Interview: Get bitten by Joey W. Hill and Desiree Holt

Ranch owner Quinn Pedraza has to find someone to run the saloon he won in a bet, but more than that, he needs a woman who can handle his alpha personality…and closet submissive sexual cravings. When vampire Selene Torres arrives on the scene, he gets everything he wants—and learns what he really needs.

Inside Scoop: Quinn’s BDSM journey is not for the faint of heart and includes extreme sexual situations and dubious consent, as well as male/male scenes.

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Hello SASSE Readers, let’s welcome co-writing authors Joey W. Hill and Desiree Holt to our SASSE world. I must say how excited I am to talk with two amazing authors. Pull up chairs ladies and tell me if you prefer tea or coffee for our little chat.

Desiree: I have become a very big tea drinker over the past year. I love all kinds, especially English Breakfast Tea and Orange Cinnamon Spice. Will you be serving that?

Joey: What a great intro – and we love having the opportunity to hang out with an amazing author like yourself, Yvette! I love the smell of coffee but don’t enjoy the taste. I’m a Celestial Seasons type of girl, particularly Tension Tamer blend. Good for calming the nerves before writing those stimulating scenes (wink).

SASSE: Tell the readers a little about how yourselves. How did you get into writing? Have you always thought you would be a romance writer?

Desiree: I always wanted to be a writer. I loved making up stories but it wasn’t until I retired that I had the time and the opportunity. I never thought about romance, though. I grew up reading mysteries by authors like Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, Mary Stewart, Mary Roberts Rinehart. I know, I know, showing my age. But that’s what my mother and sister read. But a funny thing happened on the way to writing my first mystery novel. I could never get past the first three chapters. Then I read Cry No More by Linda Howard and an entire new world opened up to me. I couldn’t buy them and read them fast enough. My brain then went into overdrive and hasn’t shut off since then.

Joey: I started writing around 5^th grade. Up until college, I was sure I wanted to be a writer, and then I had a ten year hiatus to pursue my interests in the animal rights movement. I’m glad I had that break, though, because it helped me build life experience that contributed to my writing. About age 27, a switch flipped, and I went back to writing as if I’d never left.

As far as what I wanted to write, there was never any question about that. The fantasy genre drew me in during my pre-teen years, and fantasy is by nature very romantic, even if there is no actual love story. If you’re wondering what I mean, think about the movie Glory with Matthew Broderick and Denzel Washington. The movie has no “in love” relationship, but it’s still very romantic, filled with heroism, sacrifice and nobility. So I nursed my interest in romance initially in stories like the Thomas Covenant Chronicles by Stephen Donaldson, Raymond Feist’s Riftwar Saga, and then of course I discovered Mary Stewart and anything related to King Arthur. From there I went to Harlequins, eighties bodice rippers, Nora Roberts and Kathleen Woodiwiss. Fantasy and romance all came together in a mix that drove me to start writing stories like what I was reading. Only I wanted waaay spicier sex than what they were offering (wink).

SASSE: What was the first romance book you read by each other? Were you already fans of one another’s work?

Desiree: The first book of Joey’s I ever read was The Ice Queen. I was a contest judge and she had entered the book. I fell in love with the story, the characters, the incredibly rich style of writing, the beautiful prose. It also introduced me to the world of BDSM which I write about a lot.

Joey: Rodeo Heat. Grace’s personality, her vulnerability and desire to unleash her inner yearnings, caught my attention. I love a vulnerable heroine (different from a doormat), as well as the type of hero who has the sensitivity to help her explore that with a mix of kindness and relentless sexuality. Desiree delivered that VERY well in Rodeo Heat. While I hadn’t read her work before that, I was already a fan of Desiree the person. I think she brings a class and style to our genre that serves as a role model for all of us.

SASSE:  Can you explain to the readers how the two of you started writing together?

Desiree: A little over a year ago we both had a paranormal book releasing at the same time. I asked Joey if she’d like to do a Twitter party with me and she graciously agreed. It was our readers that night who asked if we’d consider writing a book together. Joey has her world of vampires and my signature hero is a cowboy so-a vampire and a cowboy. We emailed back and forth and last fall at a conference we huddled her room after dinner to plot it out. I’m sure our squealing and screeching drove our neighbors nuts but we had a good time. I hope the experience was as rewarding for Joey as it was for me.

