Friday, August 22, 2014

My Interview with Author Audrey Carlan

The beautiful Audrey Carlan


Blog Tour is run by DRC Promotions
August 25-29

In honor of my blog tour, I've made Angel Falling the first in my erotic series available for 99 pennies!  

Sassy: What got you into writing / what made you sit down and actually start something?

Audrey: I used to write fanfiction years ago and have always had a love of writing. Believe it or not though, reading the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy is what set me on my path to writing the Falling Series. I was enthralled with the love story and the back story about the author EL James. She was and is just a mother who loves to write, works her day job and is filled with amazing love stories running around in her head. It resonated with me and I thought to myself, “Why the hell am I sitting on my haunches letting my love of the written word escape me?” After reading that trilogy twice, I sat down and wrote my first novel.

Sassy: Are you a planner/plotter when it comes to writing a story?

Audrey: I’m a pantser. I don’t really plot much of anything. Usually I just note important facets like age, character qualities I want to ensure are noted and any tidbits I don’t want to forget. Sassy: What has been your highlight since becoming a published author? Audrey: Finding out my novels were in a few different libraries. Some of my fans requested my work be in their local library and then took pictures of them and sent them to me. That probably floored me and gave me a sense of pride I relish to this day.


 Sassy: What do you do in your spare time?

Audrey: I have two little boys and a hunky husband so spending time with them is a must. I also enjoy sharing a glass of vino with my soul sisters. You’ll meet them in my upcoming Trinity Trilogy. I’ve added facets of each of them and based a character off all three of them.

 Sassy: Do you get writers block? If so, how do you overcome it?

 Audrey: Writers block is such a pain in the arse! It’s not as if I get blocked as much as it is a sense of lethargy about writing. The lack of interest in the story that plagues you until you have that “Eureka!” moment. I’m a voracious reader. At least 3 to 5 books a week. Reading other peoples wonderful stories tends to get my juices flowing. It’s like feeding the muse.

 Sassy: Can you share a little of your most recent book or series with us?

 Audrey: Here’s a snippet from Justice Falling (Book 3 in the Falling Series) With a flourish, he tugged the end of my dress and whipped it over my head. The green fabric floated delicately to the floor. He took a step back, his gaze roaming over every inch of my skin. “Camille, Christ. I had no idea...” His words were lost as he inhaled, his nostrils flaring. Fear consumed me as worry filled the space between us. He stood silently taking in every speck of my bared body. Uncertainty slithered through my mind, not confident he liked what he saw. Every second seemed like an eternity until finally he growled, “You’re so bloody perfect.” Then...he pounced. All the air left my chest as he captured me. A willing participant to his desire, his lust, his everything. Those long fingers slid along the curve of my hip, up each bump in my spine, until lastly he curled a hand in the hair at my nape pulling me closer. I could feel his words against my bottom lip as it trembled. “You’re going to own it,” he whispered a gravelly tone that I felt pierce my heart. “Own what?” I closed my eyes, preferring to let his voice set the mood. “Everything, anything.” His words spun through my mind like a merry-go-round, delightful at first, then dizzying. He nipped my lips, sharp little bites expressing his need. His hunger was strong and matched my own. I could feel the current of desire running through him in my fingertips digging into his shoulder blades. “As long as I get it in return,” he finished. I tilted my head back trying to understand and put some space in the haze of need surrounding us. “What do you want?” I asked as he soaked the skin of my neck with shallow kisses, dragging his teeth along the sensitive skin. “Anything...please, Nate,” I begged, not knowing what I was begging for. What I needed. I just needed something and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’d be the one to give it to me. “Anything you want from me...it’s yours.” He growled low in his throat and I knew my words broke through the haze. The corresponding kiss lifted me to the heavens, to where my deepest, darkest dreams lay, waiting for someone to come along and make me believe again. Someone to help make my dreams come true. “I want it all, Precious.” He cupped my neck and used his thumb to bring my chin down so that our gazes locked. “Your body.” I shivered. “Your heart.” I lost the ability to swallow. “Your soul.” I stopped breathing.

 Sassy: What advice would you give for new authors?
 Audrey: Make sure you have a team of people to support you and lift you up. That includes critique partners, beta readers, editors, etc. You want to be cheered on because this is not an easy business to enter. Sassy: What is one thing about yourself you want your readers to know? Audrey: That I’m honest, hard-working, and always hope to give them the best wicked hot love story I can muster

. Sassy: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

 Audrey: Too many good ones to name but I’m definitely influenced by all the great erotic romance writers such as EL James, Sylvia Day, Jess Dee, R.K. Lilley, Jodi Ellen Malpas, Raine Miller, Lexxie Couper and so many others. Sassy: What books have most influenced your life most? Audrey: Besides 50 Shades, I’d have to say that Jess Dee’s Office Affair influenced me the most. After reading that novel I reached out to her and ended up starting up a beautiful friendship. She became my mentor from that point on. I owe so much to her guidance, advice, love and support that I don’t think I’d be where I am today had I not had it.

