Today, I'm thrilled to be introducing you to an exceptionally talented author, Darcia Helle.

I was fortunate to meet Darcia via social networking sometime last year. She is the brains behind BestsellerBound, a message board where independent authors can chat with readers. Darcia had the idea for BestsellerBound.com last year and approached me in the summer asking if I would like to join her and Stacy Juba, as a moderator/resident author on the message board. I didn't really know Darcia back then, but now we have become great friends. She is one of the most supportive and creative writers I have had the pleasure of meeting in the past couple of years.

BestsellerBound has become a respected, supportive, and innovative site, where independent authors meet and chat with other authors, share ideas, help each other out, and answer readers' questions.
We have Darcia to thank for bringing that message board to life.

Darcia writes murder/mystery/crime/suspense fiction. I have become a fan of her writing, and have read
The First Kill,The Cutting Edge,and Enemies and Playmates. I'm looking forward to reading all her books.

As well as answering my interview questions, Darcia is also giving away ebooks to two lucky winners. If you're a winner, you'll be able to choose which one of her books you win!! To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment here. Good luck!

Here are Darcia's answers to my interview questions:

Is there a particular author, or book, that inspired you to start writing?

Not that I remember. I always loved words and also have an overactive imagination. Writing is the perfect outlet for my chronic daydreams.

When did you first discover your love of writing?

Again, I don't remember a specific point in time. I was a strange child. I loved to play school. Each week, my mother would let me pick out one workbook type thing. I don't even know if they sell them, anymore. They were in the magazine section of the store. They were marked by grade level and had an assortment of topics. Phonics was my favorite.

Do you have any tips for someone who is considering self-publishing their own book?

Network with other indie authors. I've learned so much by doing that. Be open to constructive criticism. Remember that you cannot possibly please everyone with your writing. Some will love it but others are bound to hate it. And avoid subsidy publishing. Those companies charge a lot of money for nothing.

As well as writing books you have a blog where you interview authors, and you also created BestsellerBound.com, I also know you read a lot of books. How do you fit it all in?

I don't sleep and I watch very little TV! It helps that I have more free time available to me than a lot of people. I have chronic health problems that keep me pretty much housebound. My sons are both grown up. (Legally, at any rate!) And my husband works crazy hours. I do have three dogs and two cats that are a constant source of distraction. If I could teach them how to do laundry and clean, I'd have even more time for writing!

I have noticed that you seem to be a very fast reader. On average how long does it take you to read a book?

I don't think I read particularly fast. I just spend a lot of hours doing it! I generally read two to three books a week.

I recently read your short story, The First Kill, which features Michael Sykora who I understand is a character from a series of books written by you. It definitely made me want to read the series. Which books are in the Michael Sykora series, and can they be read as individual books or do they have to be read in any particular order?

So far I have two books in that series. I intend to write more but keep getting sidetracked with new characters demanding their stories be told. The first book in the series is
No Justice and the second is Beyond Salvation: A Michael Sykora Novel. Ideally, they would be read in that order. However, I intentionally wrote them so that they could each be read as stand-alone novels. I hope I succeeded! :)

If someone wanted to read your books, which would you recommend they read first, and why?

Wow, that is such a difficult question. I think the answer depends largely on the reader's preference. Enemies and Playmates is strong romantic suspense. Hit List has a degree of romance but the strongest element is straight mystery/suspense. This one has the most twists of any of my books. No Justice and Beyond Salvation are perfect for readers who like series fiction and don't mind language and violence. These two books explore human nature at its best and its worst. Miami Snow is all sex, drugs and murder. It's more drama sprinkled with suspense. And Cutting Edge sits by itself. This is the only book I've written in first person. It's main element is dark humor, though there is a certain amount of mystery and suspense.

I read and enjoyed Enemies and Playmates, your first novel. That book deals with the subject of domestic violence and the villain Alex Covington is probably one of the most evil characters I’ve ever met in literature. What inspired you to write that story?

First, thank you for that! It's a huge compliment that you consider Alex Covington such a memorable villain. While I wasn't conscious of it at the time, I think a large part of the inspiration for that story was my own life. I was going through a tumultuous period. Writing that book was my way of making sense of it all. The book is definitely not autobiographical in any sense, though there are distinct parallels.

