Find Rula at:
What
are a few things we would find on your desk?
I’m looking
around my desk now. Let’s see…there’s a giant hour glass that I bought recently
to help pace myself. I think seeing sand gently fall is more soothing than
listening to a timer tick away lol. I also have a big piece of lapis lazuli
decorating the corner. It’s supposed to be good for communication and it sure
couldn’t hurt lol! I also have a fountain pen that I often use when
brainstorming in a notebook. My son loves fountain pens and is a serious
collector. He changes the ink color for me to fit my mood or to help my
creativity flow with the ink ;).
What
motivates you to write?
A desperate need
to share the stories in my head. I think most writers need to let their
creativity explode on paper…or their heads will lol.
Share
something about yourself no one else knows?
Hmmm…I still
have the pewter owl keychain I got my senior year in high school. The pewter
elephant keychain I got as a gift for myself when my first book, The Promise of
Rain, released hangs alongside it. With all the keys, let’s just say my
keychain is rather heavy.
What
was your favorite scene to write?
There’s this
tense scene where my hero, bush pilot Mac Walker (accompanied by his orphaned
nephew) is called on a helicopter aerial search for a missing baby
elephant…Bakhari from the first book. During the search they encounter Kenyan
Wildlife Service in the middle of an anti-poaching operation where tusks have
been confiscated, but unfortunately numerous elephant lives have been lost.
They continue their search, hoping that the lost elephant doesn’t end up a
poaching victim. I felt really passionate while writing this scene, but what’s
even more amazing is that, after the book went to press, I read a true story
update by The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (I’ve fostered one of their elephants
in Kenya, so I get email updates) on a baby elephant search and rescue. The
situation and location/setting in which their young one was found was almost
just like the scene I’d written in the book!
Tell
us about your book…
THROUGH THE
STORM is book 3 in my ‘From Kenya, With Love’ series for Harlequin
Heartwarming. Each book can stand alone, but the setting and characters are
interwoven, so anyone who has read the first books will enjoy seeing earlier
characters again and seeing how they’ve continued to grow. What I think stands
out in the series is the Kenyan Serengeti setting, elephant rescue from
poachers and the strong sense of family, friends and love.
Blurb:
The biggest risk
she'll ever take…
Tessa Henning is
no damsel. But she's definitely in distress. If her husband really is involved
in the ivory trade, he'll come after her when he finds out what she's
uncovered. Unfortunately, the only person who can help is Mac Walker. Stubborn,
fiercely independent, danger-loving bush pilot Mac Walker—with whom she shares
custody of their orphaned nephew. Though Mac's no knight in shining armor, he
can keep her and their nephew safe in the Serengeti while they wait out this
storm. But he can't protect Tessa from the strange weather brewing inside her,
stirring up feelings for Mac she wishes she could ignore.
THROUGH THE STORM by Rula Sinara
Harlequin
Heartwarming
Book 3 - From Kenya, With Love
May 2016 (North
America)
June 2016
(UK/Aus)
Buy Links: (available in
print and ebook on the following sites and ebook format everywhere)
GIVEAWAY: I’ll
be giving away a set of 3 ‘From Kenya, with Love’ 15x15in canvas tote bags and
a set of 3 bookmarks to one winner randomly chosen from the comments!
Sounds like a good read! Thanks for dropping by Luxury Haven & have a great weekend! xoxo
ReplyDeleteThanks, Shirley!
DeleteAn hour glass, I love it. I could see how that's more soothing than a clock.
ReplyDeleteLOL, yeah, I had an egg timer but the ticking was messing with my concentration ;). I'm loving the hour glass!
DeleteLovely interview and the book sounds like a wonderful read!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Christine! Nas is a wonderful hostess and interviewer!
DeleteCongrats, Rula! Wonderful interview, and I like the idea of using an hourglass to measure writing time. I use the clock timer on my Kindle Fire. There's no ticking sound, but the beeping at the end can get annoying.