Joey: It surely was! As Desiree knows, I was a little nervous about it at first, because I tend to be like one of those Finding Nemo seagulls when it comes to my writing process - “Mine! Mine! Mine!” - but we meshed wonderfully.

SASSE: How does the writing process work? Do one of you start the story and the other fills in the gap? Do you each get a chapter? Tell us.

Desiree: Joey introduced me to this fabulous software program Storyist that allowed us to outline our characters completely and plan the book chapter by chapter. We decided it would work better if I wrote from Quinn’s POV and she wrote from Selene’s, for obvious reasons. But funny thing. It didn’t always work out that way. Sometimes we would even split chapters. It was just what worked best for the story.

Joey: And I think at a certain point, we weren’t even following Storyist anymore. We were just following one another. Desiree would write a scene, kick it to me, and it would inspire me as a springboard to the next phase of the story. It became very organic. We had no problem writing from the viewpoint of either character, expanding on one another’s scenes, going in and tweaking and changing the direction in ways we both liked. A synergy happened that I think took the book to a different level for both of us.

SASSE: Bring us into the world of your latest release Nightfall. Introduce the readers to Quinn and Selene. Joey, this is a part of your Vampire Queen series, will readers have to read the others to know what is going on?

Desiree: Quinn is a typical alpha male, rancher, former rodeo rider. Because of what it took to be successful in the rodeo he always had to exercise enormous control. Buying the ranch gave him the opportunity to relax that discipline but unconsciously he felt something was then missing. He had  nothing to take its place.

Typical Texan, he has taken to ranching like a duck to water. Not so much to the bar he won in a poker game. He’s never had experience running one and the ups and downs of it frustrate him. While the ranch runs with efficiency, the bar is always in one crisis or another. His cook has gotten lazy, his bartender is stealing from him and his waitress doesn’t feel compelled to be too efficient. Not to mention the constant fights between customers he has to break up.

He’s about at the end of his rope when Selene walks in and brings a bit of magic with her. She not only takes control of the bar with her soft but firm voice but charms his staff and his customers. And awakens something in his he never knew existed—a latent desire to be a submissive. At least in the bedroom. The first night she arrives he falls under her spell and realizes his life is about to change completely.

Joey: No, the cool thing about this book is the reader doesn’t need to know a thing about the series to read it, because Selene and Quinn are entirely new characters for the series, in a new setting, and there’s only a brief mention of other series characters from the full length books. The reason it can stand alone like that is because of the situation and location of the characters.

Selene is young for a vampire, only in her sixties. She’s a made vampire and not a wealthy one. She’s a very good bar manager who was working the New York scene, but the vampire overlord there was taking advantage of her skills and she couldn’t accept that anymore. So she took off and became a fugitive, hoping that if she goes as far as Texas she’ll be left alone (the vampire world is not forgiving of those who buck the hierarchy). Selene is a strong, independent spirit who just wants to carve out a place in the world that hers.

While she’s used to enjoying males as her food and sexual playmates, Quinn is a new entity for her, and one way too hard to resist. Vampires are naturally dominant, and Quinn is an alpha cowboy struggling with a true desire for submission. For a female vampire, that’s an irresistible combination. But he also wants to protect and care for her in a way she’s never experienced – she’s been on her own for some time and had a rough beginning as a made vampire.

SASSE: Desiree, was it hard to jump into another authors staged world and write? Why or why not?

Desiree: Joey actually made it very, very easy for me. She staged her vampire world and wrote the details when needed since she is so familiar with them. I learned a lot about that world and took the time to figure out how it would affect my cowboy. I mean, he’s Mr. Macho Rancher with no understanding of the paranormal at all. But it really worked. Joey made it very easy for me. And when I had a question about something in the segment I was working on, she was right there with the answer. I owe her a lot.

Joey: That’s a mutual debt, hon!

SASSE: What was the most emotional challenging scene to write in the book for you both?  Do you normally find yourself getting emotional while you write; crying, screaming…sighing?

Desiree: I do, because I immerse myself totally in what’s happening. Without getting into too much detail and giving things away, the scene that took the most out of me was when Selene is injured and Quinn finds her and has to tend to her.

Joey: Screaming only happens during particularly bad editing sessions (lol). Along with lots of cursing, peppered with comments like “I could be a Walmart greeter and be VERY happy, dammit!”. But I’m with Desiree on the most emotionally challenging scene. I also shed a few tears over another one, where everything that has happened overcomes Quinn. If it doesn’t make me cry, laugh or aroused, how can it do the same for the reader? So yes, I do experience those things when I write – if I’m doing them right! The most challenging scene was a big fight scene at the end, though. Since I prefer to write intense emotional, relationship-oriented scenes, action scenes are always a bit of a bear for me.

