Michelle Brewer

First and foremost, please tell us a little bit about yourself.  I’m never good at this question!  I’m married to my high school sweetheart and we have an adorable toddler who’s starting his terrible twos a little early.  We live in the Michigan suburb I grew up in, with our appropriately named cat Bonkers.  I graduated from Wayne State University with a BA in English.  And…I have a terrible sweet tooth, a bad case of road rage, and my favorite color is green.

 You tend to write various types of genres.  What's your favorite to write and why?  What are you most comfortable to write and why?  I would have to say that my favorite to write is YA/fantasy.  I like being able to create worlds and push the limits of reality.  There’s something really fascinating about blending real world characters with fantasy elements, and bending and twisting things to make a whole new reality out of it.  But it can also be a risk—because, as a writer, you have to make sure that reality is convincing.  Which is probably the reason I’m most comfortable writing contemporary romance—it’s a little easier writing within the confines of an established reality.  It also helps that I’ve been a romantic since I was a little girl, putting on pretend weddings in my backyard.  

 Are you a plotter or a pantser?  I’m definitely a plotter.  I usually make a general outline of the bigger moments I see in my head and sort of pants around to fill in the in-between.  Sometimes I’ll end up skipping things because, as I’ve gotten to know the characters, it doesn’t seem to flow with the story.  Other times, I’ve had to do rewrites because a character I intended to be minor kind of grows into something much more.  But I have to write everything—every little idea—down, because I’m always jumping between projects, and with the toddler running around, it’s entirely too easy for me to get distracted.

 What is your writing routine?  My routine is less routine and more opportunity.  I have a day job that takes up a few days a week, in addition to a toddler who’s as much of a night owl as his parents are.  I usually don’t get an opportunity to sit down and write actual words until midnight—which means I sacrifice an awful lot of sleep a few nights a week.  

 Where do you find your inspiration?  Everywhere.  It’s cliché, but it’s true.  Sometimes, I’ll be sitting in a restaurant, and I’ll see a couple or a family across from me, and I start to imagine their story.  Other times, I’m in the car and a song comes on the radio and I pay attention to the narrative and build on to it.  I draw from everything around me—all of my experiences, those of my friends and family, and those of the people I’ve never met.

 What is it about past loves that keep us hanging on to them, as Abby does with Logan?  Personally, I feel it’s the question of what could have been.  Especially when you take into consideration that Logan was Abby’s first real love—that kind of love is always in your heart.  You’re always going to look back—especially if you haven’t found someone new to occupy that space.  If you’re not happy with your present, it makes sense to me to look backward to a moment when you were happy and wonder if that possibility would still make you happy today.

 A pretend relationship is a popular plotline.  How do you take that and keep it unique and exciting?  For me, it’s always about the characters.  So many stories have been told so many times—but it’s the characters that pull me in.  Write characters who are interesting and captivating, and the entire dynamic of the story changes.  

 What tempts us to cross the line, like Anna does with Drew in SINGLE, AVAILABLE, AND COMPLETELY ATTACHED?  Specifically regarding Anna and Drew—I think that the pull was always there between them.  That edge of curiosity combined with their obvious physical attraction led them down that path—which, probably, is how most people fall into that temptation.  Curiosity can be a wonderfully dangerous thing.

 Do you plan on writing a series, or do you prefer stand-alones?  I’m actually in the middle of editing a series right now.  As far as romance novels go, I’m likely to stick to stand-alones.  But I have a number of ideas for a few YA series that I’m just itching to get to—from vampires to magic to aliens to a present day YA drama (and maybe couple of ideas where a few of those overlap).  

 What type of relationship is your favorite to explore and develop?  I’m a sucker for the second-chance romance.  I love exploring a relationship that has a history.  There’s something fascinating to me about putting myself in the middle of a relationship, whether romantic or not, and dealing with the residual effects of that past—and the impact it has on the characters I’m writing about in their present.  

 What type of person is your ideal heroine when you're both reading and writing?  What type of person is your ideal hero when you're both reading and writing?  Are they the same?  Why or why not?  This is a tough one.  Generally speaking, I write what I want to read.  That’s why I started writing in the first place—because I didn’t like how an author ended a story, or I didn’t like how a relationship worked out on TV.  So I, for my own benefit, would create my own version.  That being said, my ideal heroine to both read and write about is someone who is strong—a fighter.  Someone who doesn’t give up, but sacrifices when she feels it’s best for those around her.  My ideal hero is much the same.  I want someone who can take care of the heroine, even when she doesn’t want it (and vice-versa).  He’s generally conflicted, with a certain sort of bad-boy charm.  

