Hello everyone, please welcome Stacey Watts to Sensuous Promos today as she shares with us a little bit
about herself and her work.
Stacey, thank you for joining us
today. I know the readers are eager to get to know you , so let’s get started.
When and why did you begin writing?
I think the obvious punch line to that question is of course
Kingdergarten! Thats where I learned to
write the alphabet and my name! I was
not; however, a child writer. I've
always been a bit of a natural story-teller, with a flair for the dramatic
(much more than a flair if you ask my husband), so letting my imagination go,
and getting it down was the obvious next step.
It wasn't till I was in my late twenties that I started to begin writing
seriously.
At what point did you first
consider yourself a writer?
It was probably the first time I saw my own work in
print. Sure by that point I had two or
three projects completed, but it was seeing my name on the front cover and the
words not on a screen, but on physical paper that really got me excited about
being a writer. Since that first book,
I've been writing as much as possible and have pushed out several works,
including a couple of poetry books, and several novels that are ready to be
published. Arresting Desire, my latest
book, was another personal milestone for me as a writer.
Do you have a specific writing
style? In other words, are you a plotter or a planner?
As much as I would like to be a plotter, and plan out
every move of my book, the truth is I write by the seat of my pants. Only recently have I finally quit buying
books on organization and character development, because as great as they are,
they are not my cup of tea. I tend to
write my stories three or four times before I feel like its ready to go to the
editor. The first time I put the story
on paper is a really rough draft. Its
usually only a third of its final length, and is gramatical nightmare. After that I keep rewriting until I get all
the details just right.
What books have most influenced
your life most?
Just a couple of months ago, I read Jane Eyre by Charlotte
Bronte. I had seen the movies countless
times and never tackled the book. I read
it and loved it. The dialogue between Jane
and Mr. Rochester was electrifying. It appealed to me because of its Gothic
flair to it. The book was published in
1847 but it never felt like I was reading a stuffy old “Classic”. All stories if you think about it, have
many basic elements. Great stories, like
Jane Eyre can teach a young author like me is a lot about characters, dialogue
and scenes. I think we don’t sometimes
read the classics enough, and really regret not reading it sooner.
Are there any new authors that have
grasped your interest?
Douglas Turner wrote this wonderful poetry book called
E-mail Poet. His work is great with lots
of facets to it. Poetry is one of those
underappreciated genres. His work speaks
volumes to the reader. I don’t usually
get the chance to read a lot of new books, but I have a huge reading list on my
e-reader. Writing takes up quite a bit
of time, and I try to read whenever I can.
Do you see writing as a
career? Do you write full time? Or in addition to another job?
I am lucky to be a stay-at-home mom to an incredible
eight year old son. Between home-school
and the usual house hold chores, I find time to write most days, sometimes as
little as an hour at a time. However, as
a deadline approaches, the family picks up a lot of what I usually handle so I can
go on a “writing binge.” Its been great
to have a supportive family that steps up when the time comes.
If you had to do it all over again,
would you change anything in your latest book?
As I mentioned earlier, Arresting Desire was a bit of a milestone for
me. It was the first book I wrote that
was in the Romantic Suspense genre, and the more I wrote on it, the more I fell
in love with the style. The ability to
have a strong female character who is on the search for her father's killer,
and pairing that with a romantic liaison with a man who could be the man she's
looking for in more ways than one. How
can anyone resist telling that story. I
know I couldn't.
Do you recall how your interest in
writing originated?
I started out writing poetry. I like poetry, but was more drawn to
writing romance stories. I grew up on
reading the old Harlequin novels when I was a teenager, and I think that
stroked my curiosity into the romance genre.
As a very highly imaginative child, I made up stories quite a bit. I think that is the one reason why I write
books today.
Do you have any advice to offer
other writers?
Listen to your characters. Let
them tell their stories. Then listen to
the people that know what they are doing.
Editors, cover designers and publishers.
They can be the catalyst to put you on the map.
Surround yourself with positive and supportive people. That has helped me through lots of
rejections. I think starting out, one
needs cheerleaders on the sidelines cheering you onto victory. Don’t take
rejection too hard.
Learn from your mistakes and know that you will make many. I do. Cry if you
need too, then open up a new file on the computer and start again, show the
world that you won’t give up. J
Where can our readers find you on
the world wide web?
Personal
Web Page-www.staceywatts.com
As a big city
police officer, Ellie Davis has seen her fair share of crime, corruption and
back-room dealings. Nothing, however, could prepare her for the day she came
home to investigate the brutal homicide of her father in the line of duty.
Davis begins a journey to uncover some of the town’s darkest secrets—secrets
that threaten to destroy her memory of all that was good in Chapleton.
A high school
flame arouses her passions, but he is somehow involved in the drama that seems
to surround her family and some of the top levels of the local Police Department.
A need to protect and a desire for passion soon drive her to the brink of
destruction in Arresting Desire.
Purchase link: http://www.classactbooks.com/index.php/cat-romance/arresting-desire-22013-04-29-03-47-46-detail
Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00951B43W/
Excerpt
Glittery streams
of moonlight shimmered in the Bravely River. It was the one and only river that
ran through the town of Chapleton. The lights on the squad car flooded the
warehouse district with a red and blue color. Ellie stood in utter disgust of
the body lying in the pool of blood just mere inches from her.
When she’d moved
back to her hometown after her father was callously murdered, she vowed to
uncover the truth. Chapleton held some deep secrets. Here in the warehouse
district alone in the last year there had been four more murders. She knew with
each homicide they were all intertwined. Working tirelessly she tried to connect
the dots.
Of course, all
Ellie had to go on were rumors and speculation on what was going on in town.
Rumor had it that Salvatore Cartolano and his group of drug runners were
involved, as usual. This murder had their signature all over it. She looked
around the scene to see if anything was out of place to suggest otherwise, but
it was definitely their trademark.
Jotting down some
of the most apparent details, she exhaled deeply when she heard the clicking of
Chief Ray’s expensive rattlesnake boots on the pavement. It was a sound she’d
recently become quite accustomed to, as he insisted being there for every
murder investigation lately.
“Ellie, what do
you have for me?” he asked gruffly, as he tilted a black cowboy hat back on his
head.
“It looks to be a
homicide. Male, early thirties, nine millimeter shot to the temple,” she
answered solemnly. Ray looked over the body and placed the coroner’s sheet over
the victim. He turned to Ellie shaking his head with a scowl.
“You and Denny are
on this one. I’m going back to the station. Report to me when you’re finished
here.” Turning silently, he began walking back to his pickup truck without
another word.
“Well, that was
quick. He didn’t stick around very long, did he?” Ellie raised her eyebrows in
surprise.
“There was no
press here. You know how Chief Ray loves to be in front of the cameras these
days. A regular ham, that one.” Denny gave a mischievous grin making the
wrinkles around his eyes dance.
“Denny, let’s bag
this evidence. Thanks to my meddling mother, I have to go home soon. I have big
plans tomorrow.” Ellie sulked in defeat.
“Yeah, I heard,
princess. I will be on the front lines cheering you on.” He chuckled with
amusement as he busied himself collecting the nearby evidence. When they
completed the investigation for the evening, she headed home for the night. She
would need a lot of strength for tomorrow, and wished she could just get it
over with, putting the nightmare behind her.
