Awesome April Interview Questions
In honor of April 15th being tax day, we’re asking 15 questions this month
1. Speaking of taxes, are your taxes finished, or do you procrastinate with them? Do you do them yourself or do you have a taxman do them for you?
My taxes are finished, and I’ve gotten my meager refund. Ugh! Now that my kids are out of the house, the refunds get smaller every year, although I can stills how a loss with my business of author…hmmm…wonder why that is
I don’t procrastinate when it comes to taxes, but I do sometimes have to wait for my employers to get the documents that I need to me so that I can complete the forms.
The main reason I don’t put taxes off is the fact that I do my own. I worked as a tax professional for ten years, and I do taxes at my home as a side business, so actually enjoy tax season. I’m so weird, huh?
2. As it says, “April showers bring May flowers”. What flowers do you hope to see the first thing in spring?
My favorite flowers are Easter Lillies. My grandma planted them, and I have them all around the border of my yard, so I never have to wait long for my favorite. They’re up when the snow is still on the ground sometimes.
3. Do you plant your own garden? Why or why not and where is it (are they) located? What type(s) will it (they) be and where is it (are they) located on your property?
I plant my garden with my uncle. He has a small garden in the back of my house, and I help him. He loves to plant and plow, and I cook whatever he brings in from the harvest. Works out well for us!
For those who DO garden -
4. Do you prefer plants or seeds? Does it matter where you get them, or do you have a favorite place to go? What’s the name of the place and why do you prefer to go there?
I prefer things that already have some sort of start: tomatoes, potatoes, strawberries. I like to plant in hills, and my uncle is very good at softening up the soil. The richer the soil the better. I plant in various time periods as well. We are getting ready to put in the first round of crops, then we’ll still have turnips and things like that toward the end of the fall.
5. What will you plant (or have already planted) this year and why?
We’ll like to plant by the beginning of Spring then go in levels of others things that can be planted as certain crops are picked in stages and the soil is plowed under for the next item. We try to work with natural fertilizers, and we don’t like to plant the same things in the same place and deplete the soil of its nutrients. We also have flower gardens
6. Do you have any plants that are must haves for your garden, ones that it just won’t be complete without?
Tomatoes! Gotta have them. Can’t stand the ones from the store because home – grown are so great!
For those who DO NOT garden because they can’t or don’t like to –
4. If you could have a garden, what kind of garden would it be, how big would it be and what would you plant in it?
5. Have you ever considered getting involved with a local community garden? Why or why not?
My uncle is involved with a community garden, and he loves it, but I’ve hesitated because of the stress of dealing with the other gardeners and those in charge. He doesn’t like that part of it, so we usually deal more with our own garden than the community one.
6. For your produce, is the local grocery store just fine, or do you like to hit your local farmer’s market? What is your favorite fruit or vegetable that you do like to get?
I like the produce from local farmers’ markets, especially the watermelon and things I don’t grow much of on my own.
Now, let’s get to your writing:
7. What is your main genre (erotica, erotic romance, romantic suspense, etc.)? What was the draw for you?
I write contemporary Romantic Suspense, but a couple of my books are erotica, and I’m working on a dragon/fantasy right now. I like to read a wide variety of books and genres, s o I am branching out, but I started with Contemporary Romantic Suspense, Intrigue because I copied Morse Code in the military(USAF) for ten years…
8. Besides your main genre we just discussed, what elements do you prefer to use in a story and why those elements over others?
Romance is great, and I’m a woman, although not a typical one, so I love heart- felt stories, but they also have to have a fast paced plot, hence the suspense.
9. Do you prefer red roses or black roses? If so, does that show in your writing? If so, how? If roses aren’t your style, what flowers are? Do they influence your writing? If so, how?
Funny you should ask about roses;) I have three stories with roses, the last of which uses black roses as symbolism, since the fiancé of a murdered loved one places a black rose on the spot where the person died…
AND: I have a tattoo on my left ankle with the colors of the four roses in my series of three books, trilogy, and my kids’ names in between the roses and vines.
10. The jury’s still out on this question, so we’re still asking it! – Who decides what you write about, you or your muse? What kind of influence do you have over your story, or is the muse always the one planting the seeds? How do you cultivate those seeds regardless of who plants them?
I’m a control freak, so I’d like to think I have total control, but at times, when I’m in the actual story and writing away, I have to say it’s just the inner creativity flowing. I’m not a plotter really, so my muse has to be good!
11. In your opinion, what author had the most influence on your writing? What about their writing did you find so influential and why?
I have to say Nora Roberts, although that seems unfair since she not the only author out there, but I like her and she’s big, and I write suspense, and so does she…so…
I like the fact she’s fast-paced and fun to read. That’s what I want to be. Fast-paced. Fun. Never boring
13. While authors can definitely influence us, inspiration can be everywhere for a writer, but specific people, places and events can inspire certain characters, personality traits or things that happen in our stories. In your current story that we’re promoting here today, insert name here, did any one particular person, place or event inspire you? If so who/what was it (were they), how did it/they inspire you and how is this inspiration reflected in your story?
My first stories came from my real life settings and jobs, especially the ones involving Morse Code, which I copied in the USAF for ten years with a Top Secret SCI Clearance. So those stories came easily to me, as did the ones about stalkers, since one is about a lawyer, and I’m the Mock Trial Coach at my school, and the banker, since I do taxes, and the nurse, since I have a friend who lives, sleeps, eats, and breathes nursing, and we discuss it a lot. So lots of people and settings come from my personal life, friends, family and observation.
14. Without giving away anything pertinent to the story, tell us about the hero and heroine (s) of your story. What do they look like? How do they meet (or “did” if this is a second book with these same characters)? What are their personalities – Are they comical cut-ups, are they serious or are they a mix of the two? Please give us a little bit of dialogue from the story that can illustrate this. (Not much, but just a few lines and from a different section than the main excerpt – Thanks!)
I’m going to work this from the angle of my latest release: Guard My Body. The heroine is a librarian, and the hero is a CIA covert operator, and she is asked to implant secret information in her mouth and transport it for her sister, the hero’s partner. They can’t leave where they are, so they need a curiouer, and the heroine volunteers. She has a bit of a wild side for a librarian, but that’s stereotyping So is the fact she’s a redhead He’s tall,d ark, and handsome, and a biker dude… She gets shot, and the hero says with a scowl, “All the good ones are either married, taken or have holes in their heads.”
15. The main characters are usually great, but sometimes, secondary and tertiary characters are known to steal the scenes. Who are the secondary/tertiary characters in your story and what do they look like? What’s unique about them? What is their relationship to the hero/heroine? Have any of these gone on to become scene-stealers? If so, who and how did they do it? (Again, please give us a small bit of dialogue to illustrate this – thanks!)
Since this a series of six books, and this is book number two of the trilogy, the secondary characters are very important. One is the sister of the heroine, and one is the partner of the hero. They’ve known each other a long time and used to be a team of covert operators in Colombia, South America, so the other stories are the follow ups of that. They all derserve happiliy ever afters, right?
Please send us pictures whenever possible of the favorite flowers you’ve planted, favorite fruits/vegetables you’ve grown, or maybe even a pic of your local farmer’s market as well as an image of yourself and your current release (or a couple if it’s part of a series and they are out and about to be had right now). Thanks!
