Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Simone Beaudelaire, author of one of the short stories in Rawhide ’n Roses - A Western Anthology.
| Hi, Simone! Thank you for joining us here. Hi, Chad, thank you for hosting me today. | 
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Let me start off by talking about my contribution to the anthology
| My story, A Midnight Clear, is the tale of a lonely young widow with two children, who is facing another Christmas alone. While she has a bit of a crush on her church's music minister, she doesn't feel like she is able to pursue him. That is, until a bit of advice from her teenage daughter gets her to thinking... |
The story was written in honor of my own church's music minister, who has been a widower for several years. He doesn't know it though, so don't spill the beans ;)
Aha! – does that mean there might be someone who’d like to catch his attention?
I have no idea. Not me. I’m married. I just like for people to have happy endings.
Readers often wonder how much of a story springs from an author’s imagination, and how much is borrowed from real life. It looks like, at least some of the time, you may use a kernel of real life in your stories?
I often use a kernel of truth in my stories. If you read them, you’ll notice how often I write about shy girls. Guess who’s shy!
Some are more true to my life than others. In When the Music Ends, Erin is very much like I was when I was younger. The Naphil’s Kiss is less true to me, more to things I like to daydream about.
Do you prefer to write solely within one genre, or do you like to change it up?
I write romance. I made one brief foray into children’s lit, in honor of my daughter. I’m not sorry I did, but I don’t think I’ll do that again.
Within romance, I have written contemporary, paranormal and historical (Victorian and Western). I don’t have a favorite sub-genre. It’s whatever I feel at the time.
What draws you to this genre or genres?
I’m a romantic girl. I like love stories, especially the steamy ones. ;-)
Aha! – does that mean there might be someone who’d like to catch his attention?
I have no idea. Not me. I’m married. I just like for people to have happy endings.
Readers often wonder how much of a story springs from an author’s imagination, and how much is borrowed from real life. It looks like, at least some of the time, you may use a kernel of real life in your stories?
I often use a kernel of truth in my stories. If you read them, you’ll notice how often I write about shy girls. Guess who’s shy!
Some are more true to my life than others. In When the Music Ends, Erin is very much like I was when I was younger. The Naphil’s Kiss is less true to me, more to things I like to daydream about.
Do you prefer to write solely within one genre, or do you like to change it up?
I write romance. I made one brief foray into children’s lit, in honor of my daughter. I’m not sorry I did, but I don’t think I’ll do that again.
Within romance, I have written contemporary, paranormal and historical (Victorian and Western). I don’t have a favorite sub-genre. It’s whatever I feel at the time.
What draws you to this genre or genres?
I’m a romantic girl. I like love stories, especially the steamy ones. ;-)
| What are you working on right now? As far as what I'm interested in promoting now, I'm currently working on my paranormal romance, The Naphil's Kiss (formerly titled Tears of Blood) which tells the story of Lucien, one of the Nephilim. While I took the description of what Nephilim are from the book of Genesis, my interpretation is a bit different from the usual. See, the scriptures never say Nephilim are evil. It says they're heroes. So I ran with that | 
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idea, making this a race of semi-angelic warriors who protect mankind. Their natural enemies are the succubae, daughters of the demoness Lilith, who prey on men's sexual energy and by so doing drain their will and make them into slaves.
Then Lucien meets Sarahi, a succubus who is so much more than just a mindless sexual predator. The passion between them is undeniable, but the consequences of their forbidden affair may just bring about Armageddon.
Intriguing premise. Sounds like you do a lot of research for your stories. Do you enjoy the research process or find it distracts from actually writing?
I’m a bit of a nut for accuracy, so I research, but yes, it does interrupt the flow of the writing. One nice thing about paranormal… I can make stuff up. But I do a ton of research for historicals, and even quite a bit for contemporary. I also struggle with description. I like to research a photo of a place so I can describe it better.
