Sunday, June 16, 2013

Author Spotlight: Alexia Purdy

Featured author in "Urania's distractions" today is 

Alexia Purdy

            



Alexia Purdy’s Bio:

Alexia currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada- Sin City! She loves to spend every free moment writing, or playing with her four rambunctious kids. Writing has always been her dream and she has been writing ever since she can remember. She love's creating paranormal fantasy and poetry and loves to read and devour books daily. Alexia also enjoys watching movies, dancing, singing loudly in the car and Italian food.

Alexia's latest release is Breathe me , a Contemporary Romance/NA
Take a look at the hot cover!


Here are the book's details:
Breathe Me
By Alexia Purdy
Released May 27th 2013
Genre: Contemporary Romance/NA
Formats available: Ebook/Paperback
Page Count: 265 pages

Blurb:

Sometimes the one who broke your heart is the one who needs saving the most.
Piper Sandervale never thought she’d ever see Sasha Koval again, not since he'd taken her heart, ripped it out and obliterated it. Now six years have passed, and she has run into him once more at the local fairgrounds in Las Vegas. He desperately wants another chance, and he’s willing to do anything to get her back. She’s not willing to give him anything but a taste of his own medicine, and this may be her chance for payback. But is she only getting in way over her head?
Even as she plots her revenge, Piper discovers that something has changed with Sasha, and she finds herself struggling to justify holding on to past hurts as he continues his quest for atonement. 
Who needs saving now?


Looking for more? 
Have a taste of Breathe me in the extracts that follow!

Excerpts

#1

My heart sped up thinking of the nights we’d spent together. Alone with him, I’d been in heaven, utterly lost to the world. I’d loved the way his fingertips had softly slid down my skin and sent goose bumps flaring throughout my body. His touch had been searing and his scent intoxicating. How do you get over someone like that? Especially after he turned me into a shadow in his midst, left in the cold, alone. It was no different than throwing me under the bus. At the time, it had left me empty, a hollowed mess that I’d been left to clear away, bit by painful bit.

#2
“What… what’s this for?” I stuttered and reached up, clasping my trembling fingers around the stem.
“It’s not the surprise, but it reminded me of you. Beautiful and fragile but also strong. It just felt right to get you this one rose.” He shifted on his feet as he waited for me to respond. I wasn’t even sure I’d heard him right. Nothing clamped me down more than a compliment. How this man always managed to surprise me gnawed at my senses, eroding down that rusty, solid metal wall I had so carefully built. It was somewhat irritating and yet made me stop and rethink for minute.

#3
“Can’t sleep?”
He shook his head, invading my space as I reseated the security chain. His proximity was more than I could bear, but he inched even closer until his arms slipped around my waist and his breath made mine catch. “The nights are long, especially when all I can think about is you, Piper.”
How could I respond to that? I couldn’t. At least my stuttered words would never leave my lips, as his were pressed onto mine, his hands softly cupping my cheeks. Kissing with an intensity that grew with each second, I let myself relax into his body, melting like butter right into him. I kissed him back as my eyes closed, not wanting to feel anything but this. His eyes were tightly shut, and his body reacted immediately to mine as we stood there, devouring each other.



I'm sure you want to know more about this amazing author. I know I do! That's why I have interviewed her. Here's what she said about herself, her writing and her future plans.


Welcome to "Urania's distractions" Alexia Purdy. I think your readers already know a lot about you, but please share a some of your secrets with us. 
First if all, how do you allocate time between writing and your family? What kind of sacrifices have you made?

This is an extremely difficult balance to maintain and I fail at it all the time. I try to write mainly when the kids have gone to bed or when they’re being calm and quiet. Hard to find time to do that, they are still young and very demanding. I think I’ve given up any kind of social life to take care of my family and get my writing off the ground.

When did you discover your gift for writing?
I’d have to say I was a reader first, thank goodness. I loved the fantasy worlds I’d get lost in and I finally dived into writing short stories in 3rd grade all the way through school. I had a long hiatus from writing in college but returned to it in 2010 where I wrote my first novel. Reading was my first love and takes all the credit to making me want to create the same amazing worlds for others to get lost in.

What personal need does writing cover for you?
I have a huge imagination and haven’t gotten to travel much like I would’ve wanted to. So, writing my fantasies, dreams and aspirations, even just stories that jump into my head keep me very sane. I’d lose my mind otherwise, the world is sometimes not so colourful.

