Guest Paranormal & Contemporary Romance Author Jo-Anne Kenrick

Today's guest is paranormal and contemporary romance author JoAnne Kenrick-


Before we get started talking about your books, tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from? What is your occupation outside of writing?
Without giving the whole dramatic 'hi, my name is JoAnne, and I'm addicted to reading' intro, let me just say I read..too much. I write. I tend to my family. And I have a mad fascination with anything paranormal/supernatural. When I lived in the UK, I actually worked as A Ghost Tour Guide. But these days, my writing is my work.

What are your favorite books to read?
I will seriously read anything that has a fantastic cover, promises hot scenes, or has a unique paranormal-esk premise. Some of my favorite authors are Lara Adrian, Sara Taney Humphreys, Olivia Cunning, Ciar Cullen, Denise A Agnew...gosh I could go on. So many! I could have a list pages long if you let me carry on.

Aside from your successes in the writing industry, what in your life has given you the greatest sense of accomplishment?
My children, and our family as a whole. We have gone through so many changes. Yet through out it all, we've stuck together and supported each other. Each and everyday, I see what wonderful human beings my children have turned into. They aren't mean, or selfish, and they don't act up as I see other children do. Aww proud Mum! As for personal accomplishments, my huge biggy is getting published; so hard not to mention that. LOL. The big bang, though, is me finally getting in the car and learning to drive. I have had a major fear of driving for most of my adult life. In the UK, and Oz, it just isn't necessary to drive. Since moving to the States, I've learned I can't live without a car here. So I'm learning. It's not going as bad as I thought it would, either. Heck, I was on the freeway last weekend, and plan on driving all the way to the coast for Easter Break (4hrs drive). So yeay me!

You write in the erotica genre. How did you decide this was the best genre fit for you?
My first book, When A Mullo Loves A Woman, has one hot kissing scene and one very beautiful sex scene. It was perfect for that story, and anything else would have taken away from the intricately plotted story and lessened the touching scene when they finally do 'unite'. Don't get me wrong, I didn't purple prose it. But it is more touching than smutty, and more romantic than multiple positions. Reviews came in. People LOVED the well plotted story with twists and turns enough to make a head spin, even gaining it five stars from many. But I do get the odd comment that it wasn't 'hot' enough. Well, rather than sit in a pool of 'ugh they don't know what they're taking about' I listened to my readers and added a hot hot hot sex scene into a story I was writing 'just to see if I could'. And then another. And another. Before I knew it, I had a very steamy book and it had come very naturally to me...and it's good if I do say so myself. Seems I had a hidden talent. Said book is now is submission, and I have many other equally saucy books in the making. So watch this space!

When you’re painting an erotic scene in your novels, how do you keep your ideas fresh and different from what everyone else writes?
I don't think about that. When I write sex scenes, they are unique to those characters – the characters tell me how that scene should play out. I might tweak it later on to choreograph it better. But initially, it's never a conscious decision to have them swinging from a chandelier or, as with my current book in submission (80s rock novella), sexing it up the Harbour Bridge.

How many books have you written and how many of those are published? And any exciting publishing plans for the New Year?
My debut book, When A Mullo Loves A Woman, came out December 2010, and is with www.decadentpublishing.com It's a paranormal romance mystery based around the ancient gypsy legend of Mullo (undead) and past lives. It is snagging great reviews from the likes of Bitten By Books and The Romance Reviews! At present, it is available is all major eBook retailers, but it's going to print very soon. You can find out more about my debut book here: http://www.joannekenrick.com/p/bookshelf.html
Hopefully, I'll have news to share about my first super hot 80s rock novella soon! They'll be three in the series. I also have a full paranormal in the works with a hot hero that should be named Thor, he's so caveman! And I'm working on an urban legends type series using my days as a Ghost Tour Guide for inspiration. Yes, lots going on, and not to mention Mullo book two that is set in Pearl Kizzy's (and my father's) homeland of Liverpool.

How much character and plot detailing do you plan out before you begin writing a novel, or are you a “pantser” (fly by the seat of your pants)?
I get an idea. I run with it. When i've written the first draft, that's when I become the plotter. The story gets ripped apart, turned upside down and inside out. By the time I'm finished, it's almost a different story. It's my process, and it works for me.

How and when do you write? Do you keep yourself on a schedule or do you work while the muse is with you?
I write when the family are out. Usually in the mornings, until an hour before my daughter is due home. Then I'll run around the home and do half the jobs I should have done that day such as washing, cleaning etc... sometimes I write in the evenings, too, when the muse or plot bunnies strike. That's when I have to use headphones; to block out all distraction. Yeah, I get distracted so easily. Thor adverts are a major distraction at the moment.

If you could give one piece of advice to writers trying to get published, what would that advice be?
Just one? Hokay, kill joy!
Follow all the publishers and agents you apsire to be published with. Watch for their tweets, blogs and snippets of advice..because they do throw them out there...and reply to them, make note of them and put them into practice. Get your name known. It doesn't help them decide to buy your book, but it helps build a relationship with them so when they do receive your work, you will already have a connection. If it's a rejection, it may end up being a rejection with notes – that's always a plus! If it's a contract offer, then you will find it easier to communicate with them.


Where can we read more about you and your work?

My Website
My Romance eBooks Haul Vlog
I blog here along side other paranormal authors
I blog here along side other authors
Facebook
Twitter

When A Mullo Loves A Woman, paranormal romance /mystery
Available in all major ebook retailers, and soon print.

Adam Flint's Gypsy visions always guide him to those who need his paranormal gifts. He gets more than he bargained for in Pearl Kizzy, a beautiful spitfire from Liverpool. Adam knows that to save Pearl, he must help her accept her own Gypsy heritage. Although Adam and Pearl fight their burning attraction for one another, a night of passion sparks memories of their treacherous former lives. Unable to face the loss of Pearl in this century, Adam scrambles for distance from the love of his life. A rejected Pearl falls into the arms of a Mullo -- a gypsy legend of the undead--who lays claim to her heart, and her life. To survive, Adam and Pearl must accept their tragic part, and find a way to kill the undead.
Mullo is a gypsy legend of the undead - read all about it here and here)