Archive for the 'Interviews' Category
The Write Side of Life
September 25, 2007 | Interviews
ST: Let’s jump right in, Maya. What made you decide to be a writer?
MR: I don’t know that there was ever an actual decision. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t reading or writing. I honestly think it’s in the genes. My father was a technical writer, and my mother was a huge reader so our family ethos included very positive feelings toward both reading and writing. My mom didn’t drive, but every week, she would put my younger brother and me in a wagon and pull it down the hill of Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey to take us to the library. We’d fill the wagon with books and lug it back up the hill toward home. It seemed completely natural to me to make the jump from reading to writing as soon as I could. One of my three brothers is now a well-known sports columnist with a major U.S. newspaper.
ST: How long have you been writing?
MR: Before I could physically write, I told stories. By the time I was ten, I was writing plays for my friends and brothers to perform.
ST: How many books have you written?
MR: BAD GIRL, the first to be published, was my fourth full-length novel.
ST: Which is your favorite and why?
MR: BAD GIRL, of course. LOL. In the very beginning, I got emotionally caught up in Sandy and Justice’s love story. It was quirky and unusual. They have very real, very honest feelings, and the heat level is off the chart.
ST: Do you find writing to be fulfilling? And in what way?
MR: I don’t know that I’d use the word “fulfilling.” Writing is necessary to me in the same way eating, sleeping and breathing are. Even when I’m not actually writing, I’m watching people, wondering what their stories are. Or I’ll hear a news report and think, “Wow, wouldn’t that make a great book?”
ST: What’s a normal day like for you?
MR: I get up at 5:00 AM and go straight to my study where my laptop is. I don’t even turn on a light; I like being surrounded by darkness with just the lighted screen in front of me. It helps me to focus.
I work until 6:45 when I have to get ready for work. I get to my office by 9:00, where I’m very busy so the time passes quickly. If I don’t meet someone for lunch, I read and answer emails.
I usually leave work around 6:00 or 6:30 (after the traffic dies down–I have NO patience for rush hour). I don’t push myself to write in the evenings although once or twice a week, I usually find myself in front of the laptop. I have a fixed goal of words per week. If I haven’t reached that goal by Friday afternoon, I write over the weekend. Even if I’ve reached my goal, I frequently find myself wanting to get back to the story at hand.
ST: You’re very dedicated, but with your busy life how do you find time to write?
MR: We make time for the things that are important to us. It’s a simple matter of triage–prioritizing things according to need. If writing isn’t in the top three or four on your list, you probably aren’t serious about being a writer. I’m VERY serious.
ST: Thanks for taking the time with us today. We’ll be back tomorrow with more from Maya Reynolds. Until then…
Happy Writing!
Sloane
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Maya Reynolds Tell All
September 24, 2007 | Interviews
ST: Good Morning! This week we have the mother of all bad girls with us, Maya Reynolds. Welcome, Maya, and thank you for visiting with us this week.
MR: Thanks, Sloane. I’m so glad you invited me. I love your site and your books. It’s a good day whenever you have a new release.
ST: I agree! Tell us about yourself.
MR: Well, I was born in New York City and grew up in Florida. I have a Masters in Social Work and spent years working on the Dallas County mobile crisis team (a terrific job for a writer looking for story lines). I live in a small town in Texas and work at a university in Dallas. I love to garden and work through my stories while pulling weeds or fertilizing my roses.
ST: Your debut novel, BAD GIRL, has just been released. Let’s show everyone your gorgeous cover.
ST: It was an exciting, hot read. I loved the book. Please tell our readers about it.
MR: BAD GIRL is about a woman named Sandy Davis. Sandy didn’t start out intending to spy on her neighbors in the high-rise across the street. It began innocently. But then, she couldn’t bring herself to stop. Night after night, she hid in the shadows of her balcony and peeped through each different window, watching people going about their lives, never realizing they were being observed.
It was just a game. No one had to know. Then one night came a phone call…
“You’ve been a bad girl.”
