You’re about to start a new project.

You’ve finished your latest wip, completed your synopsis and query letter if necessary and submitted to publishers, and now it’s time to start your next project.

What tools do you use? Perhaps character profile sheets or a chapter outline. Maybe you have notes jotted down in a notebook and always at the ready.

I found using a character profile for getting my characters into character so to speak combined with jotting notes in my notebook have been extremely helpful in my completing my wip. It helps me to keep on a general timeline for my story. Sometimes I stray but I always have the notebook and character profile to return to.

Do you have a trick of the trade to share on how you prepare for your latest project?

Liena~

What do you do when you cross the finish line?

How do you celebrate the completion of your work in progress and related projects such as synopsis, etc…? Do you take some time to recharge your batteries or do you dive into your next project?

I’ve found that taking some time away helps me recharge and approach my writing with a clear head. I have overloaded and my writing suffered for it so I now know I have to step away for a bit between my works if I plan on being successful as a writer.  

So, are you a diver or a charger?

Liena~

Do you write multiple works at once or one at a time?

If you get struck by a lightning bolt of inspiration in the middle of your current work in progress, do you save your current work and start another wip with your new idea or just jot the notes and start later?

I, personally, only work one wip at a time. If an idea hits me, I write it in a notebook and mark it with a post-it for future use. I find I can concentrate on one much better than two. Sure, ideas may be swirling around my mind for the next book but I keep plugging away at my current wip.

So tell me, how do you work it? Do you write multiple works or just one at a time?

Liena~

What happens when new ideas for a story hit you while your working on another?

You’re writing away at your current story when you turn to the TV and see spires of clay colored rock formations growing out of the earth and decide on who is going to be the heroine in your next book?  True story. I was watching the Discovery Channel and decided on an earth dragon. Okay, so maybe you weren’t watching TV, but what do you do when you’re in the middle of a wip and inspiration strikes?

Do you store it away in the deep recesses of your mind? Do you write your idea down quickly in a notebook or type a quick summary and store it on your computer?

Inspiration can strike at any moment. Sometimes it is during your downtime or while you are working on another story. My inspiration just happened to be a documentary on the earth’s mythical powers.

Liena~

Interview with author J. Hali Steele!

I would like to take a moment to welcome J. Hali Steele to Liena Ferror’s blog. I’m so happy you’ve taken time to join me today.

Please tell us about yourself.

Liena, thanks for having me here. I hate to talk about myself but I’m getting better at it. Let me see, I was born and raised in SE Pennsylvania, I lived in California for many years and now I’m back in PA. I have one child, a son, and four feisty cats. All of which were strays except one. I love to travel and have a few places on my list I’d like to visit when I can pull myself away from writing *grins*

 

When did you first start writing?

I’ve been writing a long time. I know everybody says since they were 10 or 15. I’m the same. I can remember writing my first poem when I was in 6^th grade. Then that morphed to greeting cards for my parents and then short stories for my mom. She’d have a book in her hands whenever she had free time and I’d love to ask her what they were about and couldn’t wait until she passed it to me.

Who or what inspires your writing?

Ayn Rand, I loved her male characters. They were always strong, knew what they wanted. Christine Feehan, Kerrilyn Sparks, Lynsay Sands. That’s just a few. I could go on and on. They’ve all built such worlds around their paranormal characters. I hope my characters suck people in as much as theirs have pulled me in.

Can you tell us about your latest release?

HARD CASE from Ellora’s Cave. It’s another of my Kind novels about Case Tangara, a white lion who is infected with vampyre blood, and he owns a string of voyeur clubs. LOL It’s a pretty exciting story and it can be purchased at: www.ellorascave.com

Here’s the blurb:

Case couldn’t believe his security expert hired the tantalizing female cat to manage his newest voyeur club. When he finds her, hand in her pants, in a voyeur’s room, he makes his move—a move with bigger repercussions than he can imagine. A white lion from the Kind species, big cats with vampyre blood, Case has honed his blood-sucking ancestor’s magic to a fine art. One taste of her and her sexual delights, and he comes undone.

 Tres has her own plan—use the lion to forget her mysterious vampyre lover. She’s drawn to both creatures for different reasons. The vampyre enjoys watching while the cat brings out a new side of her—performing for watchers.

 Forced to choose one, can she live without both?

 

Are you currently working on anything new? And can you tell us a little about it?

