Please help me welcome Jean Murray to my blog today. As a thank you to those who comment, Jean is giving away an ecopy of her book, Soul Reborn, to one lucky commentor, so be sure and leave her a comment.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be, and why?

Living in a palatial mansion on an island with white sandy beaches and warm blue water. I’m not sure where in the world that would be, maybe the Caribbean or Hawaii. One can only dream 

Have you had other careers before becoming a writer?

A year and half ago, I retired from the military after twenty years of service, as a Navy Nurse. Retirement is a misnomer. I still work full-time as an Infection Preventionist. Writing is somewhat of a second career for me that I fit in between work-children-life.

What inspired your latest book?

My latest release, Soul Awakened, was a labor of love. The last ten years of my military career, I care for military personnel with all sorts of injuries – both physical and psychological from the war and subsequent deployments. So many had PTSD – acute and chronic. Suicide was at its highest in the last few years, despite the military’s efforts to make services easily accessible. I’ll never forget the desperation and pain. Bakari’s world is very much the same for different reasons of course, but his struggles are a culmination of all the sad stories over the years. I dedicated the book to our American heroes.

What is your next project and when will it be released?

I’m working on the third book in the series, Soul Unbound. At the end of Soul Awakened, Bomani soul is broken. He has lost the woman he loves and his faith in honor, a quality that defined him. He escapes to the human realm under a cloud of shame, leaving everything he knows and loves behind. In exchange for hiding in the human realm, Bomani agrees to track an exiled goddess. He is given strict orders to keep his distance. One look at the Goddess of War and he is doomed. She is his every dream and nightmare.

Soul Unbound is due out in the fall of this year.

What is your favorite part of writing?

Escapism, I guess. I can leave the chaos of my life/work behind and get lost in the characters and plot.

What is your least favorite part of writing?

Not having enough time to write. I have too many stories bouncing around in my head and not enough time to write them all down.

How does your family feel about your writing career?

To be honest, I think I shocked everyone, including myself. I didn’t start writing until 2009. I’ve always loved to read, but in my mind’s eye at the time, it didn’t mean that I could write. Ever since I can remember, I’ve always had these stories bouncing around in my head. Never once did I think to write them down until 2009. I’m not sure why the change, but I was doing a lot of traveling for work. I woke up one morning with a story fresh on my mind and I just had to write it down. It started with a pen and paper until I could get a hold of my computer. I haven’t stopped since. It was my husband that encouraged me to submit my work. I was buckled down for a hard long journey, but I did not have long to wait. Turns out—I can write. My debut novel, Soul Reborn released in May 2011.

Do you or have you belonged to a writing organization? Which one? Have they helped you with your writing? How?

I belong to RWA, FF&P chapter and ROMVETS. I don’t know what I would have done without these loops, especially FF&P. These organizations provide a forum of authors with an amazing amount of experience and expertise and workshops and networking opportunities that are essential for writers/authors. It is also a support group for when you are down or having trouble with a manuscript. It was during FF&P’s push to PRO that I had venue to pitch to editors. Crescent Moon Press was one of those opportunities that resulted in my contract. If I had not belonged to that chapter, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet my editor and land a contract for my series.

Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do to combat it?

I did an interview about two months ago and flat out said, “no” to writer’s block. I think I jinxed myself. I’m writing the third book in the series, Soul Unbound. The heroine, Siya, is fabulous. She has an amazing backstory that just sings across the pages. My hero, Bomani, who I love by the way, is coming into the book with a broken heart. He has lost the woman he loves to his brother, someone he despises. Needless to say, he is fighting me, dragging his feet. But, often what I think is trouble ends up being exactly what he is and needs to be, so I continue to push through writing. I can always go back and negotiate with him. LOL.

Will you share some encouraging words for authors still struggling for that first contract?

I think the best advice I can pass on is don’t give up. There are so many publishing options out there. I know small press and indie authors that have been become best sellers. Writing takes time and often times I get impatient, but I have to let things run their course. If you do decide to go the route of self-publishing, I strongly recommend hiring an experienced editor. This is your opportunity to hook future publishers and readers. You want that book to shine.

