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Today, I’d like to welcome
Lucy Leroux to my blog.
Lucy chose love.
She moved to
France for a one-year research contract. Six months later she was living with a
handsome Frenchman and six years later is happily married to him…and still in France.
When her last
contract ended Lucy turned to writing. Frustrated by the lack of quality romance
erotica she created her own.
Cursed
is the first of many regency novels. Additionally she writes a bestselling contemporary
series. The ‘Singular Obsession’ books
are a combination of steamy romance and suspense that feature intertwining characters
in their own stand-alone stories.
JET:
Can you tell us about your most recent book?
Cursed, A Spellbound Regency Novel. It
was one of my storyworms, a nugget of an idea that I couldn’t escape and had to
write. I get a lot of them…
Cursed is a dark erotic paranormal regency.
I originally conceived of the idea as a prequel to a still unpublished fantasy adventure
novel I wrote, but when I got the chance to have a book in the Secret Worlds box
set, I decided to write and publish it as a stand-alone. It’s an ebook exclusive
for the box set.
Here
is the blurb:
Isobel
Sterling is a governess with a lot of secrets—including an uncanny ability she's
been hiding her whole life. Until the day arrives when she has to use it to save
herself from a madman. But first she has to master it. Fast.
Governess Isobel Sterling feels fortunate to have found a safe haven
in the Montgomery household. The children are kind and the Lord and Lady of the
house leave her alone. Her life is as good as it can get, until the day mysterious
visitors arrive from abroad.
At first Isobel is flattered by the single-minded attention she receives
from their handsome young guest, Matteo Garibaldi. At least she is until girls in
the village begin to disappear. Isobel has a terrible suspicion that the disappearances
are linked to the darkness she can see growing behind Matteo's eyes. Filled with
dread she does everything possible to avoid his company—until she is locked in with
him for the night.
JET:
What drew you to the paranormal romance genre?
I
have always loved urban fantasy and regency separately. I’ve read a few paranormal
regencies, and while I like a lot of them, I didn’t love any of them. I decided
to write one as a challenge to myself. Before that I’d written contemporary romance/suspense/erotica
and fantasy adventure. But I want to write everything—contemporary romance, fantasy,
sci-fi, time-travel, medieval, highland romance, traditional regency…
I
have a ton of ideas organized on a spreadsheet where each cell is a novel. It taunts
me. Over a hundred cells are filled. It’s waiting for me to pick one idea and write
it so I can change the color code of the cell and designate it complete. Yes, I’m
anal. I have to be because my natural inclination is to be a total disorganized
mess.
JET:
What’s been your most challenging hurdle on the road to publication?
Patience.
I dipped my toe in traditional publishing for my fantasy adventure series and everything
just took too long. When I finished my first contemporary romance I said screw it
and decided to self-publish. I never submitted it anywhere. Instead, I stalked the
editor of an indie series I liked and then her editor. Through them, I got some
good indie publishing advice as well as a good clean manuscript. So now I'm an indie
author.
JET:
What was your favorite moment in the journey?
I
like writing first drafts best. When it’s going well and the words are just pouring
out it sometimes feels like I’m taking dictation. I see my novels very cinematically
in my head. It’s a lot like writing notes on a movie.
JET:
Which authors had the most influence over you growing up?
Oh,
I read everything. My favorite book in elementary school was Bunnicula (go vampire
rabbit!) and in junior high the Anne of Green Gables series. And, of course, Jane
Austen. I am still waiting for a decent film adaptation of Persuasion.
I
can't say any one of these influenced me more than anything else. But perhaps that's
where the answer lies, because I do plan on writing in many different genres.
JET:
When did you know you wanted to take the plunge into the writing world?
I promised my husband I would never tell this story cause he’s
a little paranoid, but time has passed and who cares. Relevant details: I used to
be a scientist and I was working in France at a public research institute.
So it was when my boss came up to me one day and basically told
me I wasn’t working hard enough.
At the time, I was working on stuff that was very different
from all of my coworkers. I immediately realized my boss didn’t have a good understanding
of what I was working on, or that I was already working ten to twelve hour days.
I was just telecommuting cause most of it was on the computer. Even though he saw
the end results he had no concept of the effort it took to get them.
That was the day I decided I had to divorce my self-esteem from
how things were going at work. I also decided to do something on the side that made
me happy.
I started my first book a few days later. What my boss didn’t
realize is that his request I put more facetime at work actually meant I worked
less because I was no longer taking my work home.
That position didn’t work out, but I was very involved with a
Frenchman and he suggested we get married and I write full time. So I’m still here
in France, writing and still experimenting—this time in the form of growing a human.
I expect the results to the latter in late July. When we move back to the states
I may have to get a job, so I’m cranking stuff out now while I can.
JET:
What’s the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of book research? Most interesting
fact you uncovered?
I’m
not sure I really did anything crazy yet. I get ideas everywhere, podcasts, tv,
books. I’m constantly taking note on my phone. I use my background in academia and
places I’ve been in my books. I’ve described (with some creative license) Boston,
Harvard, London, Rome, Athens, and Santorini in my books because I was familiar
with them.
Weird
facts I wrote down to include in a book someday:
Rats
can laugh… (suppressing shudder)
The
best whiskey in the world is currently from Japan (debatable).
JET:
Of all the novels and stories you’ve written - which one is your
favorite? Why?
Hmm.
