Tell us a bit about your latest book, and what inspired you to write such a story.
Explicitly English is my debut erotic romance novella – published by The Wild Rose Press. It is set in the English countryside and starts with the heroine’s inbound train journey. This naughty girl can’t even take a train without getting herself into mischief!
What inspired me? Well, I was becoming anxious about a solo train journey I had to take…and starting thinking what a girl could do to make it something a bit more exciting to look forward to!
If you could have any vice without repercussions, what would it be?
Wine, wine and more wine!! Hmm, that doesn’t make me sound too good, does it??
If you could have been the servant to any famous person in history, who would that be and why?
Marilyn Monroe or Princess Diana – both completely fascinating women who’d I would love to see behind closed doors. They seemed so confused and vulnerable at times, and at the same time beguilingly sexy, yet I suspect both were extremely intelligent, strong and ferociously ambitious.
Which of your characters do you love/hate/fear/pity the most and why?
I love the hero from Explicitly English – Stephen Cambridge is intelligent, fair, hard-working and deliciously horny!
Do you get along with your muse? What do you do to placate her/it/him when she refuses to inspire you?
So far my muse and I have gotten along famously. We have been working together for five years now (I write mainstream romance under a different name) and she has never failed to deliver an idea or writing solution when I need one.
I keep her in chocolate, jam donuts and wine so she’s quite happy – and surprisingly slim!
Do you have another book in the works? Would you like to tell readers about your current or future projects?
My second novella is under consideration as we speak so I am very much hoping to hear some good news soon. Here’s the blurb, enjoy…
Kelly Hampton loved and lost him – for the last two years she’s looked for him in other men but now she refuses to emotionally cripple herself any longer. No more sex until she knows for sure she is in love.
And then the love of her life walks back into her bar claiming to still love her. Her heart hitches and her body heats – no-one has ever come close to understanding her, or satisfying her like him.
When Sean McKenzie left Jessop Hill with his mother to protect her from his father’s fists, he should’ve known he would never love again after his explosively erotic relationship with Kelly. But now his father is dead and Sean is back for the only woman he ever wanted. Their reunion is full of fire, pain and passion – and once they touch, the sexual connection is too much for either of them to resist…
What are the most challenging and the most rewarding aspects of writing?
Most challenging for me is the plotting. I have loads of ideas but making sure they are plausible and I keep all the loose ends in place is a challenge every time I write a new story.
The most rewarding? Seeing the wonderful covers the artists’ create with my name on the front for the first time. Nothing beats that feeling, ever!
What are your top 3 favorite paranormal books and movies?
Ooh, I’m not a huge paranormal fan, to be honest.
I do enjoy the Twilight books and films and I intend to buy the rest of J R Ward’s Black Dagger series after loving the first one which I only read recently.
I can’t see myself writing paranormal but never say never!
What character (s) in any of your books is most like you?
As I have only written one novella so far, I will have to say Laura Markham, my heroine. Although I promise I am not quite as wanton as she is…well, not often anyway.
What is the most ridiculous thing that you have thought about doing to any of your characters but never did?
I really can’t think of anything! Um…let me come back to that!
How do you keep track of your world building?
I write quite a detailed character sketch over the course of writing a novel, adding bits and pieces to it as I go along knowing that I need to keep the continuity of their physicality, their likes and dislikes, their loves and fears etc.
Other than that, the main thing I rely on to keep track is the working synopsis that I write BEFORE I start writing the book. This keeps me focused and is my referral point if I feel myself going off course.
What do you feel are the benefits of the new electronic readers such as Kindle 2 or Sony Digital Book Reader to the environment?
The lack of paper, less energy being used to physically make books, less waste…
Have you ever experience weird cravings while you write? If so, what kind?
Hmm, not really – if I write in the morning, I love my cup of coffee, if I write in the evening, a glass of wine is kind of nice!
Where can readers find you on the ‘net?
Available at The Wilder Rose Press
Laura Markham needs to forget. Just for awhile. Be someone else. Live as her parents would have wanted. And for Laura, that means escaping the city for the English countryside and leaving her inhibitions behind.
British stockbroker, Stephen Cambridge knows that by going home to his country retreat two days early, he's likely to startle the new interior designer. And when he discovers she's the woman who masturbated for him on the train, Stephen will do anything to convince her to stay with him forever…
Excerpt:
Laura’s portfolio thudded to the hardwood floor when his lips crushed hers. She had no idea if what she was doing was good or bad, but knew this was the freest, the happiest she had felt in a very long time. And she knew in that moment, nothing would stop her from taking what she could of this man for as long as possible.
As though reading her mind, they tumbled to the floor as one. Laura’s body burned, her breasts ached.
They clawed and ripped, grasped and tore. Laura cupped his stubbled jaw in her hands, scoring her fingers into his hair. She wanted to possess him, own him, have him. She felt fabulously petite in the span of his huge hands. She felt alive, vibrant and sexy as hell.
She writhed across the floor, and he crawled over her. Then her breath caught when he yanked open her blouse and drew her breasts from within the confines of her bra. He closed his mouth over first one nipple, then the other. The soft yet masculine scent of his shampoo wafted to her nostrils and Laura inhaled deeply. She clasped her hand to the back of his head, holding him to her as he sucked and nipped, bit and caressed the heavy weight of her breasts. The high-voltage shock of pain versus pleasure soared through her bloodstream, sensitizing every inch of her flesh. All too soon, he moved away and kneeled above her.
