Jewel Adams

Wildfire would like to welcome Jewel Adams—publisher, radio show host and award-winning author. Jewel has been writing romance novels with a touch of spice for thirty years, and they are all gems!

Angela: What influenced you to be published?

Jewel: I think there is this inner goal in all authors to have their work read. When the Internet first started I found this whole new world of authors and readers. I used to send out my chapters, weekly, for free on the Internet just to get feedback. I think it worked. The critiques were sometimes hard to take, but I learned that if someone said something wasn't quite right, well it just wasn't and they were correct. That left it up to me to learn how to express my characters in the proper manner.

The net and all its influences truly made me an author. It also kept that goal alive inside me to be published. It took me another few years to hone my craft and to have my work accepted by a publisher.

Angela: How long did it take for your first book to get published?

Jewel: I read this question and immediately smiled and sighed at the same time. I have been writing now for thirty-six years. I say that and have to wonder what kept me going. I used to steal minutes out each day, between work, kids, husband and life. Once you realize that writing is your dream there is no way to stop it.

I sometimes wonder if I ever would have been published if it weren't for the Internet. I'm going to tell you something in this interview that I have rarely told anyone…guess the world might as well know. I became disabled in the late nineteen-eighties. I actually turned to my writing for sanity, to fight pain, just to survive each day. I rarely sleep, so when I write, I write all by hand with good old pencil and paper. I suspect the ten or so novels I still have under the bed will never see print as my style has changed so much over the years, for the better.

If you take all the years involved, from when I first started writing, then it is over thirty years to be published. More importantly to me, to this day, is that writing is my life. Without writing, whether it is published or not, I would never survive. All the worlds, the adventures, the love and those darn sexy heroes, they all keep my alive and I never want that to end, ever.

Angela: If someone hasn't read any of your work, what book would you recommend that they start with and why?

Jewel: This has to be one of the toughest questions. I love them all. If you have never read my work I would start with my time travels they are such wonderful reads. Each of them is filled with adventure, danger, love, very sensual love as in Dream Lover my CAPA winner. I do write erotic romance, with very explicit scenes; they all vary due to the characters as they dictate how a love scene will play out. If you want straight romance then Stargazer is perfect for you, this has just been completely revised and released at Midnight Showcase.

I would also have to tell you that my fantasies are unbelievably fun. I have fallen in love with this mystical town called Spellfire in Texas. This is an ongoing series with Midnight Showcase in digest releases. Each digest has 5 to 6 or more stories in it from various authors. I won the Reader Choice Award for my story Moonshyne in the Spellfire Moons Digest this summer.

Angela: Where did you get the idea for your latest book?

Jewel: Oh, I can't tell you how excited I am about my latest book, Moondock. This is something new for me; it is a true fantasy romance. The story came out of nowhere, almost like a dream. This old crone was mumbling some very nasty things as she walked down these slime covered steps…and the story is born! That is how it happens with me, the stories just pop in head, usually the title will appear or the first line and then it runs and I try to keep up.

With Moondock it became a real challenge as I actually created the entire society/races and their worlds, including all the creatures.

The story begins in Cibrac, the town of the Nemows, which is a society made up entirely of women, no males, not even in the children. There are various sects within the Nemows' race and our heroine, Melane, is a Captain in the Grand Lamar Guards.

The Nemows have a horrible beastly enemy, the Kibra, who force the Nemows to seek out the ancient, legendary Selams, males that have not been seen for centuries.

One woman from each sect is picked for the quest to find the Selams. Melane finds Wylan, King of Moondock. They are two alphas, one the warrior of her race and the other the king of his; not only do the sparks fly, the magic and mayhem do as well.

It is an adventure and love story you won't want to miss. Moondock will be out at Midnight Showcase.com in a few weeks.

Angela: Most people envision an author's life as being really glamorous. What's the most unglamorous thing that you've done in the past week?

Jewel: Go to Walmart, LOL. I don't think many authors have a glamorous life, if they do I'd love to know how. One thing I learned very early on in writing is that you don't do it for money. If that is your goal, fiction might not be the right venue for your skills.

You have to love writing. I sit at my desk, I have this rolling one that goes with me in various positions, and you fit in the writing whenever you can.

The other part of writing is that it is a solitary craft. That can be real tricky with a family. I learned to write in the kitchen, with dinner cooking, TV, kids and all the other things of an active household going on. You do whatever it takes to make it work, but glamour isn't part of that equation.

Angela: What genre do you want to try your hand at but haven't?

Jewel: I want to write more Gothic Romance. I grew up reading this marvelous genre and somewhere along the way it has slipped through the cracks of book heaven. We watch the movies of this great genre all the time and yet they stopped publishing it, except on the net.

I have one work Catching Shadows that is a Gothic erotic romance with some time travel. I loved writing this story and it is filled with mystery and danger, ghosts, all the elements of a great gothic, and of course the love.

Yes, of all my genres this is one I want to concentrate on bringing out more stories.
Second would be the sequels that my readers want. They aren't as easy to accomplish; once a book is finished the characters go with it. Some are still there and I am listening, Nick, Sally, Skyhawk…

Angela: Do you ever experience writers block? If you do, how do you cope with it?

Jewel: I figured out very early on that I didn't have time for writer's block. Of course, I did face it, and what a complete waste of time it became for me. I have a thousand stories to be written, if anything, my problem is sticking to one until it is finished; now that proved the greatest obstacle to conquer.

