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Interviews by Dante

Welcome to Interviews by Dante the home of Romance Author Interviews. Enjoy. If you're an author and wish to be interviewed by me then click the link below to send me an email and I'll get you on the list.
Interviews post on the 10th, and 20th of each month. As of June 1st 2015 Interviews by Dante is exclusively interviewing Romance Writers. 

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Jerica MacMillan Interview

3/20/2016

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The guest author for today on Interviews by Dante is Jerica MacMillan. She is a writer of Contemporary Adult and New Adult Romance. Her latest work is Rebound Envy the second book in the Rebound Series.
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Please tell us a little about yourself.
I’m married and have two children, ages 3 and 1.  I do most of my writing while the youngest is napping. 
 

Here’s my bio:
Jerica MacMillan is a lifelong reader and lover of romance.  Nothing beats escaping into a book and watching people fall in love, overcome obstacles, and find their happily ever after.  She was recently named a semi finalist in Harlequin’s So You Think You Can Write 2015 contest.
 
Jerica is living her happily ever after in North Idaho with her husband and two children.  She spends her days building with blocks, admiring preschooler artwork, and writing while her baby naps in the sling.  Sign up to receive updates on her reading and writing life at www.JericaMacMillan.com.​
 
Tell us about your latest book. 
I recently released Rebound Envy, Book 2 in the Rebound Series at the end of January.  It’s about jealousy, finding love, and not settling for less than you deserve.  There’s lots of sexual tension between Amy, the main character, and Adam, the love interest.  This series is made of novellas, so they’re shorter and easy to read, with some nice heat between the main characters to keep things spicy.
 

What do you have coming out in the future?
I just finished the second book in my series of full length novels Players of Marycliff University.  Once I finalize the title, I’ll be putting it out for preorder, with a release date in May.
 
Is your book a stand-alone or a series?
My books are interconnected standalones in a series.  The main characters from the first books are secondary characters in the following books, but it’s not entirely necessary to read all the books in order (though it might help a little).  With Rebound Envy there’s no reason not to read book 1, Rebound Therapy, first because it’s free from Amazon, iBook, Nook, and Kobo.
 
Why romance and what makes your particular brand of romance special?
I’ve always been a sucker for a happy ending and a well-told love story.  I like telling stories about realistic characters that you’d want to hang out with if they were real.  They have the same kinds of problems that real people face, which I think makes them more relatable and draws you in as a reader.  I describe my writing as sweet and sexy.  They’re sweet love stories, with enough heat to steam up your screen.
 

Is romance the only genre that you write in or do you write in other genres? If so what other genres do you write in?
Just romance.
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Amy's best friend Jenna is engaged ... again. And she's asked Amy to be her maid of honor again. Amy can't help but feel jealous that Jenna's ready to walk down the aisle for the second time, especially when her own love life is virtually nonexistent. 

Adam has wanted Amy since she first walked into his wine bar. After he finally got the chance to take her out, issues from his past got in the way. 

Now she's dating someone else, and he's jealous of the lost opportunity. 

Will Adam and Amy work out the issues from the past and present that are keeping them apart? Or will their jealousies ruin their relationships and keep them apart forever? 

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Click image for explanation.
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From where do you draw your inspiration?
Life.  I sometimes play what if with situations I’ve been in or someone I know has been in.  Often, the beginning of a story just comes to me while I’m doing something else.  I jot the ideas down until I can come up with more—the main conflict, a couple of major plot points—and then I start writing.
 
Do you ever base your characters on real people in your life?
I think all writers do to some extent.  I don’t take people wholesale and make them a character in my story, but I do use traits from people close to me for some of my characters.  For example, Abby, the heroine in Summer Fling is strawberry blonde and describes herself as often being mistaken as younger than she is with makeup on and people think she’s twelve without it.  My sister-in-law had that problem when she was in her twenties, so I got that from her.  That’s where the resemblance ends, though.
 

What authors inspire your writing?
How have your real life experiences influenced your writing?
Again, all writers draw on their own experiences when writing.  Otherwise you can’t craft relatable or engaging characters or stories.  While I haven’t been in all the specific situations of each of my characters, I have felt their emotions, so it’s easier to convey them on the page. 

 
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
Reading and hanging out with my kids.  I like to get out and go hiking when I can.
 