He calls himself Justice. He has a pastime too. Watching Sandy watch others. He has the pictures to prove it. Now it’s his turn to play–by making Sandy pay the price in exchange for holding on to her naughty little secret.
As the sensual dance between two strangers begins, so does Sandy’s fear that she’s moving closer to the edge of extreme desire–and inescapable danger.
ST: How did you come up with the story line?
MR: I was taking a writing class online and wanted to find an unusual story where the heat level would scorch the pages. I happened to see Rear Window on television, and it started me wondering what would happen if it was a woman spying on her neighbors–and what would happen if she got caught.
ST: And where and can we buy BAD GIRL?
MR: It’s on sale now. You can find it at bookstores like Barnes & Noble, or Borders, and at the online booksellers like Amazon.com or Powells.com.
ST: You have an agent. Was it difficult to connect with one you really wanted to represent you?
MR: I’ve heard it said that it’s harder to find an agent than it is to find a publisher. I don’t know about that.
I began writing BAD GIRL in February, 2005. I entered the first chapter in the “Just Erotic Romance Reviews” contest that summer. Raelene Gorlinsky of Ellora’s Cave picked it as second place winner and asked me to submit the full manuscript. The only problem was that I hadn’t finished the novel at that point. It took me several months to finish the story. In the meantime, I continued to query agents.
Having won that second place prize certainly helped me attract the attention of the agents I wrote. I had multiple requests to see the manuscript. Then, one of my critique partners met Jacky Sach of BookEnds at a conference and mentioned BAD GIRL to her. Jacky asked to see the manuscript. I called her, and we clicked almost immediately so the decision to go with her agency was an easy one.
ST: Your experience is a rarity. I’m happy for you, Maya. Hopefully we’ll see you tomorrow?
MR: I wouldn’t miss it.
ST: Until then…
Happy Writing!
Sloane
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Gazing into the Crystal Ball
September 21, 2007 | Interviews
ST: We’re here with Marie Treanor ofr our last day of terrorizing her. lol. Marie, what does the future hold for you?
MT: Well, with Changeling Press, I have a short story, Swan Song coming out some time this year – about a cursed but well-endowed ballet dancer.
And in the spring of next year, I’ll have a novella out with Samhain – Killing Joe…
In time, I hope to find new homes for the books currently tied up in Triskelion’s bankruptcy. In the longer term, who knows? I’m just enjoying the moment and feeling good.
ST: If you had one wish that would be granted, what would it be?
MT: That my kids have happy and healthy lives. Is that two? lol.
ST: How did you and all your publishers come together?
MT: With Triskelion, I remember I liked the variety of stuff they published, and so I sent them my first stories. Then, one of my editors left Trisk to go to Samhain and later invited me to submit there, which eventually I did.
It was Kyla Logan, my loop partner, who suggested I try Changeling Press, and when the right story came to me, I did.
ST: What’s in the works for the future?
MT: Well, I’m working on a sort of gothic/fantasy/historical/paranormal story just now – not sure yet how that mix will work out! And then there’s a ghost story I’d like to finish some time. And I have an idea for a naughty comedy, which may or may not come off.
ST: I sure hope it does. Sounds like an interesting read. Thanks, Marie, for spending so much time with us. It’s been a great week and I’ve enjoyed learning more about you. The very best to you in the future and keep us posted on your future releases.
MT: Thanks, Sloane, I’ve really enjoyed being here! And of course I’d love to keep in touch. Thanks for letting me ramble!
ST: Until next week…
Happy Writing!
Sloane
The Soft Side of Marie Treanor
September 20, 2007 | Interviews
ST: We’re back with the Paranormal Princess, Marie Treanor. Marie, please describe your writing space.
MT: Officially: a corner of my bedroom, containing an old bureau with a fold-down top for the computer, books on the floor held up by Indian-made book-ends. It’s by the window with a view of the sea.
In reality: My very often my cluttered living room or wherever the kids, especially my tyrannical small daughter, want me to be.
