An Interview with Leah Braemel…Beyond Your Imagination

August 12th, 2009

“Romance…beyond your imagination”

Don’t you just love Leah’s tagline? I do. And it made me think, I HAVE to know more about her!

Luckily, Leah Braemel, Samhain author of the Hauberk Protection series, is here today! Last month, she hosted the most incredible birthday bash, and was not only kind enough to invite yours truly to participate, but to blog here in return!

Not only that, but the lovely Leah has offered to give away a copy of Private Property to one of the commenters. Yes, consider me jealous I’m not able to win. Really, just read the blurbs, and you’ll know why these have gone onto The List of Things to Be Read. You can see why… I’m a cover-lover, and her’s is just downright sexy.

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And to appease my nosy nature, Leah has allowed me to interview her. Read it below!

***

Skylar: What inspired you to write romances?

Leah: I’m not sure I can say any ‘one thing’ inspired me to write romances. I love reading stories that have a romance in them, whether it’s a primary focus of the story or a side story so I guess that spills over into my writing. It wasn’t until around 2005 that I realized all my stories had romances in them as well, whether it was the “meet and fall in love” type storyline or a couple who had been together for a while (either life-long friends or husband and wife who had grown complacent) who were having to rely on each other to overcome some problem that had cropped up in their lives.

Skylar: How do you research for your novels?

Leah: Nowadays the web is a huge resource, though it can be difficult sorting out whether the site is a reputable basis of information. Since I’m writing about a private investigation agency and some of my characters are former police officers or FBI agents, I turn to some private investigators I’ve taken courses from or from some members of the CrimeSceneWriters yahoo group. For instance, I’ve had advice from Steven Brown who is a former FBI agent and is currently a private investigator and author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Private Investigating. My web mistress is also a former FBI agent who is very patient when I hit her up with my questions. I’ve also gone to talks given by my local police department.

Skylar: What is your biggest pet peeve in a hero? In a heroine?

Leah: I really don’t like heroes who are over-the-top alphas and gives commands to the heroine regardless of what she wants. I just had to put down a book by a famous NY author because the hero just “knew better” than the heroine and forced her to do things (sexually) she wasn’t prepared to do/accept.  In a heroine? The age-old “Why did you open the door/go down in the basement? Why didn’t you call 911, you idiot?” stereotype. The heroine who knows she’s ill-equipped to go after the bad guy, or who deliberately places herself in a bad situation when the best/smartest thing would be to NOT GO, especially if others have warned her. Of course it usually leads to the hero having to rescue her. *rolls eyes*  Unfortunately, I can also argue that I’ve done exactly that – a couple years ago I heard what sounded like a woman screaming in the parking lot behind my house one night. What did I do? I opened the patio door and walked out into the backyard. Of course I had my cordless phone in my hand and 911 on the line, but I still shouldn’t have walked out, should I? So I guess I’m my own TSTL heroine, LOL.

Skylar: Can you give one piece of advice to aspiring writers?

Leah: Oh, wow, just one?  I’d love to talk about finding good critique partners and how much you need to read in your genre as well, but I guess the main thing I’d say is you have to write. I’ve met a lot of people who say they want to write, but when I talk to them I discover they’ve never actually finished anything they’ve started. If your goal is to just have fun with the story, that’s not an issue, but if your plan is to get published, then you must have something finished before that can happen. So focus on your favorite story and write and write and write until it’s finished. THEN worry about editing it.

Skylar: What is your writing routine?

Leah: Normally when I’m working on a new story, I do a 2 page outline, then sit down and write a minimum of 2K a day until the story is finished. Normally by the end of page 1 the outline is in the trash and being reworked. (Yeah, I’m a diehard pantser I guess.)  I can’t write while listening to music, although music can inspire scenes.

Skylar: What is the best part about living in Canada?

Leah: Wow, never having lived anywhere else, that’s tough. All I can do is compare it to other places – I have the freedom to wear jeans without the fear of being lashed like the women who live in Sudan. Nor do I have to cover my face with a veil or wear a burqa; I can drive –restrictions women in Saudi Arabia and other middle-eastern countries face. I am allowed to vote to help determine my country’s government and to say what I think. If I’m sick I can go to the doctor without worrying about being able to pay the bill. What’s not to love?

Skylar: As a reader, what entices you to pick up a book?

