Author Name: Elizabeth Lynx
Fiction or Non-Fiction: Fiction
Genre(s): Erotic Romantic Comedy
Number of books published: 5 novellas
Links to published
work (Amazon, Smashwords, etc):
Reaching Her:
Becoming Them:
Him Her Them Boxed Set:
Rules of Payne:
Free
Books
Grading Him:
The Payne In The Blog:
WYLABWYW: Author Bio
I write erotic romance & erotic
romantic comedies. As a stay at home mom of two little boys, I spend most of my
time as a climbing rock. But when I get a break from that, I like to sit in
front of my laptop and write about the crazy characters that pop into my head.
WYLABWYW: Tell us a little bit about
yourself. Something we won’t find in you author bio on your website (do you
work, hobbies, what do you like to do when not writing/working, etc.).
I have been a Medical Photographer,
Improviser, Actress, Printer, Graphic Technician, Salesperson, Merchandiser,
and Executive Assistant. I have always wanted to be an Archaeologist or
Forensic Pathologist or History Professor. I’m sorry, it’s too hard to be just
one thing.
WYLABWYW: Are you self-published, with an agency, or a
combination of the two?
I
am self-published currently. I am working on a manuscript that I want to send
to a literary agent. I one day want to be both. I think the traditional
publishing has it’s pros: can reach a wider audience, larger marketing team,
etc. But Indie publishing also has it’s pros: More control, can set price, have
control on promo/book cover, more control on the writing, etc.
Because of that, I want to do both.
WYLABWYW: What inspired you to become a
writer?
When it comes to creative ventures I
tend to jump in without looking. It works in my favor and it also really,
really doesn’t. It works because I don’t have time to worry if I am doing
something wrong, panic and change my mind. It doesn’t work because of
everything else you can think of. I make tons of mistakes. I mean a lot! A lot
of writers have literary degrees or have written little stories all their life
or have read tons and tons of books all their life, so they decided to take the
author plunge. None of that is true with me.
I read very little most of my life. I
have a learning disability and used to have panic attacks when people asked me
to read something. My mom used to try to bribe me with clothes as a teenager
(you can get your favorite name brand sweater if you read 3 books), but it
didn’t work. Once I hit my late teens/early twenties I had a boring summer job
after my junior year in college where I worked in a hotel gift shop. The only
thing to do there was read from the bestseller list that lined the display. So
I did. It was the first time I actually liked reading. I would occasionally
read off and on after that, but I gravitated toward historical fiction or
fantasy. I did read some romance.
The embarrassing part is I didn’t even
know erotic romance existed until I started writing it. That’s how naive I am.
I had heard of Fifty Shades of Grey but I never read it. I just thought it was
a dark romance. Then I read an article about a stay at home mom who wrote
erotica. I thought, “If she can do it so can I.” I never knew the author, never
had read her books, just read the article and decided to jump in head first -
like I do. So, a little over a year later, here I am having made a bunch of
mistakes, but learning and growing as an author.
WYLABWYW: Do you have a mentor or
mentors?
As far as a mentor, I am too afraid to
go up to any author and ask if they will mentor me. I asked Penny Reid a
question once and nearly had a heart-attack after because she didn’t respond
for a few days. I kept panicking and thinking I scared her off and that she
thinks I’m crazy and is ignoring me. Turns out she was just busy with life. But
she was very nice answering my question in great detail. My husband doesn't
understand my paranoid fear of asking for help.
WYLABWYW: What do you do to prepare for a story?
An idea pops into my head (usually the
very beginning of the story, or the first half of the story, fully formed) and
I start to write. If I don’t immediately write it down, it’s gone. Have two
children under the age of 5 in my home has zapped my brain cells, so I easily
forget things now.
Once I have written a little, I stop and
start to flesh out the characters, do a general plot sketch. Nothing is ever
set in stone and most of my books end up getting changed a lot during the
writing process. I recently finished writing a chapter for Rules of Payne 2
where up until the very end of the chapter I planned on it ending a certain
way, but the character had something else in mind. So, the ending to that
chapter turned out completely different from what I intended.
WYLABWYW: What do you find to be your
biggest obstacle in the writing process?
