Fallen Angel Reviews would like to welcome author Shannon Leigh. Shannon, thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions for our inquiring minds. For those who may not know Shannon is the author of Immortal Desires (DLSIJ Press) and More Than Prophecy (Amber Quill Press). You can also check out Shannon's website at http://www.angelfire.com/darkside/s_leigh/.

Looking back on life is there a certain event or time that inspired you to become an author?

I did a lot of reading when I was little. I loved paranormal stuff. Fantasy, mystical...give me a book about magic, unicorns, or other worlds and I was a happy camper. I added romance stories around the age of twelve. What better way to satiate both appetites than with a mixture of both? Somewhere along the way, I wanted to make my own characters, so I started to write.

Do you write on a schedule or as inspiration hits?

For the most part, it’s when inspiration hits. But I do have some contracted books I’m working on and I’ve had to actually think of a book to fit the required storylines. I can say that this has proven to be more difficult than just letting my imagination run wild.

Immortal Desires is a paranormal romance that has been compared by some to Bram Stoker's Dracula. How does this make you feel?

I never read Bram Stoker’s Dracula, so any similarities are completely accidental. However, I do know it is considered a great work so I can’t help but feel a small measure of self-pride and accomplishment to have my own work put on a comparable level.

What was the inspiration for More Than Prophecy?

One scene set it off actually. That was the one where Cheyenne is bathing in the metal tub at the brothel and Darian barges into her room. Where it initially came from I have no idea. I tend to get scene flashes. I build my stories from them.

Are your characters based on real life people or are they completely made up?

Completely made up.

What do you use to focus on your writing when life tries to butt in?

Willpower? Really, I don’t know. Sometimes I just can’t concentrate. Other times, if I make myself sit down and deal with a difficult scene, I find after a short while, it starts flowing fairly easily. Sometimes the old foot to the butt is the only way to get something done.

Is there a genre you would like to try your hand at writing?

I’d like to explore some science fiction, maybe a little thriller type stuff too. I have a few ideas…

Do you think writing a full novel gets easier as you go or do you find it harder to come up with fresh new stories?

Each story seems to be it’s own. I’ve not had a problem thus far of repeating my storylines. Sometimes I catch myself using a similar phrase in more than one book but I just try to change it to something else.

Most authors are avid readers. Do you have any favorite authors/books?

Not really. I actually don’t get to read as much as I’d like. Maybe I’ll have more time in the future.

What is a day in the life of Shannon Leigh like?

I usually get up at about 5:30 am, get ready for work, get three of my boys up and ready, walk out the door at 6:10am, drop the boys off at the sitter’s, then slide into work at 6:30am. I work until 4:00 pm, go pick up kids from the sitter’s, go home and make dinner, clean up dinner, make sure everyone’s homework is done, pack lunches and lay out clothes for the next day, get bath’s done, watch an episode of either Buffy or Angel with the kids at 8:00 pm, then put kids to bed by 9. Sometimes I have an author chat at 9 or 10, then I fall into bed. Somewhere in the middle of all that, I try to squeeze in some writing. I do a lot of it late at night when everyone is in bed, especially on the weekends.

Besides that all authors are rich, what is the biggest misconception readers have about published authors?

That when you get a book published it means you’re going to be famous, ranked somewhere up there with Anne Rice or Stephen King. I don’t think people realize how many authors there are all trying to get their books recognized. Getting published alone isn’t enough.

Are you currently working on anything? If so, can you give us a sneak peak?

I just finished up Stairway To Heaven, which will come out soon from Amber Quill Press.

Stairway To Heaven Excerpt:

Rhea jumped in response to the first touch of his fingertips against her arm. Her eyes flew open and she sat straight up.

“Where am I?”

“You’re asleep,” came the man’s deep voiced reply.

Rhea quickly glanced about her surroundings. White billows blocked her view on all sides. And she felt as though she floated on a cloud.

She held her hand out before her. Her fingers look fuzzy, as though her vision weren’t quite clear. She turned it over, brought it a little closer to her face, then gently placed it down next to her hip. Her palm contacted smooth satin.