What was your road to publishing like? Tell us about it.
It was pretty straightforward.  I started learning about self-publishing a little over a year ago.  I did a lot of research comparing self-publishing to traditional publishing, and decided that for me, self-publishing was the way to go.  I like having full control over the books and the timelines and not being on someone else’s schedule.  Plus, it seems like even traditionally published authors have to spend a lot of time doing their own promotion.  I figured that if I was going to do the lion’s share of the work, I’d prefer to keep the lion’s share of the profits as well.  I considered submitting to some small ebook only/ebook first publishers to get started, but ultimately decided that if I was going to self-publish, I should just go all-in from the beginning.  It’s only been a few months since releasing my first title, but I’ve seen steady growth that I find encouraging.
 

How did you come up with the title of your book?
I play word association games.  With the Rebound Series, all the books will have rebound in the title, so it’s a matter of coming up with a word or phrase that goes with the books and has that word in it. 
 
Do you read romance or do you prefer other genres?
I read lots of romance, but I also enjoy other genres.
 
What is your absolute favorite book or books and why is it special to you?
Probably Outlander and the rest of that series by Diana Gabaldon.  I love her writing.  Those books hooked me from the first time I found them when I was in high school.  I had no idea what I was getting into at the time, and I’ve reread most of the books more than once.  Last Christmas, the best present I got was the whole series as ebooks so I can read them easily whenever I want.
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Jenna Anderson is still stuck in her grief a year after her fiance died in a tragic accident. All she does is go to work and spend time at home, her former spark gone. Her best friend decides she needs a rebound guy to have some fun and start to live again. 

Brian MacCallum is the hot owner of the wine bar where Amy takes Jenna. He has a mischievous grin that he wields like a weapon to convince Jenna to give him a chance. 

Will his love be enough to pull Jenna out of her grief so she can learn to live and love again? 
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​Click image for explanation.
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Have you joined any writer’s groups?
I’m currently a member of the Romance Writers of America and the Idaho Writers League.
 
Have you won any awards for your writing?
I won first place in the annual Idaho Writers League competition for creative non-fiction, and my novel Summer Fling (Book 1 of Players of Marycliff University) was chosen as a semi-finalist in Harlequin’s So You Think You Can Write competition in 2015.
 
What is your preferred writing environment?
I usually write in my home office with either music or rain sounds playing in my headphones to block out extraneous noises so I can focus.  Sometimes I’ll get out of the house and go to Starbucks or something for a change of scenery.
 
How would you describe your writing style?
Simple and accessible.  I want readers to easily connect to my characters and their feelings, so I try not to let the writing get in the way of that. 
 
Do you have a careful plan when plotting your stories or do you just go with the flow?
I’m sort of a hybrid.  I have a framework in mind for each story, but not a detailed outline.  To get started, I usually know the opening scene, the main conflict, and a couple major plot points.  The rest comes as I go.  I try to figure out what scene I’m going to write next before I sit down to write.  Sometimes I do a little free writing to get started so I can figure out where I’m going and what needs to happen to get there.
 
When did you know you truly wanted to give writing a shot?
I’ve been dabbling with writing for the last couple years.  I went to a conference put on by the local RWA chapter last March that convinced me that I might be able to make this work.  I learned so much from that one conference and eventually joined that chapter.
 
Do you have any advice for other writers and what is it?
Don’t give up.  Find people and resources that are encouraging and keep going.
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A chance encounter at a party brings Lance and Abby together. 

Lance just graduated and has a summer internship. His parents expect him to come back to Texas to work in the family business at the end of the summer. He likes to have fun and doesn't want to be tied down too soon. Until he meets Abby. 

Abby still has two years left of college and a mom who keeps her anchored near the town where she grew up. She is cautious in relationships, not letting people close. But Lance's persistence wears down her defenses. Knowing Lance is leaving, Abby tells herself it's just a summer fling. 

Will that be enough to keep her from falling in love?

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​Click image for explanation.

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Isabel Curtis Interview

12/10/2015

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The guest author for today on Interviews with Dante is Isabel Curtis. She is a writer of New Adult Contemporary Romance. Her latest work is Unexpected Love, book one in the Unexpected series.
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​Please tell us a little about yourself.
Hello everyone! I’m Isabel Curtis, and I’m a 25 year old indie author. I started my writing career as a YA writer, but now I also write New Adult/Contemporary Romance books. I’ve spent my life mostly traveling, and reading, and during the past few years I’ve turned my passion for writing into an almost full-time job.
 
