In this anxiously awaited interview Fallen Angel Reviews is pleased to welcome Amelia Elias known for stories overflowing with rapture and plots that engage you from beginning to oh so naughty end. Please welcome to the “tell me all your secrets” interview at FAR Amelia!

Thanks, Rachelle! I’m excited to be here.

Amelia, to get the chance to finally speak to “the” author who wrote one of my favorite stories is so cool!! Pandora’s Box was pure fire and still to this day a story I can reread and get just as fervent as I was when I first had the pleasure of reading it. Seeing that Pandora’s Box was just your sophomore release to what do you credit its success?

Thanks so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Pandora’s Box was a first for me in many ways, even though it was the second of my books to be published. I really wanted to push the envelope of what I’d written before, make it hotter, sexier, more dangerous, and incorporate a stronger paranormal element than in my first novella, Three Wishes. Pandora was also my first attempt at writing a first-person narrative, and I wasn’t sure how that would work out, either. When all was said and done, I loved that story! Maybe I should decide to do something totally new and different more often, eh?

Since then you’ve had a few hot releases. Your contribution to The Paranormal Mates Society was another fav of mine. Fury and Ares were pretty wild together and how you came up with the concept I don’t know but it worked. Can you share with FAR readers what those voices are telling you that result in such mystifying tales that continue to reel readers in time and time again?

The Paranormal Mates Society series was just an absolute blast to work on. As soon as I heard about the series concept, I emailed Crystal Esau, my wonderful editor at Changeling, and begged to be included! Not only did the idea sound fabulous, my very good friend and critique partner, Cat Marsters, was already signed on to write a story for this series, and we’ve always talked about collaborating on something. It was the perfect setup.

When coming up with the plot for Loving Fury, I thought of the gods first. I’ve always been fascinated by the Greek pantheon because Greek gods are so different from today’s religious concepts. They’re passionate and flawed and demanding, not at all distant, and I really wanted to explore them as super-powerful people rather than distant deities. I’ve also been interested in the Furies (or Erinyes) ever since I found this Orphic hymn:

"Vociferous wild Erinyes hear! Ye I invoke, dread powers, whom all revere; nightly, profound, in secret who retire, Tisiophone, Alekto, and Megaira dire: deep in a cavern merged, involved in night, near where Styx flows impervious to sight. To mankind’s impious counsels ever nigh, fateful, and fierce to punish these you fly. Revenge and sorrows dire to you belong, hid in a savage vest, severe and strong. Terrific virgins, who for ever dwell, endued with various forms, in deepest hell; aerial, and unseen by human kind, and swiftly coursing, rapid as the mind. In vain the sun with winged effulgence bright, in vain the moon far darting milder light, wisdom and virtue may attempt in vain, and pleasing art, our transport to obtain; unless with these you readily conspire, and far avert your all-destructive ire. The boundless tribe of mortals you descry, and justly rule with Dike’s (Justice’s) impartial eye. Come, snaky-haired, Moirai (Fates) many-formed, divine, suppress you rage, and to our rites incline."

So here’s a woman who lives in deepest hell, hands out horrible punishments, and cannot be turned aside--yet does not control her own fate. The Erinyes were commanded by the other gods rather than their own whims. Sounds like it’d be hard to get a date, doesn’t it? Must be, because they’re described as virgins.

Take a paranormal dating service that promises loads of humor, a heroine that strong and yet, in my mind anyway, vulnerable, and Ares who pretty much defines the ultra-sexy warrior hero… oh yeah, the chance to play in this realm was just too good to pass up.

Your latest Samhain release Chosen is book three in your coveted Guardian series. Did you set out with a multiple book series in mind or has the series sort of evolved on its own? Also please tell us about this latest addition and what readers can expect.

I did start out planning to write a series, but it’s open-ended with no definite stopping point in sight. Personally, I’m a big fan of series books. Getting to know the characters and the world deeply is very satisfying to me as a reader. I hope to do this as a writer with my Guardians’ League books.

Chosen, as you mentioned, is the third book in the series, and things are starting to heat up a little now. My vampire Guardians have some strong enemies who were introduced in Hunted and Outcast, namely the Templar Alliance of human vampire hunters and the Outcasts themselves, the vampires who kill to feed. Both make an appearance in this book. This might be my favorite book in the series so far! There are a few other developments in Chosen that I won’t go into detail about here--wouldn’t want to spoil it for anyone!--but suffice it to say, you won’t be bored.

But to me, the most important part is the love story. Gareth Ambrocio is such a great hero. I totally fell in love with him while writing this story! He’s waited hundreds of years for the right woman to come along, and now that she has, he’s not about to let anything come between them. Not even a city at war, mysterious attackers, or her own understandable hesitation about cuddling up with a fanged warrior!

