Best Questions Yet.

I get lots of great email questions and here were two of my favorites this week.


Out of all of your novels, who is the most like you?
~ Jessica.

Why a Native man as the sex symbol?
~Pietra

Okay, the first question.
Everyone that knows me personally tells me that Elizabeth is my personality doppelgänger. I really don't see it. If there is one character that I relate to the most, it's Christina- Ethan's head lab tech. I'm a total nerd, love science and always need an answer. I get that Elizabeth and I resemble each other and yes, she's brash, sarcastic and hard core just like me, but I'm really not her.

And question two.
When I wrote the books, there was only one thing in my mind.
The portrayal of the Native American community had to be spot on. I wanted to incorporate the Rez.(the reservation) I wanted to make people aware that Natives are steeped in tradition. (The war bonnet and women wearing it is a HUGE NO!) I was tired of seeing the Natives kicked around in media as being drunks, who sucked the gov't dry of money and resources. We don't all drink. We certainly don't all live off casino money, and we don't all wear war bonnets and carry bows and arrows. It's irritating that if someone were to speak of any other ethnic group with stereotypes, there'd be a huge explosion, but hey, Natives are free game.

For the record, I have been known to correct people who refer to Native Americans as Indians. INCLUDING my daughter's teacher. It's simply a pet peeve for me.

I'm Native American and I always get the weirdest questions regarding it, so this is my attempt to bring part of me to the forefront and share a culture that's often overlooked.

So, when I decided to write a novel, I wanted to dip into the Native heritage and show people that the 'leading man' could be Native, sexy and be everything a non-native could be. (Plus in my head Ethan and Callen are hot!) I tell my husband all the time, if someone that looks like Ethan or Callen comes a knockin', I'm a walkin'.
Oddly, he's not even worried.
Hmmmm.

So there you have it!
 

First read through complete!

Today I met with Tammy over coffee.
Over the last week she's been working on the first read through of Fire Burns Hot. That's always the worst part of the process (for me and I'm sure for her too!)  It's where I get the first feedback on the story. She doesn't like knowing much about the book prior, so before she sees it, the 180,000 words have only been alive in me. At this point I'm a hot mess.
Will she like it?
Will she hate it?
Will she tell me I've lost my damn mind?
One of the best things about Tammy is her blatant honesty. Don't ask her if your ass looks fat in the pants you're wearing. She's going to tell you the truth. So, every time she takes the next book, I'm on the edge of my seat worried out of my mind.
I can tell how bad it's going to be by the amount of calls I get in the week she has the manuscript. When it's really quiet I'm nervous, and when she does call I'm even more scared.

This week she told me to take a vacation.
In Tammy-ese that means she's either concerned for my sanity or hers.
Possibly both.

So, taking her advice I'm on vacation. As some of you that emailed me noticed, I still answered your questions. That's because I live out of my phone. As for the writing aspect, I had given myself until today to finish Darkness of Truth.  Needless to say, it's not done. I'm about sixty pages until completion. Even though it's not slated to be released until fall, I can't start writing the spinoff series until I have that book wrapped. Once it's finished, I can begin the next series.

I wouldn't want tammy to be bored out of her mind at the beach this summer. That and I have plans to take almost a month off to head to Myrtle and be a beach bum with my kids. I won't be taking my phone or laptop with me. I'm going to have wine, lay in the sun and be at one with the waves.
        (That's my real vacation. It should run smoothly, unless a body washes up on shore.)

So for everyone that's asked me when the next book is out, the timeline I've listed in my blog is still accurate. Fire Burns Hot  will be released sometime in April.