~ M. LEIGHTON ~

Welcome to Under the Covers!ย  First, we would like to congratulate you on the success of your books and your new deal with Berkley.

Thank you so much for having me!ย  Iโ€™m honored to be here:)

We always like to get to know authors better.ย  Tell us five things about you that may surprise us.

  1. ย I love chocolate, but hate white chocolate. Itโ€™s almost too sweet.ย  Wait, did I actually just say that??
  2. Iโ€™m a huge nature and animal lover, but I am terrified of bugs. Anything that can crawl discreetly up my pants leg, down my shirt or into my hair FREAKS ME OUT! LOLย And yes, I got all shouty in real life, too.ย  Hehe ย Seriously, I canโ€™t stand bugs!ย *shudders*
  3. Giving Cash a fondness for Jack Daniels is part of my aversion therapy. LOLย  Iโ€™m not a huge whiskey fan, but Iโ€™m trying to learn to โ€œappreciateโ€ it.ย  What better way than to always think of Cash while drinking it.ย  O_Oย  Right? Right!!
  4. I keep rootbeer barrel hard candy in my desk drawer, but I hate rootbeer.ย  Is that weird?ย  Why are all these strange foody things coming to mind?ย  Am I hungry again?ย  *does gut check*ย  Yep.
  5. Despite the fact that I ugly cry for a day and a halfย afterward, I still love the movie Untamed Heart. Itโ€™s an older movie with Christian Slater in it.ย  If youโ€™veย never seen it, get a box of tissues and get to it!ย  LOL

How did you get started writing?

As clichรฉ as it sounds, Twilight started me writing.ย  In June of 2009, I read all four books back to back over three days.ย  When I finished the fourth book, I was devastated. It felt as though all my friends had moved away.ย  Thatโ€™s when I decided to write my own book, one where I had total control and could keep the characters around as long as I want.ย  14 grueling days later, I finished my first novel, a 105-thousand word adult paranormal book.

What has been your experience from first putting out a book to now?

It has been amazing!ย  There were hard times.ย  There still are. Itโ€™s never easy to put something you love out there for the world to criticize. That never gets any easier.ย  And watching a book fall out of popularity is hard at first, especially when it first begins to slide.ย  But I always try to focus on my next project, which helps keep me sane.ย  Other than a few things like that, it has been one of the most wonderful journeys of my life.ย  And this is only the beginning!ย  I hope, anyway:)

We are starting to see more and more authors who started out self publishing and now have sold those books and series to publishers.ย  Do you see self publishing as a stepping stone toย getting your book in the right handsย in todays’ world?

I think it facilitates things quite a bit, yes.ย  The querying process can be difficult and discouraging for an author, and Iโ€™m sure itโ€™s no picnic for agents either.ย  I think this way, readers sort of point a big, giant, blinking finger at what they like, at whatโ€™s good, then the agents and publishers can swoop in and snatch them up.ย  Put them on the road to being in bookstores.ย  In my opinion, I think itโ€™s win-win.

What inspired you to write THE WILD ONES?

Believe it or not, it was two lines from the song Wild Ones by Flo Rida.ย  LOLย  โ€œI am a wild one, break me in.ย  Saddle me up and letโ€™s begin.โ€ย  From that short lyric, Trick and Cami were born.ย  Maybe I should send Flo Rida a fruit basket.ย  LOL

You also have DOWN TO YOU being re-released later this year.ย  Can you tell us a bit about that series?

Down to You is book one in the Bad Boys series. Itโ€™s a bit darker than The Wild Ones.ย  Itโ€™s about a girl who has a weakness for the bad boys and sheโ€™s trying to move away from them, emotionally.ย  When she meets Cash and Nash, identical twins, she realizes that Nash is exactly what sheโ€™s looking for, but Cash is exactly what she wants.ย  The rest isโ€ฆwell, youโ€™ll just have to read it to find out.ย  *winks*

If you were writing a yearbook including Trick and Cami, what would each of them be Most Likely To…

Trick would be most likely to succeed.ย  At anything.ย  Heโ€™s as intelligent as he is driven and he has lots of reasons to want to succeed in life.ย  Plus, he has the heart to do it, too.ย  And that, in my opinion, is what makes a winner.

Cami would be the most likely to please.ย  LOLย  She grew up pleasing Daddy and itโ€™s a hard habit to break. Until the right guy comes along, that is.

And some quick fire questions:

What was the last movie you watched?ย  Sinister.ย  And yes, itโ€™s terrifying. LOL
What do you like to do when youโ€™re not writing?ย  Eat and watch movies. LOL
What is the last book you read?ย  Iโ€™m currently reading Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks. Itโ€™s my first of his and Iโ€™m really enjoying it!
Morning person or Night Owl?ย ย ย  Both. I have terrible insomnia!ย  Ack!ย  ๐Ÿ™‚

Thank you so much for taking the time to spend with our readers and sharing about you and your books.

