An interview with...Erotica author MORGAN HENRY

Thanks for being here today, Morgan.

First of all, I want to congratulate you for just getting a new contract offer from Siren-Bookstrand! Woo hoo! Very exciting.

Now...would you please share a short bio about yourself?

I was able to realize a long unfulfilled dream when Siren accepted my manuscript for publication.  Though I had always loved reading and writing, I made the decision to pursue a career in science when I was still in high school.  It was a choice based in a need for stability and financial security.

It wasn’t until much later in life that I returned to my love of writing.  I wrote a manuscript, deciding that it was better to try and fail than to always wonder if I could have been a writer.           

I reside in Ontario, with my loving and supportive husband, cat and Boston terrorizer, oops I mean terrier.  When I’m not writing, I still have a full time “day job”, family to look after, friends to enjoy spending time with, and quilts to make.

Do you consider yourself a shy and/or introverted person? 

I am most definitely introverted.

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

I am still very early in my writing career, so these next few questions are maybe a bit premature. I’m not sure it hindered the writing. I think it hinders the publicity end of things. I have a hard time with promoting me and my writing.

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

The definition of an introvert is someone who needs time by themselves to recharge their personal energy. Since I enjoy alone time, I find the solitary nature of writing quite pleasurable.

What’s the hardest part of this business for you?

I’m still struggling with the whole “web presence” thing. I don’t generally spend a great deal of time online, so trying to manage a website, facebook, etc is a bit difficult for me.  As I mentioned earlier, I also find the promotion aspect difficult too.

Tell me about a time that you had to step outside your comfort zone either in your writing career or in your personal life? 

Well, as for the writing, I’m going to my first writing seminar a few days before this interview comes out. We’ll have to see how that goes.  It involves going to a place with a lot of people that I don’t know, to an event type I’ve never encountered and I’ll be by myself. A crowd and doing something for the first time – it’s an introvert’s nightmare!

Actually, when I think about the things that have made me most uncomfortable in life, they all tend to have crowds of people I don’t know. Conferences, weddings, funerals, concerts, etc. They all are draining.

What’s one tip you could share with shy and introverted people that’s helped you?

I think that introverts need to embrace that part of themselves. It’s okay to need alone time to recharge.  It’s also important to understand that about yourself, but not let it hold you back from achieving what you want in life.

For example, I can force myself to go to that writing seminar, but I know that will be pretty much it for me for the day. I wouldn’t try to schedule a dinner party for 12 on the same day, because I’ll be too wrung out to be good company later.

Would you please share a short blurb of your book and where my readers can buy  it?

This is the blub for my newest book, A Hard Choice for Hanna.  It’s the second book in the Hardwick Bay series.

Hanna Marks is happy with her life.  She loves her job as a veterinary technician, her home, beautiful garden, friends and family.  When sexy Kent and Carter VanLindt pursue her, she feels that it can't get much better.  They’re smart, successful, fun to be around and amazing in bed.

Hanna loves her family dearly, and can’t imagine life without them. But her parents didn't grow up in Hardwick Bay, the little town that embraces alternative lifestyles. Surely they’ll be able to accept her relationship with two men.  Or will her mother’s increasingly conservative views on marriage and relationships ruin it all?

Kent and Carter love Hanna to bits.  She’s the one for them. But when Hanna pulls away at the first sign of trouble, Kent’s past relationship disaster comes back to haunt him. Can Carter convince him to forgive Hanna and give their relationship another chance?

Where can my readers find you on the web?

www.morganhenrybooks.com

You can buy her first book, A New Life for Cailynn, here.

 Thanks for a great interview, Morgan! Wishing you many sales and many more contracts!

Q & A with erotic romance author Nicole Morgan

Thanks for being here today, Nicole. Would you please share a short bio about yourself?

Thanks for having me! I am a multi-published author of erotic romantic novels, which more often than not have a suspenseful back story. Erotic romance mixed with a good old-fashioned whodunit.
In additional to her books, I also have a recurring column called, "Sex and the Single Woman" in BT Showcase's online eMagazine. Also, I have recently partnered up with three of my author friends and became Four Seduced Muses, a blog dedicated to the steamier side of romance.

