Back from the hiatus! Author Blog Hop!

Hiya,

woah, it's been so long since I posted anything here. However, a lot of serious stuff has been going on in my life, but I'm back in the saddle again, so to speak!

So my first entry will be part of a writers' blog hop - I was invited by my very kind and talented friend, romance author Lynette Sofras. You'll find her own blog here:

http://manicscribbler.blogspot.com

Be sure to check out her latest romantic suspense, "The Nightclub"! I can assure you, it's an excellent read, as all her work. (Click on the cover to be taken to the Amazon book page).

Trying to make a living for her teenage sister and herself, naïve Laura Hamilton accepts a job offer as a hostess at an infamous nightclub. As she struggles to survive in a world of sex, drugs and corruption, she certainly doesn't expect to find her own knight in shining armour in the club's owner, Julian. But will he really save her from a future as a fallen woman? And is he involved in the criminal organisation that threatens not only her sister's life, but will change her own fate forever?

*****

 
Deborah's  Blog Hop Q&A


And here are the answers to my bloghop questions:

 1) What am I working on?

I am working on Bound by Magic, the second book in my Elven Warrior Series. I know that many readers have been waiting patiently for the release, and I'd like to take this occasion to apologize for the long wait. But you know that some things just can't be rushed, especially when it comes to creative work. There have been a lot of things - family and business matters - going on in my life which kept me from writing for some time. And when I write, I need to be able to concentrate on the project fully, to wrap myself up in that other universe and feel all my characters' experiences as if they were my own. But Calatin's story has been there all the time, kind of writing itself in my mind. His tale just needs to be told!

Well I'm back from my hiatus, and I can't wait to hear my readers' reactions to the book when it's finished. To all my readers who'd like to know the exact publishing date - I'll post it on my blog and FB pages as soon as it's confirmed. Your support and e-mails are much appreciated, they mean the world to me. This is what keeps me writing.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I really can't say, maybe my readers should answer that. All authors have their own voice. Some of them manage to move us, or excite us when we are reading a story - others just don't. I guess it's also a matter of personal taste. However, every book is different, even if it's about a topic we've read again and again. My personal favorites are haunted house stories. Basically, it's always the same plot, but I never seem to be able to tire of reading them - The Shining, The Lady in Black, Jonathan Stroud's Lockwood &Co. - The Screaming Staircase (which I think was last year's best book, definitely).

All I can say that I never try to simply construct a story. Yes, I work on the plot and do some of the usual planning, but if I don't feel it, I don't write it. I sincerely hope that my readers, too, feel that my writing comes from the heart.

3) Why do I write what I do?

I just write what I love to read myself. Romance, classic fantasy, fairytales, Celtic myths and legends, classy erotic stories. Add some action and gothic mystery into the mix, and I just can't resist.

4) How does my writing process work?

Sometimes it's hard to get into the right mood to write, but if I do, the words simply start to flow. The less I think, the better. I have a general idea about what will happen in the chapter, but I let the characters decide how exactly the story will work out. It's a bit like magic, actually. But when it works, it's the best feeling in the world. It's passion, it's excitement. It's like falling in love over and over again.


That's it for today - I'll leave you with some GIFs of my current favorite TV show, Penny Dreadful. Who wouldn't want to be seduced by Mr. Dorian Gray?

Wishing you a lovely day and happy reading,
xoxoxo
Deb

Favorite Blogger of the Month (November)

Here's my Favorite Blooger of November - Vanessa Romano, with her awesome blog The Jeep Diva! Welcome to my blog, Vanessa. It's wonderful to have you here.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your blog. Why did you decide to start reviewing books, and which genres do you feature?

I am a 34 year old domestic engineer. I am married to the most awesome man ever. We have 7 furkids and live in the boonies.

The Jeep Diva (I drive 2 & I am one) I have 5 review ninjas that help me out. Most are very specific as to what they enjoy reading. One gal only wants m/m, another only wants the really dark and gritty erotics, and one prefers the light romance and inspirational love stories. We review romances, all the various sub genres. My love of horror and the recent zombie obsession turns up in a post on occasion.

November 2010 I went to my first con, Readers N Ritas. There was a panel about blogging reviews. At the time I was writing my reviews solely for goodreads. I thought this might be something I could do with my spare time. I have a freakish amount of spare time.

What genres do you read in private?

None. I proudly read my smut, horror, apocalypse, you name it. I am never ashamed of my love for a good book!

