Leslie L Sanders
Erotic Romance
Leslie is a publishing Industry blogger, freelance writer and an author of over a dozen erotic romance titles. She indie published over twelve works of fiction since 2005, and e-published with Xcite Books and Breathless Press in 2011. She spends most of her time writing erotic romances mostly in the gay and ménage categories. She resides in Queen Creek, Arizona, with her husband and three daughters.
Tonya: Leslie, welcome to my space! Readers love to know more
about their authors. Tell us a bit about yourself.
Leslie: Well, I’ve been writing
since elementary school. I first began writing erotic romance and published in
2005, and now I’m finishing up writing the third and last installment of my MM,
post-apocalyptic, Refuge Inc. series. I also blog about publishing and the
writing craft on my website.
Tonya: Do you have a day job?
Leslie: I sure do. I work as a
home health aide about 40 hours a week, mostly on the weekends, caring for my
26 year old sister who has cerebral palsy. My dream is to write full-time.
Still working on that though.
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?
Leslie: Music is definitely a tool
I use to get in the zone. I have a playlist of emotional songs that I listen to
when writing my Refuge Inc. series cause it keeps me in the “end of days” mood.
Songs like Leona Lewis’s Yesterday or Justin Timberlake’s Mirrors.
Tonya: Where do you keep story
ideas? Where do they come from?
Leslie: I keep most of my story
ideas along with outlines on my laptop as documents. Ideas come to me from
everywhere. Sometimes I really have to think of unique angles to some
unoriginal story plots, sometimes ideas just pop into my mind almost out of
nowhere.
Tonya: I'm self-published and love the freedom of setting my own time lines. If you’re self-published, can
you tell us a bit about that and how it’s going for you?
Leslie: Self-publishing is great.
I love the freedom I get, the choices I can make in regards to pricing,
giveaways, cover art, etc. One of the things I miss is marketing help.
Self-publishing means you do everything yourself and the marketing half of it is
tough business. More tough than writing, in my opinion. But overall I’m happy
with my decision.
Tonya: Are you a daytime writer,
night time writer, and do you have to be alone to write?
Leslie: The one thing that is
consistent for me is that I have to be alone when I write. Otherwise, I can’t
concentrate enough to get in the mood of the story. Be it a suspenseful scene,
a love scene, an unraveling of twists, I need my alone time. Day or night, as
long as I’m alone I can write.
Tonya: What advice would you give
to new authors?
Leslie: For just published or
self-published authors my advice would be … start working on your next book.
You want to keep the momentum going, and for a newly published author, momentum
is a good thing. Make sure you give your readers something to look forward to
after reading your current book.
Tonya: I have to agree with that! Do you write better when
you first have an idea of what your characters look like or do you write, then
add character looks?
Leslie: I know what my characters
look like before I began writing, but I don’t always know their names.
Sometimes I end up changing a character’s name after writing a little about
them and their actions, background, and motive. Sometimes their name doesn’t
quite fit and I change it, going for something more distinctive from the other
characters, memorable, and matches the character’s personality. Because I may
have a character outline, but thing almost always change as I start writing.
Tonya: What attracts you most
about men?
Leslie: Physically? Their tall,
slim, narrow torsos, abdominals and lower abdominals. Men have the most amazing
mid-sections even if they are not really toned or buff. In general? I love how
men can break from the stereotype of emotionless, physically strong, worry-free
protectors, and allow someone to love and take of them. I enjoy it even more if
it’s another man they love and allow to love them. It further goes against
stereotypes of “manly men.” All “manly men” are not straight, all gay men are not
weak.
Tonya: We’re dying to hear about
your latest book. What can you tell us without spoiling the storyline?
Leslie: My latest release is Amid
the Darkness (Refuge Inc., #2) which continues to follow Adam and Elliot as
they try to survive in a mysterious underground compound after an asteroid
impact. Book one focuses more on the characters and their relationship, while book
two explores a maturing relationship and the enigmatic Refuge Inc. Book three,
the final installment, wraps up the full story and the relationship of the
characters. All three books emphasizes the leadership role and how it affects
people, but that’s just one of the many themes.
