Dear Valerie,Thanks for agreeing to the interview. I have to ask, What has been your biggest influence on becoming a writer?
It must have been one of two things: first, I love books. I always have more books than shelf space for them. I always have a pile of yet unread books. Second, although I read a lot, I still have an unstoppable imagination. I have to write down some of it—and when a friend asked why I don’t try to publish it, I thought: Yes, why not?
How did you feel when you got your first publishing contract?I felt, well, supported? Acknowledged? Surprised? It was one shot, one hit. I have to say thank you to Extasy Books for trusting me.
How do you categorize yourself: pantser or plotter?I had to look up pantser. Yes. I’m both. I can start a story, see where it develops to and then complete the outline that develops. Like in fantasy roleplaying games, I can let my characters run and see how they react to new situations. Open end, everything is possible. I can build a plan, like I did for my current trilogy, that will support three 100k word books and then add detail. I do research on certain topics, but I can let go.
What makes a book great in your eyes?Easy. Three characteristics, in that order: First, it entertains the reader. Moreover, it will suck him/her inside the story and make the reader unable to leave. Second, it will reach the heart of the reader. Make him/her laugh, cry or tremble in anticipation. Third, it is worth to be read more than once. If the reader can discover things he/she may not have spotted before. Those make a good book for readers. Perhaps not for critics, but I don’t write for critics.
What is the biggest piece of your advice you can give a beginning writer?Don’t write for yourself, write for your readers. Use your imagination.
Do you have any guilty pleasures?Yes. Writing is—it takes up time which I can’t spend with my friends and family.
What influences your writing? And why?Everything. Books I read, movies I watch, the news, how I feel, and on top of all, music. For Lilith Rose, I listened to gothic rock like Moonspell, but another day it may be Dvorak.
Name one thing readers don’t know about you.My real-life name, and that remains my secret.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a trilogy in the Zoe Lionheart series. Right now I’m in the middle of the second book and next I’ll translate another sequel from German to English.
Who is your favorite all-time author?I’m not sure if I can name just one, but if I have to, it’s probably Robert Ansom Heinlein. I’ve travelled to the USA to buy a book that would not be sold outside the US, according to his orders.
Are love scenes easy/difficult to write?Easy, if I’m in the right mood. That is, I write love scenes only if I’m in the right mood. Music can help me to get into that mood.
Do you write in one genre or several different ones? And why?Somehow my stories move from one genre to the next. Film Noir? Yes. Action, Thriller, Erotic, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance, Drama—it’s all there. Somehow the inner logic of the story requires the move from one genre to the next, and who am I to refuse?
If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?My first choice would be at Zoe’s side. Okay, let’s put fiction aside. There are three favorite places where I like to be. Broome in Western Australia, Vancouver, Canada, and my hometown, Wiesbaden, Germany. Luckily, right now I’m in one of these places.
How do you deal with the dreaded writer’s block?Writer’s block? What is that? My biggest problem is to find the time to write down all my ideas!
Do you have another career besides writing? What is it?
Yes. Writing is a hobby. I’m an IT project manager, I have to make computers do what people want them to do.
What’s your biggest reward in being a writer?Happy and touched readers.
To date, which is your favorite story? Which one did you have the most fun writing?Lioness’ Dream, the fifth sequel. Or perhaps Lioness’ Pack, the sixth. When you read them, you’ll know why.
How do you go about developing your characters and setting?My characters do their own development, I just give them enough air to breathe. I just shove them out of the door and into the story and say: Go, be a hero! Then they do the rest and I’m proud of them. The setting—well, okay, that’s my wicked imagination.
If you had the opportunity to say one thing to your readers, what would that be?Enjoy reading! Wait—why should I say just one thing? This is not the last time we will talk! Come and visit me on the exFactor loop or on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Valerie-J-Long/96884542843?ref=nf
Monday, August 30, 2010
Author spotlight with Valerie J. Long
Monday, August 23, 2010
Character spotlight with Lilith Rose
What makes you special?
Me? Special? Oh no, I’m not special, only that I have failed to keep my promise. Wait—let me think. Yes, there’s one thing. I’m absolutely committed to correct my failure.
Tell me about your most current adventure.
