A Visit with Violetta Rand

Today we’re visiting with Soul Mate author, Violetta Rand, Author of Blind Allegiance. Violetta, welcome to A Writer’s Haven. Please tell us a little about yourself and your writing. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I started writing short stories at the age of 5 and sold them in my neighborhood. I think the writer bug really hit me at a young age because I would copy books (word for word) by hand and present them to my mother as a gift (perhaps this meant I should of been an editor/publisher?). As any good mother would, she accepted these rare volumes (written with crayons) and praised me for my dedication.

Wow, you did start early. How long did it take you to write your first novel?

Six months.

Are you a plotter, a pantser, or something in between?

Definitely a pantser. There is no way I could plot characters or make outlines (I’m not patient enough). I don’t think, I just type.

I’m right with you there. So tell us, what do you do when you’re not writing?

I’m an environmental scientist in, Alaska. I travel to remote sites around the state and conduct assessments or soil and water remediation projects. I also enjoy hiking, riding motorcycles, fishing, and reading.

I have to say, I love your cover. What inspired you to write Blind Allegiance?

Simple. I love Vikings. I enjoy the warrior’s tale–everything that made them brutal and legendary, to the sense of honor and dedication they felt for family and friends.

Here’s the cover and a blurb from Blind Allegiance (set for release in June 2013)

It’s a risk of a lifetime loving a man you’re supposed to hate…

Betrayed by a brother she hardly trusted before the bloodthirsty Viking, Jarl Randvior Sigurdsson, attacks her home, Noelle Sinclair is conveniently bartered as a means to save her cowardly sibling’s skin. Forced to leave her homeland and accompany the petulant Viking to the untamed wilderness of central Norway, Noelle is ever-aware of the burgeoning dangers around her—including her weakening resolve to resist Randvior.

Should Noelle surrender to his resplendent charms and seduction, or fight with every ounce of strength she possesses to get home?

 

Violetta, thank you so much for visiting with us today. One last question before you leave: What’s next?

Blind Allegiance is the first book in the Blind Series for Soul Mate Publishing. The second book, Blind Mercy, is finished. I am currently writing Book 3, Blind Vengeance. Additionally, I’m working on a contemporary romance set in the 1980s.

 

Bio:

Violetta Rand holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Policy and a master’s degree in Environmental Management. Serving as an environmental scientist in the state of Alaska for over seven years, she enjoys the privilege of traveling to remote places few people have the opportunity to see.

 

Violetta has been “in love” with writing since childhood. Struck with an entrepreneurial spirit at a young age, she wrote short stories illustrated by her best friend and sold them in her neighborhood. The only thing she loves more than writing is her wonderful relationship with her husband, Jeff. She enjoys outdoor activities, reading whatever she can get her hands on, music, and losing herself in the ancient worlds she enjoys bringing to life in the pages of her stories.

 

Find her at:

http://www.violettarand.com/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6952559.Violetta_Rand

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/violetta.rand?fref=ts

Twitter @ViolettaRand:  https://twitter.com/ViolettaRand