Introducing Willa Edwards:)

It always thrills me to meet new authors, and my guest today is no exception:) Ms Willa Edwards' first book will be released in a few weeks from Cobblestone Press, just in time for Christmas.

Welcome! Please introduce yourself and tell us about your latest release.

My name is Willa Edwards. I have two cats, Imogen and Cordelia (English Lit majors make horrible namers). I adopted them about six months ago and their center of my world.

Other than that my greatest passion is writing. I spend my nights and lunch hours (haven’t made enough to quit the day job yet) writing, revising and critiquing. My first ever publication is due to be released on Christmas Eve. It’s a spicy Christmas story about two friends that have loved each other from afar for years. But with a little holiday risk-taking they may be able to finally find their way to each other for good.

Eric has been in love with Callie since the day they met, one month after someone else put a ring on her finger. Since her engagement ended Eric has been biding his time, waiting for her to be ready. Until he finds a naughty list of Christmas wishes hidden between her couch cushions with his name on the top.

He's willing to do anything to make Callie happy, including take on the role of dominate Santa Claus and spank her to blow-your-stockings-off orgasm. But is she ready for everything he wants? Does she want his love?

Have you ever had an idea for a story which scared you after you began writing it?

Writing stuff that’s really dark scares me. It appeals to me as well, since most of my work settles on the out fringes of BDSM. A few ideas have floated through my mind that were very dark and intense and frightening. For now I’ve pushed them toward the back, but I hope to one day have the courage to write them, to push myself and put myself out there in a whole new way.

Have you incorporated actual events from your own life into your books?

I don’t use a lot of events from my life in my writing. My writing is my escape from life, my escape from what I know into a different world. However little bits of my life always find there way into my work, such as the products of the company I work for, or my favorite foods. In Naughty List, Callie’s bed sheets are very similar to a set I own.

How much research do you do? Do you research first and then write, or do you write first, then research as needed?

I’m a write first kind of gal. When I get an idea I’m immediately at the computer starting to write. I feel like, and maybe it’s unfounded, that if I don’t get down the idea now, I’ll loose it or the passion that goes with it. I usually get down about ten pages and then I start to research what I need. That way I have a better idea what I have to research. You can easily be distracted by research, if you let yourself get too wrapped up in research. Knowing exactly what you’re looking for, and how you are going to use it, can make the research process fly by.

Is there any message you want readers to take from reading your work?

The message I’d most like my readers to take from my work to follow their own hearts. Most of my characters are only held back by their own fear, their insecurities. I hope my readers take from my books that if they take risks and open their heart, they’ll be rewarded. Just like my characters do.

Are you a plotter or a pantser? And have you ever had a story take on a life of its own?

I’m a pantser. When I get an idea I just start writing, I don’t wait to plot out or do character charts. I think my writing is better when it’s fresh.

I’m also an inspiration writer, which means I write the scene that in the moment I’m the most inspired by. I rarely write a story in chronological order, and I can only think of a few times when sitting down to write, the first scene I wrote was the first scene of the novel. I usually start with a more pivotal scene, closer to the black moment.

I don’t know how it works, but even though I don’t use an outline, it all just works out.

How long did it take for you to be published?

I’ve been writing my whole life but I’ve only been seriously trying to get published for about a year and a half. I’ve been submitting off and on for about a year. Naughty List is my first published work, but I’m sure it’s just the first of many.

If you could go back and tell yourself anything when you first began your writing career, what would you say?

I’m not too far into my writing career, but the thing I would tell my younger self is to join a critique group as soon as possible. When I finally opened myself up to work with critique groups, and have my writing seen by others, is when I first started to feel like a real writer. And with each suggestive critique, not only ones for myself but the ones I give out as well, I grow even further as a writer.

My other advice would be to make sure and do your research, gut can only take you so far. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, to make yourself heard. Only you are your advocate.