Adventure—well, yes, I think you can call it adventurous. But don’t you think I’d give away too much? No? Okay. You know, until I started my mission I had no idea…I was a virgin, y’know. Well, the first time—it hurt a bit, but I think that’s okay, it’s part of my—chastisement, I’d say. I pulled him in so quick that he didn’t have time to notice. And then, oh, it was such a great feeling! And that was just the beginning!
If you could offer your author advice, what would it be?
She shouldn’t be so sad. She knows I deserved what I got. It was my choice.
Are you happy with the way people perceive you?
Happy? You’re kidding. First, they see a little girl. Then they see some new toy in me. When they finally recognize how wrong they’ve been, it’s too late. No, honestly, I don’t care anymore.
Is expressing love difficult for you? Why?
Well, yes, of course. But it’s a part of my role. I must appear authentic. They may never suspect it’s not the real thing. It’s difficult because I only know it from books and internet video, and there’s such a lot of fake stuff. I really think there are only two or three tapes with moans that are used everywhere.
Is there a message you want to get across in this interview?
If you fail, you have to deal with the consequences. Ultimately.
If you could time travel, where would you go?
A few minutes before that ugly incident. I’d tell my sis not to go to town alone.
How many sex partners have you had? How many at one time?Oh, I did them one by one. That was the only way to complete my mission. Each a different pace and a different method. I think it wouldn’t be fair not to dedicate yourself entirely to one man.
Is there a question you wish I had asked but didn’t?
Yes. You could have asked if it all had to happen this way. No. If my father had been a bit more understanding, if my sister had been a bit more careful, if I had been a bit more alert—but then I wouldn’t be here for the interview, right?
What are your opinions on Eva, Adam’s second wife?
Eva who? Adam? Are you talking ’bout the Bible? I’m not very religious, you see. But if you ask, I think she shouldn’t have eaten that apple. There must have been zillions of other fruit around. Just stupid to pick the one she was told not to. Just stupid to listen to a snake.
What are the pro’s and con’s to being a deity?
Dunno—why do you ask me? Probably it’s nice that you never need care about your moon days, but it must be ultimately boring to sit on a cloud every other day.
How does one become a deity?Look, I don’t know where this interview is heading to, but your questions are getting stranger and stranger. What do I know about becoming a deity?
Describe your best kill. Why was it the best?
Oops, what a question! But okay, it won’t matter anyway, it’s too late for the police. I think I can’t pick one. That would be like taking one aria and ignoring the opera. I think it’s the overall picture that counts.
Could you count on any special abilities?Except being a pretty girl with a firm pair of boobies? No—yes. Perhaps I’m a good actress. But otherwise I’m an ordinary girl, and I did my homework.
What’s the oddest thing you’ve seen or done?
Hmm—this interview?
If you could change one thing about you or someone you loved, what would it be?
Oh my. Perhaps I’d change the way Pop saw my sis. She wasn’t a bad girl and he was a good father. But they didn’t get along very well. Isn’t that so with all teenies?
How do you deal with stress?
I focus on my task. I just have to get it done.
Would you like to give any advice to our readers?I don’t think I’m in a position to give advice. I’m not a good role model. I have failed. I could say Don’t repeat my mistakes, but I think every situation is individual, and so are my mistakes. Use your own good judgement and use it better than I did.
Visit Valerie J. Long at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Valerie-J-Long/96884542843
Monday, June 7, 2010
Character Interview with Zoe Lionheart
Hi, friends! I am Zoe Lionheart, involuntary heroine of a series bearing my name which just starts on eXtasybooks. I’m glad eXtasy offered me the chance to talk to you, my prospective fans, for the first time, and I hope we will have more opportunities to talk once I’ve found out what I am.
You can find my first mission, Lioness’ Heart, released April 1st 2010, here:
What makes you special?
Good question—I’d like to know that, too. So far it’s a mystery to me. You know, I’ve led a quite ordinary life, working for a small print shop in Phoenix, until the day my friend was shot down right before my eyes. I barely got away alive. But then, the killer has been after me, the cops have been after me, suddenly my life was a mess! I had to hide in the witness protection program and I needed a new job. Then I was offered a very special job in a very special unit. It didn’t take me long to go for it. First, all other options were ultimatively boring. Second, I’ve always liked this Mission Impossible stuff—the ones with Peter Graves—I simply couldn’t resist being part of it. Third, the team lead—Matt—is such a cute guy!
Do you have special abilities?