ST: LOL. I understand about children. Tell us what’s your favorite part of writing?
MT: When the characters start telling the story, even making me re-think it to suit them. Annoying but exhilarating!
ST: What do you absolutely hate about being an author?
MT: I don’t think I absolutely hate any of it! I’d like more money, of course, and I’d prefer someone else to do the promoting for me. But on the whole, I have to say I’m really enjoying it!
ST: In your opinion what’s the most important thing for a new writer to learn?
MT: Never to give up.
ST: Your website is lovely. I recommend everyone cruise over to www.marietreanor.com and check it out. How did you decide on the content and design?
MT: By knowing my limitations
ST: She did a great job. I hear your sweeties calling, Marie, so I guess that’s all for today. Until tomorrow…
Happy Writing!
Sloane
Author, Author, Tell Us More
September 19, 2007 | Interviews
ST: Good morning! We’re back with Marie Treanor. Before we start our interrogation – er, I mean – interview, let’s look at three other fantastic covers Marie has with Changeling Press.
ST: Marie, are there any quirks you have or do before or while you’re writing?
MT: Not really. I like coffee on tap. LOL
ST: Who or what encouraged you to write erotica?
MT: Long story! I found writing long historicals too time-consuming when my daughter was born, but I did want to keep writing. Deborrah MacGillivray encouraged me to try my hand at a short romance. I wasn’t keen at first – to me romances were the old Mills and Boons my granny used to read! – but when I discovered ebook romances I realized I was way behind the times! I was both amazed and impressed by the array of imagination and talent and sheer variety out there. I tried a couple of my own and sent them to Triskelion. Gail Northman at Trisk encouraged me to write one of them a little hotter, and it seemed to work for me.
ST: Just how hot are your books, Marie?
MT: Scorching hot! Tsss! LOL. Only kidding. I’m not really very good with labels, but I think my books are probably on the border line between very sensual and erotic. My characters enjoy pretty sexy and graphic relationships, but so far at least they’ve always been single-partner heterosexual relationships. Not because I disapprove of anything else, just because these are the characters and stories that have come to me. I think I’ve found my comfort zone for now, though I don’t rule out pushing the boundaries!
ST: Where do you get the ideas for your novels?
MT: Mostly from the characters who pop into my mind. Sometimes inspired by real people or faces glimpsed on trains or in the street. Sometimes from something I overhear, or read in a book. Once from a television advert!
ST: How do you research your books?
MT: Depends on the book. I do lots on the internet now, but I still like books! Also, just talking to people helps. My husband for example supplied the necessary chess moves in Queen’s Gambit (sadly not available right now). Thinking about it, he also told me about tethers and stopped me making a pratt of myself over rocket fuel in the City of the Damned stories
ST: Who is your support group?
MT: In real life? My husband, my old friends and, in a different way, my kids.
ST: You’re fortunate to have a good support system.
MT: I know and appreciate them all.
ST: Until tomorrow…
Happy Writing!
Sloane
The Write Side of Life
September 18, 2007 | Interviews
ST: We’re back with Marie Treanor and ready to learn about this author with a passion for new and strange worlds. Marie, what made you decide to be a writer?
MT: I don’t remember ever deciding, I just always did it! Though I suppose I tried to get published because I hated my job and I wanted to have children. Naiively, I imagined I could stay at home, look after kids and write enough to make a living. lol.
ST: How long have you been writing?
MT: Since I could form letters. When I was five, I wrote a play and made my friends perform in it.
ST: LOL> Love your style. How many books have you written?
MT: Eighteen and a half. Eight are available at Changeling (mostly novellas, plus 2 short stories), with two more short stories coming this year. Seven novels and novellas which are not currently available due to Triskelion’s closing. One novella contracted to Samhain Publishing, to be released next spring. And a novel in progress.
Oh and as well as those eighteen, I have two long historical novels published under another name…
ST: My word you’re industrious. Which is your favorite and why?
