September 10, 2012

Interview with Author Angelica Dawson!!! Blue Moon House is available now!! @AngelicaDawson

Title: Blue Moon House
Author: Angelica Dawson
Publisher: Naughty Nights Press
Series: Blue Moon
Release date: September 1, 2012
Genre: Erotica, Vampire BDSM
Pages: 45 
  






Karen: Welcome, Angelica! It’s great to have you here today! *virtual handshake*
Angelica: It's a pleasure to be here! I'm so excited about my first release.

Karen: Let the fun begin! Can you tell my readers what’s the weirdest thing you like to eat?
Angelica: It's not really weird by itself, peanut butter and banana sandwiches, but I like to roll the bread around the banana like a burrito.
Karen: Tell us about your novel, Blue Moon House, what’s it about?
Angelica: It's about a human sub whose vampire Dom wants to keep her forever. Before she can join him as vampire, however, she will need to convince the other seven vampires of the house that they want to spend eternity with her. Each has their own attribute they are looking for, and she essentially has one chance with each.
Karen: How did you come up with the title?
Angelica: I needed a name for BDSM house and I thought Blue Moon sounded about right. It's a special place, not everyday.
Karen: What was your favorite part/scene to write in Blue Moon House?
Angelica: I really enjoyed writing Julia as a Domme over Harry, her Dom. It was wonderful to play the role-reversal and have her see what he has seen all along.
Karen: Tell me about the cover! Did you have a say in the process for choosing it?
Angelica: Alas, no. But I took one look at it and thought, YES! I love the moon in place of the O, I like the little tattoo on the one girl's shoulder. Best of all, if you don't like the cover, you aren't going to like the book. It really aims for its audience. 

Karen: How long did it take for  Blue Moon House to be published (from offer to release date)? Tell us a little about the process.
Angelica: I was accepted in April and took a week or two to decide to accept the offer. After that it was about two months before an editor was free for me. There weren't any huge changes, so that part went really fast. However, my editor didn't change the filename accordingly, so the publisher didn't know we had finished final draft. So the publisher went ahead and produced a cover, and as soon as that glitch was sorted out, we had a release date, one week later. It was quite a ride getting promotion together that fast!
Karen: What was the first thing you thought/did when you received the offer?
Angelica: My first thought was, “Damn, now I have to consider this.” It wasn't anything to do with the publisher, but my real name publishes YA books, so I had to adopt an entire penname persona, create her from the ground up. It was a bit daunting. I'd submitted BMH completely expecting to get rejected. The first publisher, Evernight, did reject it. I was floored when I got the acceptance and realized I had to actually consider whether or not I wanted to publish this piece. Taking another look at it, I knew I did. So I signed and that day created Angelica. She's more popular than me, which still stings sometimes. Heh.
Karen: Will there be a sequel to Blue Moon House?
Angelica: Not sequels, no. Prequels. After rereading  Blue Moon House a few times, I recognized that each vampire had his or her own story about joining the House. I've already started on the second youngest vampire, Jocelyn.
Karen: (Random question alert!!) Be honest, what’s the longest you’ve gone without washing your hair?
Angelica: Five days. I was camping. :)
Karen: Back to the hard-hitting questions…What new projects are you working on?
Angelica: I have a short story that I submitted for a Service anthology. I am working on a Flash piece. I have the  Blue Moon House prequel. I have an erotic romance serial that I'm thinking of reworking for a novel. There is a Choose Your Own Adult adventure (Male POV) that is about 60% done if I ever get back to that... and about six projects under my real name. (I hate thinking about a list that long)
Karen: Is there an author that you’d like to stalk, uh, meet?
Angelica: Is there an author I wouldn't like to stalk?? I've been to three writing conventions in the last eighteen months and everyone I've met there has had something to show or teach me. I find the best support comes from our colleagues (some of the best criticism, too). If I had only one, I'd have to be a medium, because Robert Jordan is dead. God I want to thumb through all his notes.
Karen: What books have influenced/inspired you the most?
Angelica: Wheel of Time, obviously. Not for Blue Moon House, but world building in general. Tamora Pierce got me into the YA genre with her Lioness quartet. My first novel was a 'lady knight' story (and written while I was in High School... it is complete trash!). I was very active in the Twilight Fandom, so those books definitely spurred me, both into writing again and into erotica as I found a lot of it in the Fandom.
Karen: What were some of the biggest challenges to getting published?
Angelica: Confidence. I didn't think  Blue Moon House would be wanted by anyone. I got discouraged with some other pieces that never found homes. After that, keeping confident. When I didn't have a release date, I let my blog flag because I felt like I didn't have anything to offer. I lose confidence again. I have low self-esteem. Confidence is a real problem for me.
Karen: What was the first thought that crossed your mind when you started editing rounds with your editor?
Angelica: Thank God I had a beta. ;) My beta reader was pretty kick-ass, so my editor had an easy job.
Karen: Now let’s delve a little deeper. Shall we? *winks* When did the desire to write consume you?
Angelica: After reading/listening (I was really into audiobooks) Twilight. Stephanie left us impressions of stories or gaps in time and I wanted to fill those in! So, I started with how Alice and Jasper met. It snowballed from there. I have a whopping one million words posted on fanfiction.net. Around four hundred thousand (yeah, that about four novels), I decided I'd better start writing my own characters and story lines.
Karen: How did you know this is what you wanted to be when you grew up?
Angelica: Did I mention I wrote my first novel in High School? For my Grade 6 final exam, I outlined a soap opera of romantic twists and love triangles and then wrote the first act/episode. I don't remember what I got for a grade, but I think that explains a lot (or maybe it just means I was a weird kid).
Karen: Do you have a day job? Or do you write full-time?
Angelica: I love my day job. I'm an environmental consultant in Alberta. Most of our work is associated with Oil Sands and it is gratifying to know that I'm making a difference there. Even if I were making enough from writing, I'd continue to do field work in the summers (though I might go from three days a week in the winter down to two.) It's parttime through the winter, so that helps me fit the writing in.
Karen: Who controls your characters? You or them?
Angelica: Usually them. I have a really wide arrow saying, 'go this way' and they head in that general direction, doing whatever suits them on the way.
Karen: If them, when are they the most persistent?
Angelica: When they really don't want to go there. They'll meander, they'll back pedal, they'll wander off in a random direction. Usually, I give in. Chances are, they're going somewhere more interesting anyway.
Karen: Where do you write? (office, coffee shop, train, etc.)
Angelica: I have a home office. I also have an old fashioned notebook that goes with me in the car. When we're driving five hours to Fort McMurray, if I'm not behind the wheel, I usually have it in my lap, scribbling away.
Karen: How long does it take you to write a book?
 Angelica: Depends on the book. Depends when you consider the 'start'. I don't do hard outlines. I explore characters and ideas in my head, and when I am obsessed with them (can't sleep because they won't shut up) I know it's time to start writing. Most often, once that first word is on the page, it's only a few weeks. Again, because they won't leave me alone.
Karen: How do you get into the writing zone? And does chocolate help with this?
Angelica: Heh, I do not rely on chocolate, but what isn't made better with some? I don't have a special zone. I just write. If it's not coming, I don't stick at it. I go for a walk, read a book, watch an episode on TV. If the characters aren't clamouring, it's probably not time to write yet. (Note: that's writing their story. I'm usually editing something, promoting something, outlining something... I always have something that I can work on.)
Karen: What do you do in your down-time…if there is such a thing?
Angelica: Not really. My down time is WAY down time. I suffer from a mild case of bipolar. As a result I'm either pounding the words out on the keyboard as fast as my fingers can go because my brain is in overdrive or I'm in bed with the covers over my head wishing the world would cease to exist. My down times are my depressed times and they are awful.
Karen: If you could have telepathy (that could be turned on/off) or invisibility, which would you choose? And why?
Angelica: Invisibility. I'd much rather hear what people are actually saying that what they wish they'd said.

