Welcome Ms. Hill to Love Romances and More, thank you for joining us. 

It’s wonderful to be here and to spend time with you again. It was such a pleasure meeting you at 2006 RT - my one regret was I didn’t get more time with you. [To everyone] – Danny is a lovely, fascinating person, for those who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting her face to face! And I’m not saying that just because she brought me chocolate, either (grin). Though it was VERY good chocolate. 

How long have you been writing?  Have you always written in the paranormal/BDSM genres? 

I started writing when I was in sixth grade, but to my mother’s great relief I didn’t start writing erotic romance until year 2000 (lol). I’ve always written romance, though my earlier work focused on the fantasy genre. In school I wrote voraciously – novels, short stories, etc. I entered contests and took courses about the business of publishing. This resulted in some awards and recognition that inspired me to enter college as a creative writing major. However, soon thereafter, I got involved in the animal rights movement. For whatever good reasons Fate has for turning your feet away from a path you’re sure you’re meant to follow, I spent the next ten years of my life involved with that, thinking I’d never be writing professionally again. Then, just as abruptly, I picked up a pen again in the latter part of the 1990’s and resumed with passion and commitment as if I’d never left. In 1999 I won the Grand Prize in Romance and Beyond Magazine’s annual contest with a paranormal short story called “Letitia’s Stake”, about a woman who bravely approaches the home of a male vampire to ask him to sacrifice his life for a dying infant. This is now offered as one of the handful of free short stories on my website. 

My first book-length work was an epic fantasy/romance piece briefly published online to a limited distribution. However, it got excellent critical reviews and finaled/won awards, including the Dream Realms Award for Fantasy. Since then I’ve written a second one in this same series and anticipate having six books in the entire line. It’s not being seriously marketed right now since erotic romance is the hot genre and I’m staying busy as a bee in that area. However, one day the timing will be right for an epic fantasy series that, in the course of the six book series, offers contemporary and historical settings, paranormal elements as well as those of high fantasy, pirates AND vampires. Oh my! Of course ALL six of them offer a strong central romance between the main characters. 

Please don’t take that to mean that I’m “biding my time” with erotic romance until my “real work” comes out. In the latter part of the 90’s, I also wrote my first erotic romance, Make Her Dreams Come True. Primarily, it was a mainstream romance that went in an erotic direction to satisfy my personal craving to read a good romance that dared to have stronger, BDSM sex. The erotica pieces I’d read up to that point mainly consisted of dark and dysfunctional storylines that were just plain scary (grin). I wanted romance heroes, happily-ever-afters and characters dealing with emotions as well as sex. I enjoyed writing Daniel and Meg’s story in the mall so much, it was easy to plunge from there right into Holding the Cards, and my erotic romance career was off and running. 

There were a couple of stories that inspired me at that time – “Roarke’s Prisoner” by Angela Knight, published in Secrets Volume II, and Exit to Eden by Anne Rampling (it’s not anything like her Beauty series, which is more erotica). When I read those two, I thought, “yes, this is what I’m talking about!”. 

When I wrote MHDCT, I had no clue that my story of a man who gets a woman to submit to his will sexually and emotionally within the confines of a mall for the duration of one day would become part of an infant genre that was about to go through a huge growth spurt. I’m just grateful it did, because it’s my favourite genre to write as well as read. I anticipate writing it as long as readers are around wanting to read it. 

What inspired you to write in the first place?  Does the same thing inspire all your stories?  

I’m not sure how to answer that one. I suspect no one who applies themselves to a craft or art form really knows. I mean, unless you become wildly successful, which most of us won’t, the amount of time you put into it probably breaks down to an hourly wage of about $0.05/hour. Your “child” is likely to be kicked, bullied, threatened, denigrated – and that’s just by you, not just your reviewers, publishers, editors and readers – lol. 

But something happens when I write. Everything that’s unbalanced - feelings of inadequacy, the general chaos of my life – it all goes away. The closest description to it is how I feel when my husband takes my hand and says “I love you” in that way a lover does when you know he’s really seeing all of you and thinks you’re wonderful, inside and out. It’s something that tells you “this is meant to be”. And that feeling makes me want to keep writing. 

As I re-read that paragraph, I realize that’s also the answer to the second question. The central theme to all of my work is what unconditional love means. The power it holds to heal, to sacrifice, to strive to be better than we thought we could be, and take the risk to give everything to another person. I love exploring people falling in love, being in love. The sexual tension, the excitement, the dive into the deeper levels of who we are, compromises and discovering an undeniable connection despite conflicts… 

What influenced you to get published?  How long did it take you to get your first book published? 

