Indie-Licious Interview: A. M. Hargrove Talks Shattered Edge

One day, on her way home from work as a sales manager, A. M. Hargrove, realized her life was on fast forward and if she didn't do something soon, it would quickly be too late to write that work of fiction she had been dreaming of her whole life. So, she rolled down the passenger window of her fabulous (not) company car and tossed out her leather briefcase. Luckily, the pedestrian in the direct line of fire was a dodgeball pro and had über quick reflexes enabling him to avoid getting bashed in the head. Feeling a tad guilty about the near miss, A. M. made a speedy turn down a deserted side street before tossing her crummy, outdated piece-of-you-know-what lap top out the window. She breathed a liberating sigh of relief, picked up her cell phone and hit #4 on her speed dial.

Boss:  Hello

A.M.:  Boss, is that you?

Boss:  Why yes, A. M., who else would be answering my phone?

A.M.:  Er... right.  Well, I'm calling to let you know you can pick up my luxury Ford Focus at Starbucks near the interstate.

Boss:  Why ever would I want to do that?

A.M.:  Because I quit!

A.M. hit the end button and speed dialed her husband.

A.M.:  Hi hubs, can you pick me up at Starbucks?

Hubs:  Sure... Having some car trouble?

A.M.:  Not at all.  I don't have a car to have trouble with because I just quit my job.

Hubs:  WHAT?!

A.M.:  It's time for a new career and I am going to be a very famous novelist.

So began A. M. Hargrove's career as a YA/NA and Adult Romance Author. Her novels include The Guardians of Vesturon Series (Survival, Resurrection, Determinant, Beginnings and the soon to be released reEmergent), Dark Waltz, Edge of Disaster and Shattered Edge.

Welcome A. M. Hargrove. Thanks for stopping by Indie-Licious and sharing your latest novel, Shattered Edge, with us.

1-Do you write different genres? If so, what ones, and do you have a favorite genre?

"I Also have books in the YA/NA genre, that are a blend of paranormal/sci-fi/fantasy. They are the series The Guardians of Vesturon and the books are Survival #1, Resurrection #2, Determinant #3, Beginnings a novella, and I'm currently working on reEmergent #4. I have another adult book that's a spin off of this series called Dark Waltz. Then Shattered Edge is An Edge Novel, with Edge of Disaster being the first in those novels which are adult contemporary romances. Those are all stand alone, but all have some common characters."

2-From the sounds of your bio, you always wanted to write. Did you always have that certain novel waiting to burst out of you?

"I don't think it was that one certain novel, but it was more like a ton of ideas waiting to be formulated into something. I have always had somewhat of a hyperactive imagination and could conjure up stories but never had the time to put them down on paper.

 (Wow - sounds just like me)

 3-Who would play Terri and Justin in the movie version of your book?

   "Justin...Chris Hemsworth with dark hair. Terri...undecided."

(Mmm, Chris Hemsworth)

 4-What do you and your characters have in common? Do they have any of your traits? Lived any part of your life?

"All of my characters have something of lots of people I know, including myself in them. I can't disclose which parts of me though ;-)  Physical traits...only when the female is tall since I am almost 5' 10". Other than that, I like to scatter the hair and eye color around because I believe beauty exists in all colors. Now, admittedly, I am extremely partial to men with long hair. Just can't seem to help myself. Because of that, you'll always find that in one of my characters. Hence, Chris Hemsworth. Love that man's hair!"

(I just love him - and his hair.)

5-Before you go, do you have any advice to beginning writers or writers at the querying stage of the game?

"No advice on the query front because that's something I'll never do. I wouldn't waste my time and effort when I could be writing instead. So, since I've gotten that out of the way, the best advice I could give would be to connect with other authors, bloggers and readers through Facebook, Goodreads and Twitter. Find a group to hang with that can help you find your way. And then write, write, write. Don't expect your first book to do much. In fact, it probably won't do much of anything until you get the next book up. Or even the one after that. Be patient and keep at it. Don't get discouraged. The more you write, the better you'll get and the closer you'll be to finding your voice. It may not be in the original genre you thought it would be. But that's okay, because you're learning as you go along."

Thanks so much for stopping by Indie-Licious for a visit. We like to pick author's brains here, and, well, yours was just ripe for the picking this week :)

Their trial relationship was meant to last six months, but things didn’t quite work out the way they planned . . .

Justin Middleton, who has left a string of broken hearts across the state of South Carolina, has only one thing on his mind, and that’s winning Terri Mitchell’s heart in six months. That’s all the time she’s given him . . . six short months.  If he can’t do it by then, they’ll go their separate ways.

Terri Mitchell knows she’s lost her mind when she even suggested this harebrained scheme.  She finally thinks her heart is on the mend from her past encounter with Justin. However, when he shows up at her house late one night looking deliciously sexy and irresistible, her iron will to fight him vanishes and the words tumble from her lips before she’s barely aware of what she’s done.

Within weeks, both of them find themselves passionately involved, but when Terri’s brother, Preston, shows up, mysterious things begin to happen, turning their blissful world into something dark and dangerous.

Where you can connect with A. M. Hargrove:

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Smashwords ~ Author Website ~ Author Blog ~ Goodreads ~ Twitter ~ Facebook

Other novels by A. M. Hargrove:

Edge of Disaster ~ The Guardians of Vesturon ~ Dark Waltz, a Praestani