Fangtastic Friday Welcomes Mel Teshco

Posted by Susan Blexrud on November 4, 2011 · 5 Comments 

Welcome back to Embrace the Shadows, Mel.  It’s been several years since you graced our
blog, and you’ve been a busy gal.  Since your initial releases with Silhouette Nocturne Bites and a string of successes
with Ellora’s Cave, you’ve struck out on your own with your latest book, Identity Shift.

 

Give us a little preview of Identity
Shift…pretty please? 

Thanks for having me back, it’s a pleasure to be here! Here is an
excerpt from Identity Shift:

Guns ‘N’ Roses blared from inside nondescript apartment fourteen. She took a deep, calming
breath as adrenaline surged within. She had him. At last her quarry was within
reach. She raised a fist and hammered on the flimsy, peeling wooden door.

The music shut down. A baby wailed a few apartments down, a small dog yapping into life inside
another. Heavy footsteps approached from the other side of the door.

“Yes.”

One word. One deep, masculine, primal intonation.

Her pulses jerked in response, her nipples beading tight beneath her black leather jacket
and tight burgundy singlet.

If this is what he could do to a woman with one monosyllable behind a closed door, she could only
imagine what he could do with a whole sentence, and up close and personal.

Enticing, Mel!  Now, for your questions…

The publishing world is evolving at break-neck speed, and many authors are self-publishing.  You’ve just taken that plunge.  What do you perceive as the advantages and disadvantages?

Advantages are being your own boss, the freedom of having the book
exactly how you want it, including the book cover (I worked with Helen at
Helzcat Designs.) The disadvantages are not having a big publisher to put the
book out there and get it in front of a whole scad of readers, also not having
an editor to make it the best book it can be.

Do you have to promote more when you self-publish?

Definitely! I don’t think many readers (except for those who drop into
your blog or website) would even know of  its existence. I guess the bigger an author’s
name, the more fans who would go seeking out those Indie books.

What about all the technical
stuff, like getting an ISBN number and setting up sales on Amazon?  How hard was that?

Amazon was really easy, they provide the ISBN number.  With Amazon
I check my sales on their novel rank (great tool). Smashwords email me
of any sales and AllRomance ebooks has a sales report page.

You’ve said you hate to exercise,
but you force yourself in an effort to keep your butt from hanging off both
sides of your computer chair.  Any tips
on how an exercise hater motivates herself to stay healthy?

I try to incorporate my exercise into the day with Miss Four so that
she gets the benefits too , plus it’s great quality time together. Usually she
rides her bike or her scooter around ‘the duck ponds’ for a couple of km’s
while I walk. Otherwise I love swimming and horse riding. I have to keep moving
a little bit extra since I had my thyroid taken out. Sitting stagnant on a
chair for hours at a time doesn’t help the girth lol!

What’s next on the writing front, Mel?

Right now I’ve started work on Book 2 of Alien Hunger, tentatively
titled ‘Galactic Inferno’. I’ve also resurrected the start of a contemporary
which I’ve turned into a vampire story (much harder than I’d anticipated! LOL)
and about a 1/3 of the way through a story that I’m pretty excited about, it’s
probably more single title.

Where can readers find you and your books?

I hang out at my blog a LOT http://melteshco.blogspot.com/

I also hang out at twitter @melteshco

and facebook  http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000265527295

my website www.melteshco.com

and readers are very welcome to contact me: melteshco@yahoo.com.au

Thanks so much for stopping by, Mel!

Thanks for having me
again, it’s been fun! =)

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