I’m currently working on an erotic story about archangels. Michael, the angel general, and the Father have come to the conclusion angels need to spend more time with men to better understand them and help clean up man’s mess here on earth. The first I’m tackling is the angel of hope. What no one counted on is the angels falling in love with women and the consequences it could have when they’re not allowed to have their love interest. My research into angels for this story has been eye opening. I’d never realized how many angels there were thought to be and each of their positions in the religious hierarchy.

When you aren’t writing, what might you be doing?

Hanging out with my sisters. I catch up with a few girlfriends. I enjoy having dinner out now and then and love to catch a good movie. Usually though I’ll just curl up on the sofa and try to whittle down my TBR pile. It’s gotten ridiculously high lately. And my eBooks are bursting from their computer. LOL

Lastly, do you have any advice to offer aspiring authors?

Here’s where you get my critter song and dance routine and I’m not talking about animal critters. *smile* Seriously, I’m a big believer in participating in an excellent critique group. One that offers good, constructive crits. Not where someone reads your story and says great job, unless it’s warranted of course. I’m talking about a group who can tell you truthfully that they found a plot hole, or the story didn’t move fast enough, or even that your characters didn’t grab them and they might have a comment that will help you think it through better. My group even has a few ladies who are the bomb with punctuation. None of this means change your voice, change your story – it only means take another look. Be open to new ideas and suggestions. It goes a long way if you’re new. And always ask questions, ask them until you understand.

Can you share the links to your web or blog site so readers know how to contact you?

Sure, Liena. I can be found at www.jhalisteele.com, www.sovereignkind.com , I have a blog, www.sovereignkind.blogspot.com and I recently joined a group of 4 other very talented authors on a blog at www.paranormalromantics.blogspot.com. We each do a day of the week and readers can find me there every Friday.

Thank you J. for taking time out of your busy schedule to allow me to interview you on my blog.

Liena, thanks so much for having me. I really enjoyed it.

Would you turn down reading a book out of your chosen genre of reading/writing?

Would you refuse to read a action/adventure novel if you were a hardcore romance reader/writer?

Romance has always been my favorite genre and was a natural choice for writing but I love a good action/adventure book. Clive Cussler captured my imagination from the early 1990’s on. I still love his books to this day.

I know somebody, though, who won’t read anything that isn’t a romance. She sticks strickly to that genre and nothing else. She tells me the other books don’t hold her interest long enough to read. Okay, that’s a good reason. I’ve read books that haven’t held my interest long enough to finish.

So which side to you fall on? Do you read outside of your favorite genre or stick with what makes you comfortable?

Liena~

Did you choose your genre or did it choose you?

How did you come to write in your current genre(s)?

Was it the love of history class in high school? Was it a showing of An American Werewolf in London or an old western on TV?

For myself, it was the later. After seeing An American Werewolf in London, I became fascinated by all things that go bump in the night. I am also an action/adventure/suspense movie fan and read books in the that genre as well. Matthew McConaughey in Clive Cussler’s Sahara comes to mind. I can imagine myself writing in that genre as well someday.

So what inspired you to write in the genre(s) you write in?

Liena~

What do you do when you need a break?

What happens when you are writing and you need a break? Do you take the dogs for a walk or walk to your kitchen for a hot cup of coffee or tea?

If it is sunny out, I find myself taking my coffee or tea out onto the back deck where I can absorb some natural vitamin D. It refreshes and clears my mind so I can get back to writing. If it’s rainy, I still go for the coffee or tea and play a few games of solitaire on the computer.

So tell me, what do you do when you need a break from your writing?

 

Liena~

If you could write from anywhere in the world, where would that be?

Would you write from a chaise lounge on a beautiful Caribbean beach or perhaps from an Adirondack chair high in the Rocky Mountains?

Me, I would write from a chaise in The Valley of the Kings in Egypt. Why Egypt? I’ve always been fascinated by Egyptian history. It would be great to be surrounded by the many Pharaoh’s and their queens while I wrote. The Adirondack chair in the Rockies would be a very close second though.

So, where would you love to write from?

Liena~

What inspires your characters?

Is it someone you know? Maybe you use their eye or hair color. Perhaps their job or hobby.

I’ve been known to use hockey players as a model for a male character’s appearance, especially the one with the amazing light blue-green eyes. I’ve used a woman I passed in the store for the main character in the first story I wrote. Her height, body-build and hair color just clicked and a character’s appearance was born.

I’ve also used movie character’s attitude who seemed perfect for one of mine.

Inspiration can come from anywhere, I’ve come to realize.

So what inspires your character’s attitude, appearances or profession?

Liena~