Diva In Denial - Release Day Interview

This is horribly late, but I have a good excuse: I've been in the middle of a time-consuming international move. Now that it's (more or less) behind me, I can start catching up on all the things I've been neglecting -- like this blog, and my most recent release.

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by the supremely-talented Beth Kery regarding Diva In Denial, and I thought I'd share that interview here. It's more in-depth and more revealing than my usual interviews, so you've been warned. :-)

Congratulations, Lacey, on your Ellora's Cave release, DIVA IN DENIAL. And now, (drum roll please) it's time for your interview!

1. Any particular inspiration for this story about a 'suburban relationship goddess,' an expert on relationships who doesn't want anything to do personally with one, and a solitary, hunky hero who has a penchant for not wearing any clothes around the heroine's cabin? Any real life individual's appearance and/or personality inspirations for Ava and Devlin?

I wish I had a fun inspiration story to share with you, but the truth is, the story developed rather dynamically all on its own. I started with a title (DIVA -- the "in denial" part came later) and a theme (Older Woman / Younger Man). And then I started to brainstorm. I knew early on that Ava wrote advice columns. Think "Dear Abby" with a sexy twist. And I knew that she had no first-hand experience with any of the issues on which she was giving advice. So I figured that would make for an interesting conflict. Think... Sex and the City. What if Carrie had no dating or sexual experiences? What if she'd been a housewife for 20 years? How would she write her Sex and the City column?

And just as a fun aside, I modeled Ava after Valerie Bertinelli, while gorgeous Devlin is none other than Jake Gyllenhaal.

2. I'm taking a guess that this yummy hero has a er...animalistic nature. *grin* What do you like about doing were-stories?

Well, those of you who've read my work know I like my men to be rough, strong, Alpha-types. Nothing says Alpha like a... umm... "real" Alpha. :-) And this is just my preference, but I think of all shifters as Alphas, whether or not they lead their pack. In my were stories, any of the men could be The Alpha, and that's half the fun in writing shifter books. There's a lot of testosterone between the pages. *g*

3. You've been writing now for many years. When you look back on your career as an author, what's the one piece of advice you would give a younger Lacey? (Make sure you answer as though it really was a younger you, not another writer.)

Honestly? I would tell a younger Lacey not to publish her first 5 books. Seriously. I'd want her to bury them in a drawer somewhere, to learn from them, and to get to the point where she'd be proud to hold up her debut novel instead of cringing when someone said she read it.

I think there's a lot of value in learning the craft. My first published pieces shouldn't have been published. Oh, I'm extremely grateful to my publishers, but I wish they'd said, "Thanks -- this shows promise. Keep working at it and come back in a year or two."

4. What part of the writing craft do you feel you have a 'handle' on, meaning, what is one of your best strengths? What is an area you feel you need work on?

I'm excellent at pouring emotion onto the page. That comes easiest for me. If my characters are angry, sad, desperate, lonely, hurt, horny... I can show it. And (hopefully) I can make the reader feel it, too.

I need work on dialogue. It's by far the toughest element of story-telling for me. Not the dynamics of dialogue or the stuff I can learn from books, though. I'm pretty confident that I can write dialogue that sounds true to life. What I have a lot of trouble with is "hearing" the voices of my characters. When I stall while I'm writing, it's almost always with a quotation mark open. I spend more time thinking about what a character would say next, or how he/she would reply to something, than I do pondering anything else. I wish I could just hear it in my head and write it on the page, but it almost never happens that way. I have to write, edit, and then rewrite my lines of dialogue again and again. It drives me nuts.

5. Do you ever see yourself writing something other than erotic romance? If so, what?

Absolutely. Epic fantasy. It's my first literary love. I'd like nothing more than to dedicate a few years to writing a thousand-page epic fantasy tome. Unfortunately, the market for fantasy being what it is, chances are I could spend the rest of my life writing fantasy manuscript after fantasy manuscript and never have it see the light of day. So I compromise. I combine my top literary loves (fantasy and romance), toss in tons of steamy sex, and get the best of all worlds. :-)

6. What was one of the 'low points' of your writing career? One of the pinnacles?

An editor recently told me I submitted something that was just begging to be rejected. That was, by far, the lowest point in my writing career. I began to doubt everything about writing: whether I'm any good at it, whether I should be wasting my time, etc. It sent me into a tailspin of confusion and a deep funk. It took me months to break out of it. The worst part? She was right. I had, in fact, submitted something that wasn't my best work. I was stressed, on a deadline, dealing with all kinds of personal issues... and somehow I was under the impression that anything I send in would be well received. Well, wrong, wrong, wrong. I'm now more careful about what I submit. If I know a piece hasn't had enough time to sit, or hasn't been through my critique partners and proofers, it doesn't go in to my editor -- even if that means I have to get the deadline pushed back because of real life interferences. It wasn't an easy lesson to learn, but it's been a valuable one.

