Please start by
telling us a little about yourself (education, jobs, significant other,
children, pets, etc.)
I
have two precious loves in my life. A gorgeous mare that I ride every day, and
the cutest terrier mutt you’ve ever seen.
Tell us about your
latest New Adult book and what inspired you to write it.
Being
a horse person, I have found a wonderful niche with cowboy books. While I ride
show-jumpers (or rather used to, now I just putz around and have fun) horse’s
and horsemanship is dear to my heart, and there are some amazingly talented
(and super sexy )cowboys in this world. The first cowboy book I wrote, The
Cowboy’s Rules, was an instant smash success, and I never looked back. I
started a series called, Cowboy’s After Dark, and the latest, When A Cowboy
Loves A Woman, is book nine. They are all complete books with very different
stories. The Cowboy’s Rules is the only trilogy.
The New Adult genre
is fairly new. What's your definition of it? How does it differ from Young
Adult or just regular Adult books?
That’s
a great question, and while the category may be defined differently by
different people, I see it as one that is unique to young women and men who are
at an age when they are free to explore all the world has to offer, most
especially their sexuality.
I
write about Dominance and submission, (I am a submissive) and I remember how I
was filled with fantasies and cravings I didn’t quite understand. I like to
think my stories are not just about tumbling between the sheets, but offer some
insight.
Do you belong to any
critique groups and/or do you have other people read your work as you're
writing it? Who's brutally honest and who's a cheerleader? Which do you prefer?
I’m
a lone ranger! I have just started working with a publisher, Stormy Night
Publications, and when I turned in my first book, Her Officer In Charge,
happily they didn’t ask for, or offer, any significant changes.
What are your
all-time favorite authors/books?
My
goodness. So many. Jane Austen and Emily Bronte of course. Such heartfelt
romance, and when I write my period pieces (just about to release, His Willful
Bride) I feel as though I’m back Merry Old England. When I discovered Sydney
Sheldon, Harold Robbins and Jackie Collins, I devoured their books, even though
they were a bit dated. I don’t read now, no time. I’m too busy writing.
Do you outline before
you write or just dive head-first into a manuscript? Do you maintain a
schedule for writing, or is it more haphazard?
As
mentioned earlier, I never outline. An idea will come to me, or even just a
title, and I start.
For
example, one day I was at my barn and someone said something about a new
farrier, a girl who wore hot pink chaps. I immediately pinged on that phrase,
and started The Cowboy and the Girl in The Hot Pink Chaps a week later. I had
no idea what the story would be until I started. It was the phrase, hot pink
chaps, that stirred something in my imagination.
Where do you do your
best writing? (Ex: desk in your office, public library, under a tree in the
park, in front of a Real Housewives TV
marathon, etc.) Do you like music or some other background noise, or do you
need quiet?
Hush.
Quiet please. I write late at night in bed, when I first wake up in bed,
sitting on the couch in the living with my mutt next to me, or in my ‘writing
chair’ - a recliner I bought just for the purpose.
What are the best and
worst parts of writing a book?
That’s
easy. Proofreading... just kill me now. Happily, with a publisher, they do the
proof-reading for me, but if you read one of my books and find a typo, please
forgive me. They hide!
When you're driving
and you have a sudden, brilliant idea for the new manuscript you're working on,
what do you do? (Ex: pull over and fire up the laptop, keep driving while
scribbling on a McDonald's bag, tell Siri, etc.)
Speak
it out loud. If I do that, it stays in my head, and it happens all the time!
Imagine you have a
whole day free for shopping. Where do you go? (Mall, unique boutiques, flea
market, antique shops, bookstore, home improvement store, etc.)
I’m
sorry, what’s a whole free day?
Where is your favorite place in the
world?
Impossible to answer, because I know once this is out there
I’ll think of somewhere else, but I suspect it would be somewhere in the
English countryside, perhaps in Dorset.
Do you have any
advice for people who want to write a book?
Just start!
A
word becomes a sentence, a sentence becomes a paragraph, a paragraph becomes a
chapter, and the chapters grow into a book. Don’t worry about it being perfect.
When it’s done pat yourself on the back, walk away for a day or two, then come
back with fresh eyes and read what you’ve written.
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