Author Interview: Stephanie Burkhart

Today I have the pleasure of welcoming fellow DBP author, Stephanie Burkhart, to my blog so she can tell us about her newest release, The Hungarian, a paranormal romance set in 1901 Europe. How romanctic is that!

SW. Would you please tell us a little about yourself?

SB. Gosh, Shawna, I've gotten around! Haha. Travel-wise, that is! I entered the military in 1986 fresh out of high school. I joined the army and became an MP. I spent 7 years in Germany while in the military and loved every minute of it. I've been to Poland to Italy and I was married in Denmark. I left the military in 1997 and settled in California with my husband. Both of us are currently in law enforcement. He's a police officer and I'm a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. I have two young sons, 8 and 3. My first novel, "Destination: Berlin" is a "sweet" military romance that I self published in 2001. I've been writing every since.

SW. When did you first become interested in writing?

SB. I remember writing Spiderman comic books when I was six inspired by the 1970's show, the Electric Company! *grin* Seriously, I didn't start until I got out of the Army in 1997. That's when I first began writing Destination: Berlin.

SW. Can you tell us a little about the ups and downs on your journey to publication?

SB. I really wanted to go with a small press for "The Hungarian," but it took a while to get there. The story's first draft was probably best left in the closet, but after constructive feedback I tackled a second draft. The first draft was good in that it allowed me to get used to the characters. I reworked the plot and wrote it in the first person from Katherine's perspective. I showed Gail Delaney at Desert Breeze who said, "I like it, but can you write it in the third person?" "Sure," I said. In that regard, my words of wisdom are – have patience. Be open to constructive feedback, and learn your craft as much as you can.

SW. Every excerpt I've read from the Hungarian is absolutely captivating! How do you approach a new project? Do you research and plot before you write? Or do you have a general idea and just go to it and see where it leads?

SB. A new project? I plot a rough outline and I keep it rough because I never know where the characters are going to take me. I know the beginning and the end. I do research my projects because I want to be accurate. I find researching fun. I'd been to Budapest while in the military so I very familiar with it. Most of my research is online unless I've been there in my international travels.

SW. Tell us about your latest release?

SB. "The Hungarian" is a paranormal romance involving a werewolf. It takes place in 1901 in England and Budapest, Hungary. Count Matthias Duma harbors a dark secret but when he meets a young British noblewoman, Katherine, he risks everything for her love.
In the first half of the story, Matthias is stuck in England because his late wife's parents are asking the courts to give them custody of his daughter, claiming he keeps a household of gypsies. Matthias meets Katherine and courts her despite this challenge. In the second half of the book, Matthias takes Katherine to Hungary where she has to adjust to a whole new life.

SW. I have it on my Kindle, and can't wait to read it. I have a feeling that I won't get anything else done while reading. What inspired you to write this story?

SB. It was inspired by a prompt on Writing.com – write a story about a werewolf that falls in love. The story was about Matthias who hires a British nanny, Katherine, and falls in love with her. I submitted it to the Writer's Digest Popular Fiction Contest and out of 3,000 entries, it was an honorable mention in the romance category. From there, I decided to flesh out a novel.

SW. Can you give us a little history on the characters, including how you developed them , and what endears them to you?

SB. Matthias is my tormented werewolf. He's an Omega Male. He has an inner circle of friends that he trusts and that's it. Katherine loves books and longs for a great adventure. That's how I was like in high school – longing for that great adventure. What endears me to Matthias is that he's my ultimate man. (I suppose he's a bit like my husband! *grin*) and Katherine is very much like me.

SW. What do you hope to be able to accomplish through your writing? Any long term goals?

SB. I would hope that after reading a novel of mine it would leave the reader instilled with a smile, hope, a good feeling. That's what it's about with me. Long term goals – to be Anne Rice mega famous. *grin*

SW. Any ideas for future projects?

SB. Yes, I'm working on the sequel to "The Hungarian" called "The Count's Lair" about Katherine's friend, Amelia and Matthias's rival, Anton Varga. I'm also working on a short story for the Desert Breeze Borealis Anthology and I'm working a "darker" werewolf story which I call my "Moldavia" Series. Prince Mihai Sigmaringen is the heir apparent to Moldavia's throne, but when his best friend, Viktor, is bitten by a werewolf, everything that Mihai knew and believes changes, challenging his way of life.

SW. What's your favorite movie, food, and place to vacation? Also, any other hobbies?

SB. My favorite movie? The Sound of Music. Simply because I've been to Salzburg , Austria and the Sound of Music brings the romance of Salzburg alive. Food – Shrimp Pizza. I loved eating it in Germany. I also liked Gyros, German style and cheese brotchen. My vacation spot? Right now it's to take the family to Catalina Island off the coast of California for the 4th of July.
I love playing racquetball but I have yet to find a racquetball partner.

SW. Other than your book, do you have any recommendations you'd like to pass along?

SB. Ties that Bind by Keena Kincaid,One Snowy Knight by Deborah MacGillivray, and the Mists of Time Series by Tami Dee, "Under a Viking Moon" and "Dawn of a Viking Sunrise."

Stephanie, thank you so much! I'd definitely like to have you back to talk more about your future books. It sounds like you have quite an adventure in store for us all!

For more about Stephanie and her books:

http://sgcardin.tripod.com/

http://sgcardin.blogspot.com/

Purchase The Hungarian here or at Amazon Kindle.