Wildfire would like to welcome authors Samantha Sommersby and Lexxie Couper.

Samantha Sommersby

Julie: What are you working on now?

Samantha:  I'm currently working on the fourth book in my urban fantasy/paranormal romance series, Forbidden. The third book in the series, Forbidden: The Revolution released last month. There's a scene in The Revolution where you're introduced to a hunky werewolf from Texas named Jake. As soon as I wrote the scene I knew that he needed his own book.

Julie: Where do you get your inspiration?

Samantha:  The Forbidden series, which I've been working on for the past couple years, was conceived during a flight back from London. I'd ended up having to extend my stay there because I'd fallen terribly ill. I'd thought at the time that it was food poisoning or a horrible flu. I was still in a very bad way during the flight home. I slept on and off. I was in the middle row on the plane and there were a bunch of seats across so I could stretch out. There was only one other passenger sharing the row with me and he was busy watching gay porn on his portable DVD player. Orlando Bloom was on the cover of the American Way magazine and I started thinking that he'd make a great mild-mannered vampire. Between naps I jotted down notes. By the time I landed in San Diego I had the series laid out. It turned out I didn't have food poisoning. I was severely anemic and ended up in the hospital for blood transfusions. Did my anemia inspire my vampire series? Hmmmm.

Julie: Do you ever work on multiple projects at the same time?

Samantha:  Not usually and especially not since I started writing in the first person point of view. I find it's easier to keep the characters voice pure and meet deadlines if I don't get distracted with other projects.

Samantha:  My books are quite plotted. I write love stores. I think that the heat level of my books are most consistently what ARe would call a four. I keep the door open and I'm explicit. I normally tell people that I write romance with erotic content. It's not what I would call erotica.

Samantha:  Not at all. When I sit down to write I'm thinking about the characters and the story. Honestly, when I'm in that zone everything else disappears. When the book is released…then I worry about how the readers and reviewers will react.

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

Samantha:  My heroes must have a sense of humor and my heroines have to be smart and capable.

Julie: Do you work with an agent?

Samantha:  No, I don't have an agent.

Julie: If you weren't writing romance, what would you be writing?

Samantha:  Think of what I write now as a blend between paranormal romance and urban fantasy. If I had to pick something different it would probably be mystery/suspense. My son and I are talking about possibly collaborating on a YA urban fantasy. Since I've never written YA before that will be a stretch. I'm kind of waiting to see how serious he is about making the commitment.

Julie: What books are currently on your nightstand?

Samantha:  I Am American (And So Can You) by Stephen Colbert, The Watcher by Jeanne C. Stein, and A Lick of Frost by Laurell K. Hamilton. My husband brought A Lick of Frost home last Sunday for me. He knows the way to my heart.

Samantha:  Absolutely! They can find my event calendar on my website at http://www.samanthasommersby.com. I'm currently at the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Pittsburgh. My next event isn't until May 10^th and it might just take me that long to recover from this one! On the 10^th I'll be signing at the Mysterious Galaxy bookstore in San Diego. They're celebrating their fifteenth year and they have a great line-up of authors including Jeff Mariotte, Savannah Russe, Susan Hubbard, Charlaine Harris, Robert Tanenbaum, Jeri Smith-Ready, and Timothy Zahn.

Samantha Sommersby was first published in 2005 and has now left what she used to call her "real life" day job to pursue writing and working in the publishing industry full-time. Sam's background in the psychiatric field is apparent in her work and allows her to bring a unique perspective to her characters and stories. She loves to spend the day in her office spinning rich tales and weaving together interesting plots. Her aim is to create a hero that will literally sweep a reader off her feet. 

Sam currently lives in Southern California with her husband of seventeen years, her thirteen year old son, and her cocker spaniel, Buck. Her husband is a social worker who works with abused children. He's an avid sailor who loves to surf, and you'll find bits of him in every hero that Sam has ever written. Her son is wonderfully sensitive, with a sarcastic sense of humor. He plays the piano, composes his own music, is a competitive fencer, and worships video games.

On the rare occasion when Sam manages to set aside some play time for herself, you'll most likely find her reading a book, at the movies, or out wine tasting (she collects California Cabernets).

