Interview with the FAB Roni Loren!!

Today I have a super awesome treat!! Fresh off her release day for her debut book, Roni Loren is here to chat with us!!!

You've done what so many writers dream about...snag an agent and book deal! How did you celebrate both of those successes?

When I signed with my agent, I’m not sure it really set in. I just kept punching my husband in the arm and saying, “Dude, I have an agent!” : ) Then when I got my deal with Berkley, I just couldn’t stop smiling. I was such a Berkley fangirl, and I couldn’t get my head around the fact that my book was going to be published with them. I do remember going into my Borders and sticking my finger in the spot on their romance shelf where my book would go. I still look for that spot in any bookstore I go into.

That's so cool. Now I wanna go do that at the store!!

I remember way back when...I met you way before either of us had publishing contracts! We'd started blogging around the same time and even had a similar amount of followers for a while...but then you just exploded! :) Is there a secret to your blogging success?

I don’t know if I have any secret. I was as surprised as anyone when people started following me, lol. I think the key for me was I had a focus. I naturally gravitate towards teaching (although, my husband may argue that really means I gravitate toward bossy. J) So even though I hadn’t intended for it to be a writing blog, that’s what it became. And for some reason, even though I was a complete newbie, people found that “come learn with me as I learn” approach helpful. I don’t know if I’d recommend my approach to others since it also means I limited myself on topics (and have subsequently had to start a separate reader-focused author blog as well), but I’m so thrilled to have met all the great writer friends I have. It’s been a blessing.

You always have such great advice for writers. Where did your wealth of knowledge come from?

It truly was a learn as I blog kind of thing. I devour books on craft. It’s a bit of an addiction, really. And then I read agent/editor/writer blogs like they were going out of style. Plus, as I went along, I started learning things by making my own mistakes. (Like querying a first novel before it was ready.) So I would share those hard lessons on the blog to hopefully help others NOT do what I did, lol.

Thanks for sharing your enending wisdom with us all!

Now, let's talk about the book! Give us the blurb for Crash Into You!

Brynn LeBreck has dedicated herself to helping women in crisis, but she never imagined how personal her work would get, or where it would take her. Her younger sister is missing, suspected to be hiding from cops and criminals alike at a highly secretive BDSM retreat—a place where the elite escape to play out their most extreme sexual fantasies. To find her Brynn must go undercover as a sexual submissive. Unfortunately, The Ranch is invitation only. And the one Master who can get her in is from the darkest corner of Brynn’s past.

Brynn knows what attorney Reid Jamison is like once stripped of his conservative suit and tie. Years ago she left herself vulnerable only to have him crush her heart. Now she needs him again. Back on top. And he’s all too willing to engage. But as their primal desires and old wounds are exposed, the sexual games escalate—and so does the danger.  Their hearts aren’t the only things at risk. Someone else is watching, playing by his own rules. And his game could be murder.

Sounds so good!! Can't wait to read it!

What will you most likely do the first time you see your book on a bookstore shelf? (I'm thinking cartwheels in Barnes and Noble are a bit frowned upon.)

Is that frowned upon? Well, damn, there goes plan A. I’m honestly not sure what I’m going to do. Probably do a little quiet squeezing and bouncing, then I’ll have hubs snap a picture of me holding it. I think the whole thing is going to be surreal.

We did this interview weeks ago...so now I'm wondering what you actually did do yesterday!! :)

Did you set out to write an erotic romance, or did it sorta just happen?

Just sorta happened. I had written a paranormal YA and contemporary romance already. And while I was waiting to hear back on the contemp romance, I got the idea for CRASH. It was an idea that could only be told via erotic romance, so I decided to give it a shot. I’m an avid erotic romance reader, so I was familiar with the genre, but I was a little nervous about writing something with all the naughty stuff in it. : ) Then I realized, hell, this is fun!

It sure is fun! The more I write, the more sexy my scenes get! So fun!

I know this isn't the first book you've written. Will you someday dust off those other manuscripts??

The YA? Probably not. It was my practice novel. Though I haven’t ruled out writing a new YA in the future. The contemporary romance had publisher interest, so it’s still viable. I just need to find time in between my deadlines to revise it a bit and decide which way I want to go with it—traditional or indie. I love that book and have a series planned for it, so it will get out there at some point.

And just for fun, knowing we have similar tastes in movies and men, I need to know......

Favorite scene in Dirty Dancing:

Definitely when Baby and Johnny dance in his cabin. *swoon*

Favorite song from Dirty Dancing:

Cry to Me – Sexiest. Song. Ever.

(If I know you as well as I think I do, I’m guessing they are the same as mine!)

I was sooooooooooooooooooooooo right!!

Favorite Ryan: Reynolds or Gosling:

Gah! That one’s tough. Which one’s taller? *googles* Dang, they’re both over 6 ft. I’ll say Gosling. But I do write erotic romance, can’t I just have both? ;)

You take Gosling, and I'll have Reynolds!

Sexier eyes: Paul Walker or Bradley Cooper:

Bradley

Thanks for having me!

BIO:

Roni wrote her first romance novel at age fifteen when she discovered writing about boys was way easier than actually talking to them. Since then, her flirting skills haven’t improved, but she likes to think her storytelling ability has. Her debut erotic romance CRASH INTO YOU will be released January 3, 2012 by Berkley Heat/Penguin. If you want to read more posts like this one or follow her journey to debut authorhood, you can visit her writing blog Fiction Groupie or her author blog. She also tweets way too much for her own good.

CRASH INTO YOU - EXCERPT:

Brynn’s response lodged in her throat, the all-too-familiar name ringing in her ears. No, couldn’t be. But a sinking feeling settled in her gut. She’d only met one Reid in her life, and that Reid was a lawyer. She closed her eyes and took a steadying breath before she turned around to face her new co-worker.

Reid’s blue-eyed gaze met her head-on, hitting her like an airbag to the chest. She sucked in a breath and fought the old instinct to lower her eyes in deference. Son of a bitch, where had that urge come from? She ticked up her chin and gave him her best I-hate-you-but-will-be-polite-because-I’m-the-bigger-person glare. “Hello.”

Cooper walked around Brynn and clapped Reid on the shoulder. “Reid, I’d like you to meet our other social worker, Brynn LeBreck.”

Reid nodded, his expression annoyingly unreadable. “Brynn, pleasure to see you again. It’s been a while.”

Not long enough. Three years had passed since she’d last seen him. His inky hair was longer on top and a few lines creased the corners of his eyes, but time hadn’t softened her warring responses to him. The urges to pummel his face and strip naked before him held almost equal weight. Luckily, the venue was too public to give in to either. She feigned an air of indifference. “It has.”

“Still as beautiful as ever, though.”

The warm notes of his voice stirred the dark recesses of her memory, further inciting the old longing. She shifted in her heels as hot tingles crept from deep in her belly and moved downward to settle between her legs. Un-f**king- believable. Her body was a whoring traitor.

Melody stepped next to Brynn as if sensing her need for support, and Cooper’s eyebrows rose. “You two know each other?”

Boy, did they—in just about every way a man and woman could. She searched Reid’s face, and he tipped his head infinitesimally, as if giving her permission to answer the question. Her eyes narrowed. “Used to. Long time ago.”

Cooper smiled, either oblivious or unperturbed by the tension zipping through the air between her and Reid. “Great. Guess introductions weren’t needed then.”

Nope. Not needed. Brynn knew exactly who Reid Jamison was. A first-class bastard.

(Full version of chapter one can be read here: http://www.roniloren.com/excerpts )