VISITING DIGNITARY -- SHANNON BUTCHER

Okay guys, besides being a terrific author, Shannon is a really good friend of mine.  So be nice.  Comment lots, and buy her books, not just because I said so, but because they are WONDERFUL.

I give to you (but only on loan and for a limited time)  SHANNON BUTCHER:

(INSERT SHOUTS OF JOY)


Whatreleases do you have coming out in 2012?
Ijust had an eSpecial novella come out in February, titled BOUND BY VENGEANCE.It's part of the Sentinel Wars world, featuring Liam and Dakota in a hunt forthe demons who killed her brother. In March book 6 of the Sentinel Wars, DYINGWISH, comes out. This is Jackie and Iain's story. After that, I have anothernovella coming out in late summer titled FORGET ME NOT, and the third book inthe Edge series, EDGE OF SANITY, coming this fall.
Ifyou had to be "stuck in an elevator" with one of your characters for severalhours, who would it be and what would you talk about?
I'mnot sure I'd want to be that close to any of my characters. They all havedemons, fanatical scientists, and killers after them. Way too much stress. J [image error] 
Youwrite romance (and do it well may I add), why that genre?
Igrew up reading fantasy and sci-fi. I didn't pick up a romance until 1998(after years of nagging from some of my friends and family). I'd always scoffedat them as those books my mom read. Finally, I gave into the pressure andpicked one up. I was totally and utterly hooked. This was what all of those other books I'd read had beenmissing—that deep connection and the thrill of falling in love. Even if I wereto ever branch out beyond straight romance, I don't think I'd ever be able todo so without that fundamental romantic core.
Doyou listen to music as you write? If so, which artists? What is your playlist?
I need music for inspiration, andtypically listen to rock and alternative rock. But when I write, I need silenceor white noise. Anything else is simply too distracting. 
Doeshaving another writer in the house make the process harder or easier? 
Both.There are times when there is twice the stress or double deadlines in thehouse. That makes things tough. But on the flip side, we also totally get whateach other is going through. There's no need to explain why I need to spend thenext week with my fingers attached to the keyboard to the exclusion of allelse. Jim just gets it. And being able to talk shop is nice, too.
Thebest part is the flexibility we have. If we want to run off on a date in themiddle of the day, we can. Assuming there are no looming deadlines. J
Thebusiness of writing is changing rapidly. Do you find the change scary?Invigorating? How (if at all) have you changed your career plans/path as aresult?
Youknow, if I worried about this stuff, it would eat me alive with stress. I'vedecided just to worry about that part that's within my control, so I write thebooks I want to write as well as I can, as quickly as I can, and let peoplesmarter than me worry about the future of publishing and strategizing.
Whatis one key bit of advice you would give to a prospective writer?
Write.A lot. Every day. Even if it's only a few words you get down, your head willstay in book space, and your subconscious will work even while you're not.Plus, one of the great benefits of writing a lot is that each word you writebecomes less precious. One of the keys to writing a great book is cutting outall the crap that isn't good. Ifyou've written 100k words, you're much more likely to cut out the bad 10k thanif you've only written a total of 20k, and you're looking at cutting half. Andthere's that whole thing where you actually get better when you write more, andhave less to cut. That doesn't suck. J   AND FOLKS -- THERE IS A GIVEAWAY AVAILABLE TO ONE LUCKY COMMENTER.  NOT JUST A BOOK EITHER (ALTHOUGH THAT'S GREAT ENOUGH.)  WE ALSO HAVE A HAND-MADE PIECE OF JEWELRY MADE WITH SHANNON'S OWN TWO HANDS.  I HAVE SOME OF HER STUFF.  IT'S GORGEOUS.  SOOOOOOO  COMMENT ALREADY!!!