Do you consider yourself a shy and/or introverted person? 

I’m definitely not shy. I may appear quietly polite to strangers, but I’m not shy. I have no problem meeting new people and interacting with them.

What’s the hardest part of this business for you? 
Coming up with new material on a consistent basis. You can’t just write a book and expect to become a huge success with that one story. You need to work at it constantly, putting more books out there several times a year. Sometimes the monotony of it can be a bit much, but in the end I also find it very rewarding – as cheesy as that may sound. 

Tell me about a time that you had to step outside your comfort zone either in your writing career or in your personal life? 
I’ve recently starting writing under a new pen name (Ssshhh… I’m not telling what it is either *winks*) and that was a bit hard for me. Nicole Morgan books have been such a huge part of my life for the past several years I found it hard taking on new genres and getting comfortable in those shoes.

What’s one tip you could share with shy and introverted people that’s helped you?
I would say, nothing is as bad as you think it is. If you’re too nervous to say hi to someone or break the ice, chances are they’re thinking the same thing. Appearing outgoing (even if you’re not) with a smile on your face will often times make you the life of a party and people will soon seek you out for conversation.

Would you please share a short blurb of your book and where my readers can buy it? 
Jenny manages a resort and works tirelessly to maintain the lush property. Thomas is a drifter. Sexy and confident, he’s the last thing she needs in her life. Still he relentlessly pursues her. Will his charms be too much to resist? Will she act on her desires and be...impetuous? 

PURCHASE LINK:

http://bookstrand.com/impetuous

Where can my readers find you on the web? 
Nicole’s website: http://nicolemorgan1.webs.com

Nicole’s blog: http://nicolemorganauthor.blogspot.com

 

Q & A with romance author Josie Malone

Thanks for being here today, Josie.

Hi Becky. Thanks, for inviting me.

Would you please share a short bio about yourself?

As Josie Malone, I write mainstream western romance. Under my “real” name, I write young adult realistic and paranormal fiction.

I live on the family farm, a riding stable in the Cascade foothills. I organize most of the riding programs, teach horsemanship around my day-job as a substitute teacher, nurse sick horses, hold for the shoer, train whoever needs it – four-legged and two-legged. And write books in my spare time, usually from 8PM to 2AM, seven days a week after a long day on the ranch.

When I can’t write, due to the overwhelming needs and pressures of the “real” world, words and stories fill my mind.  Even when I muck the barn, I think about books or short stories or pieces in progress and map out the writing in my mind. My newest project is a spin-off of The Daddy Spell, the story of Audra Dawson who has been holding out for a hero and actually finds one.

Do you consider yourself a shy and/or introverted person?

Yes, I am shy.

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

It’s always been difficult for me to speak up to outsiders and that includes editors and agents in a face-to -ace meeting. So, I really like the new email approach. I feel much more confident at the computer.

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

I think it’s easier to identify with my characters. They’re usually brave, bold and risk-takers. When I’m feeling wimpy, I pretend to be one of them and as Louis L’Amour used to say, “Attack, always attack!” It’s also one of the reasons why I use my grandmother’s name as a pseudonym. She was incredibly strong and a real hero to me. So, I know when people call me, Josie, it’s time to step up.

What’s the hardest part of this business for you?

Oddly, it’s social media – I love my emailing and staying connected, but I had a real tough time figuring out Facebook and I still don’t have a handle on Twitter.

Tell me about a time that you had to step outside your comfort zone either in your writing career or in your personal life?

Writing for me has always been a case of stepping out of “my comfort zone.” The expectation in my immediate family was that I’d marry during high school or as soon as I graduated. Instead, I followed my uncle’s advice. He told me, “Don’t settle!” So, I opted for a life of adventure not one that I saw as “quiet desperation.” Or as Robert Frost wrote, “…I took the road less traveled by and that has made all the difference…”

What’s one tip you could share with shy and introverted people that’s helped you?

As the cliché goes, “follow your dreams,” and never “give up on yourself.” Or as my uncle still tells me, “Don’t settle.” By that he meant for me to hold out and keep writing even when my books weren’t selling. After 20 years of only selling newspaper and magazine articles, I’m an overnight success! I have three books out from BookStrand and my new young adult series will start coming out in the fall of 2012.

