Fangtastic Friday – Interview with Paige Tyler

Posted by Dawn McClure on September 4, 2009 · 18 Comments 

Please welcome Paige Tyler, author of Animal Instinct, Animal Attraction, Modern Day Vampires: Vampire 101, Librarian by Day, Protective Custody and Valuable Cargo.  Animal Attraction was a bestselling, 2009 Eppie Finalist, as well as voted Best Book of 2008 at Whipped Cream, and the sequel, Animal Instinct, is currently a #1 Bestseller at Whiskey Creek Press Torrid.  

ETS – Please tell us a little about yourself.  🙂 

I’m just your average girl who loves reading and writing a good books with steamy, and sometimes a little kinky sex, every once in a while!  That got your attention, huh?!  LOL!  

I’ve loved reading romance books since I was teenager and could never get enough of them – Johanna Lindsey was a personal favorite who really influenced my writing.  Probably because most of the heroes in her books like to put the heroines over their knee for a sound spanking!  

Since I love to read romance books as much as I do, it’s only natural I started writing them.  It took me a little while to find my  voice, which is obvious by the binders I have full of stuff that just didn’t work, but once I did find my voice, the books just started coming!  

In between writing, I love spending time with my hubby and our lazy kitty just hanging out in our cozy home on the coast of Florida and running off to the beach whenever we get the chance. I also like to do Pilates and jog. And watch pro football.  We’re huge football fans!  

ETS – You’re a very prolific author (little jealous here 🙂).  You have pages and pages of books on your website.  What’s your writing process like? 

When I first started out, I used to take a general idea and start writing – you know, totally winging it.  But that didn’t work too well.  I would write for days, then realize I had no idea where I was going.  So I started using an outline instead.  Here’s how my process works: 

The moment I get an idea, no matter how small or insignificant, I write it down on the computer.  These are my “seeds.”  Most of the time, they’re just quick notes, like how two people meet, or even a sexy lovemaking scene.  I give the idea a title, then I leave it.  A seed needs time to grow, you know!  LOL!  Usually one of the seeds will resonate with me for some reason and as I think about it a little more (I do my best thinking in front of the bathroom mirror, while I’m doing make-up), I add a few more details.  I try to have a good chapter by chapter outline in place for the story before I actually start writing.  It helps me build a coherent story and I end up writing a lot faster.  The best thing about this way of writing is that I always have another book to start on.  

ETS – Let’s chat about Animal Instinct.  Tell us what the hero and heroine face in this book…and what’s the heat level?   

Heidi Gibson, the heroine in the book, is an artist taking in the beautiful vistas around Anchorage, Alaska for the summer and getting some great inspiration for her painting.  She’s out hiking and taking some more pictures before heading back home when she’s attacked by a huge wolf. She would have been a goner for sure if hot, hunky wildlife biologist Luke McCall hadn’t come to her rescue and saved her.  Even though she’s in quite a bit of pain, she’s definitely feeling this guy, right up to the moment when he tells her that she’s been bitten by a werewolf and will now turn into one herself during the next full moon! As you can imagine, she can’t get away from him fast enough. 

Turns out that Luke, the hero in the book, knows exactly what he’s talking about because it just so happens that he’s a werewolf himself!  And he knows that the beautiful woman whose life he just saved is going to turn soon.  The only problem is that she was in such a rush to get away from him that he didn’t have a chance to get her name.  So how is he suppose to find her now? 

But finding Heidi turns out to be the easy part.  The hard part is how a lone wolf like Luke is going to deal with falling in love with a gorgeous woman who is only is Alaska for the summer and going to be leaving to go back home any day. Besides that, there is the issue of the werewolf that bite Heidi – was he just looking for a quick snack, or did he have something else in mind? 

As far as the heat level, this story is firmly in the “erotic” line.  

ETS – I absolutely LOVE the cover for both Animal Instinct and Animal Attraction.  Where you involved with the process? 

Yes!  Rika Singh, the very talented artist who does all of my covers at Whiskey Creek Press Torrid is fantastic to work with!  She lets me have a lot of input, but honestly, my biggest input comes in the form of things I don’t like, such as facial hair, curly hair, and computer generated models, which I mention before she even starts each cover.  Other than that, I’m pretty wide open, and I’m happy to say that Rika is batting a thousand – I haven’t had to ask her to change anything.  Her covers always fit the books perfectly!  But to be honest, all she has to do is throw in a great set of abs and I’m pretty much hooked! LOL! 

ETS – Describe the perfect date. 

Well, since I’m such a mushy romantic, I’d have to say that my perfect date would be the first date I had with my hubby. Just a simple dinner with some wonderful conversation, then I enticed him inside with an offer of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and milk (the way to a man’s heart really is through his stomach!)  Some more conversation followed, then some knee weakening kissing. Yes, that’s as far as it went so get your minds out of the gutter.  I told you it was a first date!  It may have just been a little kissing, but it was enough to let me know that this guy was the one for me and still is!  

