Road to Romance Interview with Gena Showalter ~ April 2006

Interviewed by Katherine Turcotte 

Hi Gena! I am so glad to have the opportunity to catch you for an interview for us at Road to Romance. And catch you is just about right – it seems you are up to your eyeballs in work, in fact, you may be buried under it by now.  I have followed you from the beginning with The Stone Prince. I have to tell you this – it is seldom that I can recall the names of specific characters in books unless they are really special – I have never forgotten Jorlan en Sarr and Katie James.  The Stone Prince was such a fun book with a little something for everyone. I especially enjoyed the fantasy element of a garden statue coming (pardon the pun!) to life. It was wickedly funny and the sex was scorching. You have a way with words that makes your work magical in its own right.

You have never had a lull in your writing – The Pleasure Slave was another hit for you - and they just keep on coming! Heart of the Dragon is immensely popular – Author Carly Phillips says “Bold and witty, sexy and provocative, Gena Showalter’s star is fast rising.” Author, Katie McAllister calls your work, “Sexy, funny and downright magical.”

February 2006 brought us perhaps one of your best works yet, the paranormal romance, Jewel of Atlantis.  Gray James, one of the best-loved alpha-heroes and employee of Otherworld Bureau of Investigation is sent to Atlantis to extract the Jewel of Dunamis – little does he know what he has gotten himself into!

KT - Can you tell us your inspiration for Jewel of Atlantis? I have heard the heroine of this book described as part goddess and part prophet. How would you describe her?  

Gena - Honestly?  A pain in my ass.  I had so much trouble getting into her head and writing her scenes.  She did not want me to know about her.  Only when I tied her up and let the demons have at her did she start babbling about what was going on in her life.   

KT - How do you successfully incorporate all the elements in your books? For example, Jewel of Atlantis has a hodgepodge of elements, from vampires to shape-shifting dragons. How do you mix these elements without confusing the reader or losing them? 

Gena - Each species has its own politics, strengths, desires, beliefs, and needs, which makes them completely separate entities.  They each stand out and shine in different ways.

KT - Considered a paranormal romance, some would say it comes very close to being Sci-Fi romance. How do you draw the line between the two? 

Gena - I try not to worry about what type of book it is.  I just write it the way I see it in my mind.

KT - Is Jewel of Atlantis going to be an Oprah’s BC selection? I have heard the rumors… I know one thing for sure, fans are looking for a sequel! 

Gena - Ha!  I wish.  I’m happy to say I have written the sequel.  It’s Valerian’s story and my sexiest yet.  The Nymph King comes out February 07.    

KT - You have a lot of books up and coming – Animal Instincts is due out in May – will this book be more of a Chick Lit book Vs Science Fiction. Tell us a little about this one? It promises to be a much lighter story than Jewel – and just a tad (hehehe) sexy and sassy! 

Gena - Animal Instincts is my first book with absolutely no paranormal elements.  It’s simply a story I had to tell and is about a woman’s journey to empowerment and love – and delicious sex, of course.  It does have a chick lit tone, but it is a romance at heart. 

KT - March is be a big month for you with the mass market release of Awaken Me Darkly which will feature alien huntress heroine, Mia Snow. I have heard that this one could very well be dubbed a murder mystery more so than an erotic romance. Any truth to this? Can you give us a sneak peek? 

Gena - Awaken Me Darkly does have a murder mystery (young and virile dark eyed, dark haired men are showing up dead) but the romance also plays a major part in the plot.  The main suspect, who is sensual and mysterious and rocks Mia’s world hardcore, is the key to solving the case.   

KT - No rest for the weary – July has the release of the anthology Mysteria from Berkley. You are sharing the bill with Mary Janice Davidson, Susan Grant and P.C. Cast – How did this grouping come about? This book promises to be a goodie. Your story, The Witches of Mysteria and the Dead Who Love Them, will be enough to draw in any lover of the paranormal. Do you see yourself grouping with other authors for another anthology? 

Gena - MaryJancie, Sue, PC and I worked on a charity anthology together.  We loved our stories so much that we got together and created a proposal for longer, expanded versions.  Thus, Mysteria was born and Berkley snapped it right up!  I would love to work with these amazing ladies again.  The world needs a Mysteria II, I think.

KT - Surely, the stress must be less when having to complete a story that will be part of an anthology Vs a novella – although, with all you have on your plate, I can’t imagine you not being stressed. How do you deal with all the deadlines that you have? What happens if we take your lattes away? LOL. 

Gena - I am trying to break myself of that latte addiction.  No luck yet.  My mother will tell you that I deal with stress by stressing out everyone around me.  I think I agree with her.

KT - I have to ask you this – do you think you are too hard on yourself? I can’t imagine having so many plots running around in my head and keeping them straight. Are you afraid somewhere along the line you may just burn out or run out of story ideas? 

Gena - I don’t fear burn out or running out of ideas – I have enough ideas right now that to write at least 50 more books.  What I fear is not being able to get to all of them.  I desperately want to tell them all.  The characters in my mind fascinate me.    

