Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m multi-published with over 100 titles with four different publishers not including myself. I have written in several different sub-genres of romance including time travel, paranormal, romantic suspense, science fiction romance, young adult and erotic romance. I have never written straight erotica. My novels, novellas, and shorts are always focused on the romance between the main characters first.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Tempting Tabitha is book 4 of my Zolon Warriors series that is a part of S.E. Smith’s Magic, New Mexico world. Each of the stories in that series has been inspired by the previous book. So far, all of the books have been centered around one family of men who came to Earth with no women in their lives. They revere women on their world because most of their females die before their twenty-fifth birthday. They have no idea why, though their scientists have been researching it for years.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I don’t think so, but then I don’t normally hang out with a lot of writers to know if my habits are unusual or if it’s just something weird that writers do. I listen to music while I write. I usually listen to subliminal creativity music or subliminal positivity music. When I’m not listening to that type of thing, I’m usually listening to Pandora, specifically the Enya, KISS or Classical piano channels. I write on a nearly 10-year-old laptop that I would love to eventually replace. Do you think that could be my unusual habit?
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Christine Feehan was the first. I loved her Drak series and I couldn’t wait for each new one to release so I began writing my own vampire novel while I waited. I love Sandra Hill’s humor in her Viking time travel books and I absolutely adore the humor in Eve Langlais books. Others who have influenced me are S.E. Smith, of course. I love writing in her Magic, New Mexico world. Evangeline Anderson has humorous Science Fiction romances that are a guilty pleasure. I say guilty pleasure because some of them are very close to questionable consent, but she writes it so well, I find myself enjoying the stories anyway.
What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m working on Wooing Wynter, which is book 5 of the Zolon Warriors in S.E Smith’s Magic, New Mexico world. Wynter and Geno are having a difficult time letting go of the past and admitting that they are attracted to each other. Both are widowed and both still have guilt associated with their first mates. I’m really looking forward to seeing how they’ll work it out. They’ve yet to tell me how they’re going to eventually come together in the end.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m not sure. I haven’t found any one method that seems to work better than the others. When I do, you can be sure that I will return to that repeatedly as working to promote seems like a full-time job. The more time I have to spend on that, the less time I have to do what I love, which is crafting good stories and writing romance.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep at it. No one starts out knowing exactly what to do. We aren’t born knowing exactly how to put out stories together to appeal to readers. We aren’t all grammar gurus and masters of subplots. We ARE the only ones who can tell the story that’s locked inside us. Keep writing, keep improving as you go (I’ve written over 100 novels, novellas and short stories and I’m still learning new things) because the more you know about story crafting the easier your writing will become and the better it will be. Remember one more thing; no one can please everyone. Write what you love, feel, smell, see, taste, and touch it while you write and your passion for it will show in your writing and somewhere, someone will resonate with it and say you are the greatest writer in the world.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Never give up, never surrender? ::grin:: Just because that’s a nerd quote from Galaxy Quest, it doesn’t make it bad advice. Sometimes when you’re down and the rejections keep showing up in your inbox and mailbox, you have to persevere. Keep sending out those queries, keep writing on your current work or works in progress because one day, that letter will finally come and you’ll be able to say, “I did it!” I can’t tell you how many times I almost gave up and how many times my husband wiped away my tears of frustration and told me, “You’re a good writer and someone is going to see that, but they never will if you stop now.”
What are you reading now?
At the moment, I’m mostly reading science journals on quantum physics and other sciences to help with the realism of my science fiction stories. Many don’t know this but among other things, I studied physics for a bit before I decided that it wasn’t something that would bring me closer to my family. In fact, it separated us for a bit due to the high demands of the field. I’ve also been reading a few medical terminology papers and have studied the physiology of tigers and other animals. Did you know that most, if not all male cats on Earth have spines or barbs on their reproductive organs? Some of the things I’ve discovered while researching are bizarre!
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m not sure I know how to answer that. I plan to write more in the Zolon Warriors, I also have a new series, The Alien Protector series that is in the same universe as the Zolon Warriors, but not in the same world. I’ll be writing book two of the Alien Protectors in the near future. I also have a long list of other series’ with my publishers which I have neglected over the past years due to illness and family obligations. I plan to start adding to them again soon. With luck, you’ll start seeing my name everywhere and it will be synonymous with good reading!
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?
Oh, that’s a tough one. I’m not sure. If we’re talking about reading for pleasure, possibly 3 of the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon because they are so long it would take a while to get through them. And 1 survival book that covers everything from building shelters to surviving on a desert island when you’re allergic to seafood. LOL
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