Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Meet Billi Jean


1-Tell the readers a little about yourself.  
Well, I've been a published author now for over a year and it feels incredible. It's still hard to believe, but being an author has been a dream of mine or I should say, writing. I was never clear on what I would do with my work once I wrote it, but after writing several novel length books, I joined some author groups and thought, well, you need to take the next step. So, off I went to subbing my work. I think I had around 15 full manuscripts finished within two years and really hadn't had anyone read them. I was lucky enough to get some great advice and survive some horrible critique groups prior to finding my now Critique Partner (CP). We hit it off, encouraged each other in writing and in life and are now both published. 
2-As an author, do you take time to read?
 If so, what do you like to read and who is/are your favorite author/s?  I do read. I treat myself to several authors. I vary my reading based on what I'm in the mood for. If I want hot and historical, Samantha Kane since she is hands down my favorite, so far. I tend to stick to a few authors and stay with them….I read all their work and so on. Aussies, my favorites are Rhain Cahill, and Lexie Couper. I've read Lora Leigh, Maya Banks, and I just love Larissa Ione – both as a person and as an author. I like Gena Showalter, and Sabrina Jeffries, Kresley Cole and Anne Gracie. My reading simply depends on what I'm craving, I suppose. 
3-How do you stay motivated when the Muse is uncooperative?  
Mmm, well, my muse is usually on, but for my soon to be released, Spartan's Kiss, I had a tough character to write and I just couldn’t seem to write her story. So, I joined the Nanowrite and in a month forced myself to write her story. It was a great experience and I think diving into a word count each day helped me force that story onto paper. Now, when I'm editing and working on the same story, I have to do the same thing. I force myself to write 1,000 words, which for me is no big deal. When I do that, I take a breather and then do more. It's like I knocked the icing off and just diving into the cake. 
4-If you could go anywhere in the world on a romantic getaway, what would you do and where would you go? 
Wow…well, I'd like to go somewhere secluded, or somewhere in a big city. I think you can be all alone in either setting. I would love to go to a secluded getaway, order room service, stay indoors and discover every position ever created with my guy, then go out on the town and hurry back to do the same thing all over again. Like kids in a candy store. And like kids, no worry over meals, laundry, pick-ups, drop offs, life outside of our own cocoon. 
5-What is the hardest thing for you to write? 
Hurtful scenes. Scenes where one person is emotionally hurting another. Or where one person is emotionally hurt unintentionally or intentionally. Those are tough and take time to write. I get involved because I want to be true to the experience of the character. I think all my books have at least one scene that is hard to write. A Spartan's Kiss had several. Tabithia is a scarred individual. She has quite a few demons to fight off and the saddest thing about her is she tries, she takes these baby steps to be what she thinks is 'normal' and those scenes, and her dark moments, were hard as heck to write. 
6-If you could live the life of one of your characters who would you be? 
Ohhh….I think even with Star's hardships, I would be one happy camper to have Ranger as my mate. He's my hottie Lykae in Midnight Star and I have to say one of the funniest guys to write so far. He is one of those guys that once he realized what he had – Star – he'd do anything and everything to ensure his life with her, and her happiness. She was number one and even without their 'bonding' he never would have looked to another woman. Truly a one woman kinda guy. Star is an great character, too. She's a great friend and a tough enemy. She's one of those truly deep, and passionate individuals who is there for you, and who will slap you on the back of the head if need be.  
7-The tag line on my blog is ‘Indulge Your Inner Romantic.’ What do you do to indulge? 
Ohhh….hot tubs. I love to go to the hot tub. It's such an all over caressed feeing. Can't get enough, and when I make it big? Have to get one. A nice, big, deep one with enough room for two! 



Ranger is a werewolf, a Lykae with a problem. He's found his one true mate, the only female who can complete him. Only trouble is, he's denied his instinct to claim her. Now his mate hates him as much as she believes he hates her. He will have to risk both their lives to finally prove to his stubborn vampire he loves her?
Star is a half-breed vampire with a past of not being accepted because of her mixed blood. Ranger is just one more example of how much she doesn't fit into the immortal world no matter how much she tries to fool herself into believing otherwise. She's a strong female, a fighter, but when it comes to the opinions of others, she has no defenses. Why fight what she knows is true? She is a half breed, less than those around her. She has a home, friends and females she loves like family. Only trouble is, her family is now related to the mangy wolf man who hates her.
When life throws Samantha a curve ball in the form of an ancient Lykae warlord bent on marking her as his—what's she going to do? Run like hell? Oh, yeah, that so worked the first time around. With Derrick hot after her tail, Samantha discovers being the hunted just might not be as bad as she thought.
Derrick is a warlord hardened by centuries of battle. Now that he's free from years of torment, he discovers his mate. Only his beautiful little half wolf is as determined to deny him, as he is to claim her.
As the battle to keep her safe intensifies, Derrick faces the biggest fight of his life: winning Samantha's heart and keeping alive long enough to claim her.
Billi Jean has been writing since high school when she couldn't wait for Robert Jordon to write his Wheel of Time series faster. She writes from home in a little two hundred year old farm house in Western Massachusetts where she shares her space with her active children, an old dog, and two lazy cats.
 Her first book, Midnight Star, has won numerous awards and was voted Best Book by Long and Short Reviews. Her next installment in the Sisters of the Moon series, Silver's Chance, hit the shelves in August 2011. The next, A Spartan's Kiss will arrive right on Valentine's Day, 2012.
Stop by her blog http://readingwritingromance.blogspot.com/and leave a message! She can also be found on twitter and Facebook. For more information on what's coming up in her series, friend her on Goodreads, or follow her blog for snippets of her upcoming stories in the Sisters of the Moon series.

3 comments:

Lynn Chantale said...

Hi Billi Jean, great to have you here. Help yourself to the wonderful buffet and open bar. My staff love what they do and are only too eager to please. You may even persuade one of the pool boys to accompany you to the hot tub.

The premise for both books sounds intriguing, definitely something I'm adding to my TBR list.

Calisa Rhose said...

These all sound fantabulous, Jilli! Thanks for sharing these delightful dilemmas.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for having me!!! Your site is full of fun! The interview was great too. I hope you get a chance to dip into my immortal world. :) Ranger seems to be a popular guy, but Star has his number so we simply have to drool from afar. :)

hugs,

billi jean