My very first release was a collection of shorts called The Twelve Strippers of Christmas.
I remember sitting at an author lunch one day and this one (also new) author was discussing what stories she was shopping to agents and publishing houses, and how she had to seriously think about if that’s really the story she wanted to introduce herself to the world with.
It got me thinking: was a collection of male stripper stories really the best place to start?
I’ll answer this in a bit…
My background is rooted in visual arts and making pictures. Encouraged to make those pictures out of words, I began writing just to see what would happen. What happened was two full-length manuscripts in three months. Words were easy, something I never expected to say. I wasn’t a writer, or so I thought.
With the guidance of friends, I found a community who helped and encouraged, and mostly convinced me that I was not crazy when my characters started talking to me. My stories are more like “incident reports.” I have very noisy characters that demand my attention.
I’m raising children with the expectation they will rule the world someday. So far they are not disappointing me or my romance-hero quality husband (seriously, the man even comes with long, flowing black hair and kilts!).
As the only redhead in a generation of blonds, I’m pretty sure that “aliens” may actually be the best answer for a lifetime of being asked, “Where did you get that red hair from?”
I cannot ride a horse, a motorcycle, spin a hula hoop, or play roller derby. Yes, I have attempted all of those, even if it has been decades since I’ve been on a horse or a motorcycle. After all, with the expectation of being a little crazy simply because of one little genetic mutation, why not attempt to live up to the reputation that proceeds me?
I would like to apologize for my contribution to the hole on the ozone layer from her use of hairspray in the 1980’s.
I write sexy hot paranormal romance and ridiculous stripper stories. My pronouns are she/her. Representation matters. And to answer the question were strippers the best place to start?
