Interview with Gena Showalter
Interview by M. E. Wood

This month I had the fortune to cross paths with Gena Showalter. Gena writes sexy paranormal romances for Harlequin and Alien Huntress paranormal/chick lit for Downtown Press. She's hoping to soon branch into contemporary romance.

The Pleasure Slave (HQN, 2005) is Gena's latest sexy paranormal romance: "Her every wish was his desire... When Santa Fe antique dealer Julia Anderson purchased a battered jewelry box, she never expected it to contain her own personal love slave. Especially not tall, dark and sinfully delicious Tristan-- a man impossible to resist, and determined to fulfill her every fantasy.

“Though Tristan was a rogue of the battlefield and the boudoir, making love with Julia was like nothing he'd ever known. Yet revealing his true heart would break the centuries-old spell and separate them forever. And Tristan would do anything to go on loving Julia, even remain a slave through all eternity..."

Where are you from?

I was born and raised in Oklahoma, the wonderful state responsible for Brad Pitt-- who is God's greatest visual gift to womankind, to my way of thinking. I love Oklahoma for its wide open spaces, the generous people, the sights and scents. It's home.

What is your specialty?

I don't know if they're my specialty or not, but I sure do love sexy, warrior men in novels. If some of my heroes were to come to life, oh baby, I'd develop quite the reputation.

Do you write full-time?

Thankfully, I'm now able to write full-time. When I first began writing five or six years ago, however, I was juggling a part-time job, full-time school, and a full-time family. Talk about draining. But I was determined to sell one of my books, so I kept at it and forced myself to write even when I felt drained. My writing time is different every day. Some days I might work twelve hours, others I might work one. For me, it's all about pages.

It's all about pages? Could you elaborate?

When the rough draft is done, I set a daily goal of how many pages to edit and polish. For the story I’m currently working on, it’s twenty pages a day. The pages I worked on today were pretty solid, so I breezed through them. I have a sinking feeling tomorrow’s pages won’t be so easy. . .

What did you use to do for a job?

For many years, I worked as an aircraft title searcher. A few of my characters have knowledge about planes and how to sell them, so that information has come in handy.

When do you do your writing? Do you get dressed to go "to work”?

I tend to write my rough drafts quickly, spending a few weeks completely immersed in the story, eating, breathing, and sleeping the characters twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. During that time, I take a notebook and voice recorder with me everywhere, writing or speaking out scenes every spare moment. Once I'm done with the first draft, I'm able to relax a little and work by page count, doing a certain number a day, however long that takes. I do as much writing as I can in sweat pants, forgoing "dress" clothes as much as possible.

Describe your office.

My office is crammed with books (fiction and research), notebooks, CDs, and more books. I barely have room to move around. The walls are covered with photographs that inspire me-- mainly of sexy men, though I do have pictures of myself with other writers and frames of awards I've won.

Which three books couldn't you live without and why?

Oh, man. There are so many books that will have to be pried out of my kung fu grip the day I die, but I’ll try to narrow it down to three. Actually no, I can’t do that. (I’m sweating just thinking about it.) I’ll narrow it down to some of my favorite authors: Karen Marie Moning, P.C. Cast, Mary Janice Davidson, Jill Monroe, Janet Chapman, Katie MacAlister, and Charlaine Harris

Any pointers for other writers on how they can tune out distractions?

I can write anywhere, anytime so my surroundings matter little. I just tune out the rest of the world and allow myself to enter into my story. To tune out the rest of the world, I think you have to visualize your story. Kind of like meditation. Let your mind take you there so that you see, smell, and taste the setting. So that you actually hear the characters talking.

What is the setting of most of your novels?

I've set my books in Dallas, New Mexico, futuristic Chicago, my version of Atlantis, and will soon be using Florida and Oklahoma as settings. I love diversity.

Do you visit the locations you write about? How do you get a feel for the environment and its people? What kind of research do you do to make your novels realistic?

I haven’t visited all of the locations I’ve written about. You see, I have a pesky fear of flying. I use the Internet, as well as ask people I know (or have met online) who live there about their state. Most times they are more than happy to send me pictures, too.

Believe it or not, I do most of my research after my rough draft is written. I make notations in the text to look something up and move on. Only when the draft is done do I sit down and study research books, contact experts, or scour the Internet. Overall, the Internet is my main source of information.

What made you decide to tackle the genre of novels you write?

I tend to write the stories I love to read. When I first began writing, I tried my hand at every genre category: historical, contemporary, and finally paranormal. Paranormal was just a perfect fit for my voice.

Do your books have a specific and distinctive quality, characteristic, or concern? If so, why is this important to your books?

I think it's important for characters to have flaws, fears, hopes, and dreams just like real people. In my book The Stone Prince (HQN, 2004), I created a very strong heroine who doesn't take any crap, but below her tell-it-like-it-is potty mouth, she's vulnerable just like everyone else. Humor is important to me, as well, because laughter truly is like medicine.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I just finished the rough draft for a book titled The Jewel of Atlantis. It is the story of Gray James, the heroine's brother from The Stone Prince. It's my most "fantasy" book to date.

What methods have you found effective for promoting your books?

Word of mouth is key for promoting, and you can build word of mouth through websites, blogs, e-mail, speaking at conferences, handing out bookmarks, meeting booksellers, and much more.

How do you find time to write, promote, and take care of everything else in your life?

I've found that if I set goals for myself (i.e. write a certain number of pages per day) everything else just falls into place. If I miss a day's page count, I make it up the next day. If I go over, I've got more time to play the next day. I'm such a closet introvert, though, that promotion is hard for me. So far, I haven't done much of it except through my website and e-loops.

Besides writing, what do you do for fun? What are your hobbies?

Wait, I'm allowed to have hobbies? I'm allowed to have fun? I missed that memo, darn it! No, seriously, I'm a homebody. I love curling up on the couch and reading a book or watching a movie. That, and eating more Mexican food than my stomach can hold.

Is there anything that you would like to share with readers?

I'm an e-mail addict, and would love to hear from you. Let me know what you think of my books, my website, whatever! For more information about me, my books, and contest info you can visit my website.

Visit Gena Showalter's website http://www.genashowalter.com.

M. E. Wood lives in Eastern Ontario. Visit http://www.m-e-wood.com.

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