Author Interview: Alice Gaines + Giveaway

We want to welcome Alice Gaines today to tell us a little bit about herself and her Cabin Fever series. There are two books in the series book one Heat Rises book two Storm Bound

TBRG: Thank Alice. for being here today!

Alice: Thank you for having me!

TBRG: Who has been the biggest influence on your writing?

Alice:  I learned how to write by following Dwight Swain’s Techniques of the Selling Writer.  I think all of us avid readers absorb a knowledge of how to write through osmosis, but Swain’s book breaks the actual process down into the nuts and bolts in a way that helps a beginning writer understand the hows and whys of what he or she is doing.  It makes the learning curve steeper and faster than if you had to reinvent the wheel at ever turn.

I get much of my inspiration to become a better writer from reading others who do it so well.  Every time I get jealous of some other writer’s beautiful prose or characterization, I analyze what she’s done so that I can try to translate it into my own work.  I generally come up with something I like, even if it isn’t as good as the original.

Then, of course, there’s the great advice from the late basketball coach, Jim Valvano:  “Don’t give up.  Don’t ever give up.”  Or, if you’re a Questarian, “Never give up.  Never surrender.”

TBRG: What is the one thing your readers would be the most surprised to know about you?

Alice:  Although I write hot, even erotic romance, I’m a regular church goer.  I serve on the altar guild.  I see no contradiction there, and neither does my pastor, who’s well aware of what I write.  In fact, his wife has started reading my books.  That made me really nervous at first, but it turns out she likes my writing.  )

TBRG: Where is the one place you have always wanted to go, a place on your bucket list?

Alice:  I’ve been to the place I most wanted to go — New Zealand.  The other place I’d truly love to travel to is Africa.  It’s the cradle of humanity, the place where we all came from.  I’ve always wanted to visit the great game preserves to see the migrations of wildebeest and other animals.  I’d most like to see Kenya, I think, but my sister has a house in Eritrea, so that’s the most likely African destination for me.  Come to think of it, I’d better start bugging her about taking me there.

TBRG: What was the first romance book that you read?

Alice:  Jane Eyre.  I read it when I was a preteen, and it had a lasting effect on me.  Though the book has some elements you wouldn’t find in a modern romance, it is a romance novel.  Mr. Rochester is my favorite hero of all time.

TBRG: Who are some of your go to authors, and what are you reading right now?

Alice:  I mentioned Laura Kinsale.  I also love Anne Stuart and Suzanne Enoch.  Although I mostly write contemporary romance, I read a lot of historicals.  Right now, I’m reading To Seduce an Angel by Kate Moore.  I’m only a chapter or two into it, but so far, it’s delicious.

TBRG: If you weren’t writing and keeping us in books (thanks for that by the way), what would you be doing?

Alice:  People always ask me that, and the possibility is too bleak to consider.  Even as a child, I made up stories in my head.  The only difference now is that I write them down.  Nothing can stop the stories.

I could certainly entertain myself with reading, cooking, and gardening for the rest of my life.  I could never be bored.  The music director at my church is teaching some of us how to sing, but I don’t think I have a good enough voice for performing.  I’m in the process of writing a hymn to see if I can do it.  If I can, I’ll continue doing that, although that probably counts as writing.

TBRG: What is your guilty pleasure?

Alice:  I’m almost ashamed to admit this, but my biggest form of relaxation is watching The People’s Court and Judge Judy.  I sit in front of the TV and knit or crochet.  It probably goes back to the days when my grandmother and I would do crafts while watching soap operas.

TBRG: Who is on your playlist when you are writing?

Alice:  I can’t have music.  It distracts me.  I can’t have total silence, either, as I find that depressing.  The best backdrop for writing is the sounds that surround me in my back yard…a combination of city noises, such as cars and lawnmowers, and bird calls.  My favorite band is Tower of Power, a horn-driven funky, funky soul band.  I cannot hold still while listening to TOP, so I couldn’t write a word with them playing.

