Author Spotlight - Saskia Walker

Today we're thrilled to welcome multi-published, talented author, Saskia Walker, to the Minx spotlight. We know she'll be right at home here. Take it away, Saskia!

1. Where were you in your writing career 5 years ago?

Five years ago I had a bunch of short stories published, several ebooks, and I just had my first contract from a New York house for a trade paper erotic romance. It's interesting to look back, so thank you for asking that question! Often I get so bound up with writing and the next story that I lose sight of the path behind me.

2. Where did you get the idea from for this particular book?
THE HARLOT and associated stories were inspired by a visit to the East Neuk of Fife in Scotland. This is an area of the Lowlands that has a dark and extensive history of witchcraft and persecution. The paranormal folklore there is intriguing, and the landscape and its legacy stimulated all sorts of ideas.

3. Where do you hope to be in 5 years time?
Writing great cross genre stories that make readers happy! Happy readers is my goal. :)

4. Which was the last book you read that you wish you'd written?

That would be any of Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series! She's an awesome writer with immense vision. I love where she takes us with her characters.

5. Was there any particular author or book that made you want to be a writer?
Yes, a British fantasy writer called Storm Constantine had a huge influence on me. Storm has a vivid imagination and writes characters that I can really relate to, no matter how fantastic the setting. That's key to me, if I engage with a character I can believe in I follow them wherever they take me in their world. I'd already had the dream of writing, but Storm is an author who encourages others. With her vibrant writing as inspiration and her personal mentorship, I took my first tentative steps on this journey.

6. Promotion is no longer a dirty word. How do you strive to reach as many readers as possible?
I find promotion tough. Honestly, it's really hard to push myself out there and talk up my books. I'm getting a tad braver, thank goodness! I try a little of everything, advertising, blogging, social networks. I can safely say that Good Reads is where I feel most at home. It's a really valuable social network for authors because we are engaging with avid readers actively looking for books.

7. What's the most romantic moment of your life so far?

Standing in an airport and realizing that I didn't want to get on the plane for a two-week vacation, because I'd fallen for the man I was leaving behind. I'd looked forward to that damn trip so much, and all of a sudden it was meaningless, because I'd had my first date with the love my life the night before. Inside a heartbeat I learned how much I would give up, just to be in his company. It was a profound moment, shocking and thrilling and incredibly romantic. That was over eleven years ago, and I'm still every bit as much in love with him, if not more -- and I'd still give up everything I own for another hour with him!

8. What do you wish you'd known about being an author before you were pubbed?

Ha, that a lot of patience is needed! I knew it would take hard work and that I had a lot to learn. I'm a practical sort and I also realized that as a self employed person I would have to drum up motivation for myself, each and every day. What I didn't know is that everything takes a loooooong time and there's a lot of waiting involved. It's very easy to wish your life away when you're a writer -- waiting for the next publication, waiting to hear back on a sub, waiting to see what readers think of a book. I try to distract myself from all of that by throwing myself into new projects all the time.

9. What's the best writing advice you've ever been given?
The best promo is to write the next book.

10. Tell us about your latest release.

THE HARLOT is a historical erotic romance with paranormal elements. It's set in Scotland in the early 1700s, shortly after the time of the union with England. It's also toward the end of the period in Scottish history when the persecution and execution of those charged with witchcraft took place.

The story is a very lusty, bawdy tale! The central characters, Jessie Taskill and Gregor Ramsay, are both wily loners, wary and self reliant because of what life has thrown at them. Jessie is a whore under a charge of witchcraft, and Gregor has returned to Scotland looking to regain what was taken from his family over a decade before. Initially their relationship is built on a business arrangement, but desire soon gets in the way.

Gregor rescues Jessie from the gallows and hires her to get close to his enemy, but right from the outset these two are far too distracted by each other. Jessie is alluring to Gregor, and she would much rather seduce her attractive sponsor than learn about his enemy. Each thinks they have the upper hand on the other, especially when it comes to sex. Inevitably they become close, learn of the tragedies that went before, making way for companionship and love. But with enemies and witch hunters close by, their journey is a bumpy one.

Here's the official blurb:

It is a Dark Era, one when a lusty lass will do what she must to survive. Even if it means bartering flesh for a palmful of coins...

Forced to watch her mother burned at the stake and separated from her siblings in the aftermath, Jessie Taskill is similarly gifted, ripe with a powerful magic that must stay hidden. Until one night when she's accused by a rival, and Jessie finds herself behind prison walls with a roguish priest unlike any man of the cloth she has known.

