Guest Author and Giveaway with Wendi Zwaduk

If someone were writing a story about Wendi Zwaduk, what would your blurb say?

Dazed, confused, and listening to voices.
All her life she wanted to find the one thing to make her heart sing. But somehow the pieces never quite fit together. Art? Exciting, but stuffy. Public speaking? A crash course in terror. Raising children? You don't want to go there.
Through the ups and downs of life, one thing remained steadfast--the written word. Reading, writing, expressing...
And then she discovered the darker side, the side where its okay to say those words. She started writing erotica and never looked back. Follow her on her journey to the dirty side.

How do you get started with writing a story (as in, how do you start developing the story, how do you get inspired for it)? Do you start with an outline, synopsis, characters; what is your writing process like?
I see a picture or in the case of Storm, I hear a song and think, yanno, that would make a great story. Then I write out what the character seems to want to do in outline form. But with Storm, I had the outline and more or less 3/4 of the story written when he bothered to tell me he was a vampire. That sorta threw things off. It posed new challenged, but it made the story richer, so I went with it. I tend to write with I can concentrate--so late at night or when everyone leaves. And then it happens in fits and bursts. I tend to write main plot and then go back in and add the love scenes--some of which develops as the story does, but sometimes the sex can wait. I have been known to leave the hero at the moment just before climax, forgetting about him for a couple days. He generally doesn't mind, but I know it has to frustrate the dickens out of him.

The story that follows My Immortal, which isn't written yet, was inspired by a Rob Zombie song and a Ke$ha song. The vampiress likes to dance and man, she's giving me a headache.

Can you tell us a little about your newest release My Immortal that isn’t in the blurb?
He's a vampire. He's been a boxer, a railroader, and a Puritan. He's known love and loss and he's deeply attracted to his partner. All the bells and whistles in his head say, no, she's off limits, but to the core of his soul he's certain she belongs to him. Storm Richardson isn't one to take no for an answer.

Stevie's been through the wringer. She was a cop until a couple other officers used illegal tactics to get rid of her. Relationships don't really work for her. Men say she's cold and distance, not wanting to relive the moments of the rape over and over. Storm is her constant. He gets her with unconditional trust. He'll have her back in a gunfight, but will he protect her heart if she offers it as a gift?

I liked the play of opposites, a cop and a vampire, cold/distance versus warmth and trust. Both are damaged individuals who, as a team are unstoppable. I've wanted to try my hand at an action sequence and the paranormal. Somehow all the things I wanted to give a while seemed to come together in this story.

What was your favorite scene to write in My Immortal?
Sex in the truck. Stevie's been through an ordeal while making a deposit and Storm is comforting her. The comforting leads to sex and when they finish, she convinces him to watch a NASCAR night race. He's not into racing, but her idea--wear only your driver colors, but since he has not favorite driver, he's in the buff--intrigues him into watching the event. I liked being able to bring my affection for NASCAR into the story. The driver mentioned is a character from another story I wrote that is still in the drawing board stages, but it was nice to tie the stories together, albeit loosely. And yes, I've watched NASCAR in nothing but a smile. *Wink*

What do you look for in creating your Heros?
My heroes are alpha, but they have the ability to step back and relinquish power. I like a guy whose tall, generally dark haired, and not much body hair. He's got to be able to stand up when needed, and stand beside when she asks. It doesn't hurt that he's got muscles and a nice butt. I tend to let them drive what they do rather than making them fit a mold, because heroes can be downright crabby if they can't just be themselves.

Do you usually cast your characters (a mental picture) before or after you have started writing? Does it help inspire you and take the story in a different direction?
Absolutely. I have never had a picture and said, I'm writing a story for him. What happens is I'll start a story and will have a fuzzy idea of what the hero looks like. As I'm going along, if his visage appears, in a tv show or a picture in a book or on the net, then he'll shout, that's me! Only then do I really start to add the details, but it's never things like, his chin curves this way or he's got sideburns. It's more like, if he got angry, I think he'd react this way. I've never met the people who are the likenesses of my heroes and that's probably better because I can superimpose all I want without having reality shatter the illusion.

If you were going to cast Storm & Stephanie, who would you choose to play them?
Storm was patterened after Jonathan Togo on CSI Miami, BUT, just his likeness. Never met the guy, but he'd be my choice to play Storm.

Stevie would have to be someone with meat on their bodies. She's not stick thin. Natalie Portman might work. I dunno. I create the heroines but never with a clear picture in my head of who she might be. Actually, there was a show called The Listener, and there was a female cop on there. I have no idea what her name was, but she might work too. Hmmm. Guess I'll have to think on it some more.