Links:
Samantha Sommersby
Yahoo Group
Blog
MySpace

Backlist:
Blazing Sun Burning Hearts, Linden Bay Romance
In the Still of the Night, Linden Bay Romance
As You Wish, Linden Bay Romance
Trilogy No. 101: Turning up the Heat, Linden Bay Romance
Shelter from the Storm, Linden Bay Romance
Forbidden: The Claim, Linden Bay Romance
Forbidden: The Awakening, Linden Bay Romance
Forbidden: The Revolution, Linden Bay Romance

Coming Soon:
Forbidden: The Temptation

Lexxie Couper

Julie: How long have you been writing? What inspired you to pick the pen up one day and create characters that capture the imagination?

Lexxie: Honestly, I think I've been writing since I could spell. My first story was about a dragon kidnapped by some "bad men". It took me about a week to write. I was five. I spent every night after dinner working at it, making changes, re-reading, and making up new and exciting things for my dragon to do to the very silly "bad men" who took him. I can't say what inspired me to start writing… I just love stories – reading them, telling them, getting lost in them.

Julie: What is your writing process? Do you outline, fly by the seat of your pants or a combination of both?

Lexxie: Oh, I'm a flier. Big time. The first sentence of a book usually pops into my head while I'm driving. By the time I've made it home the first sentence has become an opening paragraph and a back-of-the-book blurb. Then it's just a matter of opening my laptop and seeing where I go. Sometimes the characters do things I never expected them to do… actually, most of the time. And you know what, that just makes writing all the more fun. *grin*

Julie: When you write, is atmosphere important? For example, do you use mood music or candles? Do you need complete quiet to concentrate?

Lexxie: LOL I'm the mother of a four year old and a six month old. About the only atmosphere I get to work in involves giggling/crying/grizzling girls and the theme songs to Dora the Explorer, Blue's Clues and Little Einsteins playing repeatedly in the background. Most of my writing is done when they're in bed, but because this is also the only time I get to talk or see my husband, I'm pretty much working with the sound of the cricket on the telly (an Australian ball game kinda like baseball), a rapid-fire recount of his day or the detonations and gun-fire of whatever Michael Bay film is rotating in the DVD player. I'd love, love, love to be able to write to some softly playing music, maybe the soundtrack to Pirates of the Caribbean or Gladiator, while the rest of the house forgets I exist but until my girls go to school, that's just a dream to long for. To give you an example of how I write... I'm answering these questions while unpacking the dishwasher, getting my first born her brekkie, keeping the second born from crawling into the dog's bowl and editing my latest WIP.

Julie: What's next for you?                     

Lexxie: I have an erotic sci-fi romance releasing next month at Changeling Press called Spaceport: Highest Bidder. The Spaceport series is a multi-author series with every story set on a spaceport called Adana. My book focuses on a slave sold on the spaceport and the mysterious man who buys her. It's pretty dark and disturbing in places – a bit like me, I guess. *grin*

I'm also working on an erotic paranormal horror romance called Shadow Whispers. It was originally published as a novella years ago, but I'm reworking it into a full-length novel with more horror, more romance and more sex *grin*. Also in the works is Death, The Vamp and His Brother, a paranormal romance set in Sydney, Australia which sees Death falling in lust with the head Lifeguard at Bondi Beach, whose brother just happens to be a vampire who is convinced his brother is the target of a malevolent being from the "otherside". Death prides Herself on being a fair-minded "Othersider" and takes issues with the vampire trying to stop her "making her moves" on the hunky Aussie lifeguard. It sounds confusing, I know, but it's coming along really well (I think). I've actually posted a snippet from Death, The Vamp and His Brother on my blog and so far, people seem to like it. (God, I hope they're not just being nice *grin*)

Julie: 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?

Lexxie: LMAO. Wiping baby vomit off the walls and my face after my baby girl threw up while I was changing her nappy (what we Aussies call a diaper), all the while having her older sister leap around the living room going "Eeewwwww!" at the top of her voice. There's nothing glamorous about that, trust me.

Lexxie: This is a tricky one. It's a toss-up between Raiven a'Tor, my hero from Shifting Lust, a paranormal sci-fi erotic romance, and Declan O'Connell, my hero from Savage Retribution, a werewolf urban fantasy. Raiven a'Tor is a Terran bounty hunter and the most feared man in the six systems. He's cold and ruthless but his heart belongs to a lone female shapeshifter. For Kyra, he would defy death and change the stars. I love Raiven's silent menace. Think Clint Eastwood in Pale Rider. Nothing ruffles him. He doesn't follow any laws except his own, but when he finds Kyra, his soul mate, after spending two years thinking she was dead, not even the laws of mortality can keep him from her side.

