Interview and Giveaway with Carolyn Rosewood

United By Books is very pleased to have Carolyn Rosewood on the blog today.....I have read and reviewed almost all your books and you have definitely become one of my favorite authors to read.

1~ Can you please share with us a little about yourself?

I’m really just a wife and mom. I work a full time job, I’ve been married to my true-life hero for almost twenty-five years, and we have a daughter in college. When I’m not writing – which is nearly all the time – I enjoy watching movies or reading. Before going to work in corporate America, I worked as a registered nurse for 18 years. I also have a BA in Psychology.

2 ~ Do you have any interesting writing quirks, or things that you must have with you to begin the writing process?

I have to do my character sketches first. Everything from their favorite color to childhood memories. I know what they look like, what their voices sound like, and what their goals are. I don’t feel ready to write them unless I get to know them first, because otherwise how will I know what they’d say or do in any given situation? I’m all about consistency of characters when I write, and in the books I read.

 3~ Can you please tell us a little about book or books?

 

Spanked By An Angel – book 1 of my Notorious Nephilim series, is due out from Siren on June 26th:

 Fleeing memories of her recent divorce and longing for some control over her life, Abigail takes a two-week vacation at an exclusive resort that caters to its guests’ every desire. When she becomes involved with two of the resort’s mysterious sexy owners she doubles her pleasure, but what are they hiding? 

 Zachary Neville and Emmett Fallon are Nephilim who’ve been imprisoned on Earth for 90 years, and unless they fall in love with a mortal woman, they’re destined to live out eternity indulging in their favorite vices with no permanent satisfaction.

 Zach and Emmett helped start Lilith’s Playground during Prohibition as a way to snub those who had a hand in their punishment, but each man longs for true love.

 When they meet and seduce Abigail, hope begins to build. But will she believe their story and accept them on such terms? Or will she be lost to them forever? 

4~ I have to say in your books you write some good sex scenes....how do you get the inspiration for those scenes? 

I have a very fertile imagination. J Seriously, I write them in a way that turns me on, hoping they’ll have the same effect on my readers. Occasionally I cross boundaries that I wouldn’t cross in my personal life, but that feel right for my characters. Sex scenes are my favorite scenes to write. 

5~ What's in store next for your readers?

Book 2 of my Notorious Nephilim series, Seducing the Chambermaid, is set in 1936 and tells the story of the beginnings of Lilith’s Playground, the exclusive resort in Fox Lake Illinois run by twelve Nephilim. The newest chambermaid they’ve hired, Blair Lorring, is caught stealing jewelry from a guest, and Leo and Andras, two of the mysterious owners, make her work off the debt…in their beds.

Books 3 through 6 will take us into the 1940’s and 1950’s, then back to contemporary times for books 5 and 6, as the story of each sexy hero is told.

 6~ How do you describe your writing style?

I’m very into making things real in terms of research and consistency. That’s why I like to get to know my characters first. I don’t want readers thinking: “she’d never say that” or “he’d never do that.” I’m careful to write clean before I submit so my editor doesn’t have too much to do, and I’m a perfectionist, so the story has to make sense to me or I can’t write it. I don’t write for the current “hot” trends, or write something simply because others have had success in selling it. I write what I love, and what I’d love to read. My books contain definite themes that readers will notice, but that’s because I have so many stories running through my head that center around those themes.

 

7~ Is there anything you find particularly challenging about writing?

Yes. See #6 above! It’s challenging to stick to your guns and write what you love, not necessarily what’s “hot” right now. Sometimes you’re considered the odd ball, but one thing no one can ever call me is a hack. 

 

8~ Do you find it hard going between genres , since i know you write Paranormal, Erotica and contemporary?

Not at all. I don’t see them as needing to be separated. Spanked By An Angel, although set in contemporary times, is also paranormal in that both heroes are Nephilim – fallen angels. It’s also erotic as it’s a M/F/M ménage with some serious spanking, anal sex, and light bondage. 

9~ What is the hardest part of writing? What is the best part if it?

The hardest part is finding time! If I didn’t have to work a real job, I might actually have time to write all those stories in my head. The best part is creating characters and having them tell me their story. It’s an amazing experience. Most days I feel as if I’m merely taking dictation from them. They’re creating the story, not me.

10~ What are 3 things that never fail to make you smile?

My daughter’s beautiful face, chocolate, and a feel-good movie.

 

11~ What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

  Read. J And watch movies, and hang out with my hubby.

 

12~ What inspired you to start writing? And how do you come up with your stories?

I’ve been writing since I was eight years old, banging away on my mother’s manual typewriter, well before I actually learned to type. I’d write stories mostly about animals, and I’d make all kinds of spelling and grammar mistakes. The typewriter was eventually replaced with a large notebook full of hand-written stories that I carried around all through junior high and high school. Only my three closest friends ever read the stories. They were mostly on sci-fi and ghost stories, along with ventures into teenage angst.

I read my first romance novel at age 19 – Sweet Savage Love, by Rosemary Rogers, and I was hooked. I knew then that’s what I wanted to write. My stories spring from anything and everything. A building, a photo, a verse from a song, or even something as innocuous as the way the light falls across a sidewalk. The characters start talking in my head, and off it goes.

 

13~ How would you describe yourself in three words?

Intense, driven, loyal

 

14~ Who would you pick between Thor, Ironman , and Captain America?

 

I have to pick just one?

 

15~ Is there anything special you would to say to your readers while we have you here today?

 

Thank you so much for having me here today! I hope my readers will check out the Notorious Nephilim series from Siren. I promise you sexy alpha heroes – two in each book – sassy heroines, and lots of hot sex. Oh, and there’s a story behind it all as well.

**************GIVEAWAY**************

Carolyn has graciously offered up an ecopy of Spanked by an Angel to one lucky winner. Just fill out the rafflecopter below to be entered

a Rafflecopter giveaway