Hump Day Inspirations with Ann Mayburn and John Quinlan

Well here we are. Another Wednesday and an extraordinary Hump Day! I tell you all sorts of firsts are happening at this blog not only do I have the lovely Ann Mayburn, whom I totally adore, but John Quinlan as well. That's him on the cover of Captive Fantasy. So grab a drink from the bar, a plate from the buffet and let's settle in from fantasariffic Hump Day!

Hi Ann, I enjoyed Captive Fantasy, I’m so glad the hubby was handy. :-) You already know I’m huge fan of your work and have to treat any Ann Mayburn book as a reward, or else I’ll never meet a deadline. One of the things I truly enjoyed was the whole captive fantasy. Many women, me included, have this fantasy and I liked how the conflict unfolded between the couple.

So what was the inspiration for the series IWSS and the story? I read For Your Eyes Only as well. LOVE IT!

Yeah! Thank you so much for the compliment. Making you happy makes me happy. 

Well, the premise of the series is pretty simple. The Institute for Women’s Sexual Satisfaction is doing the biggest research study on women’s sexual arousal in the history of psychology and they need healthy, sexually active volunteers to participate. They need to monitor a woman’s brainwaves as she is becoming aroused in order to develop the world’s first pill that will help women become sexually turned on. Kinda like a Viagra for women.

In order to get the best results, they need the research participants to be as sexually aroused as possible, hence the secret fantasy. The IWSS will do their best to create these fantasies for their participants, including building elaborate sets, having volunteers from the IWSS participate in said fantasies, and providing every prop, toy, and costume needed to fulfill that woman’s expectations. 

In each of these books I feature a real life woman’s fantasy and make it come true. Sometimes it’s a friend's fantasy, sometimes it is one of my readers, but the seed for each story is planted by a real woman’s wish. 

Tell the readers a little about yourself.

I’m a 36 yo mom of three boys under seven, a daydreamer and a huge fan of strong women who endure the worst life has to offer and still come through with their dignity and sense of humor intact.

 I decided to start writing in June of '10 after the pre-mature birth of my third son. He was born at 31 weeks, nine weeks early, and it was a very rough delivery. I lost a great deal of blood and had some touch and go moments. While I was recovering from my c-section, without my baby, I had a lot of time to think. In my morphine pumped induced state, I considered all the things that I'd done and what I still wanted to do.

I'd had A LOT of fun in my life, and marrying my husband and having my children was a joy that I can never fully explain. One thing I'd wanted to do was write a book. I've always been a heavy reader, my husband used to moan at my monthly bills from the bookstore, and I have an over-active imagination. The trouble was focusing my ADD 'Oh look a squirrel, oh look a penny' self to sit down and write.

Basically, I stopped making excuses about why I couldn't do it, and sat down and DID it. I found that once I started, I couldn't stop. My muse went into overdrive and I have more ideas than I have hours in the day. I’ve been so fortunate to find myself surrounded by supportive publishers and fantastically helpful authors. The romance community has to be one of the most loving, gracious communities out there. 

What’s your fantasy and do you care to share?

Hmmm, I think I’ll keep that between me and my hubby. ;) 

What’s your biggest pet peeve as a writer?

Not having a maid, chauffeur, nanny,  groundskeeper, and personal chef to do my day job as a stay-at-home mom so I can just concentrate on writing. ;)

How do you balance work and home life?

Balance? What is this balance you speak of? I prefer to be in a constant state of semi-panic. ;)

What else can readers expect from you this year?

Well, I’m working on edits right now for the second book in my ‘For the Love of Evil’ series, Princess of Lust and the next book in my IWSS series and a super secret book and plotting out the next book in my The Kyrimian Cycle series and trying to spend some time with my family and keep my house from deteriorating into something that belongs on the ‘Hoarders’ show. Oh, and I’m getting ready to go to New Orleans in August for the Author’s After Dark conference.

Have you ever been recognized in public?

I was recognized at the Romantic Times reader conference, does that count? ;) As far as being noticed in my hometown, not yet.

You’re on a deserted island with one of the heroes from your books and you can only bring three things with you, which hero and what three things?

As far as my hero, it would have to be Devon King from the second book in my ‘Chosen by the Gods’ series, ‘Dreamer’. That man is a big, sexy ball of talented, dominant, muscle. Now, I’m going to cheat a bit here, but I’d bring a replicator from Star Trek that can make us whatever we want food and drink wise. Third would have to be an endless supply of toilet paper and deodorant. 

Sexy, I know. ;)

What’s your favorite toy?

Oh, I love old school Strawberry Shortcake dolls! Wait, that’s not the kind of toy you’re talking about? In that case I’d have to say that no woman should go through life without having the pleasure of owning a Rabbit at one point or another. 

The tagline for my blog is, Indulge Your Inner Romantic, how do you indulge?

In the summer I indulge with a decadent, yummy, hot fudge brownie Sundae. YUM!

Keep up with Ann at her cyber home:
Website       Facebook         Twitter 

And here's a little interview from John Quinlan. And yes I have pics. Thank you, John for being here at Decadent Decisions. You're my first cover model and…wow.

#1...Was it difficult to evolve into a cover art model from the world of fitness modeling?

It was not difficult in the sense that with both one has to be comfortable with their body. When one does enough photo shoots as I have it becomes second nature to just go out there and do the job. I will say romance cover model is a bit more challenging with a female than in the fitness world in that I have to be a bit erotic with her and if I am lacking confidence the shoot just won’t work so a bit of yes and no there.

#2...Which do you prefer fitness modeling or cover art?

I like them both equally. Naturally fitness related stuff comes naturally to me because that is what I have known all my life but the sense I get when I see the finished proofs of a good romance novel shoot for covers gives me a great feeling of accomplishment. As I have matured as an adult romance is something I now enjoy as if you asked me this 10 years ago I would be like, “romance novel cover…yeah right!”
#3...Have you read any of the books that you adorn the cover of?

No, ha ha ha! Usually not but sometimes my curiosity gets the best of me and I give and all along I am saying to myself, “if it wasn’t for amazing writers like you, guys like me would never find work.”

Want to keep in touch with John and stay in the know? Find him here:

http://irishjohnquinlan.blogspot.com/

http://www.johnquinlan.org/

http://twitter.com/johnjquinlan