Would you please share a short blurb of your book and where my readers can buy it?

My newest mainstream western romance will be out next month from BookStrand.

Trailing a serial killer, Homicide Detective Beth Chambers is thrust into 1888 Washington Territory where she encounters injured Rad Morgan, a ruggedly handsome marshal who believes A Woman’s Place is behind her man. Now, Beth must save Rad’s life, apprehend the killer, and prove herself capable as a law officer.

Former soldier and survivor of Andersonville Prison Camp, Marshal Rad Morgan faces his toughest challenge in Beth Chambers, a determined woman from the future who’s never learned “her place.”  But when he is shot and left for dead, he must put himself in Beth’s hands if they both want to survive.

Can these two headstrong people put their pride aside and work together to find the deadly killer and stop him before he destroys this world and their future?  As they fight for justice, love helps them discover A Woman’s Place is what and where she chooses to make it.

A Woman’s Place will be available through Bookstrand, Barnes and Noble.com and Amazon.com

Where can my readers find you on the web?

I have two websites, one for my mainstream western novels – www.josiemalone.com and one for my young adult stories, www.shannonkennedybooks.com

Thanks so much for being here today, Josie!

Good luck with the newest book!

Wheel of Fortune

Guest blogger: Maya DeLeina

I am at a time in my life where I am incredibly comfortable in my skin. I’ve learned to accept they way I look and appreciate who I am. Ok, so I am a bit weird, yet it hasn’t caused me to make a b-line for a darkened corner of a room in a social setting and I am far from being timid. This is me, like it or not.


But I haven’t always been this way.


If I had to pinpoint a time where I first started being uncomfortable with myself, it had to be the moment I got satellite equipment on my face- orthodontic headgear. This was the start to my very awkward-looking stage. I didn’t shy away from doing things completely, but I certainly had reservations that I never had before and I did everything in my power to blend in so I wouldn’t standout. And that is pretty dang hard to do with blinding metal on your face.


All in all, I wasn’t a cute kid. In fact, I remember my younger brother and I took photos together. He was so perfectly adorable in the foreground and then there I was, looming in the background and ruined the portrait. To really paint the picture, at one time, I donned braces with the rubber-band closures, the headgear, pimples and chin-length hair that was so extremely poofy, I looked like a walking mushroom. Then, my nose grew from a cute button as a baby into what looked like a freaky arrow. I remember one kid in school, Jason, would constantly call me “Wheel of Fortune”, you know, because my nose looked like that little white arrow on Pat Sajak’s wheel?


I can’t tell you how many times I heard “Free Spin”.

So this is where my shyness developed. Seems a bit shallow, but this had a real impact on my self esteem and confidence. I didn’t want to get teased, so I stayed low. Although a lot of the adolescent years experience this, for me, I was unable to shake it completely. Later in life, I was still enraptured with the thought of blending, taking it as far as fantasizing about the day I could afford plastic surgery so my nose would look like everyone else.


Then something just hit me like a flash.


If we all looked, thought, dressed like each other, what a boring world this would be. The headgear is gone now, but my nose ever present. The thought of plastic surgery for a new nose is no longer in my thoughts (boob lift, maybe). It’s me. It’s who I am. And suddenly, when I accepted this, everything else started to fall in place.

Acceptance is a powerful tool.


Today, I am an erotic vampire author of all things, unleashing my wicked, twisted and weird creativity in my writing. No reservations or shyness here! And it is all due to acceptance. This acceptance has given me an inner strength I never felt before. This inner strength promoted confidence. This confidence helped breakthrough that wall I built years ago that has allowed me to find my true voice.


It’s crazy when I think back on this.


In Tarot cards, the Wheel of Fortune is all about luck and change. The wheel symbolizes completeness, the rise and fall of fortunes and the message that what goes around comes around. The card indicates happiness and elevation; a change that just happens, and brings with it great joy.


This is where I am now.


Makes me wonder what Jason is up to these days.

***

You can learn more about Maya on her website 

and Facebook. Her newest release, Flesh Fantasy

is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble

and Siren-Bookstrand.

