Today I’d like to welcome author Sharon Page to Fallen Angel Reviews. Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions for us today Sharon!

You’re very welcome and I’m delighted to chat.

To start, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m the mother of two young children, wife of a terrifically supportive husband, and I work part time for an engineering firm. Very part time, actually, which is a situation I’m fortunate to be in as I have a lot of time for writing.

My first book sold to Ellora’s Cave in the fall of 2003. I remember completing the final copy edits with my newborn son napping beside me. Unfortunately the sound of computer keys clicking always woke him up. In the summer of 2005, I sold six titles to Kensington’s Aphrodisia line, which was just opening.

I have to add that I just went to the RWA National convention, where I won the National Readers’ Choice Award! My book Sin won in the erotic romance category. It was very thrilling and I believe my acceptance speech consisted of two minutes of babbling in Klingon.

Could you tell readers a little bit about your current release, Blood Red?

Dracula inspired my concept for Blood Red—I wanted to have a female vampire hunter fighting for recognition in a paternalistic society of vampire slayers. The regency era seemed perfect, since I love writing historicals. My heroine is torn between life as a Regency lady (dances and matchmaking), vampire hunting, and a dangerous, forbidden love for two vampires. Originally I thought Althea would be a “kick ass” heroine but she told me a different story. She’s strong, determined, and brave, but her relationship with her father showed me how caring and compassionate she was—she’s very protective of her father, even though she wants to prove herself.

Blood Red is my first menage story. Crafting two equally delicious heroes was a new challenge for me. I quickly discovered that with a menage I had three romances to build—the two relationships between the heroine and both heroes, and the romance of the three together. My vampire heroes in Blood Red are twins—Yannick is the responsible but sensual older brother who inherited the title and wealth; Bastien is the younger rebellious brother who loves wild erotic games and yearns for love.

Blood Red is the first book in your series. Have you already planned how many books are going to be in this series or are you playing it by ear?

Really, I am playing it by ear. I’d hoped to do four, but I’ll have to wait and see what my publisher decides! As a published author, I’m learning how quickly the market can change. But I would just love to be able to write books 3 and 4 in the series, especially book 4, as my heroes will by my villains from Blood Red and Blood Rose.

Has being published changed you at all? If so, how?

That’s a great question. I have to focus very diligently on meeting deadlines and on getting new proposals ready. Now I worry about continuity and new projects, as well as the book I am currently working on. It has also given me the chance to meet and network with some wonderfully talented authors.

How long did it take you to get published?

I could quite truthfully say, “Forever.” I have been writing since I was in grade school and wrote my first novel in high school. (It’s in the bottom of a drawer.) In 2001, after my daughter was born and I was at home on maternity leave, I had the chance to start writing again. Even though it took me two more years to sell to Ellora’s Cave, that time gave me the chance to sit down and write a book in six months. That was so important because it proved to me that I could set that deadline and meet it. When I sold Sin to Kensington, I did not have a completed manuscript, but I did know I could finish a book!

How many hours a day do you spend writing?

I like to think I write almost full time, but if I actually added up the hours, I suspect it would be less. There’s a lot of outside things to be done in the business of writing. On days where I’m very dedicated, I’ll write five hours or more. But some days, I only manage an hour or two. I’ve found that on the days I work the longest, I’m not necessarily the most productive. I think the main thing is to keep the faith, even when the words aren’t flowing.

Blood Rose, the sequel to Blood Red is due out in August. Can you tell us more?

I’m very excited about Blood Rose, which has already been spotted in stores. For a start, Kensington has given me the most gorgeous cover. Here’s a taste of the back cover blurb:

Serena Lark’s erotic dreams of vampires are so vivid, so intense…could she be one? Drake Swift and Lord Sommersby, two daring vampire hunters, might know the truth about her past—and her future. The trio searches the dark streets of London for answers. She cannot say no when Sommersby and Drake introduce her to another existence entirely, one in which only extraordinary sensual pleasure matters—and Serena opens herself up to compelling desire…

I loved writing Blood Rose as it was a complex and challenging story, and I like to think it’s very erotic. My hero Drake is an ex-thief from London’s slums, cocky and reckless, but also deeply scarred by his past. Jonathon is both a nobleman and a scientist, desperately hunting for a way to “cure” vampires before he loses the heroine to her destiny. When my heroine, Serena, learns of the power of a love shared between three, she must convince two powerful men, each determined to claim her for his own, to share.

Please take a look at my website for an excerpt of Blood Rose.

What are some of the difficulties in writing books in a series compared to a single title?

To write a series, you really have to be organized, and I have to force myself to do that. After spending years doing filing at the day job, I think I just tend to rebel against that in writing. Honestly, I organize my manuscripts by piling them on the stairs. But in a series, I know I need to keep spreadsheets about my characters (appearance, names, children and their dates of birth, etc.), and I absolutely have to make detailed notes about the worlds I’ve built. My problem—when I first started to write a series, I didn’t know what details I would need to track. It’s been a learning process!

