The Basics
– Leah Braemel
– Brand: Passionate…Provocative…Decadent
– Genre(s): Contemporary Romance
– Publisher(s): Samhain Publishing
To Other Authors
– What are the three MOST important pieces of advice you would give to a brand new author?
- It’s probably been said a million times, but read, read, read. Especially recent work, the books the editors are buying now, not ten years ago. Then, put your butt in your chair and your hands on your keyboard and write, write, write. The third piece of advice? Writing is art, but it’s also a business, so always act professional both in person and especially online – something you put ‘out there’ on the internet can come back to haunt you later, so think twice before you hit send.
– What’s your favorite way to advertise?
- I’m still finding my way in the marketing side – I always thought it was “all about the story”, but oh, my, it’s so much more once that contract is signed. I think at the moment since I don’t have a lot of money to spend on advertising, guest blogging is my favorite because it’s an inexpensive way of getting your name out there, getting exposed to people who might not otherwise have heard of you. Although it can be time consuming and tiring to continually try to come up with something original for each blog post. I’m trying my hand at hosting a “Birthday Bash” on my blog this month where I’ve invited other authors to guest blog on my blog while I’m holding contests. It’s a lot of work, but I’m enjoying it, and I’m thrilled at how generous other authors are at offering to guest blog and hold contests of their own.
– What hard-knock lesson did the publishing world teach you (can be your own experience or someone else’s that you learned from)?
- I’ve been really lucky in my career so far, so I’ll have to borrow something from horror stories I’ve heard from others – just keep hanging in there, keep writing forward if you’re blocked, keep sending in submissions if you get a rejection.
For the Readers
– What are you reading, if anything, at the moment?
- I usually have several books on the go at any time. I just finished Ann Aguirre’s Blue Diablo – and that’s another one I’ll probably be reading again very soon, as well as Victoria Dahl’s Talk Me Down. Now I’ve started Jaci Burton’s Riding Wild which I’m really enjoying, though I’m trying to learn from it as well.
– Do you prefer ebooks or print for your reading pleasure?
- Lately I’ve been buying more ebooks. I have a Sony Reader and I really like the ability it gives me to enlarge the font. I’m at ‘that age’ where the print on paperbacks is getting that much fuzzier despite my reading glasses. I also like how I can stick the Sony in my purse and take it with me when I’m driving my boys to appointments and I have to sit around waiting. Much handier than trying to tote books around. However, there’s nothing like a good paperback when I want to crawl into the tub and read. (I’ve been told I could put my reader in a baggie, but I don’t trust my luck, LOL) It gets expensive because if I really like the book, I’ll buy it in both formats so I can choose which I want to read.
– Name three of your all-time-favorite, read-them-over-and-over books.
- Probably Kathleen Woodiwiss’s Flame and the Flower – that was one of the first romances I read as an adult and there’s something about it that makes me grab it from the shelf every now and then. (I made the mistake of getting rid of my copy about six years ago when we moved, and then immediately regretted it and went out and bought another copy.) I also love the Lord of the Rings – but I have to confess that when I read The Two Towers and Return of the King, I skip over the parts where Frodo and Sam are heading to Mordor. I prefer reading about the rest of the fellowship’s journey – Pippin and Merry’s trials, and Aragorn of course. The third one? Deidre Knight’s Butterfly Tattoo has just muscled its way onto my read-them-over-and-over shelf because I love how Deidre manages to make me cry whenever I read it, how she can make me feel the depth of despair her characters feel. I love books that can get so deep into my emotions.
Idle Curiosity Compels Me to Ask
– What inspired you to be a writer?
- Although I’ve always written stories for myself, I never really thought of myself as ‘a writer’, that always seemed such a dramatic thing to say. I’ve just always had stories running through my head. I don’t think it was something that ‘inspired’ me, I just can’t stop ‘not writing’.
– What do you do immediately after finishing a manuscript?
- After I’ve finished obsessing about how many mistakes I may have made on that one? I usually take a day or two and read all the books that have piled up on my TBR list, but then the little voices in my head start plotting the next story and usually within a couple days I’m back at the computer outlining.
– Do you talk to your characters or your muse or both?
- I talk to my characters – or if I’m really lucky, they talk to me. When I have a really good handle on a character, I lie in bed asking them questions about problems that are bugging me about their storyline. (oh, boy, I can imagine a psychiatrist would have a field day with me) On occasion, I get to know a character so well, I feel like they’re real people. My muse? Well, she’s a fickle wench and too flaky for me to rely upon. (Renee Note – Seems we have a lot in common. 😛)
Promo Section
~ Most Recent Release ~ |
| My latest release is the second in the Hauberk Protection series. The hero, Sam Watson, was a secondary character in the first in the series, Private Property. Sam’s a former FBI agent who owns an up-and-coming protection agency – bodyguards, private investigators – so he’s ticked off when he’s forced to accept bodyguards because someone’s stalking him.
Personal Protection Sam Watson excels at keeping other people safe. Now a stalker is targeting him, but so what? A few doctored photos and a couple threatening phone calls are no big deal. He can watch his own back. Then again, the view from behind the sexy spitfire assigned to protect him isn’t so bad… The stakes—and the heat—rise exponentially when she discovers Sam belongs to an exclusive sex club—one she must investigate for potential suspects. Suddenly she finds herself immersed in a world that pushes her boundaries. Sam delights in leading Rosie deep into his sexual shadows—until they go one game too far. Making him wonder if he can allow the woman he loves to take a bullet for him. |
Learn More
– Website: http://www.LeahBraemel.com
– MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/leahbraemel
– Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/leah.braemel
– Twitter: http://twitter.com/LeahBraemel
– Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2847878.Leah_Braemel
– Blog: http://leahbraemel.blogspot.com
– Newsletter: you can sign up for my newsletter on my website.
Thanks, Leah!!
Join me next week for Carol North.
My favorite Woodiwiss was Wolf and the Dove.