Whimsical Wednesdays
guest post
Today on Jessica Aspen Writes, I’m interviewing author, Shauna Aura Knight. Besides having the coolest author name ever, she also has a pretty hot cover and a seriously hot book! You might also be interested in her non-fiction books on dreamwork, rituals, and goddesses. Please welcome, Shauna, to the blog
Hi Shauna and thanks for being my guest today on Jessica Aspen Writes. Let’s get started on the interview, shall we? What do you come up with first in starting a story: Title? Characters? Plot? Setting? Conflict?
I’d say characters and conflict. I often hit right in the middle of the story, particularly when one of my stories comes from an idea from one of my epic dreams.
Have you had many rejections? How did you deal with them? How did they push you?
I haven’t had many rejections, but I also waited until I was a really solid writer to submit my work. This is speaking both as a nonfiction and a fiction author. I did recently have a rejection that devastated me at first. However, having a beta reader go through my rejected novel helped me figure out what was wrong with it. In the act of defining the villain more clearly, I not only improved that story, but I came up with the villain/primary conflict for at least three or four other books that I had started, yet I wasn’t sure what the motivation for the villain was. So that rejection ended up being really good for me!
Are you self-publishing? Why or why not?
I have self published some of my nonfiction, and I’m working on a fiction story to self publish. I like working with publishers as it helps to get my work out to a broader audience, and it’s nice to not have to manage all the details. Plus, the experience of having my work edited has tremendously improved my writing. However, I am looking to self publish some fiction just to get a more direct idea of what promotion efforts are working. I do a lot of social media, and I’m never sure what is actually helping to sell my books. I’d like to spend more time writing, and less time promoting, so the only way to do that is to get more strategic about it.
What’s unique about this particular book.
The book is has some very intensely sexy moments, particularly when all three of them are having sex together…but what really made the characters come alive for me is how funny Jake and Kyle are together. I had no clue when I started writing the story that the two of them would be so clueless about how to seduce Ellie. Writing them made me laugh out loud.
Was there anything that surprised you while writing this book?
I was surprised that Jake and Kyle were werewolves. I wrote the scene of the three of them hooking up first. By the time I finished writing that very erotic scene, I knew that they were werewolves. I’ve always been more into vampires, to this was a surprise.
Did you have a favorite scene?
I do; it’s this hilarious interchange between Jake and Kyle. I don’t even know where it came from, but it still cracks me up when I read it. These two incredibly sexy werewolves are trying to seduce Ellie and completely failing at it.
“Was she running away from us?”
Jake folded his arms. “You scared her off.”
“Me? I’m not the one who was all, ‘Would you like some lemonade?’ No, that didn’t spook her.”
“You were about to force feed her pie.”
“I was just offering.” Kyle tugged his apron off.
“She does run away from us though.” Jake and Kyle headed outside. “Why do we scare her?”
“We’ve never gone feral in front of her….”
Is this a series? Will there be any sequels to this book?
I didn’t intend this book as a series when I wrote it, however, I now have three novels I’m working on that all take place at the SpiralStone retreat center where Werewolves takes place. In A Golden Heart of Glass, Angel is a devotee of the goddess Aphrodite, but as she and Benjamin grow closer, they both find themselves sought after by creatures that want their magic. Jake, Kyle, and Ellie make appearances, and I’m also working on a freebie short story about the threesome from Werewolves. Jake and Kyle ambush Ellie with a feast of chocolate…delicious smut ensues.
What are you releasing next, and when?
My next release will be A Fading Amaranth. Alexandra’s psychic abilities have made it impossible for her to be in a relationship until she meets Nathaniel, a vampire who has lost his muse. When a Faerie monster begins stalking the streets of Chicago, they have to face dark magic and danger. I don’t have a release date just yet but it’ll be out soon!
BOOK BLURB: Werewolves in the Kitchen
When Ellie moved to the SpiralStone retreat center to figure out her life, she expected peace, quiet, and spiritual practice. She had no idea that the two sexy men running the kitchen would seduce her…much less at the same time. Kyle and Jake turn out to be wilder than they seem and Ellie finds herself wrapped up in devastating magic. She must choose: stay with Jake and Kyle and risk who she has been, accepting the dangerous world of shapeshifters? Or leave them and risk madness, or worse?
Excerpt on my Blog: http://shaunaknightauthorartist.wordpress.com/2014/01/17/book-release-werewolves-in-the-kitchen/
To buy Werewolves in the Kitchen:
Jupiter Gardens Press: http://jupitergardenspress.com/shop/werewolves-in-the-kitchen
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Werewolves-Kitchen-Shauna-Aura-Knight-ebook/dp/B00HVJMUSI
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/werewolves-in-the-kitchen-shauna-aura-knight/1118063246
ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-werewolvesinthekitchen-1396618-340.html
Werewolves in the Kitchen is a paranormal romance with a M/F/M ménage.
ISBN: #978-1-938257-65-0
BIO: Shauna Aura Knight
An artist, author, and presenter, Shauna’s work is inspired by the mythic stories of heroes and magic, and of the darkness we each must overcome. She’s a fantasy artist and author of paranormal romance and urban fantasy including Werewolves in the Kitchen, A Winter Knight’s Vigil, and The White Dress, the Autumn Leaves. Her mythic artwork and designs are used for magazine covers, book covers, and illustrations.She travels nationally offering intensive education in the transformative arts of community leadership, facilitation, and personal transformation, and is the author of numerous articles and books on those subjects.
CONTACT INFO:
Author Web Site: http://www.shaunaauraknight.com
Fiction Blog: https://shaunaknightauthorartist.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShaunaKnightAuthorArtist
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Shauna_A_Knight
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/shaunaaknight
