Author Interview - Brenda Woody &Steve Tindle - Erotic Romance Authors

The Winner is:

Lisa Lane! Congratulations!

     Welcome to the Hot Tub! Wow! Is this hot or what? It's very fitting for our guest authors this week - Brenda Woody and Steve Tindle - the writing team who created Best Lover In Town and Temptation Triggers. They certainly have a few trigger points for us in their newest release that hit the market on June 1st and will be available in paperback on July1st! Please visit the bartender for your drink of pleasure and eye candy, then come join us to relax in the spa and learn more about these two fabulous, energetic authors!

Tonya:  Brenda, Steve, thank you so much for being my guests this week. Our readers are anxious to learn more! Tell us a bit about yourselves. Do you have day jobs?

Steve:  I am an Excel/VBA programmer. I have worked as a contractor at some of the biggest firms in the Dallas area. Being a contractor allows me time between assignments to write with Brenda.

Brenda: I just quit my day job to work from home as a freelance writer and write full time on our books. I’ll be writing articles for eHow, Plano Examiner.com and Yahoo Associated Content. I am so excited!

Tonya:  Some of us have things we do to get into the writing frame of mind like music, or drinks. Do you have anything special you do to get into the writing mood?

Steve:  We do lots of things to get into a writing mood, but no ritual we do every time. To get started we like to sit in the spa and talk about characters and scenes. Once the notes are typed up it’s just a matter making the story flow. We do this by sitting next to each other with our laptops connected and taking turns editing the storyline.

Brenda: We listen to music while we are writing; although I get distracted and start dancing and singing. LOL Sometimes White Russians help.

Tonya:  I’m with you on the White Russians, Brenda, yummy! Are you ever at a loss for ideas? What do you do to get past those time? I don’t have them often but being out in my yard and gardens helps me get creative.

Steve:  Brenda and I are unique being a male/female erotic team. The reader gets both points of view. Being a team, it’s not very often we are at a loss for ideas. We bounce ideas off each other even when we know they are really silly. Some of these crazy ideas ended up in our newest book, Temptation Triggers.

Brenda: Sometimes a story idea hits me and I have to write (pen & paper) it down right then. I can write 2 or 3 pages to get the story started. Then we transfer the notes into a folder on our laptop. Steve immediately types his ideas in Word. We have notebooks all over the house and in the car, so if an idea hits us we jot it down.

Tonya:  Do you have a card file to store your ideas? Where do they come from?

Steve:  Our card file consists of a shared folder on my computer. This allows either of us to edit ideas and current works. We have several books and short stories in the works. If one of us comes up with a new idea, we just create a new directory and we can both access the file.

Brenda: It’s my job to keep the folder organized. A woman’s work is never done. But the reward is good! (wink)

Tonya:  Sounds like you two feed off each other and create even more ideas when one of you gets started. That has to help keep the creative juices flowing! Oops, sorry…no PUN intended, honest! I'd like to stop here for a moment to tease our readers with an excerpt from one of your 'Hotel Savannah' story:

Saturday, February 13, 1932

     Today was a day I won’t soon forget. I met with him early as we had discussed the night before. He had a horse and carriage waiting for us outside the hotel. He helped me onto the bench and covered us with a blanket. The driver cracked his whip and the horse drove us around the city of Savannah.

     There was a cold chill in the air but the blanket and my new friend kept me from noticing. As the carriage took a sharp turn, he took advantage of this opportunity and moved closer to me. I didn’t mind, I welcomed his advances. I would have sat on his lap if I hadn’t been so worried about appearances.

     He pointed out several historic buildings and could name every one of them. We became closer and closer as the day passed. When the wheel of the carriage hit a pot hole and our hands made contact as we both grabbed for the falling blanket. I didn’t retract my hand and neither did he. We turned to look for each others reaction. Looking into his dark eyes, I wanted to stay here forever.

     The driver asked if we wanted to walk River Street while the horse rested a few minutes and he checked the wheel. I had never been to River Street so this was a great adventure. I was helped down by my escort and we strolled down the cobblestone road to see the shops and eating establishments.

     The wind shifted and the moisture in the air became heavier so we headed back to the carriage. A few minutes before we reached our destination the sky opened up drenching us with rain. The driver was ready and said the wheel was fine. We hurriedly got back into the carriage and cuddled under the blanket attempting to fight off the cold wind’s attack on our bodies. He pulled me close and put his arm around me to shelter me from harm. I felt safe under his care.

     We arrived back at the hotel and went to my room to get dry. I didn’t want to leave him for a minute so didn’t suggest me going to my room and telling him to go to his. He retrieved a towel and dried me off starting with my hair. He actually asked me if I wanted to strip to my underwear before starting to unbutton my garment. I was very impressed by his mannerisms.