ETS – You also wrote as Samantha Danvers.  Is this a different genre, a different voice? 

I get asked that a lot and always feel silly telling everyone that I didn’t write a different genre or use a different voice under that name.  At the time I was writing for a publisher that had just opened a new website in addition to their original one and they wanted to make it seem like there were more authors there, so I became multiple personalities!  Anything to help out a publisher.  I still write for that publisher, but now that they’re a lot bigger, I just go by Paige Tyler there.  That’s a good thing.  It was confusing trying to remember which pen name wrote which book!  

ETS – Interesting.  What is your favorite romance of all time?   

As far as books goes, my favorite would probably Into the Sunset, by Shelly Thacker.  The two characters, Annie and Lucas just really do it for me.  And the story is just so incredibly romantic. 

 If we were talking about a movie, Then my favorite romance would be Aragorn and Arwen from Lord of the Rings.  They’re just so perfect together that it almost makes me want to cry every time I see the movie.  

ETS – Do you have a critique partner?  Do you think an author can benefit from having one? 

My hubby is actually my critique partner, as well as my research assistant! *wink*  I’ll bounce ideas for stories off him and he’ll help me edit my books before I send them to my publishers.  I find it very helpful, so to answer your other question, yes, I think an author can benefit from having a critique partner.  However, I do think you have to completely trust the person you’re working with.  I’ve heard some horror stories of authors having their ideas stolen by their supposed critique partners.  

You also have to be on the same wavelength with your critique partner, as far as the approach to a story and where you feel the characters should go. 

ETS – Writing can be a solitary business.  How do you keep from getting the ‘keyboard blues?’ 

I’ve been very fortunate to never run into that problem.  For me, writing is a very social activity.  Besides all the hours I spend working with my hubby during the outlining and editing, there’s also the time I spend talking to other writers, fans, and just promoting my books in general.  If anything, I find that I sometimes spend more time chatting and promoting that I do writing.  

ETS – Brad Pitt or George Clooney? 

Okay, now this is probably going to shock you, but I was never into either of them, so I’ll say neither!  Now, if you’d asked me to pick between Viggo Mortensen or David Boreanaz, or those yummy hunks from the television show Supernatural, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, then I would really have had to think about it! 

ETS – Ohhhh…Jensen is so HOT.  In total agreement.  J  Can you tell us what you’re working on now? 

I have a few books going right now.  I tend to be pretty secretive about my project until I get them to my publisher – call me paranoia!  LOL!  But I can say that I have one contemporary romance working where I’m really letting my characters get their kink on! I’m exploring all kinds of naughty areas that I don’t usually play in.  This one is going to be even hotter than normal! 

I’m also putting the finishing touches on the sequel to Modern Day Vampires: Vampire 101. The title is still classified, but I can tell you that my readers begged me to give them more of Kaige and Savanna from the first book. Well. I’ve listened to them!  This story picks up with Kaige and Savanna right where the first book left off, with them hunting down a rogue vampire.  I think you’re going to love it!  

I also have a new release coming out with Liquid Silver Books on Aug 17th called Valuable Cargo that I’m really excited about!  It’s a sexy sci-fi erotic romance about a hunky astronaut who wakes up to find himself seven-hundred years in the future on a spaceship full of beautiful women!  I’ve got an excerpt on my website at http://www.paigetylertheauthor.com if anyone would like to check it out! 

ETS – What advice would you give to aspiring authors? 

One thing I’ve discovered is that you have to write because you love writing – it can’t be all about getting published.  If you spend all your time worrying about getting published, you’ll just go crazy and you’ll end up spending more time waiting for answers to query letters than writing.  Just write stories you’d love to read and the rest will take care of itself.  

Another thing is to find your voice.  What I mean by that is that you have to write the kind of stories that work for you.  Don’t try writing a storyline you’re not comfortable writing just because it’s the current “hot thing.”   

ETS – Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us! 

You’re very welcome!  I had a great time and hope that everyone will enjoy reading my answers to all your great questions! 

ETS – You can visit Paige’s Website to find out more about her books. 

LINKS

Blog, Myspace, Facebook, Yahoo Group.

EXCERPTS

Animal Attraction, Animal Instinct, Modern Day Vampires: Vampire 101, Librarian by Day, Protective Custody, Valuable Cargo.

BOOK TRAILERS

Animal Attraction, Animal Instinct, Modern Day Vampires: Vampire 101, Librarian by Day, Protective Custody, Valuable Cargo.

Filed under book give away, Fangtastic Friday, Interviews · Tagged with Animal Instinct, Librarian by Day, Paige Tyler, paranormal romance, Protective Custody