Pick me! Pick me...NOT!

by Tammy Dennings Maggy, guest blogger

Public speaking used to terrify me. Not just getting up in front of a group of people, but any time attention was focused on me gave me cold sweats. I hated being called on in class to answer questions. It didn’t matter whether or not I knew the answers. As soon as I was called upon, I would freeze and feel like every single eye was on me and I was being judged. If I answered correctly, I was called a show off. If I didn’t know the answer, then I was ridiculed for being wrong. It really wasn’t that way all of the time, but that’s how I felt. I even had teachers pull me aside asking me why I didn’t speak up more in class. They knew by my tests and essays that I knew the material. They just couldn’t understand why I “pretended” not to know it in the classroom.

It wasn’t that I was pretending at all. I was just too frightened to speak. The fear of rejection and failure was paralyzing for me. No matter what I did, I couldn’t seem to shake that feeling. It wasn’t until a very popular teacher took me aside one afternoon and told me his secret. He too was terrified of talking in front of people. I didn’t believe him of course. He looked so at ease in front of the class and seemed to speak comfortably for the entire period. He smiled at my doubtful expression and promised to let me in on his secret. He wrote it on a note card and slid it across the desk to me. I gave him my best “you’ve got to be kidding me” expression after I read it and he just smiled. “Trust me. It works every single time.”

“Just Breathe…”

Two little words was all he wrote, but two of the most powerful words that would get me through any situation. Seriously. Whenever I felt that growing panic zip through my body, the first thing I’d do was start looking for a way out. But if I just took a moment, inhaled deeply, and then let the air out slowly, I would find that those voices telling me to run would quiet down. My heart would stop beating so wildly in my chest, and the feeling returned to my fingers after I’d stopped clenching my fists so tightly. I took a few more breaths, closed my eyes for a beat or two and then opened them once again. What do you think I saw?

I saw people looking to me for guidance, for inspiration, for hope, for a laugh or two. They were not there to judge me at all. They wanted to hear what I had to say. They didn‘t always agree with me, but they were interested in what I had to say just the same. Looking a little harder, I found some people who were relieved it was me center stage instead of them. I could always find my cheering section, smiling up at me, encouraging me to continue. And yes, there were a few who were not paying attention at all. All the better for me. I was able to forget about those few and concentrate on those who were paying attention.

Go ahead. Give it a try the next time you have to speak in front of a group of people. Just breathe for a few moments before you have to begin. Speak your mind and from your heart, and before you know it, your time in the spotlight will be over…for now.

Thanks so much for the insight, Tammy!

Tammy's book, For the Love of Quinn, is available now.

What happens in Vegas refuses to stay there for Quinn, who falls in love with two men: Vegas tycoon Steve and classic bad boy Jake. Both have claims on her heart, but only one shares a connection so strong that nothing can keep them apart.

About Tammy: As far back as I can remember I have had two dreams: become a veterinarian and a world famous author. So far I achieved the first one and have enjoyed a wonderful career as a small animal veterinarian, but something has always been missing. I have never stopped writing; that has never an issue. The problem was getting up the nerve to actually finish one of my novels and submit it to a publisher. What a scary thought to send a stranger something I had poured my heart into. Would they like it? Would they see the characters the way I saw them in my head? Writing For the Love of Quinn was like giving birth to my first child…I had to let my characters go to see if they would take off…and boy have they ever!
 



You can learn more about Tammy on her website, Facebook, blog, and by following her on Twitter @dochappycamper. 

Q&A with author Rose Anderson

Thanks for being here today, Rose. Would you please share a short bio about yourself?

First off, thanks for having me, Becky. I’m a new author with two books published through Siren-Bookstrand and several more in the works. Driven to create, I write across genres --everything from children and youth literature, to historicals and erotic romance. In between, I freelance. Yep, driven. :)

Q Do you consider yourself a shy and/or introverted person?


A Oh definitely. A painfully shy girl forced by life to grow into a marginally shy woman. I don’t think we ever really leave shyness behind. I think the truly shy person simply learns how to cope.

