Those Mondays sure come round fast, don't they? But never fear, I have just the thing to chase those Monday blues away.
Laurel Cremant is in my hot seat today, answering my nosy questions, so settle down and get to know her.
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Can you tell us a bit
about yourself?
Well I’m a little bit of a diva and a lotta bit of a geek.
I was in denial of both those things until one day I found myself standing in a
computer game shop wearing lime green high heels, chunky gold bracelets and
throwing a massive fit that they didn’t
have the latest Final Fantasy game!
It was a great moment of self awareness. Oh
yeah and I also happen to be an erotic romance author. I really do fear
for my future children and the resulting therapy bills they’ll most likely
incur.
However, in terms of hard core facts. . . I started writing seriously a few years ago
. My first published work was a titled Negotiating Skills and I’ve just
released my second contemporary romance, Persuasion
Skills via Evernight publishing. Writing happens to be the most amazing and
horrifying thing I’ve ever done and I’m loving every minute of it!
What made you write
‘this’ story?
I'd been thinking
about writing a friends-to-lovers themed romance for a while. I had these two
snarky characters rolling around in my head for a while and was just plain
avoiding putting them on paper. So late
last year I was puttering around the house (procrastinating really) and watched
the following movies back to back; Two
Weeks Notice, Iron Man and 10 Things
I Hate About You. Yeah. . . by night fall I realized the universe was
trying to tell me something so I really had no choice but to sit my ass down
and give these two characters their story, hence Persuasion Skills was born.
Tell us about your
cover.
I love this cover. Isn't it just delicious? The book takes place in a
secluded cabin in Colorado and has some light DSM elements sprinkled throughout
and I wanted the cover to reflect no just the setting of the book but also the
chemistry between my H/h, Jaxon Grey and Pepper Holts. The design was done by
Sour Cherry Designs and I couldn't be happier with it.
Describe a typical
day’s writing for us.
I wish there was something typical about my writing
days. The truth is that I just try to squeeze in as many hours as possible, in
between my day job, family, friends and two attention loving cats. When I do
actually manage to sit at my computer, up go my feet on a footstool, on goes my
music and lord help the person who tries to interrupt me.
What inspires you?
Everything! Friends, family, the writing community, the reading community, the
blogging community, the world at large. . .inspiration comes from all around. I
learn so much interacting with the world around me. Seeing how people react in
the face of love, sorrow, tragedy, triumph. . .it's impossible not to find
inspiration in real life.
If you weren’t a
writer what would you be?
A librarian. I kid you not. Although my formal
education is very science oriented, I always wanted to get a degree in library
science. Still, you never know, I hear the local book shop is coming back in
style, maybe I’ll open a small tea and book shop one day :)
Do your characters
ever surprise you?
Oh all of the time! I always start off a book with an
outline (at least now I do), and even though I use my outline as a guide for
how I want the overall story to flow, my characters often surprise me and
insist on taking a different direction. In my latest release, Persuasion Skills, there’s a shower
scene that is a prime example of a character strong arming me to make certain
changes. That scene was originally going to be very different.
What could you not do
without when you’re writing?
Music! I create playlists for every story I
work on and for every character. Not only does it help me relax, but it also
helps put me in certain moods for different scenes throughout my books; from
the sad to the sexy.
What words of wisdom
do you have for the aspiring authors out there?
Plant your but in a chair.
Literally just do it. Stop googling, stop researching, stop blogging, stop
thinking about it and just do it! It’s so easy to constantly think about
writing, but it’s so much harder to take that first real step and put words to
paper (or computer, or laptop, or tablet). Once you finally get to that point
and you’ve got words strung into sentences, into paragraphs, into pages you’re
ninety percent to where you want to be. However, since being an author requires
about two hundred percent effort, the next step is reviewing your first draft,
getting an honest critique and developing a very
thick skin. But really it all begins with that first step. Just get to writing!
Where do you see
yourself in ten year’s time?
Hopefully writing full time. I know that is so cliche but that truly is the ultimate
goal for me.
Do you have a
favourite quote?
Any line Marilyn
Monroe or Jane Russel speak in the movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. I love that
movie. A great combo of sweet, sexy and snarky.
Sorry, profound just doesn't work for me.
Do you ever suffer
from writer’s block?
Oh gawd! All. The. Time. Thankfully it never lasts
very long. I’ve found the best thing to do in those situations is write anyway.
Even if it comes out as utter garbage. I have a full time day job so I can’t
let the few hours I have to write pass me by. In the cases when I write despite
the garbage I’ve actually been able to find little nuggets of a great story or
scene and I either incorporate them into my current project or set them aside
for my next.
What other books can your readers look
forward to?
