Thursday, October 22, 2009

An Interview With Celia Jade


Please join me in welcoming the awesome Celia Jade. Welcome, Celia!

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

I realized I wanted to become a writer in my late teens. At some point, I got hooked on Harlequins, and fell in love with romance and the sexy male characters in the stories. After that, the idea of writing romance professionally became a serious interest.

What has been your biggest influence on becoming a writer?

The desire to write comes from my love of reading all kinds of books. There are a couple of other things that have been an influence—I studied English literature at university, and I’ve got some creative genes from my mom.

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

I was elated, excited, nervous, and proud. My hard work had paid off. My first contract was with eXtasy books, and I’m still with them.

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

I’ve got eight books with eXtasy, including a story in the Emerald Envisage anthology, and one with Eternal Press. My medieval romance, Captured, was published in August of 2006, and started selling right away.

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

The Greek Tycoon. It’s the second book in a series called Greek Playboys. As the name implies, the stories revolve around Heroes who enjoy the finer pleasures in life, including women, but don’t want to settle down with a wife. Unfortunately for them, the Heroines they meet are not the kind of women who settle for less. Set in the rugged beauty of the Greek landscape, these stories are both romantic and erotic. These books can be read alone.

What was your inspiration for this book?

Being of Greek parents, and having traveled to Greece numerous times, the culture and the people have sort of rubbed off on me. As the prologue in the books says; Greece is a romance of the senses. I speak the language too, which helps with authentic dialogue. It’s always easier to write about something you’ve experienced. Mind you, I haven’t exactly been swept off my feet by a gorgeous Greek playboy yet.

The Drakhom Taboo III is scheduled for November 15th. It is part of a series and these books are best read consecutively to appreciate the development of the characters. The stories are my raciest in terms of intimate scenes. They feature bold, strong characters and are set in Manhattan. The Drakhom are a species of half-human, half-vampire, with exotic sexual appetites. This series has become quite popular.

How do you categorize yourself: pantser or plotter?

Well, I’m both, but I tend to be a ‘plotter’ in general, especially for long stories.

How do you handle the editing/revision process?

The editing process simply comes with the territory. I always give my work a good polishing before submitting it to the publisher. I’m lucky to have at least two amazing editors I work with, who help with the whole process.

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

I always appreciate a great review, and I like to tell everyone about it! Lol. Any positive review reassures me that I’m writing well, that a complete stranger has read my book and enjoyed it. It’s also good publicity.

Did anything odd happen while you were researching this story?

Do you mean my latest book? Not really. Most of the research came from online and travel book sources, and a couple of phone calls. But, what was interesting was all the information I learned about yachts and privately owned islands.

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?

Ideas for stories often come to me in dreams, or at times, they are triggered by a single object or a word I come across. Sometimes, the entire idea for the story flashes like a movie before me. Other times, it has a good beginning, and the pieces sort of fall into place as I work on it.

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

The real me is a simple person with a few idiosyncrasies. I love nature, traveling, dining out, desserts—especially chocolate—the theatre, classical music, and comedy. I love anything romantic and adventurous. The occasional adrenaline rush is welcome. For example, I’ll go to the track for several of laps of go-karting, and I want to take kayaking lessons. As for dark secrets...sure I do have a few although I don’t think they’re dark. I suppose I should still keep them secret not to shock anyone.

Where are you going from here?

I plan to get certain future stories into print. It’s a slightly different medium than online publishing, so some adjustments need to be made, but I’m excited about it.

Are love scenes difficult or easy for you to write? Why?

Love scenes can be challenging. This is because you have to suit the scene to the characters, the genre, the heat level and the period. You also want to avoid using the same words or phrases to describe something, and you have to make each intimate encounter unique. I’ve created a huge vocabulary list I like using for love scenes, and I regularly play with words to come up with new descriptions. I like to fix the mood when writing—dim lights, scented candle, a glass of wine. One good thing about erotic romance, is that very little is taboo, which gives me the freedom to write explicit sexual scenes.

What’s the easiest book you’ve ever written? The hardest? The most fun?

I can’t say that any book I’ve written was the easiest, simply because a lot of research, time and effort go into each one. Certain scenes come naturally, however, and sort of write themselves. This tends to happen with dialogue for me. I fall in love with all of my Heroes and Heroines, although I have a soft spot for the devilish Drakhom men—which I honestly wished existed—and the sexy, golden-skinned Greek playboys.

My website: http://www.celiajade.wordpress.com/

My yahoo group, which has many members: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celiajade/

To subscribe to the group: celiajade-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/CeliaJade

Celia’s Bio: I’ve been in love with writing and reading since I was a young girl. When I started writing as a hobby I tossed out many stories because I felt they weren’t good enough…yes, I am my toughest critic.

Over the years, I kept writing and reading all kinds of fiction so I could cultivate my gift. Finally, my efforts blossomed and I was getting published at local newspapers, magazines and book publishers. Presently, I have several novels out at eXtasy books and more on the way–including a brand new release at Eternal Press. My genres of preference are fantasy, paranormal, historical and contemporary erotic romance. Erotic romance is very sensual, explicit romance.

I enjoy traveling and I’ve lived in Europe, New York and Toronto…finally settling down in my hometown, Montreal where I tend to lose myself amidst books, sheets of paper and my laptop.

Likes: Writing, traveling, books, comedies, nature, animals–especially the big cats and the domestics, candles, chocolate cheesecake and spending time with loved ones.

Quirks: My occasional impatience, moodiness and dry humor. (Hey, I’m a writer.)

Peeves: Bad drivers, inconsiderate people, getting rinsed with cool water at the hair salon.

Books I loved reading (in no particular order): Can you Keep a Secret?; jemima j; Sleepless at Midnight; Good in Bed; A Restless Knight; Taken by the Wind; Highlander Unchained; The English Assassin; The Picture of Dorian Gray; The Importance of Being Earnest to name but a few.

[Publisher’s Bio] Celia Jade lives in Montreal and loves her wonderful family, outdoor cafés, gardening, animals and just about anything chocolate. She feels blessed with a passion for literature and has been reading and writing for years. Every book she writes turns a new page in the story of her life, doing what she most enjoys.

Thank you, Lynn, for this wonderful opportunity!

You are so welcome, Celia. I really enjoyed it!

Thanks for being a part of my 2 for Thursday promotion!

Lynn

6 comments:

  1. I'm really eager to try our Celia's stories. I am so glad to add another Canadian author to read to my TBR pile.

    Happy Reading!!!
    Anna Shah Hoque
    s7anna@yahoo.ca

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  2. Hello everyone! I'd like to once again thank Lynn for having me. I really enjoyed answering her questions.

    I'll be dropping in from time to time today to chat...don't be shy as I'm giving away a prize copy of The Drakhom Taboo.

    PS. Hello and thanks to my fellow Canadian, Anna!

    Cheers,
    Celia Jade

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  3. I really enjoyed the interview. I always learn all different kinds of things from all the authors!! Great cover and great books!!

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  4. Thanks Judy!

    I'd like to know what kind of books you really want to see more of--like type of genre or plots.

    Celia

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  5. What a great interview; I enjoyed reading it. I look forward in reading Celia's works.

    Thanks,
    Tracey D

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  6. awesome interview ty lynn for having great authors some ive never heard of others i have but wonderful post ty ad Celia I haventhad the pleasure yet but deff adding you to my to be read list

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