Morning Loverlies,

It’s a bright and beautiful Monday morning (erm, afternoon) and today is our first Music Monday installment and my lovely CP (who I missed very much while she was gone) picked today’s song. Do you remember this song? I do.

And before I forget, the winners of Gemma’s books are…

Gayle O - Alibi in High Heels
Sara Hurt - Killer in High Heels.

Congrats ladies and thanks for playing. Email me with your snail mail addresses and we’ll get your books right out to you!

Morning Loverlies,

It’s 2009! Can you believe it? This is my first 2009 WTF/Favorite Thing Friday and I’m sharing one of my favorite things with you. Gemma Halliday has written one of my all time favorite series, the High Heels Mysteries series and the final book in the series, Mayhem in High Heels was just released the other day. So in celebration Gemma’s come to visit and we’ll be giving away an autograph copy of Gemma’s Killer in High Heels and Alibi in High Heels! All you have to do is comment to be entered to win. One comment entry per person and all the usual rules apply! Good luck!

Emma Petersen: Good Morning Gemma. How are you this beautiful wonderful morning? Can you believe it’s 2009 already?

Gemma Halliday: Hi Emma! I’m so excited to be here, thanks for having me. And, wow, did 2008 ever fly by quickly!

Emma Petersen: You know they say the way you spend New Year’s Eve is the way you’ll spend the rest of the year. So how did you spend your New Year’s Eve?

Gemma Halliday: Oh dear, does that mean I’ve got entire year of drinking expensive champagne ahead of me? ;) Actually I had dinner with my man of the hour, then toasted in the New Year in with my family. So, let’s hope that means lots of good times with friends and family in 2009.

Emma Petersen: 2008 was a pretty big year for you. New releases, a new series and the ending of a stellar kick ass series. Is it bittersweet for you or are you of the mindset that it’s better to stop a series by going out on top?

Gemma Halliday: Both. It was really hard writing the end of my High Heel series. I’ll admit, I cried when I wrote the last chapter. Then again when I edited it. Then again when I did the copyedits. And the galleys. Lots of tissues were used in the making of this book. But, on the other hand, I’ve had such a great time diving into this new series. New characters, new heroes, new plotlines – tons of fun!

Emma Petersen: Hugs! I suspect I’ll shed a few tears myself when I read it. I’ve been avoiding it even though I can’t wait to read. Le sigh. Maddie, Ramirez and HEA. How awesome will that be! So tell us, how long have you been writing? Was Spying In High Heels the first book you completed?

Gemma Halliday: I started seriously writing with publication in mind in 2002. So, about 6 years now. Wow, times flies! I actually finished 6 full novels before writing Spying in High Heels that never quite made it to the bookstore shelves. They were all more along the contemporary romance/chick lit lines than what I’m writing now. I have hopes of revitalizing a couple of those early manuscripts in the future, but for now I’m really enjoying the mystery element that my books currently have.

Emma Petersen: I know some people find it hard to write funny but some people, like you, do it really well. When you starting writing did you start writing romance with comedic elements?

Gemma Halliday: Aw, thanks! I’m glad my stories hit your funny bone the right way.
My first attempts at writing were actually straight contemporary romances. They always had their comedic moments, but I was honestly trying to write deep, emotional stories. Yeah, turns out I’m just not that deep. I do flirty and funny with dead bodies much better.

Emma Petersen: They definitely hit my funny bone. LMAO. I laughed so hard one time I cried. Let’s just say there was a dog and taser involved. Roflmao.
I was reading your bio and your edj (evil day job) resume is rather diverse but what I’m most curious about is the temporary tattoo artist?

Gemma Halliday: I loved that job! I traveled around to different outdoor festivals, private parties, etc. in the Hollywood area painting tattoos on the rich and famous. It was a blast! We used an alcohol based paint, so the colors were really vivid and vibrant, but the tattoos only lasted about a week. What I loved most about it (besides the great tips!) was that we did all the painting freehand, so I really got indulge my artistic side while still paying the bills. A rare combo!

Emma Petersen: That is a rare combo. And I think a dream for a lot of authors. I know some authors mix reality with fiction. Are there parts of High Heel Mysteries that are autobiographical?

Gemma Halliday: Sadly, yes. Hi, I’m Gemma and I’m a shoe-aholic. Seriously, it’s getting out of hand. Some people have nightstands, I have shoe racks flanking my bed.

Most of the characters or situations in my High Heels books are born out of something that’s happened to me, or someone I’ve met that stuck in my mind. So, beware – to know me is to be in my books.

Emma Petersen: Hehe. Shoe ranks flanking your bed will definitely give you sweet dreams. I knew you and Maddie had a few things in common. What’s the weirdest situation you’ve found yourself in? (Not including being hit on by an overzealous inebriated man in a tranny bar.)

Gemma Halliday: Ah, the tranny bar… good times. (Thanks for saving me, by the way, Emma! I’m not sure I would have made it out alive without you!)

