Interview with Stephanie Rowe

Storm Goddess Book Reviews is pleased to be hosting multi published author STEPHANIE ROWE today! I  am interviewing Stephanie...ooooh, love getting authors in the hot seat!

Stephanie is graciously having a giveaway with this post....one randomly drawn commenter can choose a book from Stephanie's backlist- print or ebook, depending on the book choice. Winners outside of the US have a choice of ebook only, due to shipping costs. So, without further ado, let's begin the fun!


HI Stephanie! So glad you could stop by today! Congratulations on your newest release, i can't wait to drive in and read it!


Tell readers a little about yourself, if you would?

I've been an avid readers since I was a kid (I won the blue ribbon in my town library's summer reading contest because I read so many books), but I didn't start thinking about being an author until I was well into my second career and was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I decided to try writing, fell completely and immediately in love, and never looked back. It took me 18 books before I sold my first one, but it was worth every moment!

How long have you been writing?

I started writing in 2000, wrote 18 books, then sold my first one in 2004. I've since sold more than 25 titles to assorted NY publishers, and then ventured (with great delight and joy) into the indie publishing forum last fall.

You write in various genres- suspense, paranormal, I see a new YA, contemporary- is there another genre you want to try writing in?

Well, I must admit that my very favorite genre to read is historical romance. There is just something so magical about being transported to another time, be it Regency England, ancient Scotland or the old West. When I first started writing romances, I borrowed 30 books on the Old West from the library, determined that my first romance would be about rugged, manly cowboys. I soon discovered that my interest in historical romances was best left as a reader. Although I sometimes still long to write a historical, I think the fact that I don't write in that genre has enabled me to continue my pure love of the genre, since I don't find myself reading them with a critical eye, the way I often do when I read a book that's in a genre I write in.

What are you working on now?

I actually have four projects going on right now. I'm writing the fourth Order of the Blade book, Darkness Reborn, which will be out this summer. I'm also working on the second Birch Crossing book, a new contemporary YA and a really cool dark paranormal YA series. I'm planning for all four of the books to be out by fall, so it's going to be a very busy summer with lots of writing!

Tell us about your latest release.    

My newest release comes out today, actually! It's a heart-wearming, small-town contemporary romance with a very rugged and endearing hero whose heart is brought to life by a single mom who has forgotten what it's like to have a man notice her. The sexy, emotional story is set in a charming Maine town full of well-meaning townspeople who believe that everyone deserves at second chance at love. It's called Dawn at Birch Crossing, and here's the blurb about the story.

The moment his ex-wife took his daughter and walked out, Griffin Friesé lost everything that mattered to him. After two years of agonizing failure to reconnect with his daughter, he's heading to Birch Crossing to find her. Unfortunately for Griffin, he arrives to find the town has rallied against him to protect their own. His only ally is a single mom whose warmth and determination just might break through the scars on his heart.

Since the day she became an eighteen-year-old widow with an infant, Clare Gray's only goal has been to provide for her daughter. She has worked so hard to be strong, and the last thing she can afford is to open her heart to an outsider who will soon be leaving town. But when Griffin helps save her daughter's life in a storm, an unbreakable connection is formed between Clare and the tormented business mogul.

For these two single parents, love is the last thing they are looking for, but in Birch Crossing, love always seems to find a way.

If you could keep a mythical creature as a pet, what would it be?

A unicorn, because to me, they represent wishes and dreams coming true, even if they seem to be impossible.

What is something you'd like to accomplish in your writing career that you haven't?

Oh, there are many, many, MANY things I have yet to accomplish in my writing career! My most recent was making the switch from traditionally pubbed to indie pubbed successfully, and that has gone really well (not without a lot of effort and angst, of course). Now that things are settling down, I have quite the list of things I want to accomplish, but most of all, it's to continue to find joy and peace in the process of writing, and to create stories that resonate with so much emotional depth and beauty that they transport the reader into another time and life while they are reading it.

What's the strangest question you've had to ask for research purposes?

A few years ago, I walked up to a cop in a parking lot at my daughter's school and said, "If I wanted to shoot a guy and take him down, but still have him be able to get up and walk away, would I be better off using a rifle or a shotgun?" I neglected to preface my question with the explanation that I was an author, so the expression on the cop's face when I asked the question was priceless. I immediately realized my error and quickly told him I was an author, because I could see that I was about to get into serious trouble!

If you could meet and spend a day with anyone, past or present, dead or alive, who would it be and what would you do?

My dad. He died 15 years ago, and I would love to sit down with him now, and talk to him about my journey and what I'm doing with my writing, and to get his ideas and insight on where I could take things. He was a brilliantly innovative man who saw opportunities and ideas where others saw dead ends, and I would just love to brainstorm with him about my writing career now that there is so much interesting stuff going on, and so many options for authors.

If you could have a paranormal ability, what would it be?

To heal. I would love the ability to walk up to someone who is hurting, either physically or in their soul, and to take away their pain and their illness and their agony, and to bring them peace and a second chance at life.

What is a talent you wish you had, but don't?

I wish I could sing and dance. I love to do both, but I have absolutely no talent at either of them. I was always in plays in high school, but I never got to do any musicals because I couldn’t sing or dance. Right now, in my devil-may-care older years, I have given up caring what people think of my talents, and I often dance and sing through the grocery aisles with my six-year-old, but it's still not the same thing as being good at it!

If you were a song, what kind would you be? Slow, upbeat, genre?

I think I would be a beautiful, heartfelt song about finding peace, following your dreams and being held by the one who loves you all the way to the depths of your soul.

When you're not writing, what are some of your hobbies and interests?

I'm an avid tennis player, so most of my free time revolves around tennis and my tennis pals. As a single working mom of a six year old, my work and my daughter keep me pretty darn busy, though, and I'm so very grateful for every minute of it!

Who are some of your favorite authors?

Lisa Kleypas, Christine Feehan, Julie Garwood (her old stuff) and Dick Francis are my three all time top favorite authors.

Name three books on your keepers shelf.

Mine Until Midnight, by Lisa Kleypas.
Every Dick Francis Book.
The Prize, by Julie Garwood


What is a typical writing day like for you?

I fit it in whenever I have more than five free minutes. I usually hit the computer as soon as I drop my daughter off at school, work all day except for some exercise, until I pick my daughter up. Once she goes to bed, then I'm back on the computer until midnight or so.

If you could travel anywhere, no money holding you back, where would you go?

Italy. I've never been there, and I would LOVE to go.

Favorite color?

Pink. Hands down. There is no competition.

Favorite food?

Oh, I have A LOT of favorite foods. If I take away the healthy ones, then I'd have to go with cookie dough and key lime pie.

What is something you can't live without (Other than loved ones and the obbvious, food, water, air..etc)

Hope. I've been through some tough times over the last four years, and never did life seem darker than when I let myself lose hope that things would someday get better. As long as you have hope, the spirit can survive anything. Without hope, you have nothing.

Where can readers find you?

I'm really active on Facebook, so you can find me there at https://www.facebook.com/StephanieRoweBooks. For more info about my books and some triva about me, you can visit my website at www.stephanierowe.com. I also post on twitter at StephanieRowe2.

Thanks so much for having me! I really appreciate it!

It's my pleasure....I must admit, you had me cracking up about the research question....Oh, I wish I could have seen that cop's face!! Too funny!


Congratulations and happy release day!  I'm so glad to have you here celebrating on this fun day!


Readers, I hope you'll leave a comment for Stephanie. Have a happy Friday, and thanks for stopping by!