Like a lot of authors, I had a need to share my story with a wider audience than just family and friends. Having already had some training in the publishing process, it was therefore a given to send out queries. Make Her Dreams Come True found a home about a year after it was finished, if I remember correctly. I got in on the ground floor of e-publishing, and I’m so glad I did. I had fellow authors who wouldn’t touch e-books with a ten-foot pole, thinking it wasn’t legitimate publishing, but when I couldn’t get even the slightest glance from a “NY pub” or “NY agent”, I thought “what do I have to lose?” As long as I wasn’t breaking the cardinal rule – NEVER pay to be published – I thought it was worth a shot. Plus, e-publishers were publishing the type of cross genres I wanted to read and weren’t being offered by the big guys – fantasy and paranormal romance, erotic romance, etc. That decision led me to the exciting bandwagon of erotic romance, and an inside track into the publishing ranks – e-publishers, independent publishers and as of 2007, “NY published”. I believe the key was perseverance, believing in my work, and lots of lucky timing. 

Often a writer’s first book is the toughest to write.  Was this true for you?  If so, what helped you get through it?   

The epic fantasy took a very long time, because it was the first thing I wrote after my long dry period, and I was honing a craft that had grown rusty. Plus, it required a lot of research into contemporary and past magical systems, as well as research into how publishing had changed. 

However, I love to write character-driven fantasy. I wish more epic length fantasy would be character-driven than plot-driven – so often epic fantasy is just a plot-heavy story about involved political situations and the characters are just lost. I get bored out of my skull. Stephen King is a MASTER at the character-driven epic length story with paranormal/fantasy elements. Anyhow, I digress. My point is that it’s the characters that keep calling me back to the keyboard. I know they’re waiting for me to tell their story and I just can’t tell them no, no matter how frazzled I get. They help me see it through to the end because I can’t just leave them hanging. 

Make Her Dreams Come True was much easier – I was more confident by that time, had my writing legs back, so to speak, and of course the setting was much more defined – all in the boundaries of a mall! And it certainly was no chore to keep coming back to the keyboard, knowing Daniel was waiting, fully intending to make Meg experience pleasures she’d never dared to embrace before. J J 

Do you usually outline your stories before you write them, or do you "go with the flow"? 

I used to “go with the flow”, and I still do to a certain extent. However, my typical book is over 100,000 words, and I usually get so many ideas for interactions between my characters that I’ve had to start organizing those ideas into a loose outline format to help me keep track of where I am in the story. I’ve just started using the new MS2007 Beta One Note program and I love it. I handwrite the first draft, which is also why this loose outline is so important. I’ve explained it before as a big puzzle, so the first edit of my completed manuscript is usually unscrambling all the pieces and putting them in a reasonable order. I am NOT fond of first edit runs. ;> My husband says that’s my “this is a piece of crap, I’m going to throw it away” phase. Then, once I get through that, my second edit is the “okay, this is looking better” reaction. Third edit – “Yes, this is clicking, this is working – I don’t suck as badly as I thought I did!” And then it’s one more quick re-read and it goes to the publisher so the editor can go through those phases with it (lol). 

What does your writing day look like? 

I work a fulltime day job, so writing is worked in among that and the demands of seven animals, one husband, an always dirty house, and the millions of day-to-day chores we do to maintain all the “stuff” we seem to need. I think Thoreau had a much easier time of finding writing hours (grin). I write about 17 hours a week – two weekday nights, one full weekend day, and then my to-and-from work commute – I ride a ferry to work. I also work on my lunch break three days a week. I carry a small notebook around in my purse all the time for when ideas strike – this unfortunately includes while driving, so watch out for me weaving all over the road like a drunk! 

How do you handle family and your writing career? Is your family understanding of the time that you have to give your career? Is it sometimes difficult for you? How did they react to fact that you are an Erotic romance author?  

For me, this is probably the most difficult aspect of trying to become a successful author. I’m Type A, such that I’m very exacting about what quality my work has to possess before I turn it in to my publisher. As such, pretty much everything else becomes secondary. I’m not a reliable friend, and I have virtually no social life. I used to be strongly into volunteerism – now I give money to assuage my conscience, and not enough of that. My husband and I never have enough time together. He adopted a golden retriever puppy last year, and one of the reasons he cited (only half-jokingly in my opinion) was needing the company.  

