
So two weeks ago today (yah…I know…what took me so long?) I met Gena Showalter.Β In case you haven’t heard of her (ummm…and this, I highly doubt), she is a popular author in the Paranormal Romance genre, and extremely popular with most of you!. In fact, she has come highly recommended via my own readers, and I have purchased her notoriously sexyΒ Lords of the Underworld Bundle series (which I have already started). Good stuff!
I attended her book signing here in Florida on the release date of her latest book,Β Into the Dark: The Darkest Fire\The Amazon’s Curse\The Darkest Prison (Hqn) (a compilation of some of her shorter stories – all within the Lords of the Underworld realm). Some lucky audience members wonΒ an advanced copy of “The Darkest Passion (Hqn)” and some cool signed posters too (alas, I was not that lucky, but just being there, considering I almost didn’t make it was good enough for me)!
She answered a ton of audience questions, andΒ I found her to be delightfully good-humored, and sweet as can be!
IΒ do have video, but I am currently trying to pick out the best parts, while I try to omitΒ the wonderfully adorable (but slightly distracting) singing baby in the backgroundΒ (haha!). Considering my camera wasn’t all “high-tech” in this instance, I unfortunately have a lot of “extra noise” interspersed with the laid backΒ question & answer session.Β WhileΒ I get that ready, here areΒ some interesting tid-bits (andΒ event pics)Β to hold you over.
About her writing process:
- She is hoping to slow down to workingΒ six days a week instead of seven (and yes – she normally works seven days a week!).
- Her seven day a week work schedule differs depending onΒ the stage of the manuscript;
- If she’s writing rough draft, she writes a chapter a day. At this stage,Β if everything is flowing well, the chapter canΒ can take 2 hours or it can take 15 hours, but no matter what – she writes a chapter a dayΒ in that rough draft, seven days a week until it’s done.
- When she is doing edits,Β she pushes herself harder andΒ likes to do a hundred pages a day (she doesn’t get much sleep in that stage)
- Her favorite books are romance. It’s what she likes to write and she is fascinated by relationships.
- She doesn’t plot. She sits down and lets the characters take her where they want to go.
- Some of theΒ harder things she has had to deal with;Β hardest part were rejections (it took her four years, give our take, before she got published), and she foundΒ learning about “plot holes” to be difficult. She would think of a scene that was touchingΒ (and that she really loved) but might not exactlyΒ fit the story,Β and learning toΒ finally let go of what she wanted and let the characters lead her is when it started to get a lot easier.
- She researches as she is writing by using Google and talking with other authors and knowledgeable people about whatever she might be researching at the time.
How she got into Paranormal Romance:
- SheΒ enjoyed Star Trek, and was always fascinated with the paranormal, and the fact that you can take it anywhere…
- What cinched it for her, however was the first Paranormal Romance book she read called “Warrior’s Woman” by Johanna Lindsey. She found it brilliant, and she loved it and was hooked! She loved the alpha hero, the neat weapons, the aliens/warriorsΒ and the bookΒ almost had a historical feel to it. She knew she wanted to do something like that.
Extra tid-bits:
- I could swear she mentioned that there are two deleted scenes fromΒ her bookΒ Intertwined on her website (but I haven’t found the link yet). I’ll keep you posted when I do.
- There will be another “Immortal After Dark” character cameo inΒ The Darkest Lie (Hqn)Β (but it’s a secret – shhhh she won’t say who)…
- she is not planning on continuing the “Atlantis” series right now (perhaps eventually a short story to tie up loose ends), but nothing planned right now.
- She is currently working on the rough draft of “The Darkest Surrender” (Strider’s story), line edits for “Unraveled“, all while on her book tour!
In that pic of you two at the top you guys look alike. Seriously. Or its the sleep deprevation blurring my vison. I will make another assesment tomorrow.
Ha! Funny! Someone emailed me directly and asked if I was that short, or if she was that tall? Funny cause my husband warned me when I first put up the picture that I should put a “caption” under the photo (I hadn’t, yet), because we were so mismatched in size.
When I got the email, I “captioned” LOL!!
I cannot get enough of Gena’s books, I am enthralled from the first page and find I am unable to put it down usually finishing it within a day or two at the most and I find myself reading the series again from the first book to present whilst waiting for the next installment. Does Gena have any plans to come to the uk to do some book signings. x
Hi Frances! I’m currently reading her Lords of the Underworld series, and I’m heading into Sabin’s book now.
Hello
Does anyone know how chapter’s there are of the book Intertwined?