Leah: Usually I rely upon friends’ recommendations to pick up a book or a new author. Only a couple times in my memory have I picked up a book based upon a review. If I’m in a store and I don’t have any friend’s recommendations in mind, then I look for “Janine recommends” stickers, LOL. Janine is the lady in my local Chapters (Canadian bookstore) who does the purchasing for the romance section. I don’t think I’ve read a book she’s recommended that I haven’t liked. (I really hope she never quits the store, a whole plethora of romance readers in the area will be lost, LOL)

Skylar: What is your favorite childhood book?

Leah: I loved CS Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe –I didn’t care for any of the children but I loved the idea that a different world could exist and would be as easy to access as opening a closet door.

Skylar: What is your least favorite adverb?

Leah: Actually. Drives me nuts when I hear it, especially by people being interviewed on television. Which is funny considering how many times I use it myself when I’m speaking.  Although if you asked my editor, she’d probably say my favorite is ‘really’, LOL.

Skylar: What three books are on your “keeper” shelf?

Leah: Considering I have several shelves filled with my ‘keepers’ that’s a tough choice.  There are two types of keeper books for me – those I reference for when I’m writing. (How did “author” do that type of scene?) And my comfort reads. So I’m guessing you’re talking about those types? They change up and if you asked me a year or two from now they’re probably be different, but for now JR Ward’s Lover Eternal (Rhage’s story), Julia Quinn’s The Duke and I (since I used to have a speech impediment and had to undergo speech therapy I can really identify with Simon, plus I just love Julia’s writing.)  The third one … hmm…it’s a tie between Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander and Deidre Knight’s Butterfly Tattoo – that book can make me cry in about five places every time I read it.

***

What about you? What book is on your keeper shelf? My latest addition is The Naughty Professor by Natasha Moore.

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Save the School of Gallantry Campain — Skylar Kade edition

July 27th, 2009

The state of the publishing industry is in sad shape indeed when Delilah Marvelle won’t be writing any more sequels to Mistress of Pleasure.  But did she give up? Naw. Instead, Delilah put together a fabulous promo campaign (jealous of her skills–who, me?) to Save the School of Gallantry.

SaveTheSchoolofGallantryCampaign

***

When I was in high school, I had a dream.  I was going to be the next Stephen King.  Heh.  Yeah.  Stay with me.  Please.  I knew my ideas were fabulous and I knew all it would take is for an editor to look at it and they would offer me up the moon and the stars and best of all, a contract.  I had my girlfriends read everything I wrote.  And they kept telling me, “This is fabulous!  It’s SO funny!  Hilarious!”   Seeing it really wasn’t supposed to  BE funny, I immediately changed course realizing I actually had a better handle on being funny than scary.   I also figured adding a romance into it would even make it better since that is what I loved to read.

I then entered college as an English major.  I was going to be teacher and write during the summers.  Even then I was a smart girl who knew I wasn’t going to make jack and that I needed a job to support the “creative” one.  Throughout all of college I wrote  historical romances.  One right after another.  And kept submitting.  And submitting.  And submitting.  And kept getting rejected and rejected and rejected.  In the meantime, I got married.  I had two kids.  I joined RWA.  I got critique partners.  I did honed and honed and honed the crap out of my writing.  And kept writing and getting rejected.  I eventually racked up over 200 rejections and had written over 40 books in those 11 years of trying to get published.

When I finally sold my first historical romance, MISTRESS OF PLEASURE, and my second book, LORD OF PLEASURE, I was beside myself.  It didn’t feel real.  To FINALLY arrive at a destination I had been traveling toward for 11 long years seemed like a mirage.  Which fortunately, I quickly snapped out of.  Because after all, most of my friends are all published and unpublished writers and the stories they all have told  me throughout the years made me realize I had to fight with fists up for myself every step of the way.  I knew publishers did little to no promotion for their authors, so I spearheaded my own promo, ready to be more than just an author.  And even though I was budgeting very well and spending countless hours networking and promoting on websites and blogs, doing tons for free, I still ended up spending $7,000 on my first book.  Which was way more than my advance.  But hey, every business starts in the red.  Right?

Then the reviews started coming in about my series set in 1830 London England about a school that educates men on the topic of love and seduction.  People loved it!  Wow.  It got nominated for awards.  Wow.  Readers are e-mailing me raving.  Wow.  Readers from France, Austria, Poland, South Africa and from all over the U.S and the world..  Wow.  It just kept getting better and better.  I was beginning to feel as if every penny I spent was all worth it (even though my family and I weren’t going on any vacations and were eating out of cans).  Because all that mattered was that my publisher loved me and my readers loved my series.

