Orange Crush
Orange Crush is my second foray into the fairy kingdom - as an author. I have covered the gamut I believe in genres but had never written a fairy story. I loved writing Sex and Candy, which came out last Christmas. I submitted it to my publishers, Total-E-Bound for consideration in their Oberon's Court winter anthology.
I was both pleased and surprised that readers and reviewers took so strongly to the characters and story of Sex and Candy. I have always loved fairies and actually collected them for many years. I have about 200. By the way, all the mythic creatures I have in the story are from actual fairy legends.
You live in California and have dreams of living in Hawaii, why is this?
I love Hawaii. I started going for vacations there when I was very young with my family. We always stayed at the Princess Kaiulani Hotel and I grew to love her. When I was a kid, there was an entire floor on top of the hotel dedicated to her memory, with a lot of her personal belongings on display. I'd spend hours up there drinking in her art work, her photos, her cherished possessions. She died very young at age 24, they say of a broken heart. You could say this began my lifelong obsession with Hawaii, but also with the romantic idea of a broken heart being mended.
These days, her treasures are on display in the hotel lobby - but it's a severely reduced collection. I still go and visit her whenever I am in Hawaii. By the way, here's a little known fact. She had a white horse she named Fairy!
You make frequent trips to the islands, so how much has travelling aided your writing?
I go at least twice a year and each trip gives me tons of fodder for books. I even visited the Forbidden Island of Ni'ihau, which nobody is allowed to visit unless invited by a resident. I based my book The Forbidden Island on my brief day-long visit there. Two years ago, I spent two weeks in Maui and joined a group that trained volunteers to search for unexploded bullets and bombs on the remote island of Kaho'olawe. I spent two days there and wrote Abandoned Paradise, based on that trip. That island haunts my dreams. I don't know many people who have spent any time at all on a completely deserted island.
My night on this historic island was unforgettable. The US used it for military bombing practice. To the Hawaiians, it is a sacred island that has had a fascinating history. It has no electricity, no running water, no homes, no people, no noise, no traffic. It cured my fear of the dark, and gave me a glimpse of what Hawaii was like before we all came there.
The book has been compared to Kristen Ashley and Charlie Richards, so how does this make you feel?
Wow! Well, I am sort of speechless, a first for me. Kristen Ashley is an amazing, talented author and a New York Times best seller! I know Charlie Richards very well and love her paranormal stories, so I will take these comparisons as a huge compliment!
This is the sequel to Sex and Candy, so what can you tell us about this story?
Thanks for asking! Well, I loved the world I created with the first story and the character of Jing, King Oberon's red-headed step child. I have always enjoyed writing stories about characters who are less than perfect who find true love. If people enjoy my work, it's usually this aspect they relate to. None of us are perfect. But my characters always find their perfect mate and always have a happy ending. Jing falls in love with a sexy fire fairy named William, but has no idea William is a prince. So, Jing, who's always been the butt of family jokes because he can't hold down a job - even as a sugar plum fairy - becomes grounded in love. I had so much fun writing this story!
In Orange Crush, Jing and William are getting married and Jing wants his cousin, the moon fairy Orly, to be there. Orly was kicked out of his home for being gay and is living in the forest with a lot of other fairy outlaws. He loves and misses Jing but isn't sure he wants to return to life at the Fairy Court. His mother, who has shunned him for years, is now playing nice because she wants to go to the wedding that will be a culmination of Queen Titania's summer orgy.
The invitations state that only whole families can attend. Orly is afraid to be around the family he's tried to forget, and besides, he's found feelings for the moon god, Mên.
Orly is forced to go - when he learns his mother plans to formally petition to have his wings clipped if he doesn't. Can his relationship and his wings survive his ultimate desire, for a sip of royal orange crush?
Please tell us about some of your previous publications with Total-E-Bound.
I have 43 books published with Total-E-Bound and many more to come. I have to say I adore working with Total-E-Bound because they have always gone the extra mile for me, whether it's cover art I want tweaked, or if I pitch them a totally crazy idea, such as my Blood Slave: Nibiru Vampire Warriors series, a 12-chapter serial I wrote with D.J. Manly. We poured our hearts into this jam-packed series. Each chapter is short, around 18,000 words, but a total sensory overload. We still miss writing about Stride and Zero.
Whenever authors contact me and ask for a publisher recommendation I always suggest Total-E-Bound.
My very first story with them was Stealing Rain, a science-fiction romp co-written with D.J. Manly and then I wrote The Mediator, a contemporary romance set in Las Vegas. I have written paranormal romances, vampire sagas, contemporary stories, historicals. I have been so lucky that Total-E-Bound has given my stories a gentle, loving home. I don't think any other publisher would have looked after my World War II gay romance, the Pearl Harbor series such wonderful care. Those four books are very special to me and from the moment I wrote the first one, my editor could tell how much I loved these characters.
What do you most like to read?
I read mostly biographies, historical non-fiction and I love good literary fiction and of course, M/M romance!
What is your writing process?
I write every day. I start very early. I write for an hour on whatever work-in-progress I have. On any given day that could be three or four different books. I have a long-standing collaboration with D.J. Manly and we always have something bubbling on the stove. I also have commitments to a few publishers so I have solo titles and deadlines to handle.
I try not to look at the Internet until I have worked for a good hour. I am a prolific writer and can pack a lot into an hour. The Internet is a time-sucker and I try to write first, then deal with business stuff.
I write all day long. I feel very blessed that I can write full time. I sometimes have to pinch myself that I am living the life I always wanted.
What advice can you give to other aspiring e book erotic romance writers?
Just do it. There are no guarantees for any of us. You will get rejections. Mourn for a day and keep moving. I would really advise anyone to write every day. If you wait for inspiration, you will be waiting a long time. I've learned the old adage is true. Writing is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration.
What is next for you?
I have several books coming out at Total-E-Bound. Please check my website for updates - but I am excited Hanalei Moon is soon to be published. It's about a world champion surfer who goes for a surf one day and somehow loses twelve years of his life. D.J. Manly and I also have a super-hot three book series coming out called Tiki Vampires, in which that Hawaiian gods have fallen and been turned into vampires!
Thanks so much for this opportunity to talk to you about my work!
You can purchase Orange Crush from Total-E-Bound Publishing today!