SPOTLIGHT ON SUSAN STOKER, AUTHOR

Name: Susan Stoker

Where are you from: I currently live in the great state of Texas

A little about your self `ie your education, Family, life etc: I am married to a man I met on the *gasp* Internet. :) We met online way before all the dating cites popped up. In fact we met on 'Hotmail Classifieds'. I suppose now that would be like meeting on Craigslist. lol He was in the Army. Within a year we were married and thus started my life of living all over the US. We do not have any kids, but have always had at least one basset hound. We firmly believe in adopting from shelters or rescues. There are way too many unwanted great dogs out there that need a home for there to be any need to buy a designer dog or from a breeder.

Tell us your latest book news? Latest news is that my second book in my Beyond Reality Series, Flaming Hearts, was published on July 21st!

When and why did you begin writing? I've always loved reading and writing. In my "downtime" over the last ten years I've written fun scenes that I had in my heads. Things that I liked to go back and read and day-dream about. When I got the chance to turn one of my "little stories" into a book, I jumped at it.

When did you consider yourself an Author? I'm an author?

What inspired you to write your first book? Beyond Reality is a series based on reality shows (as you could probably guess). There are soooo many reality shows on television today. I think one day I watched one and wondered what really went on behind the scenes. I also wondered what would happen if a 'normal' person got put on one of those shows, rather than the 'aspiring actresses, models, beauty queens, etc'. Thus, Outback Hearts was born.

Do you have a specific writing style? I write what I like to read. That's my writing style. lol

How did you come up with the titles? Titles are HARD! I'm still not sure I completely love the titles, but I guess it's too late to change them now! ha!

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? No. If there's a message it's, 'be yourself, you're a good person'.

How much of the book is realistic? Um, none of it? 'Normal people' don't get chosen for reality shows (even Honey Boo-Boo is NOT normal!)

Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life? Nope. Just what lives in my strange little brain.

What books have most influenced your life most? I've been reading romance since I was in middle school. Back then it was the cheesy little serial novels but I loved them. Then I moved to regency in high school, then on to contemporary...basically I've been devouring romance novels since I was around 12!

What book are you reading now? This is a hard question, because by the time you finish this sentence, I've probably finished the previous book and have moved on to the next!

Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest? There are a ton of authors that I love to read. Carly Phillips, Sable Hunter, Lainey Reese, Kristen Ashley, Lolita Lopez, Laurann Dohner, Cherise Sinclair, Cathryn Cade, Rhyannon Byrd...to name a few. lol

What are your current projects? I have finished the last book in the Beyond Reality series and I hope that comes out SOON. All of those books are stand-alones and are not cliffhangers. I have started a new series that I'm tentatively calling SEAL of Protection. It's about a team of six SEAL members and how they find their women. It was going to be only 6 books, but there was an ex-SEAL that was injured that helps throughout all the books, and I felt he NEEDED his own story, so now there will be 7. The good news is that I have completed 3 of the books and am currently writing the 4th. So hopefully that means they'll be out sooner rather than later. These are all also not cliffhangers, but there you'll see the same people in all of the books.

Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members: Entity? Like my doggies? lol. Seriously, all of my friends have been great and have supported me by buying my books, and cheering for me when I need it.

Do you see writing as a career? I wish. Right now I work full time, and I think I have to have at least 20 more books under my belt before I'd be able to "live"" off of it. I just like to write stories, and I'm thrilled if I can get others to read them and possibly entertain them for a few hours. I'm not sure I'll ever be "famous", but if people can sit down with my book and enjoy themselves, I'm good.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book? Probably not.

Can you share a little of your current work with us? So in the first book in the Beyond Reality Series, Outback Hearts, Sam gets picked to go to the Outback to be on a show where she and 15 other women are trying to win the heart of the bachelor, Alex. Along the way Sam saves a life and falls in love, but she's kicked off the show. So she and Alex have to find a way to be together back in the States after the show is over.

In the second book, Flaming Hearts is set in Arizona and you meet Becky who is one of two women who have to compete against each other for the hearts of the men on the show. Becky is not tall and thing, as is the other contestant and doesn't stand a chance. She happens to meet the brother of one of the cameramen on the show and they are immediately drawn to each other. But of course it's hard to be together since Dean isn't even on the show. In this book Eddie, the producer, is up to his old tricks again and Kina, the camerawoman from the first book is also filming this show. This one is a little more 'angsty' than the first one.