Tonya: Where can our readers find
you and your books?
Leslie: All of my titles are
available at the popular online stores such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo,
All Romance, and Smashwords and soon in audio on Amazon, Audible and iTunes. You
can easily browse my titles and the stores their available at on my website: www.leslieleesanders.com
Tonya: Congrats on the audible books! Is there anything else you
want to tell our readers?
Leslie: I welcome you to connect
with me on any social network site or through email. I do engage and respond to
every email, comment or message.
Tonya: Now for a few fun questions...What is your favorite night
time snack?
Leslie: Coffee. I know it sounds
weird but it actually relaxes me.
Tonya: Do you like toppings on
your ice cream?
Leslie: I prefer plan vanilla. But
every now and then I can take a scoop of butter pecan. Or toffee, caramel and
pecans on top of coffee ice cream.
Tonya: What’s your favorite meal -
Italian, Mexican, Thai, etc?
Leslie: Mexican. I grew up on
Mexican food. I cook and eat mostly Mexican food even today. Now I'd like to share an excerpt with our readers...
Excerpt:
When the heavy, rusted metal door to the compound closed, Adam knew it
would be closed for good, trapping him and a couple hundred people underground
and away from the devastation on the other side.
The word trapped came to mind only because it perfectly described the claustrophobic feeling that overwhelmed him. He’d thought he’d gotten used to being in such close quarters with so many injured and frightened people. He was wrong. For nearly a month, it never really felt like the salvation he heard on so many people’s tongues.
He made his way through a crowd of people who stood crying, praying and staring at the thick latched door as if they were attending a funeral, mourning the loss of their previous lives. For many, that was exactly what was happening. For others—the women and men in fine clothing who looked like they harbored every necessity they could ever need—Adam was sure it was the beginning of a new life. The glass half full concept.
The skin on Adam’s arm itched under its cast, but he distracted himself by touching the cold metal door with his good hand, a silent goodbye to the hellish world beyond the barrier, a world so familiar yet altered.
A warm hand on his shoulder stole Adam’s attention. He pivoted to stare into worried brown eyes with eyelashes that fluttered uncontrollability like a small winged insect. He smirked.
"What are you doing?" Elliot glanced over his shoulder repeatedly, paranoid. "These people are gonna go nuts any minute and try to knock that door down all at once. You’re asking to be trampled. Come on."
He allowed Elliot to grab his hand and pull him to the back of the crowd and down the hall which led to Pod 4. The long metal corridor echoed with the sound of their footsteps as they made their way to the large shell shaped area at the end.
"The speakers said we’ll have to get used to our own pods and—"
"I know what the speakers said." Out of the six rooms in the pod, Elliot pulled Adam to the first room on the left and pushed the metal door open. It creaked and whined on its hinges, and echoed back through the corridor. "I’d like to know who’s behind all of these stupid messages before I start obeying them."
"They’re just trying to help ease the panic by answering questions and keeping order." Adam walked into the small chamber and instinctively looked up at the lone rectangular sound speaker that hung from the corner of the cramped room. There were two twin beds in the room, each with a mattress and a box spring on squeaking metal frames with wheels. Just like his room. Adam sat on a bed, looking around at the boxes piled in a corner. "Are you ever going to go through your stuff, get organized?"
"Get organized?" Elliot glared. "Look at us. We’re wearing hospital scrubs in an underground bunker that’s just been sealed off from us ever leaving, and, and you’re thinking about being organized?"
"They’re not scrubs."
"We look like mental patients." Elliot stood and paced the narrow space between the two beds. "I don’t like this. Not at all."
The word trapped came to mind only because it perfectly described the claustrophobic feeling that overwhelmed him. He’d thought he’d gotten used to being in such close quarters with so many injured and frightened people. He was wrong. For nearly a month, it never really felt like the salvation he heard on so many people’s tongues.
He made his way through a crowd of people who stood crying, praying and staring at the thick latched door as if they were attending a funeral, mourning the loss of their previous lives. For many, that was exactly what was happening. For others—the women and men in fine clothing who looked like they harbored every necessity they could ever need—Adam was sure it was the beginning of a new life. The glass half full concept.