Karen: Before we go, you must face the rapid fire round. Dun, dun, dun…

Coffee or tea? Coffee, but tea is very very good.

Chocolate: dark or milk? Dark. With chili
Flats or heels? Flats. I have bad ankles.
Yes or no? Yes.
Star Wars or Star Trek? Tough one. Wars, but only if you reject eps 1-3
Ice: crushed or cubed? Crushed. Love a slushy.
Italian or French (food, not men)? Italian. I'm a sucker for carbs.
Panster or plotter? Pantser, all the way.
Paper or plastic? Paper, I reuse it much more easily.
Vampires or werewolves? Vampires, of course!
Pencil or pen? Pen. Pencil is much more likely to smudge.
Firemen or cops? Hmmm, I love my geek. I'll go with Firemen.


 Karen: Thank you so much for stopping by, Angelica! Feel free to visit any time!
Angelica: I will definitely return! I hope you'll stop by my blog again as well.

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Stalk--uh, follow--Angelica here:
goodreads ~ twitter ~ website

Buy links:
All Romance eBooks
Smashwords

Amazon
Amazon UK

Naughty Nights Press
 

**I read  Blue Moon House in TWO hours! Couldn't put it down! Fantastic read!

7 comments:

  1. From one Canuck to another - hey!. Congrats on your first release of a paranormal. Great interview.

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    1. Thank you for commenting! NNP, my publisher, is actually out of Ontario. Canucks unite!

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  2. Cute interview. Love dark chocolate with chilies. Congratulations on your release.

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    1. Thanks for stopping to check out the interview. You can make chili and add a bit of chocolate to it (very small amount). Works great the other way too. :) *remembers a Chocolatier short story she wrote once...*

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  3. Ha, nice interview, ladies! I totally laughed about the washing your hair questions. Congrats on the release, Angelica!

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    1. hehe. That was only a few weeks ago, too! I'm sure I've gone as long once before, also while camping. Really, if you're in the woods, who cares what your hair looks like! I just braid or bun it and cram it under my ball cap. LOL

      Glad you enjoyed the interview. If you're interested in book there are a few excerpts on my blog. All three links are in this post. http://angelicadawson.blogspot.ca/2012/08/release-eve-day-before-awesome.html

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  4. Great comments! Thank you to everyone for stopping by! It was so lovely to have Angelica visit! :)

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