Meet Sandra Sookoo
I interviewed Sandra Sookoo for my blog today. Read about her, her latest book and enter her contest!
Sandra is a writer of romantic fiction. Her portfolio includes historical, contemporary, sci-fi and paranormal romances in full-length books as well as shorts and novellas. No matter if the heat level is spicy or sweet, she loves to blend genres and often times will add humor.
When not immersed in creating new worlds and interesting characters, Sandra likes to read, bake and travel. Her favorite place to spend vacation hours is Walt Disney World. It's where dreams come true and the soul can play. If she's not writing, she's keeping things interesting at her Believing is Seeing blog or spending time with her husband, who patiently answers questions she has about men and/or sci-fi-related subjects.
You can write to Sandra at sandrasookoo@yahoo.com, visit her website at www.sandrasookoo.com or look her up on Facebook and Twitter. All links are provided on the front page of her website.
What inspires you to write?
Life inspires me. Everything around me has bearing on the stories I create—people's personalities, sounds, scents, things I see. It could be as little as a snatch of conversation or looking at a picture that will jog my mind and create the beginnings of a story.
How long have you been writing?
Seems like forever LOL I wrote my first "epic" fantasy story at the age of ten and used all the neighborhood kids in it. I'd always written as a hobby but didn't get serious about having the work published until 2008. I'd gotten laid off the year before and decided the time was right to see if writing could be a career.
Do you outline ahead of time or do you write from your head (are you a plotter or a pantser)?
Oh, definitely I do an outline beforehand. I usually have a general idea of where I want the story to do then I'll go ahead and outline/plot each chapter as I go along. Will the outline change? Sometimes, but then I add the changes and continue on. It keeps me from writing myself into a corner.
What is your writing routine?
That largely depends on the day. I like to write in the afternoons as the mornings are way too busy doing other things. I also write long into the evenings.
What do you do when you're not writing?
I love to bake and cook. When I have time I read. I also live for anything Disney.
What are you currently working on?
Right now, I'm working on another retelling of a fairy tale. For a longer piece, I'm tinkering with an action-packed sci-fi book.
What is your favorite guilty pleasure?
Watching America's Next Top Model or eating butter toffee LOL
What is your favorite book you've written? Read?
Hmm, favorite book I've written? Yikes, that's like choosing a favorite child! But I really enjoyed writing Wedgie Tales and Panty Lines or a book that's out on submission now called Act of Pardon.
Favorite book I've read? Well recently it would have to be The Dark Side of Disney, which is a tongue in cheek travel book about Walt Disney World.
Blurb for Wishful Thinking.
Believing may be seeing but confidence can change impossible situations.
Plus-sized Jovie Andrews is constantly passed over for promotions and she feels invisible. Things only get worse when her boss, thinking he can impress the owner of their company, tells everyone that she can change old contracts into gold bars. If Jovie thought her life was bad before, she had no idea how horrible it could be until she finds herself in a room with stacks of outdated contracts she's expected to miraculously transform.
As she pours a cup of tea, she rubs at a stain on the creamer pot, and a magical being, Rand, appears, saying he'll help her with her troubles–for a price each time. Skeptical yet curious about the exotically sexy man, she agrees, but she's not prepared for the erotic things he does to her as reward. Over the course of her trials, he teaches her how worthy of good things she really is.
Once the tasks are completed, and freed of Rand's help, Jovie is given an ultimatum: find out his full name or exchange her life for Rand's; otherwise, he'll be lost for all eternity and she'll be trapped in the prison he came from.
Book video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn5A9LmM0nI
Short excerpt (adult due to language):
With a cry of frustration, Jovie rushed at the door. Yanking it open, she looked across the hall. Clinton stood in the doorway to his office, his grin wide. "Damn it, Clinton! If you think this ends here, you're a bigger ass than I thought!" She slammed the door, smacked a palm flat on the wood then turned around and sagged against it.
Fine, if he wanted her to produce, she'd do it. It couldn't be that hard, right? She needed to rise above the situation and make it work for her. Hadn't she heard that enough times from the slick salespeople she worked with? Put a positive spin on the issue and make it an opportunity for her advantage. Make a few calls, craft a deal the clients couldn't refuse and boom! New contracts.
