Tell me about yourself. What inspired you to write?
I’ve always been a writer in some form. I started out writing poems and song lyrics, and then I graduated to short stories before trying to write a novel.
Describe your desk / writing space.
I write on a laptop so I can write anywhere. I’m either propped up in bed or sitting on the couch, usually with earbuds in my ears listening to focus music without singing. Vocals can distract me, especially when I’m revising. When I’m in my creative mode, I like to listen to Icelandic Metal.
Do you have a writing routine or do you write when inspired?
I’m either writing, revising, or marketing every day. If I waited to be inspired, I probably wouldn’t produce much.
What was the hardest scene for you to write? Which scene was your favorite to write?
I think action scenes are the hardest because I need to show and not tell. I love writing witty dialogue, and I think I have a talent for that more than anything else.
What are you working on next?
I have no idea. I do want to revise some older titles that were previously published.
What authors or books have influenced your writing?
Too many. I did read a lot of Ann Rice and Stephen King growing up, so they had an influence on my writing. So did Diana Gabaldon and Morgan Llewelyn.
How do you come up with the title to your books?
Most of my books are part of a series so I try to create titles that match a certain theme.
What inspired your book/series?
My latest series was inspired by Scotland’s history. I was intrigued by the fact that the earliest Scottish kings had Irish blood, so I focused on a sixth century king with a mysterious past with ties to the even more mysterious Picts. The Welsh called him Aedan the Treacherous. I mixed history with Celtic mythology for this epic story.
Who is your favorite character from your book and would you get along?
Well… Angel is a super-hot, protective, dragon shifter. I think we’d get along very well. Maybe he could help me get over my fear of heights.
If you could live anywhere, in this world or fantasy, where would you live?
Scotland. It’s such a mystical place with so much history. Sadly, I have to live in a dry climate, so I’m stuck here in the desert.
What is your favorite meal?
A Nathan’s hotdog with honey mustard, dill relish, and Ranch dressing with a side of French fries and a Chocolate Cream Smallcake for dessert.
Coffee or tea? Wine or beer?
I’m a tea and whisky girl.
Describe yourself in three words.
Dreamer, Viking, nonconformist.
About the Author
“I write strong female heroines because I never wanted to be a helpless princess waiting for a prince to save me. I wanted to be able to save myself.”
Multi-published author Kelley Heckart writes romances with fantasy/paranormal elements set in ancient, medieval, and contemporary time periods. Her compelling stories reflect her passion for history, mythology, and the supernatural. Experience her fierce warriors and alpha males, bold women, otherworldly creatures, magic, and romance.
When not writing or editing, she enjoys practicing target archery, and writing and recording music with her musician husband.
Kelley Heckart
Otherworldly tales steeped in myth, magic & romance.
http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart
www.amazon.com/author/kelleyheckart
New Release! Do you like romance, intrigue, and star-crossed love? A mixture of history and Celtic mythology, Cat’s Curse is an ancient Scotland paranormal romance based on a real Irish king known as Aedan the Treacherous in the Welsh court. Warning: Iron-willed enchantresses, hunky sword-wielding warriors, some violence and steamy sex, more than a little blood-drinking, a complicated love triangle, and lots of passion.
Note: This 3-book series must be read in order.
He’s a cursed, exiled Irish prince. She’s a succubus with lost memories. Destiny brought them together. Their dark secrets will tear them apart.
Excerpt:
AD 564, Alba
The hunt summoned Cardea, it’s call as alluring as a siren’s song. Driven by hunger, she ventured further into the thick forest. Pale, ghostly beeches, birches, and rowans gleamed amid shadowy, lush pines and oaks. Moonbeams cleaved the night, striking the earth between outstretched branches like glinting metal blades, and icy air nipped her face, reminding her she had once been mortal.
In the distance, a man’s deep voice echoed a thread of angry curses. Slumbering birds awoke and took off from a neighboring oak’s top-most branches. Wings fluttered far above her head.
The strong, coppery smell of warm human blood stirred her senses. A pleased smile formed on Cardea’s lips as she anticipated feeding and slaking her thirst. She avoided the crunchy frost-encrusted earth and stalked on silent boot-clad feet through carpets of fern toward the delectable scent. Like a shadow, she darted in and out of the lofty trees.
Another sound roused the hushed, sleeping wood. Something moved at a fast pace toward her, crunching leaves and twigs beneath pounding feet. Cardea stopped in her tracks and shimmered her body into the shadows.
The baying of hounds tore through the night.
Fear struck her like a resounding hammer blow, and she froze. Demon hunters used hounds to hunt creatures like her. Animals could sense Cardea even when she became one with the shadows. In her haste to prey on the human, she’d failed to notice the hounds’ scent. Before she could react, two calf-sized dogs pinned her to the ground and licked her face.
Cardea sputtered and struggled to get the slavering beasts off her.
“Fian, Donnan!” a man shouted in a deep, commanding voice.
The two hounds obeyed their master and backed off.
Cardea sat up and faced the sharp edge of a sword blade. She drew in a sharp breath and remained still. A splash of pale moonlight revealed a man with long black hair standing over her, his great height matching a towering oak, his arms thick and muscled.
“I would not move if I were ye, lass.” The man’s thick brogue washed over her, sweet and honey-like.