• Coercion will be available for purchase on August 2, 2010 via its publisher Lyrical Press. The price is $5.50 for the e-book, and if it sells enough copies, it has a shot of going into print, so if you like it and want a hard copy, please don’t be shy about saying so!
• Behold: the humble beginnings of my Amazon.com author page! Check it out at www.amazon.com/-/e/B003XDA3JY.
• I’ll be in author Melodee Aaron’s Author Spotlight on the week of August 2 — be sure to see the interview and partake in the author chat!
• I will also be a featured author on the Web site The Erotic Woman, where you can read a particularly explicit excerpt from Coercion…

In the meantime, more author interviews, playlists and stories are on the horizon, so it’s shaping up to be a busy–and hot–August!

-Lux Zakari

Play List Title: “Making Out During Fireworks During the 1980s”

Mood: A summery night, fireworks exploding over your heads. You’re away from the crowd, somewhere up on the hill on a some well-worn, much-loved Coca Cola-print bed sheet, putting your lips to good use.

Tracklist:

1. Blondie “Union City Blue” / Blondie “Dreaming”
   Note: It’s no use. I really can’t choose between the two. It’s the Libra in me.
2. Journey “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’”
3. The Outfield “Your Love”
4. REO Speedwagon “Keep On Loving You”
5. Talking Heads “This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)”
6. The Cure “Just Like Heaven”
7. Big Country “In A Big Country”
8. Crowded House “Don’t Dream It’s Over”

So should a time machine arrive and zip me back 21+ years to the Fourth of July, I’m ready!

-Lux Zakari.

Just another benefit to reading: Writing an entry about why you enjoyed one of the stories in the Racy Pages Surprise anthology (in which you can read my work Midnight Rodeo!) can put you in the running for a sweet iPod shuffle. Check out contest details here.

-Lux Zakari

I reiterated the theory to him, and he asked what being “communicative” meant, and I explained it was taking advantage of social networking sites, blogging and undergoing all sorts of marketing antics.

Scott said, “Oh! You meant being commercially successful!”

YES! I do. I’d misspoken.

Now that mess has been cleared up (further proving the importance of utilizing the correct words and terms!), has anyone any thoughts on this Two of Three hypothesis? Can a writer be prolific, good and commercially successful all at once?

For the first post, visit the post at Toni V. Sweeney’s blog.

-LZ.

LZ: What prompted the premise for Moonlight and Magick?

IL: Moonlight and Magick came from a couple of story ideas I had. In one of my very first paranormal romance stories, the seeds of the idea formed, but it took writing four novellas before the seeds sprouted and grew into the manuscript. From there, my websites, blog and newsletter are titled Magick and Moonlight, because my paranormal romances deal with these two “aspects” as a continuous theme.

LZ: Did anything ever come of the four novellas you wrote prior to Moonlight and Magick?

IL: I have them posted on an online site, but otherwise I haven’t decided whether or not I want to do anything with them. I have tried to edit them and I do revisit them to do more editing as I learn more about writing and editing. Maybe when I become a successful author, I might do something with them. Right now, I just look at them and smile. They show me how much I’ve grown as a writer and remind me that no matter what, I will always continue to learn and grow.

LZ: Is there a particular scene or character in the story that is especially important or dear to you?

IL: Hmm. I think the scene where Lilian is taken on a journey to see/feel the world as the Sidhe do is close to my heart. It stemmed from a dream I had in which I was able to be a part of the Earth, the universe, and feel every moment of that connection, good and bad.

LZ: Did you learn anything from writing your book? If so, what was it?

IL: I learned a lot, writing Moonlight and Magick. The most important thing I learned was I can’t write! LOL. Actually, what I learned was writing isn’t just about writing. I’m not saying it’s easy to write—it’s blood, sweat and tears—but it’s the editing, the rereading, the rewriting, the editing, the editing, the editing, that really tore me up. There were days I wanted to hit the delete button and toss the whole kit and caboodle. I learned the annoying voice in the back of one’s head, the internal editor, sucks and shutting her up isn’t easy, which led me to learning perseverance. I can’t be published if I’m always listening to the internal editor convincing me to delete what I’ve written.

