Jamie Leigh Hansen-Interview with the Author

The Reading Cafe would like to introduce paranormal romance author Jamie Leigh Hansen.

“I love dramatic, heart-felt stories. I love mixing the magic and wonder of an anything-can-happen kind of world with the daily lives we all struggle with. It adds a sense of hope and adventure to whatever we’re dealing with, be it health, financial or personal problems. Taking a break from the everyday grind to think positively and see a possibility that something will good happen to you soon is what keeps people going even in times of great struggle.”

Website LinkJamie Leigh Hansen

TRC:  Hi Jamie.  Welcome to The Reading Café.We would like to thank you for responding to our request for an interview.  We are always happy to know about the authors we have read and what they
are doing.

Jamie:  Thank you for finding me on the web, Sandy. The Reading Cafe looks wonderful and there is so much to read and see here!  You’ve set up an incredible site.

TRC:  Thank you.  We would like to start with some biographical background.  Would you tell us something about yourself?

Jamie:  I am very fortunate in that I married my high school sweetheart and we will soon celebrate 18 years together. I believe in love, the good, the bad and the ugly and I hope to keep my novels realistic while showing the HEA can really happen.

TRC:  When did you start writing?  Have you always been interested in writing?

Jamie:  I’ve always had a fascination with reading and with books, but my love of writing didn’t develop until later in my teen years. Looking back at some of the assignments I wrote for class, and some of the stories I wrote on my own, I see I’ve always loved heart-touching, dramatic stories. One of the most memorable would be of a girl whose brother was in a coma as she comes face-to-face with the kid who put him there. Then there’s the photo journalist who disappears into a rainforest and is captured by cannibals. My imagination took me into some crazy places. LOL

TRC:  How involved in the writing process is your family?

Jamie: My husband and daughters read what I have written and support me through each step of the story.  My youngest daughter, however, will sit and analyze each detail of the story and characters. She definitely has a writer’s mind and a passion for my stories that keeps me encouraged even when I am convinced the entire story is falling apart.

TRC:  You are interested in the fund raising and research in  Ataxia.
Would you explain about Ataxia and how you became involved
with their cause?

Jamie: I have Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA), which is a hereditary recessive neurological disease. Recessive means it stays hidden in the genes as long as there is a more dominant trait to take the forefront. But, as this one is passed down from both the mother and father, if a child gets a recessive Freidreich’s gene from each of them, then they have it. No one in my family had it or showed signs of it. But when my clumsiness became a bit excessive in my teen years, several trips to the doctor and lots of tests discovered I had this disease no one in my family had ever heard of.

While reading on one of my ataxia email lists, I learned of a project BabelFAmily was doing to help raise funds for research into these and more drugs. The International Literary Project to Fight Against Friedreich’s Ataxia :

 

(https://www.facebook.com/pages/INTERNATIONAL-LITERARY-PROJECT-AGAINST-FRIEDREICHS-ATAXIA/103596886393814)

is a project with writers, translators and artists from around the world working on one novel that will be sold in multiple languages and formats. Our fiction novel is titled The Legacy and combines mystery, murder and love with the last 160 years of discoveries about Friedreich’s Ataxia.

 

We are all very excited and in love with this project. There is so much in it to feel passionate about. We are close to finishing the first draft of writing and translations into the main writer languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. As soon as edits are finished, we have translators lined up to add German, French, and many more languages.

 

We ask that anyone with an interest in supporting this project and cause LIKE the project’s page on Facebook. We have a logo made and will be passing it around to anyone who would like to make it a banner on their website. All free of charge, we just want to gather awareness of this cause. 🙂

 

Thank you, so much, Sandy for giving me a chance to speak about The International Literary Project to Fight Against Friedreich’s Ataxia.

 

TRC:  You are welcome.  Betrayed and Cursed are the first two book in your Nephilim series.  Would you please tell us something about the premise of this series?

