Last week, we interviewed romance author Laramie Briscoe. We learned about her current and future series. Now, let's find out more about her as a person...
Favorite
Food and Drink
Spaghetti is my absolute favorite food. Favorite non-alcoholic
drink is Coke (addicted). Favorite alcoholic drink are Margaritas from a local
place El Mazatlan!
Favorite
Books
I love romance novels. Just a few of my faves are Tenderness by Dorothy
Garlock, Hidden Fires by Sandra Brown, any Lorelei James book and any Cherrie
Lynn book.
Favorite
Music
I love music. The louder and harder it rocks the better. Right now I’m
loving Halestorm, Avenged Sevenfold, and Volbeat.
Favorite
Movies
The Notebook, Dirty Dancing, Step Up, Magic Mike
Favorite
TV
Sons of Anarchy, Justified, Covert Affairs, Raising Hope, The Big Bang
Theory, The Walking Dead
Best
memory from childhood
My childhood was pretty awesome all the way around.
Best
memory from adulthood
I would have to say my wedding day so far.
Life
of the party or stand back and observe?
Stand back and observe.
What
makes you rage?
Ungrateful people and slow drivers in the fast lane. There’s
also a new invention called a turn signal….I think everyone should use it! J
What makes you giggle?
Absolutely anything
inappropriate!
*****
Find Laramie's books at Amazon and B&N.
Follow Laramie on Facebook.
Laramie Briscoe is a hot indie author with a passion for romance and motorcycle clubs. She has three books available in the Heaven Hill series and a fourth on the way. Let's learn more about Laramie and her writing...
Angie: How long have you been writing and when did you decide to
indie publish? What was the biggest hurdle in going it alone?
Laramie: I have been seriously writing for about 10 years. It wasn’t
until late 2010 that self-publishing came onto my radar and it wasn’t until
2012 that I figured out just what I was supposed to be doing.
The biggest hurdle is being motivated. I love to write, but
I don’t necessarily think I’m good at the other aspects of everything. Such as
the marketing and the interactions with readers. I’m getting better, but that’s
been one of my biggest hurdles too. Staying motivated and learning to devote
the proper time to each part of the process.
Angie: You’ve published three books in the Heaven Hill series. Can
you explain the idea behind the books? Where did the inspiration come from?
Laramie: I actually started plotting the Heaven Hill series in
probably early 2010. I had a lot going on in my life at the time. I was a huge
fan of Sons of Anarchy – I loved everything about the lifestyle they portrayed
on the show. At the same time, I was facing foreclosure on my home (everything
worked out), but I took every bit of sadness, fear, shame...you name it and it
went into that story. The female character is facing foreclosure, she’s laid
off from her job. For me, it was a way of taking all the worries and fears I
had and putting them somewhere. A motorcycle club just happened to be it!
Angie: Meant to Be was the first book in the series. Can you give
us the basics behind the H/h?
Laramie: Meant To Be is about William “Liam” Walker Jr. and Denise
Cunningham. He is the reluctant Vice President of the Heaven Hill MC and she is
a single mother of 13-year-old twins. Denise is facing the most depressing time
in her life and is willing to do anything it takes to make things better for
her family – even if that is illegal means. Liam sees something in her that
makes him want to protect her, even when he has to use her.
Angie: In August 2013, you published Out of Darkness. What is the
back story of the H/h?
Laramie: Out of Darkness is about fan favorite Tyler Blackfoot and
Heaven Hill enemy #1 Meredith Rager. Tyler and Meredith had a flirtation in
Meant to Be and then something tragic happened to her. Tyler has taken it upon himself to bring her
out of her dark place and help her heal. Their love story is my favorite of the
bunch so far.
Angie: You released Losing Control in the fall. How does
the H/h differ from the other couples?
Laramie: Jagger and Bianca “B” are not nearly as serious as the rest
of them. They are younger and, I think, more fun. Jagger plays guitar and sings
rocking country tunes at the strip club that Bianca’s a waitress at. Whereas
the first two had dire circumstances, this one deals with Bianca’s stalker and
Jagger overcoming what happened in his childhood. While that could be serious
subject matter, these two are much lighter.
Angie: You're preparing to release the next book in the Heaven Hill series on March 6th. Can you tell us about Worth the Battle?
