Hi Elizabeth, and welcome to Write Outside the Box.
V- Tell us about your most current release and what inspired you to write it?
E- I actually have two releases in June. The first volume of
The Sextet Anthologies is called
Sharing and releases on June 3rd. The second is the fourth books in my
Wicked Missions series, and the title is
Sold. It premieres on June 20th. I think Sold is my personal favorite of the whole series.
The Sextet is a group of my friends who are all fantastic writers. We went out to eat in Orlando at last year’s RWA National Conference, and over a pitcher of sangria, we started talking about fun projects we’d do if we ever had the time. I mentioned that I wanted to write an anthology of erotic stories based on themes if I ever had the spare time. I jokingly suggested that since spare time is a valuable and very limited commodity in my life, perhaps they would like to contribute stories and we could release anthologies together. Everything kind of snowballed from there. By the time we left Orlando, we’d planned out three volumes. My Siren editor was thrilled with the ideas, and she’s willing to look at any anthology we send her now. Currently, we have eight planned, and they’ll release one a month from Siren, starting with
Sharing in June.
The Wicked Missions series was simply for fun. I’ve written paranormal romance under my other pen name, but I’d never written science fiction. I wrote
Locked In: Wicked Missions 1 as a lark, hoping my critique partner, Cheryl Brooks, could give me an idea of whether it was any good and if I should keep developing the series. She’s well known for her
Cat Star Chronicles erotic sci-fi series, so I knew she would let me know if my sci-fi worked. When she gave me the thumbs up, I sent it to Siren. My publisher loved the book. Since then, she’s contracted seven
Wicked Missions books!
Coming Soon!
V- When did you start writing and what was your road to publication like? Do you have any advice for new writers starting out?
E- I started writing six years ago for fun, never really intending to publish. I got fantastic feedback from the friends who read my stories, so I started sending them out to agents and editors. I was thrilled to sell my first book three years ago, and since then, I’ve published six mainstream romances. I’ve also signed with an agent for my mainstream stories. My erotica career has happened so quickly, my head is still spinning. I wrote
Locked In in November, and now I’m churning out
Wicked Missions stories as well as
Sextet stories and trying to keep up with deadlines.
The best advice I can give to writers is to constantly strive to improve. I might be published, but I still take classes in the craft, and I still get as much feedback on my work as I can from critique partners and beta readers to make my writing better. You have to give a quality product to your readers, and you can only do that by being a lifelong learner.
V- What other things interest you besides writing?
E- I love reading, and it doesn’t matter which genre. I’ll dig through anything from Stephen King to Julie Garwood.
My husband and I also like to watch horseracing. We go to off-track-betting sometimes, take twenty bucks each, and see who comes out ahead at the end of the night.
V- What are you currently reading and what books can be found in your to-be-read pile?
E- I just bought Paula Quinn’s
Tamed by the Highlander. I love everything she writes! In my TBR pile right now are Hannah Howell’s
If He’s Dangerous and
Highland Protector, Jackie Kessler’s
Hunger, and Sofia Hunt’s
The First Bride.
V- If you could relive one moment in time, which one would it be?
E- What an amazing question! I’ve had so many wonderful moments in my life, but to go back to my wedding again would be heavenly. I was such a bundle of nerves that day, and so very young! I’d like to see it through my eyes now after nearly thirty years of marriage.
V- Name one item you cannot do without in life and why.
E- My laptop! I’d die if I had to write everything longhand. I have arthritis in both hands, and the notion of not being able to write because I couldn’t handle the pain of holding a pen that long makes me incredibly sad.
V- What’s your favourite flower?
E- I love lilacs. I have a beautiful Hungarian lilac bush outside my kitchen window. In the spring, the scent drifts through the window, and it always makes me happy.
V- What’s your ultimate indulgence?
E- Giving up time with people so that I can write. I always feel a bit selfish, but I’ve learned that I have to write, even if it means not spending as much time as I should with the people I love.
V- What can we expect to see from you in the future?
E- In July, I’ll be releasing two more
Wicked Mission stories—
Wanted and
Captivated—and another of
The Sextet Anthologies—
Dirty Dancing. You can always keep up with me on my websites
I’m also planning a new paranormal series for Siren, hopefully being able to release the first five books sometime this autumn.
V- Once again, thanks for taking the time to be interviewed here. I look forward to your new releases.
Elizabeth can be reached on the web at the following places:
Website Sextet Website and
Siren-Bookstrand.
E- Thanks so much for having me!
V- If you would like to reach Elizabeth, to send her fan mail, you can do so at the following:
Email
