Interview with Romance Author Sera Bright

New Cover

Sera Bright is a new indie author of See Through Me. The romance novel was published in May 2014 and is the first of two planned for this year. Let's learn more about Sera 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?

Sera: I only started writing last year. See Through Me is my first novel ever. It was quite a steep learning curve, but I put time aside each day to work on my craft and just kept going. The biggest hurdle, though, was the constant self-doubt. Am I wasting my time? Is anyone going to want to read this? Etc. But it’s something you have to push aside and try to ignore. (I know, easier said than done.)

Angie: You published See Through Me in early May. Can you explain the idea behind the book? Where did the inspiration come from?

Sera: I was inspired by watching TV shows with all these interesting anti-heroes and villains, and began thinking about what would it be like if your parents were those characters? How would you view the world and relationships? What kind of disasters would happen in your life because of their choices? A story developed in my head about two kids growing up in that dysfunction and I ran with it.

Angie: See Through Me is the first of two books in the Lose My Senses series. When book two will be released?

Sera: Only Your Touch will be released in early August.

Angie: Katie is the heroine in See Through Me. What can you share with us about the character?

Sera: Katie returns to her hometown after taking the year off from college. She doesn’t want to be there. In fact, she doesn’t know what she wants at all out of life. She’s pretty lost as a character. Her one anchor was the boy next door, Ash. They had a brief relationship last summer, and he’s back in town looking for her.

Angie: Ash is the hero of the book and described as “tall, dark, and demanding answers.” What more can you tell us about his character?

Sera: Ash is sweet but intense. He’s struggling with his own issues. Katie was also his anchor to keep him grounded. But unlike her, he’s absolutely certain about what he wants out of life. He wants to be an artist and he wants Katie.

Angie: What drew you to romance as a genre? Do you plan to branch out to other genres as your career progresses?

Sera: Romance was a natural fit because I’ve always read romance. I snuck my mom’s bodice rippers as a kid. I like the push and pull of the relationships. The character growth that has to come before they can get their happily ever after. How they have to earn the ‘I love you’ to make it believable to a reader. And, of course, the sexual tension. I don’t exactly believe in fade to black. Lol.

I do want to branch out, though. I can see NA going in exciting directions with fantasy and paranormal, and I’m eager to try some different projects out that I’m plotting.

Angie: How do you come up with the names for your characters?

Sera: *laughs* I was writing and realized I had to name these people and pulled their names out of thin air, assuming I could change it later. When later came, I realized that it was impossible to change their names since in my head they had developed as real people and those were now their names.

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?

Sera: What I did was just write and let the characters, just to see what would happen. Then I would have to go back and think about the ‘why’ that was behind what they were doing and how it related to their character. It was an enlightening process, but also time consuming. I don’t know if I’ll do it that way again, to be honest.

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?

Sera: My main characters are deeply flawed, both because of their past and personality traits. For instance, Katie lies constantly. I am more drawn to those type of characters than anything else. A story wouldn’t be any fun if everyone made all the right decisions.

But, on the other hand, I may have fallen a little too in love with them because I can’t shake the feeling I held back in See Through Me. I didn’t truly let enough awful things happen to them. I’m working through that right now as I finish Only Your Touch. Sad to say, bad things are going to happen in the sequel because what that’s what the story demands.

Angie: Do you use anything to inspire you while you’re writing like music or visual aids? Also have you found ideas come to you more freely in particular places or at certain times of the day?

Sera: Ideas just sort of appear in my head and I scribble it on the nearest piece of paper. My husband knows not to throw any pieces of scrap paper out at this point. I do listen to music as I write, and go through different phases. Right now it’s the Divergent movie score.

Angie: When an idea hits you, do you start writing immediately or plot it out first?

Sera: Write immediately, figure out where it goes and why later

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?

Sera: I recently dealt with this issue. On my early reviews, almost half of the readers expressed frustration about too many unresolved questions at the end. I do listen and appreciate all reviews, so I went ahead and added the next scene in the storyline before publishing. It did create a cliffhanger, but the response has been very positive about the changes.

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?

Sera: *groans* I struggle with this. I want to be more diverse with my characters, but I don’t want to make it their whole identity, either. I personally dislike books that use someone’s disability or sexual orientation as their main defining feature. As a new writer, one of my goals is to work on developing more complex characterization that allows for sensitive, realistic portrayal of diverse characters.

Angie: Do word counts mean anything to you? Do you find your books top out at around the same lengths?

Sera: See Through Me is my first official completed novel at 76K words, so I don’t have a large sample to draw from. I do know the sequel is likely going to be 50% longer, around 100-120K words.