 What has the publishing process been like?  It’s actually gone a lot better than I’d expected.  I decided to try self-publishing for a couple of reasons:  First, I didn’t have the time or energy to put into searching for an agent or publisher.  Second, I haven’t developed a very thick skin when it comes to rejection—so I thought I would save myself the pain of going through that process.  I was so surprised when I published Playing at Forever and real people bought it.  Not just my friends or my family (though they were incredibly supportive)—real people paid money to read what I wrote!  It was such a weird feeling.  Getting those first few good reviews, and then the less-than-thrilling reviews…it’s all been so much fun.  I still get a rush whenever I find out there’s a new review—and I really read them all, and I take what the readers have to say very seriously.  Like I said before, I started out writing mostly what I wanted to read—so to have input from others has been incredibly insightful.

 Would you recommend advertisements or did you market your books through a different venue?  I haven’t actually done a lot of advertising.  I’ve used Facebook, and on occasion, Twitter, but that’s really about it.  I am curious to see if it would impact sales at all.

 How involved are you in terms of editing/book cover/release date/marketing process?  I’m a self-publisher, so I have the final say.  I rely on my husband to design the covers for me (and I’m incredibly fortunate that he’s somewhat of a mind-reader when it comes to that, because after I find a stock photo I like, I pretty much hand it over to him and say, “I want it happy.”  or “I want it kind of sad.”…needless to say, he’s a trooper).  My best friend is in charge of the editing.  She tells me when things don’t make sense and points out all of my typos.  With each book, I feel like we’re improving.  Working around all three of our schedules is pretty much my only limitation.

 Are you working on anything now?  I’m working on a few things right now.  I’m waiting for notes on my first YA/fantasy publication—and while waiting, I’ve started working on a new romance.  I honestly have no idea how many ideas/started manuscripts I have to pull from, though.  Sometimes, I feel like I just want to try my hand at everything—historical romance, sci-fi, fantasy, YA, NA, suspense…I’ve got ideas for just about everything.

Any upcoming releases?  My next release is going to be the first in a series I’m currently calling The Darkest Trilogy.  It’s a YA vampire story that actually started out as a short story I wrote in my Freshman year of high school, almost fifteen years ago, that slowly evolved into three novels.  I’m hoping to have The Darkest Dream available within the next month or so.

My blog: http://michellelbrewer.blogspot.com

Twitter: @michellelbrewer

Author Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/michellebrewer.authorpage

Rosalind James

First and foremost, please tell us a little bit about yourself.  I came very late to writing. Worked in publishing for 20 years, but on the editorial and marketing sides. I never, ever thought of writing fiction myself, not even a short story. Then, a couple years ago, a story came into my head as usual, but for once I didn’t push it away. Instead, I started writing it, and then I couldn’t stop. Within six weeks, I’d finished “Just This Once” and quit my job. The best part was, I was living in New Zealand at the time, so I wrote a book about New Zealand rugby. Which was lucky!

You’ve written some different types of books. What's your favorite type of book to write?  I started out writing sports romance, and I love it, but I also like to challenge myself. My second book and my upcoming seventh book have a suspense element, because I wanted to see if I could do it, and now I want to see if I can do it better. And my first U.S.-based book, “Welcome to Paradise,” although still a romance, has a more complex storyline than the others (the reality show deal). I’m really just trying to have fun, do something different each time, and write the book in my head.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?  A little of both. I don’t start writing until most of the book has unspooled in my head. I know who the people are, where they’re going, and roughly how they’re going to get there, but there are always unexpected twists along the way. That’s the fun of it.

What is your writing routine?  My husband will tell you that once a book has grabbed me, I work all the time. I’m trying to get more balance, but . . . it’s hard.

Where do you find your inspiration?  Hmm. Google “All Blacks haka.” I’ll wait.

New Zealand is an AMAZING and unique setting for your ESCAPE TO NEW ZEALAND series.  What research did you do to make sure the setting was real and vivid for your readers?  Swam in the ocean a lot and drank lots of coffees and traveled all around and did lots of fun outdoors things in beautiful places, and watched a lot of rugby in pubs. Sigh. It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it.