Why did you change the title of this book? What were the challenges (research-wise, literary, psychological, or logistical) in bringing The Naphil’s Kiss to life?
I changed the title because several of my most trusted writer friends suggested the original title did not sound like a romance. I changed it to The Naphil’s Kiss so it would sound more romantic. That and the whole messy situation around which the story revolves starts with a forbidden kiss between Sarahi and Lucien, who is supposed to remain chaste.
The main hang up I had writing this book was that at first it was a collaboration. A friend and I dreamed up the idea together. But then we decided we wanted to go in different directions. Since our parts were interwoven more than integrated, we were able to split them up. I’m not sure what he did with his part, but mine became the novel we’re discussing. The process of uncoupling, if you will, made the process of the novel writing quite slow.
What other works have you written?
I have a long list of published works.
In paranormal romance, I have “Watching Over the Watcher,” “The Naphil’s Kiss” “His Cross to Bear” (my only non-steamy one) and a collection of shorter stories called “Amor Maldito.”
In contemporary romance, I have “Si tu m’Aimes (if you love me)” and my contemporary series, The Hearts in Winter Chronicles. Book 1, “When the Music Ends” and book 2 “When the Words are Spoken” are available, along with a spinoff called Caroline’s Choice. Books 3 and 4 are due for release before summer.
I also have three historicals. Two are Victorian: “Beautiful Rose” and “Keeping Katerina”. The other is a western, “High Plains Holiday” which is book 1 in a series. The other books are waiting to be written.
Have you ever collaborated with another writer?
Yes. I have four published collaborations, all with my writing partner Guy Bailey: “Pacific Fire,” “Bridge of Souls,” “Wallflower Girl” and “Haunted Hook-up.” I’m also working on two collaborations at the moment, both paranormal/fantasy romance. One, tentatively titled “Ocean Eyes” or maybe “The Silver Torc” is with my friend Sandra Martinez, who is a master of fantasy. The other is tentatively titled “Sacred Ground” and is with Edwin Stark, who writes the most amazing satire and dark comedy. They’re both going very well.
I also have taken part in three anthologies: “The Writers’ Stuff”, with some Facebook friends, “Rawhide N Roses,” of course, and “Into the Darkness,” a Halloween collection my best writer friends and I created for charity.
Do you have an overall theme you enjoy exploring or hope to impart to your readers with your growing body of work, or do you prefer that each work stand on its own?
I think the theme I most enjoy exploring is how we should always pay it forward in life. In reality, nice people don’t always get treated fairly. There are bullies, users, and just plain mean folks always ready to take a bite out of the tenderhearted. So I like to write about supportive, loving romances AND friendships. People who look out for and help each other. I think that is my most consistent theme. Well, that and bullies getting what they deserve.
What can you tell us about your background and why you write?
You might guess from some of my previous answers that I was the shy girl who got picked on as a kid. I invented many of my plots and characters in middle and high school to help me escape from my reality.
Then Lucien meets Sarahi, a succubus who is so much more than just a mindless sexual predator. The passion between them is undeniable, but the consequences of their forbidden affair may just bring about Armageddon.
Intriguing premise. Sounds like you do a lot of research for your stories. Do you enjoy the research process or find it distracts from actually writing?
I’m a bit of a nut for accuracy, so I research, but yes, it does interrupt the flow of the writing. One nice thing about paranormal… I can make stuff up. But I do a ton of research for historicals, and even quite a bit for contemporary. I also struggle with description. I like to research a photo of a place so I can describe it better.
Why did you change the title of this book? What were the challenges (research-wise, literary, psychological, or logistical) in bringing The Naphil’s Kiss to life?
I changed the title because several of my most trusted writer friends suggested the original title did not sound like a romance. I changed it to The Naphil’s Kiss so it would sound more romantic. That and the whole messy situation around which the story revolves starts with a forbidden kiss between Sarahi and Lucien, who is supposed to remain chaste.
