Fallen Angel Reviews would like to welcome award winning author Jade Lee. Ms. Lee is the author of the Tigress series, a series that deals with more than sexual independence, but with self confidence as well. She also writes under the pseudonym Kathy Greyle. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today.

I'd like to start out by asking you about the series as a whole. What three words would you use to describe your Tigress series?

3 words? Hmmmm….let me look at my marketing literature….stud muffin…nope. Will make you a million dollars. Nope. Oh yes, here it is: Exotic Sensuous Romance. Wow…is that dull or what? I much prefer the: will make you a million dollars. Or even better—will show you the path to sexual immortality. That’s almost true. Well, sort of. My characters find it. Does that work?

Of all the time periods and all the secret societies, why pre-revolutionary China and the Dragon/Tigress sect?

It fell on me. Honest. I was in one of my favorite places in the world: A museum bookstore. The Asian society museum and Hsi Lai’s Sexual Secrets of the White Tigress fell on my foot. Plus, my editor – Chris Keeslar – had heard me talking about my grandmother’s funeral in Hong Kong. My grandmother was not completely together when she died. She was very elderly. Anyway, she wanted a traditional Chinese funeral—completely with 49 days of mourning. I was talking at a conference about the nightmares my mother was going through trying to meet my grandmother’s wishes—like being buried on an auspicious day (it was 3 weeks away…in a HK August. Refrigeration was not a cheap thing to come by.). Chris heard me and suggested I use my heritage. So…when the book fell on my foot…it was fate!

You mention on your website that your family tends to –ahem- ignore the more sensual side of your writing and instead focuses on the comedic pieces that you pen as Kathy Greyle. Have you found it difficult to separate the two?

My family has decided that Jade Lee’s money spends as well as Kathy Greyle’s. So…they will allow me to write my books in secret…assuming I don’t actually TALK to anyone they know about them! And frankly, my children are teenagers now. If it doesn’t involve giving them a car or money, they really couldn’t care less. So…it’s been less hard lately. Now my mother, on the other hand, gets quite a kick out of shaking her head, looking very disapproving, and saying, “Honestly. Your imagination!” I’ve learned to have a sense of humor about my family’s disapproval. Turns out, I can still write books with people frowning at me. I just shut the door.

Also on your website you mention being a child of a Shanghi native and a 'staunch Indiana Hoosier.' As a woman of mixed races, do you find it hard to fully embrace one culture or the other?

In a word: YES. If you have any mixed ethnicity in your background, think back. Which part of you is German, for example? Which part English or African or Asian? How can you tell? And is it all just American? I’ve spent a LOT of time thinking about this. Unfortunately, my Chinese side seems to be the more rigid, tightly restricted side. So my self-discipline comes from that. Also my self-doubt. On the other hand, the American side of my personality is loud, obnoxious, and knows how to have a good time. Obviously, those are gross generalizations. In truth…they are all me. Lately, I’ve had to accept that life is fluid. I am both Chinese and American, and that’s a good thing.

Can you give us a peek behind the crafting of a book? How do you start? Are you an outliner? Do you feel that you are a character-driven or plot-driven author?

A peek? DON’T LOOK THERE! IT”S A DISORGANIZED DISASTER!!! Imagine an office cluttered such that there are books and papers and STUFF EVERYWHERE. Except for the little islands of steps to a desk that you really can’t see except that abruptly the piles seem to be elevated off the floor. And, oh yeah, there are piles beneath the desk too. Well, that’s my office. And my creative process.

Yes, I am character driven. I ALWAYS make an outline, the promptly ignore it. I can’t plot my way out of a paper bag, but fortunately, my best friend Cindy Dees comes to my rescue for that. She can plot ANYTHING. I help her with characters. She helps me with plotting. Thank God! Otherwise, I’d be a complete disaster. Anyway, I create the people, then they sit there and stare at me. Apparently they should DO something. Go figure. So I outline and outline, and then I just call Cindy and say…what can they do? She will come up with 5 plots within about 5 seconds. Pitch them to me and I get to pick which works. Friends are AWESOME!

Your newest book, Tempted Tigress, delves into the life of an orphaned Englishwoman, Anna Marie Thompson. Can you give us a quick peek into this book?

Poor Anna. She got sucked up into the world of opium drug running. In fact, she’s an addict. But she’s seen the light—or rather the end point of any addiction. She wants out of China and is busy trying to escape. Oops…she falls foul of the Emperor’s chief Anti-Drug Cop. That’s obviously the modern term for it. Anyway, Zhi-Gang captures her and intends to kill her. But to avoid an international incident, he marries her first. After all, even English law allows a husband to legally do what he wants with his wife, even kill her. Too bad they fall in love before he can carry out his evil plan. Or at least, they fall in lust. And then they have to work together first to trust one another, then to take down the evil drug kingpin who is chasing Anna.

Of all my Tigress books, this is the most adventure oriented. Still very sexy, but there is lots of action in it. (Thank Cindy—that’s her strength!) Anyway, I LOVE this book because it’s so much fun! There’s still all the good sexual stuff, but there’s a great deal of danger and excitement there as well.

It's been awhile since you've had anything new out as Katherine Greyle. Is she retired? Or has Jade Lee's muse been speaking louder?

Katherine Greyle is in a coma. Sad, but true. Jade Lee’s popularity is such that editors can’t even find Kathy’s hospital, much less offer her a contract. All they see is Jade. But that’s fine. As I do a few contemporary Blaze books (Jan 2008), Kathy’s voice is coming through even under the name Jade.

I would be a horrible interviewer if I neglected to ask about Crimson City. How did you get involved in the series? For those who are not familiar with the series, it is a futuristic urban fantasy that involves vampires, humans, weres, and even a mech (mechanical warrior). This is a very different genre than the historicals that you have been writing. Was it a difficult transition?

I was LUCKY, LUCKY, LUCKY, LUCKY!!! I BEGGED and BEGGED and PLEADED with my editor to let me be part of Crimson City. He said no because I had other books under contract. Jade was taking off and he didn’t want me splitting my audience. But then one of the CC authors dropped out, and he had a tight deadline with no one to fill it. I was right there saying…PLEASE???? And he said yes! So there you go! I was thrilled to death to do it. I LOVE SF/F ROMANCE. It was my first love even before it existed as a genre. So…I was lucky and so excited to be part of it. My anthology piece “School Bites” in Shards of Crimson is one of the best and funniest things I’ve ever written. I LOVE that piece! I so hope that there can be more CC books. Email Liz Maverick and plead with her. I’d love to do more.

What do you currently have in the works? Can you give us a peek?

As I said, I’ve picked up a contemporary publisher! I’m writing contemporary tigress books for Blaze. First one comes out in January. Right now the title is “Training a Tigress” but that can change. Anyway, I took the tigress temple I created in the historical time period and kept it alive into modern day Hong Kong. Then I brought a dis-favored son to the US where he’s reluctantly introducing tantrism to his landlady. It’s light. It’s funny. And I want to do LOTS more of them!!!!

Is there anything you'd like to add?

This has been a lot of fun! Thanks so much for letting me visit your site!

Thanks again for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with us today Ms. Lee. I have really enjoyed hearing more about your work. If you'd like to read more about Ms. Lee and her books, you can take a look at her website at www.jadeleeauthor.com.

Interviewed by: Serena