The pinnacle? Winning the EPPIE award for Best Erotic Paranormal Romance. The beautiful glass award sits on my writing desk as a wonderful reminder that someone saw value in my work. It's a powerful motivator when the words won't come or when a review is less than stellar.

7. There are many writers on our Triple Exposure group, many of which have just become triumphant in their publishing dreams. (YEAH!!) What advice would you give new and established authors in regard to promotion of their books? What works and what doesn't?

First of all, let me echo your "YEAH!!" Congrats, guys! You all ROCK!

Promotion is tough -- no matter if it's your first book, or your fifty-first. Here's some of what's worked for me:

- Cultivate a newsletter list. Yes, some folks are only there for contest prizes, but most are there because they're genuinely interested in your work. That list of names is the most direct way to reach fans when you have a new release. My newsletter has fallen by the wayside since I moved to Austin, but I'm looking forward to sending it out again. More than anything else, having that newsletter list has helped my sales tremendously.

- Chat on Yahoo groups... to a point. In my opinion, there's nothing more annoying than an author who's out there ALL THE TIME. You know the authors I mean: the ones who send out 40 posts a day on every loop they're on, whether or not they have anything to say. It looks like a feeble effort to get their signature lines seen by as many people as possible, and it's a cheap trick readers will see right through. Instead, I think it's a lot more valuable to become a frequent poster in a few groups, and save the rest for when you actually have something interesting to say.

- Invest in a TRS (The Romance Studio) membership. It's $2.50 a month, and it provides wonderful opportunities for exposure. Oh, and join in the TRS Book-A-Day giveaway as frequently as you can. For the cost of an ebook, you'll grow your newsletter list much faster than you would otherwise.

- Create bookmarks, business cards or postcards, and insert them in everything you send out -- from the electricity bill to the magazine subscription form. A human being opens those envelopes. Catch their attention -- you never know when you'll find a new reader. Oh, and always carry bookmarks with you. If the conversation turns to books, which it often does, don't miss an opportunity to introduce a reader to your work.

There are a ton of promotional tips out there, but these are the ones that have worked best for me.

Again, my thanks to Beth Kery for the wonderful interview.

Lacey
http://www.laceysavage.com

Interview with Beth Kery, author of FIRE ANGEL

As some of you may know, I'm not a big fan of historical novels... But leave it to the fabulous Beth Kery to win me over with her new release!

Below, you'll find an interview with Beth led by Fiona Jayde. Thanks to both these wonderful authors for letting me publish the interview here.

Fi: I am really intrigued by this blend of historical and paranormal elements – and I know I read "chakras" somewhere. What a terrific blend of ideas! What made you decide to set this specifically in London over a hundred years ago?

Beth: Thank you. Yes, FIRE ANGEL was a real labor of love for me. As some of my readers know already, if I do a historical, it's usually set in Victorian England. I have this weird fascination--okay, lech--in regard to how strict they were morally and their racy sex life. Makes it so hot, that contrast. lol. I also am very fascinated by magic AND the tarot. So when I read about the spiritualist movement I became enraptured.

My anti-hero, Samael Grovenor, is partially based off the magician Aleister Crowley. He tries to steal the show from Vincent, but I don't know. Vincent's a gentlemen, kick-ass boxer, doctor. If it came to a showdown between the two, I know who I'd pick!

Fi: Is there a relation to The Page of Wands and the themes of the story? (I’m clueless about Tarot, so forgive me if it’s a stupid question.

Beth: It's not stupid at all! The Torrid Tarot endeavor by EC has been fascinating and diverse. Different authors have involved the concept of the tarot to different degrees in the story, but EVERYONE had to include a prelude about their card. And yes, my card places heavily in the story (the card itself.) Despite the cover, my HEROINE is the Page of Wands. Here is my prelude:

Page of Wands - The virgin priestess of the fires of spring; the Secret Flame into which all things Return

—Pamela Eakins, from Tarot of the Spirit


The cards of the tarot deck incorporate multiple symbols and archetypes, making them powerful, concise tools for bringing that which is unconscious, and therefore unknown, into conscious awareness.

The character of the heroine of Fire Angel, Serafina Grovenor, is based on the tarot card of the Page of Wands. This card represents a balance with the natural flow of the universe as it incorporates all of the diverse energies of fire, earth, water and wind.

Wands are the suit of fire in the Tarot. Think of the image of the magician with his wand which focuses fiery energy. Fire is the suit of spirit, creativity, dynamism and discovery. When out of balance the energy of fire and spirit can be uncontrollable, burning everything in its path. However the Page of Wands is also a powerful earth symbol. The volatile passions of fire are grounded by earth, making the Page of Wands balanced and harmonious, a symbol of right, just action.

