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Hello CJ!
I am so excited about interviewing you!! Here are some interview
questions. Please look then
over and answer them at your leisure.
1. When did you decide to become an author and why?
I’ve been writing forever, but trying to understand the
New York publishing process is
extremely difficult. I could never figure out where to send a book
in. I have been published in
several magazines, including Country and Rodale’s, but all my books
sat on my computer for
the simple reason, New York was too daunting.
I am first a full time wife and mom and I home educated
my three kids. Plus we had a
big farm that took up a lot of time. Writing had to take a back
seat to the more important things
in life. Husband and family.
When we lived in Idaho, we were in the middle of a
blizzard and I had fallen asleep in
front of the fire. I dreamed up a story about a woman who had been
sent to ‘join’ with
supernatural leaders in order to prevent a horrible war. When I
woke up, I immediately started
writing it and it became my first full length novel…The Peacekeeper
Journals: The Joining. But
then life got in the way again, and the book went to the back
burner.
When the kids got older, I started writing again and I
knew I wanted to share my
stories. I discovered e-publishing and the submission guidelines
were so much easier to
understand I decided to give it a shot. I submitted my first book,
another full length novel called
The Mylari Chronicles: The Soulmates and it was accepted
immediately! That was in
December of 2005.
Since then, I’ve written over thirty-five stories. So
far…I’ve published seventeen, with
sixteen more under contract. And I’m just getting started.
2. How long did it take to get your first book published?
When I actually first submitted, I was one of the lucky
ones. It took me just 10 days to
get an acceptance and then I was published less than two months
later. I've been going strong
ever since and usually have at least one book a month being released
from my various
publishers.
3. What jobs did you have before becoming a writer?
Check my bio. LOL. I've done many things. I guess
you can call me a Jill of all
Trades. I've done rodeo, worked in production, was a cocktail
waitress, acted in off Broadway
plays, and worked with Spiderman at Universal Studios. I've
modeled, done sales and did a
stint as a divemaster in Ft. Lauderdale Florida. I love trying new
things, but writing is more
than a job...it's who I am.
4. Do you have any authors who inspire you? Do you have an author
who mentors you?
I have several favorite authors and I've dedicated some
of my books to them. Marilyn
Campbell, Nora Roberts, Maggie Shayne, Linda Howard, Elizabeth
Lowell, and Jayne Ann
Krentz are some of the ones who have inspired me greatly. I'd love
to meet Agatha Christie
because her plot twists are so remarkable.
I don't have an author who mentors me. I have learned
everything by reading good
books and trying to understand what made me love them so much and
then doing the same. I
write for myself first, my readers second, and the publisher third.
5. What award would you love to win??
I have already won several and each one is a joy. Just
being nominated shows me my
readers are pleased with my work and that is the biggest thrill of
all. I think if I had to choose
one, just being on the NEW YORK times bestseller list would be a
wonderful plus to any career.
6. Please tell us about your favorite book that you have published
and what makes it special to
you??
I love all my books, but I think it’s The Peacekeeper
Series that holds a special place
in my heart. It was my first true novel and it has been so well
received, I constantly do a little
dance thinking about it. Six hot men and one special woman start it
out, and then as the story
progresses, adventure, mystery and romance flourish.
I think I like this series because it's got everything.
Romance, sex and adventure
mingled with vampires, shapeshifters, ghosts, witches, faerie and
mutants. Each book can
touch on all those great paranormal aspects and how much fun I can
have with that!
7. Do you have a set schedule you write by?
I try and write every day. I spend the morning teaching
my son and the evening
promoting, then I write in the afternoon. I start around two and go
until eight with breaks for
petting cats, playing with the dog and chasing ferrets. The only
time that changes is when
Jonathon is home and then it's all up for grabs. He comes first.
8. How do you come up with your characters and plots?
In so many ways. The Peacekeeper Series came from a
dream. Don't Spank the
Vamp came from an off comment at a conference. The Mylari
Chronicles came from my
enjoyment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Ideas come from so many
places I can't even begin
to list them. In fact, I think anything is fair game for a writer!
LOL.
9. What is your favorite genre to write and why?
Writing in all genres is a pleasure for me, but if I
were to choose one, I love
paranormal. I enjoy creating my own worlds and discovering what
they are all about. I listen to
the wind each time it sings to me and then write what I hear, but I
have to say, I enjoy hearing
those paranormal breezes more than any other.
10. What kind of books do you enjoy reading when you are not
writing?
Mostly romance. But I enjoy a good mystery now and
then. Put the two together and
I'm totally happy with it.
11. What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I love to read and often spend hours doing so. I also
adore traveling and when we
can, Jonathon and I are out and about exploring the countryside. I
used to love doing crafts,
but now I spend my time creating with words so I rarely do them any
more. I also volunteer at
several animal shelters and I spend many happy hours with critters
of all species.
12. What is one item you could not live without? What is your
favorite junk food? Do you prefer
to wear dresses or pants?
I guess the biggest thing would be my laptop, LUCAS.
I always feel lost without him.
As for junk food, anything chocolate, with fudge brownies heading
the top of my list. And
neither...the least amount of clothing is what I go for. But I have
more pants than I do anything
else, just 'cause I'm used to living in cold country.
13. What is your favorite season or time of day?
I think my favorite season is spring. All the new
life. Opposite for the day. I love
dusk moving into night. I'd probably like dawn if it didn't come so
damn early. <snicker>
14. What is the most romantic city you have been in?
Any city can be romantic if you are with the one you
love, but I think the most
romantic city I've ever been in was Sydney, Australia. Jonathon and
I explored the city and the
nightlife was wonderful. Our favorite night was when he took me on
a romantic cruise for my
birthday. The queen’s b-day is the day after, so they celebrated
with fireworks and he told me
he'd ordered them just for me. <grin> It was a wonderful time.
Here in the states my favorite cities would be Key
West and St. Augustine Florida.
Both romantic and fun to visit.
15. Which couple that you have written is your favorite and why?
This is a tough one. All my couples are special in
some way, so I can't choose. I
think on this one, I'll have to take the fifth. LOL.
16. Has anyone ever told you they did not like your books?
Again, I'm one of the lucky ones. I've had only
good fan mail. I've been asked to
write a specific kind of book, for my Mom so she can read it, since
she gets embarrassed by all
the sex in mine. LOL.
17. Speaking of sex, which of your male characters would you be most
attracted to in real life?
Another one impossible to answer because each of my
heroes is special to me in
some way. Mostly because there is a little of Jonathon in all of
them. Read one of my books
and you'll know the type of man I'm in love with. <smile>
Thank you so much for your time answering my slightly nosy
questions. Enchanting Reviews
cannot wait to review more of your books (of course I am busy
working on the anthology you
sent me and lovin’ it btw). LOL.
You're most welcome. If you have any other questions, let me know!
CJ
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