LZ: What fascinates you most about paranormal myths, legends, stories, etc.?

IL: What fascinates me most is the fact that we are surrounded by the paranormal and very few people care to see it unless it’s in a novel. To many people, the paranormal is nothing more than a plot piece, a story theme. They don’t understand that the paranormal has been with us since Man first started telling stories. The paranormal was used to explain away something they didn’t understand, and from there, it grew into tangible, living creations. I use a little of this in Moonlight and Magick, explaining that people give some creatures life, through their dreams and nightmares.

I also have experience with spirits and ghosts. My mother’s side of the family is sensitive and my personal experiences with living in haunted places can give plenty of ideas for stories. One of my hobbies is to record EVPs (electronic voice phenomena), which I have on my YouTube channel.

LZ: You mention we are all surrounded by the paranormal but few care to see it—why do you think that is? How would you suggest one be more in tune with experiencing the paranormal?

IL: As a society, we’re taught to ignore or disbelieve what we see. Even a lot of mainstream religions deny the possibility and anyone who says otherwise is branded as crazy, given medication and/or locked away. We might have grown in leaps and bounds with technology, but we’re still very “back woods” when it comes to what we don’t understand. We fear what we don’t understand or can’t explain.

I’m not sure if there’s a way to become more in tune with experiencing the paranormal. I guess the best way is to keep an open mind, but also be skeptical. There are too many people who’ll try to trick you, pull one over on you. That’s why I like doing EVPs (electronic voice phenomena). I can go out to a cemetery, be alone, record, pick up voices and know there’s no taint from other people. Especially when the voices I record are directly responding to something I’ve said or asked.

LZ: What was one of the most interesting experiences you’ve had with a ghost/spirit?

IL: Wow. Hmmm. The most scary experience, I think, was when I was a child. We lived in a rental house that was haunted. My sister and I shared a room. Our Dad had taken the doors off the closet because he was tired of fixing it, putting the doors back on the tracks, because we seemed to always knock them off. The top shelf in the closet had our dolls. One night, we both woke up and watched one of the dolls actually get up and jerkily walk along the shelf. When my sister screamed, the doll launched itself off the shelf and landed in the middle of the room. There was no way for a doll to just fall off the shelf and land where it did.

I think the most interesting was the first time I received an EVP that directly answered me on the recording. It’s one thing to pick up voices you don’t or wouldn’t normally hear, but when one of them either answers your question or refers to something you did or said, it’s an amazing feeling. I still love it, after years of recording.

LZ: Your Web site mentions you occasionally get ideas from your dreams. Can you share an instance of a story you wrote that stemmed from a dream?

IL: My dreams tend to be disjointed and my memory of them piecemealed. Many times, my dreams become a scribble, which is put away, or shared, depending on the whim. Sometimes, a scribble is used later in a story. In Moonlight and Magick, the scene where Lilian is taken on a journey to view the world as the Sidhe see and experience the world, was based on a dream.

Here’s a little something of what I mean. This scribble was from a dream I had in 2004, written down in prose form for possible inclusion in a story. This hasn’t been edited for a manuscript, just to warn you.

I stood on the balcony. The wind was blowing, my hair was drenched by the pouring rain. The city lights were distorted, fuzzy. I wore nothing, letting the cold wind buffet me.

I stood there, trembling from the cold wind and rain, the rain pelting me like a million bullets. Each drop hitting sensitive skin, causing a flicker of pain that sizzled along my nerves. Every few moments, the black sky was lit up with the flash of lightning, and my pale skin would glow eerily for a moment. The thunder caused the balcony to shudder beneath my feet.

There was something primal about standing in a storm, being vulnerable to the elements.

I don’t remember why I went out there.

Something called to me. I heard my name in the voices of angels. I heard them calling for me in the winds that whistled past the glass door. They told me to fly, to spread my wings and let myself go. They called for me, told me to leave it all behind and fly free.

I don’t remember why I went out there.

I’m not an angel. I don’t have wings.

I closed my eyes and lifted my arms in invitation.

They came for me. I felt their hands on my body. I felt pain. Their hands were hot against my cold skin. They were branding me with their touch. I shuddered, crying out. I heard them reassuring me. Soft words of comfort.