Thank you again for having me and a huge thank you to everyone who has read my work. Iโ€™m forever grateful!!

thewildones

Passion as hot as midnight in the South and love as wild as the horses they tame.
The darling daughter of a champion Thoroughbred breeder, Camille “Camiโ€ Hines has a pedigree that rivals some of her fatherโ€™s best horses. Other than feeling a little suffocated at times, Cami thought she was happy with her boyfriend, her life and her futureโ€”until she met Patrick Henley.ย ย  “Trickโ€ blurs the lines between what Cami wants and what is expected of herโ€”and he just happens to be so sexy she canโ€™t keep her hands off him. While they both know that Trick would lose his much needed job on the ranch if anyone finds out, they canโ€™t resist the lure of their scorchingly hot encounters.ย ย  But when Trick stumbles upon a note from his father, it triggers a series of revelations that could ruin what he and Cami have worked so hard to overcome. It turns out thereโ€™s more to Trickโ€™s presence at the ranch than either of them knew, and secrets with the power to tear them apartย….

Purchase Links: Amazon

About the Author

I was born and raised in the United States, and Iโ€™ve lived in several of the fabulous fifty.ย  Though I currently live in the deep South, I spent much of my childhood up North and hope to return there one day.ย  A few other things about me:ย  I believe that sometimes you have to look really, REALLY hard to find the good in people, but it’s there.ย  I believe that I’m shrinking (I swear five years ago I was two inches taller).ย  I believe my husband is quite possibly one of the most amazing men in the entire world (I can’t be sure because I haven’t met all of them).ย  I believe coffee and chocolate, when combined, could be the basis for world peace.ย  I believe that Jesus rocks and communism doesnโ€™t.ย  I believe that white makes me look fat and black collects lint.ย  I believe summer’s too hot, winter’s too cold and fall was made for football.ย  I like dogs better than cats and the first movie in a trilogy is invariably the best.ย ย  But most of all, I believe that love conquers all.

Berkley is graciously giving away a print copy of THE WILD ONES (US only)

 

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43 Comments

  1. I love what M. Leighton said about feeling like her friends had all moved away upon finishing the Twilight series. That’s exactly the way I feel each and every time I finish a series.

  2. Loved the interview! It is wonderful when authors share little bits of themselves with us. The Wild Ones sounds great and is definitely on my TBR list.

  3. I have all her books on my VERY long Goodreads TBR, but this one sounds pretty good, I might have to move it to the top! Thanks!

  4. A new author for me and awesome interview. I don’t care for white chocolate either but any milk chocolate or boxed chocolates and I’m one happy person.
    The book sounds great. Thanks!

  5. I have read a few of M. Leighton books but not this one so it would be so awesome to win this book so thank you for the chance and a Great Interview and congrats on all that is coming up in your world M…..

    [email protected]

  6. I love all chocolate. I HATE BUGS! I love Jack Daniels. I loved the Twilight series. Great post and the book looks great.

  7. Loved the interview. Love you books too. Haven’t read The Wild Ones yet. Love how you came up with the title. Thanks for the giveaway.

  8. thanks for the great interview! This is a new to me author and I’m definitely going to have to check out her books! Congrats to the author on the new release!

  9. Sounds like a great book and would love to read it. Thanks for the giveaway.

    kandj7299 at verizon dot net

  10. I pretty much love chocolate regardless of the variety…..lol…..I have watched Untamed Heart and I remember that it made me cry and want to throw something at the tv….lol…good post!

  11. Have not read anything by M. Leighton but that will be corrected very soon ๐Ÿ™‚ Thank you for the giveaway!

  12. I too do not usually like white chocolate much. Have you tried the Amalfi Bar from Vosges? It has pink peppercorns and lemon zest in white chocolate and is kinda fun.

  13. I have been interested in this authors’ books for a long time. I would love the opportunity to win one of these books. sdylion(at)gmail(dot)com

  14. Thanks for the giveaway! I love the author’s bio, especially what she said about her husband… awwww!!!

    mestith at gmail dot com

  15. Oh my goodness! I loooove Untamed Heart! And I’m not a girl who likes sad movies. But it was so swoony and romantic ๐Ÿ™‚
    The fact that you wrote a book in 14 days blows my brain right out of my head. Respect!

  16. it’s always fun to read about what inspired an author and triggered certain aspects of their books.

  17. The books looks awesome. Great interview. I actually like white chocolate because it’s so sweet! Thanks for the giveaway.