NEW AUTHOR INTERVIEW AT FIONA MCVIE'S BLOG!

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SPOTLIGHT AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH BERENGARIA BROWN!

Author Bio: Berengaria Brown is an award-winning, best-selling, multi-published author of erotic romance with over one hundred published digital, print, and audio books.  She writes contemporary, paranormal (magic, ghosts, vampires, fairies, dragons, and werewolves), futuristic, medieval, and Regency-set historical. She loves to read all different kinds of romance so that is what she writes: MMF, MFM, FMMM, FFM, MM, FF, and MF. Whatever the characters need for their very hot happily-ever-after, Berengaria makes sure they get it.

The Interview:

GRACIE: I’m excited to have you here at The G-Spot, Berengaria! Please tell us a little about yourself (or a lot J) and how and when you got into writing?

BERENGARIA: Hi Gracie. Thank you for inviting me to visit with you today. I’ve always loved to read. One day I had no new books to read and didn’t feel like rereading any of my old favorites so I began to write a book myself. When it was finished, I still didn’t have anything new to read so I wrote another one, and another one, and…. the rest, as they say, is history.

GRACIE: Is there any one thing or person in your life that inspired your writing? Any one thing or person that influenced the genre you write in?

BERENGARIA: I write all different genres because that’s what I read. Anything from sweet to very kinky and everywhere in between. My dad had to watch me when I was very small and my mom was ill, so he taught me to read. I credit him with giving me my love for books.

GRACIE: When did you get The Call and what was your first published book?

BERENGARIA: I wrote three books one after the other and sent each one to a different publisher. All three were accepted and all three were published quite quickly one after the other. But the very first one was “Intensity” which released from Siren in April 2010.

GRACIE: What do you know now about writing and the publishing industry that you wish you’d known before you started?

BERENGARIA: I did a lot of research before I sent off those first three books, so there were no big surprises. But I guess I never stopped to think how difficult it would be to find appropriate names for characters after I’d written quite a few books. All the “best” names have already been used.

GRACIE: Please, give us a little story behind the story and what inspired your Siren Publishing, Menage Amour series, Possessive Passions.

BERENGARIA: I wanted a world where ménages would be reasonable and logical. There have been cultures in the past where all the brothers in a family shared the one woman, so I started thinking what if. What if one of those cultures had moved to America many years ago, but they’d had to hide from everyday life to continue their cultural traditions. What if the men still choose their woman like that and treat her as their treasured possession. What if they chose a woman not from their culture and brought her to their hidden community.

GRACIE: In Possess Me, what do you think is Shiloah’s Achilles’ heel and how do you go about stomping it?

BERENGARIA: Shiloah’s two fathers were murdered in the outside world for sharing Shiloah’s mama. Shiloah falls in love with Goa and Stan, but they live outside on a farm. Shiloah can’t leave her mama alone but she can’t expect her to leave the safety of the hidden community either. So Shiloah has to work out what to do. Her mama or her men. Or maybe….

GRACIE: Aside from the fact that Connor and Patrick have just saved Phoebe’s life in Flash Flood and she shares one of the most memorable and fulfilling nights of sex with the two men, what makes Phoebe a perfect match for Connor and Patrick and vice versa?

BERENGARIA: Phoebe loves to work out mental puzzles and there are things about the men which don’t quite sit right with Fi. Oh, they’re kind and helpful and very sexy, but there’s something about them that she doesn’t understand and she’s not going to rest until she’s figured it out. Connor and Patrick learn that they can trust Fi and share their story with her.

GRACIE: Of all the stories you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?

BERENGARIA: The “Elinor’s Stronghold” series. These are medieval-set historical ménage romances which were a lot of work to research, but the characters just gripped me and wouldn’t let go. Besides, what’s not to like about half-naked warriors with big swords?

GRACIE: I know this is like asking a mother which is her favorite child, but which of your characters is your favorite and why?

BERENGARIA: Okay, this will be right out of left field, but two very minor characters. Deborah is nine and the youngest child in the Arnott family whose stories are in the “Virgins No More” series. She’s very clever and always thinking of new ideas, some of which have entertaining consequences for the adult members of her family.

Ava is only six. Her father was killed when their village was attacked in the Elinor’s Stronghold series. She has courage far beyond her years, and her tiny, frail body, and plays a part in “Restoring Garnet’s Heart”.

GRACIE: In general, what about your characters makes them unique?

BERENGARIA: They are all different. Each one has his or her own quirks, beliefs, problems, weaknesses, and strengths. However all my heroines are strong on the inside, even if it takes a perceptive man to realize this.

GRACIE: What is your favorite aspect of the writing process? Your least favorite?

BERENGARIA: Favorite: When the book is almost finished and I finally understand how everything is going to come together. Least favorite: Sitting down, concentrating, and getting from the excitement of the beginning to the resolution of the end.

GRACIE: Are you a pantser or do you outline?

BERENGARIA: A mixture. I don’t start writing until I have the characters clear in my mind with a beginning, an end, and a few points I want to make along the way. How I get there is pure pantsing. Things happen that I never expect and often new secondary characters just turn up and start talking to me.

GRACIE: If you weren’t a writer, what other profession would you have chosen to pursue?

BERENGARIA: I want to be the mistress of a 90-year-old billionaire.

GRACIE: Who are some of your favorite authors and why? Name some of your favorite books and why they’re your favorites.

BERENGARIA: Georgette Heyer introduced me to historical romance and she’s a long-time favorite author. I love Anny Cook’s Mystic Valley books. Edith Pargeter’s Brother Cadfael books are also firm favorites of mine. But basically I just love to read.

GRACIE: What are you working on now and what should readers be looking forward to from you in the future?

BERENGARIA: I’ve just sold a new MM series, “The Paint Store Boys”. It’s a series of four books about men who buy a paint store.

GRACIE: Do you have a website and/or how can readers contact you?