Take me away…take me away…

…and they did.

Title: …and they did.
©2004 Isobael Liu (SLM)

LZ: What do you like least about the writing process? What do you like best?

IL: I love writing. I love being able to create and destroy. I love being able to bring people together and tear them apart. I love putting them through the necessary hardships to make them grow, make them real, make them earn the happily ever after at the end of the story.

On the other side of the coin, it’s also the least favorite thing about the writing process. I’m a softy. I cried reading (and watching)The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I still do. I cried watching Under a Tuscan Sun. I’m a sap for romances. I don’t want to see characters hurting, crying, being torn apart. I want to see them meeting, fall in love and live happily ever after. Still, you can’t have a happily-ever-after without those stepping stones/stumbling blocks, even if I despise coming up with ways to watch them trip and stumble.

LZ: What can readers expect next from Isobael Liu?

IL: I’m in the process of writing another book with one of the characters mentioned in Moonlight and Magick. I also have a vampire novel partially written, plans for a historical paranormal in the outlining stage, as well as four novellas in various stages of being edited/rewritten/expanded to make them into novels.

* * * *

To purchase Moonlight and Magick from its publisher, Lyrical Press, visit www.lyricalpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=229.

For more info on Isobael Liu, visit isobael.webs.com, isobael-liu.blogspot.com or groups.google.com/group/magick-and-moonlight.

LZ: What inspired Poppy’s Passions?

SB: Poppy’s Passions came about after I watched a special on polyandry. The presenters made it sound very dirty and wrong, and I always have a hard time believing most situations are all black or white. So I started thinking about ways that a polyamorous relationship could be good…then started thinking about how it could be even better. Poppy’s Passions eventually came to be because of that curiosity.

LZ: According to your Lyrical Press author page, “Even before she understood what all the thrusting meant, Stephanie Beck loved reading romance.” When did you start reading romance, and what prompted you to start writing it?

SB: I started reading romance when my aunt Barb gave me a copy of Montana Sky by Nora Roberts. I was thirteen and never went back to adolescent fiction. I started writing romance when I was about fifteen when in my reading, I would find I wasn’t always happy with the ending. I mentioned it to my mom and she said to write my own. We were both pretty surprised when I did.

LZ: What about the endings to some of the romance novels you’ve read did you find unsatisfying?

SB: The unsatisfying part was when I wasn’t sure the relationship would last. The “love cures all” was always one I doubted because even back in my teens, I wanted love to be more. I wanted the “happily ever after” to be one I could see still going strong thirty years later. Sometimes that just meant making the love between them more real and practical, which is probably why my heroes tend to cuss and step in cow poo. Those are real things and my leading ladies get the same treatment. They get zits and burn birthday cakes but the love grows despite those things.

LZ: On your Web site, you mention your first novel, Love on the Mats. I must know more about the story behind that story! Think it will ever be resurrected?

SB: Oh,Love on the Mats. That little story provided many hours of entertainment for me and my friends at school. It was my first real story. I spent weeks in my room working on it. The main characters were college coeds. The boy was Nick, I believe, and the girl was Samantha. He was a senior wrestler headed to med school. She was a timid freshman who drew him like no other. I don’t think it will ever be resurrected, but I realize now, that even then I knew what a hero was to me. He nursed her when she was sick and went out of his way to make her smile. He tried to fight her battles and encouraged her to always be her best. Those pieces of Nick find their way into the stories I write today.

LZ: How long does it usually take you to write a story from start to ready-to-submit-for-publication?

SB: That actually varies a lot. I have a bulk stash of stories that I’ve been writing since I was fifteen. If I pick one of those and do a power cleanup and make it a viable, interesting story, it usually takes about two months from when I start to when I’m ready to write a synopsis. If I start from scratch with a completely new plot and characters I’ve never met before, I’d say anywhere between three weeks and three months before I’m ready to have my critique partners look at it.

LZ: Can you tell readers a little more about Freak Sorority?