Come contract time, I’m ready for whatever they wanna throw at me.  Or so I thought.  Mistress of Pleasure, though completely sold out and unavailable anywhere (unless it’s a used copy, some going for a ridiculous amount of $40.00),  hadn’t done as well as my publisher had hoped.  So [...] I get a rejection from my own editor citing lack of sales.

I love this series.  The men in it make me laugh and it broke  my heart to think that my readers will never get a chance to read about Lord Brayton, my glorious male virgin.  The only alpha virgin I’ve ever written about.  Then I realized something, why I am letting a publisher decide what is worth holding on to?  Shouldn’t that be a reader’s job?

Ah.  Herein lies the purpose of my post.  I am challenging everyone, be they readers or writers to help me do something that’s never been done before.  Save a series from a death sentence given by a publisher.  Can it be done?  Who knows.  But I eat challenges for breakfast and I hope you do to.  Please join me in saving my series.  Come August 4th, tell everyone you know (yes, even you’re 72 year old grandfather) to buy the book, Lord of Pleasure.  In doing so, you’ll have a chance to win one of three $50 Visa Gift Cards.  How?  Check out my website for details at www.DelilahMarvelle.com

That said, thank you for all the support and love everyone has already shown me by allowing me to blog about this.  Feel free to post and repost this to everyone under the moon and the stars.  To all you readers out there, thank you for supporting us writers.  To all you writers out there, don’t ever give up on your writing.  The moment you do, you give up on yourself.  Which is why I’m not giving up on my series.

Cheers and much love,

Delilah Marvelle

***

*fingers crossed!*

Skylar Kade, wishing Delilah all the best, and eagerly awaiting the release of Lord of Pleasure.

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Doing it “Doggy Style”: Interviewing Ashley Ladd

July 21st, 2009

When author Ashley Ladd approached me about blogging, she wanted to caution me that her work was steamy. *evil laugh* I think she’ll be right at home here.

With books from Total-E-Bound, Ellora’s Cave, and New Concepts publishing, there is never a shortage of Ashley Ladd books. Her most recent release, “Doggy Style”, is a M/M anthology story for Total-E-Bound’s Summer Seductions. Whether you want a hot M/F, a boundary-pushing M/M, or a sheet-burning MMF, Ashley’s got what you need.

AND she agreed to let me interview her!

***

Skylar: What sparked your interest in switching from MF romances to MM?

Ashley: I haven’t totally switched. I also write MM and MMF. I eased into it, writing MF, then MMF, then some MM. People are people. I have a gay friend at work and he’s one of the nicest, funniest, and most fun people I know. He’s been in a loving, committed relationship for at least twenty years. I focus on the relationship between the people.

S: When you are creating a new story, what comes to you first? (i.e. characters, plot, snippets of dialogue, etc)

A: It used to be the plot or something that happened. Now, characters are more and more driving my stories. But not always. It just depends. Sometimes ideas pop into my head.

S: Did you receive any backlash or support for switching to a genre (MM) that is a less traditional romance?

A: Unfortunately, when I began writing spicy MF romance I did. Some critique partners no longer wanted to critique with me. One barely talks to me anymore, even as a friend. No readers have said anything to me, however.

S: Last November, California passed Proposition 8, which repealed an earlier law allowing gay marriage. Did you follow that coverage at all, and if so, what was your reaction? (Note: If you haven’t been able to follow, see my earlier blog about Proposition 8)

A: I’m sad. I know I go against my church’s stand, but I feel that people are people. I also believe we’re all created different. There are cases where people are born with both male and female parts. If that happens surely people can experience feelings different than what other people expect. Forcing somebody to be something they’re not isn’t fair and it doesn’t work anyway. It’s not fair for one person to force their beliefs on another.

S: You recently blogged about buying sex toys and books for research purposes *applause!*. If you were to write those off on your taxes and got audited, how would the meeting with your IRS caseworker go?

A: Oh boy! I think I’m too chicken to try, truth be told. But if I did (and I would only do it after I researched to see if it’s legal – I’m told I’m anal that way and my boss told me only yesterday that I’m a rule follower – he indicated perhaps too much so – little does he know <EG>) it would probably be funny. In fact, I think you just gave me a scene for one of my future books. Thanks!

S: What is the most common question you get from readers?