BERENGARIA: My blog: http://berengariasblog.blogspot.com/

My website: http://berengariabrown.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/berengaria.brown?v=info

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BerengariaBrown

GRACIE: Where and how can readers purchase and/or read samples of your work?

BERENGARIA: Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/berengaria-brown

All Romance ebooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html?searchBy=author&qString=Berengaria+Brown

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Berengaria-Brown/e/B00541R3YQ/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1403658211&sr=1-1

GRACIE: What advice do you have for beginning writers?

BERENGARIA: Keep reading, keep writing, keep perfecting your craft. Never give up.

GRACIE: Anything else about yourself or your writing you’d like to share with your readers?

BERENGARIA: I love to hear from readers. Please drop by and say hi.

GRACIE: Berengaria, thanks so much for taking time from your busy schedule to share yourself and your work with us at The G-Spot and giving us a little insight into your writing and the writing process! We’ll let you get back to writing those wonderful books you write! All the best!

BERENGARIA: Thank you for letting me visit with y’all today.

SPOTLIGHT AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH DENYSE BRIDGER!

BIO: Canadian born and bred, and a lifelong dreamer, I began writing at an early age and can’t recall a time when I wasn’t creating in some artistic form. My life has had several on-going love affairs that shape much of what I write, the American West, Victorian England, cowboys, a passion for pirates, Greek Gods, and Ancient Egypt. The other endless love affairs in my life are Italia and Romania, and all their magic, beauty, and dazzling culture. That passion spills into all aspects of my life.

The Interview:

GRACIE: I’m excited to have you here at The G-Spot, Denyse! Please tell us a little about yourself (or a lot J) and how and when you got into writing?

DENYSE: Thanks so much for having me as your guest, Gracie. It’s wonderful to be here. I really don’t know what to tell you about me. I’m an avid reader, and writing has been something I’ve done for as long as I can remember. I started in school with class essays, and discovered I loved creating stories. I got lost in music for a lot of years, but found my way back to the written word after I left school. Oddly, it was one of my English teachers who told me I could have a career as a writer, and I thought she was kidding... that wonderful lady attended my first book launch party back in 2007, brought me flowers and had me sign my book for her. It was an incredible moment.

I got my start with writing as an adult when I was so bored with the stories on one of my favourite TV shows. So, an idea came to me, a full story, and I decided to write it. I’d never heard of fan fiction back then, I was writing it for me. I sent it to the actors in the show, and one of them called me 13 days later. He told me I should consider a career as a writer, too–so I was blown away. I spent the next 20 years writing fan fiction, learning, and finally daring to take a shot at a pro contract. I entered a contest 24 hours  before it closed, wrote the story and proofed it in that time–12K words, and a few weeks later I was told I was one of the winners–that’s how it all began back in 2004.

GRACIE: Is there any one thing or person in your life that inspired your writing? Any one thing or person that influenced the genre(s) you write in?

DENYSE: No one person, honestly. People I admired were very encouraging of my efforts, so there were a lot of influences. I write in so many genres, too, it would be impossible to nail down even a couple of influences. Writers I read avidly are Conan Doyle, Lara Adrian, Cynthia Garner, Nalini Singh, Lucy Monroe, Opal Carew, Barbara Conelli–to name just a few.

GRACIE: I know it might be difficult to remember the beginnings of your writing journey since you are so prolific and have countless books published in numerous genres, but when did you get The Call and what was your first published book?

                            

DENYSE: My first published book was a sizzling short story called A Safer Haven, which won the Amber Heat Award at Amber Quill Press in the Spring of 2004. I’d entered at the last minute, having written the story in under 24 hours, and I didn’t expect to win, believe me. My sister was doing my email back then, and she called me one morning a couple of weeks after the contest closed, and read me the message that told me I’d won. It was pretty amazing to us all!! And very exciting, of course. I published all of my first titles with AQP, though none of those books remain with them now.

GRACIE: What do you know now about writing and the publishing industry that you wish you’d known before you started?

DENYSE: The extraordinary amount of time you have to invest in building a brand, and a following. Making a public presence that people recognize is hugely important in this business, but it eats up days upon days of time that could be spent writing. Finding a working balance is very difficult.

GRACIE: Please, give us a little story behind the story and what inspired you’re espionage book Defector.

DENYSE: Oh that one is based on my love of an old television series from the late 80s. I had written a fan fiction of the same name, and it was nominated for a Fan Q Award. I revised and updated the story when Midnight Frost Books did a pitch session, looking for non-romance books, and they liked it, so here we are. It has one of the coolest covers I’ve seen in ages. I love it.

GRACIE: As the lone-wolf, life-long spy in Defector, what do you think is Andrew Dahle’s Achilles’ Heel and how do you go about stomping it?

DENYSE: Andrew’s weakness is his growing awareness that there are cracks developing in his armour. He’s a hard-ass, doesn’t care about anything but the job. Then he gets involved with people who actually like him and befriend him, and he finds himself wanting to be worthy of that trust. He hates it, but he can’t shake it–the cracks have begun, and he’ll have to adjust. I have a few more stories with him, so it could be fun watching him relearn his own strengths and weaknesses.

GRACIE: In your romance Texas Heat, what do you think it is about war veteran Chase Jordan that makes him a perfect match for the determined and enamored Cheyenne MacKenzie and vice versa?     

DENYSE: Cheyenne wants to break through Chase’s walls, to make him feel wanted, loved, and needed. Their attraction is burning hot, but their emotional attraction is the real chemistry. Chase has lost half his life to PTSD, and Cheyenne knows more about him than he knows about himself. That scares him and lures him at the same time. It’s her willingness to lead him back to his own life that makes them work. They need each other, Chase to find himself, and Cheyenne to be able to love the one man she truly wants.

GRACIE: Of all the stories you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?