Time. Since I am a stay at home mom of
kids under 5, most of my time is spent dealing with them (feeding, playing, and
taking care of). So, I would love much more time to write, but I can’t. I’m
lucky now that they go to a specialized preschool M-F in the mornings, which
gives me five days a week to write for a few hours. Last year at this time, I
didn’t have that. Unfortunately, I have had to scale back for the summer while
they are out of school.
WYLABWYW: Where do you write?
On the couch of the dining room table,
on my laptop. I would love to have an office, but don’t have the money or the
space for that.
WYLABWYW: Do you listen to music when
you write? If so, what do you typically listen to?
No. I tried a few times early on, but I
got so distracted by the music. The kids are so noisy that when I get a chance
to write I want quiet.
WYLABWYW: How much of your book(s), if any,
is taken from real life events?
None. LOL, I would love to have the hot
stuff that happens in my books to happen to me. The only thing that was
anywhere similar to me was when Jos gave birth in Luna & Corbin’s story in
the Him Her Them Series. She gave birth a month early and her baby had to go to
the NICU. She just kept repeating the words, “I never got to hold him.” I gave
birth to my youngest 2 months early and he spent about 6 weeks in the NICU.
That first day in the NICU, they called me just as I was going to bed (I gave
birth to him at 3 am that morning, so I hadn’t slept in almost 36 hours). I got
released early from the hospital since I was physically okay and they knew I
wanted to see my son who was located at another hospital. When they called they
said my son’s heart stopped and he had a heart condition. I panicked and my
husband talked to them. They told me the heart condition was normal for a
preemie and I didn’t need to come to the hospital, they just wanted to inform
us of his progress. After we hung up I lost it. I sobbed and kept repeating,
“What if he dies? I never got to hold him.” Both of my son’s births were not
typical, so if I write a birth it most likely won’t ever be typical.
WYLABWYW: Who is/was your biggest support for your writing
career?
My mom. She has told me most of my life
I should write. I never believed her since I have a learning disability. She
would read my papers and tell me every time I should be a writer. It didn’t
matter what she said because no matter what I wrote I would get a C on the
paper, due to grammar errors because of my disability. I figured if a teacher
doesn’t think my writing is good, then what hope do I have to ever be a writer.
My mom is just being nice because she is my mom.
When I finally told her I was going to
be a writer at age 40, she was over the moon.
WYLABWYW: What lead to write your chosen genre?
The article I read about the erotic
romance writer. I had read romance books, but not erotic romance. So I went a
read a bunch of erotic romance books to figure out how to write a sex scene and
then went to it. It was a lot of trial and error, but I think I have grown in
just over a year.
WYLABWYW: Tell us about your book(s).
The Him Her Them Series: Grading Him,
Reaching Her, Becoming Them is about Josephine Powell and Pierce Carver. Jos is an
intelligent assistant professor of Psychology. She is a woman who knows what
she wants, a man she would be happy giving a grade A to in the bedroom.
Unfortunately, she has yet to meet a man that even comes close. She’s tired of
dealing with men who just don’t try; she needs a man who can handle her and her
needs.
Pierce Carver is a smart man. So smart he got out of the
slums of Baltimore to go to MIT and make a lot of money so he never has to
visit his old neighborhood ever again. He’s not interested in making money
anymore; he’s interested in only two things, his charity to help inner city
youth and woman. The later he prefers variety, as in one good lay and then out
the door you go. Women are for sex and nothing more.
Their story is what happens when both get exactly what
they want.
In the Him Her Them Boxed set I included a bonus story
about their friends Luna and Corbin. They got together during the Him Him Them
Series, but Luna’s father got sick and they had to break up so she could move
away to be with her father. During their story, you see what happens when she
comes back.
The series was my very first and it was in reaction to all
the virgin woman/male whore books out there. I wanted a book that had a smart,
confident woman, who knew what she wanted both in and out of the bedroom. So, I
wrote it.
The next series, sort of series because it’s kind of all
over the place, is the Payne series. I have a weekly character blog called
Payne In The Blog where you see the woman’s POV. It started off with the
character of Morgana Drake, but is now her roommates POV, Aria Dixon. The first
4 months worth of posts I turned into a free book that you can get from Amazon,
B&N, iTunes, etc. After that I changed the POV to Aria. I also came out
with a book based on Morgana and her boss, Henrik Payne called Rules of Payne.
It picks up where the blog book leaves off. You don’t have to read the blog
book or the posts to understand Rules of Payne, but it’s fun to see all the
things that are just mentioned in Rules of Payne, happen to Morgana in Payne In
The Blog.
