I promised this chat a little while ago and it’s finally here.  Have you ever had a moment when you imagined sitting at a round table with people that you admire, perhaps a nice lunch?  I hope you have, because then you understand what it’s like to get a chance to meet and speak with one of those people.

I first met Roni Loren at a Dallas Fort Worth Writer’s Conference a few years ago when she was teaching a class, a writing about sex class.  (Yes, we have classes about this at writer’s conferences.) I honestly had not read her books yet, but she was so wonderful when she was speaking and even spent a few minutes talking with me, a lowly unpublished author, that I became intrigued to purchase one of her books.

I started with reading, Crash Into You, and haven’t stopped since.  Every single one of her books that I’ve read so far have touched me in different ways.  Her characters are the ones that you connect with, ones that you understand, and even ones that at moments break your heart – but you never want to stop reading.

It was so moving to know that I had met the author of these great books.  I follow her on Facebook and Twitter (and if you don’t you should), and it’s like sharing a cup of coffee with a great friend.  I jumped on the opportunity to feature her on my blog with a few questions. (She also can be found at her website and on Goodreads.)

Nicole: Can you tell me something unique about this genre that most people are unaware of?

Roni: I think people who don’t read the genre are most often surprised to find out that the books are “all about sex.” That would be porn, for the record. Erotic romance involves just as much plot, character development, and story as other genres—or it does if it’s written well. Erotic just means that the emotional arc of the characters and their relationship is affected and changed by their sexual relationship. Characters often change and grow because of something that happened in a love scene. In other words, you couldn’t take out the sex scenes and still have a story that made complete sense. The love scenes are integral to the overall story. And if they’re not, they shouldn’t be in there. (I do a workshop on this notion so I’m very passionate about it, lol.)

Nicole: How did you get started in this genre?

Roni: Well, it started because it was one of my favorite genres to read. When I first started writing, I wrote a paranormal YA. (I know. Weird jump, right?) But that was during the Twlight craze and I think that was just in my head that I needed to be trendy. Meanwhile, I was devouring all this sexy romance in my reading time. So then I decided I would write a contemporary romance because I was a little gun shy about going all out erotic. While I had that on submission with publishers, I got the story idea for Crash Into You, my first book in the series. The story was one that could only be told as an erotic romance because it had BDSM as a major element. Of course, at the time, erotic romance with BDSM was decidedly un-trendy, lol. Publishers were closing their erotic imprints and it was generally on the downswing. However, I got lucky and landed an agent and a book deal with Berkley, who still had a strong erotic romance imprint. That was the end of 2010 when I got a 2-book deal, so pre-50 Shades. My book came out January 2012 and shortly after, 50 Shades became a thing. My genre was suddenly big again and I’ve been happily writing it ever since.

Nicole: Where do you find motivation on those days when everything feels like it’s going wrong?

Roni: Sometimes it’s really hard. You have to be self-motivated because there’s no one over your shoulder telling you to write. There are deadlines obviously, but day-to-day, it’s on you to plan things out and work. I don’t have issues with going to work. I have an office and spend anywhere from 8-10 hours a day at my computer. But I am a writer who does get writer’s block, usually with every book at some point. Some cases are worse than others. And it usually means I’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere or don’t know my characters well enough. But it still sucks and it gets you off schedule and pretty much makes you crazy. However, I remind myself that even a bad day at your dream job isn’t that bad. I know I’m beyond lucky to do this for my day job, so I don’t take that for granted. But if the block is really bad or motivation is really low, I do try to take a day off and read or go somewhere and mentally refresh. There’s a quote from Anne Lamott in Bird by Bird that says, “Your unconscious can’t work when you are breathing down its neck.” I have that pinned to my wall because often, I find myself breathing down its neck. And that’s when things shut down.

Nicole:  If you could have a celebrity lunch, who are the five people you would invite and why?

Roni: I’m so introverted about things like this that I probably wouldn’t want to go to lunch with five celebrities, lol. I’d be too intimidated.

Nicole: I understand that you’ve published before, but what does it feel like to have this new book ready for release? How do you feel about “”saying goodbye”” to these characters?

Roni: This will be my 13^th release I think, so I feel like I’ve gotten slightly used to the craziness. But it never ever gets old to see a new book out there and to hear what people think about it. It’s thrilling. Every. Single. Time. (Well, unless everyone hates the book I guess, lol. That wouldn’t be thrilling.) And I don’t feel like I’m saying goodbye to characters because often they show up in future books, so I can revisit them. I will say that whenever this series comes to an end, then I’m going to feel a loss. That will be a true letting go process because I’ve been writing in this “world” with these characters for almost six years now. They feel real to me in a lot of ways (says the crazy writer, lol.)

Thanks for having me!

Roni Loren is getting ready to publish her new book, Break Me Down, on October 27th, and I know she’s probably as excited, if not more, than I am! (I might be a little more excited, maybe. *fangirl squeal*)

So, there it is.  My “chat” with Roni Loren.  I really hope that you check out her books, if you haven’t done so already.  Remember, for those of you that were looking for something after 50 Shades, this is it!

Have you read her books yet?  Which are your favorite? 🙂

Hello again! I know it’s been a little bit, but I hope that everyone had a great holiday and excellent start to the New Year. It has been crazy beginning for us, to include multiple cases of the flu, but am now back on the mend and ready for all 2015 has in store for us.