In reality, Gregor Ramsay is as far from holy as the devil himself, but his promise of freedom in return for her services may be her salvation. Locked into a dubious agreement, Jessie resents his plan to have her seduce and ruin his lifelong enemy. But toying with Gregor's lust for her is enjoyable, and she agrees to be his pawn while secretly intending to use him just as he is using her.
11. What’s next for you?

I'm about to begin work on THE LIBERTINE, and THE JEZEBEL, the follow-up books to THE HARLOT. These two books are the stories of Jessie Taskill's long-lost siblings, Maisie and Lennox. The siblings were torn apart as children when their mother was burned at the stake for witchcraft. They've had completely different lives, but the heritage of pagan witchcraft is in their blood and the need to find each other again is strong. They are passionate, gifted people, living in a time when one hint of witchcraft brings the death penalty. Each story is both an adventure and an erotic romance. As the three siblings live and love they also find their way back to each other. The reunion of the Taskill witches will be at the end of the third book. All three novels are scheduled for back-to-back mass-market publication on the HQN line, early in 2013. I'm very excited about the writing of books two and three!

Link: http://www.saskiawalker.co.uk/theharlot.html

Evolution

We all know writing is rewriting. At least I know it now. Time was I used to unleash first drafts onto poor, unsuspecting editors - and then I was surprised when my work didn't sell.

By chance I discovered, while writing short stories, that any work I rewrote had a greater chance of making it into print. It can occasionally take up to ten drafts to do the trick and get my story into a reasonable kind of order. In some of these drafts I'll only change a word or two, in others, complete chunks will be rewritten.

Applying this principle to longer works, I reasoned that rewriting might well make my manuscripts more saleable. But where to stop?

One of my current longer WIPs has been rewritten to death over many years. I just can't let the story go. But, in the reworking, it has evolved into something completely different - different heroine and hero, different setting, different secondary characters, different conflicts and storyline.

Nothing remains of the original idea or the early drafts. Nothing at all.

So, am I really rewriting the same book? Or am I now writing a different one? And how many books have I written in between?

I'm still unable to comment on most blogs, but thank you all for your messages on my previous posts. If you are able to comment here, I'd love to know how many drafts you write before submitting a story.

Another perspective on the RNA 2011 Conference

Minxy friend Rachel Lyndhurst gives us another inside look at the RNA 2011 Conference in 2011. Thanks Rach!

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Rachel with Kate Johnson

Thanks for asking me here today, Minxes!

I was very fortunate to have attended my very first Romantic Novelists’ Association conference this year, and a little bird tells me you want to hear the some of the juicy details – the stuff that doesn’t necessarily get published. The stuff that’s really useful to know … I was only there for half of it, but here are some of the key things I discovered.

Don’t worry about forgetting a pen and paper when you set off – it’s all provided in the official goody bag. Along with free books, bookmarks, postcards and chocolate! But do leave yourself some breathing space to find your accommodation - I got lost quite a few times!

Students these days have it really easy! Our rooms were en suite in small flats with a fantastically equipped kitchen area. Long gone are the days when you had to sneak a member of the opposite sex in past a grumpy porter at the front door!

Good news. The market isn’t as bad as some would have you believe. At the beginning of the conference Jan Jones ran though a list of authors who had good news to share about successes in the past year. There were loads. RNA members are getting published and selling in buckets.

It appears that everyone agrees that an online presence is essential for an author these days. Networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook are vital for marketing yourself and your books. It’s hugely beneficial to interact with your readers and pick up a few tips yourself – that’s why you’re reading this right now, right? I had a ten-minute editor’s pitch and had my suspicions confirmed; when you submit to a publisher/agent they will Google you. Fact! Don’t get caught with your knickers down, folks, keep your blog up to date and make sure it sparkles.

There is no right way to write. Jill Mansell told us that she writes longhand with a fountain pen on foolscap paper on the right hand side of the page. Revisions are inserted on the left hand side of the page and then she gets someone to type it up for her. Jill would feel physically ill if she had to write more than 1500 words in a day, whereas Louise Allen can do four or five thousand in a day if she has to.

Every author has to be prepared to market herself. I now know what an ‘elevator pitch’ is – make sure you do too, you might need it when you bump into an agent in the loo during the conference or RNA winter party...

Make sure your book has a really good title, having a ‘working title’ may not be good enough. If it’s weak, you may lose the agent/editor’s interest before they even turn over a page.

Most importantly, never give up. Jill Mansell confided that after two rejections from agents she was going to thrown in the towel if she got a third. Fortunately, she didn’t, she’s a bestselling author. Keep going, you can do it!

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Rachel's debut novel, Storm's Heart, is available from Amazon and Amazon UK.

