Hello folks. I did this interview for a blog and thought I'd share.
Where are you
from?
I was born in northern Indiana on the Michigan border.
I've lived in five states and two countries.
Tell us your
latest news.
I am taking a pause on the L&J series to write a
standalone novel. Oh, and I packed my whole life and my cat and dog into my car
and moved to Mexico two months ago. Everyday is an adventure, and I can promise
you there will be a book at some point about my experiences, because it has
been one hell of a ride!
When and why did
you begin writing?
I received a journal for my 8th birthday. I've
been journaling ever since. I've written short stories before, but only in high
school. I hold a bachelor's degree in Anthropology, and the nature of the field
is such that you do ALOT of writing. It was all academic writing of course, as
well as reading.
When did you
first consider yourself a writer?
While I was writing Melted & Shattered. I would run
home from work and hit the laptop until late at night. I guess it was when
ideas started to go full force in my head, screaming to be let out, that I felt
like a "writer." Or a fiction writer, I suppose.
What inspired
you to write your first book?
My BFF turned me on to the Kindle and indie authors. I realized I liked the grittier romances with
antiheroes. A story idea came to me and I sent it to an author I befriended. It
was mostly a bunch of ramblings like, "What if this happened?" She
gave me the thumbs up and told me to write it. I told her I wasn't a writer,
and asked if she could write it. Of course, she declined, insisting that it was
my story and I needed to write it. So I did.
Do you have a
specific writing style?
I tend to get an idea in my head, always a "what if
this happened?" type of idea, and I usually have the beginning and the
ending right away. I make a super janky outline with the main events that need
to happen to get us from point A to point B. Then I write, letting the ideas
naturally come to me as I create the details of the story. Things often happen in my books that weren't
initially planned. My hero in the L&J series wasn't Native American to
begin with. He and Elle, the heroine, were having an after sex chat and she
said something like, "I don't even know your last name." As I created
this after-sex dialogue between the characters, he suddenly became Lakota, a
culture we studied at length in a Native Americans of North America class I
took. His culture is woven through the entire story.
In the book I'm writing, a song lyric inspired me. It's a
Weezy song where he raps about a hoe named Tammy, and voila, one of my
characters was nursing a broken heart from being cheated on by Tammy, "the
hoe." (I hope no one named Tammy is reading this! If so, no offense. Blame
Weezy)
In the L&J series, I didn't intend for undocumented
youth and immigration to become such an intrical part of the book. As the story
unfolded in my head and on the computer screen, the nature of the story
demanded it. I didn't intend to mix politics with my smutty smut smut. It just
happened. Though if you know me, and know that Elle is me, you would know that
it makes sense. With this info in mind, read the books and you will see why.
How did you come
up with the title?
For Steel & Ice, it was a conversation between a
friend and me. I had no idea what to name it. We threw around titles. I asked
other betas. In the end, Steel & Ice seemed appropriate. I already knew
there would be a second book and Melted & Shattered made sense.
For J Speaks, I have no idea. It just came to me. It is
his chance to have his voice heard as Steel & Ice is all in Elle's POV.
For Us, I was at a loss. I decided to write the book and
see what came to me. There is a theme in the book that I won't say so as to not
give spoilers, but it lead to the title being Us. I also liked that it was
short. If I couldn't go with the something & something theme I had going
with Steel & Ice and Melted & Shattered, I liked the idea that the
final book would be two letters. Something very simple, kind of how we want
love to be—simple. Though, we all know
if never is.
Is there a
message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
I received a review where the woman said I made her think
about people in a different way. There were characters in the L&J series
different from anyone she'd ever met, and reading about their lives allowed her
to make informed decisions rather than judging people based on what she thought
she knew. It wasn't my intent, but I thought it was freaking awesome. And I
knew exactly what she was talking about, which scenes had informed her, and
certain pieces of dialogue where you learn about the lives of others that you
will never know if you don't meet someone from a different culture and actually
listen to what they have to say.
How much of the
book is realistic?
I'm Elle. Most of Steel & Ice is my story up until
the ending. J is sadly pure fiction, but he is my idea man. The teens in the
book are either based on a specific teen, or a mixture of a few. Fernie is two
teens that I pulled different personality traits from. Many of the scenes at
the Center really happened. Most of the bad situations that Elle talks about
from the past in Steel & Ice happened to me, or are based on a situation I
lived with a little extra something to take it to the next level.
After Steel & Ice, we get into pure fiction, but when
I needed to decide how Elle would react to a certain situation I thought about
how I would react or what I would do. She is hardcore, yet has deep emotions.
She loves fiercely, has an inappropriate sense of humor, and is loyal to those
she cares for. She may not seem like an overt nurturer, but she naturally takes
care of the people around her. It's not a conscious action. It's just who she
is.
The transformation she goes through during the course of
the books is true, though it didn't happen like in the books. I did go
through a transformation, and my teens helped me to want to be a better person,
but I never had drug cartel shoot outs in Mexico!
I also worked at Applebee's for seven years as the only
woman in the kitchen.
Are experiences
based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
I think I answered most of this in the above Q.
What books have
influenced your life most?
Non romance novels – Illusions: The Adventures of a
Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach, and Love is Letting Go of Fear by Gerald
Jampolsky greatly affected my personal belief system.
Romance novels – I read Belinda by Anne Rice when I was
16 and fell in love with the story. I related to it as Belinda had to straddle
two worlds; one being the adult world she was forced into, and the other being
one where she still had to exist in this teenage world she didn't fully fit
into.
