Secrets of the Sapphires has popped in!

I'm delighted to have Toni Sue Versteeg, a fellow TWRP author, visiting. She's been game for a very short interview and has brought the blurb and an extract from her Wild Rose Press release-Secrets of the Sapphires.

I’ve recently been a guest on your Friday Funny slot on your blog. Can you tell us, please, which genre of writing is your preference? 

While Romance is my genre, I have several sub-genres that I love writing. Paranormal is first. There is something about the unknown and undiscovered that makes me tick. The second is actually comedy. I guess that’s where the Friday Funny comes from. I do love to tangle the mystery into pretty much everything.

How long have you been a published writer?  

My first novel, Another Time, Another Place, was first released by a very small press in December, 2006.

How long does each book take to write?  

That answer is all over the place. It depends on how much the muse decides to cooperate. ;) My first book took me about 5 years, where I actually completed another during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).

I find myself doing a lot of research. Did you need to do a lot of research to create your work?  

I’m a research-aholic. Google is my best friend! During my most recent book, I involved a lot of people in my research: fellow writers, an IT professional, and even a vampire expert.

Do you have a preference for using settings you’ve personally experienced or do you create a totally fictional landscape? 

I’ve always lived by the words ‘write what you know’ when it comes to settings. Of course, the research came in handy with England. I’ve never been there, but I will one day. It is at the top of my bucket list.

What’s the name of your most recently released novel? 

Secrets of the Sapphires

Describe your heroine in ten adjectives.  

Stubborn, proud, obstinate, beautiful, broken, lonely, lost, good, honest, loyal.

What are you working on just now? 

The sequel to Secrets of the Sapphires. It is tentatively titled Coming Back to Bite You.

What words describe you best? 

Unfortunately, procrastinator would be the top. I work on adrenaline best. I’m also determined, appreciative, and pretty darned funny at times. ;)

Do you have goals for 2013? 

My goals for the New Year are pretty lofty.  I did just sign a contract with New York Times best-selling author Gemma Halliday to co-author her new series. We start writing in January! I can’t tell you how excited I am!

That sounds incredibly exciting, Toni Sue. My best wishes to you for getting a great start on it. 

Here's the blurb for Secrets of the Sapphires, followed by a great little excerpt so keep reading! 

Nia Brooks entered the CIA to get to the bottom of her parents' deaths. Joining the Paranormal Division, she learns to fend for herself after dealing with prejudice, not to mention the vampires and shifters. Paired with an egotistical agent, the bloodsuckers and hairy boys don't seem so bad.

Garrett Van Deren has his own agenda behind joining the CIA. When his dead partner's body disappears without a trace, Garrett knows the vampire underground is responsible and the Paranormal Division offers him answers. He slams head first into a roadblock when he meets his new partner. A hundred pounds soaking wet, he'll be babysitting instead of tracking down the killer. 

Tossed back in time by a mysterious white sapphire, two headstrong agents must learn to trust one another while they search for a way back to the Twenty-First Century and the people responsible for the rift in time.

Excerpt:

Gasping for air, Nia found herself in awe of her surroundings. What must have been the dungeon in the castle’s first days was now an open, cavernous room. Stone pillars braced the floor in even spaces throughout. A ledge ran along the bottom of the wall across the entire expanse with random holes divoting the floor and wall. The only structures within the depths were a small metal cage standing in front of a makeshift wooden booth.

As Gentry shoved her inside the cage and locked the door, he answered the question rambling around in her muddled mind, “We keep this cage here for our less willing participants.”

She tried to stand but slid through cool, thick liquid on the floor and fell against the rough bars. Barbs tearing through her skin, she looked down to tend her arm. The dark red puddle of blood she was standing in caught her attention instead.

She looked up at Gentry through the window of the booth now and screamed, “You bastard! Is he dead?”
“Hmm,” his voice rang out over a microphone, “he wasn’t when I sent him back in time, but he was bleeding pretty badly…as you see.”

A bright light blinded her, distracting her from screaming the obscenities on the tip of her tongue. A sparkle on the front of the cage caught her eye. She made out the form of an emerald-shaped clear stone with floral engraving hanging from the side of the cage as the light source narrowed and honed in.

Reaching toward the glittering gem, she uttered, “Mom’s necklace,” as the light shifted into a beam through the facets of the jewel and slammed into her chest. The light spread throughout her, ripping her apart. Nia’s shrill scream echoed in her own head.

Buy links for Toni Sue on The Wild Rose Press

TWRP link http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=191&products_id=4893

Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Sapphires-T-Sue-VerSteeg/dp/1612171796/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352838446&sr=1-1&keywords=Secrets+of+the+Sapphires

It's been great having you here today, Toni Sue. The very best wishes for successful sales. 

Slainthe!