Laramie: It's about discharged Army Vet Layne O'Conner and Hollywood starlet Jessica Shea. He invited her to a military ball off YouTube and she said yes...they've been friends ever since. He's battling PTSD and she's battling the Hollywood machine and trying to be who she really is, which is an erotic romance writer. They are way different than any other characters I've ever written and I can't wait to see how it goes!
Angie: Do you plan to write more in the series? If so, how many
books do you envision?
Laramie: There will be a total of 8 novels and 2 novellas in the
Heaven Hill series.
Angie: What drew you to romance as a genre? Do you plan to branch
out to other genres as your career progresses?
Laramie: I love to read romance..it’s my favorite! I don’t know if I could write anything else.
My brain loves the HEA.
Angie: How do you come up with the names for your characters?
Laramie: A lot of times they truly name themselves, other times I
will go through the popular baby names and something will jump out at me.
Angie: Chicken or the egg question. Do you create a character and
build around him/her? Or do you imagine a concept and create characters which
fit the idea?
Laramie: I always have the story idea first and then the characters
reveal themselves to me.
Angie: How do you avoid writing a Mary Sue or Marty Stu when most
writers can’t help falling desperately in love with their creations?
Laramie: There are parts of me in every female character I write, but
they are also the type of women that I would love to be. I give each one of
them something about myself that I wish I was!
Angie: Do you use anything to inspire you while you’re writing?
Music, visual aids, etc? Also have you found ideas come to you more freely in
particular places or at certain times of the day?
Laramie: Music is a huge inspiration to me. My new series came to me
when my Spotify was on shuffle and “Unholy Confessions” by Avenged Sevenfold
came on right before “Sparks Fly” by Taylor Swift. Don’t ask me what happened,
but a story idea popped into my head and would NOT leave me alone until I wrote
it!
Angie: When an idea hits you, do you start writing immediately or
plot it out first?
Laramie: I used to be a plotter, but my characters always had other
ideas. I stopped plotting and I find writing like that more fun. Granted,
sometimes, I have to fix things, but I like not being put into a box.
Angie: When you read less than fawning reviews, how do you know
when to use the critique to improve your future writing and when do you chalk
up the criticism as different strokes for different folks?
Laramie: If it’s a review that says they completely hated it, then I
figure that they probably weren’t my target audience and say different strokes
for different folks. Anything else, I take into account and try to improve that
in my next stories.
Angie: I’ve read criticism from particular bloggers (Fangs for the Fantasy being one) about the lack of people of color and different sexual
orientations in fiction. Do you take this lack of diversity into consideration
when creating plots and characters?
Angie: I can see where that would be a criticism and I personally
got criticized for using a Native American character and then some people
thought that the man on my cover did not fit the look of what they deemed he
should be. It’s tricky and I hope in my other series’ I can bring even more
diversity.
Angie: Do word counts mean anything to you? Do you find your books
top out at around the same lengths?
Laramie: Word counts aren’t that important to me. I do set a goal,
just so I can keep track and I try to stay at that goal, but if the story is
done before the word count…then it’s done. Yes, my books tend to be between
60,000 & 80,000 words.
Angie: How big a deal is writer’s block for you and what do you do
to shake it off?
Laramie: It’s not a huge deal for me, but when I do get it, I make
sure I get out of my house and go somewhere else to write. I tend to do Panera
and Barnes and Noble more often than not. Sometimes I’ll even go to the park.
Angie: What books did you enjoy most in 2013?
Laramie: Take Me On – Cherrie Lynn, The Shine On Series – Allison
Jewell, Bully – Penelope Douglas, The Marriage Diaries – Erika Wilde.
Angie: What trends do you hope die in 2014? Are there any you hope
take off?
Laramie: I think there’s room for everybody. Differences in trends are
what make this business so unique. I
will say, though, that I HATE a cliffhanger!
Angie: What are you plans for 2014 as an indie writer?
Laramie: I’ll be attending a couple of signings this year and I’ll be
releasing a new series – called the Rockin’ Country series – as well as 2 more
Heaven Hill books. I have 2 more series in the works and I always hope to quit
my day job…lol!
*****
Find Laramie's books at Amazon and B&N.
Follow Laramie on Facebook.
