Good morning everyone! As you all know, we’ve been having a lot of fund introducing a variety of authors to you, along with prizes for our contests. Well, this week is no different. However, there will be a slight addition being added to the mix. This whole week, we are focusing on the theme of Erotic Romance. As you all know, Ellora’s Cave is one of the top and first publishing company to publish erotic romance in this industry. Some of our steamiest, erotic novels and authors that we adore are writing with EC. For instant, Lora Leigh, Joey W Hill, Mari Carr, Lexxie Couper, Bianca D’arc, Angela Knight, and many more.
With that being said, it is our pleasure to present to you, three of EC most dedicated authors and loyal supporters of BBL, authors Brindle Chase, Desiree Holt, and Paige Tyler. We will feature each author with Interview and Live Chats so that our readers can get into their heads. Wouldn’t you want to know what make them blush? Where they get the ideas for all the HOT intimate scenes? And if they practice what they preach? *laughs*
So, without further adieu, let’s bring out our first guest this week, author Brindle Chase. Upon seeing the name, some of you might wonder if this is a male or female author. Well ladies, look no further, Mr. Romance is here. As a male author, Brindle is very dedicated to his writing and would love to be on the USA or NYT Bestselling list among other amazing authors. He is a hopeless romantic, knows his way around a woman’s heart, very passionate, funny, notoriously flirtatious (com’on, he’s a guy who writes hot romance, what do you expect?), and his books are erotically hot (we’ve blushed on many occasions).
Ladies, fasten your seatbelt as this will be a wild ride *grinning at everyone*
BBL: Well, good morning handsome. Thanks for coming by today
BC: *Waving to the readers and flashing a big grin* Hi guys, thanks for inviting me.
BBL: *Whispering to the crowd* This man is the image of Fabio except, he looks much better and have better hair.
So Brindle, I know you recently have a new release at EC, can you tell us a little about it?
BC: Sure. It’s called Lover Unexpected. It’s available on both Amazon and B&N, and obviously also at Ellora’s Cave. It’s a contemporary erotic romance. It’s also about 2 people meeting each other under pretense at a masquerade ball, and of course, the case of mistaken identity will also play a big part in that.
BBL: When did you start writing and what was the first thing you wrote?
BC: I started 5 years ago. My 1st book I shelved. It’s a paranormal suspense. I was too fresh to writing and needed to learn much more before I return to attempt to get it published. I love the story though and I will rewrite it someday
BBL: Where do you get your ideas on what you write?
BC: I have a little hussy for a muse and she feeds me all these ideas. She pipes them directly into my brain and she is relentless. I have more plots for books than I could possibly ever write! And she is all over the board. She has sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal, contemporary, historical, regency and even YA plots all ready for me. She loves all kinds of books. I often think of my muse as Tinkerbell… she is feisty and very demanding.
BBL: How does it feel to be a male romance author and do you feel competitive toward the female authors?
BC: Lonely! *lol* I can’t tell you how many times I get told “Men can’t write romance”. But it’s almost always after they find out I’m male. Once I was in a reader’s forum and as an author, I lurked. Most reader groups online don’t want to hear from authors. Anyway, they were discussing one of my books, and all of them were raving how much they liked it. The forum leader invited me to come peek in, so I did and felt moved to thank them for all the kind words about my book. One of the readers checked my profile, noticed I was male and then flipped out, went to the book and gave it a one star and left some comment about how it was obviously written by a man and how horribly male centric it was. Despite that she had made several glowing comments about the prose, the romance and the characters, even mentioning how the author truly understood the female POV, all mentioned prior to discovering my gender. Hehehe… It was also a lesson in WHY authors should avoid book and reader forums. You can’t win. I was smart enough to leave my thanks as is and vacate the impending argument it had provoked in that reader.
As for feeling competitive with my female peers? Not at all. I don’t see it as a competition. Most of them are very accepting of me. I just love writing and I’m thrilled to be able to
BBL: Have you ever been so engrossed in writing a book that you have gone out in public wearing your PJs?
BC: *lol* No. But it would be possible. I read on the bus on my way to work, so I’m already up, awake and dressed. The last book that totally sucked me in, enough that I might forget to get dressed, was The Hunger Games. Really, really loved that book!
BBL: Can you tell us about any challenges you met getting your first book published?
