Blog Guest & Giveaway - Nicole Hurley-Moore

Today I'm welcoming fantastic historical romance and Aussie author, Nicole Hurley-Moore to my blog. Welcome Nicole and thank you so much for joining me today!

Hi Tamara, thanks so much for letting me drop by.

TG: Now, tell us a little about yourself?

NHM: I live in the Central Highlands in Victoria. I'm married with three children, who all put up with me locking myself away for hours on end. I adore history, fairytales and myths. I have a B.A. in History & Literature and Honours in Medieval Literature. I love that no matter what I write, there will always be an element of history in it. I've always wanted to write but it has only been in the last couple of years I have really knuckled down.

TG: You've celebrated the release of three books, can you give us a little run down on what you have available and what genres they are in.

NHM: I write historical and paranormal romances. My first two novellas, The Trinket Seller's Daughter and Capturing Bliss were both medieval romances.

Until The Stars Burn Cold is a paranormal romance which is set in ancient Persia and a modern day rural Australian town. The hero gets in all sorts of trouble in ancient Persia, mainly for loving the wrong woman. He is cursed into a ring and languishes for centuries, until Mia Templeton accidentally releases him.

TG: Like me and many writers out there you're a busy woman with not enough hours in a day. Where do you pull your time to write from and do you have any tips for those writers out there struggling to allocate time.

NHM: Ah, now I feel guilty. I'm actually lucky enough to be able to write full time. I tried to write when my children were younger and I found it almost impossible. So I am in awe of the clever women, like yourself who can juggle so many things. My kids are older, so I have my days free to write… which is just lovely.

TG: Your new release sounds fantastic! Can you tell us a little about the Until the Stars Burn Cold available from Pink Petal Books, and what triggered the idea?

I'm a jewellery addict much to my husband's horror. I came across a ring that had a figure on it and the story just materialized. I have always loved fairytales and myths and I suppose Until the Stars Burn Cold is my take on one of Scheherazade's tales from 1001 Nights. The research was also really interesting.

Until The Stars Burn Cold - Blurb

Forbidden love

Long ago in ancient Persia, there lived a pair of star crossed lovers. In a desperate bid, the lovers sought to flee the town of Adwan. But they were caught and torn apart. For his insolence, Jinn is cursed into a ring. Ages pass and empires crumble... and Jinn is still forever bound in a circle of frozen silver. Bound, that is until present day antiques dealer, Mia Templeton accidentally releases him. Mia is beautiful and Jinn, finds her somehow familiar. Is love eternal and evil everlasting? Can the power that destroyed his life in Adwan, reach through the centuries and threaten his future?

A Snippet from Until The Stars Burn Cold

Mia stirred as a loud rumble of thunder echoed over her house. She cracked open one eye ever so slightly. A flash of lightning illuminated her bedroom wall. She relaxed back into her soft mattress and closed her eyes. She was warm, comfortable and content, and as sleep threatened to reclaim her once more she wondered if it would be possible to reconnect with the delicious and vivid dream she had been having. Parts of it were beginning to disappear and she tried to hold onto the details.

There had been a man, a beautiful man with wide shoulders and lovely brown eyes and he had been kissing her. Mia let herself begin to drift, she was floating, barely conscious of her surroundings as she snuggled deeper beneath her quilt. Yet there was a nagging in the back of her brain that something was amiss. The edgy feeling told her to wake up but her body rebelled and her breath began to deepen. She reasoned that it was nothing to be concerned about; the dream coupled with the oncoming storm had disturbed her and nothing more. That was until she felt a large hand hook around her waist and pull her closer to a warm mass that engulfed her back. Biting back a scream she pushed the hand away and flung herself off the bed. She turned, faced the bed and fear, shock and amazement blended together in a tight ball in her stomach as she saw that there was a man in her bed.

A weak shaft of light pierced the darkness and she could see he was lying on his side stretched out on top of the quilt, with his arm flung across the bed. He was reaching for where Mia had been dreaming only a moment or two ago. It was then that she realized with a little relief that he was fully clothed. He wore long dark green trousers tucked into soft leather boots that ran halfway up his calf and a deep cream shirt under a leather jerkin.

Mia stumbled across the corner of the room, grabbing the tall, metal floor lamp. She yanked at the cord and pulled the plug out of the socket. The cream silk shade fell off and rolled towards the door. Flicking on the bedroom light gave her a little comfort; at least now she could see exactly what she was up against. She edged towards the bed and looked down at her intruder.

She saw the way the man's chest softly rose and fell. His eyes were closed and his features were relaxed. Feeling a little braver, Mia took one tentative step back towards the bed and studied the stranger's face. He was handsome, with high cheekbones and a square jaw. His golden brown complexion was offset by his long dark hair.

Mia held the lamp in front of her like a staff. Taking a deep breath, she wished her heart would stop racing. She pushed the lamp forward and jabbed at the stranger's shoulder.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my bed?"

TG: How long did it take you to write, Until the Stars Burn Cold?

NHM: It took a couple of months to write and then another few weeks tinkering with it. I had a couple of titles, but every time I decided 'Yep, that's what I'm going to call it' I realized that there were other books out there with the same title, so I would have to think of something else. Finally I realized the answer was staring me in the face. Jinn (our hero), tells the love of his life that their love will last 'until the very stars burn cold." At last, I had found the right title and I think it's pretty, gosh, darn perfect.

TG: Aww, that's lovely. I often find my titles will appear 'somewhere' in the book too. So, what's next for Nicole Hurley-Moore?

NHM: My 'to be written' pile is getting bigger and bigger. Some of the stories I'm working on at the moment are – a straight medieval tale, a paranormal medieval story, and a series of four books which are all set in the Victorian period.

TG: They all sound great! Good luck writing them and we look forward to adding them to our reading pile in the very near future. Thanks again for visiting me today, Nicole. It's been wonderful having you here. Congratulations on your upcoming release! I wish you many sales and great reviews.

And for my wonderful visitors today, all you have to do to win a pdf copy of 'Until the Stars Burn Cold' is simply leave a comment with a valid email address. Good Luck!!

NHM: Thanks Tamara, it's been great fun!

You can visit Nicole at her website, blog, facebook or alternatively through Pink Petal Books.