Please give a warm welcome to author and poet Regina Puckett
Tell us a bit about yourself…
I’ve never thought my life was interesting enough to talk about. I remember taking a Speech class in college and listening in awe as some of my fellow students stood up and discussed their lives. The minute I had to stand up to talk about mine, I couldn’t think of a single thing anyone would ever want to know about me. I married right out of high school. The most exciting thing in my life at that time were my two beautiful daughters. They gave my life meaning, but it never occurred to me that anyone else would find my day-to-day life interesting enough to sit through a five minute speech. Here I am many, many years later, and I still don’t think anyone would want to listen to a five-minute speech about my life.
Have you always wanted to become an author?
I knew I wanted to become a writer in the seventh grade. That was the same time I became interested in reading. I wanted to write something other people would fall in love with just like I had fallen in love with so many authors’ stories.
What was your inspiration for your current book/series?
I’m currently writing a Christmas romance. Christmas has always been my favorite day of year, so I wanted to center a love story around two people meeting and falling in love during that season.
Do you have any quirks while working?
My entire life is a quirk. Everything I do is by the seat of my pants, so I’m always just as surprised as the next guy that I ever finished an entire novel.
What are your hopes for the future?
I want to win the lottery but if not, I have several books in the beginning stages I would to finish writing.
Do you have any advice for new authors about the publishing world?
I’ve learned the hard way how easy it is to be taken advantage of in the publishing business. There are plenty of people who are prepared rip you off. My best advice is to you is to research, research, research.
Do you have anything to say to your followers?
I’m always so pleased to hear someone has read one of my books. I know everyone’s time is so precious, so I’m honored when anyone spends their valuable time reading my books. Thank you so much.
Please give a warm welcome to author Eileen Troemel
Tell us a bit about yourself…
Eileen Troemel – I’m an author… I’d rather talk about my characters than myself. I write in a variety of genres. I like the different challenges of different formats. I’ve got scifi romance, fantasy romance, contemporary romance, paranormal romance… I like romance. Give me the magic of falling in love and I’m happy. I also produce crochet patterns, a self help book and poetry. I grew up on a farm which makes me independent and determined. I’ve been married to my wonderful husband for forty years. We have three wonderful adult daughters.
I write under two more names as well.
RJ Stone – writes children’s books. When I started writing, I wanted to start with children’s books. So many ideas for them but my stumbling block – I’m a horrible artist. But I returned to this and have two items out and will have more soon.
Ava M Taylor – write erotica. I’ve written in many of the sub-genres from contemporary to scifi and fantasy. I like the sexy stories and find it challenging to write. In fact, I started writing erotica because I needed a break from a current work in progress. My head needed to think on a plot point in one of my other stories and so I wrote a rather explicit sex scene. From there it grew into a story.
Have you always wanted to become an author?
In third grade our teacher assigned us to write a short story. I wrote something silly but it was the first time I realized you could make up stories. From there, I knew I wanted writing to be part of what I did. I’ve done a lot of business writing in my life but I took up writing again in my late thirties and found myself again.
What was your inspiration for your current book/series?
Current – well okay so I write in multiple books at a time so it’s hard for me to limit this to one.
Celtan Dilemma – out next year – this all started with a conversation about some current event (no idea which one) and the person was stuck between a rock and a hard place. My female main character was given an order (in the military) and if she carried it out, she would become a war criminal. If she didn’t carry it out, she was a traitor. So she had to choose. This is a science fiction space war story.
The Moon Crossing – due out in November – is a co-write with Jan Selbourne. She’s a lovely author from Australia. I read her book Perilous Love. She kept me on the edge of my seat. We talked and I thoroughly enjoy talking to her. She writes historical fiction and she said she had no idea how to write in scifi. So we landed on an alternate history of the moon landing. We talked through a good portion of the plot – which is pretty amazing because we are both people who write off the cuff. Once we got started it took off and the ideas and collaboration was wonder. The premise is during the moon landing the astronauts found something that advanced our society technologically. But now in 2030, scientists were disappearing. Our two main characters are looking for their missing family members and end up in a pile of intrigue and mystery as they track down their family.
On the Line – due out in January – is a contemporary romance in the K Bromberg world of Everyday Heroes. Allison is a 911 operator and Chandler is a computer programmer. His parents called 911 and were so grateful for the help, they wanted to meet the operator who helped them. Chandler works with the cybercrimes division so he got an intro to Allison. From the moment he met her, he wanted to spend more time with her. Allison is recovering from a bad marriage. She wants to do her job and have a quiet life. She’s older than him and has two adult daughters. She was injured in a car accident, leaving her with some mobility issues. He doesn’t care about that.
Ava M Taylor just published Captain’s Companion. This is book two in the Sexy Sinivite series. Prospecting is the first book. Cade is tired of sex bots. He’s off prospecting in space and he wants a real woman to go with him to all the remote locations while he works. Sheridan needs money to help her family so she hires out essentially as a sex toy. Cade is part Sinivite and well they have a way with their women. In Captain’s Companion, Ulrik is a captain of a ship and has met his mate – sort of. He’s required to have a companion. He doesn’t really want one but it’s required. So when he looks through those available, he find Gwynn. He knows. When he finally meets her, he knows as well. He’s mostly Sinivite so his pheromones go into hyperdrive with his mate. These are two stand alone books but share a theme and world.
RJ Stone wrote a short story for the anthology To the Moon and Back. Princess on the Run is a short story geared toward 8 to 10 year olds. She’s run away to visit her dragon friend Nuria. But Nuria reminds her of what happens when a princess visits a dragon… trouble.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a scifi romance which is a little darker than I normally go. The working title is Escape the Gray. These men were dumped on a planet as prisoners of war and struggle to survive. Then a ship of their enemy crashes and they discover a woman. It’s an RH scifi romance.
I’ve also got about four other projects I’m working on. I move back and forth among the projects until one of them takes off. Then I just write.
Under Ava M Taylor I’m working on a sea monster story. I bought a cover that inspired me and I’ve been building the story. The title will be Sacrificed to the Sea Monster. There’s a bit of adventure, humor, and a lot of sexy time.
Under RJ Stone, I’m working on Dragon of Frendur 2 – lots of ideas for this one but nothing solid for a plot.
Do you have any quirks while working?
I don’t know about quirks. I am usually in my recliner with only one light on and classical music playing. If the words are flowing, I can write as much as 10 to 15,000 words. Most often I write anywhere from 500 to 5000 words. Even though I work in Word on my computer, I use my phone to research topics that come up while I’m writing.
What are your hopes for the future?
I hope my stories will bring readers enjoyment and escape from their world. If they find a lesson in there – great. I hope I continue to produce stories which people find engaging, sexy, and fun.
Do you have any advice for new authors about the publishing world?
Listen to those who are better at writing than you are but always make your own choices and decisions about your writing. Write often. The more you write, the better you’ll get. But don’t just drop words on a page. When you edit, pay attention. What words are you overusing? What phrases are you repeating? Analyze your work so you become a better author. Know you’re not done once it’s published. From there you have to promote and market your work.
Do you have anything to say to your followers?
Thank you. Thank you for picking up my books and reading them. Thank you for connecting with me. You’re key to my story telling process.
Helle Gade 