Heart of Romance

INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR Dawn Marie Hamilton

Today I’m interviewing Dawn Marie Hamilton. Her book, Sea Panther is a paranormal romance and was released on March 18.

Thank you, Sarah, for the interview and inviting me to your blog today.

Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.

Sea Panther is a vampire shifter story, where Robert, the 300 year old hero, is tortured by the two beasts living within—vampire and Florida panther--yet strives to maintain honor above all else. Kimberly, the heroine, has lost everything that defines her life. She takes a crew position on Robert’s sailing yacht to escape a hit man. The attraction between the two is immediate but heartbreaking when Robert’s past stalks them both. Much to overcome, including a trip through the Bermuda triangle to the past, before they can find their happily-ever-after.

Describe the genre of this particular title, and is it the only genre you write in?

I write Scottish inspired fantasy and paranormal romance. Sea Panther is the first book in the Crimson Storm series of genre-bending paranormal romances with vampires and shifters and a wee bit of time travel just for fun. My other series, Highland Gardens, are Scottish historical time travel romances with faeries. I like to stretch genre lines.

How did this story come to be?

Sea Panther was supposed to be a vampire pirate romance. The hero, Robert, balked. He didn’t want to be a pirate. While researching a Scottish connection for the story, I stumbled across a bit of history about Lord Archibald Hamilton, governor of Jamaica (1711-1716), having Jacobite sympathies and gathering a group of warships and captains to create a Jacobite navy to help put James Stuart on the British throne. So Robert became a privateer, later cursed by a Voodoo priestess to become a vampire. Then while vacationing in Florida, I saw a panther crossing sign, and thought, wouldn’t it be cool if Robert was a vampire that shifted into a Florida panther. The story was on a roll after that.

What is your writing routine like?

I don’t really have a set routine. I write whenever the muse has something to say and I can squeeze in writing time. Although I would like to be more disciplined, I’m not real good with structure. Sometimes, I get up in the middle of the night and write because the muse won’t be quiet. Other times, I write early in the morning or late in the afternoon.

Are you a member of any writing organizations and, if so, have they helped?

I’m a member of Romance Writers of America, Celtic Hearts Romance Writers, From the Heart Romance Writers, Fantasy Futuristic and Paranormal, and the Golden Network. Belonging to these wonderful organizations is invaluable.

What character is most like you or least like you?

Hmmm. I imagine a little bit of me is in all my characters, but I can’t say that any one in particular is like me. Thus, they are equally least like me.

What most inspires you in life?

People with positive attitudes, no matter what.

What’s next for you?

I’m currently writing the third novel and a holiday novella for the Highland Gardens series. When those are complete, I will begin work on Raven’s Revenge, the second novel in the Crimson Storm series.

BOOK BLURB

Can love mend a fractured soul?

After evading arrest for Jacobite activities, Scottish nobleman Robert MacLachlan turns privateer. A Caribbean Voodoo priestess curses him to an eternal existence as a vampire shifter torn between the dual natures of a Florida panther and an immortal blood-thirsting man. For centuries, he seeks to reverse the black magic whilst maintaining his honor. Cruising the twenty-first century Atlantic, he becomes shorthanded to sail his 90-foot yacht, Sea Panther. The last thing he wants is a female crewmember and the call of her blood.

Although she swore never to sail again after her father died in a sailing accident, Kimberly Scot answers the captain's crew wanted ad to escape a hit man. She's lost everything, her fiancé, her job, and most of her money, along with money belonging to her ex-clients. A taste of Kimberly's blood convinces Robert she is the one woman who can claim the panther's heart. To break the curse, they travel back in time to where it all began—Jamaica 1715.

A little bit about the author

Dawn Marie Hamilton dares you to dream. She is a 2013 RWA® Golden Heart® Finalist who pens Scottish-inspired fantasy and paranormal romance. Some of her tales are rife with mischief-making faeries, brownies, and other fae creatures. More tormented souls—shape shifters, vampires, and maybe a zombie or two—stalk across the pages of other stories. She is a member of The Golden Network, Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal, Celtic Hearts, and From the Heart chapters of RWA. When not writing, she’s cooking, gardening, or paddling the local creeks of Southern Maryland with her husband.

Excerpt

A drunk banged into the table and broke the steamy spell holding Kimberly and Robert enthralled. She choked on a flat laugh. He cleared his throat.

The awkward moment thickened the air. Made it hard to breathe.

Kimberly twitched her nose. Now would be a good time to find a hidey-hole to crawl into. Perspiration glazed the skin between her breasts. God, her face must be the color of a ripe strawberry.

“I overheard you,” Robert said.

“Did you?” Just great.

“Aye.” His gaze dropped to the tabletop. He picked up a drink stirrer and fiddled with it.

Mesmerized, she watched large fingers nimbly tie the thin strip of plastic into a bowline knot. The naughty image of him using the same knot to tie a silk scarf around her wrists flashed in her mind. Where had that idea come from?

“What the rest of the crew has been trying hard not to tell you is I have a rare blood disease.” Her wayward thought splintered at the unemotional statement of fact.

She gazed into his eyes, searching for something empathetic to say.

“I have to take it easy until my doctors can find a donor with the right DNA makeup to help me. That is why I sleep a lot.”

“I’m sorry.” Oh, that sounded lame. Worse yet, she’d been thinking about sex. Kinky sex. My God, what had come over her lately? She’d never thought of having that kind of sex with Jason. Heat rose from toes to face. Thank God Robert couldn’t read minds. She reached for her mug, but it was empty.

“Dance with me?” He grasped her hand.

She nodded, and followed him onto the dance floor. “When they find a donor, will they be able to make you well?”

His eyes clouded. “I hope so.”

So did she.

He tucked her close, held her tight, smooth cheek against the rasp of whiskers, as they swayed with the other couples to the sweet melody of an Irish love song. She embraced hard muscle as she wrapped her arms around him.

How could a virile man like Robert be critically ill?

How can my readers buy your book?

Readers can go to Amazon at http://amzn.to/1eu6v6f or Barnes and Noble at http://bit.ly/1la3j42

You can find more information about Dawn Marie Hamilton and my book, Sea Panther by visiting my blog at http://dawnmariehamilton.blogspot.com .

Just a few fun questions to answer if you don’t mind.

1) Hotel room or Tent? Tent

2) What is your favorite thing to eat? Salmon, it’s a feline thing.

3) What is your favorite New Year tradition? Hiking with husband on New Year’s day.

4) Who is your favorite author to read? J R Ward

5) What’s your favorite movie? Somewhere in Time

6) If you were given only one Christmas present but it could be anything in the world, what would you choose? A month in Scotland.

7) What’s your favorite color? Peridot

8) Mountains or Beach? Mountains