I’m currently working on completing the
first book to a paranormal trilogy. Once that’s done I’ll be finishing up my next contemporary
romance titled Acquisition Skills.
And finally can you
share an excerpt with us?
Most definitely. This excerpt, shows off a little
bit of Jax’s expertise at persuasion...
Excerpt,
Persuasion Skills
“Hell, Pep, I missed you,” he said before dragging her from
her chair into his waiting lap.
He
dipped his head to the crook of her neck and engulfed her into a tight hug.
There was nothing quite like a Jaxon Grey hug. He hugged
with his whole body. His tall frame and broad shoulders always curved just
right around her, immersing her in a mantle of warmth and shelter.
She dipped her head and rubbed her chin onto the top his
head and closed her eyes.
“I missed you, too, jackass.”
His
resulting rumble of laughter caused his chest to shift against hers, and just
like that, her back stiffened in addition to a few other things along her body.
She bit back a groan as her nipples tightened against the
lace of her bra.
The warm gust of his breath against her neck wasn’t helping
matters either.
“You’re such a sweet talker,” he said. “And since I like you
so much, I promise not to spank you for your bad behavior.”
He
pulled her in tighter and began to rub the base of her back. His stroking hand
was far from soothing as it settled low, and his fingers grazed the swell of
her ass. All it did was remind her of how good his big hands had felt stroking
her naked flesh.
She shifted uncomfortably on his knee, trying to scoot away
from the heat of him.
“I’m sorry, but I left my Emily Post handbook at home.”
He
lifted his face from the crook of her neck and drifted his hands lower. Holding
on to her hips, he dragged her forward and caught her gaze with his.
“Really? That’s too bad. Chapter six is dedicated to the
perfect way to drape yourself across a man’s lap. Feel like practicing?”
Both
his suggestion and hooded gaze held her captive for a few silent seconds. The
idea of his strong hands spanking her ass flushed her body with heat.
The thought of him holding her down at his leisure and
pleasure was surprisingly arousing. She knew that Jax liked to control things
in bed, but how far did his need for dominance go?
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.”
He
continued speaking as if he hadn’t just casually filled her mind with
raunchy goodness. She tried not to pout before responding.
“It is what you’re known for,” she said, trying hard not to
stare at his mouth. Her clit was already warming at the recollection of what
that mouth could do.
She
yelped at the pinch he gave her hip.
“Brat. I’m serious. After Mom died, I really started
thinking about what I wanted in my life. I started thinking about all of the
things missing.”
“Jax,
you can’t expect to fill the void your mom left with things. It’s just gonna
take a little time to heal.”
“I’m
not talking about things, Pep.”
He
smoothed a hand up and began to rub the nape of her neck.
“Mom was always pestering me about settling down and
starting a family, but I always thought there was plenty of time. You know me.
I’ve never been one to believe in love and marriage.”
Pepper
tried not to flinch at his words. Jax had always considered love to be an
illogical emotion. He always joked that it was just nature’s chemical drug designed to propagate the species. His
outlook on love was one of the reasons why she had always been able to avoid
acting on her attraction to him. There was no use ruining a perfectly good
friendship for Jax’s idea of a romantic relationship.
His words only served to remind her that falling in love
with him was a lost cause.
“But, ever since the funeral, I’ve realized she was right.”
It
took a few seconds for his words to sink in.
“Uh, what exactly was she right about?” she asked, confused
at his line of thought.
“She
was right. I shouldbe thinking about
getting married and starting a family,”
“What? Okay, who are you, and where have
you hidden the real Jaxon Grey?” she said, laughing desperately, and hoping
this was his version of a horrible joke.
The
look on his face sobered her up quickly.
“You’re not joking, are you?”
“No. I’ve
analyzed the situation and determined that my mother was right. So I’ve decided
to get married,” he said.
“Married?”
The
words came out of her mouth in a whisper of disbelief. Married? Married?
“Yeah, married. And I’ve concluded that you would make me
the perfect wife,” he said before pulling her head down and covering her
shock-slackened mouth in a hot kiss.
This sounds delicious, Laurel. One for the TBR pile indeed. Thanks so much for sharing with us today.
Blurb:
In the aftermath of a major health scare, Pepper Holts makes the relief-inspired decision to seize the day. Unfortunately, most of her “seizing” involves a bit of merlot and her best friend's pants! After a shared night of passion she realizes that her feelings for Jax are a lot more complicated than she ever thought.
Jax has finally realized that his allergy to marriage has nothing to do with the institution itself, and everything to do with the women in his bed—or more specifically, the one woman not in his bed. Her reaction to their one night together has him scrambling to regroup. So he does what he knows best—he disappears, and he thinks. The plan?—convince Pepper into staying with him at a secluded cabin for one week. One week of pretending to be a happily married couple to show her how great they could be together.
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