In many esoteric systems the Page in the card deck is represented as a young, bare-breasted woman and is called the Princess of Wands. It might be helpful to think of the “face” cards in the terms of a family. So for instance the King of a suit is the father, the Queen of a suit the mother, the Prince of a suit the brother and the Princess of a suit the sister. As an example, the Queen of Fire combines the masculine elements of fire with the receptive, intuitive energies of the feminine element of water. The Princess of Wands is the perfect combination of the elements of her powerful father’s fire, mother’s water and brother’s air—the final, balanced manifestation of their energies on the earthly plane.

Like Serafina Grovenor, who can channel spirits, the Princess of Wands is a divine priestess who brings tidings from strange, unknown worlds. She is both calm and tranquil and naturally aggressive. Serafina can manipulate fire and controls it perfectly to suit her will.

Serafina, like the Princess of Wands, is a fierce warrior when those whom she loves are threatened. As Robert Wang wrote in The Golden Dawn Tarot, “Woe unto whomever shall make war upon her…”

Fi: What intimidates me most about writing historical is the research that goes into it – and yet I’ve heard you say numerous times how you often research before delving into a story. Any tips or tools you would suggest? Did you find that as you uncovered more about this time period it gave you more ideas and plot elements that you wanted to incorporate?

Beth: There is no doubt the more research you do, the more ideas you get. As I've said, I'm semi-familiar already with this time period. For me, I already knew a lot about magic, hypnotism, the chakra system and the tarot. It was the spiritualist movement that set my mind a turning. Serafina Grovernor is also based off a real life (amazing) medium during that time period. She also, performed on the stage wearing a veil. There are also some hints that she was abused by the men who tried to take advantage of her amazing demonstrations. If you guys want to hear about her, let me know!

Fi: How will you know when you've "made it" as a writer?

Beth: I know I'm a throwback, but it would be if Sandra Brown walked up to me and told me she loved my books. I'm too racy for her, I think, but she's the goddess of sexual tension and the alpha male. I learned so much from her. She's MY Nora Roberts :)

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If you haven't picked up a copy of FIRE ANGEL, what are you waiting for? It's available now at Ellora's Cave.

Interview with Fiona Jayde

One of the most talented writers I have the pleasure to know, Fiona Jayde, has a new book release out today! On the chat loop we share with the also fabulously-talented Beth Kery, we have a release day ritual in which we interview one another. I wanted to post the interview here as well, since Fiona's answers provide a great peek into what makes her books so unique.

If you haven't picked up SEXSOMNIAC already, what are you waiting for? It released this morning at Changeling Press.

LS: Once again, congratulations on your new release, Fi! The book looks wonderful, and I'm head-over-heels in love with that cover. :-) Very hot stuff!


FJ: Thanks Lacey! I too can't stop staring at the cover -- Renee outdid herself!!

LS: You said this was a new genre for you... Where did you get the impulse to write this book? And how did the idea develop for you?


FJ: Originally the idea came from Chrissie, my editor at Changeling. We were chatting over IM and she sent me a link to an article she'd found -- about sexsomnia - its an actual condition. .... The idea took hold as a curse -- what if someone was cursed to "do it" when they sleep, but can't really remember it afterwards?

I had it set as a contemporary, but for the life of me I couldn't figure why someone would curse someone with that and why the readers would care... So about half way into a very boring story, I had a flash of inspiration :)

LS: You also said you had a hard time getting a grasp on your plot and had to re-write quite a bit. Why do you think this particular story gave you so much trouble?

FJ: I've thought about this for a while actually. The problem was -- I had an idea of a premise -- but not how it would actually apply in conflict. Conflict is a big thing for me -- if there's no tension, I'm bored, and if I'm bored, I won't write...

So I figured that before I sit to write, I really need to establish my conflicts to know where the story will go.

LS: I see that Changeling has the book listed as "TechnoMagick: Sexsomniac". What can you tell us about future installments in the TechnoMagick series?


FJ: More exploration of Magick and how humans have this love hate relationship with what they do not understand.

LS: Most authors struggle with self-doubt on a regular basis. How do you handle feelings of insecurity when they pop up?


FJ: Well, you'd know that if you saw my first drafts LOL. I don't entertain self doubt until after edits -- I just focus on getting pages done. 200 words or 2000 words -- and most of it is complete crap :) But its in - and I can fix it later. Then I send it to people to look at and worry.. But at least its done:)

LS: What do you do when you're stuck for inspiration?


FJ: I throw out questions at TripleExposees to spark my imagination!!

LS: What's the one thing you'd like to achieve in your writing career, so that when you achieve it you can put up your feet and say, "I made it!" ?


FJ: Honestly? If Nora Roberts says in an interview "Well, I'll ready anything by Fiona Jayde"

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I don't know about Nora, but I can guarantee I'll read anything by Fiona Jayde. And you should, too.