Tell us about your latest book.
My latest book is called “Unexpected Love” and it’s the first installment in the “Unexpected” series. It’s a contemporary romance which features Olly, a college student, and Daniel, a lawyer: they fall (unexpectedly) in love but at some point life gets in the way and… you have to read the book to learn how it ends.
 
What do you have coming out in the future?
I have a few YA novels I plan on publishing in late 2016, yet right now I’m more focused on the new adult genre, so I’m writing a prequel and a sequel to the “Unexpected Love” book I published in September 2015. I also have a stand alone novel I plan on publishing in a year or so.
 
Is your book a stand-alone or a series?
The new adult contemporary romance book “Unexpected Love” is part of a series, called “Unexpected”, and I plan on having at least other four books in the series publishing within the next few months.
 

Why romance and what makes your particular brand of romance special?
I started reading lots of contemporary romances a while ago and I’ve been intrigued by this genre and style ever since. I began thinking of a story line which fit perfectly in this genre and I thought I’d give it a try. I like to take on new adventures and challenges. I already have the whole “Unexpected” series sort of outlined (there will seven books in total) and a new series called “The Interpreter” which I hope to get started in 2016. Both series feature very interesting characters that I try develop in a clear and sincere way throughout the whole narration, and the readers can truly relate to some big life choices they make, and even though the good guy might sometimes, in the end, turn out to be not so good it’s pretty easy for the reader to identify himself/herself with the character… which makes it harder to hate him. My books are not just romantic stories, I try to given them a more meaningful message that can be passed on.
 

Is romance the only genre that you write in or do you write in other genres? If so what other genres do you write in?
No, I began my writing career as a young adult author and I have published a YA coming-of-age book called “Before Life Happened” which is part of the “Before” series. I plan on writing both genres for a very long time, since I have lots of stories ready to be written both in the YA and NA romance genre.
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A SEXY CONTEMPORARY LOVE STORY  
 
Olly Biel decided long ago that love was just not in her plans, College was her only priority and nothing (and no one) was going to change that. There was no time for a relationship. That is, until Daniel Kingston came along and unexpectedly made her question everything she knew. But Daniel has a past, and it's about to catch up. Will he break her heart in the end? 

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Click image for explanation.
find it on amazon
From where do you draw your inspiration?
Actually, anything can sort of trigger my imagination and lead me to create characters/stories in my head: a movie, a song, a poem, a book, an image…. As soon as the slightest plot idea is growing in my mind I let my inspiration take over and before I know it the whole book is coming to life.
 
How have your real life experiences influenced your writing?
Sometimes I find myself writing about “personal” experiences (in terms of dialogues or scenarios or places) I’ve actually lived or that have really taken place, but that’s a very minor part that influences my writing. In most cases it’s just pure imagination.
 
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I translate, I run a blog, I read, I market my books, I travel, I take my dog out for a walk, I do lots of things. But no matter what I do, I’m always thinking about writing.
 
What was your road to publishing like? Tell us about it.
I decided to self-publish right away: I’ve never wasted my time looking for an agent or a publisher, but that doesn’t mean I won’t try that in the future. But I like the idea of self-publishing, doing your own marketing/promotion, choosing your own cover, having a closer relationship with the readers… It’s a pretty interesting world and I like it, plus it’s not that hard nowadays to self-publish (there are many platforms out there that make the process pretty smooth and easy). It’s all just a matter of marketing and promotion.
 
So once my first book was finished, I hired a professional proofreader and editor. In the mean time I created the book cover, I put online my author website, built a Facebook page and my twitter account along with some other social media networks to promote my books (ie. Goodreads) and within a month the book was available on most online stores. The initial promotion came from a Goodreads giveaway I started to promote the launch of my book, and the feedbacks were great!
 

How did you come up with the title of your book?
Strangely enough, titles come pretty easy to me. The fil rouge of the “Unexpected” series is  - as you can imagine - having to face unexpected events. So in each book the protagonists find themselves experiencing surprising and unforeseen situations that lead to certain outcomes that they had not anticipated. “Unexpected Love” is all about Olly (the main character) who falls in love when she least expects it… but nothing ever goes the way we plan, after all. I’m enjoying writing this series because I get to create interesting plot twists which leave the reader always wondering what will happen next.
 