SB: My freaks are a series of short stories about some extraordinary females. It started as an exercise in writing shorter and finding the important details. It ballooned into more as each character demanded a voice. An angel, demon huntress, succubus and werewolf support each other in sorority sisterhood through life and romance. Freak Sorority is a blast to write and with the demand for more growing with each holiday I post one on my Web site and Facebook, I’m sure they’ll keep me busy for a while.

LZ: Where did the title to Freak Sorority come from?

SB: I’d just been approached about joining a sorority when I started on my first short story. The whole concept of sisterhood was on my mind at the time so the sorority part fit. When their personalities started to emerge, I realized “freak” wouldn’t be a bad thing for them and they have made it their own.

LZ: What makes an extraordinary female, as per Freak Sorority?

SB: The Freak girls are actually having pledge week soon so that is something that’s been on my mind. A Freak is extraordinary in her ability to know herself, her willingness to help and protect others, and her humor at herself and the world. The big part of being a Freak is, ironically, being “human.” Embracing flaws and forgiving those same shortfalls in your fellow Freak sisters is what makes them very special.

LZ: How do you go about creating your characters?

SB: I have a great cheat sheet I use. It has physical descriptions and background information so once I know who someone is going to be I can record and keep it straight. But first I have to get to know them. For that, I do a lot of research. I look through magazines at pictures and read personal stories of amazing women and men who share their motivations for life. Little bits and pieces of the people I know add to the depth of the characters as well. Sometimes it’s a single interesting piece of information that will inspire a character. A trip to a local museum that had an antique typeset next to a display about Rollerblades inspired a very interesting character. Contrast works for me when it comes to my characters.

LZ: What’s next for Stephanie Beck?

SB: She’s a busy girl, that’s for sure. My next work, a BDSM-themed novel, David’s Angel, was just contracted by Lyrical Press and has a release date for October 2010. It looks at a new relationship that thrives in the BDSM mindset but also supports a family and therefore must find a balance. New ideas are always forming and being added as they come.

* * * *

To purchase Poppy’s Passions from its publisher, Lyrical Press, visit http://www.lyricalpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=81&products_id=224.

For more info on Stephanie Beck, visit www.stephaniebeck.net.

LZ: According to your Web site, your writing career began after you were in a car accident. How long ago was that, and what about that incident prompted you to turn to writing?

TS: That was back in 1970. A Ford Fairlane broadsided our Toyota Corolla. I had multiple fractures of the pelvis, a crushed hip, fractured vertebra and numerous facial and arm injuries from broken glass (windshields may not shatter into jagged pieces anymore but they can still cut pretty badly) and was also six weeks pregnant, so I was pretty well out of it for more than a year. The sad part was I had been married eight months at the time and the accident ended that too.

So there I was immobile, expecting and spending all my days reading and sleeping. When I was recovered enough to begin work again, I was now a single parent and was so poor, I couldn’t afford to buy books, not with a baby to care for, so I wrote my own so I’d have something to read. I would type it on my typewriter, punch holes in the pages and put them in a loose-leaf notebook and take it to work and everyone would pass it around and read it. When the books started getting published, I got out those originals and compared them to the finished product. Some were still pretty close. Others were so changed, I barely recognized them. Incidentally, the first one I wrote later transformed itself into the novel Blood Sin.

LZ: How/when did you decide to make that leap from writing for yourself to seeking publication?

TS: As I said, I would take my manuscripts to work and the receptionists would pass them around and read them. They’d also give me little critiques. One day, the conversation went like this:

She: Have you ever thought about getting that one published?
Me (modestly): Oh, I doubt anyone would want to do that.
She (aggressively): You’ll never know. Still, I bet you’ll never send one in, will you? Nah, you won’t.

What could I do? Gauntlet thrown down. I had to take the challenge. I submitted the manuscript to a publisher. Now, this is where it gets convoluted. (Bear with me here.) I called a local bookstore and asked her to look up the publisher’s address in their Books in Print catalogue. I sent off the manuscript but I didn’t know she’d given me the wrong address and it went to the wrong publisher. I received a rejection, since they didn’t handle adventure stories, but they asked if I had any children’s stories. I said yes and they wished to see one. Then I had to sit down and write a YA story for them and get it in within the next two weeks. It was accepted, and…there you are! (The rejected manuscript, by the way, was Bloodseek, which was published in 2007 by Double Dragon Publications. The novel they published was Spacedog’s Best Friend.)

