I want to welcome Andrea
R. Cooper! First I’d love you to introduce yourself.
Hi everyone, I’m
Andrea. Full-time wife/mom and writer whenever I can squeeze it in. I’m
addicted to Game of Thrones, Chai Lattes, and Zumba.
Tell us about your
latest release.
Fairy Trouble is a short story paranormal romance and
a retelling of the Cinderella story in a modern setting with a twist. Cindy
doesn’t want to go to the ball or meet the ‘prince’. So her newly appointed
Fairy Godmother takes her place and that’s just the beginning of the troubles.
This story is bundled along with three other fabulous
fairy-tale retellings.
Now I have a few
questions for you – I have found readers do like to know fun things about us
writers.
1.) Who is your
favorite villain – it can be from a book (even one of yours), movie or TV show.
And why?
The Evil Queen from Once Upon A Time. I love how the writers
of the show not only tweak the fairytales, but show why this villain does
things. She also has a good/vulnerable side and shows not everyone is entirely
evil…or good for that matter.
2.) Who is your
favorite character out of your books? Why?
Celeste from The Legends of Oblivion series. Even though she
faced adversity and pain, she didn’t let it define who she was or how she
treated others. She has an inner strength that is refreshing.
3.) What do genre do
you write? What made you pick that one?
I write lots of genres. My favorite are fantasy/ paranormal
romance and historical romance. I’ve always been drawn to reading those type of
books. I love learning new things about history, yet I enjoy the freedom of
creating worlds in fantasy/ paranormal books.
4.) What are you
working on now?
I’ve several projects that I work on because I’ve found it
helps to avoid the dreaded writer’s block. If one story fizzles out or I can’t
get inspired, I move onto another. Sometimes I write a chapter or two in one
story, then hop over to another.
Currently, here’s my list:
·
Tainted Book
3 of the Claimed series
·
Untitled – Book 2.5 of the Claimed series
·
War of
Darkness Book 3 Legends of Oblivion series
·
Viking
Blaze – Book 2 Viking Fire series
5.) What got you to
start writing?
I’ve always created characters and story, just acted them
out with friends and neighborhood kids. But even though I grew up and life
happened, these stories never went away and new ones kept filling my thoughts,
so I started writing.
6.) Where do you get
your ideas from?
Everywhere. An idea, a dream, a snatch of conversation. Viking Fire came from finding out the
name Lochlann was Gaelic for Viking.
7.) What would people
who read your work be surprised to find out about you?
That I don’t typically read mystery or suspense unless it is
high-level. Too often, I figure out who-did-it before the half-way point in the
book and I like to be surprised. So it has to be a really good book.
8.) Do you have any
special talents?
I used to choreograph dance routines for me and my friends.
And I can typically remember everything that was said in a conversation,
especially if there was a great significance to the communication.
9.) What was the one
piece of advice you received when you were an aspiring author that has stuck
with you? Why?
The best advice I received was to keep writing. I don’t know
of any authors who wrote one draft of their first manuscript and were instantly
published.
10.) If you could talk
to any famous figure (present, past or fictional) who would it be and what
would you talk about?
Grace O’Malley – Irish pirate who never lost a battle. I’d
interview her and find out how she was so successful and what it was like to
meet Queen Elizabeth.
11.) What song would
you say describes your life?
Stronger (What doesn’t Kill You) by Kelly Clarkson
12.) If you could come
back as any animal – what would it be?
A tiger. They are one of my favorite animals.
Fairy
Trouble
Blurb:
Esmeralda has a chance to become a permanent Fairy
Godmother…if she doesn’t botch her last test. However Cindy, her new charge,
doesn’t want to go to the ball.
Ryan has until midnight on his birthday to pull his
bakery into the black or lose it. When he meets an intriguing blue-haired
beauty, he can’t decide if she’s real or a con.
Getting the prince to fall in love with Cindy was
supposed to be easy, but toss in a fairy and nothing goes as planned.
Page
13 excerpt – Fairy Trouble
The
woman stood staring open-mouthed for a moment, blinked several times, then
rushed away pushing the stroller. Oops,
did it again! Esmeralda flicked her wand and removed the last few minutes
of the woman’s memory. The lady stopped, looked around, then shook her head,
and continued down the path. “Now that that’s settled, let’s get you ready for
the ball.” Although the ball was still hours away, of course, Esmeralda clucked
her tongue. “Doesn’t hurt to be prepared ahead of time.” And I might just be able to go smell that amazing man—I mean,
bakery—again.
“Did
my stepmother put you up to this?” Cindy stood, and the chair toppled over.
“Tell her some fancy magician will not make me go to the party. It’ll be full
of rich, stuffy people.”
“But
you have to go.” There were no second chances, no do-overs. It had to be that
ball with him and Cindy, before midnight this Thursday—or nothing. This should
have been a slam-dunk assignment. But now she wondered if the council and Fanny
had given her a difficult task to prove herself worthy.
Cindy
snapped her fingers. “Why don’t you go in my place?”
“W-what?”
The idea held some appeal. Esmeralda could see Ryan again and be dressed to
make him drool, and his arms could be around her as they danced. Wait, dance with a human? What was wrong
with her? Was it just because he smelled so good that she wanted to be near
him? Fairies didn’t love or marry each other. If a fairy fell in love with a
human, he or she would have to give up immortality and become human.
Esmeralda’s
gut clenched. Fairies had no choice in their futures or dreams. It was like
being locked in a position at birth with no hope of a career change. How many
times had she wanted to live with the humans and experience everything they
did? To taste fresh, warm bread and not puke it up half an hour later? To kiss?
And that brought back the image of the handsome baker, and she shivered,
wanting to know if his lips tasted sweeter than nectar. If she traded places
with Cindy …
What happened that ignited the writing flame in her fingers? Divorced, and disillusioned by love songs and stories. They exaggerate. She thought. Love and Romance are not like that in the real world. Then she met her husband and realized, yes love and romance are exactly like the songs and stories say. She is now a happy wife, and a mom to three kids (two boys and a girl).
Andrea writes contemporary romance suspense, fantasy, paranormal and historical romance. When not writing or reading, one may find Andrea dancing in Zumba or chasing her two youngest kids through the park.
She believes in the power of change and counting each moment as a blessing. But most importantly, she believes in love.
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/andrearcooper/
Thank you for having me.
ReplyDeleteThank you for having me.
ReplyDeleteLoved the interview, and Andrea's fairy story!
ReplyDeleteStephanie,
DeleteThank you.
Great interview! Andrea, I'm reading Fairy Trouble now and loving it. Such a clever premise.
ReplyDeleteNancy,
DeleteThank you so much :)