Interview with Blogger & Reviewer Stella Ex Libris, part 1

As part of Armchair BEA's events this week, and to help participants become acquainted, we were offered the opportunity to interview a fellow participant. I had to laugh when I received the email telling me that I'd been paired with Stella - we work together on a group blog, Book Lovers Inc. Despite that, I didn't really know a lot about her. So, I visited her blog and spent some time poking around, getting a feel for her and coming up with questions. As those of you who come around often know, I tend to ask a LOT of questions. :D Stella patiently answered them all, even the ones I marked as optional. As a result, it's a long interview, so I've broken it up into two parts - this first part focuses on Stella the blogger, while part two focuses on Stella the person. Some of the questions fit into either category so I used my judgment. Stella reviews book at her blog, Ex Libris; you can also find her at Book Lovers Inc as The Latin Lover.

Bea:  Hi Stella, thanks for taking the time to do this. You participated in last year’s Armchair BEA also, right? What brought you back, why take time out of your busy schedule to do this?

STELLA:  As I live outside the US I can’t attend BEA. About this time last year I kept seeing all the posts buzzing with excitement of all those lucky bloggers who were attending BEA, all the preparations, joy at meeting each other face to face and of course all the great books they got, I was sad I had to miss out. So when I heard that some enthusiastic bloggers started a virtual version I wanted to participate to share the fun! 

Bea: What made you want to start blogging?

STELLA: My assistant  at work told me about cooking blogs and after a few days I wondered if there were blogs where people talked about books. Oh, I had no idea!  So I googled it and happened upon tons of book blogs! I debated for about 1 week whether to create one of my own, whether I would have the time and whether I could contribute anything besides so many great blogs, but I wanted so much to talk about books I have read, that I thought, what the hell, I’ll start and we’ll see. And it has been almost 1.5 years since then.

Bea: What is your favorite thing about being a book blogger?

STELLA: The community! The wonderful blogger friends I have made. That I met so many wonderful authors! I never would have thought they were so friendly and approachable! And of course NetGalley is also in my top 10 reasons ;-) lol (Bea here - I agree about NetGalley, so helpful and awesome)

Bea: What is the significance of your blog name, Ex Libris? Why did you choose it?

STELLA: I have always loved Latin. Learned it in high school and liked Latin aphorisms ever since. Choosing a name for my blog was one of the hardest things when I started. I pondered for days and days and then Ex Libris just popped into my head and it was perfect. It sounds classy, chic, smart and unique (at least I think so) ;-) It literally means “from the books”. It was used to say when something was quoted from a book, or to mean that a book was the possession of someone/was from the library of someone. But in respect of my blog I gave it another meaning: when I’m reading I’m completely immersed in the story, I’m in my own bubble where the characters and setting step out “from the books”.

Bea: Have you ever read a book that you just hated? What did you hate about it?

STELLA: Oh yep, had a few of those, especially this last year. I hate it when the author thinks the reader is stupid and breaks down everything and becomes didactic repeating things over and over and especially telling the reader how to feel and what to think. Great authors show us the way and readers decide whether to go along or not. I hate it when there are big inconsistencies in the story, and I’m not talking about a character first having brown then later blue eyes, though that can be jarring, what I hate are holes in characterizations: if a heroine is made out to be someway and then she says or does something completely out of character and in sharp contrast with everything she was before. 

Bea: You read a lot of genres, is there anything that you won’t read?

STELLA: Hm.. let me think, before I started blogging I even read a couple of memoirs (though interesting ones, of former Geisha for example), but no self-help books I would say. But reading and reviewing are different. I wouldn’t review memoirs, self-help books, political or religious books.

Bea: Do you have certain types of books that you only read before bed, or a book that is only for when you are out and about or anything like that? Or do you just sit down to read and pick a random book from your reading pile?

STELLA: No, I don’t have different books for different locations. I usually read the same book on the bus, in my lunch break (if I’m not meeting with friends or colleagues) and in bed until I have finished it. But I tend to read several books at the same time (about 3 books simultaneously). However there was one horror I had to review, and though I’m not one to easily scared as I was alone at that time, I didn’t read it at night in the dark, didn’t want any strange noise to give me a heart attack. (oh and of course I only read erotica novels at home, wouldn’t be able to get into the story on the bus or anywhere public *blushes*)

Bea: How many books do you read in a typical month?  

STELLA: About 13-16. When I started last year I read about 8.

Bea: What is your favorite bookstore (online or brick & mortar)?

STELLA: Online: Book Depository, love that they ship worldwide for free! In my city: love Libri (www.libri.hu) and Alexandra (www.alexandra.hu), especially their reading corners with armchairs and sofas. But lately I don’t go much there since I don’t buy books in Hungarian.