Declan O'Connell is a lone Irish werewolf who finds himself in Sydney, Australia. He has a devilish sense of humor that hides a tormented heart. He falls for an Aussie animal rights activist called Regan Thomas. I think it's Declan's sense of humor that I love the most. Even in the most dire, bleak moments he jokes. It's only when Regan is threatened by Declan's greatest enemy we get to see his wild nature, and when that happens all hell breaks loose.

Lexxie: The boring answer is, when I'm not writing I'm being a mum. The more interesting (but not much) answer is, when I'm not writing I fool around making book trailers and beaded book thongs. Oh, and I'm a bit of a movie freak so I tend to try and squeeze in a good movie every now and again. My favorite of all time is The Shawshank Redemption. Brilliant stuff, based on a short story by my favorite author of all time, Stephen King.

Lexxie: Sometimes, but usually what stops me writing is time and ankle-biters, not a lack of creativity. When I do find myself faced with a block I try to entice my muse to behave herself by watching a movie that really pushes the boundaries, whether it be story line, cinematic techniques or both. If that doesn't work (or I can't find any popcorn) I'll skip. Sounds silly, but because I do most of my writing late at night, there's not much else I can do except burn off some energy and hope lightning strikes. Because I can't leave the house and everyone else is asleep, I skip rope. Hmmmm, I sound like a bit of a loon, don't I?

Lexxie: My heroines have gotta be kick-arse. I detest TSTL heroines who can't take care of themselves. My heroines know how to get themselves out of very tricky and nasty situations, whether it's by force or thought. My heroes have to be dangerous. Maybe not overtly so, but the kind of guy you don't want to mess with unless you want to lose a limb. And, after thinking about this question (great question, btw) both hero and heroine must be loyal to something or someone they hold dear. I'm a big fan of loyalty.

Julie: The editing process is so critical. In your opinion, what are the most important aspects of the editor/author relationship?

Lexxie: Trust. Pure and simple. I trust my editors implicitly. I place my words and worlds in their hands. I wouldn't do that if I didn't trust them.

Lexxie: Horror. I read Stephen King's Pet Sematary when I was twelve and decided there and then I wanted to write stories that would scare people silly. I've written two horror/erotic romances and had an absolute ball working on both. One of my favorite review quotes of all times is from JERR's Suni Farrar for my horror erotic romance, Deadly Sins: Anger. "Lexxie Couper had me so scared, I felt like cowering in my closet with a blanket over my head. Then I had to rethink that idea, because the closet was too dark for my liking." I still grin whenever I read those two sentences. *grin* 

Lexxie's not a deviant. She just has a deviant's imagination and a desire to entertain readers with her words. Add the two together and you get darkly erotic romances with a twist of horror, sci-fi and the paranormal!

When she's not submerged in the worlds she creates. Lexxie's life revolves around her family; a husband who thinks she's insane, a pony-sized mutt who thinks he's a lap-dog, and her two daughters, the little bundle of preschooler-mischief that utterly captured her heart, and mischief-maker's baby sister who makes her stolen heart ache with love every day.

Living in Australia makes it a bit tricky for Lexxie to pop by for coffee, but she still loves to chat! Contact her at lexxie@lexxiecouper.com or find her at www.lexxiecouper.com or her blog http://lexxiecouper.wordpress.com/

Backlist:
Savage Retribution, Samhain Publishing
Shifting Lust: The Collection, Changeling Press
The Boundaries: Assassin, Changeling Press
The Boundaries: Agent, Changeling Press
The Boundaries, Awakenings, Changeling Press
Crooked Triangle, Changeling Press
Deadly Sins: Anger, Changeling Press
Viva Los Regalos: Kat and Mouse, Changeling Press
Snowbound: Captive Heat, Changeling Press
Christmas Cookies: A Sprite's Tale, Changeling Press
Batteries Not Included, Changeling Press

Coming soon:
Spaceport: Highest Bidder, Changeling Press
(Plus three others that I can't talk about yet *wink*)

Links:
Website
Newsletter Group
Blog
Australis-Eros Group

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

Until next time!

Julie Cummings
Wildfire Interview Coordinator
All Romance eBooks