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Anna Hackett and "One Night With The Wolf" Giveaway!

Today we're going to meet and chat with Anna Hackett, an engineer by day, a writer by night!
Anna, thanks for agreeing to do this interview. It's great to have you here!
Thanks for having me, Nas.  Wonderful to be visiting!
On Writing and Reading…
So, when did you start to write and how long did it take you to be published?
I’ve been writing for the last few years but before that I’d always been an avid reader (and romance has always been my favorite genre!)  About a year and a half after I started writing I sold my first paranormal short story to Harlequin Nocturne Bites.  My fifth Bites came out last month.
I bet all that juggling of jobs, relationships and commitments gives you plenty of fodder for your books. What sparks your creativity?
Anything can spark my creativity – a great book or movie, an intriguing “what if” question, a beautiful location and most often a fascinating myth or legend.  I love ancient history and have found plenty of inspiration in myths for my paranormal stories.
What do you love most about being a writer?
The chance to create my own fascinating characters and worlds.
What do you like least about being a writer?
Well, I’m an extrovert (not so common for a writer) so sometimes writing can be a lonely pursuit.  That’s why I love visiting blogs like yours and being a part of writing blogs like LoveCats DownUnder where I get to hang with other fabulous Harlequin authors.
Do you have a favorite locale or setting for your novels? What is it and why is it your favorite?
I don’t have a particular favorite locale but what I do like is to find exotic locations – to escape somewhere different.  My Bites have been set in Hungary, a Mediterranean island, Rome, Las Vegas and Montana.
Which of the books you have written is your favorite?
It’s impossible to have a favorite!!  That’s like asking a mother to pick her favorite child.  I guess my latest is always the most recent in my mind so I’ll say One Night with the Wolf which released last month.
What is your favorite recent title by another author?
I absolutely love Nalini Singh and really enjoyed her last Guild Hunter book, Archangel's Consort.
What one specific piece of advice would you give a would-be writer trying to kick-start a career?
Sit down and write.  Doing online courses, going to conferences and reading craft books are good but don’t get lost in it all.  Writing is where you’ll learn the most and is the most important thing a writer can do.
On Romance...
What is your all-time favorite romantic movie?
Pride and Prejudice (the remake with Keira Knightly).  I love that movie.
How do you keep the romance alive in your relationship?
Never take anything for granted.  Hubby and I always make sure we tell each other how much we appreciate the things we do for each…big and small.
Where is the most romantic place you’ve ever traveled?
A private island on the Great Barrier Reef – sun, sand and privacy.  It was beautiful.
All About her...
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Nope.  I’ve always been a reader.  The writing bug just hit out of the blue one day.
Besides writing, what other talent would you most like to have?
Hmm, superpowers?  Seriously, I can’t sing a single note and wish I could.
Who is someone you admire and why?
Nora Roberts.  She’s a great author.  I admire her ability to weave captivating stories and characters, and her discipline to her work.
What quality do you most admire in a man?
Good cooking skills (-:  My hubby is a fab cook and the kitchen is his domain.

To finish up, do you have any advice/handy tips/craft skills you'd like to share with unpublished authors?
·        Read lots of books in the genre you want to write, then sit your butt in your chair and write. 
·        Look for some good online courses – they are cheap and can be really beneficial.  I teach an online course called Short Story, Big Impact and love sharing my short story writing tips with other writers.
·        Good critique partners are worth their weight in gold – I have two CPs I met online (waving hi to Em and Rach!) and couldn’t live without them.
NOW TELL US ABOUT YOUR BOOK….
One Night with the Wolf is my latest Nocturne Bites – it features a headstrong werewolf heroine looking for one night of pleasure before she must marry an aging alpha and the one man who is forbidden to her…the tough, sexy hero, Christian.  Here’s the blurb:
Werewolf Jade Thorne needs a man—a young, virile man to give her love and pleasure. As a rare female alpha, she must keep her pack safe by pledging herself in marriage to an aging leader from a rival pack. Until then, she wants to experience the raging passion of a wolf in his prime. She even has an ideal lover at hand: her Second, Christian Tallant.

