Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
As a military brat, I moved around quite a bit as a child. My home town is a little spec on the map in the middle of Texas.
Now, I live in Maryland with my patient, loving husband and a very burdened cat. Every morning, though I’m sure he would love nothing more to sleep in and enjoy a life of leisure, my timid, black cuddler wakes me without fail at four o’clock, often with a triumphant whooping meow having acquired breakfast for me of some poor unsuspecting mammal who could weigh up to and including his own body weight.
I have fourteen Erotic Romance Books, everything from paranormal to military romance. I am Currently working on three project, continuing two series and starting a sci fi romance series in the near future.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
I find inspiration in the strangest places.
One day I turned on my TV to just veg out, and during the three second delay where I could hear the program, but could only see a black screen, I heard one man telling another, “There you go, start slow and get the rhythm. Now faster.” The second man’s, gruff grunt answered him, and the first man continued patiently, “I know it hurts. You can do it.”
With a huge grin on my face, I watched the screen finally click on to find a survivalist teaching the proper technique for starting a fire using two sticks. I quickly wrote down what I heard, and imagined how that very scene would play out.
The concept of angels, and magical protectors always intrigued me, and the idea that divine beings existed without flaw bothered me. Why would they be exempt from secret desires and carnal needs? And if they harbored such feelings what would happen if they gave into their cravings?
My Newest Release, Michael’s Touch, Ethereal Protectors Book One, explores the inner workings of one of my favorite minor characters from The Cursed Series.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I feel most creative first thing in the morning so I often write while enjoying a steamy cup of coffee. My affection for the beverage lends itself to most all of my characters. I often find I have written two or three paragraphs describing filling a coffee pot with chilled water, smelling it percolate with a moistened tongue and savoring the warm flavored brew, creamy and sweet as it fills the character with euphoria.
After the compulsory homage to coffee, I let my ideas flow and follow where the story leads.
I write at least two books at a time. Right now I am in the middle of writing three stories. One book I have only a few chapters written down, another halfway finished, and another a few paragraphs. I have never been able to just write one story start to finish, than go onto the next.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I absolutely love Gena Showalter, Laurann Dohner, and Nalini Singh. My favorite genre to write and read is erotic romance, but I enjoy a good fantasy like any adventuresome girl. R. A. Salvatore’s D&D Forgotten Realm stories about Drizzt D’Urden, are a favorite.
Singh’s Desert Warrior is such a perfect story. I loved the instant tension, unwavering male presence, and magical world. Every scene in that book made me feel something, and I could not put the book down to save my life. As I write, I ask myself, what did this chapter make my audience feel? If I feel the scene failed to draw out some strong emotion from my audience, I start over.
What are you working on now?
My next book is the Seventh story in The Cursed series. The cousin series to The Ethereal Protectors. I am also writing the second installment to the Ethereal Protectors series, and will soon release a brand new series exploring Alien abduction romance, because I can’t help myself. I absolutely love reading the genre. Creating a whole new world with limitless possibilities allows me to explore all the crazy thoughts and ideas flowing through my mind.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
One of the most effective online advertising for me is the Facebook page What to read after Fifty Shades. Each time my books get featured, I see a significant sales bump.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
If other authors feel like me, then the ideas and concepts scattered throughout their minds are screaming to come out. Let them. Write down everything you think and imagine. Let the story lead you and keep writing until the story is told, after that decide what to do with the story. I was boggled down with anxiety about where to take my book before it was ever written. Don’t let uncertainty or fears of how you will be perceived pervade your mind. Just write what’s in your heart screaming to be set free, and release it.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t give up, and don’t care what others might dislike about you. Take the worst aspect of your personality and own it. I had a friend tell me once, that she was hopelessly flawed, but she loved herself and loved that about herself. Those words have become my mantra. If I trip over my own feet, I remind myself that I love myself and I love that I trip some times. If I spill food on my shirt, I remind myself how much I love that I do that too.
What are you reading now?
I’m actually reading Persuasion again for at least the fourth time. I can’t help it. Who hasn’t read all of Jane Austin?
What’s next for you as a writer?
I am writing a novel about a family losing a parent, and how tragedy affects each adult child. Although this book resides firmly in the romance genre, it is completely different than other books I have written. While I have used tragic family circumstances to build my characters in the past, my books focus on the romance of the characters. This book focuses on the challenges the family faces and warms the heart.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Wow, That is tough. Okay absolutely, I’ll need Nalini Singh’s Desert Warrior, and sorry romance fans but next has to be The Stand by the King, Stephen. Next, I have to go with the first book in The Lords of the Underworld series, by Gena Showalter, The Darkest Night.
Author Websites and Profiles
Aleena Stark Website
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