Seriously, I’d say, just lived there. The longer you’re there, the more Kiwi culture seeps into your bones. The Maori influence, the geographical isolation (it’s just so FAR from everywhere), the sheer physical beauty of the place, they’re all part of it. You end up with this emphasis on family, the land (and the sea), hard work, and . . . well, I’d describe it as being a “regular person,” no matter who or what you are. Not being a jerk. Oh, and rugby.

All your heroes in that series are rugby players.  Why rugby?  Umm . . . remember that “All Blacks haka” thing? Yeah. Tight jerseys, short shorts, full contact, big muscles, the “regular person” deal combined with the fact that the All Blacks (NZ’s national rugby team) are NZ’s version of movie stars—and the best team in the world. The pressure of that in a country of 4.5 million people, about 4 million of whom will recognize you walking down the street—and will come up to shake your hand, ask for an autograph or a picture, and you’ll be expected to smile and SAY YES. It’s life in a fishbowl, and good behavior is expected. Pretty different from the lives of athletes in other countries, and I just found it fascinating to think about what it would be like to be that person.

JUST MY LUCK is a sexy Pride and Prejudice.  How do you take a classic story and make it unique?  Was it difficult modernizing the story?  That started because I wanted to write a dual storyline—another challenge. I had this one very feisty, sassy heroine, and another who was gentle and beautiful, and I started thinking about Elizabeth and Jane, partly because one of my favorite things about P&P is the attachment between the sisters. I didn’t try to use the whole story—it was more about the main characters’ personalities and how they interacted (and conflicted). I thought the P&P inspiration was still really obvious, but hardly anyone has mentioned it, so maybe not! It was fun, anyway.

THE KINCAIDS is a spin on reality television.  What inspired the plotline?  Why 1885?  I wanted to write a story about brothers—guys’ relationships make me laugh. Somehow I got the idea to put them on a reality show. I’m from Idaho, and I have farm connections, so doing a show about living like pioneers in 1885 was a pretty easy leap. The research was just terrifically fun (hmm, do you see a theme? It seems to be all about my having fun!) I got to interview some older folks who grew up on farms and whose parents did too, almost back to those times, and my awesome, handsome nephew did things like going out and throwing an axe for me. I texted him, “If you have an axe throwing challenge how far can you throw it,” and he texted back, “One handed or two?” That cracked me up. (Axes are HEAVY.)

What type of relationship is your favorite to explore and develop?  Romantically, I try to write very different characters every time. I normally start with the guy and find him the right girl. But I also love writing about parents and children, sisters and brothers, friends, the love of country and place. Sometimes when we say “love,” we forget about all the different kinds of love that enrich our lives. Two of my books, “Just for Now” and “Just for Fun,” are very much about fatherhood and motherhood. Plus, kids are funny.

What type of person is your ideal heroine when you're both reading and writing?  What type of person is your ideal hero when you're both reading and writing?  Are they the same?  Why or why not?  Heroine: Strong, with a backbone. Doesn’t necessarily mean she’s “tough”: several of my heroines are very gentle and sweet, but they all have a core of fortitude, character, endurance.

Hero: No question I write alpha males! But not jerks I hope--because to me, a strong man doesn’t need to hurt or control anyone else, especially a woman, to feel like a man. (I’m not talking about what kind of sex you have. That’s a whole different thing, though for me, reading or writing, it has to be explicitly consensual. And role-playing and having fun are one thing, real degradation and pain are another, and not someplace I go. And it has to include condoms!)

I suppose the main thing I like to both read AND write in characters is just basic decency, being a person who’s trying hard to do the right thing, even if you mess up.

What has the publishing process been like?  I started out doing the writing-to-agents thing, submitted to 38 different agents and publishers, got pretty discouraged. Three expressed interest, all ultimately said no. The problem seemed to be, “New Zealand rugby? Huh? Tough hook!” And I knew it was a GREAT hook! I KNEW it! Plus I had three books, and wanted to write another one.

So I put the three books I had up on Amazon, sold 2,000 ebooks the first month, 20,000 ebooks the fifth month, had a magical hour where I outranked Nora Roberts, published the paperbacks, and it’s all still going great. Guess they were wrong . . . not that I’m gloating, LOL. Thank goodness for Amazon!

