Q&A
These are all questions I have actually received, and the answers shown are the answers I actually gave. No made up questions here! 😀
Where did you get the idea for your first book (Phi Beta Pie)?
I just thought it would be a funny idea. It's kind of an ode to those goofy cheerleader films of the 80s and 90s.
How do you get inspired to write?
I'm constantly inspired to write. It's not something that I actively pursue.
What are you currently working on?
So much. The Nephilim series, more Quickies books, some stand-alones…
What’s the best thing about being a writer?
Freedom to unleash your imagination!
What’s your advice for aspiring writers?
Dedicate time every day to your writing - and try to make it early in the morning, before you do anything else of consequence. And don't be afraid to get people to critique your work! You never know if someone might see or suggest something you haven’t thought of!
How do you deal with writer’s block?
I work on another element of my book - like cover design, acknowledgments, research, or maybe just checking out magazines and video games for inspiration on things to add to liven up my story.
Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what kind?
Yes, I do, every time I write, and as far as what kind...well, everything. Seriously. I've even put on my Sounds of Nature album at times when it had the ambiance I was going for. Music to me is a catalyst, and the writing is the end result - the music helps me focus, get in the mood, and the result is something much better than I could achieve without it. Some of my favorite musicians are Jessie J, Porcelain Black, Evanescence, Boyz II Men, The Empire Cast, and Marilyn Manson. There are much more, of course, but those are my main ones.
Who is your favorite fictional couple, and why?
Vincent Vega and Jules from Pulp Fiction! Though they aren't technically a couple in the romantic sense, they complement each other well, and seem to feed off each other in a fascinatingly synergistic way. Loves em.
I want to learn to write. Any ideas?
Write. That's the best advice I can give you. And read something you actually enjoy - and when you do, keep a lazy eye towards how THEY write. Think of it as a mentorship program. But first and most importantly, WRITE. You'll get better with practice!
Are all your books erotica?
Yes. Well, "Nephilim: Daybreak" is kind of light erotica, but still erotica. And "The Secret Life of Miel" is more of a psychological brain slam, but again, still erotica. I've pretty much stuck with only erotica professionally. My brother now, he writes dystopian and sci-fi. Me, I'm just a little too freaky to be so serious.
What made you start writing, even before you started in erotica?
I love sex, and they say you should make money doing what you love, and it seemed like a better option than porn star or prostitute. 😀 Seriously though, I've been writing since I was a little girl, and sex has always been exciting and fascinating to me. So I meshed the two.
Now as far as what made me start writing...I've always had a huge imagination, and writing was the best way I could release some of that creativity.
Where did you go to college?
El Centro in Dallas, TX
What was your major?
Psychology
What do you do for a living, besides writing? (General description, not looking for specifics like company or anything)
Data entry
As far as pets go, are you a cat person, dog person, other animals, or all of the above?
Dog person, hands down.
What type of foods do you like or dislike? This includes the things you really, really want to eat but don't because they're not very healthy.
I am a complete fast food slut, and I have to force myself to avoid those restaurants or I will balloon. The temptation, though, is ridiculous. 😃
Where do you draw the line of distinction between recreational sex and making love, and do you personally see a difference? Do your friends that you discuss things like this draw the same distinctions?
I don't draw a line. It's hard to put something as intimate and personal as sex in black and white. I think the experience is different, and extremely complicated, depending on the people involved.
How much of (good) sex would you say is physical and how much of it is mental? What would you think your friends, male and female, would say to the same question?
I think good sex is a beautiful conglomeration of both, and my friends...I have a very diverse group of friends, so there is no telling what they would say. 😀
Do you need to feel an emotional connection with your partner in order to fully enjoy sex or can it be completely detached and still enjoyable? Would your friends, male and female, say the same?
Either. Although it is better if there is an emotional connection, of course.
Does alcohol or drugs enhance or impair your enjoyment or do you prefer to be completely clear headed?
I am 100% drug free. I don’t smoke, drink, or do anything else drug related. Well, I do take a daily multivitamin, but that’s about it. 😃 In the past (like, when I did drink and/or smoke weed) it definitely changed the sexual experience - it made it less fun and intimate.
