Touched by the Magic by Maxine Mansfield Blog Tour Interview

Hello y'all!! I'm today's stop on Maxine's "Touched by the Magic" blog tour. So sit back, relax, and get to know a little bit more about the author :)

About the Book:

Give me the blurb for the book in 140 characters or less:
New to The Academy of Magical Arts, Briarlarn Tumbleweed wants to learn the art of True Healing, but nerves get the best of her when she’s paired in the sexually dynamic healing class with Uthiel Stoutheart, Paladin of the Realm. Between burning off eyebrows and overturning candles on exposed male parts, she isn't making a good impression. But how can she focus when Uthiel is strong, brave, and touches Briar in a way that leaves her weak in the knees, quivering with pleasure, and begging for more?
Falling in love with accident-prone but talented Briar wasn’t what Uthiel planned, but life with the sexy healer is adventurous, mind-blowingly stimulating, and his destiny. Yet he can't achieve his own pleasure. Is their love strong enough to endure the magic so desperately needed, and touches both their souls with a searing heat?

Do you have a favorite character? Why is he/she/it your favorite?

Leeky Shortz would have to be one of my very favorite characters. He is the Academy’s handy man, a renowned Rogue of the realm, a panty thief, and most importantly of all, a gnome who has no filter on what he says, or does. He is also extremely loyal to those he calls friends, and loving to his blow-up doll companion. Leeky says and does all those things we wish we had the nerve to do and say.

What do you hope readers will get from your book?

Day to day life can be hard, tedious, and problem filled. What I hope readers get from Touched by the Magic is a few hours of escapism from their day-to-day problems. First and foremost it is my wish to entertain. I hope to make them laugh until they almost pee themselves, cry for the injustices until they’ve gone through an entire box of Kleenex, and tingle through the love scenes until…well I’ll leave that one open…grin

About the Author:

What/Who inspires you?

Everyone has had hard, or hurtful, or difficult times in their lives and I’m no different. There have been periods in my life when the only thing that has gotten me through a long night was the world an author like Julia Garwood, or Catherine Coulter, or Julia Quinn has taken me away too. That’s what inspires me. I want to do for others what those wonderfully talented women did for me.

  

Hardest aspect of writing? Best/Easiest?

Hardest aspect…Hummm…I would probably have to say it is just my love for certain words. You have no idea how many times I have to search for and delete the word just. I just simply want to put it everywhere. I’m not certain why I have this weakness. I’m just glad that I recognize it in myself and can hit the delete button, at least most of the time.

Best aspect…I know it’s strange, but I just love-love-love the edit process. Doing little tweaks that make the story better is like icing on the cake.

Easiest…I am a complete and total plotter. I can spend hours in my head just plotting a single scene.

Who is your writing hero?

I would have to say I don’t have a single writing hero, but a group. The entire AKRWA are my writing heroes. They are a group of extremely talented women who have helped walk me through every step of the writing and publishing road I’ve been on. They have given me honest and much needed critiques even when I didn’t want to hear them, and they’ve listened to my whining, cheered me on my successes, and offered me chocolate, alcohol, and a sympathetic ear when I’ve had failures. It not only takes a village to raise a child, it at times takes a group to write a book you can be proud of. 

About the Future:

What’s next for you?

Touched by the Magic is just the first in a six book series centered around The Academy of Magical Arts. The next book Tempted by the Storm will hopefully be out in September. Also, I have a Boys of Summer story (Served) that will be coming out later this summer.

One outrageous goal for the future?

I want to visit every single castle in Scotland, England, and Ireland just so I can say I did.

Do you have any advice you'd like to share with other aspiring writers?

Perseverance is the key to becoming published. Just write every day if you can, don’t take critiques personal, and never-never-never give up.

Randomness:

Sweet or salty?

Sigh, both unfortunately. One of my favorite snacks is Strawberry ice-cream with barbequed potato chips crushed on top, and I just love salted caramels, and salty popcorn drizzled with chocolate… yummy  

Beach, plains or mountains?

Again, how can you possibly pick between them? I’ve lain on some of the prettiest beaches in the Caribbean with the sun soaking into my skin and loved every single second of it. At the same time, I live in breathtaking Alaska where the mountains are awe inspiring, and I grew up in the mid-west where field after field of corn and wheat made me feel safe and gave me a sense of home. Sorry, I just love it all.   

Online, letters or in person?

In person for sure is my favorite. There’s nothing like being able to watch someone’s reactions to what you are saying. I appreciate online, though. It does give me the chance to stay in touch with people no matter how far away they may be. As far as letters, I’m ashamed to say that I am a horrible letter writer. I’d much rather just simply send an e-mail or pick up the phone.

Ebook or print?

I have to admit; I was a print book diva and did my best to avoid the e-book fad (because I was just sure that was all it was) until I got my first e-reader. Oh my God, am I in love with e-books now. Not that I don’t still salivate over the feel of a paper book in my hands, or the smell of brand new pages fresh off the shelf, or the guilty pleasure of tucking oneself into bed and reading even though there is writing to be done. But, I appreciate being able to take my entire library with me no matter where I go, and I love buying a book without changing out of my jammys and running to the store. Also, my e-reader takes up less space in my suitcase. Well really, it takes less space in my carry-on. I can’t stand for it to be very far away and out of reach. Just like my cell phone these days. After all, there are always Words with Friends that needs to be checked and Facebook and Twitter. Oh, and lets not forget about e-mail.. sigh.   


You can purchase Maxine's book here.


You can find out more about Maxine on her Website or Facebook.