SASSE: Can readers expect more collaboration between the two of you in the future?

Desiree: I think it’s something we can always discuss. It depends on our schedules, of course. And we each have ideas for a book based on characters in Nightfall that we would write separately.

Joey: I agree. If schedules and plans work out that way, I’m sure neither of us would hesitate to collaborate with one another again, because we really did have a great time with this book.

SASSE: You both are such talented authors and have written stories in several genres. If you could write in any genre that you have never written in before what would it be?

Joey: I’ve always wanted to write romance, both contemporary and paranormal, and rarely gave a thought to doing anything else, but I admit I have had a mainstream literary piece running around my head for the past few years. I think I would probably call it women’s fiction, because it focuses on family relationships, though it’s a bit dark. We’ll see if it ever sees the light of day. Writing erotic romance is a lot of fun!

Desiree: I think if I wanted to branch out more, it would be in the genre of women’s fiction. I have a book releasing in September, Finding Julia, that is as much in that genre as it is erotic romance. I’d like to explore it a little more in the future.

SASSE: Thank you Desiree and Joey for your candor. This has been delightful to sit back with you two and learn a little more about both of you and your story.

 Get to know Author Joey W. Hill

Winner of the RT Book Reviews Career Achievement award, Joey W. Hill has published over forty contemporary and paranormal BDSM erotic romances, including multiple series. Her emotionally-intense love stories offer everything from vampires, mermaids, witches and angels, to boardroom executives, cops and simple housemaids. Free excerpts from all her works are available at her website, www.storywitch.com. Additional vignettes, character interviews and graphics inspired by the work are at the fan forum site, accessible through www.storywitch.com/community.Twitter: JoeyWHill  Facebook: www.facebook.com/JoeyWHillAuthor

            Website: www.storywitch.com  

        

Get to know Author Desiree Holt

Known the world over as the oldest living author of erotic romance, and referred to by USA Today as the Nora Roberts of erotic romance, Desiree Holt is three times a finalist for an EPIC E-Book Award (and a winner in 2014), a nominee for a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, winner of the first 5 Heart Sweetheart of the Year Award at The Romance Studio as well as twice a CAPA Award winner for best BDSM book of the year, and winner of the Holt Medallion for Excellence in Romance Literature. She has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in The Village Voice, The Daily Beast, USA Today, The (London) Daily Mail, The New Delhi Times and numerous other national and international publications. She is also the Authors After Dark 2014 Author of the Year.

            Website: www.desireeholt.com

 

 

Happy Anniversary Yvette Hines: To Have and To Hold

 

 

She was left at the altar and found herself rescued in unlikely arms.

Kelli Delaney spent the last year planning for the perfect wedding. What she didn’t plan for was getting to the altar and not having a groom there waiting for her. Dumped and pissed, Kelli decides she’s still going to have her honeymoon and eat her cake too. When she happens upon an old college friend, Will Robertson, in her mess of a state, old memories and emotions flood her mind. On impulse she decides to invite him to the cabin.

Will Robertson can’t believe his luck. After years of secretly desiring Kelli, she walks back into his life. Not only to resume their friendship, but more importantly to have him fulfill her sexual needs. However, Kelli doesn’t know what she is asking him. Not only must he put his feelings for her on the line, but also has to reveal a darker, wicked side of his nature that sweet, innocent Kelli could never imagine. When she agrees to allow him to pleasure her over a long weekend, the way he has always fantasized about, he realizes it may shatter him to let her go when their time is up.    

 

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A SASSE Interview with Deatri King-Bey

Hello, Deatri King-Bey and welcome to my SASSE little world.

SASSE: Deatri, tell the readers a little about yourself. How did you get into writing? Have you always thought you would be a romance writer?

Deatri: I was a late bloomer to writing. I’ve always been a reader and storyteller. As children, we entertained ourselves by making up stories and I never grew out of it. I became an author after I came upon several bad books in a row. I was in the bookstore with my sister and complained about the quality of books as of late. She said if I thought I could do better, I should write. Two months later, I had finished my first book of many. Granted, the technique sucked, but it had a great story!