The skin on Adam’s arm itched under its cast, but he distracted himself by touching the cold metal door with his good hand, a silent goodbye to the hellish world beyond the barrier, a world so familiar yet altered.
A warm hand on his shoulder stole Adam’s attention. He pivoted to stare into worried brown eyes with eyelashes that fluttered uncontrollability like a small winged insect. He smirked.
"What are you doing?" Elliot glanced over his shoulder repeatedly, paranoid. "These people are gonna go nuts any minute and try to knock that door down all at once. You’re asking to be trampled. Come on."
He allowed Elliot to grab his hand and pull him to the back of the crowd and down the hall which led to Pod 4. The long metal corridor echoed with the sound of their footsteps as they made their way to the large shell shaped area at the end.
"The speakers said we’ll have to get used to our own pods and—"
"I know what the speakers said." Out of the six rooms in the pod, Elliot pulled Adam to the first room on the left and pushed the metal door open. It creaked and whined on its hinges, and echoed back through the corridor. "I’d like to know who’s behind all of these stupid messages before I start obeying them."
"They’re just trying to help ease the panic by answering questions and keeping order." Adam walked into the small chamber and instinctively looked up at the lone rectangular sound speaker that hung from the corner of the cramped room. There were two twin beds in the room, each with a mattress and a box spring on squeaking metal frames with wheels. Just like his room. Adam sat on a bed, looking around at the boxes piled in a corner. "Are you ever going to go through your stuff, get organized?"
"Get organized?" Elliot glared. "Look at us. We’re wearing hospital scrubs in an underground bunker that’s just been sealed off from us ever leaving, and, and you’re thinking about being organized?"
"They’re not scrubs."
"We look like mental patients." Elliot stood and paced the narrow space between the two beds. "I don’t like this. Not at all."
"Who likes it?" Adam scoffed. "We’re not supposed to like
it. We’re surviving and it’s not easy to do."
"It’ll be easier if they let us wear our own clothes at least." Elliot continued to pace.
He was right. Adam didn’t understand why they took their personal items and gave them boxes of necessities from Refuge Inc.'s own supplies. Toilet tissue, toothpastes, even on the left breast pocket of the scrubs they wore was all labeled with a blood red R and a shiny silver halo around it.
Static broke over the small speaker in the corner of the room, and then a monotone male voice broke the white noise.
"Thanks for your cooperation. The compound door has been closed and will remain as so until the dust clears out of the valley and all of the Phoenix area. This is for our protection and for a secure future. We ask that you all report to your assigned pods for proper organization of your duties. Thank you for your cooperation." Elliot shook his head. "Who is that?"
"Whoever it is they’re trying to get us all organized." Adam stood. "Sounds like we all have duties assigned to us."
"It’ll be easier if they let us wear our own clothes at least." Elliot continued to pace.
He was right. Adam didn’t understand why they took their personal items and gave them boxes of necessities from Refuge Inc.'s own supplies. Toilet tissue, toothpastes, even on the left breast pocket of the scrubs they wore was all labeled with a blood red R and a shiny silver halo around it.
Static broke over the small speaker in the corner of the room, and then a monotone male voice broke the white noise.
"Thanks for your cooperation. The compound door has been closed and will remain as so until the dust clears out of the valley and all of the Phoenix area. This is for our protection and for a secure future. We ask that you all report to your assigned pods for proper organization of your duties. Thank you for your cooperation." Elliot shook his head. "Who is that?"
"Whoever it is they’re trying to get us all organized." Adam stood. "Sounds like we all have duties assigned to us."
Tonya: Leslie, thank you for being my guest this week! Readers, thank you for stopping in to read and be sure to leave a comment to be in the drawing!
CONTEST – On Saturday, May 18th, Leslie will pick one winner to receive an e-copy of Amid the Darkness (Refuge Inc. #2) in e-book
formats (PDF, EPUB, MOBI). To be in the contest, leave a comment with your email addy and format you want should you win.
Site Links:
Buy Links: Amid the Darkness (Refuge Inc., #2)
