Q+A with Dani Harper and Giveaway

Please welcome today's paranormal author, Dani Harper!  Dani is the author of the Grim urban fantasy series, including STORM WARRIOR, STORM BOUND, and STORM WARNED.

Keep reading for a chance to win a GORGEOUS canvas tote bag from Dani Harper!

Q+A with Dani Harper

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Dani:  I always wanted to be a writer. As a little kid, before I could even read, I was fascinated with books. And even at that tender age, I understood that someone had “made” the story – and I knew that I wanted to be that person.

In my middle school years, I carried a notebook around to write thoughts and feelings and poems, and make sketches or cartoons in. It was my “Idea Book”. (I’ve still maintained the habit of making notes about any ideas that cross my mind.) Every writing assignment challenge I met with a multi-page story, which most teachers didn’t appreciate at the time. Of course, those “epic” stories were terrible. I was very much like Ralphie in A Christmas Story trying to create a literary masterpiece about why he should have a Red Ryder BB gun!

Eventually I got a lot better at writing, and I spent most of my adult career in newspaper and communications. But the need to write a story of my own, to invent characters and tell a tale, was still there. Sometime after 2001 I had an epiphany (see the answer to Question 2) and that’s when I began writing fiction. At first it was just for fun, kind of a way to relax in what little spare time I had. But then the Macleod family showed up in my head one day – yup, the entire clan of characters – and that led to my Changeling series.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Dani:  I’ve often joked about having a “Halloween gene”, because from a young age I was fascinated with the supernatural – ghosts and goblins, faeries and monsters, vampires and space aliens. I watched countless old black’n’white horror and sci-fi movies as a kid, plus I read everything in those genres that I could get my hands on. I read a lot of very old English and Welsh faery stories and, and collected superhero comic books too! In middle school, I drew a little ongoing comic strip about the residents of a haunted house. (It was totally awful but I had fun!) Later I read Stephen King and Dean Koontz, Dan Simmons and Robert McCammon.

So you can see, I always had the paranormal aspect going for me. But my big epiphany came when I ran across Christine Feehan’s Dark Dream in 2001--- I’d never really read romance, and I had no idea it could be combined with supernatural elements. I was completely hooked by the paranormal romance genre where the monster got to be the hero! And reading PNR naturally led me into the urban fantasy genre as well. It was only a matter of time before I tried writing these kinds of stories myself!

EJ:  Do you plan out your books and your series? Or do you make it up as you go?

Dani:  This is where I get into arguments with my characters. I like to plan. I make little cards and map an outline. I even have an entire wall in my office that’s set up as a storyboard. But my characters have their own ideas about what’s going to happen, and usually my plans get scrapped sooner or later. So I seldom get to be a plotter, and I’m not a true pantster – maybe I’m a plantster?

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?

Dani:  There are so many possibilities, but being a shapeshifter appeals to me the most. I would love to experience the world through the senses of a wolf or an owl or a deer – perhaps even a dragon!

EJ:  What are you reading now?

Dani:  Just finished Bound by Flames by Jeaniene Frost, Graveminder by Melissa Marr, and Poison Princess by Kresley Cole. Right now I’m reading City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, Guns for the Dead by Melissa Marr, and also Delicate Freakn Flower by Eve Langlais. I’m also re-reading One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost. (Yup, it’s true – I always have several books on the go!)

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.

Dani:  In Storm Warned, paranormal romance meets urban fantasy. I’ve brought ancient faery legends into modern-day America, with some new twists on the old stories. My heroine is a strong-willed woman who knows her own mind and heart, and my hero is wrestling with demons from his past. They’ve both been through a lot, but now they have to learn to trust each other and work together to stop a dark force from taking over both Fae and human worlds. Romance, adventure, danger, suspense – it’s all there!

Thank you Dani for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about Dani Harper and her books, please visit her website.  You can learn more about her new release, STORM WARNED, below.

Storm Warned (Grim #3) by Dani Harper

When Caris’s unearthly musical talent attracts the attention of the Wild Hunt, the Welsh farm girl is stolen away to serve as a faery grim, a herald of death. Two centuries later, she’s finally escaped back to the human world—and into the present-day life of a reclusive and heartbroken American musician.

Music was Liam’s whole life—until a crushing betrayal left him desperate to flee the public eye. Yet long-dormant passions awaken after a powerful storm strands a beautiful, strong-willed woman on his isolated farm. When a Fae prince bent on ruling both human and Faery realms threatens Caris’s life, Liam must decide if he can finally believe in love again, not just for her sake—but for the sake of two worlds.

From the best-selling author of Changeling Moon, this sweeping and passionate story of paranormal romance follows two souls from centuries apart who lost everything . . . and found that only love can save them.

Release Date:  March 31, 2015
Genre:  Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Add to Goodreads.

Dani Harper Tote Bag Giveaway

The author is giving away a gorgeous canvas tote bag featuring the wolf logo of Dani Harper.

To enter, please use the Rafflecopter form below.  Giveaway is exclusive to FROM THE SHADOWS. Open to USA, UK, and Canada. Winners will be contacted by the author via email.  Giveaway ends April 22, 2015.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!