Since my husband is the most important relationship of my life, knowing I’m neglecting that relationship hurts, though he continues to encourage me to pursue this. I couldn’t do this without his love and support. I once told someone that, apparently for me, giving the appropriate amount of time to my writing means I have to be half-assed at everything else. Fortunately, since I’m a fumble-tongued recluse, I’m hardly depriving people of a great experience by my absence from their daily life. Someone once said that many of the great writers are really quite boring. If that was the only qualification needed, I’d be right up there with the greatest of the great, let me tell you, even if I just wrote script for cereal boxes. But I think part of what that means is a writer has to live so much in her head. Many days, everything but the writing feels like white noise. I have to put real effort into focusing on conversations and registering what’s going on in the “reality” around me. 

Now as far as my nuclear and extended family goes – most are amused or indulgent about my writing erotic romance (my brother refers to me as “his sister, the porn writer”, lol). One or two wish I wrote something more “legitimate” (to their way of thinking) that they could show their friends. Both attitudes can rub my fur wrong at times, because so much of my heart goes into the journeys of my characters and effort into developing my skill as an author. But as time has gone on, I realize no matter what career you undertake, family is usually the LAST group to take you seriously. I mean, they’re the ones who have seen you do some of the stupidest things you’ll ever do in your life. That’s just the way life is. If you let it get under your skin, you’re missing the opportunity to have a few good laughs at your own expense. I love them and they love me, and that’s all that matters. 

I’ve always had a very different attitude toward sexual interaction, even when I was an adolescent. To me there is nothing profane or “dirty” about sex in its many positive and amazing forms – in fact it is an act laden with the sacred and magical. It keeps us in touch with our most primal and most spiritual natures at once, and there is so much room along the spectrum to be emotionally moved, changed, physically delighted and pleasured. To rediscover the meaning of pure laughter as well as pure tears when you’re experiencing it. So when people act like erotic romance is writing “dirty books” or “soft porn”, I just let it roll off. I think of the readers who know differently and have expressed how my stories have impacted them emotionally. 

Most authors are also avid readers.  Is this the case with you?  If so, who are some of your favorites?  Have any influenced your writing? 

I love to read – unfortunately, I’ve lost the ability to read romance. I do so much editing that when I pick up a title in my genre, even names that frequently receive accolades, it’s like reading diagrammed sentences. All I see are the building blocks. I’ve had to resort to what’s called “literary” fiction over the past couple years. Things written in somewhat of an off kilter, unexpected way, so it throws me off the editing track. When that happens I can find the story and stop seeing just the mechanics. However, before that phenomenon kicked in fully, I was enchanted by Shelby Reed’s A Fine Work of Art and The Fifth Favor, Ann Jacob’s Bittersweet Homecoming and Shiloh Walker’s Her Wildest Dreams. 

I still go back to re-read some of my favourite romance titles which originally inspired my own writing. Kathleen Woodiwiss’s Ashes in the Wind, the first three of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. Early, mid-career Nora Roberts/JD Robb. Laura Kinsale – the woman is a master artist – For My Lady’s Heart still awes me. I was heartened to recently read an interview where she said she had a similar problem when she reads. Individual titles – Once in a Blue Moon by Penelope Williamson, some of LaVyrle Spencer’s work like The Gamble…love those books. Recently I’ve been awed and inspired as well by The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini), Time Traveler’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger) and My Sister’s Keeper (Jodi Picoult). 

Your characters come to life in your books.  Do you feel each of your characters live with you as you write?  Do their lives sometimes take over a part of your life?  Can you name an example? 

Thank you for that compliment. Getting these stories onto paper and sculpted into something to offer readers takes over the largest part of my life, and it’s all character-driven, as I noted earlier. I think the one to date that took me over the most was Mac Nighthorse of Natural Law. I couldn’t let go of him after the book was done. I had a terrible time moving into the next book, Virtual Reality. I regret that because I think Mark and Nicole had to be my “let go” therapy as well as having their own story. 