Would you recommend advertisements or did you market your books through a different venue?  It was all about KDP Select—Amazon’s “exclusive” program, where you publish only with them, and you get 5 days in every 90 where you can offer a book free. I’ve only offered the first two books, but that’s been by far my most powerful marketing strategy. Have also done a few ads and some book tours, but it’s mainly been about the free offers.

How involved are you in terms of editing/book cover/release date/marketing process?  Basically, my delegating involves my left hand saying, “Right hand, get to work!” and my right hand saying, “You bet!”

No, seriously, I always say that the most important marketing happens before you publish your book. Genre, subject, story, title, blurb, cover, there ya go. Makes everything else a whole lot easier. I have a terrific book cover artist, and I have a great group of beta readers/developmental editors, aka “my friends,” who critique HARSHLY. (My best friend is a judge, as in, slam the gavel and sentence you to prison. She is TOUGH.)

I’m lucky to have been both a marketing professional and an editor in a former life, so I don’t have to outsource those things. Most marketing is just research and common sense, though. Reading about others’ experiences, thinking about what makes sense to you, trying that and seeing if it works, learning as you go.

Are you working on anything now?  Funny you should ask! I’m totally consumed now by “Nothing Personal,” the second book in the U.S.-based “Kincaids” series. This one’s about Alec, the Bad Boy twin brother of Gabe, the hero of “Welcome to Paradise,” and is set in San Francisco’s high-tech industry. A strong, passionate heroine, all buttoned up with her nose to the grindstone, and a high-flying player who meets his match, and helps our heroine discover that there are lots of, um, enjoyable experiences to be had. Let’s just say that going to work gets a lot more interesting for both of them. Some mystery and suspense, some heart-twisting moments, hopefully some humor, and, of course, some steamy stuff! No release date yet—late October?

 Contact info:

Rosalind James

@rosalindjames5

http://www.rosalindjames.com

Rosalind@rosalindjames.com

Jasinda Wilder

First and foremost, please tell us a little bit about yourself.  I’m from the Detroit area, and I'm a mother of five kids, and I'm a trained singer. I taught voice, dance, and theater for 15 years, and some of my students have performed on Broadway and in some of the biggest shows in the country. I just recently retired from teaching to write full-time.

You tend to write various types of genres.  What's your favorite to write and why?  What are you most comfortable to write and why?  I don't really have a favorite. I think I tend to write various types of romance. To me, no story is complete without romance. So I may cross genres in some capacity, but I don't really worry about  genre too much. I focus on telling the best story I can, creating the best characters I can, pulling from the reader the most genuine emotions and reactions. Once the story is done, it usually falls into some category or another, but I don't usually try to fit them there from the beginning.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?  Pantser.

What is your writing routine?  Um…well? Get up, have breakfast, spend a little time with my kids, then go to my office with my husband and my assistant while my manny takes care of the kids. I do a bit of publishing business work, maybe talk over the current project, and then write.

Where do you find your inspiration?  Life, both my own and others. I find inspiration everywhere. I was at the beach with my kids recently and had inspiration for a story hit me, involving the beach and the area where I was. I find it in coffeeshops, from TV, from my friends and former students.  

In FALLING INTO YOU, you allow your characters to be broken and hurting.  How deep did you go into yourself to write the agony they feel?  Everyone has been hurt, has been broken at some point. I know I have. I tap into that and use it. But, unlike an actor, I don't always necessarily feel it myself, I just sort of tap into the emotions I have some familiarity with and then shape them into the story. It's all about chasing the connections. I may not have ever been a horny teenaged boy, obviously, but I remember being a horny teenaged girl, and I have my husband to question, and I can sort of make the connection, use what I know personally and connect it with what I can imagine. But I do I personally feel the wrenching agony my characters in FIY did? No, not really. I'd never be able to live my life if I relived every scene, every emotion. It's hard to explain. The scenes and the emotions flow through me, but aren't mine. I'm expressing the story of fictional characters who started inside me, but they're not me, directly. 

In FALLING INTO US, the heroine is Nell's best friend, Becca.  I find it interesting that you decided to write a book about a friend trying to help her friend through grief.  Where did you get the concept for this book?  Well, there was crazy demand for a second Falling book, but I knew I couldn't--and WOUDLN'T--write a direct Nell/Colt sequel. But I also knew I had to give my readers a follow-up, or an epilogue to Nell and Colt's story, so their had to feature in it, without being the focus. FIU is the result of trying to satisfy reader demand while telling a new story with new characters.

