Fallen Angel Reviews welcomes well known author J.C. Wilder for an eye opening look into her creative mind and for an intimate discussion about the woman behind the stories. Welcome J.C. please feel free to relax and be as candid as you like.

Are you sure you want to peek into my mind? It’s a little scary in here.

J.C., I figured I would get the tough topic out of the way first. In your current newsletter you touched on your experience with the now defunct Triskelion Publishing. How has that experience changed the way you handle your intellectual property and the publishers you decide to submit your stories to?

Well, the number one rule of any business is to never, ever mix business with pleasure and I violated that one. I submitted a novel to them based upon an invitation given by someone I’d known for a long time. It never occurred to me that they would take advantage of the relationship.

Basically I’m a trusting person and in the future, all contracts will be vetted by my lawyer & I will be checking out publishers financially before approaching them.

Winter’s Daughter is slated for release in December; is it a stand-alone novella or part of an anthology as originally planned?

Winter’s Daughter is a novel, my first in four years, and the first book in The Coven, series. It is a paranormal romance with a very dark, suspense tone. Let’s just say the body count is high.

Based on all the projects you’re working on how would you describe an ideal 2008 as it relates to your career as a writer? Books published? Submitted? However you quantify success!

I don’t try to quantify my success. I mean, if I can pay my bills then I’m happy with that. It doesn’t matter to me if I write one book or ten each year. My bottom line is that I will only write what I want to write and if I learn and grow from each project. For me, it’s about the heart and soul of the process, not just adding more notches to my computer.

As you look back over your numerous published titles if you were only able to select one which one would you say was the hardest to create?

The last one. Seriously, Winter’s Daughter was a very difficult project for me. It deals with murder and the trauma inflicted upon children in that situation. It is a deeply emotional and disturbing book with lots of plot twists and turns.

J.C. using fan feedback as the only determining criteria, which series is most popular, your Shadow Dwellers or Men of Swat?

Well, I think they are pretty equal. Most readers seem to have enjoyed both and I receive quite a bit of email every week asking about the next stories. Hey, I’m only one woman here! LOL.

I’ve always wondered why authors use more than one pseudonym. Could you shed some light on your decision to go with more than one pen name?

When I took a second pen name it was because my name was already established. My writing has always been very sensual but with the Adair name I felt I could push the sexuality even farther. At that time I wouldn’t have considered writing a bondage title as Wilder – six years ago bondage was cutting edge though now it seems to be commonplace.

In the beginning I was concerned about offending people but in the end it wasn’t a worry. Most of my readers read both the Wilder and Adair titles.

We’ve discussed your books but the next topic I had to bring up is your August 16, 2007 blog entry about marrying for love or money. I was impressed with your candid post. Being a romance author do you ever feel pressure to have your life imitate the stories you create? Or is it all just fantasy in the end?

I wouldn’t want my life to imitate my art – too many ghoulies wandering around.

No, I don’t feel any pressure at all on this issue. Romance writers are like any other profession, we are a microcosm of society. There are good marriages, bad marriages, divorce, depression, suicide, kids, PTA etc.

I’m not jaded where marriage is concerned. I’m forty-two years old and I’ve had some amazing men in my life, most of which I have remained close with. I just never found one that made me want to settle down and I won’t settle for just anyone to fill the other side of my bed. (Not to mention I sleep with three dogs and I can’t see myself kicking them out! ) I like being single and able to come and go as I please. In the past it was men who were afforded this luxury, not women, why should they have all the fun?

In all honesty, do women really need to get married anymore? We can support ourselves, if we want children we can have them on our own or adopt one. Most women feel they must be married in order to feel fulfilled but I wasn’t raised that way. I am fully content in myself and if I should happen across a man who loves the same things I do, then what an amazing life we’ll have.

But I’m not holding my breath until he shows up – I have too much to do!

J.C. your website is a gold mine of information so I thank you for that. The next item I wanted to discuss with you is your weight loss journey. Your Shrinking Woman blog stopped earlier in the year and if you’re ok with sharing please let us know how things are going for you?

I’m glad you brought this up, I really need to update that site. As I mentioned in one of the blog posts, I’ve been dealing with some health issues that are directly related to my weight.

I feel my story is pretty common to anyone who is overweight in America and I decided to share my struggles. There is something about not feeling completely alone when you’re dealing with deep issues and if I can help someone else then I’m all for it.

My original goal was to lose 100 pounds this year and while I won’t make that, I have lost 18 and I’m determined to make sure they never come back!

Ok I’m sure you’re wondering when the light questions will appear so I have to ask about your band. What was the name of your band and was being on the road as exciting as it seems on TV

I wasn’t ‘in’ the band, I just traveled with them. I’m about as musical as an elephant.

No, there is very little exciting about traveling with a band. Long hours, hauling gear, setting up, bad food, cheap liquor – it goes on and on. I did enjoy it at times and I learned a lot about myself. I taught myself to be brazen as all get out. One of our last trips we traveled to New York for the New Music Festival. Here I was, a twenty-six year old music lover who had the balls to walk up to the Music giants and get their attention. Approaching Tommy Mottola didn’t scare me as much as returning to our low cost hotel room! Bugs!

Your bio mentions you volunteer your photography services to the police department. Is it basically routine work or does your volunteer time resemble an episode of C.S.I.?

I don’t photograph crime scenes, just community events or the officers at work. I really enjoy hiding behind my camera.

How do you keep track of the thousands of books you own? I used to think owning 500 books was something spectacular. I can’t imagine what it’s like to have read and store 6000 of them.

Yeah, most of them are in boxes right now. I used to never get rid of a book and now I have to, ran out of room in the house. Now I need to cull the herd a bit or the attic will land in the living room!

As we close out this interview can you tell us about one of your stories scheduled for a 2008 release to get your fans and F.A.R. readers something to salivate over until the New Year?

I have a variety of books coming out in 2008. The first paperback is In The Gloaming, an anthology that will be available in February. The stories are erotic fantasy romances, two with a Celtic Twist. My novella is a futuristic and it’s pretty spicy!

Also, the Paradox series with Rosemary Laurey will be released in paperback from Samhain Publishing. We’re very excited about those.

J.C., thank you so much for taking time to sit down with F.A.R this evening to make this interview one I’m sure our readers won’t forget. Before you leave can you let F.A.R readers know where they can find additional information about your books and any upcoming chats, appearances, or book signings?

Readers can check me out at http://www.jcwilder.com – all my appearances are listed there. Thanks for having me, F.A.R., it was a pleasure.

Interviewed by: Rachelle