Do you drive a stick shift car or an automatic?
I don't drive. Haven't since I was a teenager. Traumatic car accident, some friends died - that's the abridged version.
What do you do for fun. Would you consider yourself to be more of an outdoor person or an indoor person?
Indoor. I can’t stress this enough. 😃
Do you have any phobias or is there anything that you are truly, primally terrified of?
I did some serious thinking about this one, and the conclusion I came to? Yes: Death. That’s it.
What type of music do you listen to and do you play an instrument?
I don’t play an instrument, and the music I listen to depends on what I’m in the mood for / writing. My favorites (in order) are R&B, pop, rock, country, rap.
I was also wondering are some of your stories, especially some of the erotic parts of them, from your own personal experience?
Yes, the erotic parts of my stories are definitely drawn from my personal experiences. Mostly. And research. 😉
By the way, how did you get the idea to write these pieces of literary Art? ^-^
So flattering. Love it. Honestly, there is no real road or method - things just pop into my head at the strangest times. I can see something and my mind will just run rampant, or hear something that will spark an imaginative tango. A lot of times in the shower/bath things will just slide into my conscious unbidden, so I'll mentally keep repeating these ideas until I get out and then quickly write them down. This happens almost every day. 😅
I write mainly for fun and to get things out of my head. My dream would be to supplement my retirement with income from writing full time. What finally inspired you to take the plunge? I'm happily envious of you.:)
Good question! The things that inspired me to take the plunge are 1) my passion for writing, and 2) the backlog of story ideas said passion was creating. They just kept piling up. One day I went through my computer, sifting through all the rough drafts and (in some cases) nearly finished stories and it dawned on me that I would never live long enough to tell all these tales that mean so much to me.
That's what did it. I knew that before I died, I had to give birth to my babies.
So I put my head down, researched my little ass off about the business end of everything, figured out how to intelligently schedule my day, and went at it - fine-tuning every element of the process as I went. Something I'm still doing. 😊
Do you have a specific writing process you use or are you one of those fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants authors?
I am the exact opposite of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants author. That is kind of my brother, J.C. Me, I’m methodical as hell, and have even worked out a step-by-step process. It goes like this:
- Dummy File. This is where I basically upload a blank document to my eBook distributor with little more than a title and a general idea of what I’m going to write about.
- Outline. On this stage, I have all the elements I want to include in the story messily thrown into what was formerly a blank document, along with a basic plot outline and the cast of characters.
- Rough Draft. The skeletal stage. If my story were a human, this would be where I form the skeleton. In this stage, I have the story written in its rawest form. No spell checks, no grammar checks, no editing, no looking back – just typing until my fingers bleed.
- Red Edit. Using the human analogy above, this would be where I add muscles onto the skeleton. I slowly, meticulously comb through what I’ve written, adding/deducting whatever I feel makes the story better. This is the bloodiest and most scary of all my editing phases, and the one that tends to take the most time. It is also, if I’m being honest with myself, the most fun. 😉
- Yellow Edit. Here’s where I add the skin. I read the story all the way through, mainly keeping an eye out for consistency and realism. Would the characters really talk the way they are? Do the events that transpire seem realistic, or at least plausible? This stage is nowhere near as bloody as the red edit, but characters and events are still liable to come up missing if I deem fit.
- Green Edit. And now I’m adding the clothes onto my carefully crafted person. This basically means that the story is pretty much how I like it, so now I’m just doing cleanup work – making sure everything flows together nicely, character relationships are what I want them to be, and any secondary characters truly have a chance to shine at least once. Etc.
- Final Version. Here is where I put it through the grammatical meat grinder – spell check, syntax check, Grammarly (which I swear by), and my editor. After all this, I give it to my beta-readers and see what they think. After making any last-minute changes, I upload it to Smashwords (at half price!) for a bit to get an ISBN and generate interest, then (usually after a week) move it over to Amazon – its permanent home. Once it’s on Amazon, I also make it into a paperback and then hire a professional narrator to do an audiobook version as well.