February update and some Q & A’s

Ah, February....the shortest month of the year. It always passes way too quickly. It’s already the 11th and I’m wondering where the days have gone. LOL!


So...what’s up with the books? Moon has been finished and turned IN for edits! Here’s the cover. I don’t have a release date yet but I’ll post when I know anything. It shouldn’t be too long.


 
What else am I working on? The Something Wicked This Way Comes anthologies - Volume 3 has been delayed so the short story I had in it has been released back to me. I’m adding word count to expand it into novella length. If you read Scarred and Kilt from Something Wicked This WayComes - Volume 2....and liked Mine to Chase...you’ll be happy to know that it's Lethal’s story. The three are connected. Blaron (Kilt) and Lethal are best friends. Chase works at the club they run together. I’m working on Lethal’s story to hopefully get it out to you soon.

I’m also working on Blackie’s story (Cyborg Seduction series). I get asked a lot of questions about some of the favorite characters you have been waiting on. Sky, Mavo, Deviant, Gene, and a few others are on my list. I’ve got partials for most of them already to work from when I get to their timeline. 

Cousin Brand is on my short list to work on and finish. I have a big chunk of his book done. I’ve had to work on another book in the Mating Heat series because it intersects with his story so I’ve been working on it too. I need to finish the connected scenes before I finish Brand’s story.

You’ll see more Raines books from the Riding the Raines series. More Zorn Warriors (not soon on the Zorn but not too far in the future). I’ll officially state again that there are going to be a LOT of New Species books. Every time one comes out I get a bunch of emails asking me if there’s going to be another one. YES. LOTS. Who are some of them that come to mind? Breeze. Brass. Harley. Vengeance. Flame. Darkness. Smiley. It’s a long list. They aren’t coming out in that order.

So...questions I get in my email the most often these days...

Q - What’s the best advice you can give to an inspiring author?
A - Don’t give up. Writing is challenging. It took me a year to write my first book in 1993. I wondered if I’d EVER finish it but I did. Write what you love. Write something with your heart. I don’t think you can go wrong with that. Have people read it and ask for brutally honest feedback. It’s never easy when you write something they don’t like but it’s how you learn. Writing is...constantly learning and evolving in my experience. Keep your sense of humor.

Q - How do you pronounce your name?
A - Lor (rhymes with Door) Ann. My last name is pronounced Dough - Ner.  I’ll answer to about anything that sounds close.


Q - What’s the hardest thing about writing and how do you handle it?
A - Wow. That’s a tough one. Really. I love what I do. You want an answer though so...bad reviews make you wince or if they are super brutal...give you the urge to go curl up to have a good cry. You have to grow a thicker skin or toss in the towel. In the end, I write the stories that come to me and that won’t leave me alone until they are finished. I do my best and that’s all anyone can do. I remember I’m human.


Q - What does my family and friends think about my writing erotic romances?
A - I’m happy to say they are really supportive. I’ve always been a really upfront type of person so I didn’t hide it or drop hints. I just put it right out there. They always knew I really loved books and was an avid reader. I had an adult library card when I was young because I blew through the entire child section about the time I hit nine years old. I think the most surprising thing to them is that I don’t write horror or murder mystery novels since that is mostly what used to read.


Q - Do you ever run out of ideas for books?
A - I wish. No, I don’t. I have a hyperactive imagination. I was always a daydreamer. I get plot/storylines hitting me so fast and so often that it’s scary. I once tried to write out possible storylines for books I considered writing but stopped when I realized I had over 400 of them sitting on my hard drive within that year. That’s normal for me. They never stop coming.


Q - Are you really a team of authors?
A - That one always makes me laugh. No. I wish I could clone myself. Wouldn’t that be cool??? I’m just one person who puts in a lot of hours. I have an obsessive personality when it comes to writing because I really do love doing it. All the books published with my name on them are books I actually wrote. I can understand though how some might wonder. I wrote 54 books before I was published. A few of them are older books that I updated and have put out since then. The first seven New Species books are an example. Perspectives and ‘voices’ change as you age. Some of the younger me shines through in some books. I also like to write different stuff. It is fun and I like to stretch my imagination - kind of push myself to do new things. I’m also always learning and evolving my writing. Ral’s Woman as an example was written in early 2009. Shadow was written in 2012. There’s a big difference in the writing style. I learned to express myself better and write smoother these days. Huge Kudos to editors who point out mistakes so authors learn from them.
 
Okay, I think this blog is longer than I anticipated so I’ll answer more of the questions at another time. I will post as soon as Moon gets a release date.
 
Have a great week!
 
Laurann