A: What is different between M/M and M/F romance and why do I write M/M.

S: Some authors say they write for other writers, some for readers, and some for themselves. Do you fall into one or any of those categories?

A: I used to think I wrote mainly for my readers. But I also write for myself. There have been times depression overwhelmed me or I was having a bad day and I thought about quitting this business. But then I realized I still wanted to write for myself even if I never sought publication again.

S: What is your favorite word?

A: My editor thinks it’s “so”.

S: I’m taking a poll of all interviewed authors on the next questions…

S: What was your favorite childhood book?

A: The Nancy Drew series. Also I devoured biographies of famous people in US history and starting about age 12, I discovered Harlequin and Silhouette romances.

S: What is your least favorite adverb?

A: Quickly or any adverb that weakens the writing. I try to use strong verbs.

***

Thanks for the interview, Ashley! I can’t wait to see what you’ll come out with next, and I’ll be on the lookout for that tax-audit erotica ;)

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I’ve been a bad, bad girl

July 17th, 2009

This is my first blog update in TOO long. Life has been insane in July — let me give you the rundown.

My novella from Samhain, “Maison Domine,” is coming out September 29th. We’ve done edits, blurbs, excerpts, the whole deal.

RWA National is this week, and I’ve spent most every day in DC meeting romance lovers/writers and learning everything I can about the craft. Interesting tidbits:

Last year, online sales outnumbered physical sales for the first time (Rogue Digital Conference).

Even professional A-list authors hit writing block and occasionally hate their WIPs (Awesome bar-time conversation).

Leigh Court won a Stroke of Midnight award from Passionate Ink.

Editors are not as scary as we writers think (thanks to Pocket Executive Editor Lauren McKenna)

The RWA Board of Directors not only set up a year-long Digital Publishing educational initiative, but changed the rules for the Golden Heart and the RITA so no members are excluded–way to go!

The International Association for the Study of Popular Romance is paving the way for academic analysis of the romance genre.

E-publisher Quartet Press is opening up this Fall.

www.BooksOnBoard.com not only sponsored the Rogue Digital Conference, but asks that you support e-reading from ANY seller, not just theirs. The obviously think big and see the overall picture.

Those are just the highlights, but it’s been a whirlwind few days.

UPCOMING APPEARANCES:

I’ll be chatting at the Samhain Cafe on July 25th from 1-2pm PST (4-5 for you EST followers) so please stop by! The lovely Beverly Rae and Erin Nicholas will be chatting along with me.

On August 18th, the Long and Short of It Anniversary Part Scavenger Hunt will be coming to www.skylarkade.com!

Check my site in the next few weeks for contest information.

WIPs:

I don’t wanna jinx myself, so I’ll just mention generalities.

With editor: To-be-renamed erotica with suspense elements due out 2010 from Parker Publishing

Queried: A bdsm short story

Queried: A menage short story

Being written: Sci-fi romance novella

In storyboarding: Paranormal novella

Don’t be a stranger now!

xoxo Skylar the Naughty

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Leah Braemel’s Birthday Bash

June 29th, 2009

As part of Leah Braemel’s Birthday Bash, she is interviewing various authors during the month of July! To celebrate, she’s giving away tons of prizes. Make sure you visit her blog for the most recent interviews and information!

Check out Leah’s contest below:

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Delilah Devlin’s Summertime Contest

June 26th, 2009

Click HERE to enter Delilah Devlin’s Summertime Contest!

Just look at that cover with the cowboy… The six pack is evidently a thing of the past. Now if they only sold Blue Moon in eight packs too.

Hey Delilah, Skylar will take two of that man! Talk about yummy.

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Drum roll please…. Toni Andrews is here!

June 22nd, 2009

Toni Andrews Cry Mercy Cover

Ok, so my drum roll was more a *squee* of delight.

Toni Andrews, author of the Mercy Hollings books, has stopped by on her Cry Mercy tour — look at the book’s hawt red cover above! I was introduced to these books about two years ago when I was working on my thesis studying heroines who break the mold. I have followed her journey through the first two books (the third has been taunting me from my shelf!) and cannot wait to see her evolve through later books.

My virtual interview with Toni is below. We will be randomly picking one of you lovely viewers who leaves a comment, and you will receive a free copy of Cry Mercy (watch the trailer here).

