This week we’re going to find out a little about author Sylvia Hubbard. June’s theme is ‘Heroes’ so Sylvia will be talking about heroes. She’ll also tell us a little about herself and her writing, and answer some fun questions.
Detroit Author & Founder of Motown Writers Network, Sylvia Hubbard has published over 37 books on suspense romance and one book on Internet Marketing for Writers.

As a happily divorced mother of three, Ms. Hubbard has received numerous awards and recognitions for her work. An avid blogger, Ms. Hubbard has had five#1 Best Sellers on Amazon. Her current work is Tanner’s Devil and she has sixbooks coming up in 2017, including four live stories on her website. www.sylviahubbard.com

Beverley: What do you think makes a hero, either in real life or in books?
Sylvia: I would have to say the characteristics of a hero would come from the first hero I ever met… my father. When I was young he was larger than life and magnificent as could be. He broke the mold in my book. Not only did he make me always feel safe and secure, by protecting me and caring for me but also even when I wasn’t watching (or he thought I wasn’t) he still took care of me. He cared, but he was strong and stern. I appreciate him in my life.
Beverley: Who are your favorite heroes, and why?
Sylvia: Now my favorite heroes on screen would be Storm, The Hulk, Thor and of course, Wonder Woman. My literary hero of all times would be the original Alpha male, Mr. Darcy.
Beverley: Tell me about the heroes in your book/s.
Sylvia: The heroes in my book come close to my father and my childhood best friend, which was a guy. My characters are strong men who have tried to accomplish their best in life but somehow have hidden one secret weakness through their character. Whether it’s physical, mentally or spiritually, they try to hide behind this strength to keep safe their weakness. We all do it and realize only love can turn our weakness actually into the one thing that makes us strong – it’s recognizing this my hero goes through.
Beverley: How long have you been writing?
Sylvia: According to my mother, since I was six I used to tell lies to her all the time. After whooping me within an inch of my life, as a further punishment, I had to write the lie down on paper and then come back and retell her the lie so I could be embarrassed. My pain turned into my passion and I stopped lying (which now I have very little friends), but I write down my lies all the time (and get paid for it.) Thanks, Momma. I’ve been independently self-published since 2000 and I’ve written over 40 books of romance-suspense, with so much more to come!
Beverley: What gets your creative juices flowing?
Sylvia: LIFE! I live in Detroit and nowhere in the world can you get that creative “Motown Essence.” Living here most of my life, if love can be found here through the crime, drama, and hardship, love can be found anywhere.
Beverley: Where do you do most of your writing?
Sylvia: I used to sit in my bed and write. Originally, my bed was an air mattress on a floor in my one bedroom apartment with my three kids. We moved from there and I finally got a bedroom and a day bed which also served as a couch sometime. Soon, I moved up in the world financially through my publishing endeavors and we were able to afford a four bedroom flat. I was able to have a table in the corner of my bedroom. Unfortunately in 2013 that house burned down and we were left homeless. As a single mother with three children, that was really hard, because I was back on the floor again with an even flatter mattress in a rundown home. After a year, I was able to save up and with the Habitat for Humanity program, buy a brand new house with all new furniture. All in all, I have to give the advice: Even when you are going through hardship, trials, and tribulation, never stop writing. As long as you can write, keep going. Now I live in a house where I have a home office complete with the most comfortable chair and even a secondary screen on my computer.
Beverley: Who would you love most to meet ‘in person’ and why?
Sylvia: (Dead) I would have loved to meet and sit with Jane Austen and talk about Mr. Darcy. (Alive) I’ve love to have lunch with Bill Gates, Stephen King, and Beverly Jenkins and talk books, writing and just the publishing business.
Beverley: What are you working on now?
Sylvia: Tanner’s Devil is my book I’m marketing now. Although released in 2015, It’s still pretty popular with the readers. It’s about a woman named Tanner trying to change her circumstance to become a legitimate doctor but her former pimp has designs of getting her back in his arms and on the street for him.

I’m preparing for the release of my book, Beautiful at the beginning of July, where a woman would do anything to be beautiful.
http://www.sylviahubbard.com/beautiful

My writing work in progress would be Black’s Innocence. This is about a woman who prepared for the perfect life, but nothing could plan for him. I wrote the first chapter already to this book in my short story challenge on my blog and named it Innocent Vengeance.
www.sylviahubbard.com/innocentvengeance

Blurb for Tanner’s Devil

“Put your coat on the chair,” a deep voice ordered from behind her as soon as she closed the door to the motel room.
Gasping in fright, she turned and glared up at the man, but found she had to careen her head way up. SEVEN FRICKING FEET?

No, not exactly! He had to be a good six and a half though because her spine was killing her to look up that high. He was big like a linebacker with light skin and a cap on, so she couldn’t determine if he was white with a tan or a black guy that was really light-skinned. He had medium dark pink lips and a slightly pinched nose, but even these features made it difficult to determine his race with that damn black cap on.
He wore a black wife beater and tight blue jeans that definitely showed he didn’t miss one hour of weight training. His biceps looked about as thick as her thigh and Tanner gulped as she wanted to desperately push the chirp button on the phone, which she clutched in her coat pocket.

Play it cool, Dummy! She ordered herself.
Tanner was just five feet three and was usually never attracted to men over six feet, but this big man was… Awesome? Could she really say that?

“Why are you hiding behind the door?” she questioned.
“I told him I wanted a woman who didn’t ask any questions,” the man said sharply, locking the hotel door.

She took off her coat but kept the cell phone and condoms in her hand behind her.
He moved up to her with a suspicious look in his eyes. She couldn’t tell the color of them, because of the cap, but they were well defined.

Tanner became very aware that her neck was starting to hurt from looking up so high and this man’s shoulder width was twice the size of her full frame. Did he eat iron for breakfast? Stepping back, so her neck wouldn’t hurt anymore, she gasped as he stepped to her again increasing his closeness this time and making her very uncomfortable.
So consumed with looking in his face, she flinched nervously as his hands came to her waist. Tanner didn’t move, much less breath as he felt the front, back, and side of her. This was no caress he was frisking her.

“What are you doing?” she asked confused, feeling the strangest tingles move up her legs and an arousing sensation tickle her below her belly.
He had knelt to inspect both thighs and her question made him stop what he was doing, leaving his large hand high on her right thigh in the front and back. “What did I tell you about that talking?”

Tanner bit the sarcastic remark back and just waited while he moved to the other thigh all the way down to her ankle and then stood back up – closer.
This time Tanner didn’t bother to try to look up in his face and she wasn’t about to step back because she had a feeling he wanted to make her feel uncomfortable.

“Take off your clothes.”

Would that mean this cornbread fed giant take off his? And if he did would he look just as magnificent without his clothe

Buy Links:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2rzXTGB
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tanners-devil-sylvia-hubbard/1122692293?ean=2940152367249
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/tanners-devil/id1042443765?mt=11
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/579301

Related websites:
www.SylviaHubbard.com
www.MotownWriters.com
www.HowToEBook.org

Social Media:
www.facebook.com/sylviahubbard
www.twitter.com/sylviahubbard1
www.instagram.com/sylviahubbard1
www.youtube.com/sylviahubbard1
www.periscope.tv/sylviahubbard1
www.snapchat.com/sylviahubbard
www.goodreads.com/sylviahubbard
www.amazon.com/author/sylviahubbard

Don’t forget to check back next week for another author interview and a discussion of marketing.