DENYSE: That’s a toughie. One is published, and one is pending contract. The one that is published is The Devane Files: Out of Hell – a Victorian era mystery with ties to Jack the Ripper. I love historical fiction, and this one required research and a careful touch. I think it worked out well, though the book never really attracted the attention it should have.

My next novel is Grande Amore–a sensual romance set in the beautiful country of Italia, Roma and Amalfi to be exact. An internationally renowned singer, an injured tourist, and an attack that leaves the heroine in the care of the hero.

GRACIE: I know this is like asking a mother which is her favorite child, but which of your characters is your favorite and why?

DENYSE: Inspector Michael Devane of Out of Hell and An Unspoken Betrayal. He is deeply flawed, a man of honour, courage, and strength. He’s also an opium addict, and a clairvoyant. Makes him very interesting. After him it would be Austin Standish, from Champagne and Chocolate, one of my latest releases. He’s a gambler, gunfighter, and gentleman all rolled into one.

GRACIE: What about your characters makes them unique?

DENYSE: I don’t know if they’re wholly unique, really. I think they’re flawed, which makes them accessible to readers, so they can relate. They make mistakes, have fears and do stupid things–just like real people! Maybe that’s part of their charm. But, they are, at the core, people who are strong and determined, and passionate about what they want. Loyalty and trust is key to each of them, heroes and heroines.

GRACIE: What is your favorite aspect of the writing process? Your least favorite?

DENYSE: Favourite part of the process is editing. I love to edit. The polishing and fine-tuning, working with a good editor can be more exciting than initially writing the book. I’m not a lover of first drafts. Once that dreaded part is done, then I have fun. J

GRACIE: Are you a pantser or do you outline?

DENYSE: I have to outline. I tried the pantster approach and didn’t like not knowing where I was going with a story. So, for novels I have often detailed outlines, with settings, research notes, and even partial scenes written in so I don’t forget things. If it’s a short, I still end up with a page of notes and a general idea of beginning, middle, and end to keep me on track.

GRACIE: If you weren’t a writer, what other profession would you have chosen to pursue?

DENYSE: I have no idea. I seem to have a flare for promotional stuff and networking, because I know a lot of amazing people. Maybe I’d do advertising or marketing.

GRACIE: Who are some of your favorite authors and why? Name some of your favorite books and why they’re your favorites.

DENYSE: All of the Sherlock Holmes stories and novels that were written by Conan Doyle. It was through reading Holmes that I learned to pay attention to detail and the small little foreshadows in a story. Margaret Mitchell, Gone With The Wind is probably my all-time favourite book–it’s epic in that it not only sweeps us up into the Civil War and the suffering it inflicted, but it’s a love story of incredible reach. Terry Brooks’ The Sword of Shannara is also my favourite fantasy novel, it was the first one I read in the genre, and it’s never been topped for me. Also, Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders series, I love them. Lara Adrian’s Midnight Breed, Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series. All are sweeping, well plotted and executed stories that live and breathe in a reader’s imagination.

GRACIE: What are you working on now and what should readers be looking forward to from you in the future?

DENYSE: I’m always working on new things, at the moment, I have a list of things that I want to get working on once I have the current edits and revisions done. I have a new Western, a contemporary with an older couple, a couple of fantasy stories plotted and waiting, a gargoyle novel, and two djinn tales. All in all, I never know if I’ll live long enough to do half of what I want to get done in terms of storytelling.

GRACIE: Do you have a website and/or how can readers contact you?

DENYSE: Website • Fantasy Pages (general) • Bound by Passion (adult content) • Newsletter • Twitter • Facebook • Pinterest • LinkedIn • Tumblr • Google+ • Romance and Fantasy Google+ Page  •  Amazon Author Page  •  Smashwords  •  Barnes & Noble  •  Kobo Books  •  ARe Romance Books

GRACIE: Where and how can readers purchase and/or read samples of your work?

DENYSE: The best place is probably on the books page of my website: http://www.denysebridger.com/booksV2.php

GRACIE: What advice do you have for beginning writers?

DENYSE: Write, read, and learn. When you finish a project, begin another. Accept that there is no such thing as a perfect book, but each one is a learning process. If you spend all your time trying to perfect one book, you will never write another. Also, and this is critical, be gracious and work with a decent editor. Your best friend, your mother, or your husband/wife is going to be enthusiastic and praising. They love you. You need the impartial thoughts and insights of someone who will be constructive, helpful, and above all honest. There are a lot of excellent guides and instructional books out there, written by people who are experts in their field. Take advantage of that, and read those books that pertain to your genres. Learn to address your weaknesses and make them strengths.

GRACIE: Anything else about yourself or your writing you’d like to share with your readers?

DENYSE: Nothing I can think of at the moment. I think it’s important to find inspiration in everything you see and let your imagination weave beautiful things for your spirit to embrace and share with the world. If you write with positive energy and a desire to create something that makes people smile, I think you will win hearts in all you do. I’m a firm believer in all things coming when they are meant to, so faith really can make miracles happen. If this is your dream, give to it, and it will give back, in wonderful ways.

GRACIE: Denyse, thanks so much for taking time from your busy schedule to share yourself and your work with us at The G-Spot and giving us a little insight into your writing and the writing process! We’ll let you get back to writing those wonderful books you write! All the best!

DENYSE: Thanks so much for sharing your time with me, Gracie. It’s been my pleasure.

Blessings and much happiness to you and your readers, always.

Denysé

A new genre débuts at Naughty Nights Press with this highly charged, erotic Historical Western.

Available from these sellers:

ARe Romance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-champagneandchocolate-1419358-148.html

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/407861

Publisher: http://naughtynightspress.com/nnpstore2/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=32&products_id=104

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/champagne-and-chocolate-denyse-bridger/1118628043?ean=2940045692625

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Champagne-Chocolate-Denysé-Bridger-ebook/dp/B00IEGHAKK/

SPOTLIGHT AUTHOR INTERVIEW -- YA GLBT AUTHOR JOHN H. AMES!