SASSE: What was the first romance book you ever read? What did you think? What was your first impression of the genre?

Deatri: I was twelve, maybe thirteen and I can’t remember the name. I was so confused about the sex scenes because they didn’t use the actual words. My grandmother didn’t allow flowery speaking. Penis, vagina… you get the picture. But I liked the story of the couple falling in love. I just wanted the couples to fall in love with more action happening around them. Probably why I write so much romantic suspense.

SASSE:  Can you explain to the readers about For Keeps? Since this book follows The Impossible Possible…will it be a series, more books to come?

Deatri: The hero in For Keeps is the brother of the heroine from The Impossible Possible, but this is not part of a series. Readers fell in love with Jarvis and demanded his story. Jarvis isn’t your typical hero who has the prestigious job, expensive cars and suits. Well, I guess he’s typical in the manner that he’s extremely handsome. The hero comes from a large family, so there will be additional titles. Each will be a stand alone book.

SASSE: Bring us into the world of your latest release For Keeps. Introduce the readers to Gina and Jarvis. What inspired you to write this couple?

Deatri: Gina Guy’s daughter witnessed a murder. Now the murderer is after the little girl. Child Protective Services is manipulated into the picture, and Jarvis Martin, a manager within the agency, steps in to protect the Guys’ rights. From the moment Gina meets Jarvis, she feels she can depend on him, but life has proven to her that the only person she can count on is Gina. Will they be able to stop the murderer? Can Jarvis earn her trust and love?

SASSE: What was the most emotional challenging scene to write in the book?

Deatri: This book was inspired by true events. I know someone who almost had her child taken from her over some nonsense. So just the thought that someone could come in and take a child out of a happy home was very draining. Sometimes it feels like the system takes children from the good parents and ignores the horrible ones. But we need the system. We just need it improved.

SASSE: If you could write in any genre that you have never written in before what would it be?

Deatri: I actually write in the genres I want. Granted, I’m not published in all of them, but I do write in other genres. I’m currently writing an urban fantasy. I’m doing research on a historical. I have two sci-fi stories in mind and so much more. Yeah. I’m everywhere.

SASSE: Deatri, I would like to thank you for sitting down with me and opening up to me and the readers about your new book. Much success and keep them coming!

Deatri: THANK YOU for having me. I appreciate it and had a good time.

 
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Learn more about Author Deatri King-Bey 

 Winner of multiple Emma Awards, Deatri King-Bey is best known for her romance characters not fitting the typical romance mold. She also writes dangerously-sexy suspense as L. L. Reaper.

            Website: http://www.DeatriKingBey.com

            Twitter: @DeatriKingBey

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Getting SASSE with Author Harper Ashe

 

Hello SASSE Readers, let’s welcome Harper Ashe to our SASSE World. Pull up a chair and tell me if you prefer tea or coffee for our little chat.

Harper: Thanks for having me! Coffee would be great.

SASSE: Tell the readers a little about yourself. How did you get into writing? Have you always thought you would be a romance writer?

Harper: My dad is a writer, and I first realized I had inherited his writing talent when I landed a gig as co-author of my high school newspaper’s gossip column. Eventually, I settled into a career as a corporate copywriter, which allowed me to really hone my creative writing skills. Although I’ve dreamed of writing romantic fiction ever since I started reading it, working full-time while raising a family didn’t leave much time for that pursuit. But a couple years ago, when I saw some of my writing colleagues finding success with self-publishing, I began studying how to write and publish romance. That’s when I realized my dream might become a reality.

SASSE: What was the first romance book you ever read? What did you think? What was your first impression of the genre?

Harper: Even as a pre-teen, I was a voracious reader who devoured fiction. I was a huge fan of Judy Blume back I the day. (Yes, I really am THAT old.) But it wasn’t until my 20s, when a good friend loaned me a historical romance by Kathleen Woodiwiss, that I became hooked on the genre. I can’t remember the title of that book, but I can remember the feeling of being pulled into that exciting, romantic world and completely losing myself until I reached the very last page of the story. After that, reading romance became my obsession. I read historical and contemporary romance, chick-lit, and Harlequins by the armload.  

SASSE:  Can you explain to the readers about the Sweet Curves [P1] Series? How did you come up with this series, what it is about?

