Author Interview: Bella Forrest

Please welcome to Bella Forrest to Short & Sweet Reviews blog! Bella is here today to answer some questions about her latest book, a little bit about herself and what she's currently working on. Bella is the author of A Shade of Vampire, the first book in a series. A Shade of Vampire was released at the end of last year on December 14, 2012 and the book is available in both e-book and hardcopy formats.

Hi Bella! Thanks for stopping by the blog today. Can you give us the elevator pitch for A Shade of Vampire?  

I’m really terrible at elevator pitches! So I’ll quote from Daniela’s review over at YA Book Season:

“The story itself is exciting. We've got Shadowhunters, vampires who live in giant trees on an uncharted island, and lots of kidnapped humans. There's a combination of romance and mystery. Who killed who? What's happening? Why are they doing this? What are they going to do? Stuff like that. It gets better as the story progresses.
Overall, A Shade of Vampire is a sexy vampire twist, an unforgettable romance that sizzles from start to finish. It's a perfect read for Twilight fans and vampire fans in general.”

Can you tell us about you road to publication?  

 

I did not submit A Shade of Vampire to any agents or publishing houses. I decided to journey down the self-publishing route. So there’s not much of a story to tell, it was pretty straight-forward and easy! 

There are a lot of supernatural/paranormal beings to choose from, what made you decide to have vampires as the focus of your story?

 

I find the interaction between vampires and humans particularly interesting to write about and explore.

Is A Shade of Vampire a stand-alone novel or will this be part of a series? 

 

This will be part of a series. A Shade of Vampire is Book One.

I couldn’t find a website for both yourself and the book, can you tell us about yourself so readers can know more about the author behind this skyrocketing paranormal YA?

Sorry about that, everything has happened so suddenly, it’s taken me a while to get my blog sorted out, but it’s up now: http://bellaforrest.blogspot.com

About me… well, I’ve been telling stories pretty much since I could talk. Creative writing was my favorite subject at school and, as far as I can remember, I have always written things like poems and short stories. Reading and writing have always trumped watching movies and TV for me.

I think I first got the idea for A Shade of Vampire when I was 18. It just took a while for me to set aside the time to write it all out!

What are some of your favorite paranormal YA books and authors?

Can I broaden this to favorite fantasy books and authors?
- Harry Potter/J.K. Rowling is my all time favorite.
- The Chronicles of Narnia/C.S. Lewis.
- The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien

What other projects can we look forward to reading from you in the future?

Currently I’m working on the sequel to A Shade of Vampire.

What advice would you give to an aspiring writer? 

Make a promise to yourself to write every single day. Even if it’s not for very long, get yourself into a strict habit of writing regularly.

Lighting Questions

Coke or Pepsi?

Pepsi.

Would you rather go 30 days without refined sugar or 90 days without caffeine?

90 days without caffeine.

Facebook or Twitter?

Twitter.

Would you rather go on vacation anywhere in the world for 1 week or spend 24 hours with anyone in the world but be unable to leave your house during that time?

I’d rather have the option to spend 24 hours with anyone of my choice in the world. People trump places for me.

E-reader or physical book?

Physical book.

Favorite paranormal creature?

I guess I’d have to say vampires!

 

Thanks Bella for the Q&A session and stopping by the blog! 

Thanks for having me! It’s been a pleasure.

Want to learn more about the author and A Shade of Vampire?

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