Author Promo: Ann Gimpel: Psyche's Promise (Book 3 of the Transformation Series) - Author Interview

Hey guys! Remember earlier in the year, I ran a promo for 2 books, Psyche's Prophecy and Psyche's Search? That was Books 1 and 2 in the Transformation series respectively. Click here to read more about those books. I read them recently and let me say, they were amazing! Really loved them, and simply cannot wait to read Psyche's Promise.

Psyche's Promise

The Transformation Series is about finding out who we truly are when the chips are down. About what is real and what is illusory. About what matters and what doesn’t. It’s easy to show our best side when everything is going well. How about when the world is disintegrating around us? What happens then?

In this final book of the Transformation Series, Lara and Trevor’s relationship undergoes stresses that threaten to annihilate them. Constantly hungry, besieged by dark forces, they need every resource they’ve developed as a couple to keep from ripping each other apart. With Lillian and Raven— two ancient Celtic Sidhe— off fighting their own war against Goblin hordes, Lara has only herself and her half-baked magic standing between survival and certain death for herself, her love and their child.

The remote location that was supposed to solve all Lara and Trevor’s problems has done anything but. Though she works diligently, Lara’s crash course in magic proves woefully inadequate. When Trevor is captured by demons, Lara curses her decision to leave Seattle. “If only I’d known,” she cries, convinced she can’t go back. Or can she?

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Check out the official trailer here!

Ann Gimpel

Ann Gimpel is a mountaineer at heart. Recently retired from a long career as a psychologist, she remembers many hours at her desk where her body may have been stuck inside four walls, but her soul was planning yet one more trip to the backcountry. Around the turn of the last century (that would be 2000, not 1900!), she managed to finagle moving to the Eastern Sierra, a mecca for those in love with the mountains. It was during long backcountry treks that Ann’s writing evolved. Unlike some who see the backcountry as an excuse to drag friends and relatives along, Ann prefers her solitude. Stories always ran around in her head on those journeys, sometimes as a hedge against abject terror when challenging conditions made her fear for her life, sometimes for company. Eventually, she returned from a trip and sat down at the computer. Three months later, a five hundred page novel emerged. Oh, it wasn’t very good, but it was a beginning. And she learned a lot between writing that novel and its sequel.

Around that time, a friend of hers suggested she try her hand at short stories. It didn’t take long before that first story found its way into print and they’ve been accepted pretty regularly since then. A trilogy, the Transformation Series released by Gypsy Shadow Publishing, features Psyche’s Prophecy, Psyche’s Search and Psyche’s Promise. One of Ann’s passions has always been ecology, so her tales often have a green twist and the Transformation Series is no exception.

In addition to writing, Ann enjoys wilderness photography. Part of her website is devoted to photos of her beloved Sierra. And she lugs pounds of camera equipment in her backpack to distant locales every year. A standing joke is that over ten percent of her pack weight is camera gear which means someone else has to carry the food! That someone else is her husband. They’ve shared a life together for a very long time. Children, grandchildren and three wolf hybrids round out their family.

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And now, let's welcome Ann to the blog for a short interview with me!

Hey! It’s lovely to have you on the blog today! So, shall we begin? J

It’s lovely to be here. Thanks so much for hosting me.

For starters, why not tell us a little about yourself? Perhaps something not many people know?

Awk! One of the problems with being a writer is I don’t think I have any secrets left between my blog (http://anngimpel.blogspot.com) and my website (www.anngimpel.com) .My three loves are mountaineering, psychology and writing. I’ve trekked the backcountry with a pack on my back for better than thirty years. Maybe because of that, I’m an ardent environmentalist. My grown-up kids still complain that they hear my voice nagging them to turn out the lights and put on a sweater!

What made you want to become a writer?

I don’t know that it was a conscious decision. Stories ran about in my head for years when I was on backpacking and mountaineering trips. By the way, those trips were always fairly solitary endeavors. Even if I went with other people, we usually were so spread out that it was common for hours to go by where it was just me, alone, in the wilderness. That gives the imagination lots of time to, well, imagine. (I still turn around sometimes, thinking I’ve heard a voice behind me. But there’s never anyone there.)

I came home from a trip over Labor Day 2008, sat down at the computer and began to write the tale that had emerged during that four day adventure. I’ve been writing ever since.

Do you have any hidden talents? *wink*

Well, I don’t know how hidden it is, but my background and training as a psychologist gives me a good, working understanding of people. That’s always been the easy part for me—developing believable characters. And when I branched out into paranormal romance with an, um, discernible heat level, it felt like a natural extension. (No pun intended.)

What gives you inspiration for your book(s)?

People, mythology and the mountains. Particularly mythology. When I had an active private practice, I did a lot of dream work with clients. Dreams are nothing if not symbolic. I draw a lot on Celtic imagery in my writing. And I have an interest in the Norse gods as well. Some of my writing has a “green” twist. I figure that’s my contribution to trying to maintain the ability of the Earth to sustain us for another few hundred years.

