Thursday, December 17, 2009

An Interview with Angela Caperton

I’m here today with the wonderful Angela Caperton. I’ve known Angela through our publisher, eXtasy Books and the writer’s group, EPIC. Please help me in welcoming her to XtraOrdinary Romance. Welcome, Angela!


At what age did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve been writing stories since I was about 8 years old. Of course, in those early days, the stories were about my deepest, truest love in the entire world - horses!

What has been your biggest influence on becoming a writer?

Wow..biggest? Probably my early years growing up on a sailboat. When we were sailing between ports, there’s plenty of time to read and dream. I quickly became enamored with words and worlds of my own making.

How did you feel when you got your first publishing contract?

What? You didn’t hear the shriek of euphoric joy? Seriously, I was ecstatic. I had been writing stories for years, had even had the courage to submit a few to publications, but had never managed to get that final stamp of approval. The fact that I tend to write unconventional stories made my first contract (for my erotic historical Inspiration from eXtasy Books) sweet indeed.

How many novellas/novels have you published to date? When did you have your first sale?

I currently have one novel – my Eppie winner, Woman of the Mountain - and three novellas available, and many short stories in various erotica anthologies. My first sale was Inspiration in 2006.

Tell me about your latest release. Please include if it is part of a series or a standalone book. OR Tell me about your upcoming release. Please include if it is part of a series or a standalone book.

My latest release is my paranormal romance Green Flash (buy link: http://tinyurl.com/yeyb98o) from eXtasy Books. Green Flash is a stand alone story, although I have been poked at to do a sequel. We’ll see if Claire has more adventures she wants me to share!

What was your inspiration for this book?

The green flash is a visual phenomena sometimes observed at sunset over open water when the horizon is clear. I watched many sunsets when I lived on the boat and saw one very small green flash. It has stayed with me all this time. The memory of the thrill of seeing that small green aura on the horizon gave birth to Green Flash.

How do you categorize yourself: pantser or plotter?

Hmm… I think I’m the illicit love child of a Pantser clan chief and Empress Plotter. It’s been a tough road trying to bridge the differences... Seriously, it really depends on the story. I am probably more a plotter, but some stories seem to breathe on their own and no outline, no jotted notes are needed to produce results. A good example is “Timbre” in Best Women’s Erotica 2010. That story literally flew from my brain onto the screen in record time and without a conscious path of where the story was going. I’m VERY proud of that story.

How do you handle the editing/revision process?

I’ve learned from experience that a writer can indeed edit a story to death. I have nearly 100K words of a fantasy series in my files, but having edited, re-written and revised over and over again, I can hardly stand to look at it. What’s terrible is that I think it’s a good story. Maybe someday I’ll find the original vision and try again.

Now, when I write the story, I give it a rest for a couple days (deadline permitting!), then go back through it again, reading it very carefully to try and catch errors. I am lucky too, that I have another set of eyes – my partner Drake. His eagle eyes have been invaluable.

You’re received some fantastic reviews...how do you feel about them and why?

Like just about all authors, I love great reviews! I’ve gotten a few, and they definitely make my day, and I am quite pleased to shout about them all over the net! Why not? What author doesn’t like to hear that her work is liked and that it has struck a chord with at least one reader? I think good reviews provide energy to a writer, and even reviews that aren’t so great can provide insight and serve to remind us that writing and reading preferences are diamonds – full of facets, flashes of light, and sultry shadows to make up the spectrum.

Did anything odd happen while you were researching this story?

Not necessarily odd, but educational and entertaining! Claire, the heroine of Green Flash, is a sexton of a historical cemetery in Florida. I learned so much about sextons and cemeteries in my research. Most of the information was factual and interesting, but a few of the sites I visited were filled with great spooky stories!

How much of yourself can we find in one of these books? Do you ever make yourself a character?

I think there are definitely elements of me in all my books. I drew on my early life living on a boat in “Timbre” and my years on the boat also provided the inspiration for Green Flash. There are definitely other elements of myself in various characters in my stories, but I tend to draw more from my life experiences than from my personality.

How do you get your ideas for your stories? Do they come all at one or in bits and pieces over a period of time?

They pretty much come all at once and then evolve. For example, “Calendar Girl,” my story in the anthology Peep Show, came to me all at once but the ending changed as I wrote. Really depends on the idea and how complex the story is.

If you could time travel, where would you go?

Okay, I could say Berlin 1928 to see life in the most decadent modern city or 1860 at Red House, to dine with Willie Morris and Jane, and hope to meet that fascinating Dante Rossetti, but no. I’m easy. Give me the late Cretaceous Period and a couple of hours to watch a Tyrannosaurus and I’d be happy.

If you could spend the day with anyone in the world who is famous, who would it be? Why did you choose them and what would you do?

Tough one. Someone smart and funny. Maybe Guillermo del Toro, the film director. He seems like very amusing company from the interviews I’ve read with him and I could tell him how much I’ve loved his movies.

Share a little bit of the ‘real’ you with our readers. What do you do besides writing? Any hobbies? Dark secrets?

I don’t know if you can say this here… I…crochet. Yes, it’s true. I take yarn and turn it into blankets! Don’t tell. It could shatter illusions. I also love to watch all kinds of movies, read, listen to music and I enjoy art of all kinds.

Where can readers find out more about you and your work?

Fans can find me at:

My blog (best source for up-to-date information): http://blog.angelacaperton.com

My Web Page: http://www.angelacaperton.com

Twitter: @AngelaCaperton (https://twitter.com/AngelaCaperton)

My Space: http://www.myspace.com/angelacaperton

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Angela-Caperton/100000314757856

Coffeetime Romance Forum: http://coffeetimeromance.com/board/forumdisplay.php?f=269

Angela’s BIO:

Born in Virginia and raised on a sailboat, Angela Caperton has spent extended periods of her life traveling and living abroad. Her travels have given her an appreciation of the world in all its forms and she is always on the lookout for the next adventure. Her eclectic erotica spans many genres to include romance, horror, fantasy, science fiction, contemporary, hard-edged noir, whimsical and what she calls contemporary-with-a-twist. Her erotic fantasy Woman of the Mountain won the 2008 Eppie for Best Erotica. Look for her stories published with Cleis, Circlet Press, Drollerie Press, eXtasy Books, and in the indie magazine Out of the Gutter.

Thanks, Angela, for taking part in my 2 for Thursday promotion. I really enjoyed it!

Lynn







6 comments:

  1. I enjoyed the post.

    I look forward in reading Angela's works.

    Thanks,
    Tracey D
    booklover0226 AT gmail DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Angela,
    I'm not familiar with your work but I'm excited to discover someone new to read. YAY! :) Green Flash is going on my wish list.

    Happy Holidays
    Anna Shah Hoque
    s7anna@yahoo.ca

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tracey and Anna,

    Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the interview, and I hope you do indeed enjoy reading my stories!

    If you're interested in a cheeky Christmas poem, you can read mine, "A Gift for Santa" on my blog now!

    Have a great holiday season.

    Angela

    ReplyDelete
  4. That was a lovely interview. Read "A Gift for Santa" - naughty but nice! Would love to be Santa's gift!
    Happy holidays!
    tamsyn5@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. The Interview Was Great. I Really Enjoyed It. Green Flash Sounds Like A Really Good Read.

    skyla11377(At)AOL(Dot)Com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Angela I second that its amazing how many authors lynn posts that i never heard of that after reading their excerpts and ineterview i have wanted to read and have read so ty for stoping in

    ReplyDelete