Missy Martine joins us on the Naughty Nights Press blog for an Interview and Giveaway of her latest book "Catch Her When She Falls"
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Hi Missy! Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to host an interview with you on the Naughty Nights Press blog. I am thrilled that you could join me here today!
1. Can you share a few “interesting facts” about your self?
Hello, Gina, it’s great to be here. Let’s see, interesting facts about me, hmm. I don’t really consider myself interesting so this might be a challenge. I’m 56 years young and born and raised in the south, mostly Tennessee. I was a nurse until 2002 and then health reasons forced me into early retirement. I did turn my heath around last year by losing 158 lbs, over half my body weight. I was suffering with pulmonary hypertension and the weight loss has allowed me to get off all the medications and oxygen that plagued my days and nights.
I’ve only been writing about two years. I’ve traveled all over the world, and spent some time living with my hubby in China. Let’s see, I enjoy photography, especially tracking and photographing wild animals. My favourite place to do this is Wyoming. I’ve even submitted some of my pictures to the Wyoming Wildlife Magazine. I’m an avid reader, and my hobbies include model railroading.
I’m married, for the second time, to a wonderful man quite a bit younger than me which makes me a real-life cougar. That’s about as interesting as it gets!
2. What is a typical day like for you? What “pet peeves” do you have if any?
Gosh, I wish I knew what a typical day felt like. It doesn’t seem like any of mine fall into that category. I suffer from insomnia so my days can begin anywhere from 1 am to 4 am which is about as long as I can make myself lie in bed staring at the ceiling while my hubby snores away.
I do have a routine once I get up. I have to scoop the litter, fill the water and food bowls, and pick up the trash cans the cats turn over every night. Then I sit down and pull up my email. I’ve made it a point, from the beginning, to answer each and every letter I get from fans. I check on my favourite blogs, and the different sites where I buy books to read.
By then, I’m ready to raid the fridge for some breakfast and milk. My weight loss was accomplished by surgery and I practically live on milk now. All this takes about 2 hours so now hubby is usually getting up. I make his lunch and see him off. He rides 28 miles to work daily on his bike and he waits and eats breakfast at the office.
After he leaves, I start in on whatever book project I’m working on. I start by reading over what I wrote the day before to make any corrections, and then bring up my outline for the work in progress.
As for pet peeves, I’m not sure I really have any. I’m pretty easy going so nothing much bothers me. I do hate it when I turn on my computer and it suddenly decides to do a system check of each and every file. Hubby has forbidden me from over-riding it just in case it has some kind of problem. It leaves me just sitting here, watching it tell me how many of the over a million files it has checked L It takes over an hour to complete and it does it a couple of times a week.
I also have a cat with a food bowl fetish. He won’t eat out of his bowl unless it’s filled rounded over the top. If the other cats (I have three) have eaten it down at all he stands by my desk and meows loudly! It’s extremely annoying but there doesn’t seem to be anything I can do to make him stop except get up and fill his bowl over the top. We go through this several times a day.
3. When did you realize you wanted to be an author? How long have you been writing?
I wish I could say that I dreamed of being an author all my life, even entertaining my childhood friends with my stories when I was little, but it would be a lie. Like a lot of little girls, I dreamed of becoming a nurse. My dream came true and I worked in nursing until 2002 when I had a series of small strokes. During my long recovery is when I became an avid reader of romance, and when I read my first ménage romance story.
Life had gotten pretty depressing. I’d been used to working at least 12 hours a day, sometimes 6 days a week. Besides being a nurse, I owned my own business – a medical billing service. Suddenly finding myself unemployed, and stuck at home, put me in a terrible depression. Then, I read Leah Brooke’s “Desire for Three” in her “Desire, OK” series. It absolutely, single handed, put romance back into my soul, and my marriage. Things begin looking up for me at that point, and I began reading every erotic romance I could get my hands on.
I still wasn’t doing anything challenging in my life, and my loving husband recognized a need in me that I didn’t even realize myself. He knew I needed some kind of purpose in my life to make me whole again. So, he nagged me into writing my first book. He made it like a dare; even saying “you’ve bought enough of the dang things to pay the national debt! By now you ought to be able to write your own, or are you afraid to try?” That was all it took, because I’ve never been able to turn down a dare. So, I began writing “Table for Three.” That was about two years ago.
