Interview with author Serenity Woods plus Giveaway

Today I am pleased to have an interview with author Serenity Woods. We met in cyber space last year and have forged a link, even though I live in the UK and she lives in New Zealand. The wonder of social networking!

Serenity has had several publication successes. Her paranormal Black Hawke Down was published in e-book by Noble Romance in February 2011, followed by her historical Surrender Your Heart in March 2011. She has sold a contemporary romance to Samhain Publishing White-Hot Christmas, which is due for publication in November or December 2011. Readers in the UK may have come across Serenity’s My Weekly Pocket Novel Bohemian Rhapsody.

Her contemporary romance SomethingBlue has just been released. I can’t wait to read it. Serenity has kindly donated a Pdf copy of Something Blue to be sent to a winner chosen at random from those commenting below by 10 June 2011.

Details of Serenity’s publications can be found on her website here. You will find lots of generous advice about editing on her blog here. I asked Serenity a few questions.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve been writing for a long time—since I was fifteen, in fact (I’m 41 now). I’ve always written romantic short stories, mainly because the short story market is so limited. However, I wrote novels in a variety of genres, from historical to fantasy to thrillers. I never had much luck getting agents or publishers, though, and last year, when I turned 40, I decided if I really wanted to be a writer, it was time to knuckle down and sort myself out. I’d won nine competitions over the years, so I thought I must have some talent. I decided to concentrate on romantic fiction because I’d had some luck with my short stories and seemed to have a knack at portraying relationships. Another deciding factor was that, because the genre is so popular, many publishers—especially e-publishers—accept un-agented submissions.

What do your family think about your work being published?

Everyone seems to be genuinely pleased for me when they find out I’m a writer and am doing quite well. Several members of my family and friends have bought my books and read them, and that’s nice, but I don’t expect them to be to everyone’s tastes. I think some are surprised how erotic the stories are J I don’t like to tell them they’re fairly mild compared to some of the stuff that’s out there.

You have produced a phenomenal amount of work lately. What is your writing routine like?

Finding the time to write and social network (and finding a balance between the two) is a problem I’m sure every writer encounters. I write after dinner and before we sit down as a family to watch TV – usually something like 6pm to 7.30 or 8pm. At the weekends, my family like to lie in, but I always get up around 7am and usually have an hour or two to write then, too. And any other time I can find! Re social networking, that’s more difficult; if I have a spare half hour, I prefer to write. What I do have is an iPad, and I often sit there and surf the forums and comment on Twitter and Facebook while I watch TV. It’s important to keep your name out there, but it’s more important that the writing gets done.

Do you ever get writer’s’ block and if so how do you get through it?

I can tell you with absolute authority that writer’s block does exist. I’ve had it less since I started writing romance. Before, I would often get frustrated because I couldn’t decide what to write, i.e. what genre, and that problem has lifted since I concentrated on romance. Occasionally I get stuck with a book where I realise a plot thread isn’t working, and with my novel No Lies in the Bedroom, I got two thirds of the way through and realised I’d written the dark moment too early, and got stuck. I went on to write another book (Seven Sexy Sins) before I came back and re-wrote No Lies. Both books have since gone on to final in the Harlequin Mills & Boon Great Beginnings competition run by the Romance Writers of New Zealand (RWNZ), and No Lies in the Bedroom came top in the rankings, so it shows that just because you get stuck, it doesn’t mean the end of the book. The top six stories are now being judged by a Mills & Boon editor, so I’m hopeful that maybe she might request a full of one of mine.

My only advice to someone stuck with a plot is either a) keep writing, writing through the pain! Just get words on the page, and hopefully you’ll write through the bad patch, b) jump ahead to another scene you may have in your head, and go back and fill in the bit you missed later, or c) work on something else and let the difficult bit stew for a while.

How do you feel about your work being labelled erotic?

Lol. It makes me smile.

I’d never written a sex scene up until last year. The first long romance I wrote, Bohemian Rhapsody, for My Weekly Pocket Novels, was going to be a sweet romance. But when I neared the end, the characters got to the bedroom and, well, I couldn’t stop there J (They actually cut the juicy bit, lol, but they edited it nicely, so I didn’t mind.) I so enjoyed writing the sex scene that I knew from then on I wanted to write erotic romance. After saying that, I had huge fun with Something Blue, which has lots of kisses, but nothing racier than that.