Angie: How big a deal is writer’s block for you and what do you do to shake it off?

Sera: I use Write or Die and force myself to write something, anything. It may be awful but at least there are words on the page

And I’m really more in my element when I’m revising. I actually like that part! I like expanding on ideas, mulling over word choice and phrases But none of that can happen until there are words on the page, so I do fast drafts of almost all my scenes using Write or Die.

Angie: What books did you enjoy most in 2013?

Sera: Broken by Megan Hart. Captive in the Dark by CJ Roberts. Strings by Kendall Grey. Life After Death by Damien Echols.

Angie: What trends do you hope die in 2014? Are there any you hope take off?

Sera: Less dystopian, werewolves, and vampires. More unique takes on paranormal and fantasy, especially in the New Adult category. And interesting sci-fi!

Angie: What are you plans for 2014 as an indie writer?

Sera: Getting Only Your Touch ready for release is my immediate goal right now. But I have a stand-alone NA contemporary romance, a fantasy NA romance, and an erotic urban fantasy serial all plotted out and outlined. (Those scraps of paper come in handy!) I work on different projects when I need to recharge a bit.

******

Find See Through Me at Amazon, B&N, and Kobo.

Follow Sera at her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

New Release by Romance Author Amity Cross

Undeniable: Unexpected#4 by Amity Cross is now available at Amazon.

Book Summary

Undeniable is a companion novella to the Unexpected Trilogy and can be read as a stand alone.

One part. One story. One Undeniable connection.

**************
Joe Fox is a floater. He's a coaster on the coffee table of life.

He rides the wave spread by the juggernaut of rock 'n' roll outfit, Affliction, claiming what he wants and sticking to his limits. On the outside he is the calm inside the hurricane. Underneath the surface he's struggling against his own brewing category five.

When Affliction goes on a long awaited hiatus, he finds himself alone in more ways than one. What's a man to do when he's got plenty to forget and all the time in the world to do it in?

Crash into someone beautiful and wild, that's what.

Someone so wild that they might be able to calm the storm within and awaken something undeniable...

WARNING: This book is an Erotic Romance. That means a LOT of descriptive sex and F-bombs.

It's approx. 120 print pages long.

One part. No cliffhangers.

Due to popular reader demand... Unbearable #5 (Sasha's story) is coming in July...

New Release by Romance Author Emilia Winters

Electric is the newest sizzler by Emilia Winters. Get it at Amazon today!

Book Summary

Release week price: $2.99! Price returns to $3.99 on June 7th!

He made her feel electric. Like volts of energy fizzled through her veins, racing, constantly stimulating. It was intoxicating and thrilling. And for the first time in her life, she felt truly alive.

Luke Branford.

Notorious womanizer.

Shameless flirt.

Heir to his family’s multi-million dollar business.

His motto? No love, no relationships. Just pure, carnal sex…no strings-attached.

When prim and efficient Kate Kennedy is hired on as Luke's temporary assistant, her no-nonsense attitude and blatant dismissal of his advances sparks a challenge he simply can’t resist. But Luke has demons of his own and a tragedy that happened years ago continues to haunt him. Once lines are crossed and rules are broken, will past secrets keep them apart…or bind them closer together?

New Release by S.N. Garza

Bound by S.N. Garza is now available at Amazon. Get your copy of the romance today.


Book Summary
Courtland spent his childhood watching his mother turn tricks and bow to her abusive pimp. It taught him a lot about relationships and how never to get involved in one. When he meets sweet Adelaide, his life is forever changed. Her gentle personality has his thinking maybe his vow to never commit is misplaced. Until she disappears out of his life.

Adelaide knew the only way to escape the darkness she’s lived her life in, is to go back to the one place that’s haunted her dreams. Home. Reuniting with Courtland is the last thing on her mind until she becomes helpless to his every kiss. Hopeless to his ever touch. And no matter how far she tries to run, her heart is irrevocably bound to him.

Interview with author Trevor Tomlin

Trevor Tomlin is the cool indie author behind the new urban fantasy novel Reflection. He talked to Indie Angie about his new book and the plans for the future...

Angie: How long have you been writing and when did you decide to indie publish? What was the biggest hurdle in going it alone?

Trevor: I’ve been writing for about five years now. I like the idea of indie publishing because of the control it offers. I can write whatever I want to write, choose my own cover and set my own price. However, it also means I have to do all my own marketing. And there lies the biggest hurdle – the one I always trip over.

Angie: In Feb 2014, you published Reflection. Can you explain the idea behind the book? Where did the inspiration come from?

Trevor: Well, I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of clairvoyance. And I thought, what better vessel for seeing your own future than a mirror? It just made sense.