Harper: I was invited to contribute a story to a romantic comedy anthology that some of my writing colleagues were putting together, which is how the first book in the series, Sweet for You, came to be. My daughter is pretty curvy and has a great sense of humor, so I wanted to create a female character that was kind of like her: feisty, determined, and worthy of love, even though she isn’t a size 6. That’s how Abby came to life. When the story was well-received, I decided to write Abby’s sister’s story. With that second book, Sweet for Him, a BBW romance series was born.

SASSE: Are each one of the stories in the series a standalone? Or will reader need to start at the first one to understand what is going on?

Harper: Yes! Each novella in the Sweet Curves series is a complete, standalone story with a happy ending. While there is some character crossover and all the stories share the same world, they don’t need to be read in any particular order.

SASSE: Bring us into the world of your latest release Sweet for Him. Introduce the readers to Rob and Claire.

Harper: Sweet for Him is a feel-good story with a second chance romance theme. Our curvy heroine, Claire, is feeling kind of lost in life. When her sister Abby marries billionaire Stephen Blake and asks Claire to housesit during her honeymoon, she jumps at the chance to escape from her mundane life for a while. Claire plans to spend her month-long stay at the Blake mansion figuring out her future. What she doesn't expect is to come face-to-face with Rob, the high school hunk who broke her heart.
Our hero, Rob, is a high-end remodel contractor who caters to the rich and famous. He’s the kind of guy you can bring home to mom: smart, successful, and incredibly handsome. But Rob’s life is pretty much all work and no play. Until he starts a kitchen and bath remodel project at the Blake mansion. That's when he comes face-to-face with Claire, the curvy girl who got away.

Being under the same roof for an entire month won't be easy for Claire and Rob, especially since he still oozes charm and sex appeal and she's cuter and curvier than ever. When their memories of the past spark fireworks in the present, they will need to decide whether to risk everything for a second chance at love.

SASSE: What was the most emotional challenging scene to write in the book?  Do you normally find yourself getting emotional while you write; crying, screaming…sighing?

Harper: Since Sweet for Him is a light, sweet romance, my biggest challenge was adding emotional elements without making the story too heavy. I think the hardest scene to write was the skinny dipping encounter because I wanted to demonstrate the steamy chemistry between Claire and Rob without being overly explicit. Several readers have told me that it’s their favorite scene in the book, which makes me feel like I nailed it!

When writing, I’m definitely a crier. I keep a full box of tissues on my desk at all times because writing romance brings on the waterworks! When I’m in the writing zone, I feel every emotion that my characters experience. I smile at their revelations, cringe when they do something embarrassing, and get tingly all over when their passions are sparked. When writing the final scenes that lead my hero and heroine to their happy ending, I know I’m on track if I bawl like a baby.

SASSE: If you could write in any genre that you have never written in before what would it be?

Harper: Oh boy, that’s an easy one. I would love to write historical romance! Scottish, Regency, Old West, you name it. Someday, I hope I have the time to do the research needed to dip my pen in the past. For now, though, I’ve got half a dozen stories in my contemporary and paranormal pipelines, including the third book in my Sweet Curves series: Sweet for Her.

SASSE: Thank you Harper, this has been just delightful to sit back with you and learn a little more about you and your story.

Learn more about Ms. Ashe

Harper Ashe writes the kind of romance she loves to read: usually sweet, sometimes spicy, always delicious. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her handsome husband, almost-grown children, and a very naughty cat.

            Website: www.harperashe.com

            FB Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorHarperAshe

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Learn More about it.

 

Book Pick of the Day: Letting Go by Erosa Knowles

Sexy, handsome men like Grant Whittaker rarely walked through the doors of the middle school where Dr. Kelly Riley worked as an Asst. Principal. In her mind, staring at him was justified. When she learns that he’s a local politician running for office and practicing his oratory skills on her students she’s interested. But when she discovers her son is gay and her lover is running on a conservative ticket, she makes the only decision she feels she can and leaves Grant behind.

Former professional football player Grant Whittaker wasn’t accustomed to women correcting him or dismissing him either. Both things happen within five minutes of meeting the stunning Dr. Riley. After she agrees to go on a date with him, he knows she is the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with. But she disappears without explanation. The next time he sees her, his emotions churn out of control and he says hurtful things, pushing them further apart.
Grant and Kelly are both thrown mega-sized curve balls and must come to grips with a new way of looking at life if they are to hold their families together. Sometimes accepting what you cannot change is more than a poem, or a few scattered words, it’s a decree. There comes a time when Letting Go is all you can do, to free yourself to love.