What is your most favorite book(s) of all time?

Stephen King’s Dark Tower series

With all those books being offered to you, you surely must be a bit picky about what you read. What intrigues you most in a story? Are you influenced by a good blurb or cover?

I’m big on the pursuit. I love the chase that leads the hero and heroine to their happily ever after. Covers may get me to notice a book, but blurbs and reviews from people who share common reading interests that I do will sell me a book.

How on earth do you find the time to manage such a busy blog besides your job and family life?

LOL! The Hub works out of the country. He is gone for a month at a time. I am home alone for a month at a time. I live like a hermit when the Hub is gone. I seldom leave the house. I read, get the posts set up, and basically do two months of stuff in those 30 days he is gone. The moment he comes home we travel nonstop. It gets pretty crazy when he is home. I seldom even have the chance to pick up a book when he is around.

Be honest: Is it easy or difficult to deal with us writers? I know that we can be an unorganized, sensitive lot sometimes. (You don't need to tell names …)

At conventions and signings I will approach. I’m not a shy person. I seldom email authors. If authors open that door I have no problem approaching them at a future date. Initial contact via the internet is a whole other story.

You will be attending the first Indie Romance Convention next year! Please tell us what you've planned for the event.

Nothing. Because of all the traveling I do with the Hub when I get the opportunity to go on a trip by myself I do absolutely no planning. I fly by the seat of my pants and just go with the flow. LOL He is such a taskmaster. He plans every little detail weeks in advance and making lists. I totally rock the no planning and hope for the best when I arrive.  

Just for fun - some quickies:

Favorite movie: Tombstone

Favorite TV series: Criminal Minds (Shemar Moore is the hawtness!)

Favorite singer/band: Volbeat

Most beautiful male celebrity: Shemar Moore (watch Criminal Minds people)

Sexiest fictional hero ever: Devyn from Gena Showalter’s Alien Huntress series

Best fictional villain ever: Devina from JR Ward’s Fallen Angel series

Best fictional heroine ever: Sabina Kane

Your secret beauty tip: Clairsonic and sunscreen

Your secret favorite cooking/baking recipe:

Maw Maw Mac (my grandmother made this all the time)

2 cups uncooked elbow noodles

1 stick butter (the real stuff)

1 block Romano cheese (the good stuff, Kraft ain’t gonna work)

Cook/boil the noodles, drain the noodles, shred the cheese, combine cheese and noodles in a bowl, and mix. Burn the butter dark brown and pour over noodles and cheese. Mix it all over again. YUM!

Thank you so much, Vanessa! It was a pleasure having you here. I'll definitely try this recipe *mjam mjam* And I love both your gorgeous car and this cute doggie threesome. ;-)

Favorite Blogger of the Month (October)

Tadaa ... and here's my Favorite Blogger of October!
It's Danielle Schmidt from Romance Book Junkies. Welcome to my blog, Danielle! It's a pleasure to meet you.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your blog. Why did you start your own book review blog, and which genres do you feature?

I am a 31 year old housewife. I love to blog, read and paint. I also enjoy chatting with other romance junkies so email me anytime. I started my blog because I had met very few people in my life that actually read romance novels and I wanted that interaction with other romance lovers. I also wanted to share all the books I read with others that might like to read a good book that I could recommend. We spend all that time reading a book it seems only natural to want to share that experience with someone else. I will talk and post about any genre in romance on my blog. If there’s a romance going on in the book then it has a spot on my blog that’s why I sometimes will even venture into genres such as historical fiction.

What genres do you read in private? What are your most favorite books of all time?

The genres I read normally are paranormal romance, historical romance and erotica or at least those are the ones I love the most. My favorite book of all time hmmm? That’s like asking a mother to pick her favorite child. Off the top of my head two books come to mind “The Other Boleyn Girl” and “Twilight” even though I normally don’t read YA.

With all those books being offered to you, you surely must be a bit picky about what you read. What intrigues you most in a story? Are you influenced by a good blurb or cover?

You really do have to be picky about what you read when you’re a blogger because you get so many review requests and you just don’t have time to read them all. I look for books in the genres I like most to read and I hate to say it but I am extremely influenced by a cover. I just can’t help it and I know its wrong.

How on earth do you find the time to manage such a busy blog besides your job and family life?

Like I said I have no real job besides taking care of the family so when everyone is off to school and work I get to blog and I do most of my reading at night before I go to bed when everyone else is sleeping. I have many late nights especially with good books sometimes I’ll be up until 2:00 in the morning then get up at 6:00 and start all over but it’s a labor of love truly.

