The Writer's View: Andrea Stein

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Andrea will be awarding a $50 GC, winner's choice of Starbucks, Amazon or Walmart, to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, and a $50 GC, winner's choice of Starbucks, Amazon or Walmart, to a randomly drawn host. Click on the banner to see the other stops on the tour.

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For awhile I was a writing nomad – I would write on the couch, in bed, at a coffee shop, but a few years ago we moved to a place with a barn. And not one with animals – at least not in many years. Nope, this barn had heat finished floors and a door that locks. I have a family and while I love them dearly having them around while I write is a fool’s mission. When I go to the barn, the kids kinda forget I’m around. Ha. So right now I spend most of my time writing in my office in the barn.

I would like to say I fixed it up, that it’s got cool toys, a great white board and artfully styled stuff. But it doesn’t. And it’s got critters. I haven’t actually seen any of them, but I still hear them, sometimes, and let me tell you there’s nothing like the skittering of squirrels to put you off writing a love scene.

So headphones are essential. As is tunnel vision. Focus on the screen, and not the blur of something over in the corner of the room. I will actually only write in the barn during daylight hours. Somehow the skittering is why more noticeable once the moon is out. If I write at night, you will usually find me at the kitchen table, next to the gas fireplace -- the warmest spot in the house come wintertime.

However there is one constant, no matter where in the house or barn that I write. I always looked over by a mountain. I live in New Jersey, so it’s not much of a mountain…but it does have an interesting name…Hell Mountain…yes, I write from the bottom of hell…

Someday, soon, I promise myself I will give those squirrels the old heave ho and truly claim my space – my room of my own to paraphrase Virginia Woolf. But for now I make do – and focuse on what’s important – sitting down and writing wherever I can – no excused about not having the tight space. Give me a set of headphones and I can write through a Hannah Montanna marathon like you wouldn’t believe.

Of course, I’m not holding my breath on the whole squirrels moving out of the barn thing – after all, they were there first.

Thanks so much for having me drop by - Andrea

About the Author:

Hi, I'm Andrea Stein an author, mother, wife and blogger and a certified mom-chauffeur. I have been scribbling stories for as long as I can remember, including my first adventure story, inspired by an obsession with Out of Africa (book, movie and biography) about a young girl stranded in Kenya. It was serial fiction handwritten, given to my sister, who couldn’t read my handwriting. That story dies after one installment, but the next year I got a word processor (not a computer, but an ACTUAL WORD PROCESSOR) that showed about twenty lines of text at a time. This was before laptops were widely available and this allowed me to be able to type to my heart’s content in the privacy of my own room. Which I did. I think I spent the time writing stories about my “frenemies” to amuse myself. I also listened to a lot of the Cure and New Wave music. I have since moved on to a happier place.

Even though I read lots of different types of books, I write romance novels with a twist. More like contemporary romance than romantic suspense (I don’t write about serial killers or FBI agents) but I usually like to include a puzzle or mystery for my hero and heroine to solve.

Rough Harbor is my second novel, set in a small New England town. Coming soon is Ivy Cottage, also set in a small New England town on a river.

Other than writing I spend most of my time reading, watching TV, cooking, cleaning, taking care of kids, trying to keep the house clean and folding laundry. I love Twizzlers, chocolate and shows on the WB. For me, reading has always been an escape, a way to escape the ordinary and dive into a world that feels real – but with all of the ‘boring’ parts edited out.

As for the rest of my life, I grew up on Long Island, spent a lot of vacations in small New England towns, went to college in New York City, married by high school sweetheart, worked, had kids, stopped working, and kept on writing. Now I live in rural New Jersey (yes, there is such a thing), and though I don’t own any horses, I do have a barn, which I share with squirrels.

There’s something successful writers always tell new writers about their secret to success. Just do it…Bum Glue…write 1ooo words a day…write for two hours a day….Keep writing. And they’re right. I got more successful with my writing when I started to do it consistently. I don’t write every day, but I shoot for five days a week. This means that the words and pages pile up — and I have stories to shape, make and mold…and share.

I hope you enjoy my books, currently available at Amazon.

Find the author online at

www.AndreaSteinBooks.com
http://www.facebook.com/AndreaSteinBooks
https://twitter.com/andreasteinbook

After a bitter break up and professional set back in London, twenty seven year old Caitlyn has returned to Queensbay to work for Maxwell Randall, an old family friend, at his financial management firm. So far, bit by bit, Caitlyn’s been rebuilding all she lost after Michael St. John broke her heart …and tried to ruin her professional reputation.

But her past comes back to haunt her when Maxwell unexpectedly turns up dead. Not only does Caitlyn find her career in jeopardy but her heart is too, when Noah Randall, Maxwell’s son, and her first love, returns to Queensbay. Once, ten years ago, Caitlyn was sure Noah was the one for her…but the tragedy of her grandfather’s suicide and Noah’s decision to leave town left her bereft…and determined never to trust him again.

Over the past decade, she’s managed to do her best to forget about Noah Randall and the lingering questions surrounding her grandfather’s suicide. But now that’s he back in town – rich and more handsome than ever, and she can’t help wondering what if? What if Noah really was the one?

Noah Randall left home ten years ago to seek his fortune – vowing never to return until he’d made a success of himself – and show Caitlyn Montgomery just what she’d given up. He returns to find that Caitlyn Montgomery has only grown more alluring with time. Noah’s always wanted he couldn’t have…and now he wants Caitlyn again. But she’s determined not to make the same mistake twice.

While Noah and Caitlyn are revisiting old ground – and forging a new relationship, there’s trouble brewing in Queensbay. Old secrets and new lead Caitlyn to believe that perhaps her grandfather didn’t kill himself – and that Maxwell’s death was no accident. But just how far will someone go to keep her – and Noah – from finding out the truth…and will Queesbay prove to have troubled waters after all?