Guest Interview with Heaven Liegh Eldeen Author

11 February


Today I take great pleasure in introducing the multi talented Heaven Liegh Eldeen

Please show her some love.

First off, may I would like to thank you very much for agreeing to an interview on my blog.

Come in honey, and choose a comfortable seat. You look thirsty. In the absence of a man (sorry I’m wicked) can I get you a drink?

Oh I’m a Pepsi girl hands down. I’ll take a cold one.

Goes over to the fridge and pours two long Pepsi’s handing one over.

 Now then, the stage is set. The microphone is next to you. Here’s your chance to tell your public about yourself.

My name is Heaven Liegh Eldeen. This year I’ll be celebrating the seventh anniversary of my twenty-fifth birthday. I currently live in California, where I grew up, with my husband and prince of darkness and Legos, a.k.a my son. I enjoy moonlit walks on the beach…oh, wait, wrong questionnaire. As you can see, I am a serious goofball. Yeah, figure that oxymoron out. Aside from writing, I spend my days doing dishes, kissing owies, obsessing over my Facebook page, and pretending I’m listening when my husband talk about his work.

Great! Another goofball J

Tell me, was there something particular in your life that guided you to be a writer?

My writing career began with a rivalry between my sister in law Echo and myself. For years we would go fist to cuffs until finally we took a survey of the collateral damages our feuds caused. In an effort to put an end to the squabbling, she gave me a vampire book for my birthday. It was far from the genre I enjoyed reading, but I had to give it a chance, in an effort for peace. A few months and fifteen vampire books later, I expressed to her I wanted something new. She responded with a snippy “Oh, you think you can do better?” Her reply was intended to be a shot at me but I took it as a challenge. Four months later, my first novel was complete and the love for writing had made its home deep within me.  

Good ole Sis! They have their uses. Do you get much support? Or do you have to keep it secret from certain family members like me?

When I started writing, my circle of support was very small, consisting of only my husband. As I got further and further into my novella The Demon Side, that circle has grown with every chapter. Now that it is published, my support network is huge, consisting of friends, family and fans. It is not only incredible but emotionally overwhelming at times. It’s made me somewhat of a cry baby, but I cry tears of joy.

Nothing wrong with tears honey, they are a release.

Do you write in a specific genre, or diversify?

When I write I don’t think about genres. I write the story that pops in my head. I’ve found by doing that I don’t over think it which allows it to come through clearly.

You seem a very sensible goofball. I should come to you for lessons.

How do you get your ideas?

My husband loves horror flicks. I absolutely hate watching scary movies. I do okay with the slasher films such as Friday the 13th and Halloween. However, movies that deal with the unseen, ghosts, and entities, flip me out! It doesn’t matter that I know the movies are completely fake and improbable. I can’t help but run through my house, turning on every light, screaming for my husband to hold my hand while I relieved my bladder during a commercial break. Of course, the jokester my husband is, never resisted cracking a few jokes about what a pansy I am or attempts to scare the poo out of me on our way back to our recliners.

You make me laugh. You’re like a breath of fresh air. Sorry, I’m interrupting. Do go on.

Tired of pranks and jokes, I built a self-defence mechanism in my head. I keep my eyes on the television but send my brain into La-La Land. Well, they have scary monster in La-La Land too. Lucky for me, I set the rules for that amusement park.

Short story longer, one evening I snuggle into my hubby as he turns on what is not just a scary movie, but the worse kind of scary movie, one about demons and ghosts attacking you in your sleep. How do you defend against that? You can’t. So, my defence raises and off goes my brain to stand in line at the tea cups, when suddenly a Demon stands in line behind him.

Being the cordial little guy my ball of pink spaghetti happens to be, he strikes up a conversation with the mortifying beasts. Next thing I know my characters are sitting around stuffing their faces with nachos, sucking down lemonade and trading stories back and forth while I sit in the background typing every word that passes between them.

Ha ha ha! I love that!

Do you have any favourite books?

And is there any particular author who has influenced you the most?

There are so many! Asking me to choose just one is like asking me my favorite color of M&M’s. Impossible. But, for you I can try. If I narrowed the list down, I would have to say my bad influences have to be Ann Rule, Harold Schechter, Katie Harper, Benjamin Russell, Lisa Worrall, Finless DaveeJones, Tina Folsom, Ciar Cullen, Richelle Mead and Kelley Armstrong. I can go on and on, but I doubt you want me taking up that much time.

Ah, I see we have similar tastes there

 Is there a specific genre you would like to write but not done yet?

I’ve battled with writing more adult oriented fiction. I’m a natural pervert but I wouldn’t say erotica necessarily. Just something that rides the fine line.

When did you consider yourself ‘a writer’?

I don’t really consider myself a writer as much as I do a storyteller and an auto biographer. I’ve always been able to spin a tail out of the blue.

Do you have a favourite character from one of your books? If so, why?