Rhea’s gaze dropped to the strange surface upon which she sat. She pressed downward with her palm. Ashen puffs of smoke swirled up into the air and the surface gave, letting her hand sink into a shimmering pool of silk.

Rhea jerked her arm back, quickly looked her hand over, then dropped it into her lap. “Am I dreaming?”

Another brush against her shoulder caused her to yelp in alarm. She whipped around, but no one was there, just another poof of iridescent vapor that roiled toward her, then faded out until it dissipated into the hazy background.

“Show yourself!”

A wave of heat washed over her face as his masculine chuckle warmed the air. “Are you sure you’re ready for that, Rhea?”

Rhea struggled to her feet, fumbling and veering as the surface beneath her bounced and rolled. She felt like she was inside once of those gigantic Moonwalks at the carnival, much like the ones she used to love as a kid.

Only, this was no amusement park. There were no rides, no balloons, no booths of greasy foods fit to clog your veins with cholesterol galore. No, this was an unearthly place, harboring something strange and inhuman. And Rhea didn’t much like it.

Not knowing what else to do, but unwilling to wait until the thing that brought her here tired of his game, Rhea started to walk. She’d only made it a step or two when the swaying surface beneath her feet welled up into a big wave and tossed her backward. She landed on a pallet of downy pillows. More puffs of ashy smoke escaped into the air above her.

Rhea scrambled to her hands and knees. “What do you want?” Her breath hitched in her chest as fear gripped her innards.

A chilling silence surrounded her.

“What do you want?” she repeated, trying to sound braver than she felt.

She felt movement through her hair. Finger’s started at the base of her skull and slowly slid up her scalp to the crown, then slipped free. Rhea held her breath.

“The question is, what do you want, Rhea?” His voice was next to her ear. She felt the sweep of his breath upon her cheek.

Rhea spun around, but he was gone once again in another puff. Glittering sparkles briefly hung in the air where his form had been, the only proof that someone or something had recently fled. She reached out to catch some of the shimmering dust within her palm.

Ever so slowly, she opened her hand. As though the twinkling particless were alive, they spilled over the edges of her fingertips and crept up her arm, leaving a tingling trail in their wake.

Rhea squealed and tried to shake them free. But like a marching army of militant ants, they continued to swarm her skin until she felt their invasive tickle on every inch of her body. As the strangely enticing sensation moved down to the juncture of her thighs, Rhea panicked.

“Stop it!”

The feeling instantly ceased and the sparkles disappeared. His amused laughter filled the air once again. Taunting. Teasing.

“Why did you bring me here if you’re merely going to hide behind a shroud of smoke and play these childish games? Gardian? Is that who you are? Or do you have another name?”

The hand tangled in her hair once again, only there was no tenderness in the way it yanked her head back. Rhea screamed in more shock than pain. Then she slung her fist upward and back.

Her knuckles slipped through the mist like a knife through melted butter, contacting nothing but air. When he seized her wrist to prevent any more blows, Rhea let out a terrified yelp. Helpless, she could do no more than lay there, imprisoned within an invisible, yet steely grasp.

“You wouldn’t like me in this state, Rhea.” His voice was suddenly angry, harsh. Too frightened to look upon the thing that held her, Rhea squeezed her eyes shut as the shimmering particles returned and slowly began to take shape.

She felt his mouth hover above her neck. A sweep of heat. Then a quick searing sting
that was gone almost as soon as it started. Rhea inhaled sharply.

“What...do you…want?” she choked out.

He released her wrist and his fingers loosened in her hair. “Only to give you what you need.”

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

I love to hear from readers. If you’ve read something of mine, please let me know what you thought. Royalty checks are always nice, but I get my biggest enjoyment from writing in knowing I’m creating stories that other’s like to read.

Shannon, thank you again for interviewing with us at Fallen Angel Reviews. We greatly appreciate all our wonderful authors who keep us happily reading.

Thanks for having me.

Interviewed by: JoAnn