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_toDYvm8Hyg[/youtube]

Thanks, Toni, for answering all my questions so thoroughly. And I will say… “quickly” is probably my own least favorite adverb. I get that *groan* moment when I catch it in my manuscripts.

While only one of you will win the free book, Toni has signed bookplates available for her readers! Follow this link for more information.

And if you haven’t had enough of Toni or Mercy, catch more on Toni’s TV Show or blog.

Finally, if you — poor, poor thing — still need a copy of her books, get thee to one of the sites below!

Mira Books (discounted while they last!) http://tinyurl.com/oe8tkd

Amazon Link:  http://tinyurl.com/CryMercy

Amazon UK Link: http://tinyurl.com/prh6ej

Barnes and Noble: http://tinyurl.com/pxrx9f

Indigo Books ( Canada ): http://tinyurl.com/qcycaf

Rendezvous Romance ( Australia ) http://tinyurl.com/r4g56z

Thanks for stopping by! I look forward to reading your comments. :D

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Smut is in the eye of the beholder… I guess.

June 21st, 2009

Last night I found myself returning to my beloved local honky tonk. Although its a fairly conservative crowd, I always have a great time chatting and dancing with my friends. But last night I had the most bizarre exchange, the nuances of which are only accessible to the romance-minded. My man-friend (boyfriend just sounds too high school. Carrie had something right) didn’t get it — I got the usual nod-and-smile routine that follows most writing-related discussions. But you, I’m sure, will.

I flashed my ID and went to the counter to pay my $5. The woman had a Debbie Macomber book lying open on the table. Now, I’ve never read her, but I know she’s well-respected by her readers, and I like striking up conversations with fellow romance aficionados. Here’s the conversation we had:

Skyar: “Oh, Debbie Macomber! Her books are great.”

Woman: “Yes, they’re so sweet, I love her stories.”

Skylar: “Do you read Nora Roberts, too?” (Thinking, of course she’d read Nora… sweet stories, great writing)

Woman: “Oh no, I don’t read smut.”

Skylar: *cringe*

Part of me wanted to follow that with, “So I guess you haven’t read the one with the two submissive gay men finding true love in the arms of the bisexual Dom male — a shape-shifter with an extra appendage, if you know what I mean — who brought in his lover for kinky sex all night long, but they ended up living happily ever after in a menage a quatre?” but I restrained myself, instead giving a polite nod and a somewhat straight face. But as soon as I got far enough away, I burst out laughing.

And if that’s the plot from an actual story… props to the author.

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Dodgeball is a sport of violence, exclusion, and degradation. So, evidently, is RWA.

June 20th, 2009

Let me preface this by saying that RWA is an excellent resource for authors, published and unpublished alike, and I do not believe this this trend is a reflection upon the group as a whole, but simply the opinions of those in power. But…

There has been a recent uproar within the RWA. In the June RWA magazine (the RWR), president Diane Pershing made some inflammatory comments about digital publishers in her monthly letter to the readers. We e-book authors were, needless to say, offended. And this is not the first time e-books — or implicitly, erotica — has been called “less than” its cousin, the print book. There has been a consistent trend of marginalizing these authors, from their publishers being given fewer rights, to the writers often being ineligeble for both the Golden Heart AND the RITA contests. I have two book contracts out, but unfortunately, until I make a minimum of $1,000 on each individual manuscript, I am not considered a published author by RWA. This is a group to whom I pay yearly dues — dues that have gone up in the past year, may I add. I, like many of my fellow authors, are tired of this treatment from a group that takes our money and gives us little to no recognition as legitimate authors. Deirdre Knight, of the Knight Agency, has started a group called RWAChange. It is open to anyone: readers, writers, epubbed, print pubbed.

“In response to the debacle that was Diane Pershing’s response regarding the current high-level position on digital publishing, a group has been started.
If you think digital publishing has a place in our world
If you think digital publishing needs a voice in RWA
If you think digital published authors deserve education on the ins and outs of specifically digital publishing
Please join.”

And if you would like to follow some of the debate, please peruse the links below.

Here is an excellent initial response to Ms. Pershing’s letter.

Deirdre Knight’s initial response to the letter.

Diane Pershing’s rebuttal.

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Love for fellow Samhain author Moira Rogers

June 15th, 2009

I read the first chapter, and this book looks AMAZING. Not to mention that knife — and Skylar loves her some hardware. This will be the second book in the “Red Rock Pass” series and is NOW AVAILABLE! Please check out Moira’s site for more information.

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