Blog Tour: Mistress of Passion

Where do you hail from and what do you love most about your hometown? Well, I am actually from Cheyenne Wyoming but I have lived in Colorado for years. Then recently moved to Kansas City. I love this place because I am closer to family even though I do miss looking out across my porch and seeing the mountains.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I laugh every time I answer this question just because the visual I get in my own head is hysterical. I wanted to be a singer when I grew up! I used to be in the school choir and loved to sing in the shower. Apparently there is some sort of magical tune that happens in the shower and the car that makes you think you can sing, karaoke definitely lets you know you should only sing in those two places and not out in public. So I will just stick to entertaining my fans with my writing and keep my singing to the shower only.

Tell us about your latest book.

Mistress of Passion is my first piece that I actually submitted. It is a story about Rachel, who is the Mistress or Domme rather, that has had a very shady past. Dominic on the other hand is a very successful business man and is very domineering (on the work front), but even with his success he has had a personal downfall. Both Rachel and Dom use the BDSM lifestyle as their own personal getaways, Rachel from her past and Dominic from his own self-destruction. But as per usual there is a twist, one that for some readers may hit closer to home than others.

Do you have anything new in the works and can you tell us a bit about it?

I do have some other WIP’s. I am not sure how much depth I can go into about them but I have 2 more pure erotica pieces, I have a piece that can almost be called a historical erotic romance (yet again a piece with a huge twist) and then I have a series I am working on that will be more along the lines of a Paranormal romance but with more erotic scenes.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging about writing?

Writers block!!! I cannot speak for everyone but I am sure there are an enormous number of writers in the world that would agree.

What advice would you give to writers just starting out?

Just write. Pick up a pen and get some paper and whatever you see in your mind write it down. You can always edit later, just right for now. That was and still is my biggest problem with writing. I want to edit what I just wrote before I can move on in the story. I guess I am just too anal about things like that but it actually has hindered my writing in ways I wouldn’t have been able to imagine.

Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?

Writers block is such a nasty phrase to writers. It’s almost like the black plague. As we speak right now I am going through a serious case of writers block. I try and do everything imaginable to bust out of it, listen to music, look at pictures, light candles…anything that sparks some sort of imagery I try it.

Who is your favorite author and why?

My all time favorite author is JR Ward. She just has this uncanny ability to suck you into her world and make you feel like she wrote you into the story. I would love for one day, be able to play around in her head just to see how all the magic happens.

What books have most influenced your life?

I would have to say Ward’s Blackdagger Brotherhood series. I always read Paranormal but there was just something about that series that sparked the little vampire in me! Maybe it was how she perfectly displayed the brothers to the world or just the way she writes in general that made me look up to her as an Idol.

How did you deal with rejection letters?

I am one of the lucky ones who, as of yet, has not had to deal with a rejection letter. I submitted Mistress of Passion to Hot Ink Press and of course I was nervous as hell while I was waiting to hear back from them. One day I was actually at work and I got the acceptance email over my phone. All I did was cry because to me that was my biggest achievement so far.

What tools do you feel are must-haves for writers?

Coffee- a HUGE must! You never know how late you are going to be staying up to just get everything out of your head. Music- it’s a great way to set any scene to actually get you to feel what you are writing, makes the scene feel “real”. Candles- I always have to have some sort of scent going while I’m writing. The spicier the scent, like a pumpkin spice or a harvest scent actually helps you write. Pictures- I have many, many muses. When I look at any one of them, especially when I am in a writing slump, I can usually get a scene to play in my head pretty quickly. Pen and paper (sometimes it’s easier to write it out than it is to type it).

Where do you as an author draw the line on gory descriptions and/or erotic content?

I usually never have anything to gory in my writing. Yes in a fight scene you will have some blood and guts kind of stuff going on but in any kind of romance setting you don’t want to turn your readers off with anything dramatically disgusting. You want to keep them turned on and tuned in. As far as the erotic part of my writing I think it is pretty much the same across the board for all writers. No bestiality, golden anything (YUK!) pedophilia…etc.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever done in the name of research?

I don’t think there was anything weird in any of my research. The one thing I did do just so I could dive further into the BDSM lifestyle was sign up on an actual BDSM website. It was like Facebook but it was BDSM all the way. No holds barred. There is only so much you can learn from Google!!