Yes, sure. I’ve been a computer geek all my life. There’s hardly a system in the world I can’t hack into—that’s what the team needed me for. Doing some research and such. However, it didn’t take long and I got my first field mission. Matt had to understand that some computers are not connected to a public network—then you have to go and look for yourself.
I have a knack for martial arts, too—and had a good teacher—but that’s probably not what you are referring to, eh? I recently found out that I can run hundred meters in less than eight seconds and I can keep that pace for half an hour. You’d call that special, do you?
Tell me about your most current adventure.
The one I’ve just finished? Perhaps I should give an idea how it started—have a look what Valerie wrote:
In front of Rick’s door, a parking space had just become available. Hastily she maneuvered her Mini into the gap. A last look into the mirror—fine. She opened another two buttons of her blouse as the stern office look was not to Rick’s taste and because she wasn’t just flat as a pancake, she could depend on that to titillate him.
Shit. She’d almost landed in the pit, which was gaping in the sidewalk—the municipal services had been in a hurry to knock off work. Well, she could understand that.
In the corridor of the old five-story building, she stopped once again. Today she would go the whole hog so she quickly removed her slip from under the new, trendy black Kate-Moss-look miniskirt, which she had bought last Saturday for this opportunity. For a moment, she pondered where she could leave it, then dropped it into Rick’s mailbox with a whimsical smile.
On the stairs to the upper floor, she had to restrain herself. She didn’t want to be out of breath—at least not yet. Impatiently she covered the last steps, key in hand. Silently she opened the apartment door. She smiled as she heard the light music from the kitchen. To the left, in the dining room, everything was prepared—candles, bowls, chopsticks—so he would be cooking Asian style. One look to the right—oh, rose petals on the pillow! Yes, Rick knew how to create a romantic atmosphere. The corners of her lips slightly lifted.
There was a loud bang and then Rick’s horrified, painful cry sounded from the kitchen. She ran across and jerked the kitchen door open. A cloud of steam gushed toward her. Rick lay on the floor with a blood-covered chest and a dark-red face, rice grains stuck everywhere—to cupboards, ceiling and floor. She leaned down to Rick and lifted his head—perhaps the wonderful curves in her neckline would help to clear his fogged senses—and cried out, “What happened? Are you okay? Does anything hurt? Should I…”
His index finger covered her mouth. “The pot exploded. I meant to change the pressure cooker’s valve seal ring long ago—must have been jammed.” He looked down his body and plucked a small metal piece from a bleeding wound in his chest. “Mmm. This must have been the bolt to the handle.”
He flipped the bolt away as she hugged him, glad that nothing too serious had happened to him. She didn’t care that her blouse was soaking up his blood—but she noticed very well how his trousers became too tight for him. With swift fingers, she opened his fly and seated herself on him. A pity about the dinner, but this would become a wonderful evening!
Still totally inebriated by the adrenaline rush of the exploding pot spectacular, their first intercourse was short and intense. Rick just let it happen, but Zoe took control, her sensual perception sharpened by the preceding shock—and resulting fear for his life. When he responded with passionate strength, the sex was better than she had ever experienced.
She’d had lovers before, had been with tender and patient partners as well as indifferent mechanics. She’d had short and intense relationships up to the three-minute balcony fuck—which hadn’t been too bad, had wasted painfully long, affectionate evenings with a half impotent Italian-American, but nothing could have prepared her for this moment.
And Rick was insatiable. While she still waited for her heartbeat to slow, his hands slid up her side, found the beginning of her breasts, wandered toward her buttons. Methodically, he opened her blouse, pushed the blood-spattered fabric away, let his fingers tenderly circle her round, firm breasts. Then suddenly he grabbed her waist, pushed her above himself. She tensed, spread out her arms, enjoyed the feeling of hovering above him.
They made love to each other a second time, short but intense, on the groaning, protesting kitchen table. Afterward, she wrapped her legs around his hips, let herself be carried around the kitchen table in waltz time while his tongue played with her nipples. Finally he settled her to the floor, ran his hand across her short black hair.
She admired his toned body as he faced her from the kitchen door and she sprawled herself, purring, on the rice-covered kitchen floor. Her gaze wandered up his trouser legs to his still open fly, followed his chest’s muscular curves, where suddenly two red flowers blossomed.
As if in slow motion Zoe watched how Rick’s knees gave in, how his breaking gaze ran across her body for the very last time, how his voiceless cry fought to protest, how the stream of his life pulsated from his chest, how his light went out forever.