MT: I honestly don’t know! I’ve loved them all at one point, and hated them at others!
ST: I know that feeling. lol. Do you find writing to be fulfilling? And in what way?
MT: Immensely. I suppose I love telling stories, and it’s so satisfying to get your characters walking across the pages! Partly, it’s escapism, of course, and partly I like being good enough at it to entertain people. Or at least I hope I am!
ST: You do, Marie. What’s a normal day like for you?
MT: Chaos!
ST: How do you find time to write?
MT: My sacred writing time is the two and a half hours my daughter spends at Nursery. But since the summer holidays have begun, I’ve tried to get up early to write – with mixed success! I keep falling back asleep before I can get enough coffee down me to keep me awake!
ST: Well, you keep sucking down coffee, lady. I want to read more of your work.
MT: There’s anothe pot brewing!
ST: Please join us again tomorrow when Marie tells us more about her life. Until then…
Happy Writing!
Sloane
Marie Treanor Tells All
September 17, 2007 | Interviews
ST: Hi, Marie Treanor, welcome and thank you for visiting with us this week.
MT: Thanks for having me – I’m really looking forward to it!
ST: Tell us about yourself.
MT: Well, I live in Scotland, I’m happily married and I have three children, the eldest about to begin High school, the youngest at Nursery. Oh yes, and I write romance, mostly paranormal and often futuristic.
ST: Your latest novel, DEVILISH FANTASY, looks to be an exciting, hot read. I especially like gapping at the cover.
Please tell us about it.
MT: Well, it’s more of a short story than a novel! My contribution to Changeling Press’s series of hot-and-short ESCAPES, it’s about Fiona, whose life isn’t going well. Neither is her holiday in the sun, so naturally she wishes for someone wicked to liven it up. What she gets is an actual devil, complete with horns and a forked tail, who turns out to be more fun than the rest of her life put together!
ST: How did you come up with the story line?
MT: It just popped into my head! Margaret, the owner of Changeling, challenged the authors to cheer up her winter with short, naughty stories about escaping to the sun. It seemed to work
ST: And where and can we buy DEVILISH FANTASY?
MT: At Changeling Press
ST: You have several other books that are out now. Please tell us about them and where we can buy them.
MT: All my currently available books are at Changeling Press (www.changelingpress.com) .
My newest one is actually Dragul in Darkness, the third in a trilogy about an ancient but secretive race of immortal shapeshifters. I’ve been really pleased with the reception of the first two, so I’ve got my fingers crossed for this one! With Dragul in Darkness I’ve tried to bring it all together on a high with hope for the future – since it’s all set in a rather scary world trying to recover from nuclear war. The war has changed much of humanity, producing powerful mutants who are feared as vampires, werewolves etc, and the Dragul books are all about how humanity, mutant and otherwise, deals with the intrusion of an even more powerful race into their world. All I’ll say here is that love shows the way.
Actually, the Dragul books grew out of my original series with Changeling, City of the Damned, which introduces the post-war world, struggling with nuclear winter. City of the Damned is where mutants have evolved, at first feared by the rest of the city, but gradually becoming the leaders who will save humanity.
Oh yes, and the children conceived in City of the Damned become heroes and heroines in the Dragul trilogy. Here’s the other covers;
MT: Too much information? Sorry, I get carried away. lol.
ST: Not at all! I’m intrigued. In fact I think my VISA card is going to get an airing this afternoon. lol.
Please join us tomorrow when Marie tell us about the Write Sid eof Life. Until then…
Happy Writing!
Sloane
Gazing into the Crystal Ball
September 14, 2007 | Interviews
ST: We’re here for our last day with Judith Rochelle. Tell us, Judith, what does the future hold for you?
JR: More writing and I hope bigger sales. I want to be able to walk into Barnes & Noble and see my books prominently displayed. Beyond that, just more writing and more writing. I have a long ways to go before I run out of ideas
ST: If you had one wish that would be granted, what would it be?