I know that as well as being a writer, you are also a hairdresser. Your latest novel, The Cutting Edge is all about a hairdresser who fantasises about killing her clients. I’m currently reading that and enjoying the dark humour. Did you ever fantasise about killing any clients? And were any of the scenes in the book based on real experiences in your salon?

I no longer do hair for a living. I don't think I'd have gotten away with writing The Cutting Edge if I'd still been working as a stylist. My clients would have fled!

I did not ever fantasize about actual murder, though I did fantasize about shaving their heads bald or telling them what I was really thinking when they waltzed in twenty minutes late. This book is the closest thing to my reality that I've ever written. The fictional salon is based on the salon I worked in (owned by my mother) and set in the same very real small town that I lived and worked in. The salon scenes - the clients and conversations - are almost all based on actual real life clients from that salon. My disclaimer is that I changed the names and minor details to protect the innocent and hide the guilty. One reviewer stated that I had invented the worst imaginable clientele a stylist could ever have. This was said as if what I'd done bordered on ridiculous. I laughed and laughed. Truly, I could not have made these people up. They were every bit as real as you and I.

We did not ever have a serial killer roaming our small town. At least not that I'm aware! That part is entirely fictional.

Who are your favourite authors and what is it about their writing that you like?

I have many favorites, you among them!

(Thank you :))

My favorite authors are those who step out of the way of the story being told. They are the authors who make me care what happens to the characters, no matter what the plot or genre might be. Lately, these authors are almost all indie. I've been disappointed with the cookie cutter mold of mainstream fiction.

Is there a book you own that you’ve read more than once?

I own more than 600 print books and another 200 or 300 ebooks. (I have a serious book addiction!) I have no time to read all the books on my to-read list, much less read a book more than once. With fiction, I don't typically keep a book once I've read it. I do keep signed copies or those written by indie authors I know. (Your books are among my keepers!)

(Thanks! That's great to know :))

But I have yet to re-read any of those. I do keep all my nonfiction. I've reread passages of those for reference, though I have not reread an entire book.

What was the last book you read?

I just finished Run by Blake Crouch. This was one of the best thrillers I've ever read.

Are you reading a book at the moment?

I'm about to start Breathing into Stone by Joel Blaine Kirkpatrick.

What do you think of ebooks?

For the reading experience, I will always prefer print books. I love the feel and the look of print. But I like the convenience and the low cost of ebooks. And my ereaders are like grown up toys, which is also fun.

How important are reviews for you as a writer?

Reviews are more important than I ever realized before publishing my first book. As indie authors, we rely on word of mouth and reviews to drive sales. Readers want to get an idea of what the book is like before spending their money on an unknown author. The number of reviews, along with the quality, helps nudge each book up on the list on searches. Those reviews also help our books get listed on various Amazon pages as suggested reads. The reviews do not have to be long or overly descriptive. In fact, many readers don't want that. A quick paragraph highlighting what you loved (or hated) is all that's necessary.

How do you go about choosing a cover for your books?

So far, I've purchased rights to various photos through istockphoto. After I finish the first major edit of a book, I like to let it sit and settle for awhile before going back to begin minor editing. (Which I find tedious!) Searching through photos for just the right one to express the book's content is a great diversion. I plug myself into my iPod and ignore all things writing related for a little while.

What are you working on now?

I'm working on my first paranormal suspense. There are no vampires, zombies or witches. Instead, there is one clumsy spirit named Max who is intent on finding his murderer.

Where can people buy your books?

My books are available in both print and Kindle format on Amazon.

My Amazon Author's Page for the U.S. is: Darcia Helle on Amazon.com

In the U.K.: Darcia Helle on Amazon.co.uk

In Canada: Darcia Helle on Amazon.ca

All ebook formats are available on Smashwords: Darcia Helle: Smashwords

I won't flood you with links but they're also available on Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Sony's ebookstore and Apple's iPad store.

Do you have your own website or blog where people can read more about your work?

I have two URLs for my website. They both go to the same place:
Darcia Helle
Quiet Fury Books

My blog is: A Word Please

Is there anything you would like to say to your readers?

A huge thank you to all who take the time to read my books! With the thousands of new books published each day, I'm still astounded that people find and choose to read mine.

Thank you, Darcia

Remember, if you want to win one of Darcia's books, all you have to do is leave a comment here. The contest will run until 13th March 2011, and the winners will then be chosen.