Trailer and Talking with Maria Sadowski

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Today we are talking with Maria Sadowski, author of Kidnapped, a romantic science fiction due to be released May 11th thru Desert Breeze Publishing. So where's home for you?

I’m originally from Sweden and moved to Florida in late 2008. Today I live in the Tampa Bay area with my husband Mike and our three rescue dogs. I like it here, I like the weather and all the sunshine, but I do long for Sweden from time to time. I have always been writing and wanting to make books; when I was a little girl I made my mom staple bundles of colored papers together to resemble books. I was too little to be able to read or write, so I drew suns in them, and declared them to be the “Sun book.” They were all about the sun, and I bet she still has a box of them sitting in the basement. I guess it was the start of my fascination with space. (I also declared I wasn’t supposed to be on this planet. I told her it was all a giant mistake, and that my real family would come to bring me home to my own planet at any moment. Poor mom!)

I don't doubt that your mom is wonderful. So what do you do when you aren't creating "Sun books" or science fiction?

When I’m not writing I enjoy playing bass. I used to play in a couple of rock bands back home, but I haven’t made an effort to find a band since I moved to the US – I don’t have the time to rehearse on a regular basis. I still play, but nowadays it’s mostly for the dogs.

It seems a lot of authors have other creative talents. I've always dreamed (okay when I was young) of being in a band. Tell us more about growing up overseas.

I learned British English in school as a little girl, and one of my biggest challenges when it comes to writing for an American audience is the spelling. I write colour, labour, harbour, realise, defence, and a number of words like those with British spelling.

Thank goodness for the red underlining in Microsoft Word! I get a lot of red in my writing but I think is from my ffatt ffingers! Tell me, what do you love about your latest book?

“Kidnapped” is romantic science fiction. I enjoy the setting of space, and I love the characters. Travis is a very reluctant hero, and even when he decides to try to do the right thing it takes him a while to get the hang of it. I’m also very fond of the bad guy – or gal – Veronica; she’s the epitome of determination and will stop at nothing to get things her way.

I love the name Travis for a hero. Actually I think that is because I left my Travis in quite a bind in one of my upcoming novels. Funny, he doesn't think he's much of a hero either … Tell us about your all time favorite character (of your creating.) Is he/she modeled after a real person?

My all-time favorite character is Stephan Forks in the Goddess’s Saga. He’s not modeled after a real person, but he’s a big personality. He has his flaws, some of them rather big, but he always comes through for the heroine and makes things right. I know exactly what all the characters in those books look like in my head, and to me, writing about them is revisiting old friends.

(Me smiling reminiscently) friends that we sometimes miss. How does it feel when you write?

I am so happy when I write, it becomes an obsession. I enter my own little world populated by my characters, and I don’t want to do anything else. Everything in normal life becomes unwelcome distractions keeping me away from my imaginary friends… I am very fortunate to have an understanding husband; he knows I’ll snap out of it eventually.

Ahh. That is why they are friends, they make you happy, just as mine do me. Do you get ideas for your stories from places you visit, or do you visit places to flesh out your stories?

I get ideas for my stories from everything I see around me. I have an old SUV, and recently when I drove to the supermarket I heard a weird rumbling noise. Looking around I couldn’t see anything outside the car, and the only explanation I could think of was my muffler springing a sudden leak, or why not the entire engine deciding to fall out of the car. It turned out to be a big motorbike sneaking around in my blind spot – I couldn’t even see the guy from my window until I got a red light and he came up next to me. We were going in the same direction and it stirred my imagination, so when I came home I started typing away on a new story where this happens, but the guy on the bike follows the girl in the car… Mwuahahaha!

You are so deliciously wicked … What heat rating would you give your novel?

I would rate “Kidnapped” as Warm –it's cute, but doesn’t contain any explicit love scenes.

Is that how you would classify your life?

Yes, my life is warm too. I am very fortunate to have a romantic husband who impromptu brings me flowers and presents when I least expect it.

Yum! Does he give lessons? Oh we better ask him instead of you. Where can we find you?

Website: http://www.hammarblad.com/
Blog: http://www.hammarblad.blogspot.com/
Maria's blog link is: http://www.scifiromance.info/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariahammarblad
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mariahammarblad

Purchase link... It will be available here: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-292/Kidnapped-Maria-Hammarblad/Detail.bok
 but not until May 11.