Laptop or pen and ink? What are your ‘must-haves’ when writing?

I have to write on a laptop. Being able to easily erase something that makes no sense or is poorly written in essential to me. Writing on a laptop gives me the freedom to take chances, to get things down and move forward, all while knowing that I can always erase it later.

The only other must have I have for writing is noise. I can’t write in complete silence. I find it unnerving. Give me a crowded Starbucks or the cafeteria at work any day. At home I put on movies and TV to have noise around me. LOL:) I'm the same way!

Who are your favorite authors? Who would you say influenced you the most?

One author that influenced me a great deal was Joely Sue Burkhart. I met her in a writers group and followed the link in her signature to her website where I discovered her work Dear Sir I’m Yours. Her work introduced me to the ebook world, to BDSM, to erotic romance. But most of all she introduced me to the idea that a relationship could be smoking hot and yet still so romantic it makes your heart flutter.

What would your readers be surprised to learn about you?

During the day I work in Finance. I spend my days talking about numbers, balancing budgets, paying venders. I believe in some ways it fuels my writing. Though I’d love to work around books all the time, I fear if I did I’d get sick of them, or the negative aspects of my work might dim my enthusiasm for my writing. It’s already hard to find time in my busy day to write, or revise, or put out submit. I would hate for any of the love I have for writing be stifled by office politics.

Now when I sit down at the computer to write, it’s completely separate from the frustration I had that day paying out a vendor or the argument I had with the budget or the guy at work that’s won’t listen to me about your policies.

For Fun:

Favorite Christmas memory?

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is my mother and I leave my father and brother to the football game (I think they have football on Christmas, shows how much I know about sports), and we go out to see all the Christmas decorations. The beautifully arranged lights, the blow up Santa and reindeer. One of our neighbors even creates his own radio station with the lights changing and blinking in time with the music. After the hectic chaos of the holiday’s, its nice to have a quiet moment just the two of us, to relax, to catch up, to just enjoy each other’s company again.

Have you written any Christmas-themed stories or woven the holiday into any of your books?

Naughty List is a Christmas themed story that takes place almost entirely on Christmas Eve night. I don’t think it will be my last Christmas themed story either. I had so much fun writing it. I got to not only twist around many of our Christmas traditions (Callie gets a whole different kind of experience after sitting on this Santa’s lap) but it was so much fun tying in Christmas themed verbs, similes and descriptions. My favorite is towards the end of the novel where I describe one of the character’s heart feeling as if it grew three sizes, harking back to my mother’s favorite Christmas story How the Grinch Stole Christmas. But you’ll have to read the book to find out why she feels this way.

Best Gift ever received?

The best gift I’ve ever received was my acceptance for my first ever published work, Naughty List, from Cobblestone Press. I can’t believe how lucky I am to be able to fulfill one of my life time dreams so early in life. I have been truly blessed. And there’s only more dreams to come.

Thank you for being here today! Please tell us where we can find your books.

Website

Cobblestone Press

Buy link

Facebook Page

Naughty List
Blurb:

Eric has been in love with Callie since the day they met, one month after someone else put a ring on her finger. Since her engagement ended Eric has been biding his time, waiting for her to be ready. Until he finds a naughty list of Christmas wishes hidden between her couch cushions with his name on the top.

He's willing to do anything to make Callie happy, including take on the role of dominate Santa Claus and spank her to blow-your-stockings-off orgasm. But is she ready for everything he wants? Does she want his love?

Excerpt:

“Ready to go?” Eric smiled at the small sneer covering Callie’s lips as she stood posed in the entryway of her home, blocking him from the warmth within. Her dark red hair tousled about her head. He fisted his hands at his sides to stop his needy fingers from smoothing down those silky waves, stroking their long, coiled length.

They had plans to go to the local theater and see It’s a Wonderful Life, a favorite Christmas tradition of theirs. Callie said a theater was the only way to appreciate such a movie. All Eric cared about was spending time with Callie.