BIO: My real name is Juan H. Alvarado and I was born in El Salvador, C.A. I currently live in Belize and my passions are writing, reading and spending time with the ones I love. I began writing in 2009 and After posting some of my work on an internet website and receiving positive feedback, I went on to write several full-length novels under my penname, John Henry Ames. My first completed series is the Surviving Elite High Trilogy which chronicles the life of a gay sixteen-year-old boy as he makes his way through life as an outcast in the shadows of an elite high school where he is tormented by two psychopathic bullies.

You can Like me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorJohnHAmes Or visit my site: http://jhabooks.webs.com/

 The Interview

GRACIE: I’m excited to have you here at The G-Spot, John! Please tell us a little about yourself (or a lot J) and how and when you got into writing?

JOHN: Hi Gracie! Thank you so much for having me here today. It’s an honor. Well, let me start by saying that my real name is Juan H. Alvarado and I was born in El Salvador, C.A. I have always loved reading and writing but never had the courage to sit down and write something. After graduating from college in 09, I took a night shift at a small motel. To keep myself occupied, I began writing and completed several full-length novels under my penname, John Henry Ames. My first completed series is the Surviving Elite High Trilogy which chronicles the life of a gay sixteen-year-old boy as he makes his way through life as an outcast in the shadows of an elite high school where he is tormented by two psychopathic bullies.

GRACIE: Is there any one thing or person in your life that inspired your writing? Any one thing or person that influenced the genre you write in?

JOHN: This is an excellent question since there are so many people who have inspired my writing and the genre I write in. The first person to ever inspire me was the amazing J.K. Rowling. The first time I read a Harry Potter novel was back in 2003. That novel instantly pulled me into a world that I had never seen or heard of before, leaving me wanting more. When the last novel came out, it blew my mind to the point that it made me sit down and write a novel of my own. I spent a few months writing, and the finished product was called Raven and Crow: a Chain of Memories.

Raven and Crow: a Chain of Memories is my first and only straight fiction novel. It tells the story of two guys who meet in high school and find out that they have more in common than they thought, since they share the same memories, dreams, and nightmares. Soon enough, they discover that they are unearthly beings from another world and that they are the incarnation of the beautiful Raven and the amazing Crow. You might be wondering two guys, the incarnation of a man and a woman? Not much of a Twilight novel, right? True, but let the story flow, and you'll see that not everything isn’t quite what it seems. I’m currently looking for the right publisher for this novel, and when I find one, I will let you and all my readers know where to get it.

Another individual who has inspired me and got me into the world of gay fiction is the incredible Jeff Erno. The first m/m romance that I read was A Better Place by Mark A. Roeder. That little novel has a jock/nerd theme in it, and I absolutely fell in love with that theme. I immediately researched for that theme and came across Dumb Jock by Jeff Erno. I fell in love with that novel almost immediately. It was like love at first sight. That little work of fiction inspired me to write Surviving Elite High in 2010 and the rest is history.

GRACIE: When did you get The Call and what was your first published book?

JOHN: I definitely got The Call after reading Dumb Jock by Jeff Erno. OMG! I loved that novel so much that it inspired me to write my debut novel, Surviving Elite High. Jeff Erno is amazing and he’s one of my favorite authors of all time. His novels are emotional and incredibly cool. I have to thank him for getting me into this amazing little world.  

GRACIE: What do you know now about writing and the publishing industry that you wish you’d known before you started?

JOHN: Not to take reviews seriously. Yes, constructive criticism is an excellent way to improve your writing and grow as an author. However, in this modern era where everyone has access to a computer and everyone is a critic, readers often criticize novels with their emotions. If they had a bad day and read your novel, you will mostly get a bad review. That’s why I don’t take reviews seriously. They are tied to a reader’s emotions and feelings.     

GRACIE: Please, give us a little story behind the story and what inspired your YA Trilogy, Surviving Elite High.

JOHN: The novel Dumb Jock by Jeff Erno was my main inspiration for my debut novel because of the jock/nerd theme found inside. I wanted to write something similar to that theme, but unique at the same time. At that point in time, I was also dating someone who stole my heart and, sadly, broke it. He was also my main inspiration for Surviving Elite High. Since he was an American citizen and had attended a small high school in Buffalo, New York, I drew inspiration from his high school life and wrote Surviving Elite High. I simply added a few unique twists and turns that would leave readers wanting more.      

GRACIE: In Surviving Elite High, aside from being a star quarterback, Nick Anthony Hawking is not the best student academically. Besides his doing poorly in school, what do you think is Nick’s Achilles’ heel and how do you go about stomping it?

JOHN: I think that Nick’s Achilles’ heel is his tendency to want to be a protector. That got him into big troubles because it blinded him from seeing people’s faults. For example, look at what happened in Surviving Elite High: Senior Year, especially with Emily Roberts. Nick was trying to be kind and protective with her and that blinded him to the bad things she was doing behind his back. That almost got John killed a second time. In the novel, Nick realized his mistake by apologizing to John and focused on protecting John and only John.

GRACIE: In Surviving Elite High: Loving James, what do you think it is that makes Nathan so irresistible to James, despite Nathan’s complete incompatibility? By the same token, what makes James so blind to Jacob Ashmore’s feelings for him?

JOHN: In James’ little world, there is no one more perfect than Nicholas Anthony Hawking. He’s obsessed with the idea of having someone like Nick to love and protect him, someone who acts rugged, straight and manly. That’s all he wants in life, someone like Nick. That blinds him to see what an incredible person Jacob is to him and how Jacob really feels toward him. James wants someone like Nick so badly that he will do almost anything to make Nathan into another Nick. That fails of course and almost gets him kill.

GRACIE: Of all the stories you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?