JR: That I would have one book on either the NY Times or USA Today best seller list.
ST: How did you and all your publishers come together?
JR: We have members of our RWA chapter that write for Ellora’s Cave who urged me to submit and through that I also met Marilyn Campbell, who manages their new imprint, The Lotus circle and she asked me to write for her. Wild Rose Press was looking for submissions for their White Rose line (inspirational) and I had one book that needed a home. I love my publishers. They’re great. But before I got to them I collected a stack of rejections letters higher than my junk pile. It’s all about sticking to it until you get that first break.
ST: What’s in the works for the future?
JR: Two sequels for REDEMPTION, four more books after ALWAYS ON MY MIND which is now the first book in a five-book series of psychic romantic suspense, finding a new home for my trilogy – RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, ECHOES OF THE PAST and THE HIRED WIFE, finishing a contemporary Western for Wild Rose Press and a full-length r/s for Ellora’s Cave, plus three novellas I proposed to them. And two sequels to COMING HOME, my inspirational romance. I won’t be leaving the computer chair any time soon!
ST: I am in awe. You are one energetic author. I also want to thank you, Judith, for spending so much time with us. It’s been a great week and I’ve enjoyed learning more about you. The very best to you in the future and keep us posted on your new releases.
JR: Thank you, Sloane, for this opportunity. You are wonderful to provide this venue for us to talk to readers and very supportive of other authors. I’ve really enjoyed this.
ST: You’re very welcome, Judith. I’ll be back next week with multi talented author Marie Treanor. Until then…
Happy Writing!
Sloane
Author, Author, Tell Us More
September 13, 2007 | Interviews
ST: Hi Everyone, we’re back with Judith and her infamous peach iced tea! Judith, are there any quirks you have or do before or while you’re writing?
JR: Don’t pick on my tea, Sloane. I need it! Now to answer your question, I don’t know if you’d call them quirks, but I set up a manuscript chapter outline so I can keep count of pages, and I do an outline of the characters so I don’t forget hair and eye color and who’s in what book. I started doing this when a character from WHERE DANGER HIDES popped up in NIGHT HEAT, and I thought to myself, what the heck is SHE doing here? Otherwise it’s just me and my peach iced tea.
ST: Who or what encouraged you to write erotica?
JR: I really admire Delilah Devlin who is in my RWA chapter and has helped me so much. Last year when Ellora’s Cave sent out their Call for Submissions for Quickies she encouraged me to write something, and my husband said, I dare you. Well, who can resist a dare! Since then it’s been like an explosion. Who knew!
ST: Just how hot are your books, Judith?
JR: My contemporaries are rated Sensual but my erotic romances are E-rotic, almost the highest rating EC gives, and the reviewers rate it top of the heat. My editor says she has to ice down her computer! Oh, and I just sold my first novella to EC’s Exotika line, which is the top of the thermostat. Definitely not for the shy readers.
ST: Where do you get the ideas for your novels?
JR: I have an overactive, vivid imagination, plus I gather ideas everywhere – the newspaper, television, conversations I overhear. And my kids have really gotten into it, coming up with ideas for me. Plus I like to play the What If game – what if this happened instead of that? What if my neighbor’s husband really left her because their child is the product iof an affair and not because he has a new girl friend? What if the rancher down the road who is very antisocial really has bodies buried in his north pasture? Give me a sentence and I’ll give you a plot. My mind is always working overtime.
ST: How do you research your books?
JR: For one thing, almost all my books are set in the Texas Hill Country and my other settings are Maine and Florida, where I live and have lived, so geography isn’t a problem. I use the Internet a lot. You can find out almost anything there. And I find people are very willing to share info with you, also. For REDEMPTION I interviewed a sergeant in our Sheriff’s dept who was former Army Counter Intelligence and for ALWAYS ON MY MIND, due out this fall, I interviewed a former Green beret who was my concealed handgun class instructor. And the ranchers around here are great about letting me visit and explaining their operations to me.
