FAQ
- How and when did you decide to be a writer?
- What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing?
- Would you describe yourself as a plotter or a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type of writer?
- Which authors helped inspire you before you achieved your own dream of being published?
- Who has been your favorite character to write? The most challenging?
- How would you describe the sensuality level of your books? Do you find it challenging to write hot love/sex scenes?
- What is it about the Paranormal Romance genre that captures your imagination?
- You have written in the Contemporary genre as well as Paranormal; are you planning to continue writing Contemporary stories? What is your favorite genre to write? Is there a genre you haven’t written but would like to try?
- What advice do you have for writers looking to get published?
Q.: How and when did you decide to be a writer?
A.: It was a bet in a bar. I’d had one too many martinis, and shot my mouth off. A friend tossed out a bet (see PURE SEX for details about the stakes). He said: I bet you can’t. And I said: I bet I can.
And I did. You should see what I won—besides the NY contracts!
Q.: What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing?
A.: I love horses. I love the arch of their necks, the smell of their breath and the sound of their hooves pounding the ground. I love the power they lend me when I’m on their backs.
I compete in the local reining shows on a beautiful little sorrel mare. I also read a lot, but you probably figured that.
Q.: Would you describe yourself as a plotter or a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type of writer?
A.: Seat of the pants. My CP (=critique partner) is a plotter. She sends me these forms to fill out. You know the kind. Antagonist. Protagonist. GMC (= Goal, Motivation Conflict). I’ve diligently filled them out and then started writing. When my stories proceed to take unexpected turns (and they always, do), I find myself torn between keeping to the form or telling my tale. But after hammering out eight stories for Kensington, I find I can simply embrace the seat-of-the-pants method. And I prefer leather pants. Tight ones.
Q.: Which authors helped inspire you before you achieved your own dream of being published?
A.: Rosemary Rogers and Harold Robbins top my list. The age of the bodice ripper is gone, and there’s a lot to be thankful for in that–but those novels paved the way for gritty love scenes and heroines who pursue their desires.
Q.: Who has been your favorite character to write? The most challenging?
A.: Oh, I can’t pick a favorite character! That’s like picking a favorite child. The characters in my novels get more of my attention, so I know them a little better than my novella characters. Kalief, the king in THE SUPPLICANT, was a bit of an a!$*hole, but he loved his heroine and he came to his senses. And really, no one could blame him for his a&%!holedness. He behaved in a way consistent with human behavior. Most men don’t want the loves of their lives to sleep with other men. Gage, my hero in MOON SHADOW, was hard to write because he was an alcoholic. There’s nothing heroic about an alcoholic. But no matter what I did to the story, he was a drunk, so I had to embrace him. He didn’t let me down though. He pulled himself up by his bootstraps and conquered the bad guy at incredible risk to himself. Besides, he cooks and cleans. THAT is heroic!
A.: My books are hot and sometime a little kinky. Sometimes I do the full bondage thing—a little spanking and tying. Sometimes I have f/f scenes…or f/f/f scenes. I haven’t done the m/m thing yet—oh, wait. I take that back. There’s a m/m scene in RUNNING WILD. But my partners are always willing, and the sex scenes are always part of the plot. I also have some stories where the sex scenes are less kinky. SHE is sweeter than the others, for instance.
Do I find it challenging to write these scenes? No. I’m in my character’s head when I write, and the scenes just come.
Q.: What is it about the Paranormal Romance genre that captures your imagination?
A.: I like the world building. I can invent whatever constraints I want to hone the tension between my characters. The problems that keep them apart can be both emotional and magic-based. I’d probably write historical novels because I really enjoy reading them. But the worlds have been built already, and I don’t know the rules well enough to do justice to the worlds.
A.: “The Bet” in PURE SEX is a contemporary, and it’s a funny novella because it’s the one that broke me into publishing. But every story I wrote after that was paranormal. I didn’t even realize that I’d shifted. The second story I wrote (”My Captor” in NIGHT SPELL) started off as a contemp, but I had to make it paranormal to redeem the hero. I’m proud of “The Bet”. It won the Gayle Wilson Award for Excellence, but I probably won’t write any more contemporaries. If I were to try another genre, I might try historicals. Also, I like straight paranormals that aren’t necessarily erotic. I might like to give those a try.
Q.: What advice do you have for writers looking to get published?
A.: I’d recommend that you first join a writers community. They exist online or in person. RWA has local chapters. The community will help you navigate the waters of how to format manuscripts, why you should enter contests, what various authors did to become published. I myself am a big fan of Charlotte Dillon’s Yahoo list, Romance Writers Community. I found my critique partner through that list, and she has made all the difference in my writing. She’s also become a very good friend. I’d also recommend that when you look for a CP, find one who’s at the same level as you. If you’re a newbie, try to find a newbie. If you’ve got several finished mss, find someone who has several finished mss. And have fun!