I’ve yet to have anybody criticise me for writing about sex, but I’m sure it will happen somewhere along the way. But I’m prepared to defend it. My characters are always monogamous and they usually end up getting married. The sex is always fun, loving, and gentle; I don’t believe in one character making another feel humiliated or embarrassed (other than in the teasing kind of way). All I can say is that there’s so much unhappiness, misery, and sickness in this world, I don’t see the problem in bringing a little more romance and sex into it.

And if you don’t like the books, don’t read them. J

What would be your best tip for newbie writers?

Don’t give up! The biggest thing I’ve learned over time is that there is no ‘magic button’ in writing. I read so many books on how to write, looking for the ‘secret’, but there really is no one thing you can learn that will get you published. It’s a series of things: learning grammar and how to spell so you’re writing is readable and flows easily; learning how to plot so you have peaks and troughs in your storyline; learning how to write believable characters and dialogue; all this comes over time, the more you read and write. The only real secret, as Superromance writer Katrina Bliss puts it, is Grit. Determination. Call it what you will, it’s basically sheer stubbornness. They say the main difference between a published writer and an unpublished writer is that the former never gave up. I actually think the percentages are something like this: 40% talent, 20% patience and 30% determination. Oh, and 10% luck. And maybe the patience should be slightly higher.

Just keep writing, and keep getting your work out there. Enter lots of competitions – I’ve entered hundreds, and the day you get placed in a comp, even if it’s only shortlisted, gives you such a buzz it’s unbelievable, plus it’s a wonderful thing to be able to tell an editor. Get yourself a critique partner if you can – I wouldn’t be without mine. I met Ruthie (www.ruthieknox.com) on the Harlequin Forums, and we hit it off immediately. We exchange chapters as we write them, and it gives me such a boost when she comes back and says she’s falling for the hero! Try to write every day if you can; set yourself a target, even if it’s only 500 words, and don’t leave the chair until they’re done. If you get stuck, write through it – just keep going, or jump ahead to the next scene and write that. Don’t give up!

Finally, could you tell us something about your new release ‘Something Blue’?

Of course! This was written as part of a call for a springtime anthology by Samhain Publishing. They’ve released it as an eBook, and will release it with another two novellas as a print book next year.

Here’s my blurb:

Josh Hamnett is Best Man at his mate’s wedding, and he’s determined that nothing’s going to go wrong on the big day. However he hasn’t planned on ex-girlfriend Kate Summerton appearing in the church, and he certainly isn’t expecting her to be the Chief Bridesmaid.

Josh and Kate’s break-up three years ago was so explosive that he can still almost feel the sting on his cheek where she slapped him so hard he saw entire constellations, not just stars. She was the love of his life, but he screwed it up and, after their monumental argument, he didn’t think he’d ever see her again.

Now he’s forced to spend the entire day with the woman who still haunts his dreams, who looks mouthwateringly good in her tight red bridesmaid’s dress. And to top it all, she’s not wearing any underwear. For a man with enough sex drive to power a small city, that’s not going to end well.

What ensues is a sometimes funny, sometimes poignant re-acquaintance of Josh and Kate as they gradually realize that they have both grown up in the three years that they have been apart, and yet the attraction between them hasn't gone away…

This is from partway through the book.

“Kate, promise me you won’t get drunk tonight and do something you’ll regret.”

Kate looked across at Becca. They were standing outside the reception hall, waiting for Alex to join them and start welcoming the guests. “I’m accident prone when I’m not drunk and in three-inch heels—do you really think I’m going to enhance my special abilities, especially on your wedding day?”

“I’m just saying…”

“Becca, you don’t have to. Honestly, nothing’s going to happen tonight. That relationship ended a long, long time ago. I have no intention of starting it up again, even if it was possible, which it’s not.”

The bride snorted. “I saw the way you looked at him—as if he was an ice lolly and you wanted to lick—”

“Becca!”

“Deny it. Tell me you weren’t thinking about him in bed.”

“I…can’t.” Kate pouted. “He’s hot, and he was really, really good at it.”

Thank you Serenity. I really enjoyed my first guest author interview. Good luck with sales of Something Blue.

Website:       www.serenitywoodsromance.com

Blog:             http://serenitywoods.blogspot.com
Facebook:    www.facebook.com/serenitywoodsromance
Twitter:         @Serenity_Woods

Books: (Click for a link to Amazon)

Something Blue 

Black Hawke Down

Surrender Your Heart