LZ: Can you tell readers about one of your most recent works, The Serpent’s Tooth? Where did you get the inspiration for the story?

TS: Serpent’s Tooth was a dream and by that, I mean I dreamed the main character. At least, his name. I don’t remember anything about the dream except that it was about an actor from the ’50s named Arthur Franz who was in a lot of Grade-B SF movies and when I woke up, I had the name “Hildebrand” in my mind.

Two days later, I was watching Atomic Submarine on TV and Arthur Franz was in it and the admiral’s name in the movies was Hildebrand. I figured that had to be some kind of sign, so I started thinking about it and came up with the story that ended up being Serpent’s Tooth. The original name of the novel, by the way, was The Inheritor.

LZ: You often host other authors on your blog, such as myself! What have you found to be beneficial about doing so?

TS: I gets lots of invites to blog on their Web sites! Seriously—and this is going to sound sooo schmaltzy—it gives me a good feeling to give someone a chance to talk about their novels and how and why they wrote them and bring them to the attention of other people. Since I started the “Book Review” page, I’ve gotten a chance to read a lot of very good stories too.

LZ: What was the most recent great book you’ve read?

TS: “Great” covers a lot of territory. Do you mean, one that’ll withstand the ravages of time or one I really enjoyed or what? The last book I read that I really enjoyed was one I just finished and posted a review on Amazon: You Can’t Stop Me by Max Allan Collins and Matthew Clemens. Max Collins has written a lot of the CSI paperbacks, and this story reads like a TV script. It’s the story of a lawman who saves the life of the president and comes home to discover his own family murdered. He’s approached by a TV network to host a crime reality show and while studying a recent murder, one of his staff discovers a clue pointing to the killer being the same one who murdered his family. He announces on the air that he’s going to track down the murderer and the rest of the story is taken up with his investigation which is broadcast life to the nation and the killer as it happens. I’d love to see it filmed. It’s a tense story and has a real twist at the end.

LZ: Most of your works are in the sci fi/fantasy genre. What about the genre appeals the most to you?

TS: I’ve asked myself that I don’t know how many times and I haven’t come up with an answer yet! When I was small, we would go to the movies at least four times a week and my mother took me to see every horror movie that came out because she didn’t believe in leaving me with a babysitter. The first movie I remember seeing, in fact, was Dracula’s Daughter. I dunno—maybe liking them was just instilled in me through osmosis or something. Whatever, I have a huge library and about two-thirds of it is horror/sf/fantasy novels.

LZ: What kind of horror/sci fi/fantasy novels do you prefer?

TS: Oh, I like vampire stories, of course, and there are so many of them around today, but I still like the old Nosferatu kind, though I’m a sucker for happy endings. (My own stories notwithstanding—I don’t exactly practice what I preach.) Costume-type drama stories. I’m a child of the old Universal horrors and Hammer films, so I like a lot of the ancient evil brought back to life and rearing its head to endanger modern man types, too. But I don’t like an excess of blood and gore of the slasher-movie kind, and I don’t want my stories to get so gross they’re repulsive. I like more space opera than hard core SF, a la Star Trek or Star Wars…exotic planets, exotic characters, lots of camaraderie and banter.

As for fantasy, sometimes the fantasy and horror stories blend together, so that one’s a little more difficult to define. If you want to know what kind of books I like to read, just check out what I write. Imitation is the best form of flattery.

LZ: As an author who creates book trailers, do you find them to be effective? How do you go about creating them?

TS: I have both MovieMaker and iMovie on my computer so I have a choice of how I’ll make them. Both applications have features I like so I wish I could combine the two. I make up a script, select the pictures from sites like fotolia.com and dreamstime.com and then select the music from imcompetech.com and put it together! I hope making trailers interests readers in my books. I know I myself have bought books after seeing the trailers.

LZ: What do you have in store for readers next?

