As an avid reader, I was a little excited to have the opportunity to interview author Bonnie Hearn-Hill about the latest book in her Star Crossed series: Aries Rising, on her Blog tour. Check out the interview, and be sure to enter to win the iPod touch!

How long have you been writing novels? How did you get your start? I wrote my first one--a Nancy Drew episode--when I was in elementary school. It's all I ever wanted to do, but I found no mentors and little encouragement back then. Twenty-three years passed from the writing of my first "adult" novel and my back-to-back three-book deals for my novels in 2002. I finally got lucky with the right book, the right time and the right agent. Like almost every successful novelist I know, my real secret, if you can call it that, is that I was too stubborn to give up.

How did you decide to tie astrology in with your characters? Is astrology an important part of your life? Humorous astrology writer Hazel Dixon-Cooper is in my critique group. You can't be around Hazel long without asking if Mercury is in retrograde or if Pluto has moved into Capricorn. Seriously, she's fascinating, fun and habit-forming. Everything I know about astrology I learned from her. Since she's my best friend, astrology does have some impact on my life, although I use it primarily to get the down-and-dirty on people I'm just meeting. Thanks to Hazel, I can sometimes even guess someone's sign.

Is there a message you try to convey to your young, Star Crossed readers? A couple of messages, and I hope they come organically out of the story and don't appear tacked on. One is that no one -- not your guy, not your parents, not astrology--can do it for you. The power is within. Two, is that true friends are more important than guys, what's currently cool or anything else. One of the reasons my editor bought the series is that the three best friends want something other than guys (although they want them too), and that they are loyal to and supportive of each other.

I'm a Sagittarius. What does that say about me as a writer? It's a great sign for a writer. You're the opposite of my sign, Gemini. Like Gemini, Sadge likes to talk (and talk and talk). It's natural to transfer that to paper. Most Sadges also love to travel. If you're one of them, be sure to include those colorful places you visit in your writing.

If you could invite 3 famous moms to dinner, who would they be? And what would you serve? You, Hazel Dixon-Cooper, a Pisces, and Laura, my Taurus agent. So, we'd have a Fire sign (you), a Water sign (Hazel), an Earth sign (Laura), and an Air sign (me). Perfect balance. I couldn't miss. I love to cook, so I would probably feel you out as to what you like. And I would be sure to serve Star Crossed Brownies for dessert. They're fabulous and rich, and there would be plenty of leftovers to take home to the kids.

Thanks so much for letting me stop by on my tour. Be sure to register for the free iPod Touch.

And thank you, Bonnie. Especially including me in your "famous mom" dinner; my Sagittarian ego LOVES it!

~~~~~Enter for the iPod Touch~~~~~~~

The Aries Rising Blog Tour & Book Giveaway continues through March 31. Destinations will be posted daily, and a free copy of Aries Rising will be given away at each one. At the conclusion of the tour, a drawing will be held for an iPod Touch. No purchase is necessary.

You can enter as often as you wish, and you can qualify in three ways.

1. Be an Aries. Just send your birth date (month and day) to starcrossed.contest@gmail.com.

2. Write a review and post it anywhere. Send the link to the same address. (More work, I know, and I appreciate all of you who have taken the time to spread the word about my astro series).

3. Post a fan badge on your Facebook page and send the link to above address.

On each entry, include your name, address, e-mail, and phone number where you can be reached March 31.