Where are you from?
Southeastern Pennsylvania        

Are you married? 
Yes

Do you have any children or pets? 
My son is in the Air Force stationed in Minot, North Dakota and my daughter is a junior in high school.  We had three cats who passed on and I dearly miss them.

Do you have another occupation besides writing? 
I don't work outside the home. I promised my daughter to be there for her until she graduated high school like I did for my son.

Do you have any unusual or strange hobbies?
It depends what one considers strange. (laughs) Seriously, I love reading and listening to all types of music.

Who are your favorite author(s) and why?
Jackie Collins because she is pure fun; WEB Griffin because he bases his police series in Philadelphia; Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series because I love a gutsy woman plus I have other must buys like Christine Feehan.

What are you reading now?
Lovers and Players by Jackie Collins

How does your family and friends feel about your books or writing ventures in general?  
My kids help me a lot and only certain friends know because of the nature of my writing plus my husband doesn't support this (long story)

What inspired you to write your Internet Bond Series books?
The Rebirth of Rachel came about after an argument with my husband. I wrote the others afterwards and used the Internet as a tie-in.

Are the characters symbolic to people you actually know?
Yes but I take a lesson from Jackie Collins and never tell.

How much of the Internet Bond Series is realistic or reality?
A great deal of The Rebirth of Rachel is while the others, as with all my books, take a little bit from reality and a great deal from what I dream up.

Why did you feel the need to pen the Internet Bond Series?
Pure fun plus I thought the tie-in was interesting.

How do you feel about the erotica genre today?
I love it and always have.  If readers didn't feel the same, I'd be in trouble along with many other writers.  I see nothing wrong with it as long as hard-core porn doesn't take over.

Did you study your subject content before you penned these books?
No, I got a lot of ideas from the early Real Sex shows on HBO but other than that, no research has been done.

Why did you choose to base your series off bondage. Why not another subject?
I've always been fascinated by BDSM because of the extraordinary trust involved in it.

What does it take to write erotic fiction?
In other words, can the average Jane just say one day to themselves that they like the genre and would like to pen a book.   I'm not sure if everyone can write erotic fiction just as not every author is cut out to write in other genres.  I honestly didn't realize I had such a feel for it until I wrote The Rebirth Of Rachel, then it seemed to flow.  The key is keeping it erotic while leaving something to the imagination.

What is your favorite genre?
I love vampires and werewolves, Civil War and contemporary and as you can see, I don't have one though my least favorite is Science-Fiction.

What are your hopes and aspirations, now that you're a published author?
I'd really like to keep going then maybe in a few years, go to one of the publishing houses in New York but I still have a long way to go and I'm very happy where I am at Whiskey Creek Publishing.

Where do you see your writing career in the next five to ten years?
Hopefully, I will still be writing and coming up with books my readers want to read while still having fun doing it.

When you write, what things do you have to have around you?
As long as I have my lead pencils and a steno pad, I'm fine.  I can take them anywhere and I do not need to be plugged in or anything then I get to the point where the manuscript gets put into the computer - I like simple and the steno pads are my back-up if we have PC problems.  I love music depending on my mood or I'll write while listening to the TV.

What are the strengths and weaknesses being an e-book author?
I think the strength is that E-publishing is the coming thing and I'm glad to be a part of it while I think a huge weakness is how people (New York, especially) looks down on it.

Would you like to become a print author?  
I hope one day to have a book in print but I want to establish myself a little more before I contract for print or go to a larger house.  As I said before, I'm extremely happy where I am and do not see too much of a change in the near future.  If I ever do go for a print run, I want it to be one I know everyone seems to like.

What are your next novels about and when will they be out?
Chase for an Angel which is the first in The Hastings Saga series comes out March 1st and is based during the Civil War and not erotic.  In April, Internet Bonds #4: Memphis Belle releases followed by Hellfire (May) about firefighters, Internet Bonds #5: Doctor Heal Thyself in June.  I have several more releasing in the fall including the beginning of my fourth series War In Darkness. 

All in all, I consider myself extremely lucky to be where I am right now and I thank you for a wonderful interview.

-----------

You can read more on her bio and see her books here

Visit her web journal

© interviewed by Chantay W. for Euro-Reviews