In honor of the month of February, I’m going to be trying something new. For this month, I’m going to blog a short romance story. You’ll get pieces of their adventure every week, coming to a close at the end of the month. I really hope you enjoy it!

Without further ado – Part 1 of “Holding the Heart”

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Perhaps stumbling into the Red Eye Saloon wasn’t the smartest way to avoid drawing attention to herself, but Abigail James wasn’t having the best day and catching her boot on the loose floorboard at the bar’s entrance was just the next in the long line of accidents happening to her that afternoon. Having every male eye in the bar now turned in her direction with interest, that just made it even better.

 

“You lost girl?” This came from a man at the bar closest to her who was rubbing his pale mustache.

 

“The quilting circle’s down the block,” his buddy laughed.

 

“Perhaps she’s looking for work?” a voice in the back called suggestively and this made everyone break out in laughter.

 

Everyone, Abigail noticed, except the man standing to the side in the back, a cigar clamped in his lips, the smoke curling up slowly towards the ceiling.   His eyes snagged hers and Abigail felt her insides quiver from the intensity of his stare. She swung her gaze back to the bartender. “Sir, could you please direct me to Mr. Cole Tanner?”

 

“This ain’t no place for women. You’d best be moving along.” The bartender placed a glass with amber liquid in front of mustache-man and grabbed a rag.

 

“But you don’t understand. It’s imperative that I find Mr. Tanner.” Straightening to her full height of five and a half feet, Abigail tried to inject a note of authority into her voice. The sun was beating down hard that afternoon and as much as Abigail wanted to, she didn’t dare lift her long brown hair from her neck for fear of giving these ruffians anything else to leer at. She supposed it was not just because she was a woman infringing on their private territory but also because she was wearing pants instead of a dress.

 

“I’d be delighted to help you find him.” Mustache said. Something in his tone worried Abigail and she started to step back sensing that she might have made a mistake in her hasty rush to the saloon. Given her circumstances though, she wasn’t certain she could have done anything different. She was quickly running out of time and it was obvious these men weren’t going to help her the one man who was said to know how to find anything or anyone.

 

It was quiet except for her heavy breathing; everyone was watching to see what she would do. “No, thank you. I suppose he’s not here.” Abigail was trying to keep her voice steady.

 

Mustache grabbed her arm before she could leave. “No really, I insist.”

 

Abigail tried to jerk her arm free and Mustache just tightened his grip. With his other hand he threw some coins on the bar and began to drag her outside and around the building to the alley.

 

“I’m must insist you let me go at once.” Abigail tried to inject a note of authority in her voice and not give in to the panic that was clawing its way through her body as he continued to drag her into the shadows. She dug her boots into the dirt but that wasn’t helping. The man had arms of steel and he wasn’t budging even when Abigail brought her other hand up to try to rip herself from his grip.

 

The man stopped and pushed her up against the wall. “I’m just trying to help you, lady.” His voice rasped. He brought his face close to hers. “But it’s going to cost you.”

 

His breath was horrid and smelled like the whiskey he had been drinking. Trying not to gag and keep from shaking, Abigail thrust her chin out and began jerking in earnest.

 

“Now, now.” Mustache grabbed both her arms and tugged them behind her back against the wall. “I promise you’ll enjoy this.”

 

Abigail couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t believe she was trapped out here and this was happening. When Mustache started nibbling on her neck icy-cold panic filled her whole body. He gathered her wrists in one hand and with the other slid up her rib cage to grab her breast and squeeze.

 

Abigail gathered her breath to scream. Mustache must have anticipated this because he suddenly slammed his mouth onto hers and shoved his tongue between her teeth.

 

No, Abigail thought. This can’t be happening. I won’t let this happen! She jerked her knee up between Mustache’s legs and at the same time bit down hard on his tongue in her mouth. Hard enough that the metallic taste of his blood filled her mouth.

 

Mustache yelped and fell back, his hands cupping his groin. His eyes narrowed and just as Abigail was about to run a shot rang out in the alley. Dust flew between Mustache’s feet from the bullet that hit the ground.

 

“The next shot is going in your worthless dick, Hank.” A voice came from the front of the alley.

 

Abigail turned her head and found herself again staring at the man from the back of the bar. The sun was shadowed behind him so she couldn’t make out his features real well, but she could tell it was him by the way he stood, casual but on alert. The same was cigar hanging from his lips.

 

“This an’t no concern of yours, Dutch.” Hank grumbled, trying to stand.

 

The man came further down the alley and now Abigail could see the fiery determination in his eyes. His broad shoulders never moved, keeping his arms steady while holding the revolver in his right hand.

 

“Whether it is or not, I’m the one with the gun. Get out of here.”

 

Abigail held her breath while Hank glared at them both, shaking with his anger. Pushing himself from the ground and with one last glance at Abigail, trudged down the alley back towards the saloon.

 

After Hank rounded the corner, he turned to Abigail. Noticing how she shivered, he holstered his gun and held up both hands.

 

“It’s okay. It’s over.”

 

Gulping air, she clenched her hands at her side. “What do you want?” She was surprised her voice was so steady with the way her body was shaking.

 

“You said you were looking for Cole Tanner.” His hands slowly lowered.

 

She knodded. “Yes, do you know him?”

 

“I’m Cole Tanner.”