4. What was the first fiction you ever wrote? Was it for publication? What reaction did you get?
“Table for Three” was the first book I ever wrote. At the time, it was strictly to get my husband off my back. It never occurred to me that anyone would be interested in publishing it. It’s based loosely on my own first marriage. I spent 20 years in an abusive relationship, finally getting the courage to break away. Like Cass, from the book, I met a much younger man who swept me off my feet. The only difference, I didn’t inherit a lot of money and my hubby isn’t one-half of a pair of identical twins! A girl can’t have everything!
I wasn’t even going to send it to a publisher but hubby insisted. No one was more surprised than me when I got the offer from Siren to publish it. I’d sent it to them because I bought most of my books from them so a lot of my favourite authors were there.
5. What was your goal for yourself as a writer when you started? Did you meet or surpass it or did it change for you along the way?
My goal, or my hope, has always been for my books to inspire passion and romance in someone else’s life just like Leah’s book inspired it in mine. Did I meet that goal? From the letters that I’ve received, I’d have to say I have to some degree. Not everyone tells me that they’ve been inspired, but I have had 2 very nice letters that let me know that I’ve managed to influence at least 2 people’s lives since I began writing.
6. Do you write exclusively naughty erotic fiction?
So far, all I’ve written is erotic. I don’t see that changing since erotic is my favourite thing to read.
7. Do you have a ritual to get you ready to write? Something special you do to psyche you up?
I’m not sure it counts as a ritual, but I have to have my work environment just right to be able to write. I can’t stand clutter, so I have to spend some time organizing my area before starting.
I line up my reference books, set up my snacks beside my desk, and turn off the phone before I start. I’m not one of these people that can work with soft music playing in the background. It has to be quiet for me to concentrate.
I pull up my outlines and excel files from my work in progress on my upper monitor and then I’m ready to begin.
8. Where do you write? Does your environment have an impact on what or how you write?
My husband has set up a work space for me in the corner of our living room. We’re in a small apartment in California and there’s no place for me to have an office of my own. Besides, I think he picture me writing and watching television at the same time. ;)
I don’t think my environment has an effect on what I write, but it definitely effects how I write. When things are messy, or disorganized, my attention tends to wander and I make a lot of mistakes that have to be corrected.
9. Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you just go with the flow?
I definitely just go with the flow. I’ve tried to put myself on deadlines before, ones that would insist that I spend “x” number of hours during the day writing. I failed miserably. You can’t force creativity; you have to strike while the iron’s hot, so to speak. At least that’s true for me.
10. Which comes first, the story, the characters or the setting?
For me, a small idea of a story comes first. Next come the characters and setting, and finally the story.
11. What are the elements of a great erotic romance for you?
There has to be a strong alpha male or men as the case may be. I like there to be some type of problem to the coupling, something they have to overcome to be together. There should be romance, a meeting that develops into deeper feelings. I don’t like the books that have them in bed together by page 3. And the sex should enhance the story instead of being the story. I love romance stories about getting a second chance at love.
12. What is your writing process like? How long does it take you to finish a story from beginning to end?
Oh, boy, my writing process is a little involved. My strokes left me with short-term memory loss so I have to go the extra mile to get my stories done.
I begin with an idea for a story and then I create the characters, both primary and secondary – at least as many as I know about up front. I use an excel file to keep track of them. I give them names, physical characteristics, and brief social histories. I want something that’s going to remind me how they’re related or how they know each other and for how long.
Next, I do a detailed outline from beginning to “The End.” It’s done in bullet points and not paragraphs. I need something I can mark off as I go along and know where I’m at in the story since I can’t write an 80,000 word book in a day. The outline will include detailed facts from the research I’ve done, as well as any descriptive phrases that I want to use. It’s supposed to make it where I don’t have to keep going back and forth between screens as I write the finished product. The outlines can be quite long.
Next, I map out my love scenes. With my memory problems I want to make sure I don’t reuse words, positions or phrases when I do the sex scenes. To do this I had to develop a way to keep track of what I write as I go along. I have a file I’ve put together over the past 2 years of nothing but sex words, phrases, and positions. Laugh if you want to, but it works. Before I begin a book I pull up this file. The words and phrases are all divided into categories and there are no duplicates. If I have a book that has 4 sex scenes to be written, I go to my file and I choose 5 words or phrases from each category – four different times. I save these words in an excel file and when I come to the sex scene in my outline I use this list of words and phrases to write my scene. No words or positions get used twice.
