This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Autumn will be awarding at each stop a signed copy of All In to a randomly drawn commenter (US ONLY), and a Grand Prize of a $25 Amazon/BN GC plus a signed copy of All In will be awarded to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour (US ONLY). Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?
1. I was drawn to the romance genre in general because of how it deals with one of the most basic building blocks of the human experience--relationships. The great thing about romance novels is that they deal with romantic relationships, but also friendships, family, and all other manner of relationships you might come across. It’s about human connection. That fascinates me. I write erotic romance and contemporary romance in particular because I like exploring seemingly normal situations from a different perspective. I like shaking up normal, comfortable characters and forcing them into completely uncomfortable situations that turn out amazingly well. In that way, maybe my readers can shake up their own world a little, still identify with the characters and story, and do so safely from their couches.
What research is required?
Honestly? For these stories it was a lot of map perusing, daydreaming, and exploration of all manner of Cosmo-esque articles. The great thing about writing contemporary romance is that the research is really limited to the realm of a fairly normal world. Since my heroes and heroines are relatively normal (I do have romance novel writers and famous actors), so are their lives and their settings.
Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.
Go after what you want even if it scares the sh*t out of you. Jay’s not exactly scared, but Parker sure is and boy does she have to grab the bull by the horns. I hope I always take a page out of Jay’s book and go boldly forward toward what I want. Though, I think I might be a little more subtle about it.
Any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?
I tend to write my best sex scenes in incredibly public settings. I was in the middle of a busy lobby having a half-conversation with a janitor when I wrote one of the best sex scenes in this book. Apparently my sexy writerly side is a bit into voyeurism.
Plotter or pantser?
Both! I tend to be a pantser 60 or 70% of the time--I start off writing with whatever scene I see in my head. But once I get that initial scene down, I try to plot out as much of the story as I can. From there I follow my outline until the story takes over. In the case of All In, Jay pretty much enjoyed ruining my outlines as much as possible. This particular book was 90% pantsing.
Look to your right – what’s sitting there?
A boombox (you heard me) with a folded up red hoodie, some Target coupons, and a bra (completely unfolded of course) on top of it.
Anything new coming up from you? What?
Yes! Book Three, Fallen, is newly out. It’s the third book in the In Plain Sight Series and follows All In. It’s the story of Connor Stevens and Rainie Warren, two characters you’ll recognize from the series. Also coming are books four and five in the In Plain Sight series.
Do you have a question for our readers?
Parker comes face to face with this one: If you were looking your biggest fantasy or dream in the face, could you reach out and take it?
Jay Markham, a wildly popular actor and a chronic womanizer, has become bored with his life. Jay decides to take a break and goes to visit his life-long best friend and famous romance novelist, Anthony Tate. But just because Jay decides to take a break doesn’t mean his fans will let him. The fans and the paparazzi follow him to the small Washington town and, in an effort to escape a particularly dogged fan, Jay ducks into the first open door he can find.
Parker Hardisson is a fairly normal, if self-contained, woman in her, ahem, early thirties. Relatively happy with her life as a freelance translator, she gets to work out of her own home and enjoy her life as quiet and drama-free as possible. So what if she’s a teensy bit lonely? So what if there’s some part of her that wants to explore the world? Things are working out just fine. So, when a mega-movie star comes slamming into her house, she wonders if she’s finally cracked.
Parker seizes the opportunity to make the deal of a lifetime. No strings, no questions. The problem is, Jay is playing this game by his own rules.
Enjoy an excerpt:
It was possibly nine in the morning the next day before Abby barged into Parker’s house. To be fair, Abby had used her key which Jay must have given back to her, but it was as close to barging as one might get, all things considered. Parker was barely awake.
“Parker? Are you home?”
“Where else would I be?” Parker tried to sound pleasant, but at best she knew she sounded grouchy as she called out to Abby.
“I don’t know, having wild sex with Jay in Los Angeles?” Abby walked into the kitchen as Parker was focusing on pouring coffee grinds into her espresso machine. Parker graced her with a snort as an answer. “Well, you could be.”
“I don’t know what that overgrown pretty boy told you, but I am not going to Los Angeles.”
“I’ll wait till you’ve had your coffee.” Abby grabbed her own cup and patiently sat on one of the bar stools under her kitchen island. Parker tried not to remember exactly what had been done on that particular counter while also trying to remember if she’d sanitized the thing since the sex marathon had started.
“Coffee won’t change my answer.”
“Might make you more talkative though.”
“Or more able to kill without getting caught.”
“I’ll take the chance.” Abby grinned at her and Parker sighed.
About the Author:
Autumn Stark is the pen name for author and publisher, April Oglesbee.
All In is the second book in the All In series.
Website: http://www.autumnstarkauthor.com/about-autumn.html
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/autumn.stark.338
Twitter:https://twitter.com/AutumnStarkAuth
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7562617.Autumn_Stark
Buy the book aat Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
I enjoyed the interview.
ReplyDeleteTo answer the question, yes I would take it.
Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com
Interesting post
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com