Be honest: Is it easy or difficult to deal with us writers? I know that we can be an unorganized, sensitive lot sometimes. (You don't need to tell names …)

Honestly, I find most writers to be very delightful, corporative and generous.

You will be attending the first Indie Romance Convention next year! Please tell us what you've planned for the event.

I am very much looking forward to the Indie Romance Convention next year. Some of my favorite authors are attending. I don’t have a lot planned besides taking pictures, getting books signed and meeting authors. I may be planning to bring along some goodies to hand out from my blog but we’ll have to wait and see. I am also planning to donate a gift basket for the charity raffle that we’ll be having.

Just for fun - some quickies:

Favorite movie: The Wizard of Oz

Favorite TV series: I don’t watch TV ever so I don’t have a favorite series.

Favorite singer/band: Fergie with the Black Eyed Peas

Most beautiful male celebrity: Brad Pitt

Sexiest fictional hero ever: Gladiator (Russell Crowe)

Best fictional villain ever: Snow Whites Stepmother in the movie Snow White and the Huntsman

Best fictional heroine ever: The Queen in the movie 300 she was kick ass

Your secret beauty tip: Wash your face everyday with Olay Regenerist

Your secret favorite cooking/baking recipe: (full recipe or maybe online link)

Dump Cake

1 can cherry pie filling

1 can chopped pineapple

1 box yellow cake mix

1 stick buttler

Grease your pan then pour in your cherries and pineapple evenly. Top with yellow cake mix then cut butter into slices and layer on top of cake mix totally. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes and your done. Yummy and simple.

Thank you for your wonderful and interesting answers, Danielle! ;-)

New Feature: Favorite Blogger of the Month!

Dear Readers,

As a reader who loves romance of all genres, I am addicted to the many awesome book blogs I found on the internet. When I started to publish my own books, I sent my work to bloggers and began to correspond with them. I found that they are not only crazy about books, but also invest a considerable amount of love, time and effort to keep their blogs going (most of them without any financial gain). They read and review books, publish interviews, author spotlights and giveaways and are very helpful when it comes to bringing writers and readers closer together. Readers love to hear something personal about their favorite authors, and we writers enjoy nothing more than comments from book lovers who enjoyed our work. 

This is why I decided to start a new feature: The Favorite Blogger of the Month. We read so much about authors, I think it's about time that we also learn something about the bloggers. Starting this month, I'll interview the people who are responsible (in a good way ;-)) for some of the best and most informative blogs out there. Many of them will also be a part of the first Indie Romance Convention 2013, so I hope they'll tell us a bit about their plans for this event (I am very happy to be one of the attending authors). My Favorite Blogger of September is my friend Laurie Garrison, owner of Bitten by Paranormal Romance. Welcome to my blog, Laurie! 

Please tell us about yourself and your blog.  
I have a wonderful husband, one daughter, three cats, two dogs, three rabbits and a host of all kinds of birds and squirrels I feed in my back yard. I love baking and trying new recipes. I’m an animal lover that won’t buy any products tested on animals. I also love playing video games. The Sims PC games are my favorite but I love Need for Speed, so I love getting on my Ps3 and playing race games with all of my friends.

I started reading again after Twilight came out. It wasn’t long before I hit authors like Sherrilyn Kenyon and J.R Ward. After that I started up a blog just to keep my reviews. My blog is a modest compared to a lot of others but I want to keep the paranormal romance first and far most, so that the PNR authors have a place to show themselves.

Which genres do you read in private? What are your most favorite books of all time?  
Anything I read is wide open so everyone can see. My top favorites are, Pleasures of the Night by Nina Bangs, Night Play by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Grave Sins by Jenna MacLanie, Thief Anitra by Lynn McLeod, Blackmailed by Annmarie McKenna and Wickedest Witch by Eve Langlais

With all those books being offered to you, you surely must be a bit picky about what you read. What intrigues you most in a story? Are you influenced by a good blurb or cover?  
ROFL. I wish I could be picky the sad fact is I take what the reviewers won’t take, or if I don’t have enough reviewers I’ll take almost anything. Reason is I hate to have an author miss out on being featured on my blog, even if I don’t like the book because I know someone will. The surprising fact is, I end up likening a lot of them, but if I would have read the blurb or any reviews beforehand I would have passed the book up. Sometimes I think people can be too picky and miss out on something wonderful because it’s hard to give you the whole take on a book in just a few words in a blurb.

