Q&A with Emma Lai

Please help me welcome multi-published romance author Emma Lai to the blog.

Q Would you please share a short bio about yourself?

A Thank you for hosting, Rebecca! I like a challenge. When I worked in corporate America, I first worked at an oil services company as a computer engineer. (Not a lot of women in the field at the time.) Then, I moved into managing software and IT project management. (Imagine being the focus of attention in large meetings.) I also worked as an analyst at a boarding school for high school and junior college students. (I had to deal with parents, students and other employees on a daily basis.)

Why was all this a challenge? Believe it, or not, I’m introverted.

Nowadays I stay home with my one year old son and write. It’s a rare day when I crave social interaction. I’m happy to limit my interaction with my family and one friend who lives on the next street over.

Q In what ways has being shy or introverted hindered your writing career?

A The biggest way in which being introverted hindered my writing career has to do with promotion. When I signed my first story, I was reluctant to approach other writers and ask for promo spots. However, a handful of really helpful, and far more extroverted, writers offered to do interviews for me and introduced me to other writers.

Q In what ways has being shy or introverted helped your writing career?

A Since I’m not a social butterfly, I don’t need to spend time with others. So, I can delve into a story and spend hours in it without guilt and without feeling as if I missed something by not being with others.

Another way it’s helped is by encouraging my imagination. One of my coping mechanisms for dealing with large groups of people is to first imagine how the scenario will play out. I picture the event the way I want it to happen. I also picture worst-case scenarios and envision how I will deal with them. Then I review it all in my head one last time.

I do have to add that like people in real life, my characters sometimes do completely off-the-wall things. In those cases, I just go with the flow and don’t try and mold the event into something it’s not. Less stress that way.

Both my first release, His Ship, Her Fantasy, and my latest release, Twice is Not Enough, were largely influenced by my introversion.

In His Ship, Her Fantasy, Ellie is the sole female engineer on a spaceship. Needless to say, my own personal experiences greatly shaped the story and her character. Ellie is isolated from the rest of the crew because of her gender, the shift she works and her introverted nature.

Click here to purchase from The Wild Rose Pres.

In Twice is Not Enough, Lady Minerva Peters witnesses another couple’s tryst because her natural reticence prevents her from announcing her presence until too late. She also has a nasty habit of putting other’s needs in front of hers, I think in part, because she’s hesitant to speak up and let others know what she wants.

Click here to purchase from The Wild Rose Press.

Q Where can my readers find you on the web?

A Website: http://www.emmalaiwrites.com

Blogs: http://emmalaiwrites.blogspot.com and http://emmalaivisitsthespicierside.blogspot.com

Twitter: @EmmaLaiWrites

Facebook: EmmaLaiWrites

Thanks again for hosting me, Rebecca! I’ll be giving away a copy of one of my stories to someone who leaves a comment on the blog.