By the Book with ...

NJ Walters

Thank you to Joyfully Reviewed for having me here!

How long have you been writing?
I wrote my first book about 12 years ago, but stopped writing for several years after. I started writing again back in 2003 and haven’t stopped since.

Where were you when you got your first contract?
I was at work. I was working at a bookstore at the time. My husband called to tell me there was an interesting email for me from Ellora’s Cave. I asked him to open it and it was an acceptance for Annabelle Lee.

What was the first thing you did?
I was stunned. LOL I couldn’t get too excited because I was at work and no one knew about my writing. I couldn’t wait to get home so I could scream and dance around with my husband.

Who did you tell first?
Obviously, my husband was the first to know. After that, I didn’t tell anyone for almost nine months. I wasn’t certain how my family would react to finding out that I wrote erotic romance. None of them are readers. They were stunned at first, and a bit bewildered. But they’ve come around and are supportive. After that I told a few friends.

Does music influence your writing?  If so, do you have a playlist that goes with each book?
 don’t have a playlist for each book, although I know a lot of authors do. I need silence to write. But I do use music to inspire ideas or to put me in the mood for working on certain scenes. I used Love Song for a Vampire by Annie Lennox and Bring Me to Life by Evanescence to inspire me when I was writing Stefan’s Salvation. Never Again by Nickelback was a big inspiration for the opening scene in Craving Candy.

So, while I don’t have a playlist, I do use music to inspire me.

If your books were optioned for a movie, who would play your characters?
That is such a tough question. Viggo Mortensen woud be great, maybe as a one of the Dalakis brothers. Gerard Butler would be good too. LOL

Do you like a neat workspace?  Or are you comfortably disorganized?
I have such a small workspace it needs to be organized. My office is actually a small corner of the living room. My desk has a screen around it to give it some privacy and I have just enough room to squeeze my chair in between the desk and the bookcase behind it. I clean my desk after I finish every book. It’s sort of a ritual to get the space ready for me start working on the next project.

What inspires you to write?
Everything! You never know where you are going to find inspiration. In the lyrics of a song, in a movie, on television, a magazine, at the mall. The possibilities are limitless.

For example, Erin’s Fancy was inspired by all those articles you see in women’s mags with instructions on “How to drive your man wild.” We’ve all read them. I decided to see what would happen when a woman with little experience decided it was time to get some. She used the article as a guideline.

Tell me a little about By The Book, which is book 6 in your Jamesville series, which comes out in November.
By The Book is the next Jamesville book. It’s suspenseful, fast-paced and sexy. The relationship between Amanda and Jonah heats up quickly. She’s moved to Jamesville to start a new life and open her own Antiquarian bookstore. He’s recently come home after being away for many years. Their paths cross and the sparks fly immediately.

How long did it take you to write it?
I had to check on that. LOL.  It took me a little over a month to write it. I don’t have a set amount I write every day or anything like that. Each book is different. Some come easier, while some never seem like they’re going to come together. By The Book went fairly well. There are always a ton of interruptions while you’re working on a book. There are edits and advertising and a thousand other little things, not to mention a family.

What are your favorite things about these characters?
I love Amanda’s feisty personality. She’s spent most of her life with little or no family. When her life radically changes, she makes the decision to move to Jamesville. She’s courageous and smart and fun.

Jonah is tough. He’s the kind of guy you’d want at your back in a fight. Family means everything to him. He can be a bit overbearing at times, but he’s sexy as all get out. LOL

Do you plan on writing anymore Jamesville books?
I’ve got one more planned. After that, I’ll be leaving Jamesville…at least for a while. I never say never.

Tell us something about you that nobody knows…
LOL You want me to give up all my secrets. I’m a complete homebody. I’m actually a very private person and was extremely shy as a child. I was one of those kids who was rarely seen or heard. Which is probably why my family was so shocked by my new career writing sexy romance books.

Thank you so much for doing this interview!
hank you, Vivian. And thank you to Joyfully Reviewed for inviting me to chat.

NJ

http://www.njwalters.com

http://www.njwalters.blogspot.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/awakeningdesires/