Outside of your vampires you’ve created extremely interesting stories in other genres. If you were forced to choose a genre, outside of paranormal specialty vampires what would you say is your next favorite?

Oh, that’s tough. As you said, I love to jump around a lot in my writing. That’s one of the great benefits about epublishers--having the freedom to push the boundaries and try new things. I really love action-packed, suspenseful stories, whether they include vampires or not. It’d be really hard to pry me away from the paranormal, though! I’ve only written two stories that don’t have a paranormal element to them--Riding Lessons, a super-short story about a woman determined to change her boring life, and Out For Christmas, my first (but not last!) gay romance.

The last few titles you’ve had published have all been with Changeling Press or Samhain Publishing. Do you see yourself branching out with other up and coming e-publishers or maybe even throwing your hat into the ring of the New York publishing market?

I’ve enjoyed working with all four of the publishers I’ve been lucky enough to deal with--Samhain, Changeling Press, Loose-Id, and Aphrodite Unlaced. I’m certainly not averse to branching out into other markets, though! Samhain Publishing recently signed a really terrific deal with Kensington, so I might get in the door at New York through that new Samhain/Kensington line. Of course, no one’s said anything definite about that yet, but I’ve got my fingers crossed!

I’ll still write for my epublishers, though. I love so many things about ebooks. If I have a crazy idea that’s totally different from anything I’ve done before, I can probably find a home for it at one of my epublishers. That kind of freedom is hard to beat!

Now that we’ve heard all about your past and future projects let’s talk about your personal side Amelia. I have to ask, how do you survive with out TV in a world where being a couch potato is a new art form?

LOL! I actually love being without TV, if you can believe it--and yes, I know that makes me certifiable. We still watch movies, and I’ll occasionally rent DVDs of whatever show grabs my fancy (The Closer is my current favorite, I’m working my way through the first season), but we have no cable or network TV at all. I got rid of it in 2002 because my oldest son is Autistic and tends to repeat phrases, and there’s nothing on television I want to hear 60 times in a row!

Other than my imagination, the internet’s really my source of entertainment. I listen to NPR for the news and read online news to keep up with the world. One funny moment that’s come from being “unplugged” was during the 2004 presidential debates. I wanted to watch them, so I ran down to Radio Shack to get a set of bunny-ears to pick up the local broadcast. You should’ve seen the employee’s face when I asked if I could hook those up to a high-definition digital set…

You mention that you are a Buddhist I would love to hear if this is something you’ve always followed or have come to practice as an adult. Also how does being a Buddhist affect your writing style?

It’s something I’ve come to as an adult. It’s brought me a more open and caring mindset toward all people and really, all things on Earth. I’m very concerned about how humanity is treating the planet. Christianity teaches that we are to be good stewards of what the Creator has given us, and Buddhism teaches that all life is equally important. They’re two things I very firmly believe. I like how open-minded Buddhism is, that it doesn’t condemn other beliefs, and that it teaches that people can find the positive in all things. Not to say it’s easy to do that--but it’s there, if you search, and when bad things happen, it’s not because you’re bad or sinful. It’s just the natural order of life.

I’m sure my beliefs affect my writing style, but I’d be hard pressed to say just how. Everything I write comes from my own personal world-view, whether it’s as a mother or a Buddhist or a pet-owner or an environmentalist or whatever. I definitely try not to be heavy-handed with any of my beliefs in my writing (okay, except the environment, lol) because other viewpoints than mine are certainly valid and I would hate to offend people.

Do you see erotica becoming as mainstream as the Harlequins of the past or do you feel erotic stories will be for a specialized reader base only?

Both. The more that the “big NY houses” open up to erotica and erotic romance, the more accepted the genres will become in general. However, like every other genre, it doesn’t appeal to everyone. Erotica and erotic romance use frank language and don’t shy away from any of the aspects of sex, whether physical or emotional, and it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Personally, that’s why I love them--the celebration of passion between two people, in all its glory. I find it a very positive thing and very female-empowering to read about these people who don’t fear their sexuality, but embrace it. For readers who enjoy these stories, they’re certainly getting easier to find, which is terrific.

Your current reading list looks as if I designed a must have book section for myself. We seem to enjoy some of the same authors. Do you have a top 3 list of books you can read over and over and still want to read them again?

Oh, man, you ask hard questions! Only three? Okay, hmm… The Immortal Highlander by Karen Marie Moning. Dang, that woman writes some smart, sexy books! She builds the sexual tension until you just about can’t stand it, and when Adam and Gabrielle finally, finally consummate their relationship… *Amelia spaces out dreamily, staring into the distance…* Ahem. Yes, definitely a favorite.