Do you read romance or do you prefer other genres?
I’ve started reading lots of romance at the beginning of last year, and I really enjoy it. Although I am also a big fan of coming-of-age YA novels and the dystopian genre.
 
What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?
Writer’s Block, for sure. Sometimes I know what I want to write, I just seem to lack the words. I know where I want to go, but I don’t know how to get there and it gets frustrating. I find myself wasting so much time just staring at the blank page, writing then deleting, writing some more and then deleting again. It can go on for days.
 
What is the easiest part of the writing process for you?
I guess the easy part for me, for now, has been never running out of ideas for a new story. I’ve heard about writers who at some point in their career are stuck because they don’t know what they are going to write next, or what they want to work on because they have no inspiration. Fortunately, I’m never out of inspiration and ideas so that makes it easier to start a new project right away as soon as I’m finished with one. I think it’s very important for a writer to write, write, and write. Either if it’s just a blog post or a short random chapter. As long as if you have your inspiration by your side, you’re doing well.
 
Do you have a careful plan when plotting your stories or do you just go with the flow?
I don’t do the chapter-by-chapter outline strategy that some writers seem to love. I’ve tried that but it just isn’t for me. I usually just sit at my computer and let the words flow on their own. I might start a dialogue between two characters not having the slightest idea of where that’s going to take me, and I like it.
 
When did you know you truly wanted to give writing a shot?
It all began a few years ago, when I started have serious plot ideas for a book and I felt the need to start writing some scenes down. Then at some point I realized that my “ideas” could really turn into a full-length novel, so I said “why not?”. I started writing the whole book during my free evenings, and whenever I could take a break from my freelancing job (I used to be a full time translator). I felt like I had so much to say, and I decided that I didn’t want to keep it all to myself anymore.
 
 What is your favorite quote?
Oh, there are so many I’m having a hard time choosing just one. It depends I guess on my mood, but right now there’s a quote by Sophocles that’s popping into mind:
 
“I have no desire to suffer twice, in reality and then in retrospect."— Sophocles, Oedipus Rex

 
Do you have any advice for other writers and what is it?
First of all, I’d say: read a lot. Read books from authors who write the same genre as you, books like the one you plan on writing, and even other types of books. Just read.
Get a website, a Goodreads page, a Twitter account and a Tumblr blog.
Then, DO hire a professional proofreader/editor to help you with any typos or grammar errors you might have missed, readers hate that kind of stuff and might influence their reviews.
But in the end the best advice I feel like giving is just this one: write, and do it for yourself. If you feel that’s your vocation, don’t give up. 


 
Wild Card Question.
As an author, what is the one question that you wish people would ask you, but no one ever has and what would your answer be to that question?

 
Why did you decide to publish under a pen name?
 This is a pretty interesting question, I would sort of have to psychoanalyze myself and try to figure out why I don’t want people to know who is the real person behind the books I write. I’m about to give you a pretty complicated and messed up answer, so I apologize from the beginning if you won’t be able to follow my train of thought. Just know that it makes total sense to me.
 
Truth is, no one in my family knows about this passion of mine and when I started writing I never told anyone that this was what I really wanted to do. I guess time passed and it became harder to let them know about my “parallel life”. They just think I sit at my computer all day working… they just don’t really know what I work on. Creativity never really blossomed in my house, so I grew up believing that writing could never be regarded as a “job”.
 
Writing shows so much about the author: his/her most deepest thoughts, fears, ideas, personality… writers put so much meaning into their words that it makes them so raw and open, and vulnerable… and this scares me. If strangers read my thoughts, that’s okay because to them I’m just a writer, someone they do not know. When I read, I barely take into consideration the author, I care more about the characters and their story - and I guess my readers do the same with my books. But letting your friends and relatives read your mind through your writing gives them so much more insight on who you really are, and it gives them some kind of power over you that I do want them to have. I guess we could say that I don’t care what a stranger thinks about me, but I do care what those close to me think.
To my readers, I’m a writer.
To my family, I’m a person.
 
Plus, I like having a double life.
It makes my days so much more interesting.
 
Writing is my private world, and only those who do not know they are accessing it are welcome. 
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