KT - I am really excited about this July release of Oh My Goth! This book will be geared more towards young adults, correct? Can you tell us what message you would like to send out to the teens of today? With the popularity of shows like Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Oh My Goth is surely to be a hit with teens. Is Oh My Goth G-rated?

Gena - Yes, this is my first young adult book and is G-rated.  No sex in this one, though there is a very hot kiss.  I hope the story conveys the message that it’s okay to be different.  Better than okay, actually.  There is beauty in differences.        

KT - Gena, you have come so far from your first book, Heaven’s Fury (tell us about that adventure?) and you certainly show no signs of stopping. Seems one day I looked on your blog and there was just a few meager books - now – WOW!  What does the rest of 2006 have in store for your readers? I have heard of such titles as Playing with Fire, Catch a Mate, The Nymph King and Awakening Pandora – all of which sound delicious. 

Gena - Ah, Heaven’s Fury.  A tasty little gem of a book.  I actually plan to post the first few paragraphs of that book (uncensored!) on my blog.  Hopefully this week.  PC Cast and I have a bet going to discover which one of us wrote the worst first book.  Our readers will get to vote.  Stay tuned! 

2006 brings, for me, 5 more books.  In May, there’s Animal Instincts (which will be excerpted in the June edition of Cosmo magazine).  June brings Enslave Me Sweetly.  July brings Mysteria and Oh My Goth.  September brings Playing With Fire, the story of a woman who develops unexpected superpowers.  I LOVED writing that book.  

2007 brings The Nymph King in February, Catch A Mate in June (another contemporary) and two young adult alien huntress novels.  I’m sure there will be more, but that’s all that has been slated so far.

KT - Do you see yourself staying within a certain genre, such as paranormal romance? Is there a genre you would love to give a shot at? Your paranormal romances, to some readers, seem to be on the cusp of being Sci-Fi Paranormal – does this bother you? 

Gena - Not at all.  Paranormal romance is my first love, but I’m willing to write in any genre that catches my fancy.    

KT - You do a lot of reading – where do you find the time? Also, I see that you do interviews with other authors. You totally amaze me. Who are some of your favorite authors?  

Gena - Ah, time.  How I’d love to make her my bitch so she would do whatever I told her to do.  Lack of sleep plays a major factor.  Being obsessive plays an even bigger factor – and it’s not pretty.

I love Jill Monroe, PC Cast, Susan Grant, JR Ward, Karen Moning, Deidre Knight, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Linda Howard, Merline Lovelace, Kresley Cole, Katie MacAlister, Robin Owens, MaryJanice Davidson, Carly Phillips, Jennifer Crusie, and many more.       

KT - If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only have three books with you, what would they be? 

Gena - The Bible, How to Survive on an Island, and Delicious Cuisine for the Outdoor Chef.

KT - Ahh, if you could only have one fictional hero with you on that island, who would that be – I will give you a break here! 

Gena - I would want Rome from Playing With Fire.  He makes my mouth water.     

KT - For someone who is considering writing their first book – what advice would you give them? I know in the beginning you gave yourself a time limit of two years, do you think, looking back now that that was a reasonable amount of time? 

Gena - Write the book all the way to the end before starting another project.  You learn so much.  And don’t think about “the rules” or what’s popular at the moment.  Just write the book the way it needs to be told.  Who knows, you could start the next trend. Time varies from person to person.  How quickly do they write?  How badly do they want to be published?  

KT - Do you ever regret giving up your medical career to write? 

Gena - Never!  I was not cut out for medicine.  Or anything else, for that matter.  On the job, in class – didn’t matter -- my mind always wandered with stories.  

KT - Can you tell us a little about “Beefcake Monday” and “Good News Friday” that is on your blog? 

Gena - In the beginning, I would post the occasional photo of succulent male.  Those days were my most popular so I decided to make it a regular feature.  Good News Friday came about because I wanted to give my readers a place to shout out their accomplishments.  We all need to toot our horns upon occasion.    

KT - Gena, as always, it is a pleasure to talk with you. Will you be at the Romantic Times Book Club Convention this year? Where might readers find you at upcoming book signings? 

Gena - Sadly, I won’t be at RT this year.  Hopefully next year.  Upcoming signings…Let’s see.  I’ll be signing books in Atlanta this year at the RWA National conference.  I’ll be doing launch signings for each of my new books as they come out, but I don’t have any solid dates or times yet.   

KT - One last question – will we ever see Jorlan and Katie again???

Gena - I certainly hope so!  I love them so much.

KT - Be sure to save me an autographed copy of Mysteria and Oh My Goth! and Animal Instincts! 

Gena - I hope to get ARCs of Mysteria and Oh My Goth very soon.  I’m eager to see them myself.  Unfortunately, I will not receive ARCs of Animal Instincts.  I have seen the inside of it, though, and it is awesome!!  They put tiger print on all the chapter headings. 

Gena’s website where readers can learn more about her books is http://members.cox.net/genashowalter/books.htm

Thank you!