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


A I don’t yet know if my natural shyness has gotten in the way or not because my career as an author is so new. It gets in the way in my day to day life so it will undoubtedly meddle in one way or another. I do know doing interviews in my quest to become a known author is a bit uncomfortable. :) Every inch of self-promoting is an inch outside my personal sphere of comfort. But self promoting is important so I deal with it and carry on.

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


A Being a shy child, I always stayed in the background trying to blend in with the wallpaper so no one would notice me. I became a keen observer from the sidelines. I’m usually aware of the smallest emotional details of people when they interact with one another. When I write, I use this detail. My characters are real in their settings. They think. They empathize. They feel. My characters are the sum of my own experiences and these shy observations of others.

Q What’s the hardest part of this business for you?

A I’d hate to admit this, but since this is the shy writer’s blog I’m sure every shy person reading will understand. It’s putting my face out there and looking people in the eye to introduce myself. I have a stack of lovely, perfectly worded, business cards and my shyness keeps me from passing them out! I went out with friends recently and five other women took my cards and passed them out to people without any inhibition. It was like that old TV game show from a zillion years ago -- What’s My Line? -- where each of the three contestants pretended to be the real person from the opening intro. These terrific women were happy to pretend to be me and pass out my cards, while I was busy being uncomfortable being me! It’s crazy.

Q Tell me about a time that you had to step outside your comfort zone either in your writing career or in your personal life?

A I’m very aware of my self-imposed personal limits. To break free of the shackles of fears and discomfort, I regularly throw myself into uncomfortable situations. For example: I’m a tad claustrophobic, so I took up spelunking (cave exploration). Sounds intense, eh? It is, but it’s like getting an inoculation. By living through a situation, I’m protected from full-blown discomfort the next time around. I’ve been forcing things on myself since my late teens.

When I was in college, I carried my shyness with me every day. A DJ radio slot came up at school so I took it to be able to speak. I mean I could speak, but I was all shy mumbles in social situations. Two things at that school helped me so much. The first was my radio show. There I made casual conversation to my microphone and played music. And all of it was done behind a closed door. No one could see me. The second was a speech class. Boy, that was brutal. I had to stand up in front of people and say things like himmel hummel himmel hummel and lalalalalala. We also had to do “spontaneous extemporanea” -- speeches off the cuff. And I’d do it all with a racing heartbeat and sweat. As uncomfortable as that sounds, I recommend it. The organization Toastmasters will help too.

Q What’s one tip you could share with shy and introverted people that’s helped you?

A I do have a tip from that class. Eye contact is hard on shy people. Instead of direct eye contact in a social situation, focus on the eyelids or eyebrows of the person you’re talking to. You appear to be making eye contact but you’re really avoiding the source of pupil-to-pupil discomfort.

Q Would you please share a short blurb of your book and where my readers can buy it?

A My recent release is Dreamscape. Written in homage to Agatha Christie, this tale is peppered with clues that hint at the ending long before the last page is turned. From start to end, the story is far more than it appears. It has romance, history, time travel (of sorts), murder and lots of sizzle.

Blurb:


Unable to deny his own translucence, Dr. Jason Bowen determines his lack of physical substance could only mean one thing—he’s a ghost. Murdered more than a century before, Jason haunts his house and ponders the treachery that took his life. When Lanie O’Keefe arrives with plans to renovate her newly purchased Victorian mansion, Jason discovers, ghost or not, he’s still very much a man. Despite its derelict condition and haunted reputation, Lanie couldn’t be happier with her new home, but then she has no idea a spirit follows her every move throughout the day and shares her captivating warmth at night. Jason soon discovers he can travel through Lanie’s dreams and finds himself reliving the days before his murder with Lanie by his side. It took one hundred and twenty years for love to find them, but there’s that insurmountable little matter of Jason being dead.

Dreamscape will be in paperback any day now. The ebook can be found at most online booksellers and here: Buy Rose Anderson's Dreamscape

Q Where can my readers find you on the web?

A I’m all over the place it seems. I love to hear from readers. Drop me a line! Join my Google+ Circle, Follow me on Twitter, or just Subscribe to my Blog for updates, releases and reviews. Any good search will turn me up somewhere! Here are a few of my links:

My Blog CalliopesWritingTablet


See My Book Trailers


Follow me on Twitter!


Join my Circle of Friends on Google+