RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH...DEBRA WEBB!

What a super way to close out a great year! My guest is USA bestselling author Debra Webb!

DEBRA WEBB wrote her first story at age nine and her first romance at thirteen. It wasn’t until she spent three years working for the military behind the Iron Curtain—and a five-year stint with NASA—that she realized her true calling. A collision course between suspense and romance was set. Since then she has penned more than 100 novels including her internationally bestselling Colby Agency series. Her debut romantic thriller series, the Faces of Evil, propelled Debra to the top of the bestselling charts. Visit Debra at www.thefacesofevil.com or at www.debrawebb.com.

R:  Hello, Debra and welcome to my blog! Tell us a bit about yourself and how you became interested in writing.

Hi, Rocco! I’m so excited to be here! I grew up on a farm in small town Alabama and I’ve been writing stories since I could string sentences together. I live in a house that’s over a hundred years old and I love finding and repurposing old things.

R: What drew you to the romantic suspense genre?

From watching Hitchcock movies and the soaps my mother loved when I was growing up, I developed a real sense of scary stuff and the cliff hangers soaps are so well known for!

R: What writers in your genre would you say have made the greatest influence on your writing?

Karen Robards, Iris Johansen, and Tami Hoag definitely!

R:  Your bio says you also worked at NASA. What was that like?

It was an amazing time! I worked in the Shuttle Program. I worked many Shuttle launches. It was during those years when I came to realize anything was possible and decided to give publishing a try.

R: Tell us about your Faces of Evil series. How did that come about?

Many years ago I watched a documentary about the levels of evil. I was intrigued by the idea that the same crime committed by two different people could be very different on the heinousness scale. It’s all about motive. The Faces of Evil grew from there. Each book is about a villain from the next level of evil. In addition to each book’s villain, there is one serial killer, Eric Spears, who works against my protagonist, Jess Harris, throughout the series. They will have a final face off in the twelfth book!

R: Which of your characters’ adventures was the most fun for you to write? Were any of them the least amount of fun?

I love Jess Harris and her interaction with the other characters. I think those interactions are the most fun to write. The least, I think would be that devil Eric Spears and the way he works behind the scenes to destroy the people Jess cares about.

R:  Do you have an “how I got my agent” story you’d like to share?  How did you feel when you got the call your first novel had sold?

Rocco, I was really lucky that my agent came highly recommended by a friend. I spoke with her by phone, exchanged some emails and then had a meeting in New York. She’s amazing.

I can tell you that when I got “the call” I cried like a baby! I was so happy I could hardly speak. It was on Friday and the editor told me to take the weekend to celebrate (and calm down lol) and give her a call back on Monday!

R: What’s a must have for you when you are writing? What aids the creative process?

Music and my dogs (sorry Rocco)! My Beagle and Maltese follow me to my office and curl up on their beds to watch.

R: If you had access to a time machine, which historical moment would you travel to and why?

Gosh, that’s tough. I think I would love to be in Scotland during Medieval times! But only for a day or two!

R:  If a movie were to be made of one of your books, which one would you want it to be and who would you pick for the lead roles?

Definitely OBSESSION (the first book in the Faces of Evil). I think I’ have to leave the casting to the professionals. I say someone different every time I’m ask this question.

R: What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to know about you?

That I’m a neat freak! Everything has to be in its place!

R: What is the craziest thing you've ever done? 

I think I’ll take the Fifth on that one, Rocco!

R: What do you hope readers will most take away from your writing?

Hopefully a good story, worth their time and money, with strong characters.

R: Where can we find out more about you and your work?

Visit me at www.debrawebb.com and www.thefacesofevil.com!

R: Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

Never give up! Keep writing and exercising your “voice”!

Just for Fun:

Night or Day?  Day! I love gardening and working around the house!

Dog or Cat? (answer carefully)  I guess I’m in trouble here! I love cats and dogs but we only have dogs right now.

Beach or Pool?   Beach for walking and a pool for swimming!

Steak or salad?  Salad any day!

Favorite Drink?  Coca-Cola!

Favorite Book?  Too many to name!

Favorite TV Series?  REVENGE

Favorite Movie?  Long Kiss Goodnight

Favorite Actor: Samuel L. Jackson

Favorite Actress:  Julia Roberts

Dirty Martini or Pina Colada? Pina Colada

Hawaii or Alaska? Alaska!

Finish this sentence:  If I could meet anyone in the world, past or present, it would be ____Thomas Harris_______________

If I had just one wish, it would be____that my older daughter would wake up without her physical challenges_____________________________________

If I could trade places with anyone in the world, it would be __I like being me because I have the best family and friends in the world!_____

Thank you for a great interview, Debra! What a great way to close out 2013!

Folks, you can find out more about Debra and her books at:

www.thefacesofevil.com

www.debrawebb.com

https://www.facebook.com/#!/debra.webb.587

@DebraWebbAuthor on Twitter

As our New Year celebration, Debra will be giving away  a Faces of Evil tote bag and the first three paperbacks (OBSESSION, IMPULSE and POWER)  in the series to one lucky reader! To enter, leave a comment below with your email address. (entries without email will be disqualified). For extra entries, you can do any or all of the below:

* Follow my blog (+ 1 point)
* Follow me on Twitter (+ 1 point) (Link: https://twitter.com/RoccoBlogger)
* Tweet about the contest (+ 1 point)
* Friend me on Facebook (+ 1 point) (Link: https://www.facebook.com/ToniLotempio)#!/

* Mention the contest on Facebook (+ 1 point)
* Mention the contest on your blog (+ 1 point)

Winner will be chosen at random using random.org.  Don’t forget to mention all you’ve done in your comment. Good luck!

The HUMAN and I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of our readers for following our blog!  We are grateful for your support.  This past year was an especially good one – the HUMAN is contracted by Penguin for her cozy mystery series (Guess who was the inspiration, meow!) and her romantic suspense/paranormal will be out from Entangled Summer 2014!

Keep following the blog in 2014! Not only will the HUMAN have giveaways and surprises of her own with her releases, but we will have some wonderful guests, including:

MaryJanice Davidson

Kate Collins

Liz Mugavero

Heather Graham

Brenda Novak

And, of course, our annual 2014 KIDS NEED TO READ fundraiser promises to be bigger than ever! (Hint: it will feature an autographed item from Castle himself – Nathan Fillion!)

Here’s to a wonderful 2014 for all!  See you January 7 when my guest is bestselling author Kimberly Raye!

MEROW!

ROCCO

Incredible Blogging Cat