Jamie: For those who’ve read this series already, thank you! It is not dead and I do plan more. 🙂

For those who haven’t, The Nephilim series begins with Betrayed. This is the story of Kalyss, a woman who has lived 9 lives, attempting to rescue her husband who is trapped as a statue. She has failed all 9 times, but this 10th life is different. She is different. Stronger, more capable, with a steel will that will not bend.She won’t fail this time, even if she doesn’t quite know what to do with her husband once she has him.

 

This story has all the drama, love and angst I could have ever wished to write when I was a teenager. I love this series.

 

The second novel is Cursed, the story of Elizabeth, the dream-weaver. She was raised in a family plagued by troubles, both ones they’ve created and those life has handed them. After a decade away, Elizabeth is drawn home to care for her dying mother and ten abandoned nieces and nephews in the crumbling home her family has kept, barely, for three generations. Elizabeth needs hope and the ability to believe in hope and love when it’s freely given to her in the form of a high school crush she’s never forgotten.

 

Elizabeth’s story is very special to me. I loved healing this home and this family. I loved meeting a woman who was strong enough to make it happen even when she didn’t believe herself to be.

 

And through both books, there is the story of two unlikely allies determined to help the special people who consider themselves just human and determined to beat the ultimate in evil.

 

TRC:  Are you going to continue to write any more storylines for the Nephilim
series?

 

Jamie:  I have several more books and short stories planned for this series. I will put them out as soon as I know certain things. 🙂

TRC:  The Murder King’s Woman was a short story first published in the anthology Vampire Romance 2. Would you tell us about The Murder King’s Woman? (see our review below)

 

Jamie:   The Murder King’s Woman is about a human named Mary on a mission to save the vampire who saved her as a child. It is a short story, but when I was done, Mary let me know there were more adventures that needed to be told.

 

TRC:  You are going to continue the Murder Tales series with a new release .  Would you tell us about the next book in the Murder Tales series?
Do you have a release date?

 

Jamie:  The Murder King’s Summons is the second in the Murder Tales Series, featuring Mary on another mission – to prove herself to the vampires and werewolves who raised her. But when she faces a spectre from her past, she’ll need all of her mental agility to escape the trap set for her.

 

TRC:  What are you working on today?

 

Jamie:  Today, I am working on a short story for The Mammoth Book of  Futuristic Romance – release date TBA.

TRC:  Would you like to add anything that you would like us to know?

 

Jamie:  Drop by and say Hi!!!!!

 

LIGHTNING ROUND

 

FAVORITE DESSERT: NY Style Cheesecake

FAVORITE FOOD: Steak fajitas with lots of guacamole.

LAST BOOK YOU READ: I have never made it to Acheron before I got busy, so I am now re-reading all of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter series. So far, I am on Seize the Night with Valerius. I truly love this series.

TRC:  *hands Jamie a box of tissues and the 1-800 hotline number for support*–you will need it for Acheron

FAVORITE TV SHOW: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It has to mean something when you can watch the entire series more than a dozen times and still find something new to enjoy

FAVORITE MOVIE: The Cutting Edge with D.B. Sweeney and Moira Kelly. It’s a long-time favorite.

LAST MOVIE YOU SAW: Bridesmaids. It was a nice surprise to see there was more to the story than the trailer showed, but all the humor was in the trailer.

RED OR PINK ROSES: Red, Orange, Black, Purple, Peach, Yellow and every other shade. I love roses.

DARK OR MILK CHOCOLATE: Definitely milk chocolate.

 

 TRC:  Jamie, we would like to thank you for taking the time to answer our
questions.  Stay in touch and let us know about all of your upcoming
releases.

 

Jamie:  Thank you, as well, Sandy. I will definitely keep your wonderful site at the top of my list. 🙂

****GIVEAWAY****

Jamie Leigh Hansen has graciously offered an e-copy of THE MURDER KING’S WOMAN & THE MURDER KING’S SUMMONS to 2 of our eligible members

1. You must be a registered member at The Reading Cafe.  If you are not a member, please register using the log-in tab at the top or one of our social log-ins.

2.  The giveaway is open internationally.

3.  Please drop by and say hello to Jamie.

Amazon Kindle Link:The Murder King’s Woman
KOBO Link: The Murder King’s Woman
B&N Nook Link:The Murder King’s Woman