Ana Hart Promo Weekend 2: The Interview from The Crypt

Welcome Creatures of the Night. Today as promised, and following on from yesterday's promo I am proud to bring you the resurrected Interview from The Crypt featuring the amazing talented Ana Hart, so sit back, grab a glass of something warm and enjoy.

First of all I would just like to say welcome to The Crypt and thank you for stopping by today.

Thank you for having me! It's great to be here :)

Why don’t you introduce yourself to my creatures of the night and tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Ana Hart and I'm addicted to caffeine, chocolate, and sex. Oh, uh, yeah, and I write stuff. Like, sexy stuff. And some not so sexy stuff. But mostly I just write the sexy stuff. I'm just going to say sexy again because I can. And stuff (because stuff is just one of those fun words. Like spork!)

When did you first begin to write? Was there a specific moment or did something happen to make you think ‘I could be a writer’?

I've been writing for as long as I can remember. I even used to stay awake through nap time in Kindergarten so I could work on my stories (though they were mainly about Lassie, my childhood hero. Sadly those stories have all mysteriously disappeared. Such a shame.) My parents were both journalists, so I was exposed to the written word from a young age. I don't think there was ever a time in my life when I thought, “I couldn't be a writer.” It was just sort of a given. I sometimes joke that I was born with a keyboard in my hands. Which really just sounds sort of painful for my mom. Ouch. Oh, wait, I was a c-section baby. Nevermind.

What are you currently working on? Would you mind giving the readers a quick synopsis in 100 words or less?

Well, I have a release coming up on May 17^th – the first book in my debut One Powerful Addiction series, Reborn. You should check it out. Really. It's more awesome than a fried twinkie dipped in chocolate and rolled in sprinkles being handed to you by a unicorn humming the Star Wars theme song. But I might be biased.

As for current works in progress … What am I not working on? Ha. My muse is like a squirrel with ADD that keeps seeing shinier nuts, but I think I can pull up something recent that might interest you guys. It's a little pet project of mine I've been working on in between contracted works – a story with no dialogue.

Hunted By the Fierce Ones

For many years, she has trained for the hunt. Her body is lean. Her muscles strong. She can run for miles without tiring. She can catch a fish with her bare hands and scale the tallest tree in the forest in a matter of seconds. She is swift and so that's what she thinks of herself as. Swift. Her people have no name for her, which is just as well, for her people have no words. But the Fierce Ones don't need words – only speed. And speed is all she has. She will not fail the hunt, the one tradition of her people. All she has to do is elude the five males pursuing her for one week and make it back to her village unclaimed in order to secure the right to choose her own mate. But when Swift strays too close to the land ruled by the savages of the Mountain Spring Tribe, an outsider soon joins the chase and threatens to ruin everything – both the hunt and Swift's future.

Where do you draw your inspiration for your stories, characters and settings?

This answer is always going to be the same for everyone, I think. My life. My friends. My day-to-day experiences. Oh, and my brain. I just make a lot of shit up, to be honest. Usually on the fly. Outlines are for organized people!

Is there one particular genre you prefer writing in and is there a genre you would never attempt and if so why?

I really love writing paranormal/urban fantasy/fantasy/sci-fi. Anything fantastical, really, because I've always felt it provided more wiggle room for my muse. I can just make a bunch of crap up and create my own worlds and rules for those worlds. As for a genre I'd never attempt? Probably mystery. I don't have anything against mysteries, but I know I wouldn't be able to hide whodunit. I'm just not that skilled at being sneaky.

If you weren’t a writer/ couldn’t write anymore what would you do?

If I just stopped writing, I'd probably do all the things I still do now. Read a lot. Have sex a lot. Drink a lot of soda. And work myself silly because I have a really hard time saying no to people, which usually means I end up working two jobs and having 12+ hour days. I'm a people pleaser, what can I say?

Now, if I had some sort of freak accident and my hands just fell off and I couldn't type anymore, I'd say, “Fuck that shit,” and get some speech-to-text software. Or handcuff my boyfriend to my computer and dictate to him. One of the two.

If you could become a member of the opposite sex for 24 hours what would be the first thing you would do?

Masturbate. So I'd finally know what it feels like for a guy to get off. I keep asking my boyfriend and guy friends and the best answer I've gotten so far is, “It feels like taking a piss … except not.” So I just want to find out for my own damn self.

Which fantasy creature/being do you like the most?

That's a really tough question, so I'll just be vague and say any type of winged creature. Like angels (preferably fallen) or dragons. Dragons are cool.

If you could be your favourite fantasy figure what would be the first thing you would do?

Well, then I could fucking fly and I'd go sit up in the top of a tree and peg people with water balloons. And then, uh … I don't know. I'd save the world from a giant meteor or something.

What scares you the most?

Falling from considerable heights. (Go figure.)

Favourite film?

Anything starring Anthony Hopkins or Alan Rickman (yay for more vague answers!) Or V for Vendetta. Or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Or Stardust. Or …

Worst film you have ever seen?

I forgot the name of it, but it's the one starring Jennifer Lopez and she can't find love (boo-hoo), so she goes and gets herself artificially inseminated (because babies make everything better), but then RIGHT AFTERWARDS she meets the man of her dreams (typical) and they immediately fall in love (naturally), but now she's knocked up with some random guy's kid (oh noes.) I stopped watching it at the scene where they were fucking in a barn (because getting loose hay up your ass is sexy) and then they stopped and she went and barfed everywhere and said, “I'm pregnant,” and he was like, “Uh, I don't think it works that way.” That was the only movie I haven't ever finished watching.

Favourite book?

Ella Enchanted. I've read it so many times, I practically have it memorized.

When you go shopping what is the one thing that you always HAVE to buy?

A Diet Dr Pepper (lack of a period after Dr intentional because that is the RIGHT way to spell Dr Pepper. The period was dropped in the name years ago. Seriously. Look it up. That's totally not one of my pet peeves or anything. I swear. That'd be silly …)

Going back to favourite film write an erotic scene featuring the main characters in 100 words or less.

Due to the vagueness of my previous answer, I fear I'll have to be creative … Alan Rickman and Anthony Hopkins Mash-up: Hannibal Lecter vs. Severus Snape

The dark rivulets of blood dripped from the walls in time to the racing thrum of the twin heartbeats echoing in the dim stillness of the room. A rasping of breath. A muffled cry of pain. A whispered word accompanied a flash of light to pierce the gloom, revealing the couple strewn across the floor. The two men lay tangled with each other, pale limbs stained by the sticky streaks of their futile struggle. “I only meant to love you,” Severus pleaded as the knife slipped deeper into his back, burning away all further protests. “Trust me,” Hannibal sighed, bitter, as his fingers stroked a delicate trail along the other's still-warm flesh. “It's better this way.”

And finally, just for a light hearted end to the interview.

What words would you want etched on your tombstone ?

She Came (Multiple Times). She Saw (A Lot of Crazy Shit). She Conquered (The World).

Thank you for joining me today and I would like to wish you all the best in future endeavours.