Excerpt Monday - The Inspiration behind Twilight Over Moldavia

When I was a young girl, I used to watch "Creature Double Feature" on Saturday's and became convinced that there were beings who went bump in the night like vampires, werewolves, witches, and zombies. Silly me – I thought if I covered my neck with my covers the vampires couldn't get me. Oh, and I never did figure out what happened to all the lint under the bed so I think there was merit to my belief.

All those creatures of the night resonated with that young girls so when I grew up, I wanted to write about them. Being the optimist I am, I gravitated toward romanced writing. When I discovered paranormal writing, I'd knew I'd found my niche.

In 2005, I wanted to write a paranormal romance about a werewolf. Vampires were pretty popular back then and I wanted to explore the wolf. My idea? I wanted to write a fairytale in reverse where the princess had to save the prince. Inspiration had taken root.

I threw a dash of gothic and a pinch of moonlight into the plot and wrote "Twilight Over Moldavia." Prince Stefan had been cursed to become a werewolf on his 18th birthday. Can Caroline's love save him? I wrote the first draft then wrote "The Wolf's Torment," explaining how Stefan came to be cursed. I went through several drafts of each and my self-published "The Wolf's Torment" in 2007 had more horror elements than romantic ones. In 2009, I signed contracts with Desert Breeze for the Moldavian Moon Series. The published version of "Twilight Over Moldavia" is draft #4. It's a story close to my heart because I love how Caroline and Stefan come together to face adversity. I usually don't draw inspiration from music, but for their story, I drew a lot from "Astronomy" by Blue Oyster Cult. Inspiration comes from the willingness to explore.

GIVEAWAY: Read the excerpt. At the end, Caroline asks Stefan a question. Tell me what you think he said and leave your email. I'll pull a winner out of the hat to receive a PDF copy of Twilight Over Moldavia.


ENJOY THIS EXCERPT:
Once everyone was seated, the dinner service began. Stefan sat next to Caroline, with their fathers on either side of them. Stefan glanced at his mother. If Queen Aurora's expression betrayed her disappointment, his mother's expression betrayed deep worry. Interesting. He followed his mother's gaze and found it on Lady Getzi's table. Now that piqued his curiosity. Lady Getzi was one of his mother's dearest friends. What would cause such worry? The word secret popped into his mind and sent a small sliver of unease coursing through him.

"Prince Stefan, do you like your meal?"

He turned at the soft sing-song quality in Caroline's voice, surprised to find it so delicate and feminine after their previous encounter.

"Yes. Roasted pork is one of my favorites."

King Mircea placed a hand over Caroline's and patted it affectionately. "Stefan is your equal. You may address him by his name."

Caroline nodded. Stefan glanced at his father and noticed he had an almost haunted expression on his face, as if he'd recently recalled Mircea's words. Was Stefan a fish out of water? The whole banquet centered around his coming and was offered for his betrothment, yet he sensed much intrigue surrounded their parents.

"Yes, Papa," Caroline replied, smiling.

Stefan sipped his wine and leaned over to Caroline, trying to dispel the uncertainty caused by his observations of their parents. "These occasions are so formal, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are."

"I was pleasantly surprised to discover you are the crown princess of Carpathia," he whispered.

"Surprised, or horrified?" she replied in a whisper.

*****

5 Stars, Long & Short Book Reviews
Twilight Over Moldavia is even better than the first book in the series. It is an excellent story filled with just the right balance of romance, magic, and danger.

5 Hearts, Sizzling Hot Book Reviews
The twisting story line will keep your nose in the book until you have finished. Stephanie's ability to add suspense and mystery to romances gives her stories all the more depth. If you love werewolf stories, romances, or a good book, I recommend Twilight Over Moldavia.

4 Stars, Vijaya Schartz, author
In this novel full of danger and intrigue, sexy scenes, and unspeakable secrets, the werewolves are the villains, and oh how dangerous they are, and unwashed, and uncivilized. The kind of villains you love to hate.

5 Stars, Mona Risk, Author "No More Lies"
Burkhart's writing style grabs the reader from the first page. She keeps you breathless with her suspense as she transports you to exotic areas you will enjoy discovering.

5 Stars, Karen Michelle Nutt, Author of the "Fallen Angel" Series:
"Ms. Burkhart paranormal tale is rich in history, painting a picture as clearly as if the reader is standing beside Stefan and Caroline."

5 Stars, Barbara M. Hodges, Author of "The Blue Flame"
Twilight Over Moldavia whisked me into a part of the world I knew nothing about, and gave me a wonderful love story filled with suspense too. What more could a reader desire?

5 Stars, Reader's Favorites, Brenda Ballard

BUY LINKS:

ALL ROMANCE EBOOKS:
http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-moldavianmoonbooktwotwilightovermoldavia-667833-139.html

AMAZON KINDLE:
http://www.amazon.com/Moldavian-Moon-Book-Two-ebook/dp/B006RQ7LU8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325479348&sr=8-1

PUBLISHER'S BUY LINK:
http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-247/Moldavian-Moon-Book-Two/Detail.bok

B&N NOOK:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/moldavian-moon-book-two-stephanie-burkhart/1108111730?ean=2940013822177&itm=1&usri=twilight+over+moldavia

FIND ME ON THE WEB AT:
WEBSITE:
http://www.stephanieburkhart.com

TWITTER:
http://twitter.com/StephBurkhart

FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor

GOOD READS:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart

YOU TUBE CHANNEL:
http://www.youtube.com/user/botrina?feature=mhee

PINTEREST:
http://pinterest.com/sgburkhart/