Lastly, enjoy yourself and write about things you love. It will come across in your writing and translate to the reader or editor. This is a wonderfully supportive community, turn to those you trust for help.

What’s next for you?

I have two more books in the Key to the Cursed series to write and release – Soul Unbound and Soul Unleashed. I’m considering self-publishing my next novel or revising one I have sitting on my shelf.

Where can readers find you?

Web Address: www.jean-murray.com ; www.keytothecursed.com
Blog Address: www.wickedromance.wordpress.com
Face Book: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJeanMurray
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wickedromance
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5103113.Jean_Murray
Book Trailers:
Soul Reborn: http://www.youtube.com/user/KeytotheCursed?ob=5#p/u/0/smSJsJp5o74
Soul Awakened: http://youtu.be/S3IlOKhBZoY

Bio: In her pursuit of a nursing degree, Jean Murray aspired to see the world and joined the Navy. At the end of 2011 she said a heart-breaking goodbye to her Navy family and retired after twenty years of military service. Although her dreams of writing full time have yet to come true, she continues her writing journey and draws inspiration from her travels abroad. She enjoys spending time with her family and of course, writing about the “Carrigan sisters and their mates, Gods of the Underworld,” to bring you the next installment of the Key to the Cursed series.

Author Jean Murray brings a wonderful new spin to the paranormal world with her Egyptian Underworld gods. She broke ground in the paranormal romance genre with Soul Reborn and now continues the Key to the Cursed journey with Soul Awakened. See what readers and reviewers are saying about her new book ~ http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16484518-soul-awakened?auto_login_attempted=true

BOOK I: Soul Reborn

Amazon Purchase Links:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004WDYK7A/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wwwjeanmurray-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004WDYK7A
Purchase Print&Nook:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Key-to-the-Cursed/Jean-Murray/e/9780982820063/?itm=1&USRI=soul+reborn
ARe: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-soulreborn-546847-140.html

Book Blurb

THE HUMAN REALM, HIS BATTLEFIELD.

Asar, the Egyptian God of the Underworld, has been tortured and left soulless by a malevolent goddess, relegating him to consume the very thing he was commissioned to protect. Human souls. Now an empty shell of hatred, Asar vows to kill the goddess and anyone involved in her release, but fate crosses his path with a beautiful blonde huntress who has a soul too sweet to ignore.

DEADLY SECRETS BETTER LEFT UNEARTHED.”>DEADLY SECRETS BETTER LEFT UNEARTHED.

Lilly, fearless commander of the Nehebkau huntresses, is the only thing standing in the way of the goddess’ undead army unleashing hell on earth. But Lilly has a secret—one she is willing to sell her soul to keep. If the Underworld god discovers her role in the dig that released the goddess, she will lose everything, including his heart.

TAGLINE “Only the strongest love can unlock the souls of the Underworld.”

BOOK II: Soul Awakened

Purchase Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B0I1A9G/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wwwjeanmurray-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00B0I1A9G
Books –A – Million: http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Soul-Awakened/Jean-Murray/9781937254971?id=5602792319200
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/soul-awakened-jean-murray/1114128757?ean=9781937254971

Book Blurb:

LOVE FOR BLOOD OR HONOR

Kendra, an Egyptologist and demi-god in waiting, is the key to unlocking Bakari, the Egyptian God of Death, from his cursed slumber. Desperate to free him, she inadvertently binds herself to the god with a spell that only death will undo. To save Bakari from himself, she may have to sacrifice her innocence, and possibly her soul, before he becomes his family’s worst enemy.

HAUNTED BY SINS OF THE PAST

Bakari awakens to a world at war and a beautiful woman who has tethered his soul to hers. In the wake of his self-destruction Kendra is his only hope of salvation, but another has vowed to keep Bakari from the one thing he craves most– his Parvana. His butterfly.