Angie: Reflection is your first urban fantasy novel. Do you plan to write more?

Trevor: Another UF story? Possibly. I want to branch out into some other types of Fantasy plots first, though.

Angie: Ben Clawson is the hero of Reflection. Can you tell us more about the character?

Trevor: Ben’s kind of an unassuming guy, a bit of an underachiever in many respects. He’s a twenty-something who kind of fell into that ‘lost’ category. He didn’t have a privileged upbringing, but he never had to work extremely hard for anything either. That leaves him feeling like he doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life. Enter a mirror through which he can see his own future.

Angie: What drew you to urban fantasy as a genre? Do you plan to branch out to other genres as your career progresses?

Trevor: I’m very comfortable working within city-scapes, especially big cities. I like how they’re at once full of life and hope, and also a little dystopic. As for other genres, I’ve begun writing a Victorian era Fantasy novel.

Writing in the time frame of the present seemed like a good first step.

Angie: How do you come up with the names for your characters?

Trevor: Quickly. I don’t spend a lot of time dwelling on names. I kind of think about the general nature of the character and then choose between a few names that pop into my head. Ben is a down-to-earth guy from the city. He wouldn’t have friends with names like Hunter or Mason. Calvin and Jonah seemed more appropriate.

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?

Trevor: I began with the concept. It all revolves around the supernatural mirror.

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?

Trevor: Although it’s a Fantasy piece, I still wanted the main character to feel real. I wanted him to have faults and experience ups and downs. It would be pretty easy to say – hey, with a gift like that, life would be perfect – but that wouldn’t be very interesting.

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?

Trevor: I like to write while listening to music through a good pair of headphones, but that’s probably more out of necessity for focus than for inspiration. It’s hard to write with a lot of distractions going on in other rooms or even the same room sometimes.

Angie: When an idea hits you, do you start writing immediately or plot it out first?

Trevor: I write first. I usually have some places I want to go with it in mind, but I also like to let the story develop as it goes along.

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?

Trevor: I always try to use critiques to improve. I try to learn from my mistakes in everything I do.

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?

Trevor: Yes, sometimes. I’m not a person of color, so of course, I write what I can relate to. However, I’d be lying to myself if I said my Urban Fantasy plot was realistic when all the characters were white. In fact, they’re not. Calvin is a black character.

Angie: Do word counts mean anything to you? Do you find your books top out at around the same lengths?

Trevor: It does mean something to me, and I struggle with word count. I had to push myself to get this one to two-hundred pages. The plot moves so much and there’s so much dialog that it’s difficult to have a lot of words.

Angie: How big a deal is writer’s block for you and what do you do to shake it off?

Trevor: It’s not a huge deal but when it happens, I usually take a short break from writing – anything from a couple of days to a week.

Angie: What books did you enjoy most in 2013?

Trevor: I started reading The Fault in Our Stars. Amazing writing.

Angie: What trends do you hope die in 2014? Are there any you hope take off?

Trevor: The death lottery could be buried again for a little while.

Angie: What are you plans for 2014 as an indie writer?

Trevor: I have a two-part YA Zombie novella that I’m planning on releasing within the next couple of weeks. It will be called Escape from Zombie High. I’m also going to try to finish my Victorian Fantasy novel this year.

*****

Trevor Tomlin is the pen name of author Jonathon Kane.

Find Reflections at Amazon.

Contact Trevor here.

New Release by Romance Author Sera Bright

Sera Bright has released her first novel. See Through Me is available now at Amazon.

**Special Release Price for One Week Only $0.99**

Book Summary
There’s only one person I want to see when I finally return home. But I know he won’t be waiting for me. It’s the reason I feel safe enough to come back.
 
I’m so wrong.

Ash Townsend isn’t the same quiet boy from next door. He’s tall, dark, and demanding answers. He wants me, but he doesn’t trust me. Who can blame him? When his own family tried to break him down, he still sheltered me in this town full of liars. And I repaid it by leaving him behind without a word.

Because I’ll do anything to protect him. I have the scars on my wrist to prove it.

First in a 2-part series. Contains strong language, descriptive sexual situations, and mature themes. This novel is not intended for readers under the age of 18.

New Release from YA Author Aurora Smith

Check out Nightmare's Daughter at Amazon. The book is the first in a new series by Aurora Smith.

Book Summary

Justin Prevot is the pretty boy in school, the elusive type that no one gets but everyone loves to look at. Maya Justice is trying desperately to escape the reputation of her famous father. But when Justin shows up at Camp Neverwhere, a camp exclusively for the children of mythical creatures, Maya gets sucked into a fairy tale world she didn’t even think existed.