How did you research STRIPPED? Hmm. I knew some people in college who stripped to pay for tuition, so I knew a bit about the industry from that. I do a lot of internet research, finding locations, making sure details are right, setting scenes, i.e. LA and USC and all that. After that, it was just telling the story, letting the things I know, sort of intuitively, come out through the writing. I don't do a lot of in-depth research, I don't spend days in the library or do interviews. I may have someone with experience in the subject of my book read it and give me feedback as part of the editing process, though. Like in wounded, I had someone who had fought in Iraq read it and verify that I'd done the subject justice. Some things are a little stretched, or a little unlikely, but no more than in any other book, especially as I never set out to write a war book.  

How did you get the idea for a virgin stripper?  I love the idea, since it completely breaks stereotypes.  That was the idea. I wanted the MC to have a certain tension inherent in who she is. I wanted to go beyond stereotype. It really wasn't that crazy of an idea, though. I knew a girl who was a stripper in college, but she was actually very prudish in her own personal life. She'd only been with, like, one person ever, and was very, very picky about who she dated and how far they'd go. She just happened to be a stripper, too. So the idea sort of came from there, and grew. 

What made you want to write a love story where the biggest conflict is WOUNDED?  What kind of research went into it?  Wounded came from an odd place, honestly. It started as a short story, just what is now the prologue. And then I went and wondered what happened to that girl. And the rest of the story came from there, pursuing those trails of 'what if?' I read some online chats, some forums, researched the economic status of Iraq after the first Gulf War and in between, and leading up the second, how intense things were. That was really it. Like I said a couple questions ago, Wounded is not a war story. I wasn't trying to depict the wars in Iraq, or anything like that. The war was just the setting, part of the backdrop and the conflict. So I didn't' try to do a ton of in depth research. If I had tried to write that kind of book, I'd have had to interview soldiers and read other books on the subject and all sorts of stuff. That's not the kind of writer I am, and that's not the story I like to tell.

What type of relationship is your favorite to explore and develop?  My favorite type of relationship? One where the hero and heroine need each other, help each other through some kind of struggle. I love that dynamic, where two people need each other just to get through life, and in the process, discover happiness in each other.

What type of person is your ideal heroine when you're both reading and writing?  What type of person is your ideal hero when you're both reading and writing?  Are they the same?  Why or why not?  There is no ideal, there's just people. I'm not writing from the place of hero/heroine, not in the archetypal sense. I just write people, real, raw, flawed, interesting. I like to read books like that too, where the characters feel full and round and real, rather than flat and perfect. It's just what gets me, what inspires me and interests me. I don't believe perfect people exist, and I don't find the idea of such a character interesting.

What has the publishing process been like?  A learning curve. It's been fascinating, a lot to take in, a lot to learn. It's been fun, stressful, rewarding, and challenging. I've met some amazing people, who I now consider true friends, and close friends. I've met the opposite kind of people too, and that's just life. 

Would you recommend advertisements or did you market your books through a different venue?  Ads are tricky. I wouldn't recommend an ad unless you can spare the money for the ad without expecting to make it back, because there's zero guarantee that you will. I market through book bloggers and social media.

How involved are you in terms of editing/book cover/release date/marketing process?  I do it all. I hire a cover artist, but I work directly with her to create a cover that matches the book and my vision. I hire an editor, and work in the same capacity. But all the final work and final decisions are mine. 

Are you working on anything now?  Right now my husband Jack is working on a book called The Missionary, which is almost done, and I’m working out a trilogy to be released through fall and winter. I can't really tell you much right now, since it's still in the planning stages and I'm not sure what would constitute a spoiler or not. What I'll say is that the trilogy will be closer in feel to FIY/FIU, than Stripped. It'll be sexy and romantic and emotional.

Any upcoming releases?  No links for you right now, since Jack's not doing a preorder. The first book in the trilogy is set for an October-ish release, so I don't have a link for that yet either, but I *think* there will a preorder on that one, it's just not in place yet.

Twitter: @jasindawilder

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJasindaWilder

Website www.jasindawilder.com