Q & A with author Christy Hayes

Thanks for being here today, Christy. Would you please share a short bio about yourself?
Thanks for having me! I live with my husband, two tweens, and two dogs in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. I’ve been writing for over ten years and have a journalism degree from the University of Georgia. I love college football, cable news, and exercise.

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

Yes!

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

I wrote in secret for years, querying agents, editors, attending writing conferences. When I decided to indie publish, I had to let the cat out of the bag in a big way. The response has been wonderful, but it has been a challenge overcoming my knee-jerk reaction to hide what I spend all day doing.

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

I think being shy helps me to focus on the work. I’m not shouting from the rooftops about my accomplishments, but trying to put the next manuscript together and focus on the business end of things.

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

Promotion, bar none! I’m not comfortable passing out business cards to everyone I meet, so I don’t do it. I prefer for someone to read my work and want to read more. Promotion is a necessary evil, but you just have to decide what you are comfortable doing and focus your efforts there.

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

When I was trying to get a traditional publishing deal, the biggest step outside my comfort zone was pitching to agents and editors. My nerves were out of control. Once, my friend and I were stranded at a small airport for many hours with an agent after a writer’s conference. After spending the afternoon getting to know the agent as a person, I felt more comfortable pitching to all agents and editors, but never TOTALLY comfortable.

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

Sometimes stepping outside your comfort zone is the best thing you can do for yourself. I like to challenge myself—not get too lazy and do the same things over and over. I always look at stepping outside my comfort zone as a good lesson for my kids. If mommy can do this, certainly you can do that.

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

My latest release is The Sweetheart Hoax.

When urbane architect, Phil Williams, must bring a woman home to quell rumors he's gay, his only choice is the one woman least likely to impress: his dowdy receptionist. Margot Manning has been secretly in love with Phil for years. She's just quit her job and is ready to begin her life anew as a nurse. Phil's outrageous offer is one she can't refuse. As Margot readies to accompany Phil to his hometown, she steels herself for heartbreak. After Margot's makeover and a weekend spent attached at the hip, Phil admits he misjudged his former employee. He's ready to pursue her in earnest, if only her scandalous past didn't stand in their way.

The romantic comedy is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords, as well as iBooks, Diesel and Kobo.

Where can my readers find you on the web?

            Website: http://www.christyhayes.com

            Twitter: https://twitter.com/ - !/SeaHayes

            Blog: http://www.womenunplugged.wordpress.com

Q & A with author Marcella Rose

Thanks for being here today, Marcella. Would you please share a short bio about yourself?  Thanks for having me, Becky. As a D.C. native and only child, I was my Daddy's girl, going with him to Redskins and Terps games, playing golf, bowling, and reading. I desperately wanted to be the first woman on the moon, or at least the first female test pilot. But obviously, that didn't happen. I got married and moved to the Deeeep South. Talk about culture shock! I went from rush-hour traffic in the Capitol city to living at the end of a gravel road. I've sung professionally, taught computer, and sold just about everything – pools, burglar bars, long distance, cars, mobile homes, students. After a layoff several years ago, and the first period of time when I wasn't working eighty-hour weeks, I decided to write the stories that had been spinning in my head and see what came of it. Now, I live by the bayou, no noise, no traffic, just herons, deer, alligators and hunters ambling by my writing space. It's an introvert's dream.

Do you consider yourself and introvert?In what ways has it hindered your writing career?  Yep, introvert, though my mother couldn't understand how someone who was in front of others in sales, singing or training could be an introvert. In those jobs, though, communication had a purpose, to sell, to entertain, to instruct. Put me at a table with one person and I'm on it, but ask me to socialize, meaning casual chit chat and, ugh, I'm a disaster. So this solitary life of writing was perfect for me until I realized I had to get on the online version of the big group party - Twitter and Facebook. (Is there a book called Social Media for Introverts? Send me the link, lol.)

In what ways has being introverted helped your writing career? It's made me more of a nurturer and able to see the individual. When we experience difficulty we tend to recognize others in the same predicament and want to help. We hear that this is a solitary profession but the writing community is like a village with a very social core. And that's the most difficult part for me.

Tell me about a time that you had to step outside your comfort zone? Recently, I made the decision to self-publish. I didn't realize what a big learning experience it would be – not just about the work but what I would learn about myself, the boundaries I would have to establish in order to stay strong toward my goal. We introverts tend to let others do the talking and sometimes the pushing. I envy those who have been able to make it traditionally but for me this was the right decision, for now, and it seemed like I had to expose and defend parts of myself for the first time. Getting through it was scary but very satisfying.

What's one tip you could share with shy and introverted people that's helped you?  You know, for years I felt there was something wrong with me. My mother and her sisters were extreme extroverts and just didn't 'get' us introverts. I felt like a misfit, until my uncle introduced the women in the family to the MyersBriggs book Please Understand Me. Sharing that book as a game with other members of the family and at work was very eye opening. Mom scored a 20 on the Extrovert scale; I was a two. I suspect writers who hit the middle of the scale are the most successful at balancing the solitary with the social. But whether you're a 20 or an 8, on the introvert/extrovert-o-meter, my hope is that each of us can learn to make the best of our talents, and accept that, "hey, this is how God made me, and I'm okay." ;))

Fire in My Blood is a sensual romantic adventure starring Cass McKay, a sexy Aussie gem hunter, and Elektra Charpentier, a New Orleans Art and Antiquities dealer. When Cass appears unexpectedly at Elektra's design shop, her reasons for sending him away become…complicated; their passion for each other and her dark secret, intricately entwined. One year ago on the eve of Carnival, Elektra broke their engagement after the "Blood" opal was stolen from them. Now, staying out of Cass' bed isn't an option if she's going to keep him safe, but coming clean might make things worse. Elektra is walking a tightrope between desire and deceit, and the truth will endanger not only their love, but their lives.

Fire In My Blood is available on Amazon, Smashwords, and All Romance Ebooks

Follow Marcella on Twitter or Facebook or her blog: http://marcellaroseauthor.blogspot.com