Finally, I’m ready to start writing the finished product. I keep the excel file of the characters on my upper screen so if I get confused about a character’s name I can easily reference it.
13. What do you love most about writing? What do you hate about it?
I love writing dialog! It can be fun creating snappy conversations between characters that help define their personalities. Plus, you’re not as tied to “correct grammar” with dialog. In fact, sometimes it’s better to be “improper.” Slang and poor grammar are just another way to define our character’s personality.
What do I dislike most about writing? I hate promoting what I write! There seems to be a fine line between promoting your work and harassing people – I’d like to think I don’t cross that line. Promoting can be really time-consuming, taking as much time to promote a book as it did to write it. And, there’s not a good way to know if you’re being successful until all your numbers are in at the end of the quarter. It’s definitely not something I enjoy doing.
14. After writing for hours at a time how do you relax?
Believe it or not, most of the time I sit down to read a good book after a day of writing. Occasionally, I’ll watch a DVD, but 90% of the time I stay at my computer and pull up one of my downloaded books.
15. Is writing your full-time job? If not, how and when do you find time to write?
If you mean do I work outside the home, then yes, writing is my full –time job. I haven’t worked outside the home since 2002. I don’t have to work, my husband is more than able to support us, but it feels good to be able to help provide for us.
16. If you weren't writing, what would you be doing?
I’d probably still be reading four or five books a week and watching daytime television. If I’d never had the strokes I’d be a nurse supervisor somewhere with five or six employees working for my medical billing service.
17. Is there a specific bit of advice you would give to an aspiring author who is looking to publish their work? Traditional or Self-Publishing, which would you suggest?
First, I would tell them to believe in what they write. You have to make yourself happy before you can please anyone else. Don’t let others influence what you write about, stick to what you know is right in your heart.
Next, I’d advise them to buy a Thesaurus. There’s always going to be a need to find new ways to say the same thing.
Finally, I’d encourage them to find a publisher and not attempt to self-publish. A legitimate publisher will not cost you anything. You’ll receive royalties for your finished work. They’ll provide you with editors to polish your book, artists to design a cover that will draw people to your book, and a certain amount of publicity and exposure. You can concentrate on your writing and leave all the tedious details of publishing to an expert.
18. Can you share a little bit about your current release with us? Where can we find it?
My current newest release is “Catch Her When She Falls.” It’s the sequel to my first book, “Table for Three.” In “Table for Three” you meet Serena, a secretary with a disagreeable personality. She’ll do just about anything to land herself a rich husband. Before the end of the book, she makes a malicious phone call guaranteed to cause trouble for the book’s main trio. In “Catch Her When She Falls” you find out the outcome of that phone call, and what makes Serena the way she is. You’ll also meet Marc and Tony. They’re cowboys, part-time bounty hunters, and full-time lovers. They take one look at Serena and recognize the person deep inside her. They’re determined to make her theirs, and they’ll do anything to make her see life with a pair of simple cowboys is definitely what she needs. This book is available in eBook from Siren/Bookstrand at http://www.bookstrand.com/catch-her-when-she-falls and in print from Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1610344219/bookstrand-20
19. Do you have other published works? If so please tell us about them!
Well, you already know about “Table for Three.” It’s the story of Cass, a woman who finally gets the courage to get out of a 20 year abusive marriage. She travels to Oregon to accept an inheritance from a relative she never knew she had and meets up with a pair of twin brothers determined to lay claim to her. She’s up against an abusive ex, a crooked lawyer, and a vicious jealous woman. The road to happiness is not a smooth one!
Next came my “Wolfen Heritage Series.” It’s set in Wyoming and is based on the Wind River Pack. It’s the story of Remus & Maddie’s family. Remus is Alpha of the Wind River Pack, while Maddie’s family kept the secret of their heritage from the children.
Book 1 is “Discovering Her Wolfen Heritage.” It tells the story of Maddie and Remus. She meets Remus when she’s a little girl while he’s in his wolf form. He knows immediately she’s his mate but has to wait to claim her. Maddie returns home and a tragic accident keeps her away for many years. When she finally returns her wolf friend is still there. Remus must tell her of her heritage, and help her fight a distrustful brother and a dangerous doctor before they can finalize their love.