Oh, heavens, yes, they live with me when I’m writing their story. When I first get the idea for a story, the characters will start firing ideas at me like one of those tennis ball machines, only instead of ducking and running, I’ve got to make sure each one hits me and makes an impression. So it’s not unusual for me to sit up in the middle of the night and frantically scribble a bunch of gibberish key words on the scrap paper I keep by the bed. My husband wakes up to this serial killer scrawl that says something like “father shot her brother – jumping off building – T uses belt to restrain her – Desert Eagle 50 calibre gun.” Now those who’ve read all my books will know which of my titles that gibberish referenced. For those who haven’t…we’ll leave it a surprise. Another example – one of the projects I’m writing right is the 6^th in the Nature of Desire series, which is a male/male erotic romance featuring Marcus from Holding the Cards and Thomas, the past lover he’s determined to get back in his life. So there I am at my day job and Thomas or Marcus start whispering to me about a scene between them that would be PERFECT. That whole “white noise” thing happens, where I’m trying to focus on what my customer is saying, and my mind is being hijacked. Sometimes I wonder if this is how schizophrenia occurs (chuckle). 

Their moods can pull me in as well. Marguerite of Ice Queen had many dark places in her soul. Sometimes when I was with her for a long while, I could feel the pull of that. Likewise, the conflicts and challenges they face can affect me. There’s a very powerful scene in A Servant’s Place (the sequel to Vampire Queen’s Servant), where Jacob, my hero, has to do something that contradicts his moral fibre all the way down to the bottom of his soul, even though it’s to save his Mistress. Re-reading it for the edit was very difficult for me – I was crying each time I went through it. 

Jonathan, the hero of Mistress of Redemption, was one of the villains in Natural Law. How did you get the idea to turn him into a hero, and was it easy? 

Nooo….it was not easy (lol). Thank God none of you were subjected to the first “final” draft I turned in to my editor. The plot was in twenty different directions and the motivations and characterization were nowhere near where I wanted them to be. Thank God for my editor Briana St. James, critique partners, Ann Jacobs and Sheri Fogarty, and the keen insights of “Maven”, the fan who motivated me to write Jonathan’s story. 

Jonathan’s story is all thanks to her perseverance. She convinced me to look at him a different way, to get interested in what was underneath the layers to determine if he was truly evil or if he just needed a strong guiding hand – in this case, Mistress Dona’s. At first, I didn’t agree there was a story there worth telling. Then, bam - I was in that morning pre-work zombie doze in the shower and the tennis balls started flying. 

Do you find it difficult at times to write love/sex scenes? What about the BDSM scenes? 

Never. I’m always amazed at erotic romance authors who do find it difficult. One of the reasons I love this genre is the ability to immerse myself in the sensual details of two or more people exploring each other’s most intimate vulnerabilities, and nowhere is that more evident than in BDSM interactions. I mentioned earlier that I find sexual interaction sacred, and like all spiritual paths, there are an infinite number of ways to experience the magic of it. BDSM is the path that calls to me and intrigues me the most. 

Have you ever suffered from "writer’s block"?  If so, what did you do to get out if it? 

I always laugh and say I don’t have the luxury of writer’s block. If I don’t feel “the juice”, I just keep scribbling until it kicks in, because with the schedule I’m on, if I miss a few minutes of writing, I won’t ever get them back, and deadlines must be met. However, if I’m having difficulty making words flow the way I want, integrating some reading time or watching a good movie that has some of the emotional tone of the scene I’m working on helps me get back in the “mood”. Movie soundtracks really help with that. I wrote a great deal of Vampire Queen’s Servant to the score of The Devil’s Own and a compilation of individual tracks like “Hero” (Enrique Iglesias) “Collide” (Howie Day) and “You and Me” (Lifehouse). Since I burn the candle at both ends, sometimes I find all I need is to take a nap or tack on ten more minutes of sleep in the mornings. I keep trying to figure out how to get that pocket watch Hermione had in Prisoner of Azkaban. 

Did you ever expect your books to become so popular?  Why do you think your books are in such demand? 

The most common feedback I get on that is 1) I integrate real life with the erotic romance in such a way that I draw the reader into the world and touch them deeply and personally and 2) I write BDSM the way they want to read it – I don’t do humiliation, but I also don’t do political correctness. It’s about the way the characters feel about each other and the instincts they follow to reinforce and strengthen those feelings. The third comment I get most often is that I never forget it’s a story (which means all the elements of a good story must be in place) AND a love story, with the erotic as a natural, integrated part of that love story. As far as whether I expected them to be so popular…oh, gosh, I never expected it – but I sure did hope! 