ST: Who is your support group?
JR: My RWA chapter. These women are wonderful. Next to them, my kids.
ST: Please describe your writing space.
JR: OH, my. Well, can you spell JUNK? I have a setup in our great room that is a built-in computer station. I have shelves for my books and folders and notebooks, and plenty of drawers for storage. I have my favorite mugs that hold my pens and pencils, a plush cow to clean my screen with, and a stack of papers and notes that one of my cats is always sitting on. I work a lot out of notebooks so there are always two or three lying open. And of course a stack of whatever CDs I’m listening to at the moment. Love to write with music on.
ST: What’s your favorite part of writing?
JR: MY personal involvement with my characters. They become like part of my family. After that, hearing from my readers. I LOVE my readers.
ST: What do you absolutely hate about being an author?
JR: Editing, editing, editing. After that, editing.
ST: In your opinion what’s the most important thing for a new writer to learn?
JR: As far as mechanics are concerned, have a good story to tell and learn to show, not tell. Don’t be a narrator. Let your characters tell the story in dialogue and action. Beyond that, never, ever, ever give up. The rewards are tremendous.
ST: Your website is lovely. I recommend everyone cruise over to www.judithrochelle.com and check it out. How did you decide on the content and design?
JR: I give full credit to my son-in-law. I told him what I wanted, he went out and researched dozens of other web sites and then designed mine.
ST: Thank you, Judith, for another interesting day. We’ll see you in the morning?
JR: I’ll be here!
ST: Until then…
Happy Writing!
Sloane
The Write Side of Life
September 12, 2007 | Interviews
ST: Good morning, Judith. Before we start, let’s show the readers two more of your beautiful covers.
JR: Absolutely! Let’s present ONCE UPON A WEDDING and CUTTER’S LAW.
ST: Tell us what made you decide to be a writer?
JR: I’ve always had the itch but work and family just got in the way. But I kept a notebook with ideas “just in case.” When I finally retired, my husband said, Okay now you have no excuse. I always thought I’d write a straight mystery, with people from work thinly disguised, but while they were interesting character after three weeks I still hadn’t gotten past chapter one. And I had this itch growing stronger and stronger. Then I read CRY NO MORE by Linda Howard which not only changed my reading habits but pointed me in a writing direction that’s never wavered. I love romantic suspense, and every one of my books has a little of that in it.
ST: How long have you been writing?
JR: Since April 2004. I sat down at the computer and never got up!
ST: How many books have you written?
JR: 12 full length and 12 novellas. I am in the process of working on three more plus one novella. I can’t seem to shut off my mind. My husband is used to me pulling a notebook out of my purse no matter where we are and jotting something down.
ST: You’re amazing to have accomplished so much in such a short time. Which is your favorite story and why?
JR: REDEMPTION, because it’s based on a real person. The story just built itself around his personal history. He’s a fantastic character and very easy to turn into a tormented hero who finds redemption.
ST: Do you find writing to be fulfilling? And in what way?
JR: Very fulfilling. I love making up stories in my head. Also, I think every woman, no matter what her life is like, needs a taste of romance and the fantasy of the alpha hero. I want to be able to provide that.
ST: What’s a normal day like for you?
JR: Feed the cats at six (they are very demanding) and answer email and take care of promo stuff until 9 o’clock. Then two hours with my husband, juice, breakfast, and—my addiction—The Price is Right. Then an hour for household chores and writing until five. (Sometimes I bag the household chores.) I try to make it a rule not to write in the evening because that’s my time with the dh, but if I’m on a deadline he politely ignored the laptop joining us in bed.
ST: With your busy life how do you find time to write?
JR: I am so lucky, because I’m retired so I can carve out what time I need. And I get tremendous support from my husband. He knows that after him this is my Number One priority.
ST: You’re fortunate he stands with you.
JR: I know. I couldn’t ask for better.
ST: We’ll be back in the morning to learn more about this Texas gal. Until then…
Happy Writing!
Sloane
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