     He slowly unfastened the bead buttons and carefully slipped my dress off my body, not wanting to get it more messed up than it already was. He placed the dress over a chair close to the fireplace. I was a bit nervous and asked him if he would like some hot tea brought to the room. While I called room service, he stood by the fire watching me. I wonder what it would be like to be married to him instead of Thomas. I think my life would be happier.

Tonya:  Whew! You gotta love walks in the rain! Where's my drink?  mmmm mmmm   Okay, back to our interview for a moment longer. Tell us about a day in your life as a writers.

Steve:  Being a writing team, Brenda and I have unofficially defined our roles. We write books, short stories and articles together. I do a lot of the marketing. I talk to fans about new works and promote our blog when we host other writers.

Brenda: I design the websites, schedule our interviews, schedule other author interviews and keep up our blogs. Since I was working full time, I only had time in the evenings and weekends to accomplish this.

Tonya:  Are you a daytime writer, night time writer, and do you have to be alone to write?

Steve:  We tend to write in the afternoon and sometimes into the wee hours of the morning. We don’t have to be alone but my daughter doesn’t like to be in the room while we write. She doesn’t want to hear us discuss our erotic stories.

Brenda: All this will change now since I’ll be working from home. We can write anytime. Steve and I have written on stories separately, but we don’t like it. We are so creative when writing together.

Tonya:  Do you have critique partners or ever been in a critique group? What was the best thing you learned from a critique?

Steve:  We don’t have anyone we use all the time to critique our work; however, I enjoy talking to fans about the published work and get ideas from them on how to improve our writings. We have learned a lot since our first book, Best Lover in Town, like point of view and getting the dialog to be more natural.

Brenda:  Deanna Jewel and Liz Borino have critiqued for us. Deanna gave us pointers on POV and action dialogue, and Liz is very helpful with grammar.

Tonya:  I love the feedback I get from other authors who have time to help once in a while. Do you write better when you first have an idea of what your characters look like or do you write, then add character looks?

Steve:  Brenda and I want the readers to form their own ideas on what the characters look like. We might mention a hair color and style but we want the reader to be able to put themselves in the role.

Brenda: I have to say we don’t build a character up by their looks. Our characters have strong personalities. Their names portray who they are.

Tonya:  Do you always include HEA and is that type of ending important to you?

Steve:  No. Happy ever after isn’t real life and our readers like realism. Our HEA would be when a reader tells us they learned something new that they tried out with their partner. We want to make our readers happy after they read our books. “Bring on the pineapples!!!”  LOL

Brenda: No the boy doesn’t always get the girl of his dreams. One of the short stories for Temptation Triggers has a tragic ending. Can’t say anymore; you’ll have to read the book!

Tonya:  Where can our readers find you and your books?

Brenda: You can find Steve and me on these web sites:

Facebook Fan Page

Brenda and Steve     (We feature other authors on the Author Interviews page)

Blogger

Twitter

Manic Readers

Goodreads

Our Author pages on Charles River Press:

Best Lover in Town

Temptation Triggers

Sites to purchase BLT and TT

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Fictionwise

Here you can purchase a signed copy of BLT through Paypal (price includes S&H):

http://www.brendawoodystevetindle.yolasite.com/latest-news.php

Tonya:  Is there anything else you want to tell our readers?

Steve:  I would like to discuss our latest project, Temptation Triggers. It’s a collection of seven short stories written in different styles. There is something for everyone. There is Sci-Fi, twilight zone, a diary, a 1930 historical and a comedy. I’ve talked to fans who wanted a book they could read in the bathroom. Each short story is a fast read and enjoyable. Temptation Triggers will take the reader from laughing to WOW. 

Here's the cover blurb:

     Temptation Triggers captures the wickedness of sexual fantasy, the mystery of unexplored territory and the fulfillment of open communication. Among these thought-provoking stories, two friends find themselves drawn into a dark erotic world, a woman encounters a mysterious man and a mature couple discovers hush-hush desires about each other. With different styles of writing, Temptation Triggers reveals erotica that is passionate and spellbinding.

Brenda: We had a lot of fun researching and writing Temptation Triggers which was released in e-book June 1 and will be available in print July 1. These stories took our writing to a new level. Also, we’ll give a free e-book (pdf) of Best Lover in Town to one lucky commenter.

     Tonya, thank you so much for inviting us to chat all week. We look forward to chatting with the readers.

 

Tonya:   I want to thank both of you for being here! I know our readers will have lots of fun chatting with you about the different stories and locations and with questions about the two of you. Readers, these two absolutely love to chat with readers and other authors so I will open the time up now for you to leave your comments for these two! 

CONTEST: One lucky commenter will win an ebook of Best Lover In Town so please include your email addy so they can reach you.