You are an author who moves smoothly from genre to genre. Do you have a special preference for one of the genres you write?
I prefer Paranormal Fantasy, hands down. I am delving into other genres but I feel most at home in anything Fantasy. I grew up reading thick Epic Literary works so I do want to expand my horizons to include stuff I loved to read along with what I’m comfortable with.

Any genre you have excluded from your writing?
I will never write erotica. If I do, you won’t know about it.

How do you approach your writing?  Do you plot or go with the flow?
I am a pantser writer, I write what comes to my mind at the moment. I have tried outlining, it does nothing for me and I rarely look back at the outline again. I’m trying out a more of a chapter summary type of outlining now, we’ll see how it goes.

Who is your favourite author and why?
My favourite writer is Cassandra Clare. I love her work and her imagination and ease of writing inspires me to create such unique worlds.

What inspired you to write Breath me?
I had a little idea about this book and I wanted to write about love a bit more. My other books just touched on the subject, leaving a lot of readers wanting for more romance, so I gave it go. I do have a lot of me in there, second chances on love was always something I would want so I decided to go on that.

What's the significance of the book's title?
The main character: Piper Sandervale suffers from extreme anxiety attacks, untreated, undiagnosed. Sasha becomes her rock in this story and in turn, keeps these attacks at bay, eventually. He has a one liner that had the title in it too.

Is there a main message that you'd like readers to take away from the book?
Never assume you know what anyone is going through and what hardships they bear. Even those you once knew, for life is hard and chances are, things do change.

How do you pick the character’s names?
I actually picked them from a character name inquisition I did with my author group Indie Inked. These two names fit the best for what I needed and I loved them. The ladies in my group rock and are so supportive, always there when I need them.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned while creating your book?
It’s darn hard to keep at it every day. I hate typing, even though I’m a super-fast typist. I just really hate sitting in one spot for long periods of time. It’s the ADHD in me.

What’s the most rewarding aspect?
Having a completed book with final cover on it and uploading that sucker up to all the e-book sites. That feeling, you know….it’s a feeling nothing can compare.

What’s the most interesting comment you have received about your books?
Oh man, I laugh when someone goes “She’s so whiny..” Well, that particular book, the character was a city girl thrown into the wild outdoors and hiking for days upon days across treacherous landscapes. If I was her, I’d whine my butt off too. Who likes achy muscles, dirt in everything, smelling of endless campfire, sweat and nastiness and sleeping on dirt and rocky floors? I don’t, she wasn’t ever meant to like it either so yeah, who wouldn’t whine?

What is your experience as an indie author and what obstacles did you have to overcome so as to become a successful writer?
Promoting, getting my book out there for more than just my immediate circle of friends to see. It’s difficult and advertising is a must. It’s also hard to see newbies coming along and selling thousands of copies in a day when I’ve been at this for two years. It definitely hardens your shell to put yourself out there and humbles you.

What advice can you offer to those who are struggling to make their book known to the public?
Keep promoting, talk about your book, post your favourite reviews and do invest in some sort of advertising on book feature sites. Send your book to blogs for review or features. It’s work, so get used to the idea of ‘working’.

What are we to expect of Alexia Purdy in the future?
I have several titles releasing for the next upcoming year. Next up is Ever Wrath, book 4 of my Dark Faerie Tale series, then Amplified- which is book 3 of my Vampire/zombie post apocalypse saga Reign of Blood. I have spin offs, more Contemporary Fiction coming up too so there will be tons to read and work on for a while.

Is there anything you’d like to ask our readers?
If you could, check out more indie/self-published authors and their works, they are amazing and you’d be thrilled with the variety and quality of it nowadays.

Are we holding a contest during your promo?  If so, what is the prize and are there any restrictions for the winner?
I’d like to giveaway 3 e-books, reader’s choice of any of my books. If you could follow my blog via email, that would be awesome! You can go to my blog and follow via email here: http://alexiaepurdy.blogspot.com

Thanks again, Alexia, and best of continued success to you in all your endeavours!



You can find Alexia here:
 Author Links:
Website/blog: http://bit.ly/11HzpVB
Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/13IQ4v6
Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/ZkRasw
Barnes & Noble Page: http://bit.ly/16Nd8i5

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