Prepping for Romance with Author Heather Thurmeier - Interview

Escape to My Arms by Heather Thurmeier

Sara’s been preparing for this moment her whole life—she just never believed it would actually happen. With her bug-out bag and emergency food already in her truck, her only goal is to get to her family’s hidden bunker and wait out the pandemic that’s hit every major cruise ship port in the US. But her plan quickly falls apart. She’s out of gas, her route to the bunker is now a two-lane parking lot with no alternative in sight, and her only weapon is a pocketknife. For an experienced prepper, she’s made every rookie mistake.

Dane believes he’s safe in his cabin, off the beaten path and in the woods with his own source for water, electricity and an endless supply of food to hunt. After finding Sara stranded and alone, he’s suddenly not only providing for and protecting himself, but also the girl who wandered out of the woods and into his life. When looters come looking to take what he has, Sara and Dane’s only option is to make a run for their last hope—the bunker.

Can Sara and Dane find safety in each other’s arms and will they survive long enough to escape to a future together?

 

Heather, I’ve got to tell you Escape to My Arms sounds exciting. How did you come up with the premise?

I’ve been watching prepper shows on TV and checking out supply websites for a while now. I’m not a huge prepper, but I do believe in being prepared in case of emergency. And after losing power for almost 9 days with hurricane Sandy I felt it was time to really put plans in place for my family. When I heard about Decadent Publishing’s call for prepper romances, I knew I had to write one and the idea came to me really quickly!

Tell us a little about Sara? Why is she a prepper? 

Sara’s a prepper because her whole family is. I’m not sure who started it, but her whole family believes in being prepared for the end of the world as we know it. They’ve even gone so far as to create a hidden bunker that is filled with supplies so that the entire family can live there if the time comes. And for them, it does.

What’s the skinny on Dane?

Dane is… an outdoorsman, a hunter, a fighter, and has a heartbreaking family history. Being on his own for the last five years has made him strong and independent, but also a bit withdrawn. He seems to think that he can go about life without any attachments to people. Then he meets Sara and all of that changes. Did I mention he’s also hunky and delicious?

What did you find to be the most challenging part of writing this book?

The most challenging part was building a believable romance while still staying true to the prepper way of life. But I think I did a pretty good job blending both elements of this book. I hope I did at least!

Did you learn anything new or interesting during the writing of Escape to My Arms? What was it?

I learned I really LOVE writing adventurous, exciting stories! I LOVE writing the weapons and fight scenes and taking my characters to places that were darker, scarier and grittier than I usually go. But this book isn’t terrifying by any means. It’s still got a lot of my usual humor and sarcasm and hot chemistry in it too. I do think I’ll write more adventure romances in the future for sure!

Is this your debut novel? If not, what else have you published and where can we find it?

This is actually my 8th book! I can’t even believe that when I counted!! Most of my others are straight-forward, light-hearted, humorous contemporary romances. And I have one paranormal romance as well! So I hope I have a little something for everyone. But no matter what you read from me, I guarantee it will have heart, humor and always a happily ever after!

What is your next project/work in progress about?

My next project is probably a sequel to my 9th book, which I haven’t made any announcements about just yet. Soon hopefully!! I’m really excited about book 9 so I’m hoping book 10 will be a sequel that I can be equally excited about! At some point I might also like to write a sequel to Escape to My Arms. And my paranormal novel is actually the first book in a potential series of seven books. So I have a lot of work ahead of me!

Finally, if you had to wait out a pandemic, you’d horde in the bunker with you the following:

Celebrity crush? Joe Manganiello and Bruce Willis. I know. Weird combo. But I <3 them both. Joe is just… sigh… he could kick some a$$ and he’s really fine to look at. Bruce… well, Bruce has been in my life since Moonlighting and I haven’t stopped loving him after all these years. I know he’s getting a little on the older side now, but I still think he’s sexy as sin and I love his voice. Mmmm…

Favorite book? There are way too many to choose. I’m going to have to pray there is power in the apocalypse so that I can have my kindle in the bunker with me. I *need* all of those books! 

Guilty pleasure movie? I’ve got a few: Tommy Boy, 40 Year Old Virgin, Armageddon, the entire Die Hard Series.

Snack food? Chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate.

Thank you so much for having me today! I hope we never see the end of the world as we know it, but if we do, I hope you’ve all prepped for it! 

Happy prepping and reading! 

Heather Thurmeier

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You can find Escape to My Arms at the following sites:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Escape-Arms-Prepper-Romance-ebook/dp/B00CCRMVII/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1366119505&sr=8-2&keywords=escape+to+my+arms

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/escape-to-my-arms-heather-thurmeier/1115118789?ean=2940016578330

Decadent: http://www.decadentpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=763&osCsid=30r61aaim57utq8fs8mad7ung0

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Get to know Heather better at her online “bunkers”:

http://heatherthurmeier.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeatherThurmeierAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hthurmeier

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Heather –thanks for that great interview! I wanted to take a moment to say that since you & I have so much in common, celebrity crushes, favorite movies and snacks, obsessive book issues, etc., I think I’ll just bunk with you when the apocalypse hits.

      -B

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And now for an excerpt from Escape to My Arms:

Sara sipped her wine and nibbled on another square of chocolate. He was right. Again.

They didn’t know what would happen in the future. Hell, they didn’t even know if there was a future to look forward to at this point. So why shouldn’t they enjoy the moments like this one while they could? Moments when they were safe, warm, fed, and comfortable. They might not get many more nights like this if things kept getting worse, as they seemed to be. Best to savor the time while you had it instead of squandering it away with fights.

At this point, she didn’t even know what future awaited her at the bunker. Would she live with her family for the rest of their lives, never to interact with people from the outside world again? That’s sort of what they wanted, wasn’t it? Wasn’t that why they hadn’t told anyone about the bunker, because they couldn’t trust anyone?

What if this was her last night on her own? It might be her last night to live her life however she wanted to before she had to start making group decisions with her family.

“You’re right.” She polished off the last of her wine in a big gulp. Her head already swirled with the effects of the alcohol. She’d always been a lightweight when it came to getting drunk. Tonight would be no different. Good thing she’d planned to stop at one this evening. She had other plans for the rest of the night.

“Right about what exactly? I said a bunch of stuff.”

She put her wineglass on the floor and took his hand in hers. “You were right about enjoying this moment we have tonight since we don’t know what the future holds, or even if we have a future.”

“Does this mean I’m forgiven?” He smiled, squeezing her hand.

“Yes. And then some.”

Sara took the wineglass from his hand and set it down next to hers, then straddled his lap, resting her hands on his chest. She pressed her mouth to his, delighting in the surprise on his face.

She wasn’t a throw-caution-to-the-wind kind of girl, but for once she was going to do just that, since she didn’t know if she’d have wind to be cautious of later on. Tonight, she’d live by her feelings. Tomorrow she’d go back to surviving.

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