TS: Right now, I have a futuristic novel called The Finer Gentleman, which is making the rounds under my pseudonym Icy Snow Blackstone. That’s a sequel to my TWRP novel Three Moon Station, which I wrote specifically at the request of a reader.

And also two under my own name: a thriller—and that’s a big departure in the genre for me—called Blood Bay, which is set on an island in Georgia’s Golden Isles. I started it in 1993 and finished it this year. Lots of Southern color. Think Cape Fear meets Justified. The other is a fantasy called Wizard’s Wife, a story of a newlywed who discovers her husband is a faery wizard sent from another dimension to save Earth from an invasion by a rival wizard.

* * * *

To purchase The Serpent’s Tooth from its publisher, Class Act Books, visit www.classactbooks.com/Serpents-Tooth-by-Toni-V-Sweeney_p_154.html.

To learn more about Toni V. Sweeney, visit http://www.tonivsweeney.com.

LZ: What inspired Trouble Under Venus?

AP: The heroine in this story — Miranda, or Randi, as she’s called — is in the same situation I’m in. Her father has been missing since she was very young. Without a trace, he disappeared from Miami. And to make things more mysterious, he was involved with some shady characters in the Cuban mafia down there. (All the same as me.) Her burning curiosity leads her on a quest to find out what happened to him.

LZ: What prompted you to add the element of time travel?

AP: It was the perfect solution to Randi’s/my problem: travel back in time to before Dad went missing, and try to discover what happened. Plus, Randi’s quite a daredevil. She’s into skydiving, base jumping, para-skiing… so joining an experimental time travel program is a natural fit for her.

LZ: What was the hardest part of writing your new book?

AP: For this book, I really had to do lots of research: on time travel, wormholes, vortexes, feng shui, meditation… And it’s really easy to get caught up in research. I still cry when I read the ending though. When I first wrote it, I kinda went into a funk for a few days afterward.

LZ: What was the most rewarding?

AP: In some sense, I’d hoped for closure by writing this story. I guess, in a weird way, now I do feel like I’ve “met” my father.

LZ: Your experience with closure is a great example of how powerful writing can be. Do you feel as though your search for your father has truly come to an end now? Do you think you’ve come any closer to discerning the truth?

AP: Sometimes I toy with the idea of contacting that guy on TV, The Locator, or something. Once I sat down and wrote letters to every guy with my father’s name who had the same birth year… only got one response back, and it was from the guy’s widow. I’m pretty sure the mystery of his whereabouts will remain just that — a mystery. Unless, of course, I hit it really big and end up on Dateline, The Today Show, or the like, and somebody watching knows what happened to him!

LZ: On your site, www.autumnpiper.com, you state, “Many of my stories bend ‘the rules’ of traditional romantic fiction (or flat-out ignore them).” Can you elaborate further?

AP: Traditional romantic heroines need to be either virgins or have been widowed (or both, LOL). If they have had other romantic/sexual relationships, these should not be “witnessed” by the reader. I happily ignore this rule and let my heroines dump their going-nowhere relationships if the story calls for it.

Also, some of my stories deal with subjects, such as an adulterous spouse, which most romances stay away from. I can understand this — in most cases, if someone is reading a romance, they don’t want to deal with Real Life Issues. Still, if it’s the story that needs told… I’ll tell it, with a warning upfront, of course. I sometimes call my work “women’s fiction” in order to avoid all the trappings of The Rules.

LZ: What’re your readers’ reactions to you bending The Rules and dealing with Real Life Issues in your stories?

AP: So far, so good! I did include a warning on Waiting for Revenge, which should somewhat prepare any traditionalists. I wouldn’t want to trick anybody into reading something they didn’t want to, but hopefully most people don’t mind a little fresh subject matter in their romances.

LZ: According to your Lyrical Press author page, you most love books that have “characters you can sympathize with or hate (sometimes both at once), a story you simply must see through to the end, and realistic dialogue.” Can you cite a specific example of this, either your own work or someone else’s, or both?

AP: A real master of this liking/hating a character is Stephen King. He can give you a main character who, in cases of dire need will do some really horrific — yet understandable — things. I do enjoy stories where the hero or heroine is not perfect. Another old-school romance rule was to never, ever give readers any reason to hate your hero or heroine. But, dangit, how much more fantastic is it to read about a flawed character, but still fall for him anyway?

