Joan Reeves, Author of Funny, Sexy Contemporary Romance, is my Guest Today!

Joan writes funny, sexy Contemporary Romance. She made the transition from traditional print publishing to indie publishing in 2011, and she has never regretted taking that step. Her self-published ebooks attracted worldwide attention, and she subsequently contracted with Bragelonne, a major French publishing house, for three of her books to be published in print and ebooks for World French Rights.

In 2012, she spent most of the year involved in marrying off her youngest child and in turning her popular romance novels into audio books. Her books are available at all major ebook sellers with audio editions available at Amazon, Audible, and iTunes.

In 2013, Joan has ambitious plans to publish 4-6 more romance novels, some from her backlist and some original fiction not published before.

 

 

She loves to welcome visitors to her website, http://www.JoanReeves.com and her blog, http://SlingWords.blogspot.com. Although she doesn't hang around Facebook too much, she's always on Twitter so check her out @JoanReeves.

In addition to her novel writing and blogging -- and just general yakking the day away -- she also writes and publishes a couple of free subscription newsletters: Writing Hacks: http://eepurl.com/fX7JT for writers and for readers, Wordplay: http://www.joanreeves.com/newsletter.htm.

Joan is having fun producing videos for her books now. Here are two that she made that provide a "movie experience" for learning about some of her books.

The Lingerie Covers (including the new Scents and Sensuality which should be live on all platforms by the weekend)

http://youtu.be/S-swT1A9rBw

Old Enough To Know Better

http://youtu.be/0POqmMFKuuo

 

Enjoy my interview with Joan.

 

You, the Author YY

 

          What kind of books do you love to read? 

Romance novels, mystery-thrillers, some science fiction, biographies, military memoirs, and books about any topic that grabs by interest. I'm very eclectic in my reading taste.

     What type of music do you enjoy relaxing to?  

     Here I'm very eclectic also. If I'm writing first draft, I tend to listen to classical or foreign language groups like Les Nubiens. If I'm fine-tuning a scene, I usually have some kind of music that just speaks to me for that scene. As an example, my most recent book which should be live when this interview appears is Scents and Sensuality. The Michael Bublé version of "You Don't Know Me," just seemed to fit the comic premise of the book as well as the poignancy of the love scenes. So I've listened to it endlessly. Same with Love Letter by Clairy Browne and the Bangin' Rackettes. There's one particular love scene that I wrote that had the lyrics from that song bouncing around in my head. Especially the line about writing a letter to her lover and telling him all the things she wants him to do to her. That's definitely something most women would never, ever, conceive of doing, and the heroine Amanda Whitfield of Scents and Sensuality also thinks that would take enormous courage to do something like that. 

     What is your stress buster?  

     Walking. Reading. Music.

     Describe yourself in one word.  

     Unfinished. 

     What is the most adventurous thing you=ve ever done?

     Went to Japan when I was 20, and I'd never flown before.

     What makes you happy/sad/disappointed/frustrated/hopeful/angry? (Pick one)  

     Injustice. -- sad, disappointed, frustrated, and angry. 

     How would readers find out more about you? 

     Visit my website: http://www.JoanReeves.com and/or my blog: http://SlingWords.blogspot.com

 

          Your writingYY

     When did you write your first book? How long did it take you to write it? 

     I wrote a book that will never see the light of day in 1982 when my youngest child was a toddler.

     How did you feel when you receive your first contract? What did you do? Any celebratory dinner, dance, event, etc to commemorate the occasion?  

     Over the moon. I got the call a few days after New Year's. I still had a half-empty bottle of champagne in the fridge from our New Year's party. I drank the flat champagne while I waited for my hubby to come home and celebrate with me.

     Where and when do you write? Tell us about your favorite work place and time. Any special reason?  

     This is the year I'm going to keep sane office hours. I'm going to write Monday through Friday and not darken the doorway of my office on weekends. At least that's what I'd like to do, but the reality of it is that I spend way too much time in my home office. It seems that the more books I write, the harder it gets because I'm always trying to improve.

     How do you write? Do your characters come to you first or the plot or the world of the story? How do you go on from there? Maybe you can give us an example with one of your books.  

     Sometimes I write with a character who springs to life in my head. Sometimes I start with an interesting premise, a "what if." I always try to get a rough outline with the turning points of the plot nailed down before I start. 

     I don't outline heavily because if I know everything beforehand, it takes away from the fun of writing.

     What is your advice to aspiring writers?

     Write every day if possible. Don't let your ambition wane. Know going in that not everyone is an overnight success. It took me 25 years of hard work before anyone ever labeled me an overnight success! (I still laugh about that.)

     Writing is hard work, but if it's something you truly want to do, then go for it.

 

          Your booksYY

     What genre(s) do you write? Why do you write the stories that you write?

     I write funny, sexy romance novels because I think the world needs more love and laughter. I like to write about a man and a woman who are made for each other, but they just don't know it yet.

     Among those that you=ve written, which is your favorite book and why?

     They're all my favorites for different reasons.

     Where do you get your ideas? Do you jot them down in a notebook, in case you forgot?

     Everything I do, everything I see, everything I hear -- it all gets filtered through the unique brain that is mine, filtered through attitudes, experiences, and memories. What comes out is an idea and a way to execute it that is uniquely me. Every person gets ideas the same way, and once it filters through their conscious and sub-conscious, it's their unique idea.

     Any new projects, work in progress?

     I just finished Scents and Sensuality and uploaded it to all major ebook sellers.

     Here's a blurb for your readers:

     Perfumer Amanda Whitfield needs a man, but where can she find one in time to escort her to her snooty cousin's wedding? Eavesdropping on Amanda's conversation with her friend, a woman interrupts and suggests her son, a computer genius, would be a perfect escort. Desperate, Amanda agrees to meet him.

     Harrison Kincaide is tired of his mom's constant matchmaking, and he decides to cure her of meddling--once and for all. When he arrives for the get-acquainted date with Amanda, they both get a shock.

     Seduction and hot passion with a side order of comical deceit. Will the truth set them free or rip them apart?