Did you choose your genre or did it choose you? I’ve always loved paranormal romance; it’s
predominantly what I read. When I finally drummed up enough courage to start
writing for publication, it just made sense to write in the genre that I love.
Did you enjoy language arts in school? Did you have a
teacher that particularly encouraged you to write? Yes! I was an English and History girl in school. Hated math with a
vengeance, lol! Both my eight grade and freshman English teachers encouraged
me, and my fellow classmates to be creative, and I rolled with their suggestion
J
It’s five o’clock somewhere…Let’s have a drink! What
cocktail best describes you and why? Oooh,
that’s a toughie! I do like my cocktails… Hmm… I think I’m going to go with a
Rum Runner. One of my good friends made one for me the other night and I loved
it. It sported a mixture of fruity flavors and a definite kick with the rum.
The drink was fun, flirty, fruity and packs a kick, just like me J
On my desk I have a rhino that my husband gave me to remind
me I’m rhino-tough, as you have to be in the business. Is there anything you
have that you use to remind you of that? I’ve
got some amazing friends who encourage me to keep pushing forward when I start
to feel down. This is a tough business, but if it wasn’t, it probably wouldn’t
be so worthwhile. Great friends and critique partners are a must!
I have two muses, Arwen and Bronwyn, they have very distinct
personalities. Can you share a bit about your muse? Heh heh… My muse is a snarky bitch most days, lol! She’s very strong-willed,
and won’t open the floodgates of creativity until she’s damned good and ready.
But once she lets loose…whoa, baby! I can’t keep her quiet J
It seems we all endured English and/or World literature
coming up in high school…What was the worst book you were ever forced to read
and what about it turned you off? I’m
probably going to catch some backlash with this one, but I did not enjoy
Hemingway’s A Farewell To Arms. I thought it was boring, and I struggled to get
through it.
You have a million dollars that you must donate to one
charitable organization. Which one would you choose and why? That’s a tough question. There are a ton of
charities I’d like to donate to. There’s one particular charity that’s been on
my heart lately, and that’s MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving.) My oldest
daughter just participated in the Every 15 Minutes program at her school, and I
just finished writing a YA about teenage drinking and driving, so I feel very
passionate about the topic. Too many kids are losing their lives because of bad
decision-making. There’s a definite need for more education.
Do you have one of those pesky day jobs, or are you a
full-time writer? If you do have another career what do you do and do you enjoy
it? I’m a full time mom to three girls. I
love being a mom, but man, is it tiring! I read and write to relax.
Due to the world we live in, most editors will tell a
romance writer they have the moral obligation to protect their characters from
scary life altering things, thereby being obligated to the reader. What are
your thoughts on this? Do you protect your characters and how? I’ve not had this experience with the
editors I’ve worked with. I’ve put a couple of my heroes through the ringer,
and personally, I think giving the hero/heroine huge obstacles to overcome
makes for a rich, engrossing story. I don’t protect my characters, and I doubt
they’d let me if I tried. They’re pretty darn stubborn, lol.
Romance has come a long, long way since Fabio graced the
covers regularly…it seems the hinges are off the proverbial door. How far is
too far in your mind? Are there things you simply won’t write? Everyone has their own comfort zone. What’s
right and comfortable for me may not be for someone else. Personally, I’m
comfortable writing erotic romance between a man and a woman. That’s what I
like to read, it’s what I have experience with, so I find it easy to write.
I’ve been asked, as has my husband, if we do “all that stuff
in my stories.” Do you get asked this and if so how do you handle it? Oh, my Lord! Yes! I get asked that question
all the time. I usually laugh it off, and remind people that while I write
romance, I also read and watch a lot of television. I’ve got plenty of places
to draw inspiration from aside from my own bedroom J
I had an editor early on that showed me the way…have you had
anyone in particular that gave you a gentle **ahem** nudge in the right
direction? How did they do that and how did you react? You, my friend, are lucky! I lucked out in the critique partner end of
things. I’ve got some amazing writer friends who are honest and tell me when
things don’t work. There’s been plenty of times where I want to cry because a
scene I love doesn’t work, or my crit partner has confessed I made her eyes
bleed with overly long sentence structure, and passive voice. I rely on them to
be honest and I always try to do the same.
Wine or beer? Wine,
definitely
Satin or cotton? Cotton
all the way, baby
Fries or tots? Fries
Cake or pie? Aww,
damn… Really? You’re gonna make me choose?
Steak or burgers? Burgers
Candle light or pitch dark? Candle light
Running through a strange forest with a blood thirsty
demon hot on her heels wasn’t Taylor’s idea of a rockin’ evening. Then again, neither
was soaring backward through time and space. Time travel chafed and left a
rank, nasty aftertaste. So, when she finds herself floundering amidst a sea of
Commandment-loving holy rollers who fling accusations of witchcraft and bedevilment
like hotcakes in a diner, finding her way home jumps to the top of her to do
list. Too bad she can’t remember who she is or where she came from. And if that
wasn’t bad enough, Taylor realizes she’s fallen for Gabriel, the mysterious
Latin warlock who came to her rescue.
Battling an identity crisis and lost in a time that’s not
her own, Taylor is determined to find her way back to twenty-first century
Hanaford Park. But first, she and Gabriel must work together to uncover the
dark scourge lurking in the shadows of Salem Village, and in doing so, save
their lives, and the lives of countless innocents from a lethal date with the
hangman’s noose.
Great interview Lisa.
ReplyDeleteI loved English and History at school to and they have stayed with me in my writing.
I did enjoy Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms but not as much as For Whom The Bell Tolls. Don't worry, you'll get no vicious backlash from me. We all like different books and shouldn't be judged because of that :)