Welcome, I would like to thank Evangeline Anderson for taking the time to answer these questions for Coffee Time Romance. Today, we are talking with Ms. Anderson about Pleasure Planet her newest release from Kensington’s Aphrodisia line. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank her for a wild and wonderful read. I’m a big sci-fi fan and this appealed to both that and my romantic side as well.
What is one thing that people would be surprised to learn about you?
I think it would surprise people to know that my parents were ministers and I grew up in a strict religious household. My parents never tried to make sex a big dirty secret but it was pretty clear that you got married and then kept it in the bedroom. So I grew up with an insatiable curiosity about naughty things and I think that’s why all my writing leans that way. Anything forbidden is interesting and appealing which is what leads me to write gay erotica as well as the more traditional male/female stuff.
Why scifi? What appeals to you most about this genre?
I am such a nerd. I grew up loving Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars–basically anything that had a sci-fi or fantasy element. As a girl I would get lost in the library for hours and the sections I gravitated to were not your usual girly reading. I never touched Sweet Valley High or The Babysitter’s Club but I devoured anything by Anne McCaffery, Ursula LeGuin, Orson Scott Card, or Ray Bradbury. I was the weird kid–the one that liked to read on the playground instead of playing kickball. And I think I spent my entire childhood expecting to one day open a door to another world like the Chronicles of Narnia. What I like most about reading or writing Sci-fi is that anything is possible. If you can dream it, you can do it. Real life should be more like that.
I noticed in Pleasure Planet that your heroes ran the gamut from the big muscle bound guy to the less seen, but also loveable nerd. Which is your personal favorite to write about, and which is your personal pick?
Wow, tough question. I have to say that I love them both–it just depends on what mood I’m in as to which kind of hero I will write. I love the sensitivity and sense of humor of a Beta hero( my husband is a Beta male and I wouldn’t change a thing about him.) But then again, there’s something so attractive about a primal, Alpha male. A guy who will sweep you off your feet and force you to submit when that’s secretly what you wanted to do all along. And you may notice that even when I write a Beta male or ‘nerd’, he’s still pretty hot. This is fantasy, folks, so I’m not going to write a wimpy hero. He can be Beta but he’s still going to be physically big enough to get the job done if you know what I mean. (And I think you do.) ; D
I loved all three stories, and read them all at warp speed, pardon the pun, but I have to say that the title, The Girl, the Geek and the Time Machine made me smile. How do you come up with the titles to your stories?
Sometimes a title comes to me along with the concept for a book or story. But then I have others that won’t be named no matter what. Then I have to sit down and do an idea tree and try to come up with a something that conveys the theme of the book without being too generic. I want something that grabs the reader’s attention and gives a general idea of what they can expect to read. For example, Dangerous Cravings, which is now out in print from Loose id, is the story of a heroine who is a tough cop but longs to be dominated when she’s off the job. Luckily for her, she has a hot Alpha male partner who is willing to do the dominating. So as they search for a serial killer, they get deeper and deeper into the BDSM community and he uncovers more and more of her dangerous, sexual cravings.
There is time-travel in two out of the three stories in Pleasure Planet’s stories. Is this something you would try if you could? Why or why not?
Absolutely I would love to time travel. I would love to go to the past and see the truth behind all the historical fiction we read but even more I would love to go to the future. Hopefully things would be better and not worse but either way, I’d love to find out.
How do you come up with the futuristic gadgets like the ones in the story Mirror of the Heart?
That is the best thing about writing science fiction–if you need something you can just make it up. Gadgets are easy–many of them are things I wish we had in real life and some we probably will have soon with the way technology is moving. So I just let my imagination run free. It’s fun. : D
What is the first book/movie you recall that made you want to start writing your own stories?
Wow, I have to admit that I was reading some books I had found on-line at Ellora’s Cave, which is now one of my main publishers. As I read I thought, ‘I could write this!’ So I sat down and did it. It took me over a year to get in with EC but I just finished the edits for my sixth book with them ( a gay male/male paranormal novel called Pledge Slave) so I am proof that if you can dream it, you can do it. You just have to be focused on your goals in order to achieve them.
Describe a normal day for you.
Get up around 7 AM (not my choice–I would sleep till noon if allowed to) get ready, get to work by 8. Then I scan patients at my Open MRI facility from 8 till 5. Sometimes I get a lunch and sometimes a doctor’s office calls in a STAT and then I don’t. When I get home I try to exercise (try being the operative word) make supper for my family and then settle down to write for a few hours. Since I have no kids this is doable. I don’t know how authors who have kids also make time to write–I am in awe of them. After writing I like to take a bubble bath and usually read in the tub. Right now I am reading a book about the wives of Henry VIII. I like to read sci-fi, historical fiction, fantasy, basically anything but romance. (with a few exceptions like J.R. Ward–I love her Dark Lover series) Then I get to bed between midnight and 2 AM and get up and do it all again the next day. Not very glamorous, is it? I live a lot inside my own head and my imagination. So while I am scanning some Granny’s hip, I am also worlds away roaming through a jungle planet or having hot sex with an Alpha male who just won’t quit. I’m rarely bored.
Is there anything in particular you do for inspiration, certain music you listen to, so you can get into your writing mindset?
Uh, no. I need complete quiet when I write or whatever I am listening will affect the mood of my writing. It’s hard to write hot, tortured sex scenes while some bubble-gum pop song is playing in the background. I may get inspiration from watching something that tickles my imagination but then I have to go into a quiet room and write it down.
What is up next for Evangeline Anderson, the author?
I am currently finishing a book for Loose id called Eyes Like a Wolf. It’s a paranormal erotic romance about a woman who lives in Tampa and was separated from her family when she was only seven. What she doesn’t know is that she is one of the last remaining survivors of a race of beings called the Amon-kai. Her world is turned upside down when the boy she was bonded to as a child comes back to claim her. He is now a tall, dark and dangerous man she finds irresistible despite the fact that she is engaged to someone else. Her bond mate is under a curse that only she can break but she’ll have to make some touch choices along the way. I don’t know when it will be out since it’s not even in edits yet but you can look for it in few months, I would think.
Also, for those readers who liked Dangerous Cravings, also from Loose id, I have a new sexy short with the same characters called The Switch which will come out at the end of this month. In it, submissive Alex and her dominant partner, Cole, decide to see what happens if they switch roles in the bedroom. The results are explosive. This story is for all the readers who finished Dangerous Cravings and wrote to ask me what happened to Alex and Cole after the end of the book. Well, this is the answer. The Switch is part of the Loose id Rites of Spring series–look for it at or around March 30th only at Loose id. That should give those readers who haven’t read Dangerous Cravings time to pick up a copy on Amazon if they want to.
PS–Thanks for your thoughtful and interesting questions. This is certainly one of the best on-line interviews I have ever done. I really enjoyed it and I’m so glad you liked Pleasure Planet. : ) Hugs, Evangeline
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