BC: It’s much harder than most think. Everyone’s says “I should write a book” and many do and then wonder why they can’t get a publisher to run with it. I was like that. My first book, I sent out to agents everywhere. I received 60 rejections. Now, instead of selecting one of the two most common responses from would be authors (1. I can’t believe they don’t see the brilliance of my writing. Clearly these industry experts know nothing about good writing… or 2. Ohmigod, I suck. I should just give up any notion of becoming a writer.)… I chose to learn more about the craft. Clearly, I was doing something wrong and yet, I knew I had a good story. So I sought out author/writing forums on the web and learned. And learned and learned and learned. My next book, Lilith: Gothic City Lights, took a year to write 13 different versions until I had the one that sold. Even now, I read back on it and can see how much I’ve improved since then. The worst mistake an author can make is to not take rejection as a clue to where your writing needs improvement. Someone famous, and I can’t remember who, said the difference between a published author and an unpublished author, was perseverance.
BBL: What has been the toughest criticism/best compliment given to you as an author?
BC: I still struggle with romance, but it’s my erotica that seems to draw the most criticisms and mostly that its written by a man. I can live with that. When I write erotica, I don’t focus on female readers like I do with erotic romance. I try to write stories that my muse will approve of and that both male and female readers will enjoy. There are sexists on both sides of the coin, who get upset when someone writes for one or the other. I write for fun. The best compliments I get are along the lines that they can’t believe I write the female POV so genuinely. For a male author of romance, there is no higher compliment. When I get comments like that, it makes my week!
BBL: We all know that erotic romance is on the rise due to the explicit content, do you have any personal quirks that help you write the intimate scenes?
BC: My muse is a pervy little vixen and she plants a visual in my head. I have to sort of screenplay it in my head before I can write it. I think any writer who has written a sex scene can tell you it’s far too easy to get your body parts tangled and mixed up if you aren’t careful. Now that sounds like fun, but it’s a headache for the author. Visualizing it, helps to make sure your characters aren’t frightfully flexible or have grown additional limbs! Visualizing also helps maintain intensity and intimacy.
BBL: As an erotica author, what is your least/most favorite moments in the books?
BC: Erotica is a bit different from erotic romance, particularly that there is no romance to the plot. There are other genre specifics that separate the two, but that is the big one. I think it’s that element I like least in erotica. The emotional connection is often lacking or non-existent between the main characters. Love is such a powerful emotion, that romance takes erotica to a whole new plateau, in my opinion. Now, there’s nothing wrong with erotica. I love it, read it, and write it. My most favorite part of an erotica is that initial contact. Whatever has lead to their sexual arousal, it’s that first touch, first kiss, the moment of truth and then… fireworks!
BBL: Have you ever written a book that even you’d blushed a little bit?
BC: I think they all make me blush a little. I think my erotica short story, Sometimes You Just Want to F*ck made me blush a little more than others. It’s pretty risqué
BBL: What’s your favorite positions?
BC: I have to pick just one? Sheesh… hmmmm, I suppose if I had to pick one, I’d say spooning. It allows for a lot of touching and caressing, while still maintaining deep penetration. Damn…
BBL: *laughs* Okay sweetcheeks, go for it. Give us another one to satisfy our curiosity.
BC: Ok, you know I write erottic romance, so you asked at your own risk, my dear! *grinning toward all the ladies* It would be missionary. I like to be able to watch her face through her climaxes. I like the feel of her legs wrapped around me, clinging, pulling me in deeper, harder. And lastly, when she’s on top of me. This one lets her have control. She can go crazy on me and it's all good for me. *laughs shyly*
BBL: Strawberries or ice?
BC: Yes! If we’re gonna have fun, then both please! *blushed blissfully*
BBL: Body shots or straight from the glass?
BC: Definitely prefer from her body. I’m not big on straight shots, but a body shot makes it fun! I skip the salt though and just lick :D
BBL: *Laughs* You definitely live up to your reputation, such a wicked man. But that’s all the time we have today guys, and as you can see, we had lots of fun interviewing Mr. Romance himself. But before we go, Brindle, are there anything you’d like to say to our readers?
BC: Buy my books! *lol* Kidding, seriously though, thank you all. When I get my royalty reports, I don’t stress on how small they are… no, I’m humbled anyone would want to read my books. I love to write. There is little else I’d rather do in life and I am honored that not only can I find time to write, but that it’s at least half decent enough to get published and that readers enjoy it! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
*** Well, there you have it world. The man has spoken and we hope you enjoy our interview. As always, we love giveaway so besure to participate in our contest for a copy of Brindle’s latest release, Love Unexpected. Two (2) winners will be chosen so be sure to ask questions, or comment below to qualify. Reader’s choice at either online stores. Must be a FOLLOWER, US residents ONLY, and must LEAVE YOUR EMAIL to enter this giveaway. ***