CYN: For any readers who may not have read any of your books, can you just give us a little sneak peak into the world you’ve created; i.e., the genre you write, type of stories you like to write, etc.?
AVRIL: I’m a naughty type of writer, the one that reads the smutty and writes it. Although, to be fair, it’s not really smut. I write romance with a high heat rating. The blow your hair back and make you pant type. They fall under the genres of paranormal, interracial and homoerotic.
CYN: Naughty is always niiiice! How much of yourself, if any, do you put into your characters?
AVRIL: Much of the dialog is me. I love snappy, sexy dialog. Filled with swear words and such. It’s the way I speak it so it’s the way I write it. My love of heels and swear words are all I lend my characters.
CYN: Well, that makes your voice more real to the readers. Brava! How do you keep sex scenes fresh and exciting so they don't become stale or repetitive? (That is, if you write them.)
AVRIL: Oh, I write them. I try to allow the characters to dictate what they want and where they want to go. They haven’t disappointed me yet. *knock on wood*
CYN: I like that. I think your characters are as naughty as you are. LOL Is there a story that you’d like to tell but you think the world isn’t ready to receive it?
AVRIL: Ah, nope. Not yet, at any rate.
CYN: What do you do on a typical writing day?
AVRIL: On a typical writing day, I begin at about 7 am with coffee and music and write until my word count 2-3k is met or until a chapter is completed whichever comes first. I just punch out the words as they come without thought and only when I go back to it in the next writing session will I determine if it’s at all useable. Most times it is.
CYN: Such dedication. I wish I could sit at one setting and write that much at a time. Do you prefer writing about perfect characters or flawed ones and why?
AVRIL: Flawed characters are all I write. They are the interesting ones. The ones with scars and shadows and secrets. Perfect characters are boring and I can’t relate to them.
CYN: Sounds similar to actors who say playing the bad guy is more fun than the good one. When you have writer's block how do you break free?
AVRIL: I listen to music and read. That never fails to bring me out of my stasis.
CYN: I do the same. I wonder if that's a common author trait. From the moment you conceived the idea for the story, to the published book, how long did it take?
AVRIL: Well with this particular book, Make Me Burn, I had the idea in my head while writing its predecessor early last year. It took a while for the characters to open up to me and even when they did, I started and stopped a million times. Other stories got in the way. But it would be almost a year from concept to published. Only because I wrote three other books in between.
CYN: Thank goodness the muse kept after you to finish. When it comes to writing, are you an early bird, or a night owl?
AVRIL: I’m both, but more an early bird. I have a school aged kid so bedtime is early. If the story is really humming, I’ll stay up till midnight writing. If not I sit down at about 7:30 am after I put her on the school bus.
CYN: Have you ever awakened in the middle of the night with the need to write? If so, how do you deal with this urge?
AVRIL: Nah. when I’m sleeping, I’m sleeping. But, that quiet moment when you’re waiting to fall asleep brings a lot of story ideas so I keep a pen and notebook under my pillow for those instances.
CYN: Under your pillow? Never tried that yet, but probably wouldn't work. I'm blind without glasses and definitely wouldn't be able to read anything I attempted to write in the middle of the night the next day! If you could throw a party with any five people (living or dead) who would you pick and why?
AVRIL: My mother and grandmother, my better half’s father and grandmother, and Nostradamus. Family members cause we love and miss them obviously and Nostradamus because really, he needs to decipher all his riddles.
CYN: Love those choices. What is the last line of your last WIP you worked on that you wrote?
AVRIL: This is from a WIP I titled Longing For, an MM piece: “Don’t make me have to tell you again,” Finn threw over his shoulder as he hopped out the vehicle. “Fuck off.”
CYN: Ooops, there's that naughty dialogue. If you could be one of your characters - Who would you be? And why?
AVRIL: God, I don’t really want to be any of my characters. The things they have to go through is just…wow. I don’t envy them at all. I love them and I root for them, but they can have all that strife and heartache.
CYN: That's good. Let our characters take on the stress and headaches instead of us in real life. That works for me. What is one of your guilty pleasures to enjoy?
AVRIL: None of my pleasures are guilty. I won’t allow it. I read like a maniac. I consume cake in the same vein, and I have a delicious hankering for those naked men humping each other in the UFC under the name of MMA LOL
CYN: LOL. What are at least five things you have on your bucket list and have you done any of them?
AVRIL: Travel. Be an editor. Take a road trip. Get another tattoo. Take the kid back to my homeland. I’ve traveled some, not much. Other than that, the list remains.
CYN: I hope you can cross off all those items, Avril. Do you listen to music when writing? Do you feel like some stories write themselves a soundtrack with specific music? If so, what book and what kind of music influenced it?
