BLURB:
Teenager Ingrid Liebschreiber is devastated when her parents move the
family from their native Munich to Los Angeles in the late 1950s. Homesick, she
accepts a neighbor's offer to get her a job as a showgirl in Las Vegas.
Intent on
earning enough money to return to Germany, she must grow up quickly in the neon
jungle - where she is pursued by high rollers and headliners, including a
vacationing Elvis.
Life's
twists and turns land Ingrid in New York in the Swinging 1960s - where she is
romanced by Armand: a strong, quiet, handsome businessman in
"construction." Most girls dream of Mr. Right, and Ingrid's hard-won
independence is challenged when she falls in love.
Will she
find true romance - a man who can love her as much as she loves him? Or is
"happily ever after" just a crazy fairytale?
INTERVIEW:
1) Where did you get the idea for the novel?
The novel is a memoir novel. It’s a fictionalized version of
my own experiences in the first half of my life. Since the novel is a romance —
a love story — I shaped the events from my life to track my quest for true
love.
2) Is there a message in your novel that you want your
readers to grasp?
The message is that you should never settle and you should
never give up when it comes to pursuing your true love target: a partner with
whom you can live happily ever after. You must seize destiny instead of
succumbing to fate.
3) Why did you pick this genre? What do you like about it?
My novel naturally fell into the genre of chick lit or
romance (as well as historical novel). What I like about the genre of romance
is that it deals with universal powerful emotions that we all have — (excluding
unfortunates who lack a pulse). In a good romance novel that is genuine — as
opposed to one geared to fantasy — raw emotions roller coaster like mad — just
as in real life. The reader will naturally root for a happy ending, a blissful
conclusion. And so, interest is maintained through to the end.
4) Since becoming a writer, what’s the most exciting thing to ever happen to you?
Positive response from readers is the most exciting thing to
happen to me. When people commit their precious time to reading your novel —
and then take additional time to tell you how much they enjoyed it — it’s life
boosting! It is validation that you’ve done something valuable for people.
5) What book are you currently reading or what was the last book you read?
I read a lot, and my interests are varied. The most recent
book I’ve finished is The Paleo
Manifesto: Ancient Wisdom for Lifelong Health, by John Durant, in which the
author talks about how we’ve gotten away from our natural habitats — and this
is affecting our health as a species.
7) At a book signing, do you just sign your name or do you write a note? How do you come up with stuff to say?
I usually get the person’s first name and address the note
to that person — “Dear so-and-so” — then write a very brief note relating to
whatever comment the person made to me about the book. I sign off with, “Love,
Ingrid.” Ingrid is the name of the protagonist/narrator of LOVE TARGET, as well
as my legal first name. My full name is actually Ingrid Heidi Loeb Hegerich,
but I often initialize “Ingrid” to an “I.”
8) What is something people would be surprised to know about
you?
I train at a gym where mixed martial artists train! I don’t
spar them, however! It’s been enough of a workout punching and kicking pads
held by my personal trainer.
9) How do you react to a bad review?
I erase it from my mind! What’s the point of dwelling on the
negative? There have been so many positive reviews, negative reviews are to be
expected. No book under the sign is for everyone. We each have our own tastes.
Also, some critics are rather spiteful; some people are simply trolls. You
can’t please everyone — nor should you try to. In the end, the opinions of only
two kinds of people matter: 1) those who buy the book; 2) those who praise the
book. These people are your true audience. As an analogy: Every YouTube video —
no matter how magnificent — always has its share of thumb’s-down clicks. Should
a beloved superstar such as Adele — who has more than 450 MILLION views on her
video for her amazing ballad, “Someone Like You” — fret over 53,000 thumb’s
downs? Or should she revel in the 1.7 million thumb’s ups?
10) How did you celebrate the sale of your first book?
By “sale of your first book,” I assume you mean the first
copy of LOVE TARGET. I celebrated by smiling broadly! It was at my first book
signing, at an art museum in my hometown of Reno, Nevada. I smiled a lot that
day.
EXCERPT:
The witch stared past me, lost in thought. Then she
shook her head.
“I don’t know,” she began, haltingly. “There will
be a man, a husband. Somebody that you’ve known. Somebody” — her voice rose —
“with dark hair! And . . . eyes that are lighter. Maybe blue.”
“I don’t know who this man could be,” I said to the
witch.
“Trust me,” she said confidently. “Do you have any
photographs in your wallet of who this man could be?”
I didn’t have a photo of David. But it didn’t
matter, since he was married.
I fished out a photograph of Armand.
The witch held it up in her crooked fingers in
front of her hooked nose. She twisted her neck, turning her head this way and
that, peering curiously at the photo from different angles.
She handed it back.
“You should have never been with this man!”
I shrugged. “I wish I knew who this mystery man
could be.”
“It is not important,” the witch said. “You will
know in good time. You can bring him into your life. And I want you to do
something.”
She rummaged on a shelf and removed several
objects.
“Take these two candles. Write an affirmation on a
slip of paper saying that you will be with this man with dark hair that you’ve
known. Then put the paper between the candles, and melt the candles together.
Light each one, and when they’re soft, mold them together.”
I took the candles. Well, it couldn’t hurt to try.
Might even be fun.
AUTHOR Bio and
Links:
Heidi Loeb Hegerich has lived in places
as varied as Munich, Las Vegas, Miami Beach, New York, Los Angeles, Squaw
Valley and Reno. She has worked variously as a showgirl, business executive,
entrepreneur, interior designer and real estate developer. She has traveled to
six of the seven continents, and vacationed in spots as different as the French
Riviera, the Andes and Afghanistan. She counts among her hobbies weight
training, shooting assault rifles, and racing sand rails; she found skydiving
entertaining but not as much of a rush as other pursuits.
A philanthropist for the arts, among
other causes, Hegerich is now embarking on her own artistic quest as an author.
The novel Love Target is her first book.
Buy links:
Book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4E9UULoZNU
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LoveTargetNovel
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LoveTargetBook
Robin Leach book review in Las Vegas
Sun newspaper: http://www.lasvegassun.com/vegasdeluxe/2015/jan/13/love-target-showgirl-reveals-elvis-pregnancy-swing/?utm_source=mostpopular&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=mostRead
GIVEAWAY:
Heidi Loeb Hegerich will be awarding $30 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: http://
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteWhat is your least favorite part of the publishing / writing process?
ReplyDeleteGreat interview.
ReplyDeleteI liked the interview! Congratulations on the book release!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds really interesting. I liked the interview and I enjoyed the excerpt. Blessings and Thanks to all.
ReplyDelete