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Wednesday 4 July 2007

The Wednesday interview



It’s Wednesday and that means interview with a brilliant author day. Introducing Vicky Burkholder and Prime Time. Next week Chrysanthemum author Anny Cook

Prime Time - the Blurb
In the dark corners of the Lunar habitats, Deena Carstairs has safety and friends. In the light is where danger lurks. In order to find the people responsible for the death of her parents and the disappearance of too many friends, she must join with those who work in the light – if they'll have her. After all, they’re Techies.
Jake Parsons has had every advantage a Techie can. As the head of an elite security force investigating the Utopia drug, he is certain the pushers are the Porters. He needs to find a way to enter their areas, but Techies aren't welcome there. His only choice is to enlist the aid of a woman who doesn't have much use for Techies – but can he trust her? After all, she's a Porter.
Deena and Jake must learn to put aside their differences and work together against a common enemy. Along the way, they discover love doesn’t care where you come from.

The Interview
1. What about sizzling sex scenes in your book…how hard is it to write sex and make it convincing?
For me, very hard. I normally don't write sex scenes but I have some really awesome crit partners – three of whom write erotica type books – and they are bringing me along. Actually, my first book, Akashan'te, had no sex at all. The hero and heroine don't even kiss until the last chapter. But Prime Time is not like that at all. I had fun with Deena and Jake – especially since Jake isn't your typical Alpha male. He's tall, well-built and handsome, but hasn't a clue what real life is like. It's up to Deena to teach him. And what an education it is.

2. Romance and the condom. How hard do you find to slip it in or on when the action is hot between characters?
Not that difficult. It's part of the action so has to be there. If they do get hot and heavy without, there are usually consequences. But in my futuristics, condoms don't usually come into play – there are other options by then.

3. Do you think romance just happens or do you make your characters work for it?
Sometimes it just happens, but most of the time they have to work for it. Relationships aren't easy in real life, so why should they be in fiction? They argue, fuss and fight, but eventually it all works out.

4. What is it about your hero that makes him irresistible to women?
Hopefully, everything. In Prime Time, Jake's a nice guy who's led a privileged life and has no clue about what life has been like for the heroine. Even though he's had every luxury life can give him, you feel sort of sorry for him as he figures out how to deal with real adversity. And makes the heroine melt with just the right look. He's supposed to be a secret operative for security, but he can't even get to her apartment without being spotted by all the regulars. He's this wonderful, cute guy you just shake your head at, and want to help. But one thing he does know how to do is please his woman.

5. Do you think readers want to escape or do they want to identify with a character?
A little of both, I believe. I know when I read a book, I read it to escape my current world. I want to be swept away to new places, new times, new experiences. But if I don't identify at least a little with the characters, it's all just window dressing. There has to be a balance between the two. I escape by writing stories that take place on other worlds – the moon or other galaxies. They can be futuristic with lots of technology, or medieval, but still with a touch of the science fiction. You may not have paranormal powers like my characters, but you know how they live and what pushes their buttons.

6. What do you think is the most important thing to remember when writing romance?
That the relationship between the hero and heroine is of utmost importance. That's what romance is all about. It doesn't matter if the story is a historical, paranormal, futuristic, or category. If you don't have sparks between him and her, there is no romance. And it's now always about the sex. There can be sex without romance, and there can even be romance without sex, but there can't be romance without a relationship. The way the hero and heroine feel about each other has to be real and believable. And I'm a huge believer in a happily ever after ending. If they work so hard throughout the book to get together, they'd better be together when the book ends.

7. What are you working on now?
Two manuscripts, one I'm writing, one I'm finishing up self-edits preparing to submit. The one in edit is a time travel that takes place in the US between 1807 and 2007 and involves murder, mayhem, and ghost legends in the caves of Virginia. The other one is a fantasy that involves a woman who can heal, or kill with her touch. Oh, and I just got my third novel picked up by Cerridwen – "Trouble on Xy-One - a futuristic that will part of the new Hunters for Hire series. It involves a bounty hunter and the woman who hires him. They're both on the hunt for a gang of ruthless space pirates but they run into some problems along the way – of course.

Click on the cover and buy the book!
www.freewebs.com/janetdavies

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good Job! And the books sound very interesting, too!