In the last book, Frozen Hearts, the cameraoperators get their chance at love. This one features Kina, from the first 2 books and Jonathan, Dean's brother from the second book. They are in Alaska filming a "Tough man" competition. It follows the life of a cameraoperator on a reality show and how love can still find people while working.

Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work? I'm not sure I have a favorite. I read so many different types of romance, that one day I might want to read a good erotic book, while another day I'm into a historical or sweet book. As long as the story is good and it keeps me engrossed in the story, I'm good.

Who designed the covers? Beau Coup Publishing put together the art, but I chose the pictures.

What was the hardest part of writing your books? I find the start and end the hardest parts. The 'meaty' stuff in the middle is easy.

Did you learn anything from writing your books? I learned I loved putting my stories down on paper.

Do you have any advice for other writers? Write what you like to read and go with what you know. If you hate mysteries you'll be miserable if you try to write one. If you aren't good at history, it would be hard to write a historical book.

Do your have anything specific you would like to say to your readers? THANK YOU. Thank you for buying my books and letting me entertain you.

Do your remember the first book you ever read? It was called 'Summer' by Alice Low. I saw it on Amazon the other day. My kindergarten teacher taught me to read that book during nap time when all the other kids were sleeping.

Other than writing do you have any hobbies? My husband and I like to geocache. It's where you use a GPS and the given coordinates to go out and find the "treasure". It's a little like a scavenger hunt. We've cached in all 50 states, meaning we have found a geocache in every state. We have also found a cache in every county in both Indiana and Texas. It's a fun "free" hobby that gets us out into nature. If someone said "'let's go on a 7 mile hike" I'd think they were crazy. But if you put a Tupperware container at the end of the hike and call it a geocache, I'm all over it! ha!

Please share with us a blurb from one or both of your books:

Outback Hearts--

Sam never thought she’d actually be chosen for a reality show--but next thing she knew, she was whisked away to Australia. Dealing with a producer willing to do whatever he had to do make the show a hit, other women ready to cheat and lie to gain the attention of the bachelor, and a camera operator ready to catch her at her worst every time she turned around, absolutely nothing was as simple as it seemed on TV. Not to mention the pigs, killer snakes and shoveling manure. Sam wasn’t sure she was going to make it through filming most days--never mind find true love.

Alex never thought he’d be on a reality show, but how hard could being surrounded by beautiful women be? A lot harder than he’d thought. The producer changed the rules of the show behind his back, the women were nearly clawing at each other for this attention--and that one contestant he couldn’t get off his mind…

Can two people who are meant to be together manage to fight the catty contestants, crazy producer and find true love on a reality show in the Australian Outback?

Flaming Hearts-

Becky is on a reality show in Arizona, but instead of having the single men compete with each other for her affections, she has to compete with another woman for theirs. While on a disastrous double date for the show, Becky had no idea she’d meet a wonderful, protective man, unfortunately he isn’t a contestant.

Dean finds the one woman he knows is meant to be his, but there’s a problem, she’s a contestant on a reality show. Working with his brother, who just happens to be a cameraman on the show, they put together a scheme to get Dean access to the set. Now all he has to do is convince Becky to choose him.

Becky can’t believe someone as gorgeous as Dean would be interested in her; after all, she isn’t anything special. For some reason he keeps coming back to see her. Their relationship becomes more solid but Becky’s time on the show becomes more tense. She’s ready to call it quits, but she has a contract.

Just as the show is coming to a close, Dean has to leave town for a job. Becky and Dean look forward to being able to openly spend time together once it’s over, but just as their relationship blossoms, trouble arises. Becky has to decide if she can trust Dean enough to help her, or if she’s better off alone. Dean would do anything for the woman he loves, but first he has to find her.

Please share your book covers:

Buy link for Outback Hearts http://www.amazon.com/Outback-Hearts-Beyond-Reality-Book-ebook/dp/B00KEYID8S/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405890445&sr=1-1&keywords=outback+hearts

Buy Link for Flaming Hearts http://www.amazon.com/Flaming-Hearts-Beyond-Reality-Book-ebook/dp/B00LZFHF9I/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1405940948&sr=1-1&keywords=flaming+hearts