I’m torn between two characters in The Demon Side, Rahovart and Etta. They are both two very important aspects of my life; Rahovart being my Demon and Etta representing the innocent part of me. The way they grow into each other showed me how I have grown.

Have you a recent release, or one due out?

The Demon Side is available for purchase on all Ebook formats. 
 The sequel The Human Side and another series Vineyard House Chronicles are currently in editing *does happy dance* so here soon I should have a release date on those. 

Where can we find your work? Can you give appropriate links please?

I’m an internet junkie so I have a ton of links. I even still use MySpace. Grab the mouse, wrap it around my arm and start clicking for a vein.

www.decadentpublishing.com

www.amazon.com

www.barnesandnoble.com

www.kobo.com

www.smashwords.com

www.bookstrand.com

www.allromanceebooks.com

You’re a scream honey, I’m going to get one of your books. You got my juices going.

Follow me on:

www.heaveneldeen.com

www.heavenliegheldeen.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/thedemonside

www.twitter.com/thedemonside.

www.myspace.com/thedemonside

What was your big break?

That would be the day I finished The Demon Side. Though it wasn’t the day that I was signed to a publisher, it was my big break. I broke past all the nay-sayers and non-believers. Not only did I finish what they said I wouldn’t but I made something that wished they had been a part of. Oh yeah, I’m the little Red Hen eating fresh baked bread.

Where do you do most of your writing and how do you stay focussed?

Due to a Starbucks incident (they didn’t like my IPod being on so loud) I’m forced to stay at my computer desk. It works out great though. I have fewer distractions at home. 

It's Starbuck's loss

If you weren’t a writer, what would you like to do?

I would be the world’s greatest, all supreme, all-knowing, mommy, and wife that I am today.

LOL

Do you have any hobbies?

Yes I do. When I’m trying to figure out a scene I jump into a Thomas Kinkade puzzle, bead working or sewing. My favourite is bead working though. I love make Pepsi bottle dangles and ornament covers.

Another drink?

Yes please. Oooh and some of those Hershey Kisses too please.

Help yourself to the kisses. Empties the Pepsi bottle and tosses it over. Here’s an empty one you can use. You’re amazing, girl!

What five words describe you and why?

Silly, disruptive, shy, abrasive, and strong are the words I feel best describe me. I’m always out to make someone laugh to keep attention off of me personally. Some people find my sense of humour crude and abrasive at times. This is okay with me. I know I’m not everyone’s cup of tea. No one is.

I so know what you mean there. You’re definitely my cup of tea.

What are you writing at present?

I’m currently working on Mesa Rising. It’s a zombie tale with a twist that smashes everything you think you know about the classical zombie.

Are we allowed to see an excerpt?

Sure thing.

Clueless as to how one day Millie was the image of fragile, porcelain angel and the next an oozing, super-fast and agile member of the zombie nation, he clung to the large redwood in hopes of not becoming a meal for the undead. Unable to hear over his pounding heart, Andre searched the surrounding forest floor for any sign that Millie was near. To his right the sound of leaves crunching caught his attention.

“Andre?” Millie’s sweet voice called out. It wasn’t the dark, malevolent shriek that cried out for him to run just moments ago. Though he wanted to believe she had returned to her usual self, in his mind it was nothing more than a trick to flush him out.

“I know you’re up there. C’mon down. It’s okay now. I caught a deer a few yards back.” Andre looked below him at the emerald green eyes he knew.

“Not happening, sweets. How do I know you’re not going to go all super cannibal on me again?”

“If I was hungry enough to chase you down, that means we’ve been out here for more than three days and you’re just as hungry as I am. Come down and I’ll explain everything over a venison steak.”

“No. You can explain it from down there.”

“Fine suit yourself but the longer you wait the less likely the meat will be any good. What do you want to know?”

“What the hell just happened? What the fuck are you?”

“You know what I am. The most common name is Zombie but I find that to be offensive. Except needing live flesh to survive we share nothing in common with pop culture’s definition of a Zombie. As for what happened you know as much as I do. How we got out here is beyond me. I can only imagine the men at the bar had a hand in this. Can you please come down now? I ate just enough to calm the change but I am far from full. If that deer lays for too long it will be no good to me and you’ll find yourself back on the menu.”

Oh wow! You got something good there!

And finally what are your aspirations for 2012?

2012 is going to be a busy year for me. I plan on releasing four novels including Mesa rising and The Human Side. Somewhere between that I’m off to Vegas for the first time and taking my son to Legoland.

All the very best for the year honey.

Please can we know your website/and or blog address

You can catch me at www.heaveneldeen.comand at www.heavenliegheldeen.blogspot.com

Once more I would like to thank you for being my guest.

Thank you so much for having me. It’s been a blast. Oh, and thank you for the Pepsi fix.

I’m so pleased you agreed to the interview. Looking forward to reading one of your books. Drop by anytime honey J