But Christian is a wolf who will demand to dominate her body, mind and soul. Now Jade must decide if she can afford to submit to his desire—and if one night with the wolf will really be enough....
Thanks for sharing your insights about writing and some fun facts about your life, Anna, it's been a hoot having you here.
Thanks again for having me, Nas.
 You can visit Anna's website and check out more of her books. Visit her blog. And check out her Online Courses here!
Please drop in and LIKE her on Facebook. But, the goodies doesn't end here, Anna has a giveaway of ONE NIGHT WITH THE WOLF for one lucky commenter!
Here is  my review of One Night with the Wolf:
One Night with the Wolf is a sensual story of a very alpha heroine wolf, widow of the pack alpha years her senior, needing a hot, passionate man for one night before she takes another old alpha as a mate the next day. And her second, the enforcer, himself an alpha, is in conflict with himself over his desire for her. Even when they are intimate she tries out her alpha voice on him! ONE NIGHT WITH THE WOLF is a hot and sensual book, but it's not an erotica. The writing is beautiful.

79 comments:

  1. Ooh, I'm first! Welcome Anna, wow, One Night with the Wolf sounds fascinating, what a great twist on the werewolf theme! I'm definitely in to win a copy. Congratulations on getting your Nocturne Bites published. How do you feel about the imminent change to Nocturne Cravings? Will that change the way you write at all?

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  2. ONE NIGHT WITH THE WOLF brings to mind BLOOD AND CHOCOLATES with its echoes of aging alpha's and headstrong heroines. Though, Anna, yours is nowhere like it since it is more a male mortal and female werewolf ROMEO AND JULIET.

    You did a fantastic interveiw, Anna. And Nas, your questions were insightful as always, Roland

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  3. Hi Serenity,

    One Night With the Wolf is a short story with a big impact! All the best in the giveaway!

    Hello Roland,

    Thanks for checking out Anna's interview and her book!

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  4. Excellent interview. I wish you much success.
    Nancy

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  5. Hooray for Pride and Prejudice! Great interview, and so great meeting Anna. :)

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  6. Another great interview! Welcome Anna. I'd love to read One Night with the Wolf. It sounds great.

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  7. Wow!!!! Only a year or so ago you began writing and now, you've sold your 5th book! Impressive.

    It's nice to see that sometimes the magic does happen. Congratulations and continued good luck.

    Great interview Nas!

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  8. Waves madly to Anna :)

    One night with a wolf is a one super hot read...!!!

    Thanks so much Nas for bringing Anna out here :)

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  9. There was so much in this interview and book review. I'm blown away by how hard you've worked and how successful you've been in such a short time.

    Thanks Nas, thanks Anna.

    Denise<3

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  10. Great interview. Love starting new stories with a what if question :-)

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  11. Anna, I'm curious, how long does it take you to write a Nocturne Bites book? Do you write single title length novels?

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  12. One Night with the Wolf is a great title. Good luck to Anna.

    The sit down and write advice from her: that's what you have to do. And it looks like she did it!

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  13. Hi Serenity --
    Thanks for the welcome. So happy to be here -- Nas has a fab blog with lots of great visitors.

    Not sure I'll be writing for Cravings as I don't write erotica -- the sensual heat level suits my writing much better. So we'll just have to see where that leaves my stories -- there are plenty of great opportunities out there for paranormal short stories of all heat levels.

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  14. Hi Roland:
    Glad to hear you enjoyed the interview. Ooh, I like the sound of echoes of Blood and Chocolate and Romeo and Juliet.

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  15. Hi Nas:
    Thanks again for having me! You certainly have some great visitors at your blog -- authors and readers!

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  16. Thanks, Nancy. Glad you liked the interview.

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  17. Hi Lydia:
    Great to see another P and P fan! Thanks for stopping by.

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  18. Hi Donna:
    Thanks for the welcome. Thrilled to hear you’d love to read One Night.

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  19. Hi Words Crafter:
    I’d been writing a year and a half when I sold my first…I’ve been writing a few more years since then. But magic can and does happen! Thanks for the congrats and the luck.

