Tell our readers a little bit about yourself.
I’m a former good girl who writes about bad girls, bad boys who want to be good, and good sex that goes hilariously bad sometimes.
What number book is this? First? 100th? 200th?(Nora only!)
Like any former good girl who’s gone bad, I’ve lost track of my actual numbers. Fourteen rings a bell, though.
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?
Lucky for me, I hate shoe shopping, due to my monstrously large feet. I’ll take writing over that, any day! My main method is deadlines and beating myself up.
What is your top promo tip for other authors?
Write a bunch of books, because you’ll gain confidence and readers with every one.
How does writing fit into your day? Or does your day fit in around your writing?
I was self-employed for a good decade already before I started writing, so the cycle of procrastination, not showering or eating properly, and staying up late to meet a deadline hasn’t changed much. My new thing is doing a three-hour block of writing, early in the day. This allows me the smug self-satisfaction of bragging to my author friends that my word count has been met for the day. It’s kind of like the superior high you get a few days into quitting sugar. (i.e. Doomed to not last more than a few weeks.)
Which blog(s) do you read regularly?
My top blog is a message board--I check the KBoards Writers’ Cafe regularly.
Keeping fit: Do you have an exercise regime to counterbalance all those hours sitting at a computer?
I now have a sit/stand desk. The unit cost $369 plus tax and shipping, and it converts from sitting to standing with the touch of a finger. I now stand more than half my time at the computer, and my knees are doing much, much better. I need more exercise, but this is a start in the right direction.
Which of your characters would you like to be?
I’m happy to be me, because all the true love, great friendships, and hilarious characters in my book worlds are inspired by the wonderful people in my real life.
Could you be friends with any of your heroines?
I’d gladly hang out with any of them! I swear sometimes I see them around town. I see Peaches Monroe everywhere, always a little different, and always dressed better than me.
At what point in your career did you actually start to feel like you were a writer?
Once my first book hit the USA Today Bestseller list, I knew that other people would think I’d “made it,” and I resolved myself to neither brag nor downplay my level. If someone compliments me, I try to accept it graciously. I still act like a neurotic freak at times, but I try not to complain when things aren’t going so well, because I know how annoying it is to writers who are still trying to get any traction at all. (Which is where I was for a good year and a half.)
Do you have any tips, tricks or sacrificial rituals you do when you hit a story roadblock?
Most roadblocks won’t survive a five-minute staring contest with the blank page. I’ve never (knock wood) been blocked. However, there are plenty of days I have difficulty getting out of bed, or opening the document. At times, the act of opening the manuscript will make me feel so sick I have to immediately close it, lest I vomit. We writers suffer from excellent memory and imagination. I can write a sentence and suddenly imagine the least appropriate person reading it over my shoulder. I am not so special as to be the only writer with this affliction. I understand these feelings are so common as to be cliched! How dare I take up space on a page speaking of such obviousness? I will say this: I remember who I was before I began writing, and how I had days both bad and good; I know that not every dark mood can be blamed on low sales, critical reviews, or the crushing indifference of the book-reading population. The universe has always been indifferent to my desires. I accept my humanity. I may be very small in this world, but I am enough.
STARFIRE - Peaches Monroe #3 - comes out December 10th.
Books #1 and #2, Stardust and Starlight are available now.
STARDUST - Peaches Monroe #1
Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/1aIBRDr
Barnes&Noble: http://bit.ly/1abvAl6
Kobo: http://bit.ly/12ib911
iTunes: http://bit.ly/15na6uS
STARLIGHT - Peaches Monroe #2
Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/178To5w
Barnes&Noble / Nook: http://bit.ly/17Pqf2e
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1cHuxYS
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Thanks so much for being minxy today, Mimi!