JOHN: Whoa! I have to say Raven and Crow: a Chain of Memories. Why? It’s my first completed novel and it comes straight from my heart. I absolutely love that little story and I am hoping and praying that my readers fall in love with it as well.

GRACIE: I know this is like asking a mother which is her favorite child, but which of your characters is your favorite and why?

JOHN: Oh my God! I would have to say Nick Hawking. To me, Nick is the bomb! He’s not close to perfect and he can be a huge a****** to people most of the time; however, he can be so sweet and sensitive with John. I absolutely loved the way he changes for him and becomes a better person for him. It just goes to show you that people can change if they set their minds to. 

GRACIE: What about your characters makes them unique?

JOHN: My characters are not perfect or even close to perfect and that makes them real and unique, relatable to readers. Each one of them has so many issues to deal with and as the story unfolds, they grow into better and responsible individuals.  

GRACIE: What is your favorite aspect of the writing process? Your least favorite?

JOHN: My favorite aspect of the writing process would be sitting down and plotting the entire novel from top to bottom. I love that part so much! Ideas flow in and I love sticking them together into a beautiful story. My least favorite aspect of the writing process would be editing. Oh. My. God! I hate it so much! It’s stressful, long and tedious. I wish I could just skip that part, but sadly, I can’t.

GRACIE: Are you a pantser or do you outline?

JOHN: I have to admit, I am both. When I have something solid or concrete in my head, I write it down before I lose that precious information. Everything is outlined thoroughly from top to bottom and my writing goes smoothly. Sometimes, I can be a pantser though. I simply sit down and write with no direction whatsoever. I do, however, take longer to finish a novel this way. 

GRACIE: If you weren’t a writer, what other profession would you have chosen to pursue?

JOHN: I think that I would have been a model. LOL! Nah, I can’t model. I don’t think I the looks. I honestly think that I would have been a manager or an accountant. But, I love writing and I don’t see myself doing something other than writing cool and kickass stories.

GRACIE: I think you’re being modest about your looks, John, but who are some of your favorite authors and why? Name some of your favorite books and why they’re your favorites.

JOHN: I have so many favorite authors but I would say that my top two would be the amazing J.K. Rowling and the incredible Jeff Erno. Both of them have inspired me with their work and they keep on doing it.

As for my favorite books, I would say:

The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling – I couldn’t pick one, to be honest. Every single book in that series is so good that they inspired me to write Raven and Crow: a Chain of Memories.

Dumb Jock by Jeff Erno – This is my favorite GLBT novel of all time. Yes, there are so many out there, but this one is the first one to make me cry. This novel was so thrilling and inspiring that it led me to write my first GLBT novel, Surviving Elite High.

Something Like Autumn by Jay Bell – Dear God! This novel is so awesome! Mr. Jay Bell came up with one the most amazing little pieces of literature ever and this is the third and last novel to make me cry. (Something Like Summer by the same author was the second novel to make me cry).

GRACIE: What are you working on now and what should readers be looking forward to from you in the future?

JOHN: Right now I’m working on my fourth GLBTQ novel called, Love, Joy, Heartache and Pain. Now, this novel is special because it’s my very own collection of short stories, three shorts to be exact. They can stand on their own or act as a long one if you want them to. I absolutely love them. Here are their names:

1)         The not so unrealistic detailed account of how my best friend and I swap bodies for a short period of time. Swapatize for short.

2)         The Spirit Indestructible.

3)         And The Lake View Psychopath.

GRACIE: Do you have a website and/or how can readers contact you?

JOHN: Yes I do. I can be found online in several places actually:

1)         http://jhabooks.webs.com/

2)         https://www.facebook.com/JohnHenryAmes

3)         https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJohnHAmes

4)         http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5820153.John_H_Ames

5)         https://twitter.com/JohnHenryAmes

6)         http://instagram.com/authorjohnhenryames

GRACIE: Where and how can readers purchase and/or read samples of your work?

JOHN: My work is everywhere, but here are the major links to them:

Surviving Elite High - http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Elite-High-ebook/dp/B00BIOF58E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361488153&sr=8-1&keywords=surviving+elite+high

Surviving Elite High: Senior Year - http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Elite-High-Senior-ebook/dp/B00BKLG98A/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1361727037&sr=8-4&keywords=Surviving+elite+high

Surviving Elite High: Loving James - http://www.amazon.com/Surviving-Elite-High-Loving-ebook/dp/B00BKKTOZQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1361727091&sr=8-3&keywords=Surviving+elite+high

GRACIE: What advice do you have for beginning writers?

JOHN: Never give up. If you want to be a writer, know that the journey will be long, tedious, and hard. But remember that classic Lao Tzu quote, 'a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step'. You'll get there eventually. Just keep a positive mind and attitude and aim for the stars, because you might just end up on the moon.

GRACIE: Anything else about yourself or your writing you’d like to share with your readers?

                      

JOHN: Yes, there is a little question that fans always ask. Will there be more books in the Surviving Elite High Saga? Yes. Right now, I’m working on a possible plot for Rick Sanders, a minor character in the Surviving Elite High Saga. I also want to write a third for Nick and John. Wish me luck guys!

GRACIE:  We wish you much luck, John and thank you so much for taking time from your busy schedule to share yourself and your work with us at The G-Spot and giving us a little insight into your writing and the writing process! We’ll let you get back to writing those wonderful books you write! All the best!

JOHN: No, Thank you for having me here today.

Spotlight Author Interview - Paranormal Romance Author Tianna Xander!

BIO: Tianna Xander is an eclectic, multi-published, award-winning author of paranormal romance and erotica. Harassed by her muse daily, she rarely puts the pen down. However, she’s the first to admit that, when she does set the pen down, or her muse has momentarily deserted her, she spends too much time on the internet.

She lives in Michigan with her family, four cats, a German Shepherd Dog, and a raisin addict disguised as a Netherland Dwarf bunny named Babs.