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Learn More About Mrs. Knowles

Erosa loves the written word. There are very few things she had rather do than read a fascinating tale, or tell one. She did say few. She also believe love is color blind. Most of her stories reflect that belief.
Everywhere she went she see something that titillates her and gets her wondering if she can use it as material. Romance makes the world go around. She cannot imagine life without it. As a writer, she endeavor to bring some happiness to both her characters and her readers.

"Thanks for taking the time to check out my stories." Erosa Knowles

Take a Journey Into Temptation with Ambrielle Kirk...

Hello SASSE Readers, let’s welcome Ambrielle Kirk to our SASSE World. Pull up a chair and tell me if you prefer tea or coffee for our little chat.

Ambrielle: Either coffee or tea will work for me. I'm a big fan of both. Coffee revs me up in the morning and also gives me that push I need to start writing or doing administrative tasks related to indie publishing. I drink tea as a way to wind down after a long day and sometimes when the day gets a little stressful and I just need time out to think a situation or plot point through. Tea is soothing and the hot herbal aroma is nice to curl up in bed with.

SASSE: Tell the readers a little about yourself. How did you get into writing? Have you always thought you would be a romance writer?

Ambrielle: Well, I write multicultural romance under the pen name Ambrielle Kirk. Like many other writers, I started reading avidly at a young age. In my pre-teens, I began reading contemporary romances. I skipped young adult romance stories as I'm not sure they were as readily available as they are today. It's been over a decade since I picked up a pencil and began writing my first romance on college-ruled notebooks. I wish I could remember what led me to write a story other than I wanted to tell my own HEA with my own set of characters who looked just like I did. I often cross genres in my stories but the romance aspect is usually a big element for me. I never thought about a career in writing when I was younger. I've always wanted to be an accountant. I feel blessed to be able to pursue my career path in accounting, but my passion is to be able to write fiction exclusively.

SASSE: What was the first romance book you ever read? What did you think? What was your first impression of the genre?

Ambrielle: Wow! I wish I could remember that detail, but once I discovered that I could have my own library card and access to unlimited books I read and checked out books like there was absolutely no tomorrow. I was in love with reading a good happily ever after. I guess I can say that my first impression was I could relate to the romance aspect of the story, but the books were missing main characters of color.

SASSE:  Can you explain to the readers about the Rugged Riders Series? How did you come up with this series, what it is about?

Ambrielle: My ideas for stories come from small aspects of my life or things that I've observed in other's lives.

SASSE: Are each one of the stories in the series a standalone? Or will reader need to start at the first one to understand what is going on?

Ambrielle:  Rugged Riders series stories are connected because of the link between the heroes, which is the biker club they're in. Each hero and heroine has his or her own goals and motivations. References are often made from book to book, so it may be in the reader's best interest to start at the first one to avoid spoilers.

SASSE: Bring us into the world of your latest release Taken by Temptation. Introduce the readers to Trent and Zaira.

Ambrielle: We get a glimpse of both Trent and Zaira in the first book Driven by Desire. Zaira is the best friend of the heroine in the first book and coincidentally Trent is the best friend of the hero. However Trent and Zaira met each other long before the couple did in the first book. In fact, Trent and Zaira were friends who kept dancing around this blatant attraction to each other. Trent wants to remain loyal to his brotherhood and Zaira's father, and Zaira has issues with Trent's gambling addiction and his interest in one-night stands. Trent's in love with Zaira, but he'll have a hell of time convincing her that he's a changed man.

SASSE: What was the most emotional challenging scene to write in the book?  Do you normal find yourself getting emotional while you write; crying, screaming…sighing?

Ambrielle: The most emotional scene for me was when Trent finally comes clean about his past life. It's always been hard for him to talk about the fact that he was homeless, living on streets, and came from a broken home. The second most emotional scene of the book was probably the turning point when Zaira felt betrayed. I can't really give much away though.

SASSE: If you could write in any genre that you have never written in before what would it be?

Ambrielle: It would be something along the lines of a science fiction or fantasy. I really enjoy world building and paranormal romance is my favorite genre. There's something empowering about creating your own rules, boundaries, and limits and applying them to a fictional world.

SASSE: Thank you, Ambrielle, this has been just delightful to sit back with you and learn a little more about you and your story.