Are your characters based off real people, or did they all come entirely from your imagination?

My characters are composites of people I’ve known, with fantastic elements tossed into the mix. After all, I’ve never actually known anyone who could cast a spell that really worked. They just wish it would have. And sometimes a character will surprise me. For example, I can be halfway through a novella and realize that the dragon is loosely related to my mother on some of her less-than-stellar days.

Could you tell us a bit about your book and why it is a must-read?

I’m not sure which book you’re showcasing. If it’s Psyche’s Promise, that is the final book in the Transformation Series. The first two were Psyche’s Prophecy and Psyche’s Search.

The cover blurb for Psyche’s Promise is:

The Transformation Series is about finding out who we truly are when the chips are down. About what is real and what is illusory. About what matters and what doesn’t. It’s easy to show our best side when everything is going well. How about when the world is disintegrating around us? What happens then?

In this final book of the Transformation Series, Lara and Trevor’s relationship undergoes stresses that threaten to annihilate them. Constantly hungry, besieged by dark forces, they need every resource they’ve developed as a couple to keep from ripping each other apart. With Lillian and Raven— two ancient Celtic Sidhe— off fighting their own war against Goblin hordes, Lara has only herself and her half-baked magic standing between survival and certain death for herself, her love and their child.

The remote location that was supposed to solve all Lara and Trevor’s problems has done anything but. Though she works diligently, Lara’s crash course in magic proves woefully inadequate. When Trevor is captured by demons, Lara curses her decision to leave Seattle. “If only I’d known,” she cries, convinced she can’t go back. Or can she?

The Transformation Series is urban fantasy, set in the “real” world, but with characters that have special, magical abilities. Lara McInnis, the protagonist, is a psychologist with psychic ability. Like us all, she has her strengths and weaknesses and is a reluctant hero.

What do you love most about the writing process?

Oh, that’s an easy one. I love the creative flow where I get so lost in my characters and my world that the “real” world feels weird when I have to stop writing and do something prosaic like go make dinner.

And of course, do you have a particular favorite character? I know an author will love most if not all of the characters he/she creates, but I’m sure there must be a favorite of yours! So who is it, and why?

You know, that varies, but I think my current favorite is Lillian. She’s a Sidhe in the Transformation Series. In spite of all her power, she finds she can’t turn everything to her will. It’s a hard lesson and one that takes her all three books to truly assimilate.

Will you tell us a little about your plans for the future, and maybe other books that are in the works? (Ideas thought out, perhaps even a rough draft?)

I have two paranormal romance novellas coming soon from Liquid Silver Books. A Time for Everything will be out 11/26. It’s a Scottish time-traveling romance. I spent a month in the UK this summer, so my depiction of the wretched weather comes from experience. The second one, Gabrielle’s Cauldron, will be out 12/31. Another urban fantasy, this one features a warg, a witch and a pixie who overcome a lot to try to save the world.

There’s a third paranormal romance novella, Hello Darkness, about a Park Ranger, her crazy Native American, cheating husband and the man who steps in to save her. That one’s hunting for a home right now.

I also have two other novels that are making the rounds in search of a publisher. And, of course, a bunch of short stories.

And now, just some little random questions!

Favorite colour? Purple

Favorite place? Anywhere in the mountains

Favorite book? Oh my, I don’t know. Loved LOTR, but I also like almost anything by Karen Marie Moning. And I’m really enjoying Seanan McGuire and the October Daye series right now. I find an author I like, then read just about everything they’ve ever written. Then I move on.

Favorite genre? (and why, if you like)

That’s a hard one. I love high fantasy, urban fantasy, science fiction and even pure, unadulterated romance. I think I started writing paranormal romance because it’s a blend of my two favorite genres. There’s something compelling about HEA endings. Even if you know you’re reading a romance and there will be an HEA, it’s still intriguing to see how the author gets there.

To end off, is there anything you would like to say to your readers?

I enjoy feedback. It’s how I grow as a writer. So, I’d love to invite anyone to read my stories and write to me. Tell me what you thought. Were there characters you really liked? Or ones you thought could have been improved upon.

Also, keep your eye on my blog (http://anngimpel.blogspot.com) . To showcase my two new Liquid Silver Book novellas, I’ll be giving away a Kindle Fire. The contest will run from 12/15 through 1/15/13. Rules will be posted, but basically anyone who follows my blog and leaves a comment about either novella will be entered into the giveaway.

Hmm, I think that should be about it for today! It was a pleasure to have you on the blog today! Wishing you all the best in your career! :D

Thanks so much. All the best to you as well.

So yep, that's about it for today! Thanks for visiting! I do hope you'll check this series out, because it truly is very good.