Welcome back to Breathless Monday where we talk with Liana Brooks about romance and all things writing...
1. How did you start
writing romance?
I started writing and the characters started falling in
love. I think, at the end of the day, I really believe in Happily Ever After
and true love so it sneaks into my writing even if I don't plan on romance for
those characters.
2. Plotter or
pantster?
Pantster by nature. Plotter by necessity. I don't like
outlines but they're crucial for writing on a schedule and meeting deadlines. I
sometimes revise the outline after I start writing, but I do plot the basics
before I write chapter four. The first three chapters I pants just to see if
the story is worth writing more of.
3. What are three
things you have on your writing desk?
Computer, phone, reference books.... and an unholy amount of
pens in baskets.
4. Favorite food?
Sushi.
5. Tell us a little
about your new release. What character in the book really spoke to you?
Even Villains Go To The Movies was my first foray into what
I would call Traditional Romance. The other books I'd written before had
established couples and were either about getting back together after a
separation or about revitalizing a marriage. MOVIES was the first time I really
wrote about characters meeting for the first time with no prior knowledge of
each other. It was so much fun!
Angela is probably my favorite character in the book. She's
the typical Southern-girl-next-door which means she's sassy, and strong, and
very opinionated. In the scene where she first meets Arktos he knocks her to
the ground and says he's there to rescue her. Angela brushes him off, takes
control of the situation, and kind of pats the boy on the head as she sashays
away.
I love women who don't trip over their feet when they meet a
hot guy. They do it all the time in books, but I don't think a real woman
would. We'd look, yes. We might might fangrrl!
a little. But if you or I were knocked down in a dark alley by a masked man our
first reaction wouldn't be too swoon, we'd hit him! You wouldn't think he was a
romantic lead or your True Love, you'd think he was attacking you.
Later on Angela falls in love with Arktos, but it's a
gradual process.
6. I write because ...
Do you want the feel good answer or the real answer?
I love writing. I've always made up stories and I scribbled
out stories in my notebooks in school, but I never planned on being an author.
It's a good outlet for my creativity, but if I was banned from writing I'd
probably be okay. The main reason I write is because it's something I can do
from home. And that's the Facts Of Life answer.
When I graduated college I had a two-year-old daughter and
was pregnant with our second. I planned on taking a year off and then going
back to grad school. During that year my oldest was diagnosed with a speech
disorder (later determined to be Audio Processing Disorder and severe speech
apraxia). Suddenly we were going to two or three therapy appointments a week
and going back to school stopped being an option. There wasn't a job that would
allow me to take care of my girls and get paid enough to work. I hadn't written
fiction during college, but I started again to give myself something that was
purely mine.
It's been ten years, and I'm grateful I've been able to turn
something I love doing into a career that lets me stay at home and be there for
my kids.
This past year was the first time I found myself casually
introducing myself to strangers as an author. But it works. There's a very
supportive and open community created by readers and writers and I love being
part of that.
7. What is your
favorite type of character to write about?
I love the active characters who aren't afraid to shoot
things up, set off the explosives, or kick butt. They aren't all I write, but
they are fun!
8. What is the
sexiest scene you ever wrote?
There was a scene where an assassin goes to a hotel and the
mark seduces him. Sexy, sexy scene. It
was written for Heroes and Villains Book 4 (which does not have a release date)
and I don't think it will actually make the final cut. In print, the basketball
scene in Even Villains Have Interns is hot, but the kiss in the alley in Even
Villains Have Movies is probably hotter.
9. What advice would
you give new authors in the erotica/romance field?
Don't quit. Keep writing. Write what you love and what you
find romantic, don't chase the trends. If you try to write something that isn't
your kink the scene will fall flat. The readers will know. So don't bother.
Write what you love instead.
10. What is next on
your writerly horizon?
Obviously the print editions of Even Villains Go To The
Movies and Even Villains Have Interns (debuting January 16th) are
the big news. I'm very excited to see the villains in print. Book 4 will
probably be out by the end of the year. It still needs a title so feel free to
suggest some in the comments! And then I've signed a contract for a sci-fi
novel with romantic elements with Harper Voyager and that may have a 2015
release date as well. It's still officially TBA.
