I’ve always had stories in my head from as long back as I can remember. I thought everyone did, so imagine my surprise when I found out that most folks didn’t. I dabbled in writing as a teenager, but life intervened, and while I always thought that one day I would write a book, it never happened. Until a friend entered a first chapter writing competition back in 2010, and I thought why not enter myself.
I didn’t get anywhere in that competition, but I haven’t stopped writing since.

The freedom to write whatever comes into my murky mind. I have a very unpredictable muse who jumps between genres and subgenres like a demented gnat. My writing has never nor, will it ever fit into a neat box, and being published through an indie publisher like Evernight gives me the freedom to just write the stories that I love.

The creating of stories. I’m an utter panster, so my characters take me on a wild ride most of the time. I listen to the voices in my head and simply take dictation. It’s such a privilege to be able to tell my characters’ stories. What’s even more humbling is that my readers love my stories. Nothing makes me smile more than knowing that a reader has enjoyed my work.

I think every book I’ve ever read has influenced and inspired me in some way. From the Enid Blyton books I devoured as a child to Karl May and his Winnetou series I read as a teenager, to discovering my Gran’s secret stash of Chinese Erotica… (that was fun…) giggle snort
The stash of Sci-FI comics my Dad rescued from a skip and I was utterly hooked on a for a while, to the classics. Tolstoy’s War and Peace, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, which sparked my interest in all things historical. Elisabeth Gaskell’s North and South and Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind.
Rhett Butler was the first literary hero I ever fell in love with.
Let’s not forget good old Mills&Boon novels, which I also devoured and finally that liberating moment I discovered Erotic Romance and in particular Ménage and BDSM stories.
A shout out to Tymber Dalton, Maya Banks, Cherise Sinclair, and Cooper McKenzie here. I’d be here all day if I mentioned them all.
happy sigh

Yes, as mentioned above I have a very unpredictable muse. She’s definitively a visual creature. Pictures, or settings always set her off, not to mention hot guys. She can’t resist playing the, “What is his story?” game, and before I know it I have another series on my hands.

Like I said above Rhett Butler was my first book boyfriend. Since then, I’ve had countless ones. Lately Lynn Burke’s and Erin Leaf’s heroes make me swoon everytime. Not to mention every one of the heroes I’ve written. After all, if I don’t fall in love with my hero, how can I expect my readers or the heroine or hero to do so, right?

Romance in all its various forms, from dark to sweet and occasionally inspirational, if the mood strikes me. I look for compelling love stories that hold my interest with complex characters that make you root for them.
Depending on my mood I also really love short, super-hot stories. Sometimes you don’t want the angst, but just a quick love story with lots of sex.

Heh, I haven’t got one. I write on my Mac usually propped up on my bed, hiding away from the kids.

I typically wake up with a story idea in my head, usually inspired by a hot pic I saw. I always have visual inspiration for my hero/s and off we go. I write best when I have no idea where the story is going, and I have a demanding hero or heroes sitting on my shoulder dictating so to speak. It’s always an adventure.

A plan. Seriously, I cannot plot or plan. My muse takes off to climates unknown at the merest whiff of a plan. It’s quite ridiculous and rather frustrating, especially when I know that readers are waiting for the next instalment in one of my series, and that damn muse has other ideas.
Resistance is futile, as they say. I’ve got to go with what she wants to write, or nothing gets written.