Today I have a special treat for everyone! I’m hosting my first interview with first-time published writer Cambria Hebert!  Cambria has agreed to drop by and give us some details about her short story Before, which is the teaser for her first novel Masquerade!  I had the pleasure of reading Before, well, before I’d read any of Cambria’s other works, and boy, was I hooked!  I can’t wait to see where her Heaven and Hell series is going to end up!  But, I digress.  First, Before!

Trish: Hi Cambria, and thanks again for stopping by.  Please tell the audience a little bit about yourself.

Cambria: Cambria grew up in a tiny town and the sound of bells rang out when she born… What’s that I hear? Oh, it’s the sound of you snoring. Yeah, you don’t want to read my bio. How about some stats then?

       Name: Cambria Hebert

       Occupation: Flying Trapese artist (Okay – not really – I’m a writer)

       Drink of choice: Coffee

       Obession: Werewolves (come to mama…)

       Birthday: May 10, 1981 (yup, I told you my age)

       Weight: I ain’t saying.

       Hobby: Jumping out of planes. (No its really isn’t)

Informative aren’t I?

T: Well, with stats like that, you’re obviously Team Jacob, right?

C: Ummm, YES! Hell-O…. Edward is hot and all, I mean his hair is something, isn’t it? But come on. If I were Bella (which I am not) I so would have picked Jacob. That one scene in the movie? Where she is about to drive off to get Edward from stepping into the sun… you know and Jacob is leaning in the window and he asks her to stay… I would have stepped on Alice on my way out the window getting to him. What? TMI? *sigh*  And let me say something else here, I don’t want any of those “He’s half you age, Cambria!” comments at the end of this post. I know how old he is. I said If I had been Bella…. And you know what else? I can look. Gheesh.

T: Totally with you there Cambria! And, since we’re practically the same age, I understand – he’s half my age too, but boy oh boy….  Anywho, so, werewolves – Bitten or Born?

C: Thank you for asking. I have an opinion here. Werewolves- Born. Shifters- Bitten. There’s a difference.

T: Yup. big difference.  Which brings me to two of my favorite werewolf and shifter ladies.  Do you read Kelley Armstrong or Patricia Briggs?

C: I have not. Of course I have heard of them. Maybe someday when I have more time to read.

T: Gah! You disappoint me!  Definitely pick them up, as they are fabulous reads.  I’ll give you a chance to redeem yourself though: I see you’ve done a cameo in The Willing – any further plans to pop into manuscripts?

C: Why yes. I won a blog contest a while ago and I am a character in Cold Blood by Heather Hildenbrand. It’s a sequel to Dirty Blood. It’s about Werewolves. *Sqeeeeee* I am so hoping that my character gets herself a hot werewolf! Cold Blood is being released this month and Dirty Blood is available now. It’s a good read. You should read it.

T: I might just do that.  Back to your story, now.  Where did you get the idea for Masquerade?

C: One day I decided I wanted to write about a girl who was disfigured. That lead me to wonder how she got that way…. It grew from there.

T: Where do you plan on taking this series? Trilogy? More?

C: The Heven and Hell series will be four books. I don’t want to call it a quartet because that makes me think of old men singing outside a barber shop.  Three of the four books are written.

T: Wow! That’s a lot of writing!  So, Before tells us the story, well, before Masquerade begins. Did you have this back story written while you were doing Masquerade? Was it cut from the original draft of Masquerade?

C: No, I wrote this after Masquerade was complete. My publisher, Otherworld Publications, asked me if I would be interested in writing a teaser to get people excited about the book. Of course I said yes.

T: How long did it take you to write Before?

C: It took a day or two. It’s short. Then my editor had her way with it and I fixed some of my errors.

T: Did you always want to be a writer? What got you started telling stories?

C: I have always loved to write and have always been creative. As a teenager I wrote a book (it was very bad, lol) and went through a poetry phase. Then I went to college and took a bunch of art classes then I went to cosmetology school to do hair… I always wanted to do something creative it just took me a while to settle on writing.  I think what got me started telling stories was that I am an only child (oh no! the dreaded only child syndrome!!) so I made up a lot of imaginary friends and games to play when I was young. It was fun. I was weird. It stuck with me. Lol.

T: Do you listen to music while you work? If so, what’s on your play list?

C: No I don’t. I’m boring. Sometimes my kids are arguing in the background while I write tho. As I fill out this interview I am listening to country.

T: Ah, the choirs of angels.  What’s your favorite book? Movie? Cartoon character?

C:  Book: hard to say. Love Gena Showlaters YA series, Intertwined. I also loved Unearthly by Cynthia Hand.

Movie: Transformers.

Cartoon Character: Candace from Phineas and Ferb.

T: Well, that wraps up all the time we have today folks.  Before you go, Cambria, don’t forget to give us details on Before, and maybe even a tidbit on Masquerade!

C: Before is a teaser, an introduction to Masquerade. You get introduced to a few characters and to the drama that is about to takeover. This is about what Heven was like before she was disfigured and her life changed forever.

Masquerade is about Heven, a young girl who is disfigured from a horrible accident and can’t remember what happened to her. No one else knows either. She was once the most popular girl in her class but now she’s a pariah, everyone whispers about her and they think she’s a freak. Sam shows up at school one day and he see’s beyond her scars… but Sam has secrets… like the fact that he knows exactly what happened to her and who did it.

You can pre –order Masquerade now from my publisher (print copies only) at: http://www.otherworldpublications.com/apps/webstore/

Enter coupon code: OWPMEM and get $2 off your order.

Before will be available in Ebook format November 18, 2011 and you can get it at Smashwords, Amazon and BN.

I also have another short story called Whiteout coming out Nov. 23, 2011. It will be an Ebook as well and will be available at smashwords, amazon and BN

Please check out my author website for more information and to watch my awesome book trailers:  http://www.cambriahebert.com

My blog for reviews and random:  http://www.theunlockeddiary.blogspot.com

I am also on GR and Twitter (@cambriahebert) and FB: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Cambria-Hebert/128278117253138

Thank you to Tricia for having me here today!!!

And thank you! Folks, I do hope you’ll check out Cambria’s work.  Her characters are true-to-life and real, her writing is clear and simple, and her voice is perfectly matched with her themes.  And stop by next month when I’ll have Cambria back again for an info session about her first novel Masquerade.