What intrigues me the most is how the romance is carried out! I am a sucker for a couple that can come together against all odds, fall in love and have a HEA. It’s amazing but some authors can’t do this they, either focus more on the story or action and lose focus on the romance.

No, covers and blurbs doesn’t influence me one bit. I do like some covers better than others but I have never bought a book just for a cover.

How on earth do you find the time to manage such a busy blog besides your job and family life?

Let’s just say some things goes undone LOL. I have been lucky over the last month though because I have had an inflow of some wonderful reviewers that are enjoying reviewing, so I getting a bit of free time, yay me!! But I it’s just a little, I still don’t have enough to play my video games. I think my Ps3 friends things I dropped off the face of the earth, as a matter of fact, one even messaged me asking if I did. LOL.

Be honest: Is it easy or difficult dealing with us writers? I know that we can be an unorganized, sensitive lot sometimes. (You don't need to tell names …)

Over the last four years, I have only had to deal with two authors. One was fine after I took off her review. The other well that was a different story she pissed me off so bad that I wrote a post on my blog about it. Yea, no one calls my reviewer the devil and gets by with it, even if she was referring to all reviewers being the devil. But the thing was that woman was all over all of the blogs causing problems. Other than that all of my authors are wonderful, they’ll work with me in any way that I need them. Heck some will even come up with a post for me at the last minute. So, I feel very fortunate to have my great list of authors that comes to my blog all the time.

You will be hosting the first Indie Romance Convention next year! Please tell us how this awesome idea originated, what you expect from the event and how readers can attend.

How it originated is rather a long story because this is something that I had been toying with for years. My thing was I didn’t think I could pull the authors, so I kept pushing it back until this year. I did write a long post on the Indie Romance Convention blog about how I came about the idea so everyone is more than welcome to read it.

http://indieromanceconvention.blogspot.com/2012/07/about.html

The 2013 convention is going to be on a small scale because I want to get a feel of what these authors needs are. Yes, I have and will always say Indie authors are different and they need to have their needs met. I am someone who is going to meet those needs and make this an event every year where they feel comfortable to come get the help they need and spread the help and be able to meet their readers in a different level that they never could before.

The registration opens on October 1, 2012 which is now less than a month away. All readers have to do is go to the blog and click on register and go from there. But this will be changing in the coming months because we will be moving soon to indieromanceconvention.com. As soon as the designer is done, things will be moved but the blog will stay up and if you plan on attending please join the blog because this will be a good way to learn about authors you don’t know.

http://indieromanceconvention.blogspot.com/2012/07/registration.html

Just for fun - some quickies:

Favorite movie: Weekend at Bernie’s 1 and 2

Favorite TV series: Big Bang Theory and Once Upon a Time

Favorite singer/band: Stephen Tyler/ Areosmith

Most beautiful male celebrity: I always liked the guy that played Aries on Xena, Kevin Smith, his accident was very unfortunate.

Sexiest fictional hero ever: Devereux, from The Vampire Shrink by Linda Hilburn

Best fictional villain ever: I can’t recall the name of the villain but I remember the book he was crazy. Deadly Heat by Cynthia Eden, I have never run across a villain like him.

Best fictional heroine ever: Cin Craven from Wages of Sin by Jenna Maclaine. Her hero Michel would be my second pick of the sexiest fictional.

Your secret beauty tip: This is so not my department LOL.

Your secret favorite cooking/baking recipe: (full recipe or maybe online link)

I have so many, it’s would be hard to choose. So I’ll just pick the one I am stuck on baking at this time, even my daughter loves this. http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cinnamon-bread-recipe

This bread is really good hot and it’s great using it the next morning as French toast.

Indie Romance Convention 2013

I am very happy to announce that I'll be an attending author at the first Indie Romance Convention in October 2013 - organized by my friend and well-known blogger, Laurie from Bitten by Paranormal Romance. You can bet there'll be lots of awesome people around - wonderful authors, cover designers and bloggers (you'll find the full list and more information here on the convention's website). For me, it's the long-awaited opportunity to talk to my readers in person. So if you can make it possible, head over to Lebanon, Tn (near Nashville), and meet me at the convention! I'm looking forward to seeing you there. ;-)

Love,
Deborah

A Word or Two about Fanfiction

Dear Readers,

Fanfiction, or more commonly, "fanfic" has recently risen from the internet underground and is on everyone's lips, especially since the success of former Twilight fanfic Fifty Shades of Grey and its two sequels, which dominate the book charts in many countries as I write this.