I will tell you all a great trick to keep yourself writing and not face that dreaded wall of blank nothingness. When you write a scene, preferably a love scene or fight, always stop right in the middle of a sentence. Do not finish that thought! When you come back to it tomorrow you will start right off writing the rest of that sentence and the next one in the scene that needs completing.

Try it, it works.

Angela: Where do you get inspiration?

Jewel: My latest release is Pinky Swear this is a Contemporary Romance, sensual but not erotic romance. As with all my stories, the characters write the stories. They sort of scream at me to get my attention, makes it real hard to finish one book when they do that. Tanner is the one that screamed at me for this one. He insisted that I get Andy/Andrea out of trouble and fast. Of course, she would only be safe in his care, and how could this cowboy hunk ever be wrong?

My stories start with just a word, the title or first sentence. The characters usually give me more information than I need for the story, but I do get to know them, intimately, in the process.

I do play some great sexy music for my love scenes. I love country music, I have worn out my CD of Martin Del Ray, and to replace him I have found Josh Turner's deep, sexy voice to be great inspiration for those hot scenes. Have you heard this guy's voice? I wouldn't mind hearing that in a candle lit room, beneath the sheets.

Angela: When you set out to become an author, I'm sure that you have a vision in your mind about what it would be like. What aspect of an author's life has been the most surprising to you?

Jewel: I have to say the promoting of my stories. I think as authors we expected our involvement to be over once we finished all the edits—not so. Once that book is published you have to get it out there to the readers and that is not an easy thing to do for an author. First off, we are introverts on the most part; we write alone; I personally live alone; we live a solitary life. Now we are expected to go out there to mix and mingle with real people! LOL. What a shock that can be for an author.

I as others, have learned that promotion is a must do if you want anyone to read your marvelous stories. I know I have given my work away free and will do it in the future if I never published again just to have it read. We write to have people read our work. Personally, I don't want to be discovered after I'm gone from here, I want to hear what people think of my work, now.

Good or bad you want their opinions, and you do learn that not everyone will like everything you write. You need to be able to take criticism, that's a real tough wall to conquer. Every book is like your child, it really takes a lot to release it, yet you know it needs to live.

Angela: Are there any absolutely-must-have characteristics for your heroes or heroines?

Jewel: Absolutely not. I think I have heroines from one end of the spectrum to the next, they can be delicate, but not truly weak, strong but loving, it all depends how they come to me. Looks are the same, they are what they come to me as and rarely ever change.

I truly listen to the characters when I write, it is as if they live with me and tell me the story. In fact, to this day I never finish the last chapter until I am in the final edit process. You see I fear the loss of those characters and they do leave once that final word is written.

The characters write the stories so well that I have run into secondary characters that take over the story and try to steal it from the real hero. Ahh, that's pure jealousy and leads to a lot of duels; dang but those swords are sharp. Check out Nick in Dream Lover and you will see what I mean. I actually pulled 13 chapters out of the book and started over where he comes into the story because he is such a strong character. You have to love to hate this man.

I do love meeting a great villain in my stories. In Scarlet Raven, my time travel coming out in September 07' we have the pirate Black Diamond of the Black Council, he is so evil he makes Andre Dubois (the spider) in Sleeping Oaks look minor league.

Angela: What's next for you?

Jewel: Oh, I have this fabulous new time travel Scarlet Raven coming out in September from Midnight Showcase. Scarlet Raven is a filled with pirates, funny thing is I wrote this before the recent popularity of Pirates of the Caribbean. Scarlet Raven is such a fantastic adventure, it is written, all but that last chapter. It takes place in the Caribbean and New Orleans. Corin is taken back in time on a 18th century refurbished schooner to 1725 in Charlotte Amalie. She realizes that in this time a woman has no rights and that she must get back to New Orleans before they take the schooner from her. She is desperate to the point of taking on the pirate Dragon to help her man the schooner. Rogan has his own goals; besides saving the girl from her destructive ways, he must take his ship back from the pirate Billings and regain his introduction to the Black Council, and he needs Corin's odd, but very fast schooner to accomplish the feat.

There isn't a dull moment in this action, love packed adventure in time!

Jewel Adams, best selling, award winning author, writes romance with a touch of Spice. She will be the first to tell you that romance fiction is alive and thriving on the Internet. From publisher to radio show host, Jewel's love of romance will always remain in being in an author. As a writer, Jewel found the freedom on the net to take her love of romance beyond the established barriers. Danger, love, tears and romance; Jewel's erotic romances in time travels, paranormal, contemporary, and fantasy romances will take you on a thrilling journey sparked with adventure, and fill your lifetime with the love that can cross centuries and worlds.

E-mail:
jeweladams@gmail.com  or  jeweladams10@yahoo.com

Websites:
Jewel Adams

Blogs:
Blogspirit
Myspace

Backlist:
Pinky Swear, Midnight Showcase
Stargazer, Midnight Showcase
Spellfire Series Releases:
Riverboats And Rainbows, Midnight Showcase
Sleeping Oaks, Midnight Showcase
Dream Lover, Midnight Showcase
Catching Shadows, Midnight Showcase
Creole Blues, Whiskey Creek Press – Torrid Line
Darlin', Whiskey Creek Press – Torrid Line

Coming Soon:
Creole Blues, Midnight Showcase (re-release)
Darlin', Midnight Showcase (re-release)


If you are an author and would like to request an interview, please send a query to info@allromanceebooks.com

Until next time!
Angela Lovell
Wildfire Interview Coordinator
All Romance eBooks