“I thought we were meeting there.” Her eyes gleamed like emeralds, sparkling in the elaborate Christmas lights she’d arranged around her door, regardless of the irritation curling her lip.

Callie loved Christmas. She decked her small Cape Cod cottage each year, turning it into a Christmas wonderland complete with a porcelain snow-capped village and Mariah Carey singing about what she wanted for Christmas. The entire house smelled like pine, sugar cookies, and home. Warmth and comfort radiated from every corner, just like Callie.

“We were, but I thought you’d like a ride.” He knew she hated it when he tried to take care of her, even with a simple ride to the theater, but he couldn’t help it. She might try to deny it, reassuring everyone that she was fine, that she’d healed from what happened with Josh, but he knew better.

He noticed the crinkles around her mouth, the heaviness of her brow, and the dull pain that always rung in her voice, regardless of how happy she appeared on the outside. She still held the incident with her, tucked in her heart, where she wouldn’t allow anyone. The urge to go to the ballpark and bash Josh into mincemeat grew stronger every day. And he would have to, if Callie hadn’t made him promise to leave the bastard alone. She claimed she only wanted to move on, but she hadn’t.

Besides, a few more minutes with Callie, or seeing the way her eyes lit up for a special gift, were well worth her prickliness.

Callie put up a hiccup of a fight before holding the door open, allowing him into her cozy home. “Fine. Come in. I was just about to get ready.”

He snorted. Knowing Callie, she hadn’t been planning on getting dressed for another fifteen minutes.

Most women, if ambushed early, would be half dressed, maybe hair up, or makeup half done. Not his Callie. She was still in her pajamas. More annoyed that he’d deprived her of a few more minutes in her comfy flannels than her prep time.

“You don’t have to change on my account. I think you look quite festive.”

Callie smiled, twirling in front of him to show off her cuddly Christmas pajamas. Reindeer with bright red noses, long flirty lashes, and gigantic pursed lips molded around her legs as she spun. Red ribbons and sparkling snowflakes curled around the most gorgeous heart-shaped ass he’d ever seen.

Eric swallowed to prevent himself from making any noise. His cock pressed against the rough denim of his jeans, his balls tight and heavy as ceramic tree ornaments. If Callie knew the truth, knew how much he wanted her, their entire relationship would change. He couldn’t pressure her like that.

Across the stretchy red tank top covering her small, perky breasts, large silver block letters spelled out Sexxy Vixen. Unconsciously he bit his tongue, tasting the faint metallic trace of blood in his mouth. Everything about Callie was sexy. Even her flannel pajamas.

His nails bit crescents into his palm. He wanted to rip that tank top off her, touch her breasts, hold her hands down as he sucked her nipples until she bucked and begged for more.

But Callie was too fragile to handle his aggression, the frantic need that had been growing within him for four long years. Since the day they met.

He couldn’t push himself on her. She still needed time.

“It may be a Christmas movie—” she grinned “—but I don’t think I should be dressed this festive.”

“I don’t mind. No one’s going to see you in the theatre.”

“Actually—” Callie’s gaze shifted to the plush taupe carpet. Eric’s gut clenched. Callie only avoided his stare when she had really bad news to deliver. “Krista and James are going to meet us there.”

Eric groaned. “James is weird. You know he doesn’t even watch football. Last time I met him he told me he didn’t watch the Super Bowl last year—he finished the school board budgets instead. What kind of person does that?”

“I know, but she’s one of my best friends, and he’s the principal of the school, and they’re having a hard time so—“

“I’ll be nice to him and on my best behavior all night.”

“Exactly.” She laughed, playfully slapping his right biceps. If he grabbed her hand he could pull her into his arms in seconds, and his mouth would be on hers a second later.

And the next moment she’d be pushing him away, their friendship ruined.

On a personal note, Happy 19th Birthday to my oldest son, K!!!!