Book 2 is “Denying His Wolfen Heritage.” This is Michael’s story, Maddie’s brother. He’s seen Maddie’s wolf with his own eyes and still doesn’t believe! He feels guilty for aiding the doctor that was trying to do her harm so he spends time with his sister in Wyoming. There he falls in love with a beautiful wolf shifter. He and Ariane are faced with a jealous woman, and another male shifter that wants her for himself. Michael has to find his own inner wolf or risk losing Ariane forever.
Book 3 is called “Changing Their Wolfen Heritage.” This is the story of Remus’s brothers Ethan and Latan. They’ve always shared their women and it’s no different when they meet Kitania, the new Pack teacher. But, this time, they both feel like she’s their mate. But wolves don’t share mates, or do they? Kitania has some secrets of her own. She’s not who, or what they think she is. Everything comes to a head when they must battle the evil doctors out to experiment on the wolves one final time.
Finally, I have a new release, from eXtasy books, called “The Magic in Her Gift.” It’s the story of a young woman who desperately wants love and is settling for something less. Her grandmother is dying and wants to pass the family magic to her so she can make her dreams come true. It’s too bad she dies before she can tell her granddaughter how to use it! She only has a brief time to figure out how to bring her dream lover to life before she loses him forever.
20. Where can your readers find you?
You can find me at any of the following places:
My website: www.missymartine.com
My Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000107833768
My Twitter: http://twitter.com/Missy_Martine
My LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/missymartine2009
You can also email me at missymartin@comcast.net
If you visit my website be sure to sign up for my newsletter and sign my guest book.
We’d like to thank you Missy for being here on Naughty Nights Press blog today.
I am sure I speak for everyone when I say we enjoyed learning more about you and your daily life.
I appreciated the advice you give to aspiring authors. It is something many have said yes, but really can it be said too much? Get a PUBLISHER! Hey, I hear Naughty Nights Press (NNP) is accepting submissions. *wink*
It was awesome to be able to find out more about your new release and the other books you have written. I am for one will be adding a few of them to my TBR list pretty quick!
We hope you will come back and share more of yourself and your writing very soon!
Thanks so much, Gina. I’ve enjoyed my time with you today. It was great of you to let me come on and toot my own horn today!
Catch Her When She Falls
Blurb
Serena Dammler is recovering from a savage beating and needs protection. Cowboys and lovers Marc Weller and Tony Estabon are taking jobs as bounty-hunters, and their newest assignment is to capture her attacker and return him to Texas. They take one look at Serena's fragile beauty and decide she'd be the perfect third to their family.
Serena's always dreamed of catching herself a rich man, and she'd do just about anything to make that dream come true. She's not going to allow herself to fall in love with her two cowboy protectors, no matter how sexy they are.
Marc and Tony want Serena as their third, but they want her love to be real and not based on their bank accounts. So what will it hurt if they take her to a little cabin on their ranch and pretend to be simple cowboys?
Biography: Missy MartineI was born, and raised in the great southern state of Tennessee. In my youth, I studied nursing, and spent several happy years working in the hospitals there until I branched out into medical management in 1980.
In 1998 I was managing a medical supply house in Chattanooga, when I met the love of my life. The only problem facing me then, he lived way out in Oklahoma. You see, we had met in a chat room!
He romanced me daily with love letters, flowers and phone calls. It wasn't long before I uprooted myself, and moved west to join him. We married in 1999, and then continued our fantasy romance all over the world. Together we have traveled in almost all of the Continental United States, and taken trips to Canada and China.
I retired from working in 2002 and it wasn't long before my husband was encouraging me to find some kind of outlet to occupy my time, something that was challenging, and rewarding. I was already obsessed with reading about romance, and I began to think I could probably write a good, romantic story. My husband heartily agreed with me. With that encouragement, I began writing my first book. I wasn't really convinced that anyone else would find it interesting, but he pressed me to take a chance and send it in to a publisher.
To my surprise, it was accepted, and now I'm able to share it with readers everywhere who like a "happily ever after" story.
Today, I'm living in California with my, still romantic, husband of twelve years, and our boys. Our boys consist of Beau, Midnight, and Bubba, three male cats that allow us to live with them and serve them at their leisure. I continue to write almost daily, hoping that someone, somewhere will get the same enjoyment from reading my stories, that I get from writing them.