ReplyDeleteLOL, Cherie. Knowing me, if I'm deep in writing a story and a beeper went off, it would scare the daylights out of me and I'd jump out of my chair :).
DeleteThat's really cool how your book mirrored real life! Though elephant poaching in general is so sickeningly sad to me. Best of luck, Rula!
ReplyDeleteIt really is, Meradeth, and I hope they find an effective way to eradicate poaching once and for all.
DeleteI love keychains. I have about 10 of them that I bought when I got my first job here in Las Vegas. It was in a souvenir shop and most of the keychains are Las Vegas souvenirs. But my favorite one is the brown brained one that my brother made me over 25 years ago. Your books sounds really good.
ReplyDeleteThanks on the book, Mary! Aren't keychains fun?! Most folks don't think about it but they're a great thing to collect memories with.
DeleteI read "The Promise of Rain," and thoroughly enjoyed it. This book sounds equally as good. I wish Rula much success with it.
ReplyDeleteHi Susan!! :) Thanks so much! And I'm so glad you liked The Promise of Rain! That debut will always be extra special to me.
DeleteI've always wanted an hour glass on my desk. :) Is the storm in this storm figurative or is there also a real storm outside? Elephant poaching makes me so sad, but the premise of this story sounds really good.
ReplyDeleteChrys, great question because in my first book, The Promise of Rain, the rain is both figurative and literal. In Through the Storm it's more figurative in terms of what has been brewing in her life, the danger she must get through and it could even be analogous with how poachers raid elephant herds and what those majestic animals deal with. It really is sad and the research that went into the book really tore at my heart.
DeleteHow nice to see Rula here, and learn a snippet more about her.
ReplyDeleteThank you - and her.
Waving!! Great to see you here too! :)
DeleteI love that Rula has a giant hour glass to help her pace herself and that it is soothing to watch. I love hour glasses. :) Wishing her the best of luck!
ReplyDelete~Jess
Hey Jess! Waving :). It's amazing how many lovely designs of hour glasses there are out there. Functional too!
DeleteIt seems like this author really does feel the need to write to keep alive hehe or other things will start exploding! She sounds so true and lively in her answers and I really like that about her. Hope her third book in the series will be a success :)
ReplyDeleteAw, I love your comment! I'm so glad you enjoyed the interview :). I really do get an adrenaline rush when I'm writing and the story is flowing! Thanks for popping by!
DeleteThis sounds like a wonderful book.
ReplyDeleteKudos to you for fostering that baby elephant!
Thanks, Sandra! I love getting the elephant updates and the videos and photos The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust posts on their website and social media are so inspiring. Plus, those baby elephants are too cute and heartwarming :).
DeleteHi Rula
ReplyDeleteI loved this story I love elephants after being followed home from school by one that broke away from a circus when I was 6 years old and the emotions that you wrote into the story with the characters was so moving and beautiful
Have Fun
Helen
Hey Helen! That's so cool that you were followed home by an elephant! Not many can make that claim ;). I'm so glad you enjoyed the book. Thanks so much!
DeleteYour key chain sounds like mine. It's always getting caught on things!
ReplyDeleteLOL, Sherry. It's funny that, as big and heavy as my key chain is, my keys still get lost in my purse! Must be my eyes lol...
DeleteThis sounds like a lovely read.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Barbara!
DeleteCongrats to Rula on her latest release and great interview.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Medeia! Nas is always a great hostess :).
DeleteCongratulations Rula!! I know I'm going to love it.
ReplyDeleteHey Laurie! Great seeing you here! Thank you :). I can't wait to hear what you think of it!
DeleteCongratulations to Helen Sibritt! You won this giveaway!
ReplyDeleteWoohoo this is fabulous news doing the happy dance :)
ReplyDeleteThank You so much
Have Fun
Helen
Lovely interview, Rula, and I love the hourglass!
ReplyDelete