Welcome to Friday Friend Sarah Grimm

We are so delighted to have award winning author Sarah Grimm with us today as part of her extensive After Midnight tour. Sarah will be giving away a PDF copy of her new release to one lucky commenter, so be sure to leave your contact information for a chance to win.





Sarah, welcome to Heroines with Hearts!

Tell us about yourself.
I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. I have notebooks filled with poems, story ideas, and partial chapters from as far back as age five. As a young girl, I always told stories. Sometimes they were funny, other times scary, but they always ended, and I mean always, happily-ever-after.

I live in West Michigan, along the shores of Lake Michigan, with my husband of 19 years, two teenage sons, three miniature schnauzers and a guinea pig. Oh, and until I find it a new home, a kitten I rescued from the side of the highway. I write sizzling, dangerously sexy contemporary romance and romantic suspense—no intimacy hidden “behind closed doors” in my books. With me you get detailed, explicit love scenes. You’ve been warned.
(I say bring them on...no warning needed!)

Tell us about After Midnight.
After Midnight is a contemporary romance now available from The Wild Rose Press. It’s a tortured heroine story—yes, heroine. The tale of piano phenom turned bar owner Isabeau Montgomery, and how one night, after midnight, her entire world changed.
Here’s the official blurb:
Thirteen years—that's how long Isabeau Montgomery has been living a lie. After an automobile accident took her mother's life, Izzy hid herself away, surviving the only way she knew how. Now she is happy in her carefully reconstructed life. That is until he walks through the door of her bar...

Black Phoenix singer/front man Noah Clark came to Long Island City with a goal--one that doesn't include an instant, electric attraction to the dark-haired beauty behind the bar. Coaxing her into his bed won't be easy, but he can't get her pale, haunted eyes nor her skill on the piano out of his head.

Can Noah help Isabeau overcome the past? Or will her need to protect her secret force her back into hiding and destroy their chance at happiness?

You have quite a lengthy tour put together for this release. How did that come about?
I think I suffered a mental lapse the day I decided to put this blog tour together. LOL Seriously, though, I’ve hosted a few tours on my own site and it seemed like a fun way to spread the word about a new release. I chose to do it myself instead of signing on with a promotions coordinator—and boy, did I underestimate just how much work was entailed! Thank God I have great friends who were willing to pull me back to earth during those panicky moments before I got everything together.
If you want to see just how large an undertaking I’m tackling, all of my tour stops are listed here:
http://authorsarahgrimm.blogspot.com/p/after-midnight-blog-tour_23.html

What got you interested in writing?
My overactive imagination? The voices in my head? Honestly, I’m not certain I can pin down exactly what got me interested in writing, as it seems like I’ve been writing since I was in utero. Okay, so maybe that’s a stretch, but I know I’ve been reading and writing since the age of five, when my older sister taught me to read and write.
If I were to hazard a guess, I would have to say my love of reading is what got me interested in writing. I’ve never been able to read a book without picking out parts that I would have written differently, or without rewriting the ending in my head.

What comes first, plot or characters?
A lot of writers begin a story idea with plot, into which they insert characters. I’m the opposite. Characters have always come first for me. One day the hero (usually the hero) will stroll into my head, take a seat and begin talking. My job is to scribble down what he says, and then weave that conversation into a tale of happily-ever-after.

What is the hardest part of writing?
Finding the time. Between my day job, the part time work I do for my husband’s business, being a mom of two teenage sons and three dogs…sometimes days go by where I’ve barely had enough to time sit down and unwind, let alone become engrossed in the world of my characters. Spring and Summer are the busiest times of the year for me, though, so things are slowing down and my need to get back to the keyboard grows stronger every day.

Any advice for new writers?
Never let anyone or anything stand in the way of your dreams. When someone says you can’t do something, go out and do it anyway. Prove them wrong! Criticism hurts, and no matter who you are or the amount of talent you may have, at some point we all receive criticism. It’s inevitable. The only thing you can do is hold your head high and keep moving forward. Do. Not. Give. Up. Whatever your dream, go out and grab it!

On your web-site you mention “Midnight Heat”, second in your Midnight series. Can you tell us a little about that? What made you decide to write a series?
I didn’t have a choice. While writing After Midnight, Black Phoenix bassist Dominic Price, kept nagging me to tell his story. I have a soft spot for him, so I decided to give it a go. Since making that decision and sending out ARCs of After Midnight, I’ve had a few people ask about Dominic, so I know I’m not the only one who fell for him. LOL
"Midnight Heat" is a reunion romance that begins about seven months following the conclusion of After Midnight.

What is one question you wish an interviewer would ask you?
How did it feel when you learned you’d made the NYT bestseller’s list?
*grin* I always say if you’re going to dream, dream big!
(I couldn't agree more!)

Where can we find you and your books?
Website: http://www.sarahgrimm.com
Blog: http://www.authorsarahgrimm.blogspot.com
Group Blog: http://www.smutwriterssoapbox.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SarahGrimm.Author
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/SGrimmAuthor

Sarah’s Spread the Word Contest Featuring 3 Prize Packages:
http://authorsarahgrimm.blogspot.com/p/contest.html

Buy After Midnight here:
The Wild Rose Press (http://bit.ly/o2Lkwi)
Amazon (http://amzn.to/p1SG3s)

Wow, Sarah, you are really out there all over the place! It's nice to have so many outlets for your many fans to find you!

Thanks again for joining us today!