I also love how Kristen Ashley creates such compelling
side characters. Chris became a major player in the L&J series, and by the
end of Us, I knew she had to get her own book because I had created such a rich
background for her as well as new situations she will need to deal with.
Madeline Sheehan is the queen of MC romance. Her
UnDeniable series is a work of art. I recently finished UnBeloved and amidst
the violence and action, I found myself bawling.
In the Stillness by Andrea Randall shook my world up. I
had the honor of meeting Andrea and I told her that she wrote my own personal
hell and I loved every minute of it, even if I cried for most of the book. As
well, Making Faces by Amy Harmon turned me upside down. It was gut wrenching.
Bawled through that one too! Both books are flawlessly written, and they pull
these incredibly deep emotions from the reader (or at least me) and I hope that
I can give readers the same opportunity to go on an emotional journey with the
characters. If I can get even close to using words to convey emotion in the
manner that Harmon and Randall do, I would be a happy lady.
If you had to
choose, which writer would you consider your mentor?
V.J. Chambers was my mentor when it came to the actual
process of writing and publishing. Her book, Slow Burn, was the first gritty
romance I read. Previously, I was reading what my friends read, which was more
Contemporary Romance and Erotica. I had this moment when I read Slow Burn that
I said to myself, "Damn, I've been missing out on all this great
action!" That's when I realized I could have action, romance, and steamy sex
all in one book. Chambers also is the grammar queen. We exchanged various
emails about commas, quotes, and when to use lay, lain, and laid. (And she
actually knew!) Chambers was a high school English teacher, so she had the
answer to everything. I couldn't have published Steel & Ice without her
guidance.
I was used to academic writing—double spaces between
sentences, light on the commas, and direct and emotionless descriptions. I
struggled at first to put the emotion in the book that it needed. I ended up
reading a bunch of old journals where I poured my heart out on paper (it was a
rather depressing read) and used the ideas. There are a few places where I
found things I wrote in my journal that went almost word for word into a book.
What book are
you reading right now?
I just finished rereading Fallen Crest High by Tijan. I
read Mason, a prequel, and adore him so much I wanted to keep going. I don't
read much YA, but Tijan has a way of making her YA characters compelling enough
that I am right there with them in the story.
I also just finished The Ride by Jaci J. and the sequel,
Crash and Burn, is next up.
I'm waiting on a handful of books: Two Roads by Lili St.
Germain, Addicted After All by the
Ritchie sisters, UnDenying by Madeline Sheehan, and Fallen Fourth Down by Tijan
to name a few.
Are there any
new authors that have grabbed your interest?
Hell yes! Lili St. Germain's Seven Sons series is pure
brilliance. She's got me hooked on her series like a crack addict.
I also love K.S. Adkins Detroit After Dark series. We've
chatted and become homies. She lives in Detroit, which is not far from where I
grew up, so I relate to her books as Detroit becomes a character all it's own.
There is something about the grittiness of Midwestern big cities. I blame it on
the fact that we are under a few feet of snow for half the year. I lived in
Southern California for a while where it's basically paradise, especially for a
Midwestern girl. The sun shines everyday, the ocean is indescribable, and the
hills and mountains are something out of a postcard. In Detroit and my
hometown, you can go weeks without seeing the sun in the winter. It's
depressing and the murder rate goes up around mid January. Adkins really
captures this harsh living environment in her books.
Amelia Hutchins is another new-ish author who I like. She
wrote the Fae Chronicles. I was obsessed with them! There are five and only
three are out. I was so depressed when I finished the third book. I wasn't
ready to be done. It's PA, but not super out there where I need to keep a list
of all the made up words and their meanings. Oh, and did I mention the sex?
That lady can write the hell out of some sex scenes. I needed a fan blowing on
me while I read because I was so hot and bothered!
What are your
current projects?
I am writing a book that is 180 degrees from L&J. The
heroine is still sassy, but not as hardcore as Elle. Whereas Elle is all me,
the heroine in my new book is only a piece of me. It's hard to say much about
it without giving it all away. The heroine has obstacles to overcome, obstacles
that have debilitated her and her ability to live life to its fullest. As well,
the person people see and the person she really is are different. Her major
obstacle is one I had to overcome, and the public Emily and the private Emily
are similar, but not the same.
The book is called Fighting Words, and I hope to have it
out by early October. The heroine is in a band, so there is a lot of music in
it. It is set in the Midwest, and again we will see a heroine go though a
transformative journey. I can't think of much else to say at this time that
won't spoil for ya'll. You'll just have to read it to find out.
What would you
like my readers to know?
Something I related to in Amelia Hutchins' books, is that
it was clear her writing got better with each book. Steel & Ice was the
first fiction book I ever wrote. It's a little rough around the edges, but
please keep going. When my mon read Melted & Shattered, she said,
"Wow, honey, your writing has really improved." It was a compliment, but I was also like,
"Uh, thanks Mom... I think."
Also, Steel & Ice has a lot of drug usage in it. It's
not there for shock or some random reason. Part of Elle's journey deals with
her excessive weed smoking, and how she finds her way to a different type of
life. You need to see how deeply enmeshed she is in the drug world in order to
grasp the gravity of how she pulls herself out of it. At the same time, as you
read through the series you'll find there is much more to Elle and the story
than just drugs. Though it may seem like a dominant theme in Steel & Ice,
by the time you get to Us, Elle has so much more going on in her life that the
drugs takes a back seat to the adventure and romance.
That's all I got for tonight. Enjoy!!
Emily