LZ: What is your experience with book trailers?

AP: I think book trailers are a fantastic medium for advertising. Anytime you have another way to reach potential readers, go for it!

LZ: Are they effective?

AP: I’m honestly not sure. It probably depends on where they’re utilized. One new, awesome place for authors to reach lots of readers is with the Coffee Time Romance YouTube Channel. It’s a vast collection of all sorts of book trailers.

LZ: What are your tips for their creation?

AP: I’ve made all of my own using Windows Movie Maker, and had my CPs look them over, then made changes as needed. I think the most I’ve spent on one, for which I purchased music as well as images, was $24. They’re basic, because I think the crazy effects and transitions distract from the premise you’re trying to get across, but the images are high quality.

Biggest thing I’ve learned about trailers? Keep them short! A minute is perfect, with a few seconds of credits and links afterward. Never go over 90 seconds. People will skip it and not even bother watching if they see it’s long. It should be a teaser, like one of those little soft mints that melt on your tongue and make you want more (not a whole dang chocolate bar).

LZ: What’s next for Autumn Piper?

AP: More trouble — Fallen Star Trouble. It’s about a washed-up rock star and the woman who broke his heart right before his spiral down. E-book release is in September from Lyrical Press.

* * * *

To purchase Trouble Under Venus from its publisher, Lyrical Press, visit www.lyricalpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_25&products_id=202.

For details about Autumn Piper, visit www.autumnpiper.com or piperpatter.blogspot.com.

LZ: You just released your third short story via Paper Bag Press — can you tell us a little about Come Hither?

VJ: Come Hither is a short romp about two very driven professionals who take their competition right on into the bedroom. It’s heavy on the lead-up and kind of frothy on the sex.

LZ: Have you been published elsewhere?

VJ: Not in fiction. I have publication credits on a couple of software manuals, but they aren’t very entertaining.

LZ: What prompted you start writing fiction and seek getting it published?

VJ: I workshopped a sci-fi story about ten years ago, and the response was thrilling. For the first time I let myself believe that it was possible to make money at this hobby. Since then, I’ve been looking for the niche, the sort of story that melds best with the way I write. Not sure erotica is it, but writing this stuff sure is fun.

LZ: Where do you get the inspiration for your stories?

VJ: I think I come at erotica from a wonky angle. Instead of starting with the fantasy or fetish and then building a story around it, I typically start with the character, get that character hooked up with another one, and then figure out how those two (or three, or four) would go about gettin’ nekkid.

LZ: How did you fall into penning stories for the erotica genre?

VJ: Years and years of reading bad romance novels and thinking, “Dude, that is simply not how real folks copulate.”

LZ: What constitutes a bad romance novel? What did the characters/author/etc. do that was off-putting?

VJ: Folks who’ve been reading romance for a long time will be familiar with the term “too stupid to live.” (It even has an abbreviation: TSTL.) Sadly, most heroines (and a good portion of the heroes) are just that. The next time a hero ditches a heroine for her own good and lies to her to make the ditch stick and she buys it, I think I’m going to pinch my eyeballs ’til they pop. Or maybe just send the book through a cathartic shredder.

LZ: Do you have any full-length projects, such as novels, in the future?

VJ: Of course! (My guess is that most scribblers do.) Two of my works-in-progress are past the half-way point now. One’s a historical and very naughty; the other is a paranormal contemporary featuring angels, and it can’t decide whether it’s a sarky chick-lit thriller or a smutty-goodness adventure.

LZ: What do you have in store for readers next?

VJ: Depends on what they want. Two of the three stories on Paper Bag Press were written with specific requests in mind. Reader feedback is such an incredible boost to the muse.

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To purchase Come Hither from its publisher, Paper Bag Press, visit www.paper-bag-press.com/ebook/come-hither.

To learn more about Vivien Jackson, visit vivienjackson.blogspot.com or
www.myspace.com/vivienjackson.

To suggest a story idea to Vivien Jackson, e-mail jacksonvivien@gmail.com.

The Internet is a weird, unfathomable place!

-LZ.