 Ok, that's it for Stella the blogger. Stay tuned for part two, where we learn about Stella the person. :)

Interview with romance author Morgan Ashbury Part 1

Morgan Ashbury is an author of erotic romance. Her first book was published in 2007. In just 4 short years, she has published almost 20 books.  I've known Morgan since before she was published and am delighted that she agreed to an interview. It actually turned into a fairly lengthy interview, I kept thinking of "just one more question!", lol. She graciously put up with all of them. I have broken the interview into two parts to make it a little easier to read. This first part deals mostly with her writing and her books, the second part is more general.

Last week, Morgan's publisher, Siren Publishing, announced that she also writes as Cara Covington, bringing her published works to over 20 books.

This is also the first installment of my year long series of interviews with authors who are also members of Kelley Armstrong's discussion board (though they may have a different name on the board). All of the writers are now, or were in the past, part of the KA board's Online Writers Group. That group has been remarkably successful at getting published.

A little bit about Morgan, from her website : 


The only dream I've ever had was to be a published author. It was a dream formed in childhood, and held on to through the business of growing up. Life intruded, as life does, and my dream was put on hold. But now, through hard work, faith, and luck dream has evolved into reality.

Romance is a wonderful genre that accommodates every other. Comedy, mystery, paranormal, suspense, or science fiction, romance embraces them all. Erotic romance gives all of that, and so much more.

For readers who want all the best traditional romance has to offer – great characters, compelling stories and a happy ending – and who crave that extra bit of heat – I invite you to read one of my novels and let me know what you think!

Morgan can also be found on facebook, twitter, and at  goodreads.


Bea: Morgan, thank you so much for being here today, I really appreciate it.

Morgan: Thank you so much for this opportunity!

Bea: Why writing? Would you continue to write if you were no longer published?

Morgan: I think it’s a case that writing chose me, rather than the other way around. I don’t believe it was ever a conscious decision on my part, as I wrote my first story when I was 8.  Would I continue if I was no longer published? Of course. Being an author isn’t what I do, it’s who I am. 

Bea: What is your favorite part of writing?

Morgan: There comes a moment, as you’re progressing through the steps of writing when everything gels. The characters step up to the plate, take over, and the story begins to grow, almost on its own. When that happens it’s absolute magic, and makes everything that might be difficult about this calling worth it.

 Bea: What advice would you give writers who aspire to get published? What is your least favorite part of the whole writing and publishing process eg edits, pr, interviews <big evil grin>, etc?  What is your favorite part? 

Morgan: I am one of those strange creatures who likes every aspect of this process. I can even put on my promoter’s hat when I have to—as so many of your readers who’ve met me at the RT Booklovers’ Convention will know. There isn’t anything about the writing process I don’t like.

My biggest piece of advice to anyone who wants to be a published author is…write. Write every day, at least something. Write and write and write some more. And one more thing. Don’t you ever, ever quit.

Bea: Why erotic romance? What do you like about it? Any plans to write in other genres? What do you say to people who look down erotic romance?    

Morgan:  I love romance. The main thing I love about it is you can find any other genre within its pages; also, romance, with its emphasis on the happy-ever-after, is a reading experience that uplifts. The author of romance can unashamedly portray the human character as very human, and as striving toward the ideals of love, honor, fidelity…the list goes on. Erotic romance just allows me to tell the whole story.

I do, of course, hope to continue to grow as an author; and so I look down the road, and hope to become published in mainstream romantic suspense and mainstream fiction.

As to those who look down on erotic romance, I just shrug. Did you know there are people who look down on all genre fiction as being “transitory” or “trashy”? To them, only literary fiction is worth reading.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. You can’t generally change people’s minds: they have to do that themselves.

My stories are well written, have depth of character, and I have a lot of readers – I can honestly say thousands of readers. I write for them.

Bea: Your first books were straight up romances with an erotic component. You've also done some with fantastic or magical components. You have slowly moved into romance stories that are more erotic, exploring other areas of sexuality including multiple partners and BDSM. What prompted the change?  

Morgan: In the beginning, I wrote romance. Then I wrote erotic romance with one hero and one heroine.

One cardinal rule for every published author is: know who your readers are. The second rule would be: give your readers what they want.

So to answer your question, I adapted my writing to meet the demands of my readers.

Bea: Your novel, "Shackled", came out in January, part of your BDSM series. Did you do much research for it? <grin> (see my review)

Morgan: Mr. Ashbury is always a willing and eager research partner. And, too, the Internet allows one to travel unknown worlds from the safety of an office chair. <grin>

 

Bea: Can you tell us something about your next book? 

Morgan: I do plan to do another story in the “Reckless Abandon” universe. And, I am currently working on “Love Under Two Fly Boys”, which will be the fourth book in the Lusty, Texas series. That series grew, by the way, out of the only two historical books I’ve ever written – the Lost collection books called Love Under Two Gunslingers, and Love Under Two Lawmen.

Ok, I'll end here and post the rest tomorrow.