Good morning! Please welcome guest blogger N.J. Walters. Though I will be away for most of the day, please feel free to leave comments for N. J. and I will post them as soon as I return. Thank you!
~Kate
When you’re brainstorming for a new story, what usually comes first for you, the plot or the characters?
For me the characters come first. I usually get a picture of them in a certain situation or doing something that leads me to their story. For example, my Hades’ Carnival series began when I started thinking about the animals on a carousel. I wondered what if they weren’t traditional animals but more exotic ones such a lion, tiger, bear, wolf, phoenix, dragon and jaguar. And what if they weren’t really animals but shapeshifting immortal warriors cursed to remain in their animal forms. Once I started to know who they were their stories unfolded.
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I’m primarily a pantser. I have rough character sketches on file cards and sometimes have ideas for a scene or two but I don’t meticulously plot. If I plot too much or talk about the story I lose the drive to actually write it. Once I have the opening scene of the book in my head I start writing and I let the story unfold from there. I’ve often said I feel as though I’m taking dictation and the characters are in charge of the book.
What do you like about writing series books?
I love the fact that I can check in with characters in previous books and let the reader know how they’re doing. Creating a world filled with characters you love makes it hard to leave it behind.
Would you tell us about your latest release?
My latest release Wild Loving is the second book centered around Hatter’s, an Alice in Wonderland themed New York nightclub run by brothers Nevar and Rabb Hatter. Wild Loving is Rabb’s story.
BLURB:
Broke and homeless, Eliza Hart is at the end of her rope. She’s spent the last year of her life trying to evade a dangerous stalker. In desperation, she turns to the man she once loved, the man who walked away from her without a backward glance—Rabb Hatter.
Rabb is shocked when Eliza shows up at Hatter’s—the club he co-owns with his brother—looking for a job. He’d left her and hadn’t looked back when he’d thought she’d cheated on him with another man. Now he discovers that not only did Jason Ware lie, but he’s been stalking Eliza the whole time. The spark between them certainly hasn’t died, and when Rabb learns she’s lost everything, he’s determined to protect her. But first he must overcome the pain of their past and convince her she’s right to trust him with her heart.
Do you have a favorite character or characters you feel especially close to?
I love Shamus O’Rourke from The Seduction of Shamus O’Rourke. He was a teenager when I first wrote about him in Discovering Dani and he grew into an amazing man. Discovering Dani was the very first book I ever wrote so I think that’s why he means so much to me.
I also love Stefan Dalakis from Stefan’s Salvation. When I first started writing about the Dalakis brothers, he was supposed to be the lighthearted one in the family of vampires. Instead, he turned out to be the most intense and powerful of them all. What I loved most about him was the depth of his commitment to his family and his huge capacity for love.
I could go on and on, of course—Levi Mann from Past Promises, the Bakra brothers from Woven Dreams, and Tienan and Logan from the Project Alpha series—but Shamus and Stefan are very special to me.
What are a few of your favorite book covers that have been done for your books?
That is such a tough question. I’ve been so fortunate over the years to have some amazingly talented cover artists work on my books. I love all the covers for the Tapestries series and the Project Alpha trilogy. I also love Damek’s Redemption from the Legacy series and all the covers in my new Salvation Pack series.
What are your favorite genres to read and write?
I love to read what I write—romance. I love to read historical, contemporary, paranormal and romantic suspense. I also enjoy reading nonfiction, the occasional biography and self-help/philosophy/religion books that expand my understanding of myself and the world. As for writing, I primarily write contemporary and paranormal romance, although I have delved into fantasy and futuristic as well.
Where can we visit you online?
You can visit me at:
Website: http://www.njwalters.com
Blog: http://www.njwalters.blogspot.com
Newsletter Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/awakeningdesires/
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/N.J.WaltersAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/njwaltersauthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/NJWalters
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/njwalters
How long have you been writing?
I wrote two books back in the mid 90s, but I’ve been seriously pursing writing since 2004 and writing full-time since 2005. I love my job!
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I love all of N.J.’s books. Great interview.
You’re an inspiration, N.J. Keep the good stuff coming. 🙂
Love nj’s books. Especially your legacy, weres. Tapestry and everything else of yours I’ve read