The main hang up I had writing this book was that at first it was a collaboration. A friend and I dreamed up the idea together. But then we decided we wanted to go in different directions. Since our parts were interwoven more than integrated, we were able to split them up. I’m not sure what he did with his part, but mine became the novel we’re discussing. The process of uncoupling, if you will, made the process of the novel writing quite slow.
What other works have you written?
I have a long list of published works.
In paranormal romance, I have “Watching Over the Watcher,” “The Naphil’s Kiss” “His Cross to Bear” (my only non-steamy one) and a collection of shorter stories called “Amor Maldito.”
In contemporary romance, I have “Si tu m’Aimes (if you love me)” and my contemporary series, The Hearts in Winter Chronicles. Book 1, “When the Music Ends” and book 2 “When the Words are Spoken” are available, along with a spinoff called Caroline’s Choice. Books 3 and 4 are due for release before summer.
I also have three historicals. Two are Victorian: “Beautiful Rose” and “Keeping Katerina”. The other is a western, “High Plains Holiday” which is book 1 in a series. The other books are waiting to be written.
Have you ever collaborated with another writer?
Yes. I have four published collaborations, all with my writing partner Guy Bailey: “Pacific Fire,” “Bridge of Souls,” “Wallflower Girl” and “Haunted Hook-up.” I’m also working on two collaborations at the moment, both paranormal/fantasy romance. One, tentatively titled “Ocean Eyes” or maybe “The Silver Torc” is with my friend Sandra Martinez, who is a master of fantasy. The other is tentatively titled “Sacred Ground” and is with Edwin Stark, who writes the most amazing satire and dark comedy. They’re both going very well.
I also have taken part in three anthologies: “The Writers’ Stuff”, with some Facebook friends, “Rawhide N Roses,” of course, and “Into the Darkness,” a Halloween collection my best writer friends and I created for charity.
Do you have an overall theme you enjoy exploring or hope to impart to your readers with your growing body of work, or do you prefer that each work stand on its own?
I think the theme I most enjoy exploring is how we should always pay it forward in life. In reality, nice people don’t always get treated fairly. There are bullies, users, and just plain mean folks always ready to take a bite out of the tenderhearted. So I like to write about supportive, loving romances AND friendships. People who look out for and help each other. I think that is my most consistent theme. Well, that and bullies getting what they deserve.
What can you tell us about your background and why you write?
You might guess from some of my previous answers that I was the shy girl who got picked on as a kid. I invented many of my plots and characters in middle and high school to help me escape from my reality.
Where can we find out more about you and your books?
I have a web site, http://simonebeaudelaireauthor.weebly.com/
I even update it sometimes. I’m fairly active on twitter (https://twitter.com/SimoneBeaudelai) but by far I’m the most active on Facebook. I also participate in discussions on Amazon’s Meet our Authors forum.
My author page on Amazon is at http://www.amazon.com/Simone-Beaudelaire/e/B00CIUPNWK/ref=la_B00CIUPNWK_pg_1?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_82%3AB00CIUPNWK&ie=UTF8&qid=1396470393, but it’s probably easier just to search for my name or one of my titles.
Thank you so much for being here and sharing with us today, Simone.
Thank YOU, Chad.
I have a web site, http://simonebeaudelaireauthor.weebly.com/
I even update it sometimes. I’m fairly active on twitter (https://twitter.com/SimoneBeaudelai) but by far I’m the most active on Facebook. I also participate in discussions on Amazon’s Meet our Authors forum.
My author page on Amazon is at http://www.amazon.com/Simone-Beaudelaire/e/B00CIUPNWK/ref=la_B00CIUPNWK_pg_1?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_82%3AB00CIUPNWK&ie=UTF8&qid=1396470393, but it’s probably easier just to search for my name or one of my titles.
Thank you so much for being here and sharing with us today, Simone.
Thank YOU, Chad.
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