TBRG: Where do your ideas/characters come from?

Alice:  From my imagination.  My heroines are all me in different situations.  Then, I pair myself with exactly the sort of man I want.  My heroes can be devilish, but they’re never cruel.  They’re always sexy, and they know exactly what turns a woman on.  Plus, they can go all night.  They could be a professor or a marquis or a businessman (or two businessmen in the case of Storm Bound).  I even used Lucifer as a hero once.

TBRG: Are you a planner or a fly by the seat author?

Alice:  Pantser.  It makes me crazy to try to figure out what happens in a story before I’ve written it.

TBRG: How did you come up with The Cabin Fever?

Alice   Every erotic work, romance or no, needs a sexy premise.  It’s a theme that underlies the plot, making absolutely everything that happens seductive.  The premise of Cabin Fever is that the people are isolated in a romantic setting that allows them to act on impulses in ways they never would in their ordinary life.  They’re cut off from any inhibitions and can let their freak flag fly.

TBRG: Tell us about the series?

Alice:  The first story, Heat Rises, involves two people who’ve wanted each other since graduate school.  Laura actually came on to Ethan at a party when she’d had too much to drink.  Being a gentleman, he turned her down because of her intoxication.  Now, isolate in a cabin in a snow storm, they can pick up where they left off.

Storm Bound tells the story of a m/f/m ménage that takes place at a luxury island resort during a mild hurricane.  Jon and Wolf have been sending Christie signals, and now that they’re stuck together for several days, they can have a threesome none of them would have anticipated in the real world.

Mating Season tells the story of two animal behavior researchers who’ve sparred intellectually for years.  Isolated in the Northern California redwoods, they discover that the heat behind all their debates is actually sexual.  They make a bet to discover whether the male or the female is the more sexual being.

TBRG: Tell us about Wolf, Jon and Ethan

Alice:   Wolf and Jon are friends and partners who are fiercely competitive about everything.  They find themselves competing for Christie and end up sharing, much to everyone’s delight.  Ethan is the consummate gentleman and therefore turned down Laura’s advances when he really wanted her.  Now, he’s going to help her get over her inhibitions and become the intensely sexual creature she really is.

TBRG: Tell us about Christie and Laura

Alice: Christie’s adventurous, but she never thought she’d trap two gorgeous guys on a tropical island for her own pleasure.  She never would have except that these two men give off such a strong vibe that they want her.  Laura’s a competent businesswoman but is very shy about her personal life.  Ethan helps her conquer her shyness, and how.

TBRG: Using 3-5 adjectives describe Wolf, Jon and Ethan

Alice:  Sexy, smart, gentlemanly, skilled in the kitchen as well as in the bedroom.

TBRG: Using 3-5 adjectives describe Christie and Laura

Alice:  Sexy, smart, strong, independent.

TBRG: What are you working on now?

Alice:  Mating Season, the third Cabin Fever story will be out in August.  I’m currently working on an idea for another series I’m calling Man Ranch.  A group of women decide it’s time women can have the same opportunity to enjoy themselves that men have.  Specifically, they want a ranch where women clients can go to have all their itches scratched.  Of course, life throws them a curve in the form of men who want more from them than a simple roll in the hay.

TBRG: We want to thank Alice for being here today and talking about her cabin fever series.

***We have one copy of Alice’s new book Storm Bound for a giveaway..simply tell us why you like erotic romance. Contest open to US only.***

Stranded on a steamy tropical island, . . . these three will create their own heat . . .
Christie Lovejoy is normally all business. But when a hurricane bears down on the exclusive resort she’s sharing with two sexy businessmen, it’s time to throw caution to the tropical winds. How often do you find two gorgeous men with the hots for you . . . and the willingness to share?
Wolf Martin and Jon Carlson have been friends for years, and their taste in women has never overlapped . . . until now. Wolf, Jon, and Christie use the luxurious resort to take the kind of sensual journey that only total isolation will allow. But when the storm recedes, will they be ready to leave their island paradise?