If you could be any one of YOUR heroines, who would you be and why?
I'd want to be Stevie because she can use a variety of weapons. I've always wanted to learn how to shoot and being I have relatives who hunt, you'd think they'd teach me. Nope. I'd could probably take a firearms course. I wouldn't want to shoot critters, just to know that I could if I wanted to. I'd also like to be Stevie because she gets to hang out with Storm and he's a hot guy. Maybe I'm biased, but yeah, he's a cutie.

Do you ever run into someone who says, YOU WRITE WHAT !!” ?
All the time. It starts with, oh, you wrote a paranormal. How cool. Then they want to know, what's it about. I tell them and when I say, it's an erotic work, I get so you write porn. Not exactly. When I try to explain further, either their eyes glaze over because they just don't want to know, or they ask tons more questions because they secretly want to know everything. It's like they think it's dirty to write erotic, but people have sex, so why can't I put it into the written word? My favorite line is: if you wrote something less dirty, then I'd be interested in reading it, cuz then I could tell my friends. Um... sure.... but no. Sorry. Everyone has their strengths and I've tried leaving the bedroom door shut. My hornball characters throw it open with grins, giggles, and gusto.

What was the most challenging thing you’ve done in the name of research that might have been out of your comfort zone?
I watched a show on vampires where animal sacrifices were being done. I love animals. They're cute and even though I grew up on a farm and know where hamburger comes from, I don't want to SEE it. I sat through the show, but threw up. It's nothing dare devil, but its what I went through.

For you, what is the hardest part of writing a novel? Concept, Characterization, Plotting, Writing the story, Synopsis/Query letter writing, etc.
There are two parts that are my Achilles Heel. One: the synopsis. I'm always afraid that it sounds juvenile and too simplistic. I was told that the synopsis shows off your writing style and gives the editor an idea of what you can do. But squashing a 40k story into three pages, IMHO doesn't showcase my style. It shows I can write a book report--maybe. I tend to fret big time over those things. The other issue I have is time. I never have enough time to write and cooperation from the characters within the time I have alloted--it seems--to make progress. Either someone is peeking over my shoulder or someone else wants me to do their bidding. And when I say, do not interrupt, it's like shooting off a starter pistol to see who will aggrivate me first.

If you could ask readers any one question, what would it be?
What draws you to a book? The Cover? The Blurb? A combination? What turns you off? What about a new to you author helps convince you to buuy a copy of their book?

Blurb:

What’s a girl to do when she finds out the man of her dreams is a 340 year old vampire?EXCERPT

Run like hell or offer her heart.

Being a vampire hasn’t been easy for Storm Richardson. He’s not programmed to kill or harm, unless he needs to feed. When he meets Stephanie “Stevie” Persing, he knows he’s found his mate. But if he crosses the line between work and play, he risks losing the only person who matters—her.

Stevie’s been in love with Storm since the moment she laid eyes on him. He’s brooding, intense, and her one weakness. But is her heart too steep a price to pay for his love, especially when she discovers his deepest secrets?

The woman cackled, no doubt knowing that Stevie wasn’t his lover. “When you’re done with the time killer, come find me.”


“Thank you but I’m not interested.”

Stevie rolled her eyes again. Why did he insist on being a gentleman? Why didn’t he just wuss out of the damned bet and stroll off with the bimbo?

Because he didn’t want to lose any more than she did. She bit back a grin. His king sized bed with the Egyptian cotton sheets became more appetizing by the minute.

Storm turned her around in his embrace. “Stevie, I believe I owe you something.”

She refocused her attention to the man who kept her warm with nothing more than the sound of his velvet voice. “You didn’t lose the bet.” She tried to ignore the way he made her feel. He smelled like clean linen and danger. Like sin and sex.

Storm brushed her hair off her face and stroked her jaw with his middle finger. His lips, not too full and luscious enough for kissing, were inches away from hers. No stubble marred his chiselled jaw; just perfect, though a bit pale, skin. No wonder the women flocked to him in droves. He was romance hero/cover model gorgeous.

He cupped her head and tightened his other arm around her waist. She sucked in a ragged breath as her heartbeat thumped in her ears and liquid heat swirled between her legs.

Good Lord, this man was good.

“I don’t care about the damn bet.” He crushed his lips against hers.

***GIVEAWAY***

Wendi Zwaduk giving away a download of My Immortal to one randomly drawn commenter!

RULES:

MUST answer Wendi's question above

MUST be a follower or become one

MUST leave e-mail address

Winner Chosen Sept 10th.