For you people out there who don't know what fanfic is, or have never read any: According to Wikipedia, it's "a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator." In other words, fans use the characters, worlds and settings of their favorite TV show, movie or book to write their own fiction. If you take a look around popular sites like fanfiction.net or archiveofourown.org, you'll find fics for nearly everything, ranging from Harry Potter via Supernatural, Twilight and Sherlock to True Blood (the latter two are my favorites, I'll admit).

Since these sites are almost completely uncensored and unlimited, there are stories from countless writers, many of them even underage. For people who love to read I can only recommend giving fanfic a chance. Some of them are surprisingly well-written, while others are painfully awful. Explicit erotic sex scenes (the gay-themed ones are called "slash") are quite common, but occasionally there are hidden gems among them, much better than some published erotica. Sometimes you can't help but wonder how a 16-year-old would know about some practices they describe so vividly. But in the end, it's a wonderful thing that such talented young people spend their spare time creating stories. Maybe some of them will become famous and successful writers later on, you never know.

Naturally, not every creator of an "alternate universe" is very happy about people who use copyrighted characters and worlds without asking, especially when erotic content is added (often between protagonists that were never meant to couple by the original writer, for instance Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy). J.K. Rowling publicly stated that she was ok with fanfiction as long as there was no pornography or racism. I absolutely agree with her opinion on racism, of course. But when it comes to sexuality, there is no limit to teenage fantasies. 

No matter what you do, they'll continue writing and reading it anyway. But maybe that's just their way of dealing with the chaos their hormones cause in their bodies, and this is not the worst way of coming to terms with it, don't you agree? Creativity can never be wrong, as long as you don't hurt anybody with it. Personally, I'd be very pleased if readers felt strongly enough about my books to write fanfiction. It's a great compliment for an author, and a sure sign that readers love to get completely immersed in one's fictional world. It means that you succeeded in the most important goal a writer can achieve.

Although I wrote other stuff before and have been working in the romance publishing industry for some years, fanfiction was what originally brought me the first spark of writing "Bound to the Prince". Originally, I wrote the first few chapters as a fanfic for Prince Nuada, the compelling tragic villain from the movie Hellboy - The Golden Army. But soon I felt that the character I imagined was so much more, and very different from the movie figure, and I felt like creating a fantasy universe of my own. So I kept writing, but didn't use any other characters or locations from Hellboy. At some point I renamed my prince Elathan (an old name from Celtic mythology, meaning "The Golden Warrior", which I found befitting for my hero. By the way, you don't pronounce the "t", the correct pronunciation is "Ela-han", just for those of you who read my book. ;-)).

A beautiful thing about writing fanfiction is the close relationship you have with your readers. They are people who share your passion about what you're writing, and they give you wonderful, invaluable feedback, helping you to improve constantly. I learned so much during that time. At the beginning, I felt a bit self-conscious about my own writing, but I kept posting more and more since those awesome friends asked me to - and I've kept all their precious comments until today. I encourage every aspiring writer to try fanfiction first, if you are afraid of beginning your own first novel yet. I promise it will be the best lesson in writing you'll ever have.

Yours truly,

Deborah

*****

Besides her published novels, Deborah Court wrote two True Blood fanfic novellas exclusively for EricandSookielovers.com. You can also find them here:

Piece of Glass (A vampire love story, set in the present and the Viking era)

The Dark Queen (Sequel to Piece of Glass, a vampire New Orleans murder mystery)

Blog Swap!!! Interview with Author Blak Rayne

Dear Readers,

Today I have a very special guest: Blak Rayne, my good friend and published author who, among other projects, writes romantic and homoerotic fiction influenced by the Japanese Yaoi genre. At the same time, Blak has graciously invited me for a Q&A with a book giveaway on her blog (May 23rd), which you'll find here, so we are doing an interview swap of sorts. ;-) 

Blak is not only a talented and successful writer, but also a lovely, fascinating and kind person whom I'd love to meet in person one day. As she tells readers on her website, she likes men, period, and she likes hers hot and powerful, to have secrets and burn up the pages. She says: "I like to believe there's a love story out there for everyone, it's just waiting to be told." Brava, bravissima Ms Rayne, I wholeheartedly agree! 