Your heroines, Violet and Marguerite, as well as Donna from your newest release Mistress of Redemption are female dominants, why do you think that female Dominants are so popular? 

FemDom erotic romance initially suffered a bad rap in the past because an overwhelming number of readers want the alpha male hero and assumed he didn’t exist in FemDom. Women have to run and control so much in their lives, why on earth would we want to have to orchestrate everything in the bedroom as well? They envisioned the cliché of the woman in leather beating this cringing, wimpy guy. 

The best way I can describe the type of Fem Dom/male sub stories that are popular are those where the dynamic of the male is more “palace guard” versus “wimpy slave”. He’s tough and strong, and he wants to serve a woman’s every desire in the bedroom at her command. Mac Nighthorse is my ultimate example of this type. Violet of Natural Law won his heart and loyalty, and you don’t get any more alpha than Mac. Lauren of Holding the Cards found her heart’s desire in Josh, who was actually more of a beta, but so quietly protective and loving that no one would have called him a “wimp”. 

I think writing a successful FemDom is about fine tuning the perspective on it. As an author, you always have to keep in mind what your female romance readers want from the hero. The physical and emotional response he needs to evoke from them to get them to keep reading and, if you do it right, to fall in love with him. Since I love to read erotic romance, I write the hero the way I want to read him. 

The setting of Mistress of Redemption is a really interesting one, where did you find inspiration for your version of hell? 

I’m Wiccan, and therefore believe in reincarnation as a spiralling path to ultimate enlightenment. It’s never made much sense to me for there to be a “hell” whose only purpose is eternal damnation. All that management and administration seems like a waste of energy when you could just atomize a truly evil person into dust and be done with him/her for all eternity. However, if the purpose of a place like hell or purgatory would be to get a soul back on the right path, give them a better shot for the next life cycle, that would make more sense to me. I believe there is evil in the world as well as good, and I think there’s a constant battle between the two inside of each of us. I believe Divinity is both light and dark, the yin and yang, a reflection of who we are, and we either get to the end of the path together or not at all. 

What is your favorite book from the books that you have written so far? Who are your favorite hero and heroine and why? 

Okay, this is like asking to pick your favourite child. When I’m writing the stories, that particular set of characters is my central focus. However, if I had to choose the book I feel is my best work to date in terms of craftsmanship (aside from the punctuation and grammar issues I’ve learned since then – grin) that would be Natural Law. The plot flowed perfectly from beginning to end, as well as the character interactions. How could anyone not love Mac Nighthorse? And his and Violet’s chemistry was perfect. Marguerite and Tyler are probably my favourite hero and heroine combination (Ice Queen and Mirror of My Soul); Josh of Holding the Cards my favourite hero. Of course, I’m also very fond of Justin Herne and Sarah from If Wishes Were Horses… This question is obviously just too hard (grin).  

It’s hard because I feel each of my stories/characters offers different and unique elements. Tyler’s persistence in the face of Marguerite’s darkness, her need to heal and the obvious challenge/sparks of bringing together two sexual Dominants…that was an amazing journey because I had no idea where it would go. Justin and Sarah of If Wishes Were Horses were probably my favourite characters in terms of sexual tension/banter, because, being a sheriff, Sarah was suspicious of him from the beginning (he ran the local “sex shop”). He just kept sweeping her off her feet, time and again, even as she got under his skin and he found he couldn’t let her go. But then there’s Board Resolution, which was based on a personal fantasy of mine about being sexually overwhelmed by a group of men in a boardroom setting. Nicole of Virtual Reality had to overcome Mark’s solitary bitterness in a way that was different from any other of the books I wrote. Okay, obviously, there’s not one answer to this (grin). 

Which book was the hardest to write and which the easiest? 

As noted above, Natural Law was the easiest. It was a dream to write, from beginning to end. From a craft perspective, hands down the hardest was Mistress of Redemption. That’s likely because Mistress of Redemption is a love story, but it’s not romance. It dealt with some hard issues of guilt and redemption, penance and justice. I’m very proud of that work, the way it turned out, because I’ve heard from reader after reader that they didn’t think Jonathan could be redeemed, but by the end of Mistress of Redemption they were solidly in his corner, hoping for him to make it. That was true praise for an author. 

If you could change places with one character from your books, who would it be and why? 

Sarah of If Wishes Were Horses, and if you read about Justin Herne, the “why” answers itself (wicked grin). Seriously, the love they developed, the life they have in a small Southern town, it all calls to something in me. That’s a life I could live. 