 

Interview begins here:

GRACIE: I’m excited to have you here at The G-Spot, Tianna! Please tell us a little about yourself (or a lot J) and how and when you got into writing?

TIANNA: Thank you for having me, Gracie. I’m excited to be here!

I started telling romantic stories to my friends at a very young age. However, my first book wasn’t published until 2006 when Tina, the owner of Extasy Books, offered me my first contract. I have since been published by Siren, Cobblestone Press and the Extasy Books sister company, Devine Destinies.

I’m a bit outdoorsy. I love to camp, hike and ride my mountain bike anywhere it will take me. I love watching sci-fi shows and movies. Netflix is great and a sci-fi geek’s dream. My newest book, Woman Beware even has a few red shirt references. LOL

GRACIE: Is there any one thing or person in your life that inspired your writing? Any one thing or person that influenced the genre you write in?

TIANNA: My husband inspires my writing on almost a daily basis. He’s the type of man who still opens doors and walks between me and the street. After over thirty years, he still holds my hand. He’s a perfect romance hero come to life and I consider myself a lucky woman to have his love and companionship.

As far as who influenced the genre I write in, I would have to say Christine Feehan. I had never read paranormal before I read her Dark series. After that, I was hooked on all things paranormal. I would also say Sandra Hill played a roll in my writing time travels. I love her Viking series.

GRACIE: When did you get The Call and what was your first published book?

 

 

TIANNA: Virgin’s Blood was my first published book. I borrowed this from one of my son’s English papers—with his permission, of course. “Note to self: Never take 1000 dollars to a drug dealer. He will kill you for it.” When he read that sentence to me, something snapped and I suddenly had this picture of a man killing a woman amidst a mess of pizza boxes and spilled cocaine in my mind. I looked at my son and said, “Oh, my goodness! I just had a great idea for a book. Can I use that?” LOL

The first few lines of Virgin’s Blood were, “Never take 6000 dollars with you to a drug dealer. He will kill you for it.” After that, the rest came easily and The Chosen series became my first series of many and the only series I write in first person.

GRACIE: What do you know now about writing and the publishing industry that you wish you’d known before you started?

TIANNA: That it’s not as easy as everyone seems to think and you don’t get rich doing it. LOL Don’t get me wrong. I love writing and I do it because I love it, but those dreams of buying a new house and car were very nice, but still dreams, nonetheless. J

GRACIE: Please, give us a little story behind the story and what inspired your long-running Paradise series.

TIANNA: Actually, I started the Paradise saga writing a story for the Extasy Books Tarot series. I needed a book with characters that would fit the King of Wands card.

True to the character of my overachieving, sadist of a muse, I was forced—forced I tell you—to make the King of Wands book the first of a series with villains so nasty they would give most shape-shifting heroes the creeps. Thankfully, said muse allowed me to kill off most of the bad guys quickly and with extreme prejudice. Believe me, they deserved it.

GRACIE: What do you think are the drawbacks and perks of writing a series like Paradise?

TIANNA: The perks of writing a series are revisiting old friends, not having to dream up a new premise and stories almost guaranteed to be accepted by your publisher. LOL The drawbacks are few, but there.

After a while, you wonder why you’re still writing about a town or people who feel like relatives and start having a difficult time telling their stories because you feel like a voyeur. Isn’t that crazy? These people don’t even exist, but somehow, you feel as though you just might be invading their right to privacy.

GRACIE: In Woman Beware what do you think is Lena’s Achilles’ heel and how do you go about stomping it?

 
TIANNA:  I’m not sure. She hasn’t shown a weakness yet. Well… other than Artu. Maybe a red shirt will be the death of her after all. LOL

GRACIE: In The Water Dragon Summer is an independent heroine who knows what she wants. Despite her being claimed by a chauvinist what do you believe makes Summer the perfect mate for Adrian and Adrian the perfect mate for Summer?

TIANNA: I think they will work well together. Water gives him strength and she can bring on the rain at a whim, now that she has his strength to anchor her.

GRACIE: Of all the stories you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?

TIANNA: Alicia: The Awakening is my favorite. There is a lot of history (sort of) in that story for me. If her emotions seem real, it’s because they are real. They are mine. Writing that book was a catharsis for me. It rid me of old fears, by making me see that I have become a strong woman just as Alicia became a strong woman after her ordeal. Letting go of all of that emotional baggage opened doors for me that had remained closed for years. It changed me and I’m better for it.

GRACIE: I know this is like asking a mother which is her favorite child, but which of your characters is your favorite and why?

TIANNA: Gabriel in Alicia: The Awakening. He was so patient and loving with Alicia, just as my husband has always been patient and loving with me. Well… he is when it really counts. LOL

GRACIE: What about your characters makes them unique?

 

TIANNA: They have their own unique code of honor. None of them are perfect, but they are always perfect for each other.

GRACIE: What is your favorite aspect of the writing process? Your least favorite?

 

TIANNA: Plotting and writing are my favorite parts, right up until I get to the sex scenes. Bedroom scenes seem to get harder to write as I write more and more of them. One would think it would get easier, but there are times when I wonder if I’ve already written a certain passage the same way. I don’t want to plagiarize anyone—including myself. It cheats the reader.

GRACIE: Are you a pantser or do you outline?

TIANNA: I do a little bit of both. I’m a pantser when I’m especially excited about a storyline. I sometimes feel as though typing 100 words per minute isn’t fast enough. LOL

GRACIE: If you weren’t a writer, what other profession would you have chosen to pursue?

TIANNA: Actually, I would have been a quantum physicist—believe it or not. LOL

 

GRACIE: Who are some of your favorite authors and why? Name some of your favorite books and why they’re your favorites.

TIANNA: As I said, I love Christine Feehan’s Dark series. I love Sandra Hill’s Viking series and I adore the Argeneau series by Lynsay Sands.