Q&A with Blak Rayne

 Could you please tell us something about you?

Well, there is something new I’d like to mention. I have just started to write under another pen name within a totally different genre. For me, this is wonderful, and something I have been longing to do for many years. I can’t wait to see the results!

When did you decide on being an author?

Cliché as it sounds, early childhood, though my dream didn’t come to fruition until much later in life (isn’t that always the way). 

What inspires you to write?

Anything really, my imagination constantly churns. But if I had to pick, I’d have to say music. I was raised on music (my mother’s influence) along with a passion for books (my father’s influence). I took years of piano–practical and theory, self-taught guitar, played a little drums, and also ukulele. 

What is the premise of your book?

My current novel, which is nearing completion is 'The Ideal Side of Love'; a short story about a successful businessman, Stephen, who has struggled all his life in relationships until he meets Myron. After years together, Myron dies of cancer. The only way Stephen can cope is by immersing himself in work until he accidentally bumps into a stranger. I won't go any further because I don't want to spoil the story. TISOL is written in first person POV, which is very different for me, but I think it really works for the story and characters.

~***~

 The Ideal Side of Love

‘Average, but extraordinary, and only twice in a lifetime.’

Stephen Prichard is a resilient and self-made man that has it all, a successful business, great husband, and a summer condo on the waterfront, until life throws a curve ball. After twelve years together, his husband Myron dies of cancer, leaving Stephen to confront a future of uncertainties alone.

Then fate lends a hand, when not one, but two chance encounters with the same stranger put his feelings to the test. First and second impressions are lasting. Stephen longs for companionship, and the stranger is attractive, however, he’s also enigmatic and cold, and the memories of Myron are still painfully fresh.

Can a man Stephen barely knows renew his faith in love? But, more importantly, is he willing to let go of the past?

 http://www.blakraynebooks.com

http://www.blakrayneblog.com

  ~***~

What is your favorite passage in the book?

For TISOL I can’t say yet, as the book is incomplete. 

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Honestly, I’m a bit of both. If I’m writing an in depth story, I will plot, otherwise I fly by the seat of my pants. But then again…some of my better stories were written off-the-cuff. Yep, I’m a bit of both.

How do you develop your characters?

I usually start with a name. Then a simple image comes to mind–the way the character looks, dresses, and so on; as the story evolves, so do they. In other words, I may mould the character to his or her story, or circumstance. It depends. Sometimes the story dictates the character.

How did you come to write m/m erotic romance?

I’ve written hetero erotica before, some sex within my fantasy stories, and even a little homoerotic, but I never considered writing m/m erotic romance until a friend dared me to enter an online writing contest. I had to write an m/m erotic story, and did so in five days, following the contest rules. I didn’t win, but the feedback was decent, and I sent the story to a publisher many years later.

Which books/authors influenced you most and why?

I love to read when time permits. And, since I’ll read just about anything, there are many authors I enjoy. As far as influence goes, I can’t pick any particular one for their writing abilities because every author has a unique written voice–even I do, but I certainly can for imagination; J.R.R. Tolkien, Agatha Christie, C. S. Lewis, Morgan Llewellyn, Kazuma Kodaka, Robin Cook, Terry Brooks, R.D. Wingfield, Joseph Wambaugh, Oliver Bowden, Brent Weeks, Bram Stoker…

Which is your favorite hero and villain in a movie or TV series?

I almost always root for the villain–well those with half a conscience. You know the type–driven by a vengeful spirit, but also emotionally torn by their own sinister actions. Which are usually brought on due to an unrequited, lost or stolen love. Bram Stoker’s Dracula is my favourite. He’s a prime example of a tortured soul seeking revenge in the name of love. 

Is there a contemporary author, musician or actor you particularly admire?

The only people I really admire are the authors I’ve worked with, those I have gotten to know on a personal level. Most have struggled, and I admire their determination, their achievements, and how they treat others in the industry. 

What will be your next project?

Well, I have several erotic m/m novels awaiting my undivided attention. And, adding to this, I have a ten part fantasy series I’ve been working on faithfully for fifteen years, that needs editing, covers etc to reach publication (this is under my new pen name). I’ve got so much on my plate at the moment I can scarcely keep up. 

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

First and foremost writing is all about passion–sharing your imagination with others. Be passionate about your work. The second part is honing your craft. Read what you like to write, learn from other authors this includes their triumphs and mistakes. But the most important thing, do what you feel is right. Stay true to yourself.