Multi-published author Ambrielle Kirk writes diverse, edgy and seductive romance: multicultural erotic, paranormal romance, and urban fantasy. As a bestselling author in several sub-genres, she's 2012 Swirl Award winner and 2014 Romance of Novel Excellence (RONE) Award nominee in the paranormal categories. She's a PAN member of RWA, FF&P RWA, and co-founder and treasurer of CIM RWA.

She loves weaving tales where undying love is the main element. When she's not writing, she's plotting. When she's not writing or plotting, she's reading. Her reading and writing tastes varies between anything from alpha bad boys and billionaires to vampires and shifters. She's a thirty-something year old wife, mother, book hoarder, 90s music fan, earl grey tea drinker, dark roast coffee fiend, platform and stiletto shoe collector, Keurig lover, and martial arts/action movie fanatic.

Connect with Ambrielle:

            Website: http://ambriellekirk.com

            Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmbrielleKirk
            FB Author Page (if you have one): https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAmbrielleKirk

           

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Driven by Desire (Rugged Riders, Book 1)

Delve into the mind of Sienna Mynx as she talks about Nicademus

Interracial Historical Romance

 

SASSE: Tell the readers a little about yourself. How did you get into writing? Have you always thought you would be a romance writer?

Sienna: Writing has pretty much been ingrained in me from the first day I learned to pick up and hold a pencil. I escaped into books as a young girl so telling stories was just the natural progression. I entered the publishing business after big publishing houses dismissed my taste and writing style in multicultural romances. The rest is history!

SASSE: What was the first romance book you ever read? What did you think? What was your first impression of the genre?

Sienna: I don’t remember the first. I remember the book that was on the fringe of romance that I read which defined me as an author. Chances by Jackie Collins introduced me to Lucky Santiago. Oh boy! I’ve never been the same.

SASSE:  Can you explain to the readers about the The Wild Ones? Will it be a series? Can the readers expect more I/R stories from you in the historical Wild West?

Sienna: I love westerns. There are very few historical romances in the IR genre set after the Civil War. I wanted to take that leap. I’m talking saloon girls, bandits, outlaws, Native Americans and freed slaves. The book takes you to a time period where we owned our destiny despite what the history books say. And it’s sexy, funny, shocking, and endearing. I reached into my bag of treats and tapped into my writing persona that created novellas like Harmony and Buttercup. I crave the unexplored. So it’s my risk to take. Not everyone will love this story but I guarantee everyone will walk away with a ‘thirst’ for different storytelling by us. As an author I will continue to tread water as I strive to create from my imagination.

SASSE: Bring us into the world of your latest release NICADEMUS. Introduce the readers to Annabelle and Jeremiah.

Sienna: Annabelle is a young woman who never knew slavery. Her parents escaped slavery to ensure she grew up free. They died when she was a child. This story is one year after the civil war and Annabelle lives in a town known as Nicademus founded by freed slaves, and those on the fringe of acceptable society. In the unexplored West towns like this did exist. Annabelle stumbles on an outlaw near death. She initially wants to help him. But she learns soon after that his past sorrows of lost parents to the cruelty of the world is like hers. And it changes her. Jeremiah is a confederate soldier who returns from the war to find that his family is dead and robbed of everything. He seeks vengeance and by doing so brings an old enemy to the town of Nicademus. He joins the fight to save the town and falls for Annabelle in the process.

SASSE: What was the most emotional challenging scene to write in the book?

Sienna: The ending with Jeremiah and Annabelle is realistic in my opinion.  It’s not a Happily Ever After but a Happy For Now kind of ending. I wanted to show the complexity and fragility of falling in love during that time period with a person the world said you should not be with. It was hard to write because it makes you reflect on how hard life’s rewards were for people of color, and how many sacrifices our foremothers had to make.

SASSE: If you could write in any genre that you have never written in before what would it be?

Sienna: Horror! One day! One day!

 

Sienna Mynx is your naughty-author of Contemporary, and Historical Multicultural Romance. Her dramatic tales of forbidden love are for readers that love the bad boys but desire to be the women to tame them. Variety is the spice of life, and each Sienna Mynx tale reflects the diversity that continues to remain colorblind. Sienna currently has 32 published books, as an indie author under her publishing company The Divas Pen LLC. A current resident of Georgia, Sienna Mynx has emerged into the e-publishing scene with spicy uncompromising tales of decadence.

            Website: http://thedivaspen.com        

            Twitter: @SiennaMynx

            FB Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/425298174168156/

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