Welcome, Anna.Tell us about yourself.
I’m a writer and a librarian,
which means I’m always torn between reading or writing – and I keep trying to
assign Dewey decimal numbers to my characters. My dual personality also means I
actually enjoy doing research! Until recently, I’d stuck to paranormal romance
as my subgenre of choice, but this year I decided to step out of my comfort
zone to write contemporary erotic romance, and I’m also working on a historical
Highland time travel romance. Wow, that’s a mouthful!
Even though I'm not a librarian, I'm torn, too, between reading and writing. How long does it take you to write a book?
I used to spend months writing
one book, but I’ve trained myself to write much faster now. Editing takes a bit
longer, as I don’t want to rush it. Like many writers, I used to think a first
draft needed to be perfect, or almost perfect. These days, I allow myself to
screw up in the first draft so I can just get it done. You can’t fix what you
haven’t written. A few months ago, I set myself a challenge to write a complete
20,000-word story in five days – and I achieved it, even exceeding my word
count goal by a couple thousand words. I wrote my award-winning upcoming book Fired Up in about a month, and that one came
in at around 55,000 words.
Wow. You are a fast writer. What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
I’d love to say I have a set
schedule for when I write, but as a self-employed business owner, I squeeze
writing in wherever and whenever I can. Some days, I’m lucky to fit in five
minutes here and there. If I plan it right and nothing unexpected pops up, I
write for several hours in a day. Once I sit down to write, I shut off my email
and crank up my favorite writing music – then I dive in and don’t come up for
air until I run out caffeine or chocolate.
What’s your favorite movie?
I love Knight & Day with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. As a reader and
writer of romances, I get sucked in by the developing bond between the hero and
heroine. I also adore heroes who can take out the bad guys, then turn around
and be tender with the heroine. But another thing I enjoy about this movie is
that the heroine starts out freaked out by the crazy situation of rogue spies
hunting her down, yet she finds her strength and becomes just as heroic as her
hero. Comedy, action, romance, a strong heroine, and Tom Cruise – what’s not to
love?
I love Knight & Day for the same reasons. We must be kindred spirits. LOL Are your stories driven by plot or character?
I strive for a balance between
the two, but the romantic relationship is the core of the story. This means
I’ll sacrifice a bit of plot to make sure the hero and heroine have plenty of
time to develop their relationship. In Intuition,
I also worked to flesh out the secondary characters and I was gratified to
receive reviews praising this aspect of the story. I also love complex plots,
so with all my books (even my short stories) I weave in in as much plot as I
can without weakening the fabric of the romance.
Achieving a balance is hard work. What do you hope readers take with them after reading your work?
I hope when they close the book,
they’re smiling and exhilarated. I also hope readers come away with an appreciation
for the overriding theme of many of my stories – redemption. But my number-one
goal is always to provide a satisfying ending that leaves the reader feeling
good and [fingers crossed] craving more.
Tell us about your latest book.
My latest release is the short
story Tempted by a Kiss, a
contemporary erotic romance. I set out to write a contemporary romance and it organically
evolved into an erotic story – my first erotic romance. I loved the characters,
Mel and Adam, so much that I expanded their story into a novel, Fired Up, which has won several awards.
Tempted by a Kiss blurb
Mel Thompson just dumped her
cheating ex after two years together. Now she's determined to understand the
allure of casual sex by having a steamy fling of her own at a notoriously
raunchy underground club. When her best friend, Adam Caras, catches on to her
plan, he makes a surprising offer to derail her. If she wants a hot fling,
he'll give it to her.
Who better than Adam, renowned
lady-killer, to demonstrate the erotic pleasures of a one night stand? Sex
could ruin their friendship, but after a soul-searing kiss, Mel fears one night
may never be enough.
Excerpt
This time, he offered me his
hand, palm up. I stared at it. My stomach fluttered, though I had no clue why.
I'd danced with Adam a number of times, at weddings and parties.
A strange warmth rushed through
me, but evaporated in an instant. The hand, the one attached to the arm of my
best friend, waited patiently. I settled my palm in his. He curled his fingers
around my hand. I hopped off the stool and let him guide me toward the dance
floor. The music had segued from an up-tempo number to a slow, seductive beat
with an enticing melody, played on exotic instruments. The song conjured
visions of a Middle Eastern palace, belly dancers, and hot, dark men with
lascivious intentions.
We sidled between the other
dancers, wending our way across the dance floor on the hunt for a vacant slot.
At last, we broke out of the masses into a cramped space just wide enough for
the two of us, forcing me to move closer to Adam. He pivoted on his heels to
face me and, keeping my hand in his, lifted it in a ballroom dancing position.
His other hand lightly rested on my hip. This was what I expected from a dance
with Adam. Then he dragged me into him, my body suddenly crushed against his
heat. My heart skipped. The strobes had given way to soft, pulsing, golden
lights. In the twilight of the floor, I couldn't make out his expression.
Entwined with Adam, aware of every hard line of his muscles, I was paralyzed.
Buy Links
One last question, Anna. Where can readers find you?
I’m everywhere. You can’t escape
from me. [evil cackle] Seriously, I’m on most of the major social networks,
though I still can’t figure out what Instagram is – probably because I’m over
forty. Egads! Yes, I admitted that in public. If you show up at my house, I’ll
sic my attack cat on you, but I’d love for you to join me in these spots
online:
Thanks for visiting, Anna. I'm so glad I got to know you better. Best wishes.
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