I like Sandra Hill’s Viking series because I like the old-fashioned heroes who only want what’s best for their women. Guys like that are difficult to find these days. It isn’t impossible. I have one. He’s definitely a keeper.

I like Lynsay Sands and Christine Feehan’s vampire books because there is just something about a tall, dark and hungry vampire who can get rid of the bad guys with a flick of the wrist.

GRACIE: What are you working on now and what should readers be looking forward to from you in the future?

TIANNA: I’m working on book three of the Gate To Fate series, Reporting from Paradise, the next in the Dragon Bound series and I’m waiting for Viola to finish adding her part and ship the next DARE book back to me to write more in it.

GRACIE: Do you have a website and/or how can readers contact you?

TIANNA: Of course! My website is www.TiannaXander.com I’m on Facebook as Tianna Xander or readers can like my Tianna Xander Fans page. I’m also on Twitter @TiannaXander

GRACIE: Where and how can readers purchase and/or read samples of your work?

TIANNA: My website www.TiannaXander.com/books has blurbs and excerpts as well as my publisher’s websites. However, some excerpts are more explicit than others. There are also buy links for my books on my website.

GRACIE: What advice do you have for beginning writers?

TIANNA: To borrow a phrase from Galaxy Quest, “Never give up. Never surrender.”

Always keep learning about the craft. I’ve been published many times over and I’m still learning something new every day. Don’t let rejections get you down. EVERY published author has been rejected at least once. The secret is to keep on writing and keep on submitting your work. Sooner or later an editor will see the potential in your baby and tell you what you can do to convince them to make you an offer.

One more thing: You will never, and I mean never, please everyone. Don’t try. Don’t read reviews that have less than four stars if you must read reviews and never let a snarky or poor review stop you from writing book two or book two-hundred.

GRACIE: LOL, love the quote from one of my favoite movies! Anything else about yourself or your writing you’d like to share with your readers?

TIANNA: I love that my readers take the time from their busy lives to visit my worlds and fall in love with my characters. I thank them for their time and the effort it takes to leave reviews for their favorite titles.

GRACIE:  Tianna, thanks so much for taking time from your busy schedule to share yourself and your work with us at The G-Spot and giving us a little insight into your prolific writing and the writing process! We’ll let you get back to writing those wonderful books you write! All the best!

TIANNA: Thank you for having me here at the G-Spot. It was a blast!

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Interview with Cross-Genre Author Extraordinaire, Jane Toombs!

Bio: Jane Toombs, her Viking from the past and their calico grandcat, Kinko, live across the road from Lake Superior in Michigan's beautiful Upper Peninsula wilderness. Jane's writing her eightieth-something book , already promised to a publisher, and hopes to reach one hundred. Though she writes in most genres, her favorite is paranormal. Website: www.JaneToombs.com

The Interview:

GRACIE: I’m excited to have you here at The G-Spot, Jane! Please tell us a little about yourself (or a lot J) and how and when you got into writing?

JANE:  I’m happy to be here at the G-spot.  I was born in California, but my mother brought me back to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula wilderness when I was nine months old. Since I was conceived here, though, that makes me a genuine Yooper.  My father was published as a non-fiction writer and critiqued all my early efforts at fiction, always first telling me what I’d written was good before showing me ways it could be improved.  I’ve always tried to critique other writers in the same way because it worked so well for me.  Spent a year at Michigan State before joining the Cadet Nurse Corps when I was 17 ½.   Did what many nurses do, married a doctor after I got my RN. We had five children before the writing bug came back and bit me permanently.  He was so threatened by my writing that we finally divorced. I was certain I was off men forever, but I met a guy in a writing class and we finally married, adding his two children to my five.   Just after that I sold my first book, Tule Witch, to Avon. He sold his first one, also a gothic like mine shortly after that.  We had the same agent and sold quite a few books before he died.  Then I met—or to be exact, remet—a guy I‘d gone all through school with.  Eventually we got together and have been with each other for going on eighteen years now as Life Partners, spending the last twelve of them back in our old home town. All though this I’ve been writing and he thinks that’s just great. 

GRACIE: With over eighty books published you are, to say the least, a prolific author. How do you account for your output and longevity in such an unpredictable industry as publishing?

JANE: I wrote for the NY pubs for a long time, but had to tailor my Harlequin books to what they felt readers wanted.  Since I tend to add paranormal elements to stories, that was difficult for me, because the rule at that time was no paranormal—so I had to take even the hint out..  Remember these were the days before paranormal found its own niche.  So when electronic books first began I leaped on the bandwagon, while still writing for Harlequin and Kensington.  But finally gave that up, writing just for epubs now.   

GRACIE: Is there any one thing or person in your life that inspired your writing? Any one thing or person that influenced the genres you write in?

JANE:  My father was my main influence, but so were the books I read as a child, mostly E. A. Poe. 

GRACIE: When did you get The Call and what was your first published book?

JANE:  I had recently gone through that divorce and finally remarried when the call came in.  My agent had sold my first gothic, Tule Witch to Avon—actually the first novel I’d ever finished.  There was no one at home but I could hear the thump of a basketball out back and raced out there. Mikel, my stepson, was shooting baskets.  He’d been very reserved toward me but I was so excited I hugged him, shouting in his ear that I’d sold a book!  He stiffened, but finally hugged me back and told me ‘That’s great!”  Selling that book markedly improved our relationship.

GRACIE: What do you know now about writing and the publishing industry that you wish you’d known before you started?

JANE: I learned that just like any enterprise they're out to make a profit and so they want selling authors. This sometimes gives an author problems, because publishers also firmly believe they know what sells books and this may conflict with what the author is writing.

GRACIE: Please, give us a little story behind the story and what inspired your California saga, Golden Chances books.