AVRIL: Music is as much a part of my writing process as my computer. It’s an essential part of me and my muse. My stories definitely have a soundtrack and it’s an eclectic mix of dance hall, reggae, hip hop, R&B, and Rock.
CYN: Okay last one. Tell us five random things about yourself.
AVRIL: I have the smallest nose. I wear glasses, without them I can see nothing. No matter what the weather is outside, I must be covered from head to toe by the heaviest blanket known to man when in bed. I can’t sleep with the TV or lights on. My feet are always cold, regardless of the weather.
Well, thanks for putting up with my questions and let's get to the important stuff, like your latest release! That's one hot cover too!
MAKE ME BURN
BLURB
It’s been months since Wes Dumont laid eyes on Jayce Santana. Since Jayce kissed him and then left town without a word. Wes tried hard to put the tattered pieces of his heart back together, but another failed relationship makes it clear he’s nowhere near over Jayce. Now Jayce is back, once again tilting Wes’ world on its axis and setting his blood boiling. All the anger and resentment doesn’t hide the hunger, but Wes has been burned before and he’s grown wary of Jayce’s intentions.
Jayce has been running, from Wes and himself, denying the future he sees in the depths of Wes’ eyes. His past still haunts him, but he’s back, ready to fight. Ready to claim Wes the way he should have. Only Wes isn’t making things easy. Both men just may go up in flames before Jayce convinces Wes he’s playing for keeps.
EXCERPT
Wes hopped out the cab, shoulders hunched as he fished his keys out his pocket. Behind him, the driver sped off, burning rubber. He hurried up the driveway, looking forward to an evening spent in a hot bath since he had the house to himself.
Even though his best friend, Ever, hadn’t officially moved in with her man, Simon, she spent most of her time over at his house. After years of it being only the two of them, Wes actually liked the peace and quiet of his suddenly mundane life.
He unlocked the door and stepped inside, flicking on the light as he kicked the door closed. “Freaking cold.” No matter how long he lived in The Windy City he’d always complain about the brick weather. “Freezing my nips off out there.”
“Is that so?”
Wes stumbled backward, crashing into the closed doorway with a stifled scream. His heart pounded like a thousand drums in his ear as he clasped a hand to his throat. “What the fuck?”
“Hello, Wes.” The tone of those two words matched the mockery in the stormy gray eyes perfectly. Seated in Wes’ favorite chair repositioned to face the front door, swathed in black, Jayce Santana watched him with a smirk on those way-too-memorable lips and a gun on his lap. His hair was longer. The scruffy beard and cut above his left eye was new, but nothing else about that cowardly bastard had changed.
Not even Wes’ body’s reaction to him.
“Get out.” His voice shook, so Wes tried again. Louder. Clearer. With more conviction. “Get the fuck out of my house, now.”
Jayce barked a laugh that didn’t reach anywhere near his eyes. “No.”
“You son of a bitch!” Wes advanced on him with angry steps. “You have no right. None. This is my house and if you don’t leave I’m calling the cops.” Six months. One fleeting taste of heaven and his body still hardened in remembrance.
Jayce leaped out the chair at the mention of the cops, stalking Wes with the gun in his hand. Wes braked, fists clenching and unclenching. He didn’t think Jayce would shoot him, but he wasn’t taking any chances. Hard, gray eyes pinned him in place and Jayce stood inches away.
His musk of heat and the hint of a woodsy cologne reached out and touched Wes in his throbbing groin.
He shifted. Jayce grinned.
Bastard.
Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/make-me-burn
BIO
I always wanted to have a sexy bio, one to reflect who I am, but after drawing a blank, I could only come up with: I eat cake and I read books…ooh, and I write ‘em too. No one liked it and after massive peer-pressure and pouting, I managed something more…suitable?
A Caribbean transplant, Avril now lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. with a tolerant Spousal Equivalent. Together they raise an eccentric daughter who loves reading and school (not so much school anymore). Avril’s earliest memories of reading revolve around discussing plot points of The Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys with an equally book-minded mother.
Always in love with the written word, Avril finally decided to do the writing in August of ’09 and never looked back. Spicy love scenes, delicious heroes, and wicked women burn up the pages of Avril’s stories, but there’ll always be a happy ending; Av remains a believer of love in all its forms.
Friend Avril on: http://www.facebook.com/writeravrilashton
Thanks again for stopping by and honoring me with this highlight of your latest release.
Thanks for the warm welcome, Cyn!
ReplyDeleteSaucy, plucky writing style, eh? I like it!
ReplyDeleteFun interview ladies! Avril...always love learning more about you....you make me laugh!
ReplyDeleteGreat blurb and excerpt. Good luck with your awesome new release!
Thanks Adonis and C!
ReplyDelete