If you could offer your author advice, what would it be?
I prefer if she writes down my stories as I see them. I don’t like if she lets someone sneak up on my back and my readers learn about it before I do. Well, she promised me the fourth book would be first person narrative. Do you know what’s good about it? I’ll probably survive the next two books, too. But don’t bet on it—she’s a nasty person sometimes. I’m certainly not the one telling her what to do. If you have ever seen her eyes turn all black, you know you don’t argue with her.
Are you happy with the way people perceive you?
Not entirely. I feel the other people on the team still don’t see me as a full member. I’m just their hacker, and I’m supposed to be left in a safe place when the action starts. I can understand that, I’m new to the group and the other four have worked together for a long time. It’s always this group building stuff. They don’t know me yet, they don’t know if they can trust their lives to me, even if I’ve already saved their asses more than once. Probably we’re not talking enough.
Did you do anything special after your first adventure?
Well, doc said I should take some weeks off to recover from my injuries. I grabbed my bike and went north, up the coast to Vancouver. I like the Canadians, I like cities at the coast in general, and I very much like this one. I’ve met a nice young waiter in Gastown. We have a lot of fun together, and I think I’m to blame if he doesn’t get enough sleep.
When I’m alone, I try to find out more about me by testing my limits. You could see me in the early morning running around Stanley Park.
If you could pull your author into your world, what do you think would happen to her?
I think we might become friends, teammates, even lovers. We already share a lot, the computer stuff, common values, common thoughts, why not our bed? However, I don’t know if my world could bear someone like her.
What motivates you to continue on these adventures?
If you knew what I found out, you wouldn’t ask. Those guys we’re up against have some really ugly ideas. Now that I’m in the position to help, I feel I’m the best woman for my task. Also, I agreed to do that job, to become part of the team. I stand to my commitments. Always.
Hmm—maybe it’s Matt, too.
How many sex partners have you had? How many at one time?
I haven’t counted. There were quite a few during college and university, but rarely more than one at a time. There has been the occasional spring break gangbang, but that was just plain fucking and sucking, I don’t think that counts.
Do you think you are a superior being?
In a way I must be. Otherwise I couldn’t do what I did. But if by saying superior you mean better in ways of ethics, no. I have my virtues and flaws like everyone else. I’m not perfect, only physically enhanced.
What’s the oddest thing you’ve seen or done?
Me—taking several flights of stairs within the blink of an eye. If that’s not odd, what is?
If you could change one thing about you or someone you loved, what would it be?
Bring Rick back to life.
What’s the one thing you wish you could change about yourself or someone you love?
I’d like to know who I really am.
How do you deal with stress?
Concentration. If time permits, I think about good sex for a few seconds, then get back to business.
Tell us about your first meeting with Matt.
Oh—that! I broke his nose. Probably not the best way to get acquainted with your new boss, would you agree? It was a test. He played the bad guy, I had to wrestle him down, which I did. He feigned to give up and tried to attack me again. He wanted to teach me never to trust an enemy who is not entirely disabled. Well, he took a severe blow and was down again. That way I taught him that I’m not easily surprised and that it’s not a good idea to change the rules while I’m in the game without telling me. If anyone tries to cheat me, I play no rules. And believe me—you don’t want me to play without rules.
Matt now knows that. Well—it took him a while to recover, but then he invited me for a cappuccino and into his team.
Do you have any idea where your abilities could come from?
Honestly, no. See—I don’t have problems with garlic or sunlight, I don’t feel the need to drink blood, so my abilities are probably not vampiric. I can visit churches, so I don’t think I’m a demon or something like that—I don’t believe it’s anything metaphysical at all. I can’t remember having been exposed to radioactivity or been bitten by strange creatures or whatever marvels there may be. The only clue I have is that I need extraordinary amounts of nutrients to perform, so the laws of physics apply to me. I’m quite sure I have been born by my mother, not from a bio lab. What does that leave? Heredity? But I can’t ask my parents—they both died in a car accident when I was fourteen—and I have no other relatives I know of.
Finally, is there something you wished we had asked, but didn’t?
Will we meet again? Yes, if you like. Perhaps, if I really survive the next books, you have different questions to ask — and perhaps I can tell you more about me.
And a word to my readers — if you have a question you’d like to be asked in the next interview, don’t hesitate to write me: Zoe.lionheart@googlemail.com