Okay, weirdest situation… well, last year I went on a dating quest to find Mr. Right and ended up meeting quite a few, shall we say, interesting characters. One of my favorites was when I found myself out on a date with a man who confessed to being a pirate. No, not someone who likes dressing up as Johnny Depp, but an actual boarding-yachts-and-stealing-stuff-at-gun-point pirate. Needles to say, there was no second date.

Emma Petersen: Those were definitely good time. OMG! A pirate? Roflmao. Seriously. That’s definitely book material for years! And speaking of book material, have I told you how much I am going to miss Maddie and her adventures? It would probably make me feel just a tad bit better if you told me about your new series. It will be Maddie and Jack-less but I know it will still be super awesome.

Gemma Halliday: I hope so! The new series is called Hollywood Headlines and centers around the L.A. Informer, an infamous Hollywood tabloid headed by none other than Felix Dunn, the ace reporter and sometimes love interest in the High Heels series. Felix has just been promoted to managing editor of the paper and now has his work cut out for him controlling a staff full of headstrong, and often trouble-magnet, women. In the first book, SCANDAL SHEET, the Informer’s gossip columnist, Tina Bender, begins receiving threatening notes that escalate to a dead body. It’s Tina’s task to figure out just which bit of juicy celebrity gossip has become worth killing over.

Emma Petersen: I heart Felix Dunn. He’s a yummy hottie. And I really enjoyed his interactions with Maddie. So besides Hollywood Headlines are you working on any other projects? Not that you aren’t busy enough? Are you going to be dabbling into any other genres? YA, Paranormal, Erotic Romance?

Gemma Halliday: Funny you should ask, I’ve just finished writing my first YA proposal. It’s very much in the vein of my High Heels books, a fun romantic mystery, but written for a younger teen audience. I’m hoping to find a home for it in the New Year, so fingers are crossed!

Emma Petersen: Ooh awesome! We definitely have our fingers crossed for you. In this business we need all the luck we can get. Luck and advice. Do you have any advice would you give fledgling authors?

What about life in general advice?

Gemma Halliday: About writing: Just keep writing! I know, it sounds so simple, but when those rejection letters start pouring in, it’s really hard not to start questioning your own abilities and if you should just throw in the towel and get a job flipping burgers. (Trust me, I’ve totally been there.) The best thing you can do is just keep writing. When you’re really and truly exhausted and ready to give up, that’s when you know you’re close to selling. So write twice as hard!

About life: Don’t date pirates.

Emma Petersen: Roflmao. That is good life advice! You’d think one would only encounter a pirate in a fantasy. LOL. But I guess not. And speaking of fantasies, if a shoe designer contacted you and said you could have 20 free pairs of shoes, which designer would it be?

Gemma Halliday: Oh wow, I think I just drooled a little on my keyboard at that thought. While I adore the look of Prada, I have to say that my lone pair of Michael Kors heels are about the cutest and most comfortable shoes I’ve ever owned. So, I’ve gotta go with Michael.

Emma Petersen: Don’t blame you for drooling. Got a bit of the shivers myself. Whew. Seriously, the day Christian calls me and says he’s sending me 20 pairs of shoes, I swear I’ll end up on the news. Seriously. Headline will be like “Woman dies of shoe-gasmic overload when the most awesome designer on earth gives her free shoes.”

Gemma Halliday: I knew we were kindred spirits.

Emma Petersen: We totally are. Have you ever had a shoe-gasmic moment? Where you found like the perfect pair of shoes and swore you needed a cigarette after you bought them?

Gemma Halliday: Okay, when I found my aforementioned Kors babies, it was the coolest moment ever. Not only were they adorable, fit like they were made for me, and the only pair like them in the entire store, but they had somehow managed to find their way to the clearance rack. Where some poor sales clerk had mis-marked them to a ridiculously low price. I doubled checked the tag about fifty times before I took them t the register and bought them in an almost dreamlike state. I would tell you how little I paid for them, but you’d hate me forever.

Emma Petersen: I’d be a little jealous but I could never hate you. I absolutely LOVE when that happens. My bargain of the year involved diamonds and I was high off that find for days! Big hugs, Gemma and thank you so very much for dropping by and visiting us. Before you leave would you like to tell any of your deep dark secrets? We swear we won’t tell anyone.

Gemma Halliday: If I ever learned to keep my big mouth shut, I might have some deep dark secrets. Sadly, silence is not one of my finer traits. I’ve already spilled all my most embarrassing moments in my books. Lol!

Emma Petersen: Hehe and we your readers have enjoyed every moment of it! How can the readers of my blog (all two of us, me and Katie) find out more about your work?

Gemma Halliday: Thanks so much for having me, Emma! If you’d like to know more about me or my books, you can check out my website at: www.gemmahalliday.com, or come listen to me blather about love, life, and writing on the Killer Fiction blog every Friday.