Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a romance/erotica writer. I generally write contemporary romantic fiction but I’m also working on some fantasy and paranormal romance as well. Currently I’ve published three books (all available on Amazon in both E-Book and paperback formats).
I believe in love at first sight and the man I married is the leading man in all my books in one way or another. I believe you can live happily ever after if you find the right person.
I have amazing friends. So amazing, in fact, that I’ll actually share my chocolate with them. So you know I really like them!
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is “Marked Hearts: Book One”.
It’s the second in the J’s Place Series. This series is set in a bar called, not surprisingly, J’s Place. It’s a quirky little place with wonderful people. It seems to inspire love and the relationships that form there are the basis for this series of books. It started with “Crashing In” and Book Two of “Marked Hearts” will be published in a few weeks so you can keep reading about the life and loves of these characters.
It was inspired by events in my own life, as is all my writing. Some details of my life are in every character I write and in every place I’ve created.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write the most very late at night. Until dawn some nights. I tend to write in long jags and then quit for a week or two. I barely notice the passage of time when I’m writing. I crunch on Cheerios while I write unless I’m really going crazy and then I reach for the chocolate.
I also write a whole series before I’ll publish any of them. As a reader, I hate getting hooked into characters and then finding out the author quit writing about them. I want to know before I get started that I’ll be able to read right through to the end.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Every author has influenced me in one way or another. I love how disciplined Steven King is. I loved the Sue Grafton alphabet series because she created a group of characters I could keep reading about with each book. But I’m inspired every day with every new book I read.
What are you working on now?
I’ve finished Book Two of “Marked Hearts” but it’s not released yet because Book One just came out yesterday. After that, I’m going to release something outside the J’s Place Series. I’ve got a contemporary fiction romance I’m editing and a fantasy romance that still needs a little work. Either one of those will come next.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t think I know how to properly promote my books. I’m active on Twitter and the #WritingCommunity there is very supportive. I post on Instagram and blog on WordPress. But marketing, especially for someone who self-publishes as I do, is the hardest part of this journey.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I have two pieces of advice.
First – write. Write a lot. Write again and again and again. Don’t be in a hurry to publish because you’ll change your mind and work and ideas a hundred times as you go along. Then write some more.
Secondly – Be reliable and authentic. This was the best piece of advice I was ever given. Basically it means be yourself and don’t leave the reader hanging. Which takes you back to the first piece of advice about writing and then writing some more. You need more than one little story if you’re going to make a go of it.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
This is the same as the advice I’d give new authors. Be reliable and authentic. Be yourself. Write a lot. Then write some more. Use what you know. Write what you know.
What are you reading now?
Right now I’m reading a bunch of old Clive Cussler novels my father had. He shoved a big box of them at me and told me to “take care of them”. So I’m reading them. I mean, what else was I going to do?
What’s next for you as a writer?
What’s next is releasing Book Two of “Marked Hearts”. It starts up right after Book One ends and gives the reader what I hope is a fun and romantic and sexy ride to a Happy Ending. After that, more writing. More reading. More writing.
Oh, and chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate!
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?
I’d bring a dictionary. Other than that, I’m not sure I could pick just 3 or 4. I’d probably choose blank journals so I could write my own stories. (Is that cheating?)
Author Websites and Profiles
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