Your last three books had a little darker plot than your previous releases; will you continue to write darker storylines? 

I don’t know about all of you, but I need a little break from dark! :> I loved writing Jonathan and Dona and Tyler and Marguerite’s stories, but I think it was because they were so dark I was able to write Chance of a Lifetime, my October 26 release, in a complete rapid flood of consciousness. It’s pure fun – there’s some real life issues dealt with, as there always are in my books, but the interaction is going back more to the tone of If Wishes Were Horses, where there’s more banter and just fun sexy/erotic interaction. I’m sure that doesn’t mean I’m on a Mary Janice Davidson track (lol), because The Vampire Queen’s Servant will have a darker undertone, but I think for the time being I’ll stay more in the dark grey zones of  Natural Law, If Wishes Were Horses and Holding the Cards, rather than delving into the pitch black of my characters’ souls as I had to do for Ice Queen, Mirror of My Soul and Mistress of Redemption. Though I don’t regret the dive. They were incredible characters to write. 

Congratulations on your newest release in September, Mistress of Redemption.  Are you working on anything right now and can you tell us a teaser about these projects? 

Well, as noted above, Chance of a Lifetime is scheduled to come out on October 26. Stacie is joyriding in her escort’s stolen Porsche on a back road when she’s stopped by a very sexy cop. Do I need to say more? (lol) Ice Queen will be available in print in December, for those who would like a copy they can hold in their hands and page through again and again (smile). Right now, I have three projects going. The Vampire Queen’s Servant has been submitted to my Berkley editor with a scheduled July 2007 release date. I’m waiting for the first edits back from her at the time I’m completing this interview. The sequel, A Servant’s Place, is due to her December 31 and I don’t yet have a release date for that one, but with it being a sequel, I’m hoping it won’t be scheduled too far off from the first one. These two stories focus on Lyssa, an ancient vampire queen, and Jacob, the extraordinary young Irishman who becomes her human servant. In the vampire world, humans are expected to perform as sexual submissives at the whim of their Masters and Mistresses. Being submissive is NOT something that comes naturally to Jacob, and Lyssa is not used to having such strong feelings for a mere human. As a result, not only the unusual challenges that have brought them together, but their own feelings for one another, threaten everything they’ve ever believed about themselves and their respective pasts. 

As mentioned earlier, I’m also working on the sixth book in the Nature of Desire Series. I’m not sure if it has a title yet. I keep calling it Thomas and Marcus and so far they’ve resisted me calling it anything else. This is my first male/male erotic romance, and if I’d had any worry about whether or not I could write one of those, they’ve left me no time to dwell on it, because their interactions are intensely erotic and the obstacles threatening to tear them apart keep me far too absorbed. I think my readers will like them. Marcus was Josh’s friend in Holding the Cards, so of course there will be an appearance by Josh and Lauren (and maybe a couple of the other Nature of Desire series characters will drop in unexpectedly!). 

Any final advice to aspiring authors? 

1)     Know your craft – keep writing and writing and learning and writing. Hone it, refine it, test it, critique it, have others critique it. And DON’T argue with your critique victims. Listen and learn, determine what’s good or bad feedback and change accordingly.

2)     Know this business – if you don’t love writing with your whole heart, the business of getting/being published will suck your soul out through your nose. Love the writing, first and foremost, and it will keep you on course.

3)     Never give up. Sounds silly and cliché, doesn’t it? But it is easy to say and TOUGH to do, because you’ll want to give up - a lot. It would be so much easier to have a social life and have time to hang up decorations for the holidays, and put on eye makeup occasionally so you didn’t look like you just rolled out of bed. If you’re meant to be a published author, however, your characters won’t let you give up. If you decide not to pursue being a writer, that’s totally okay. But don’t say you gave up because the publishing business sucks, or you couldn’t find enough time, or you just couldn’t get past writer’s block – you didn’t want it enough, and that’s the end of it. Accept it and move on to whatever you were truly meant to do with your life. 

Do you have anything to add? 

Just thank you for the opportunity to spend time with all of you. I also deeply appreciate the opportunity to share my characters and stories. They’re far more interesting than me, and I hope you’ll come back to my stories to visit them often! 

Anyone interested in more information on these titles can swing over to my website, www.storywitch.com. I always have excerpts and blurbs, and as I mentioned earlier, some free short stories! 

Best wishes to you all.