Dance With the Devil by Sherrilyn Kenyon. I loved Zarek from the moment we first met him, and couldn’t wait to find out what had made him into such a tightly controlled man. I could just sense the vulnerability under the surface. I love seeing a character who’s had it so hard finally get the true love and peace they deserve, I really do, and this book does it so very, very well.

And to totally switch gears, The Stand by Stephen King. I love King’s imagery, even when he make me shudder--he’s such an incredible descriptive writer. And I love the character-driven novel, where we come to know each character so deeply as the story progresses. It’s just a fantastic book.

Oh before I forget can I tell you how jealous I am you were able to purchase your entire Amazon wish list? Mine continues to grow out of control.

LOL! Yes, that was certainly a highlight day for me! And naturally, my wish list has again reached titanic proportions. Books are my addiction. I tend to read a full book every single day, so I have to keep a steady stream coming in!

I’ve gotten most of those wish-list books in, but I’m still waiting (very, very impatiently, by the way) for the last Harry Potter book to come out. I bought it both in hardback and on CD when I splurged on all those books. Jim Dale reads all the Harry Potter books (in their US version--I think there’s another voice actor who reads the UK versions) and he is FANTASTIC. I can’t say enough about how much I love listening to him read these books! I’m going to try to listen to the final book rather than reading it, just to prolong the pleasure… but my self-control is notoriously bad. As in nonexistent.

And for the record, I think Snape is on the GOOD side! Somehow, some way, he’s good. You wait and see.

Soulmate! An interesting term and I see, unless something’s changed since your last blog update Amelia that you are still searching for that special one. When you envision your other half what do you see? Do you see someone like the men in your stories or maybe a bit of a modified version of a true-life hero?

Yes, I believe in soulmates--that one person who compliments you so perfectly that you can’t imagine wanting to be without them. I haven’t found mine yet, but the search continues! When I try to picture my soulmate, I think of someone with a great sense of humor and an adventurous spirit, who will love my sons as if they were his own, who takes time to do his own thing and allows me to do the same without protest, and who is always seeking to learn new things. And who looks like Vin Diesel. Or Orlando Bloom. Well, I wouldn’t kick George Clooney or Sean Bean out of bed either. Or Nicolas Cage, or Will Smith… really, I’m not picky.

Outside of massive splurging on books what are some of the other ways you pamper and revitalize yourself?

I love bath products in lots of different scents--it’s not unusual for me to go to Bath and Body Works and come home with three or four sample-size bottles of bath gel every time I hit the mall. Lots of choices, that’s my thing. I think there’s about 10 different scents in my shower right now! I also love getting massages. I really miss living in Austin, where I used to hit the massage schools once a month or so and get a great, long massage for next to nothing. I also love computer games (strategy games--one of my current favorites is called Master of Defense. Google it, download, become addicted like me) and Xbox games--the action-hero, sword-and-sorcery type. Yes, I’m a geek. But there’s just something about having a rough day, then coming home and picking up your sword and ridding the magical kingdom of some huge venomous spiders or wicked goblins… it’s a good thing.

One last personal question, if you could pinpoint that special moment when you knew you were meant to become an author what would it be?

Hmm… I’m not sure I could pinpoint one moment. I’ve been writing stories for as long as I could remember. One of my elementary teachers bound one and put a cover on it for me when I was in third grade, and I still have it! I think the moment I knew I wanted to write romance came in high school. We read Gone With The Wind and my teacher asked us to write a different ending--she must’ve been a romance fan, too! I wrote about ten pages to everyone else’s two, and she read mine out loud to the class. I was mortified, of course, and spent the entire time with my head down on the desk, but her praise meant the world to me. I remember thinking, I can really do this!

I’ve taken up a lot of your time so far, but wondered if you could tell our readers about some of the upcoming projects you’re working on?

Well, I’ll soon be finishing my Vampire Ties series at Changeling with a story called Buried Ties, and I’m working on the second and third stories for the Three Wishes series there, too. Also with Changeling, I’ve got a short story titled For A Good Time Call that will be coming out soon as part of their Summer Escapes series. In addition, I’m planning out the next book for my Guardians’ League series with Samhain--this one will feature Ronin, the character I find I get the most reader mail about! For me, this is a light workload, so naturally I’m plotting and planning all the time, waiting for the next idea to strike!

Amelia, thank you for taking time to sit down with me this evening so our readers and your fans could get to know you better. Before we leave could you let us know where we can find additional information about your books and any upcoming chats, appearances, or book signings?

Thank you, Rachelle! This has been fun. More information on my books can be found on my website, www.AmeliaElias.com, or drop by my author alcove in the Romance Galleria. I’m moving to San Antonio soon (next week, yikes!) so right now that’s taken up all my planning gears, but once I’m settled there, I hope to arrange some book-signing events in the Central Texas area. Thanks again for having me!

Interviewed by: Rachelle