What I love about writing a series is to be able to revisit characters from previous books. In Blood Rose, I had to chance to revisit Althea, Bastien, and Yannick a few months after the end of Blood Red, before they leave England for the Carpathian Mountains. It was so fun to explore their married life (with the very creative erotic games they’ve developed), and show how Althea and her two men were still passionately in love.

Do you have any indulgent behaviors one might find surprising?

I don’t know about “surprising” but I have way too many indulgent behaviors. Since my husband and I both work at home, we tend to sneak out for lunch once a week. And I do love to have a glass of wine at night while writing. I’ve been trying to curb some of these indulgences to get back in shape (and save a little money).

What is the best advice that anyone ever gave you?

The advice I’ve gotten most often is to put your butt in the chair, write the book, make sure it is a good book, and then write the next one. Writing is a curious profession, since there’s a long time lag between the work you do creating the story and the result—seeing the book on the shelves.

My agent tells me to simply concentrate on writing the best book possible. I also believe in treating writing like a business, which makes the start up phase tough since money is going out on promotions, etc., but it’s not yet coming back in. For me the best advice is to keep the faith, believe in yourself, and keep working. The market changes all the time and you never know when an unsold story will be exactly what an editor is begging for.

Where do you get the inspiration for your stories?

Stories percolate in my mind for a long time and I draw many threads together when I’m creating a plot. Sometimes they are ideas I’ve had for decades! Blood Red originally began as a concept for a contemporary vampire story. But once I changed it to a regency setting and added a gothic touch, the story came to life with much richer depth and became much more sensual. I wanted to explore the relationship between twins, especially the powerful impact birth order would have on the lives of two noblemen at that time.

Blood Rose began with a heroine on a quest—a heroine who discovers her entire life is a lie. I wanted to develop a woman who realizes she doesn’t belong anywhere and will do anything to learn the truth about her past. I was also reading the DaVinci Code at the time, and found myself intrigued to write a fast-paced action plot. My heroes came to me through snippets of scenes. I let Jonathon tell me the story of entering a crypt to confront his former fiancée, who had been transformed into a vampire. Drake, too, came to me piece by piece. He’s the bad boy of the story but he proved to be deep and complex. He is addicted to a drug that it used to subdue vampires, he can’t read, and he realizes that he was brought out of the slums to be a mindless killer. Both heroes are tormented until they meet the heroine, and she makes them see how strong and heroic they are.

You also have Black Silk, the sequel to Sin, scheduled for release in December of this year. Can you give us a sneak peek?

I’d be delighted to, though Black Silk has been moved back to April 2008. In Black Silk, Maryanne Hamilton had expected to be shocked, but the wanton orgy she finds in Mrs. Master’s salon makes her wonder if she has walked into hell. Desperate to escape, she comes upon the master of sin himself—Lord Swansborough. Fascinated by his nakedness, she longs to touch every inch of his long, hard body. And when he bids her come near, she quickly surrenders to his wicked promises of carnal pleasure and sensual ecstasy…

Here’s a little peek:

“In you, sweeting, would I find truth?”

In her?

Before Maryanne could even gasp, his mouth slanted down over hers, and his broad back blotted out the light. She fell into black shadow and reached out to him. She should not allow this, but she was here, and he expected it and—

No. She was Verity. Truth. She wanted to kiss him.

Lord Swansborough’s lips pressed to hers, his tongue parted her lips and slid inside her mouth. She tasted him—delicious was too mild a word!

She tasted brandy, too much brandy, and the warm flavor of him that was so erotically male. His hand cupped her breast. He must know her nipples were indecently erect.

His large body surrounded her, his scent—brandy and shaving soap and witch hazel and the earthy hint of his sweat—washed over her, yet all she wanted was to kiss him deeper. Beneath her fingertips, his shoulders were solid lines of muscle and bone. Daringly, she trailed her fingers toward his neck. She left the almost-propriety of his shirt and touched his bare flesh.
And moaned wantonly into his mouth.

(Excerpt from Black Silk by Sharon Page)

What are some of your hobbies besides writing?

My favorite hobby is skiing. I used to paint quite a lot too but haven’t been able to find the time in the last few years. Skiing is great, as it gives the whole family a chance to get outdoors. My preschool-age son started last year, and since he’s a guy who likes “crash and bang”, he’s enjoying it. Another favorite pastime is heading out to a cottage or lake, and I’m hoping to do that sometime in the future. Right now, our family’s cottages need a lot of work!

Congratulations! You just won a year off from work to travel anywhere in the world and write the story of your dreams. Where do you go, what type of book do you write, and what’s the title?

Even though I’m a Sagittarius, I’m not that keen on travelling these days. But my dream is to be able to sneak away to a lakeside cottage. There is a book I am hungering to write and it is a paranormal romantic suspense in which pure evil can be born again. My tentative title is “Kill Me One More Time.”

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I would like to say thank you to everyone who has read my books, and to all readers in fact, as you are the ones who keep authors in business! Thank you such much for this opportunity.

Thank you for taking time to speak with me today Sharon. Readers be sure to check out Sharon’s website http://www.sharonpage.com.

Interviewed by: Tammy