A heavy sigh escaped her lips. No matter how she tried to think about it, it was still a tall order. Not to mention it would be difficult to call clients without a phone. Time for a cup of tea to start the creative process.
Ignoring the mess of the paper-strewn table, she moved to the catering cart and poured a cup of the amber-colored liquid. Immediately, the floral fragrance of the tea wafted around her. She dropped a sugar cube into the hot beverage, watching as the block dissolved under the surface. When she reached for the creamer container, she frowned to see the shiny, silver vessel marred by fingerprints and water droplets. Stupid men who didn't know how to properly clean the silver service. Jovie retrieved a linen napkin from the tray and polished first one side then the other until it shone under the gentle overhead light.
"Much better." Jovie poured a thin stream of milk into her cup and smiled when the glassy surface clouded. She'd picked up the habit of enjoying tea during her trip to London a few years ago. In the midst of chaos, the act of sitting down and sipping the beverage promoted calm.
As she returned the creamer container to the tray, a cloud of shimmering aqua smoke filled the conference room, obliterating the table, the catering cart and everything else for several seconds.
She coughed when the dust entered her lungs. It tasted faintly of exotic candied fruits yet was perfumed with warm spices and bergamot. Tears streamed to her cheeks from the irritant, prompting her to dab at the moisture with the napkin. When she opened her eyes, the smoke had cleared and a strange man stood before her.
"You're right." A subtle English accent danced through the baritone voice. "This is much better."
"Who are you and where did you come from?" She couldn't help but admire the man even as her brain screamed out a warning to run.
Skin the hue of a New Orleans café-au-lait and eyes of such a brilliant green they could have been tinted contact lenses, he moved away from the catering cart and prowled the small room. Black hair fell to his wide shoulders in windblown waves. It looked so soft she wanted to reach out a hand and touch it to confirm.
Jovie swallowed hard. That skin made her crave fried pastries. She followed the thought with another—sprinkling him with powdered sugar so she could lick off every white fleck, from those to-die-for shoulders over his probably swoonful abs and… Oh God. Flutters filled her stomach. Her mouth watered as she stared. "Who are you?" Come on, answer me so I can figure out if I'm talking to an illusion.
He wore a soft-looking white t-shirt that hugged a fit chest and showcased muscled arms and broad shoulders. Heat rushed through her bloodstream, making her limbs feel they had the integrity of cooked pasta, but she continued her perusal. How could she not? His torso tapered into a narrow waist and slim hips. Powerfully built thighs stole her breath. Though black denim covered his bottom half, she tried to imagine what those legs would feel like, pinning her to a bed or how his unleashed cock would feel like as it spilled into her hands.
Yeah right. If this man ended up being real, there was no way he'd want to do that with her.
As if aware of her thoughts, the man's sensuous lips parted with a grin that flashed white teeth. "You never know." The bulge at his fly twitched. "I have been cursed into that vile creamer pot for a century. You have no idea how wonderful it is to be free."
Curses? A century or so old? Jovie's mind reeled from the new information. "What are you doing here? In this room? At this company?" She glanced at the still-closed door. "No matter what Clinton told you, I'm not stupid. How did you really get in here?" Was this part of her boss's plan to distract her away from her work?
The man sighed, as if he'd had this exact conversation too many times in the past. "I occupy the space between worlds. A nether realm if you will, sent there by an extremely over-zealous voodoo priestess years ago." He closed the distance until a mere arm's length of air separated them. "She had a rather adverse reaction to my ending our affair. Thus the curse."
Available at Liquid Silver Books:
All Romance e-books: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-wishfulthinking-652339-149.html
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Wishful-Thinking-ebook/dp/B006HWGB7Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323088771&sr=8-1
Curious about my other works? Come check me out here:
Website: http://www.sandrasookoo.com
Believing is Seeing blog: http://sandrasookoo.wordpress.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/sandrasookoo
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sandra.sookoo
Contest time! Because Jovie met Rand over a tea tray, I thought it would be fun to offer a small of Harney & Sons tea plus two gourmet, imported tea cookies (individually sealed) to one lucky commenter! Plus, winner will get book swag. Please remember to leave your contact information. Contest will run through midnight EST December 23rd.