JANE: I come from a Scottish background and was horrified when I found out that in the old days over there a bastard was not allowed to own land, which meant he couldn’t own a house either.  Many years later living in California, I learned during the gold rush, the US government slowly rid itself of the Californios and acquired  their large ranchos.  Because this sort of reminded me of Scotland’s one-time attitude toward bastards,  I made my protagonist  a Scottish immigrant who was a bastard and would do anything to acquire land. I gave him second sight as well.  Diarmid Burwash lived at the right time and was in the right place to acquire the land he craved. Land he would do anything to own.  But as I wrote the book it became a saga so massive it was too long for even a historical novel.  But then ebooks came along .  Books We Love Ltd. had already made two ebooks from one of my rights-back historicals, splitting it into two parts because it was too long. The Golden Chances saga  was even longer.  We had the bright idea of dividing it into seven novellas and the book actually split up this way almost like magic. Readers seem to like this idea as well.

GRACIE: You write in so many different genres and sub-genres—from romance, to mystery, to fantasy and horror—and under several different pseudonyms, slipping seamlessly from one category of fiction to the next. How do you keep everything straight without succumbing to multiple personality disorder J?

JANE: Well I think all authors are a bit crazy. Why else would we write books that we have no idea will ever sell or readers read?

GRACIE: Good point! Of all the stories you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?

JANE: Under The Shadow, the first book of my MOONRUNNER TRILOGY.  The character of Sergei and what happened to him utterly fascinated me.  The fact that for years he didn’t know who he was--or worse, what he was--and yet managed to stay alive made me marvel. 

GRACIE: I know this is like asking a mother which is her favorite child, and you do have so many to chose from, but which of your characters is your favorite and why?

JANE: Again, that would be Sergei.  He was an extremely complex character who was really tortured by what he was.

GRACIE: What about your characters makes them unique?

JANE: What they reveal to me as I write about them.  I don’t know everything abut a character when I first begin a book.  I have a general conception, yes, but as I keep writing I learn more and more about him or her as I go on.  They often surprise me.

GRACIE: What is your favorite aspect of the writing process? Your least favorite?

JANE: Writing a synopsis is easy and I enjoy doing them.  But writing the story itself is much harder, especially when I find I have to repeatedly depart in places from the synopsis., which often occurs.   

GRACIE: Are you a pantser or do you outline?

JANE:  I simply set down and wrote my first two gothics, which both sold.  The third gothic did not. Revision didn’t help.  I was still struggling with it when my agent called and asked if I wanted to do a partial--three chapters and a synopsis for a packager who need a Sagittarius gothic for his Zodiac Series.   I asked what a synopsis was.  He told me   Write the story in a very short form?  I thought I could do that, so I said yes.   So I wrote my first synopsis and the three chapters. Not long after he called and said the packager was going to contract on the partial.  Up until then I thought you had to write an entire book to make a sale.   So this synopsis stuff sounded really good to me.  I sold several more books on partials and began to realize how helpful the synopsis was in writing the rest of the book.  So I became  a dedicated plotter. Only my first two books were pantser-written.  At some point I took that third never-sold book and tried to write a synopsis from it.  What I discovered was it wandered all over the place.  A coherent synopsis solved that problem and the book sold.  Now I never attempt a book without first doing a synopsis.

GRACIE: If you weren’t a writer, what other profession would you have chosen to pursue?

JANE:  Actually For a long time as a nurse and busy mother, I didn’t write.  But finally the characters in my head forced me into writing about them in my meager spare time.

GRACIE: Who are some of your favorite authors and why? Name some of your favorite books and why they’re your favorites.

JANE: At the moment my two favorite characters are Lee Child’s Reacher and James Connally’s Harry Bosch.  Reacher and Bosch are nothing alike except for being the best at what they do.  This appeals to me, plus the brilliance of the two writers in keeping these characters always interesting is certainly a part of it. 

GRACIE: What are you working on now and what should readers be looking forward to from you in the future?

JANE: I’m fascinated with paranormal so most of my current books have paranormal added to suspense romance.  In 2009 I made a New Year’s resolution that I was not allowed to create any more series until I finished the first book in every series I’d ever outlined and thought still viable.  The count came to ten.  Okay, I started off with the Darkness Of Dragons Trilogy.  The first book sold immediately and then the epub wanted the other two as fast as I could write them.  I hadn’t foreseen this, so that slowed me down.  Currently I‘m up to the fourth and last book, Stranger On The Shore of  my Dangerous Darkness Series, have written the first book of The Dagon House Trilogy, Taken In.   Also a publisher has taken my Raffin Family Series, but I haven’t yet finished the first book.  And the reason I haven’t yet finished it is because I’m busy writing Uncanny, the third book in my Underworld Series.   I also have yet to finish the last book, Forever, of my Temple Of Time Series.  Yikes--I’ll never finish them all…

GRACIE: Do you have a website and/or how can readers contact you?

JANE:  http://www.janetoombs.com Buy links for all my books are available there.  Most are also on Amazon.

GRACIE: Where and how can readers purchase and/or read samples of your work?

JANE:  Amazon often has one or another of my ebooks free.  My website has excerpts of all my recent books.

GRACIE: What advice do you have for beginning writers?

JANE: Believe in yourself and finish everything you begin to write.  Every time you finish a work, you learn something about writing.  Find a good critique group or partner.   Never be crushed by someone trashing your work--that person is not interested in helping you.   Whoever that person is, he or she is a bad critic.  A good critic can find something to like in almost anyone’s writing, and will try to  point out ways to improve it. 

GRACIE: Anything else about yourself or your writing you’d like to share with your readers?

JANE: Writing is hard work and takes dedication.  All good writers know better than to believe a best seller can be dashed off in a couple of weeks.  Or even months. Work hard to finish everything you write no matter how long it takes you. 

GRACIE: Jane, thanks so much for taking time from your busy schedule to share yourself and your work with us at The G-Spot and giving us a little insight into your writing and the writing process! We’ll let you get back to writing those wonderful books you write! All the best!