Sassy: Would you or do you use a PR agency? Why?

 Audrey: Never used one so I can’t really answer either way. I’m just now starting out with Drue’s Random Chatter to run my first blog tour. That’s about as close to PR as I think I’ve gotten. So far I’m incredibly impressed.


 Sassy: What is your favorite positive saying?

 Audrey: Life’s too short to drink bad wine

 Sassy: Do you write full-time or part-time?

 Audrey: Part-time. I have a day job though one day I dream of writing all day every day.

 Sassy: Who designed your book cover/s?

 Audrey: All three of the Falling Series have been done by Valerie Tibbs with Tibbs Design using artwork from The Reed Files. She’s incredibly gifted and knows how to work with an authors vision.

Sassy: Do you think that the cover plays an important part in the buying process?

 Audrey: Absolutely. If a book has a lousy cover I don’t even click through to read the description.

 Sassy: What are your thoughts on good/bad reviews?

 Audrey: Ugh. I’ve been lucky to have very few bad reviews. I think I may have one or two on Goodreads but I haven’t seen anything under three stars on any of my novels on Amazon. Though the first three star review broke me. She commented on my character Hank from my first novel. He has a southern accent and is from deep in the heart of Texas. She didn’t believe Texans had accents. Obviously HER part of Texas lacked accents but I’ve been to the state many times and different locals have different dialects. And to a Californian (which is where I’m from) the Texas accents are decidedly southern. She went on and on about how my characters spoke saying they sounded like idiots but that the story was great. It took at least twenty other good reviews to battle my feelings on that one. Every review is going to affect you one way or another. I just try to not let them hurt me too much. I usually allow myself to be upset for one day and then after that day is over I pull up my boot straps and move on.





 Sassy: What is your biggest pet peeve?

 Audrey: Returned books. Amazon allows a reader to read a book and return it within a certain length of time. I think it’s around 72 hours. I can read a book in half a day so the fact that people read my novel and then return it for their money back saddens me. It’s not the money as much as it’s the feeling I get when I see that I have returns. All of my novels have 15% sample reading available. If a person knows they are going to return a book because they didn't like it, I wish they’d consider reading the samples before purchasing it. It would save me some heartache.

 Sassy: Tell us about your family.

 Audrey: I have two small boys, 7 and 3 and a husband I’ve been with for 17 years and married to for 11 of them. I come from a large Italian family and have three sisters. On top of that I have three best friends that I call my soul sisters. We've been friends for well over a decade and support each other in everything we do.

 Sassy: Does your family support your writing?

 Audrey: Yep. My sisters, soul sisters, and my husband are great supporters of my writing. I’m extremely lucky to have the people I love support me.

Sassy:   What is your favorite recipe? Please include it

Audrey:  . Yeah, I’m not a big cook so most everything I make doesn’t require a recipe.

Website: www.audreycarlan.com Blog: N/A Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAudreyCarlan

Twitter: N/A Pinterest: N/A Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Audrey-
Carlan/e/B00JAVVG8U/ref=sr_tc_2_0? qid=1407695660&sr=1-2-ent Smashwords: Angel Falling;

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/407304 London Falling:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/434976 Justice Falling:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/463174 Book Links: (* American, UK, etc.) Amazon Angel

Falling: http://www.amazon.com/Angel-Falling-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00IBUBJQA/ref=sr_1_1? ie=UTF8&qid=1407695809&sr=8-1&keywords=angel+falling London Falling:

http://www.amazon.com/London-Falling-The-Series-Book-ebook/dp/B00K4JYVM0/ ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t Justice Falling: http://www.amazon.com/Justice-Falling-Book-3-ebook/dp/B00MAN5EJM/ ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1407695993&sr=1-1&keywords=Justice+Falling Barnes and Noble: Angel Falling; http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/angel-falling-audrey-carlan/1118610416? ean=9780991535101 London Falling;

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/london-falling-audrey-carlan/1119430036? ean=9780991535149 Justice Falling: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/justice-falling-audrey-carlan/1120032901?

 ean=2940046083248 Goodreads: Angel Falling: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20749908-angel-falling London Falling: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22012518-london-falling Justice Falling: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22825300-justice-falling? from_search=true

 Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview.

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