I kind love all of them or I wouldn't have written them. But my favorite book is
usually the one I just started...or the one I want to write next. For my Singular
Obsession Series, I found ways to connect my favorite story ideas into a coherent
whole. It’s a loose association, but it’s great for readers because the books can
be read as stand-alone novels.
JET:
Any advice (from a writer’s standpoint) for the novices out there?
For
those going the indie route:
Stalk
a good editor. Or several actually. I mentioned that I did this by picking an indie
series I liked and contacting the editor listed in the credits. And when she got
busy, I got in touch with her editor.
Also
choose a good cover artist that you like, but compare your favorite covers to existing
stock photos. It could be that the effects you thought the designer applied already
existed in the stock photo and their talent doesn't extend beyond adding titles.
The first artist I contacted was such a person. When I kept asking them to add those
effects they weren’t straight with me about their inability to carry out my request.
Then I saw the stock photos and realization dawned.
This
doesn't mean don't use stock photos. Depending on what you write you can find something
that represents your vision with a little tweaking. A good
artist can adapt a stock photo and make it yours, thus saving you money. I usually
do a google image search on my favorite stock photos to make sure they haven't been
overused by other authors.
Don’t
enter a lot of fee-based contests associated with publishing houses and contests
in general, especially for your first book. I’ve found those to be a waste of money.
It was never a lot of money, and I’ve been fairly conservative about what I actually
spent on, but when you’re on a shoe-string budget these things are often not worth
it and they add up. That being said, I did enter the third and fourth book I wrote
in one more contest, but it was one of the big ones. No more of these small indie
publisher ones for me.
Don’t
pay for any “evaluation” services. Especially those that try to lure you in by suggesting
they’ll hook you up with an agent—but don’t guarantee it. I was very insecure about
my first romance erotica title and decided I wanted a "pro" opinion. And
now I regret this expense the most. It was the priciest service I ever used and
it got me absolutely nowhere. And it wasn't a scam. It was an established service
recommend by a well-known contest. I got a real and detailed evaluation, exactly
what they promised—and no more.
While
my husband thought the evaluation they sent made a lot of good points, I wasn’t
willing to follow their suggestions to make them fit the “Harlequin mold” better.
First of all, I wasn’t happy they assumed my goal was to fit that mold despite the
similarities of my first book to many Harlequin titles.
Admittedly,
I wrote it after reading fifty Harlequin books in one go. But, those things that
made my book less Harlequin-y were the reasons I wrote it in the first place. It
was a very expensive way to realize I would rather write to please myself. I've
been fortunate since then to gain a small following that likes my writing as is.
JET: All right -
now that I’ve hammered you with the big questions, let’s tackle my favorite (and
geeky) quick ten...starting with Spring or Fall?
Fall! I’m from San Diego. It wasn’t a thing there.
JET: Steak or Tofu?
Steak!
JET: Beach or Mountains?
Beach!
JET: Star Trek or Star Wars?
Hmm. Tough
one. I may have to be controversial here and say Star Trek. I admire the utopian
ideal of the federation and there is just so much more there to feed my geek need.
Admittedly I only watched TNG and Voyager and some of DS9. Someday I may go back
and watch/finish the others.
JET: Audio books or E-books?
Now that I
don’t work in a lab, ebooks! Things are just better in your own imagination/voice.
Unless it’s a comedian’s autobiography. In that case, I do enjoy the audiobook more.
I just loved Tina Fey's Bossypants and it was better in her voice.
JET: Angels or Demons?
In my book,
Angels are Demons. Can’t wait to write some of my ideas on this.
JET: Paper
or Digital?
Digital. Paper
is heavy. Take if from someone who’s had to move a lot. Although I have a personal
EM field that destroys technology over time. Which means my digital needs redundant
back-ups. If this is you too, look into getting a NAS system.
JET: Silent
Film Classics or Cheesy B Rated Horror?
Cheesy B Rated
Horror. My nickname for my little sister is still Pumpkinhead.
JET: Twilight
or True Blood
I was all about
the first Twilight movie…and then I read the book. True Blood was much better as
a book…at the beginning of the series. I can’t choose and not because of all the
love. I know there are a lot of you out there that feel my pain on this.
JET: Coffee or Tea?
I was a die-hard
coffee drinker before I moved to France. Now there's no Starbucks in my neck of
the woods. In recent years, they’ve started coffee houses that make American style
drinks, but they overdo it on the sugar and Chantilly cream. At home, I tried to
drink my husband’s coffee, but it was so strong and vile I had to switch
to tea for self-preservation.
JET:
Thank you for indulging me. Before we wrap this up, can you tell us what you're
working on now? What's next?
I
have to edit that first book, the fantasy adventure. I shelved it for a while, but
it’s time to get it out to the masses. It’s a big favorite of my beta-readers. Additionally,
I’ve already started the follow-up. It’s a four-part epic adventure J.
Simultaneously
I will probably write the fourth book in my Singular Obsession series, The Roman’s
Woman (yes I’m terrible with titles, but the books are good, I swear!). I often
like writing in two different genres at the same time. When I get a case of writer’s
block on one, I’m generally not stuck on the other.
I
also have a few straight regencies I want to write. There are just too many ideas...
Thank you so much for taking
the time to chat on my blog. Folks, you
can find out more about Lucy Leroux and her work at the following places:
Until
next time,
Ciao,
JET
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