Welcome, Romance Lovers! Romance author J. Hali Steele!

                   J. Hali Steele

Welcome, Romance Lovers!

This morning's guest is Romance author J. Hali Steele, who has books already released from Changeling Press and Eirelander Publishing, with a brand new relase coming soon from Ellora's Cave!

Welcome, Hali!  Tell us a little about yourself.

First, Fran, thanks for having me over for an interview.

I live in Southeastern Pennsylvania with four furfriends, all cats - that’s a lot of unconditional love and a large dose of humility. LOL. I spent eight years in the high desert of California up near Big Bear. I’ve worked most of my life in the Administrative/ Clerical end of the business world.

I enjoy travelling and I’ve been to quite a few islands. One of my favorite places to visit was Spain. Loved it. When I’m not writing, I spend my free time voraciously reading romance novels. My three sisters have to dig me out of my house and some how they manage to do it. They’re my heroines. We’re very close and spend as much time together as possible. I used to quarter-mile drag race and even built my own motor. My son still races but he won’t let me near his car.

That’s me in a nutshell, Fran.

When did you first start writing Romance?

I think the first romantic piece I wrote was a poem for an old boyfriend in 6th grade. I still have a copy of it. My teachers would always tell me to shorten my book reports. Little did they know I was preparing for a career as a romance novelist. I always knew writing was what I wanted to do. So I guess my answer to that is when I was in grade school.

Of all the past great Romance authors, who would you say had the greatest influence on you/your writing style?

Wow, that’s not a hard question, I just don’t know who to start with. I’m a big fan of Ayn Rand. But do I write like her? I don’t think so. But her males were always so alpha and attractive to me. She was certainly an influence in that way. When I really began to look for heroes in books, I ended up reading paranormal. I mean, have you ever met a weak vampyre or shifter of any sort? I was hooked. My favorite authors are Christine Feehan and Kerrelyn Sparks. I’d like to think I’ve captured the dark alpha with a dose of laughter. At least, I hope so.

How do you find ideas for your books? Real happenings? Dreams? A great imagination?

I have a pretty active imagination. As a kid, I would wrangle all the dogs in the neighborhood and go into the woods on safari looking for wild animals. Biggest thing I saw was a deer. Thank goodness he ran like heck!

I find animals and their natural instinct to survive riveting. They have basic needs and that’s their main concern. As an erotic author, I find the alpha males of most species fascinating. *grins*, yes the two legged kind too. I always wonder how my cats would act if they were human. Those thoughts have provided lots of material to work with.

I support my local SPCA and espouse spay and neuter.

How difficult is it for you to get into “writer’s mode”?

I enjoy creating characters so it’s not hard at all. I’m up pretty early and since I live alone, it’s always quiet. I make a pot of coffee and turn on some soft music – don’t laugh – I’m a big fan of Soundscapes. I find it very motivational. When I write sex scenes, I switch to Tango, which I find extremely sexy and romantic. The beat is so primal.

You have a new book out. We’d love to hear about it.

I do, it’s my first and I’m so excited. It’s With Extra Cream from Changeling Press. The story is about a jaguar infected with vampyre blood who’s also addicted to cream. It’s really the co-owner of the local coffee shop Jag’s addicted to. Barbara’s a human who has psychic abilities. They have a pretty exciting time as they discover each other.

Screwed will be released by Changeling this summer. It’s a contemporary paranormal about a colorful PI named Purple P. Rose—my crit group laughed at that—her partner Richard E. Rection and a vamp named Peter Hard. These three make for quite an interesting ménage. This story actually started as an exercise for me to stay in POV and grew from there. Sometimes my characters don’t stay put, Purple wanted a life of her own *laughing*. Final cover art is in for approval now.

October will see the release of A Panther’s Flight from a new e-pub, Eirelander Publishing. Fane, a black panther, killed his best friend. On a business flight he meets Edy, who doesn’t know yet that he’s the one responsible for her cousin’s death. These two go through quite a bit to find peace in loving each other.

You’ve recently signed with a new publisher. Can you tell us about that?

Yes, I just signed with Ellora’s Cave which was a dream come true. I can’t wait for Hard Case which will be out later this year. It’s one of my favorites about a voyeur.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

Find a good critique group. I belong to one that has been invaluable in my learning process. Once you found one that fits, dig in and make yourself at home. Be open to honest assessments of your work. Write and read as much as you can of many genres, but especially keep up with the genre you work in. Things change very fast in this business. Join author chat groups and don’t be shy. Ask questions and learn as much as you can.

Do you have another project in the works?

I’m currently working on a series about archangels. To date, it’s the one I’ve enjoyed creating characters for the most. They’re sexy, sarcastic and righteously BAD! I can’t wait to find a home for them.

If you could interview any of the characters in your books, which one would it be, and why? What shocking thing might that character say?

Oh, it would most certainly be Samael, the archangel of death and the only angel graced with the power to kill another angel. In a sense, he’s God’s henchmen. He wields a mean scythe and, ironically, he’s hooked on football, especially the Dallas Cowboys. He’s been very upset about them letting T. O. go. We’d have to be careful because if we interrupt a game – he gets violent. His tool rattles against the wall and he glares our way.

“You got thirty seconds to game time… be gone or die.”

WITH EXTRA CREAM

BLURB:

Getting enough cream is a problem for this cat…

Jag Arizon has a plan to correct that. A jaguar from the Kind species, big cats infected with vampyre blood, he walks in both worlds. Aside from blood, he’s addicted to cream, and only one person can cure him. In convincing her to donate to his cause, Jag gets much more than he bargained for.

Barbara Dorsey, the uptight co-owner of the local coffee shop, has all the cream this cat needs. But she’s only giving it away in dreams to the one man who not only opens the door to her every desire -- he can change her world forever.
 

I know you have a number of websites and blogs.  Care to let the readers know where to find you on the 'Net?

Internet sites:
www.sovereignkind.com
www.sovereignkind.blogspot.com
www.myspace.com/sovereignkind
www.twitter.com/sovereignkind
www.youtube.com/sovereignkind

Fran, again thanks so much for inviting me. It’s been a pleasure.

You are more than welcome!  Thanks for joining me today!