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  20. Hi Ju!
    Lovely to “see” a familiar face. So pleased you enjoyed One Night with the Wolf (-:

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  21. Hi Denise (L'Aussie):
    Thanks so much – happy to hear you enjoyed the interview and review. Nas did the hard work, I just answered the questions (-:

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  22. Hi Deniz:
    Yep, the "what if" question has sparked many great stories.

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  23. Howdy Kylie:
    I do most of my writing on the weekends (as I work full time) -- a 15K Bites takes me about two weekends from start to polished when I'm in the zone.

    I started writing single titles, then fell into writing shorts and discovered I enjoyed the short length. They also fit into a busy lifestyle a lot easier!! I have some new single title ideas begging to be written so I'll probably get back into longer writing soon.

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  24. Hi Ann:
    Glad you like the title -- it was my title and the only one the story ever had. I love it when my editor doesn't want to change anything. One Night didn't even require any edits which I was thrilled about.

    Yes, sit down and write is important advice. Sometimes I don't always follow it... (-:

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  25. Hi Anna!
    I have yet to read your latest bites, but it sounds fantastic! You do amazingly well to write a 15k in just two weekends =))

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  26. Great interview. I'm interested!
    Are there kindle versions of Anna's books?

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  27. Hello Friends,

    I sure am glad that everyone's enjoying here talking to Anna!

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  28. Howdy Mel:
    Nice to see a fellow Bites author stopping by!

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  29. Hi Jo:
    As an ebook only, One Night with the Wolf is available on Kindle -- not sure about geographical restrictions though (depending on where you're based).

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  30. Wow, what a lot packed into a short interview! Great to meet ("meet") another extrovert.

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  31. Only a year and a half???? *gasp* It is lovely to meet you, Anna. One Night with the Wolf sounds utterly awesome.

    Nas, great interview as always, girlfriend. :-)

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  32. Great interview, Anna and Nas! I've always been more of a wolf (rather than vampire) girl. Love Pride and Prejudice too!

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  33. Anna's tips are spot on. I've recently discovered the joys of on-line writing courses and webinars and they've made such a difference to the level of my writing! And the crit partners I've been working with since 2003 are simply fabulous people. Readings a bit difficult - so many books, so little time! :)
    Judy (South Africa)

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  34. Fantastic interview...I love the covers...I will be adding these books to my shopping list...

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  35. Engineer by day, writer by night -- wow!

    Thanks for the fabulous interview, ladies.

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  36. Gorgeous book covers!

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  37. Nice interview--congrats to your success, Anna!

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  38. Oh sounds like a really fun read. And I'm with you-- a man who can cook is a dream come true. Coincidentally, mine does too... now if I could just get him to take care of the kids by himself....

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  39. I enjoyed learning more about Anna, thanks for a great interview.

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  40. Great interview - thanks for introducing us to Anna!

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  41. great interview. I have to agree that writing is a lonely pursuit.

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  42. Thanks for the insights, Anna. Great job of asking those searching questions, Nas! ;-)

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  43. You had me at wolf. *grin*
    I enjoyed the interview, Anna and Nas. Anna, I definitely agree that sitting down and writing is the first step.

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  44. Great interview and very insightful. I wondered what the Bites authors thought about the new changes to the line. I guess for some it won't fit anymore. Love to hear how other authors got started!

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  45. Nas- This was a fantastic in depth review- great job!

    Anna- Your book sounds very intriguing- thanks for taking part in this!

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  46. Thank you all my great friends, you took time out and came by to connect with Anna Hackett and check out her new release "One Night With The Wolf" and for the lovely comments!

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  47. "The chance to create my own fascinating characters and worlds." That's what I love about writing too.

    I also enjoy cooking, but I think my husband is better than me even though I do it more often.

    Don't enter me in the contest. Good luck to those who have entered.

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  48. Anna, it's lovely to see you here and reading your interview. I'm looking forward to catching up with you again in person (it's been a while since that Melbourne meeting). Love the premise of "One Night with the Wolf"! I bet you had fun writing that.

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  49. Hi Nas, Hiya Anna (waves back!)

    Great interview, ladies. As a (very!) early reader on ONWTW, I agree its a fabulous, fast-paced, sexy read. Christian is totally drool-worthy! Anna really has the craft down pat.