Rachel can be found on Twitter as @RachelLyndhurst, and her blog is at
http://rachellyndhurst.blogspot.com/

Author Spotlight - Sally Clements

I'm test driving some new minxy spotlight questions today - here goes!


• What is your writing process?
I write in the mornings, after getting the kids off to school, and write until 2.00 which is my first school run. Apart from that, I grab random moments on my Alphasmart, and download them onto computer the next morning!

• Everyone who writes knows it's not easy - what methods do you use to keep at it on days when it would be so much easier to go shoe shopping?
Um...I tend to go shoe shopping! No, seriously, I don't because there are too many days when it's difficult to keep to it, and I have a cupboard full of shoes... What I do is grab a coffee, sit down and promise myself a reward (usually licorice all-sorts, a handful) if I get 1,000 words done. Once I've done that, I'm happy, and usually that kick starts the muse. I listen to music, and also burn scented candles too, to help get me into writing mode.
• Keeping fit: Do you have an exercise regime to counterbalance all those hours sitting at a computer?
Gosh, no. I should have though...terrible writer's spread going on here! I walk around the garden, and weed.
• Do you believe in writer's block?
No. But I believe in writer's burnout. Sometimes it's important to do something else - concentrate on other areas of your life, and be gentle on yourself. If you are hassling yourself to write and giving yourself a hard time, you can be darned sure the muse will disappear!
• Have you ever used an incident from real life in a book? If so, did it get you into trouble?
No, I haven't. But I have got about half a book full of real life incidents that I write to release tension. It's a biting comedy, but I'd get sued if I published it!
• In what way is being a published writer different to how you thought it would be?
I spend a lot more time on the internet than I'd anticipated - and a lot more time doing promotion.
• Promotion is no longer a dirty word. In what ways do you strive to reach more readers?
I never turn down the opportunity to meet new readers. I blog regularly, tweet constantly, do every interview I'm offered, and am polite. I also try to put my personality out there - build genuine connections with like minded people. I've been published about a year now, and I'm still learning! (tips gratefully accepted!)
• What is your top promo tip for other authors?
Make sure you have a blog, twitter, and interact. Be helpful and polite to others, good karma bounces back!
• What did you learn while writing this book?
My heroine, Melo, is a caring, nurturing person, and she could easily have become a bit of a pushover. She made me examine my own feelings about giving - she gives, and other's take. But she learns to stay true to herself and not be taken advantage of. She owns her power, and squares up to grumpy, gorgeous Cade - with lots of fiesty fireworks. I learnt a lot of what I believe deep down, writing her!
• What was the most fun part of writing this book?
Definitely immersing myself in the warm heat of Isola dei Fiori. Researching Tuscan recipies, looking at pictures of lovely islands, imagining myself breathing in the scent's of lavender and rosemary...sigh... with Cade by my side, of course!
• And just for fun: what would your hero’s honeymoon destination of choice be?
He loves his cabin in the woods in Canada, on the lakeshore...I think that's where he'd love to be with Melo.

Here's more about the story:
Capable, financial advisor, Melo Bellucci always knew when it came to organising her sister’s wedding she’d in charge. After all, her sister, Rosa is notoriously scatterbrained. But there’s a silver lining in the form of the Best Man, Melo’s childhood crush, Cade West.

When Cade returns to the Tuscan island, Isola dei Fiori, he’s prepared to mix business with pleasure, especially when he meets Melo again. The confident, sexy woman is a world away from the lanky tomboy he remembers, and attraction burns between them instantly.
But when he discovers that the perfect site for his hotel. idyllic Paradise Beach, belongs to Melo, rather than her father, can their relationship survive, when there are two plans for Paradise?

Marrying Cade is available now for Kindle at Amazon.uk, Amazon.com and for other email formats at The Wild Rose Press, and ebook sellers worldwide.
 
Sally is @sallywriter on twitter.
 
And her blog is here.
 
Thanks for having me, Minxes!

Enjoying the summertime...

I had a great time last week, with the Marrying Cade Wave launch for my new book, and would like to thank everyone who took part and helped launch Marrying Cade into the blue.

Now that's done, I'm wondering where the summer weather has got to - Ireland is grey and rainy, cold and dull. My family are staying at home this year - so no prospect of the warm breezes of a Tuscan island for me - except in fiction. I'm planning a few trips around about, some visits to the cinema, and if the weather improves, a barbeque or two in the garden. If it gets really warm, we might even brave the beach...

My question this Monday is: What's everyone else doing who's not disappearing on holiday? Any good ideas? Kids holidays here for secondary school start at the beginning of June and finish at the end of August - its a very long time, I could do with some ideas!