Q & A – The Answers

Well….weren’t y’all creative.

Great questions! Thank you. This was fun. We should do this again.

Answers after the jump:

Scooper asked:

What have you found to be your best tool for promoting your books? Is there one way of promoting that you’ve found works the best.

There really doesn’t seem to be one way that works better than others. Some ads are effective, I find blogging effective, word of mouth is effective. But first off, you have to write good books or none of your promotional efforts will be worth a damn. Readers won’t buy you. But in answer to your question, I have a business and marketing background, so one of the things I’ve learned is that my name is a product. And readers have to see the product over and over and over again so they’ll recognize my name when they go to buy books. I really could do multiple blog posts on promotion, because there are so many effective ways to do it. Hmmm, maybe I should do that, huh?

Anne asked:

Un-authorly question: What is your favorite TV show to watch? Or I could say what is your favorite night of television?

Sadly, I have many favorite TV shows. Too many. Right now my favorite night is probably Thursday nights. Ugly Betty, CSI, Men in Trees and Greys Anatomy are all on Thursday nights. And no, I can’t watch all of them at the same time.

Authorly question: Did you query your agent first? Or editors/publishers? And how long did it take for either to get back to you with a yes or no.

I started out long long ago querying publishers, back in the days I wanted to write category romance for Harlequin and Silhouette. Waiting to hear back on submissions for them took about 6 to 8 months, but this was back in…2002 or so. Then I found Ellora’s Cave, sent them a submission, and sold to them within 4 days of submitting my work (this was in 2003). Then in 2005 I kind of stumbled onto my agent, Deidre Knight of The Knight Agency, while blog hopping. She and I started talking, I ended up sending her some of my work and she signed me. I was thrilled to sign with Deidre. She’s a fantastic agent.

Vivi Anna asked:

Besides writing an awesome book, what do you attribute to your success?

Thank you Vivi! I don’t really consider myself all that successful, more lucky. I think it’s a matter of having the right book submitted at the right place at the right time, when the moon and the stars are aligned and all your karma stuff is going the right way. Seriously. Yes, talent plays a part in it, but for the most part it’s having your work read by the right editor or agent at a time they’re looking for what you happen to be writing. A lot of our business is all about luck and timing.

Renee Benge asked:

Why does it take so long for the reader to see the finished book? I mean–really–we have to wait until Feb 2008 for Running Wild.

Hehehe. Yeah, sucks doesn’t it? When a book is contracted on proposal, like mine are, the publisher first has to give the author time to write the book, edit it and turn it in. Then the editor has to read it and do her revisions on the book and turn it back to the author to make any changes necessary. After that, the book goes to copyediting, which means another editor reads through the book for typographical, timeline, continuity errors and the like, then sends it back to the author for another read through and approval. Once that’s done, the book is typeset in its book format and sent back to the author yet again for another read through to make sure (we do a lot of editing). It takes a long time to put a book into production, hence the long wait time.

Emma Wayne Porter asked:

How hard will you slap me if I use ‘that special smiley’?

Really damn hard.

Of all your releases, which is your favorite (at this particular moment)?

Oh that’s such a tough question. My favorite at the moment is probably Surviving Demon Island, because I worked so long and so hard on that book.

Teri Brown asked:

Just finished Island… nice twist! Can’t wait for the next one!

Thank you Teri!

And how did you meet Charlie?

Charlie and I actually met on the Internet…in a yahoo blackjack room. We played cards together for a while and became friends before we ever met in person.


Rhian asked:

Do you have solid visual images in your head of your characters?

Usually I do. I get a mental picture of what all my characters look like, and their scenes play like a movie in my head.

Mandy M. Roth asked:

When I say LAMP what do you think of?

Quit making me spew my soda all over my keyboard, Mandy.

The mass of the Great Pyramid is 557t greater than that of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Stone Henge has a mass of 2695t which is 95t less than the Leaning Tower of Pisa. There once was a Greater Pyramid which had a mass twice that of the Great Pyramid, what was the mass of the Greater Pyramid.

Uh, see May’s answer. Heh.

Why are you throwing things at me. You didn’t say I couldn’t play! *snort*

Smartass

May asked:

Now, if you had the passwords to Angie’s site, what would you do?

Hehehe. I’m not tellin’

Maria Duncan asked:

I would love to know why you chose to get an agent, how you chose the agency and what benefits do you get from having an agent. Thanks!

I wanted to make the jump from epublishing to NY print publishing, and I knew an agent was the way to get me there. The Knight Agency has a solid reputation and a fantastic client list, representing some major clients, so I knew they were on the top of my list. When I had the chance to submit to Deidre Knight, I jumped at it. There are many benefits to having an agent. They negotiate complex publisher contracts for you, as well as broker the deals on your behalf. They act as the buffer and negotiatior between you and the publisher, and agented works always get put on an editor’s desk faster than non agented work.

Ciar Cullen asked:

Why do fools fall in love?
Because we’re inherently stupid and enjoy having our hearts stomped on all in the name of love. And because finding that one true love really is worth it.

How will I know if he really loves me?
You just…know.

Who put the overalls in Mrs. Murphy’s chowder?
I blame biker dude for everything.

Gabriella Hewitt asked:

Where did you get the inspiration for a demon series?

It came to me after watching an HBO special on the making of Mr and Mrs Smith. I was watching Angelina Jolie talk about doing her own stunts, and this idea came to me about this fearless actress. Then what would it take to really scare her. I developed the reality show concept, then her background came to life, then the whole demon hunter world and storyline fell into place (not really that easily, but it started with that one idea)

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?

Never counted. Would ruin the surprise knowing how long it would take. Duh.

Now that you are in print, will you continue to submit to epublishers?

Yup. Just released a Samhain ebook today. And working on a novella for Samhain right now. It’ll release this July. It’s a contemporary erotic romance titled Show Me.

How the %^%& are you so prolific? You must have at least 10 bks out a year! (Not that I am complaining)

Caffeine, high stress and utter panic. Very motivating.