    And aren't you sweet, Anna! Rach and I adore working with you too. Here's to many more years of us!

    E x

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  50. Hi Theresa, thanks for coming by!

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  51. Hi Annie,

    How lovely of you to come by and check Anna Hackett and her One Night With The Wolf, thank you!

    Friends, this is Annie West, Harlequin Presents author, whose PROTECTED BY THE PRINCE is one lovely Prince Charming and Cinderella story with her special twist to the story!

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  52. Hello Emmeline, welcome to my blog! Thanks for dropping in!

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  53. Sorry I'm late to the party. Great interview, Nas and Anna. I started out a reader, too. Well, I still am when I can make the time. The writing bug sort of hit when I read a story and thought: I could do better than that. And I did!!! (Well it took a while....)

    Good luck with your books!

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  54. Sorry everyone for going missing...I have a good excuse -- I went into labour on Tuesday and my baby boy, Lucian was born early Wednesday morning!

    Thanks again to everyone for stopping by Nas's great interview.

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  55. Hi Amie:
    Likewise, nice to *meet* another extrovert. Glad you enjoyed the interview.

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  56. Hi Robyn:
    Glad you like the sound of One Night! And yes, Nas does an excellent interview.

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  57. Hi Rula:
    Happy to see another P and P fan *and* a wolf fan. I love both wolves and vamps! I have a vampire Bites as well called Hunter's Surrender.

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  58. Hi Judy:
    I know what you mean about having not enough time to read (that's why short stories are so great!)

    Really glad you've discovered the benefits of online courses and good CPs!

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  59. Hi Savannah:
    You've made my day by adding my stories to your shopping list! And thanks on the covers -- I've been thrilled with all of them.

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  60. Hi Talli:
    Yep, I deal with people and numbers by day and balance it with words at night. Glad you enjoyed the interview.

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  61. Hi Liz:
    Thanks! Thrilled you like my covers.

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  62. Thanks so much, ibdiamond. Glad you stopped by.

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  63. Thanks, Pk:
    A man who can cook is a dream and mine definitely cooks better than me. So far he's doing great with our new son..but it's only been two days (-:

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  64. Thanks, Kari Marie. Glad you enjoyed the interview.

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  65. Hi Susan:
    Thanks for stopping by. Nas did a fab job interviewing me -- she knows what she's doing!

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  66. Thanks Lynda. Writing can get lonely so its important to mix with other writers and readers. Thank God for the internet!

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  67. You're welcome, LP. Thanks for stopping by.

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  68. Hi Shelley:
    Lovely to *see* another wolf lover!

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  69. Hi Kaily:
    Thanks! Yes, I'm guessing Cravings won't fit everyone but I'll just wait and see what happens with both Bites and Cravings. And I love hearing other author's stories as well.

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  70. Thanks, Summer, it's been a pleasure to be here at Nas's great blog.

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  71. Hi Theresa:
    Nice to *meet* another writer who loves creating their own worlds and characters. And one with a hubby who can cook!

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  72. Hi Annie:
    It has been far too long since Melbourne. No conferences for me this year unfortunately due to baby Hackett's arrival!

    One Night was a ball to write. All the best with your latest release and upcoming interview here with Nas...I'll try to stop by if I'm not too sleep deprived by then (-:

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  73. Howdy, Em:
    Thanks for stopping by.

    Everyone, Em is one of my invaluable CPs!

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  74. Hi Wendy:
    Sounds like we have the same story on how we got into writing. All the best with your writing!

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  75. I'm going to sign of to spend some time with my new arrival. Thanks to everyone for stopping by and a huge big thanks again to Nas for having me and for a great interview.

    I'll have Nas announce the giveaway winner very soon!!

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  76. Congratulations to Anna for the arrival of her sweet bundle of joy!

    Friends, Anna emailed me to announce the name of ...drum roll.....Rula Sinara! as the winner of her giveaway!

    Rula, enjoy One Night With The Wolf! Please email me...

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  77. Wow! Thanks! And huge congrats to Anna on her baby boy! Best of health and happiness :). I'll send that email shortly.

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  78. Thanks for introducing us to Anna. And my wife also appreciates that I'm a pretty darn good cook too.

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