, and in the end, I hope I’ve left my readers satisfied.

2) What are you working on right now?

I’m working on the first of the two and a half books I wrote back in 2009. Finding Forever is a trilogy I hold close to my heart. To me, it’s the greatest love story that develops in a world I’d want to live in. A world that doesn’t exist… or does it?

I decided to put the two, and partially written third, books aside to write another story, which came about after a headline on the news that sparked my interest. Twenty Weeks is the title, and the first novel I wrote in third person POV, and the first novel I published. The subject is controversial and I knew what I was up against. Any story about abortion is a gamble and people will either love it or hate it. But! There are two sides to every story, and there will be a sequel, Less Than Twenty, which can be read without reading Twenty Weeks.

Of Love and Deception, A romantic suspense and my currently published novel, well, that took a while to write. You see, I have a very awesome critique partner who works me hard! She’s straight forward and doesn’t spare my feelings, ha! But she’s great. (Rach, you know I love you!)

3) What is your most favorite and least favorite aspect of writing a book?

I love coming up with new creations. The plot and the conclusion are usually immediate and that’s where I start. Sometimes it’s a crazy dream, something I’ve heard on television, or a devastating event. Everything that comes to mind, I add to an outline. Some authors start at chapter 1 and move forward in order. I’m not one of them. I start in the middle of the story and flesh it out forward and backward, depending on what ideas form in my head. See why I need an outline?

I hate writing the blurb!

4) If you could give new and upcoming authors your shiniest pearl of wisdom, the one that you hold dearest, what would it be?

Write for the sake of writing. Never give up! And always, ALWAYS use a critique group. They’re there to help you improve your writing skills.

5) Do your characters have a face before you begin writing them? Have they ever been based on an actor/actress? Or do your characters begin as a blank canvas that becomes more clear and develop physically while you are writing?

My characters tend to form in my head before I begin to write about them. Sometimes I change them as I go. Of course, there is always an actress or an actor that I can relate them to as far as appearance, but their personalities form as I write. Take Sammy Sawyer for an example. In Twenty Weeks, she is a minor character and Maya’s (heroine) enemy, but she’s about to tell her story in Less Than Twenty. While she was the kind of girl I would have hated, I’m really starting to like her now that her story is forming. Yes, even us authors hate some of our characters, but we can also learn to love them and make them redeemable.

Of Love & Deception’s Meg, however, is a different story. Same goes for Blake. Enough said :b.

6) Can you name any authors that influenced you to become a writer and inspired your writing style?

We can be influenced by other authors, but I think we all have our own writing style. I can’t say one author in particular has been an influence and lately, I tend to read all Indie, although I’ll still pick up a published author.

As far as horror, Stephen King is it. His books are so much more terrifying and intense vs the movies.

Romance is my favorite. Erotic, Adult, NA, or an occasional YA subgenre.

7) If you could make any one of your characters nonfictional, who would you chose and why?

Morgan Masters from Finding Forever! I’d so love to travel in her footsteps. You’ll have to experience her story to know why. The second book is my favorite, but I can’t talk about it. Not until the first book is published.

8) While writing do you set yourself an allotted amount of time per day, or do you just follow the voices in your head?

I follow the voices in my head. I tend to write better when my characters tell me where to go. I write more on the weekends and read during the week.

9) Can you tell us which character, of ANY book you would want to be, and ANY character from ANY book that you would snag up as a husband if he wasn't fictional?

Absolutely. Not! There are too many hawt book boyfriends to choose from! I can, however, tell you who my favorite dark character is. And that would be Caleb from CJ Roberts Dark Duet series. He’s a redeemable character after you understand what he went through and why he was the way he was. I would NOT want to walk in Livies shoes to get him though. That’s some scary sheeeeooooott!

Hm. I do love me some Dallas in the Beyond Series. He’s all kinds of delicious! And naughty. Filthy, dirty naughty! But there are so many drool worthy male leads that it’s hard to choose just one. :b

And because of your reviews, I’ve been buying way too many hawt books with hawt males! Thanks!!!!

For more information on Melisa Hamling and her books you can find and follow her on these sites:
Blog: http://www.findingforeverinromance.blogspot.com twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/melisamhamling facebook: facebook.com/melisamhamling Goodreads: Add it to your tBR! http://bit.ly/UZb277 of love and deception Amazon http://amzn.to/XeTPt9 Barnes & Noble http://bit.ly/14ZiupG Goodreads Add it to your TBR! http://bit.ly/UZb277

Kimmi's Review for Of Love and Deception will also be posted this morning, with HAWT, HAWT pics of course!