#AADNOLA Author Spotlight: Shayla Black!

1. When you decided to become a writer, what made you chose to write Erotica and Romance?

I chose erotic romance because I’d always written steamy, even before erotic romance was in vogue and I loved the genre. More passion, more drama, more of everything I love about a good romance. I don’t like closed doors and fades to black. As a reader, I like to be completely a part of the experience, not left guessing what’s happening between the characters I’ve come to like. If I’ve chosen to invest emotionally in these people, I want to be up to my neck in whatever they’re feeling. To me, this sort of read is very honest and real. In our own lives, we don’t fade to black when we hit the bedroom door.

2. You write Historical, Erotica, and Paranormal, do you ever find that you have trouble with an inspiration?

Actually, I write erotic romance, not erotica. There’s a difference. Erotica is one person’s journey to fulfillment or self-actualization through a sexual exploration, often with multiple and/or random partners. Erotic romance is the story of a developing relationship between two (or more) people that ends with a happily-ever-after. That said, the short answer to your question is no. There’s inspiration everywhere, all around us in everyday life. Music, photos, the news, even people-watching at the mall can provide me a spark of an idea. I’ve written entire books that stemmed from each of these. Life should be inspirational. You just have to look around. If anything, I have way more stories than I actually have time to tell.

3. I noticed that the Doomsday Brethren series is self-published, why did you decide to go that route?

After four books and a novella, I bought my way out of the last contract because I wanted more creative freedom over the series, which included everything from the direction of future stories to the packaging of the books. There were other business reasons, and my time became such that I was unable to write this book last year when I originally intended to. If I’d stayed with my traditional publisher and written the book this spring, It would have pushed the release of Embrace Me At Dawn into 2013. By going independent, I can write the stories in my heart, package them how I believe they should be, and release them almost immediately. For anyone concerned that self-published means poor quality, not for me. I hired two editors and had lots of eyes on the book to make sure the finished product is top notch. The print version was also traditionally typeset. Since Embrace Me At Dawn released, I’ve had the best reviews of the series so far because it’s exactly my vision. So I’m really happy with the decision to publish this book and future installments independently.

4. The last 2 books you wrote so close to deadlines. In fact, I think you finished Embrace Me at Dawn with a just a few days to spare, do you find you write better under pressure?

Not necessarily, no. I just do what needs to be done. My schedule is very tight to start with. So any illness, life issue, or difficulty in getting the story out means my schedule gets somewhere close to impossible. I accept it and live with it. Sometimes, that means I have to change it around to make it work. But I’m always trying to bring fans of each series the next installment as soon as I can without sacrificing quality.

5. What can we look forward to next from you?

I’m currently writing Wicked Lovers #7, OURS TO LOVE, which is Xander’s story. After that, I’ll be writing the next Masters of Ménage book, OUR VIRGIN CONCUBINE, with Lexi Blake, which should be out in August. I’m also working on a new collaboration with two debut authors and I’m having a ball with. Look for a new serialized series titled The Doms of Her Life, coming somewhere around September 1.

6. You collaborate and write a series with Lexi Blake, do you find it harder or easier to write a book with another author and why?

I wouldn’t say either easier or harder, just different. You have to be able to coalesce your ideas together and make something cohesive. Lexi writes with more humor than I do. I’m the drama/angst queen when it comes to story ideas. We decided to tell these sexy, sometimes tongue-in-cheek stories because we were having so much fun simply talking about them. And we’ve found a great way to mesh our styles into something different. The process with Lexi is one we’re quite comfortable with our third book in, and we play off one another well. The collaboration with the other two authors in The Doms of Her Life series is very different, as we’re all sort of championing a character in the story and writing it simultaneously, then blending the best bits. It’s been challenging so far, but a lot of fun.

7. What do you like to read when you’re not writing?

A little bit of everything, but I confess, a lot of erotic romance. I’ve picked up a lot of other things over time. I like my Dan Brown. I’ve loved all the Harry Potter and Twilight books. I enjoyed The Help tremendously. I still read historical romance from time to time with the occasional paranormal. But my heart is with erotic romance. It’s so interesting to me to see what others do with the genre.

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