Welcome romance author, Shelly Holt....

 Good morning, Shelly and welcome to my humble abode! I think this is the first time we've met so I'm looking forward to getting to know more about you and your work. Wishing you all the best with your tour. On with the questions!

Q – When and why did you decide you wanted to be a published author?

Shelly Holt- I moved to rural Nevada to be a caregiver for my parents, and there's not a lot of employment around here and my savings was about to run out. I had just heard about 50 Shades of Grey and realized, hey! I could do that.

Q – What is the best and worse thing you have learned from an editor/agent?

Shelly Holt – I had absolutely no idea how to write a proper query letter and one kind soul took pity on me and let me know how unprofessional my first one was.  He gave me several pointers on how to write a much more succinct query and wished me luck. 

The worst thing? Well, they taught me that if I believe in my own work, to not listen to them. They don't know everything, nor can they predict the future as to what will sell.  Believe in yourself!

Q -  Favorite Authors?

Shelly Holt - Sharon Shinn, Laurel K. Hamilton, Robert Reed.  Romance, Sex and Science Fiction.  These authors are the best at each aspect of the perfect story.

Q – What's you typical day?

Shelly Holt – I take care of my cats, do the housework waiting for me.  I then try to write for 6 or 7 hours while making sure my dad eats breakfast and lunch.  Laundry, dishes making dinner.  If I am really being good 45 minutes on the treadmill somewhere in the middle of all that. 

Q – Share your blurb or short excerpt from your latest release with us.

  “My name is Kai Tenzin.  I was born in a village high in the Himalaya mountains of Tibet.

I am a Pari.  My people are born with the ability to transform into the animal you call the Asian Snow Leopard.  The Pari have been among you since the dawn of human civilization.  We have seen humanity at its worst.  We have watched from the safety of our mountains, as human tyrants unleashed their destructive fury and let the blood of the innocent flow freely over the land.  For centuries we have cowered in fear of what horrors the human heart would unleash upon us if discovered.  We always strived to know the animal within us, but we always considered humans to be the true beasts.  We feared you and did not wish to know you.”

Q – Who would you cast to play your hero & heroine in a movie?

Shelly Holt -  Kai Tenzin would be played by Survivor's Yul Kwan.  Rae Hales, Scarlett Johansson.

Q – Did you plan this book, or write it as it came? 

Shelly Holt- I had an outline to begin with, but it was very much an organic process while I was writing it.

Q – What surprised you the most when you became published?

Shelly Holt – How important social media is in publicizing it.

Q – Do you have a dedicated writing space? 

Shelly Holt -  Yes, I am very fortunate in that I have an extra bedroom as my office.  It has a window that looks out onto the desert.  I have a lot of books, a computer, a map on the wall, my mother's sewing machine and a T.V. and big green easy chair that lately my cats have enjoyed far more than I have. 

Q – What's next for you?

Shelly Holt -  After I finish the publicity on Tasting Fire, I will go back to working on its sequel.

You can keep updated on my work at

On Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shelly-Holt/443904305648848

On Twitter

https://twitter.com/ShellyHolt9

On Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Tasting-Fire-ebook/dp/B0098M7OOQ

Tasting Fire

by Shelly Holt

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BLURB:

Shape-shifters have always walked the earth. Shrouded in myth and folklore, hiding in the shadows, watching and waiting. Advances in modern science are now about to reveal them to the world. Kai Tenzin is the self appointed leader of the Pari people. He and his kind evolved from the most reclusive predators on earth. They live and hunt in the most fearsome and rugged terrain known to man, the Himalayas. Kai leaves his small village where the mountains touch the heavens, determined to do anything to protect his people. When he is forced to enlist the aid of the beautiful American scientist Dr. Rae Hales, the last thing he expects to find is a woman who will ensnare his heart and endanger them all. Their action-packed adventure will take them around the world to discover the truth behind the legends and reveal the future of humanity.  

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EXCERPT

 “My name is Kai Tenzin.  I was born in a village high in the Himalaya mountains of Tibet.

I am a Pari.  My people are born with the ability to transform into the animal you call the Asian Snow Leopard.  The Pari have been among you since the dawn of human civilization.  We have seen humanity at its worst.  We have watched from the safety of our mountains, as human tyrants unleashed their destructive fury and let the blood of the innocent flow freely over the land.  For centuries we have cowered in fear of what horrors the human heart would unleash upon us if discovered.  We always strived to know the animal within us, but we always considered humans to be the true beasts.  We feared you and did not wish to know you.

 I am guilty of that crime more than any others of my kind, and yet, I personally have seen human compassion in action.  When it does happen, it is an act of such profound beauty, that the darkest place in the universe, namely, the human heart, can not hide the infinite luminescence that shines forth.  You have it within each and every one of you to be a shining flame that brightens the darkest night.  We should have had more faith in that.  I should have had more faith in your humanity and my own.  Instead, I chose to help my people to continue to hide in darkness. 

We stole from you the chance to know us and hid where only hate and fear can grow.  For that I apologize and can only ask for your forgiveness.  I stand here today, humbly begging you for a second chance.  If we possess the courage, together, we can open our hearts to each other.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

My name is Shelly Holt and I live in the middle of the harsh and unforgiving Mojave desert. I write my stories looking out of a window that shows sweeping desert views. Outside is a barren and severe landscape, yet inside my head lives a world filled with exotic shape-shifters come to life, pulled from the pages of myth and legend, ready to entice and seduce any reader brave enough to take them on.

It's funny, I never wanted to be a writer!  In 7th grade English, we were given an assignment.  We were told to write an original poem and turn it in the next day.  I was determined to turn in not a good poem, but a great poem.  I spent the whole night working on it instead of watching my favorite show, The Waltons.  (Hey! it was 1980.)  I turned it in the next day.  Apparently, I succeeded a little too well and was accused of copying it from a book. (1980 remember, no internet yet).  The teacher stated and I quote "this is too good for a seventh grader, where did you copy it from?"  Well, I didn't write for 30 years after that. In my 40's, after a life changing move to rural Nevada as a caregiver to my father, I realized I needed a way to earn a little money on the side.  I did some research on the internet and read all about a certain little book, about a certain little college student and a handsome billionaire with some ahem! (issues.)  I decided after reading that book, I could do that, and Tasting Fire was born. I'll admit it's been strange revisiting a talent buried deep inside for so long, forgotten, but apparently not lost. It's been an important journey and one I am quite thankful for and excited to see where it takes me.

Shelly Holt

 P.S. Mr. Jordan, I really did write that poem!

Shelly will award a $20 Starbucks GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:  http://www.goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/09/virtual-book-tour-tasting-fire-by.html

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