Social and buy links
Breathless Press - http://www.breathlesspress.com/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&cPath=15&products_id=499
Barnes and Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/even-villains-go-to-the-movies-liana-brooks/1117497205?ean=2940045447195
Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/377840
All Romance eBooks - https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-evenvillainsgotothemovies-1345033-149.html
Twitter - https://twitter.com/lianabrooks
Website – http://www.lianabrooks.com
Author bio-
Liana Brooks is a full time mom, part time author, who
would rather slay dragons than budget the checkbook any day. Alas, Adventuring
Hero is not a recognized course of study in American universities so Liana was
forced to do the next best thing. She graduated college with a bachelor’s
degree in marine biology, a husband, and no job prospects in her field. To fill
the free time she started writing. Now her books are read all over the world
(she says she’s big in Canada) and she’s free to explore the universe one page
at a time.
You can find Liana on the web at www.lianabrooks.com, on Twitter as
@LianaBrooks, or on Face Book under the same name.
Book blurb-
When your mother is America’s Superhero Sweetheart and
your daddy’s the Number One Super Villain, you grow up feeling a little
conflicted.
Angela Smith has superpowers—nothing that will ever make
her comic-book famous—but her ability to psychically sense and manipulate the
emotions of people around her has drawn unwanted government attention. Forced
to choose between her quiet life as a teacher under constant surveillance or
the life of a rogue, she chooses the latter. She plans to hide out in sunny Los
Angeles where being a blue-eyed blonde won’t make anyone bat a false
eyelash.
Silver screen star by day, superhero by night, Arktos is
a triple-threat. He can fly, freeze anything, and see glimpses of the future,
all of which he needs to keep the city of Los Angeles safe, but which does
nothing for his social life. When a frightening vision of an explosion leads
him to rescue a damsel in distress, he finds himself trading Shakespearean
insults with a rogue.
Angela knows just how dangerous well-intentioned
superheroes can be: one tried to kill her family when she was young. Arktos
knows he should hand the rogue over to Company justice; it’s not safe for
someone like her to be in the middle of a fight.
But they can’t seem to stay apart. And together, they
just might be able to melt all the obstacles standing between true love for a
hero and a villain.
Book excerpt-
Angela tossed the red curls of her wig and
parked Luiz's bike in the alley behind the conference center. She hadn't put on
her Rage getup since arriving in L.A., but tonight the mental screams of terror
echoing from the center warranted the kind of investigation that would attract
questionable attention.
Tight black jeans, a bright red tank top that matched her hair,
and a leather duster that was too heavy for the L.A. heat were a start. She'd
added a black domino mask that obscured the shape of her nose and cheekbones
when she'd moved to New York, because no one needed to see their favorite
school teacher beating down the local thugs. The heart and star pendant around
her neck— a little invention of her Daddy's that would shield her from most
things—completed the outfit.
The "most" still worried her some days.
Terror radiated from the building, escalating until the headache
tearing into her brain was a living fire. Whatever was happening, she would hit
back. Hard.
Checking to make sure the alley was empty, Angela sauntered
toward the back door and hoped someone inside had been kind enough to leave it
open. More often than not the people hired to cater at these places would stick
a rock in the door to keep it from locking every time they slipped out for
fresh air.
If not she could always pick the lock. Angela sighed. The whole
point of moving away from her sisters was to avoid a life filled with crime and
superheroes.
Angela reached for the door and someone hit her. A breeze
ruffled her wig and she found herself on her back in the alleyway, staring up
at a masked man. No hate tainted the aura around him, nothing that suggested
that he was dangerous except that he was bigger than her.
She raised an eyebrow. "Hello?"
The man took a deep breath. "Hi." He smelled like
mint.
"I'm new to the area, so I'm not familiar with the protocol
when you're jumped by a masked man in an alleyway. Is there a secret handshake
or something?" she asked, sarcastically.
"I'm here to save your life."
Angela looked around for signs of danger. The man was the only
thing in the alley, and he was cradling her, hand cushioning her head, muscular
arms suspending him in a pushup so his body weight wasn't resting on her.
"Right. What danger am I in, exactly?"
"The door is going to explode and kill you," he said
in a very serious tone.
She lifted her head to peer over his shoulder at the door. It
was a mistake. The movement meant gyrating under him in his spandex suit, and
she caught a whiff of cologne, soap, and clean sweat. His emotions shifted,
becoming tinged with desire and arousal.
Angela cleared her throat and lay back down, trying to put space
between herself and her captor. "Mm hmm. Tell you what, let me up and I'll
help you find your doctor. I bet someone is very worried about you missing your
medicine."
