Guest Author Day with Ryssa Edwards

First, tell us a little about you and what you do.

What I do? Ummm. . a girl’s got to have some secrets. Actually, by day I work for a really big company. By night, I meet interesting people, and all but bribe them to tell me their life story and let me follow them around. I call these people “characters”, and I write down their stories. They get into some pretty scary situations, and sometimes (*insert guilty blush*), I push their backs up against the wall and . . . see what happens. It’s fun. It keeps me off the streets and (mostly) out of trouble.

What do you like to read?

Books. Kidding. I like reading stories. If you can tell a good story, I’ll read it. Right now, I’m on a short story kick, so I’ve been hanging around with folks like Ambrose Bierce, Stephen King, Ian Fleming and H. P. Lovecraft. My yardstick for reading is whether or not a writer can pull me in right from the first sentence. I’m a tough reader. If your story can’t completely grab me in the first paragraph, you lose a few points on my ‘story scale’. I’m just as tough on myself. My goal is to write a story that my reader can’t walk away from; not even for a page, or a paragraph. . . or a sentence. ‘

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

Oh my gosh. Tough question. I know it sounds cliché, but the best advice I can give is . . .write! 

Write all the time. Even if you don’t’ have a pen in your hand. If you something makes you stop and go, “Wow. That’s interesting.” Ask yourself why? What caught your attention? How would get someone else to see it the way you did? Over time, these little observations will make it into your characters and your worlds.

When you get a rejection letter, (and you’ll get lots)look at it this way, you’re one step closer to getting published. 

Did I say write? Buy a notebook. Take it everywhere. Ladies, get a purse-size notebook. Guys. . . I don’t know what to tell you. Got ten extra minutes in your day? Then you’ve got time to write daily. Pick a good exercise book. One of my favorites is A Writer’s Book of Days by Judy Reeves. I just started Writing Down the Bones. The exercises are tough, but you get a lot out of them. I’m working my way through The 4 A. M. Breakthrough by Brian Kiteley. I love this one!  I can’t finish each exercise in ten minutes, but if I stay with one exercise all week, then that’s fifty minutes of exercises in a week.

And my last bit of advice . . . don’t stop. You know those times when your internal editor is all over you? Keep writing. That voice never goes away, but if you keep going, one day you’ll get to prove them wrong.

What’s your latest release?

I’m so glad you asked! I have four releases coming up.

Dark Angel, All the Stars is part II two of my Immortal Pleasures series. It’s the story of the Archangel Lucifer and his centuries long love for Aeryn, a mortal. It’s out today!

The Moon House is a short story that will be part of the First Time for Everything Dreamspinner Press Daily Dose anthology. The first story will be out on June 1^st. The Moon House is the story of Samson, a carnival strong man who falls for Jace, a virgin.

Dreaming of a Kissing is a novel about Rafe, a college freshman who sets out to find a cure for his mother, and ends up falling in love with Kayne, a Wulf in training to be Alpha Wulf. This book is coming soon from Decadent Publishing.

Immortal Pleasures, Volume I (working title) is a print edition of the first two stories in my Immortal Pleasures series, Warrior Angel, Heart’s Desire and Dark Angel, All the Stars. This is coming soon from Silver Publishing.

I’m writing a secret project for the Male / Male Romance Discussion Group on Good Reads. It’s part of the Hot Days of July “Dear Author” letters. Stop by Good  Reads and check out Hot Days of July!

Where can we find you on the web?

Facebook: facebook.com/RyssaEdwards

My Blog: http://ryssaedwards.blogspot.com

Good Reads (my Discussion Group):

http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/48013.Ryssa_Edwards_It_s_a_Romance_Thing

Good Reads (Hot Days of July Thread) – check out my story guy’s pic. . . yikes!

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/554139-dear-author-katie-taken-by-ryssa-edwards

Good Reads (my promo threads. Keep up with new releases here)

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/558453-ryssa-edwards

Available TODAY-Dark Angel, All the Stars

Silver Publishing

M/M Fantasy

Sequel to Warrior Angel, Heart's Desire

Buy HERE

The Archangel Lucifer falls in love with Aeryn, a mortal, in the Middle Ages. Aeryn is caught painting erotic art. The Inquisition catches Aeryn and condemns him to burn at the stake. The Inquisitor is being used by a Nephilim who has been seeking vengeance against Lucifer for thousands of years. Six hundred years later, Lucifer finds Aeryn reincarnated in the present They unite, however, the Nephilim is still after Lucifer. Can Lucifer save the love he's waited over six centuries to find again?