It’s an erotic romantic comedy. Just because it’s a
romantic comedy does not mean I don’t bring the steam to the sex scenes. So, if
you like your books steamy, you will like Rules of Payne. The same goes for the
comedy. I do work at making the reader laugh. I spent many years to doing
Improv and taking comedy classes, so comedy is very important to me. If you
like to laugh then you should check it out.
The Payne stuff is ongoing. The blog I keep up, so every
week I put up two new posts. Also, Rules of Payne 2 is coming out August 4th,
which is the final book for Morgana. I do plan on writing one for Aria and a
couple of the other women in the Payne series. That won’t happen until very
late in the year, if not early next year as I have lots of other projects I am
working on as well.
WYLABWYW: Do you have muses you used for your
characters?
Not really. They just pop into my head.
No one inspires them or anything. I do think Henry Cavill is hot, so I picture
him as all my male leads.
WYLABWYW: Time to give your support a
shout out! Tell us about your crew (cover designer, photographer, editor,
videographer, proofreader, swag designer, etc.)
I am the cover designer and promo
designer. I worked in the printing and graphics industry for over ten years, so
I know Photoshop and Illustrator like the back on my hand. Also, I am very
picky about what a book cover looks like, so I just do it myself.
As for an editor, I found a great editor
named Silvia at silviasreading.webs.com. She is great and tells me what I need
to hear, even if she thinks I don’t want to hear it. She is great at what she
does and understands what I am trying to put out there.
I also have a great PA, Melissa Fiest.
She laughs at my jokes (important as PA), does all the dirty work and gives me
a good slap in the face when I goofing around instead of writing.
WYLABWYW: What are you working on now,
and when can we expect your next release?
I am working on a co-author project,
working title called House of Epic about a male strip club. I am working with
L.E. Chamberlin on the book. If you have ever read Game of Thrones, you know
that each chapter is a different character’s point of view and it all flows in
real-time. That is the inspiration for the book. It isn’t sci-fi, still a
romance but there will be a lot of different story-lines interweaving with
others and some dark elements as well as light and funny. Most will have a HEA,
but since there will be so many story-lines, not everyone is going to be HEA.
It’s going to center around a Male strip club in Washington DC. The best way to
describe it would be Game of Thrones meets The Wire meets The Notebook meets
Magic Mike, if that makes sense.
I will keep up the Payne In The Blog
through all this, until the end of the year. After the EPIC book I will start
on Aria’s book. Also, through all this I have been working on a book I want to
submit to a Literary Agent. So, I am doing a ton of writing.
My next release is Rules of Payne 2
which comes out on August 4th!
If anyone wants to check out one of my
several stories I have on the brain as I write them they can see them here:
WYLABWYW: Can you share an excerpt from
a work in progress?
This is an excerpt from Rules of Payne
2:
Once we finish our meal, I head back
outside while Aria finishes paying the bill. As I wait for her on the sidewalk,
I glance across the street and see him. Henrik is in dark gray suit pants, a
light gray shirt, and red tie. His sleeves are casually rolled up and I notice
his ink trailing down his arm. His hair is a bit tousled and he looks so good.
I'm ready to call out his name when I notice a cute blonde exit the 7-Eleven
store and sluttily touch his arm.
That's right I said sluttily. She is
touching him, therefore she is a slut. I know I am
being awful right now, but he disappears from my life after confessing
everything he did for me and finally when I see him again a cute little blonde
in a slutty suit with her aggressively slutty hand is touching him.
I wonder if that is the woman I heard on
the phone with him yesterday. I want to go over there, shove her away, and slap
him. Then, I want to make out with him. Damn it! I'm going to find a doctor
that can give me something for my overly horny vagina.
"Morgana!" My Brain pipes up.
I really don't want a lecture right now
from Brain about how I am being judgmental and that I know nothing about that
woman.
"Look
Brain, I know I am being too critical of her right now but I'm just hurt,
alright," I explain.
"Oh
no Morgana, she is clearly a slut. I was just going to tell you that if you
want to get rid of her I am more than happy to help you out." My Brain is eyeing the blonde with suspicion.
"What?
Maybe I should just talk to him. Maybe he got a job and she is a
co-worker? Perhaps he is interviewing
for the job and they just finished a lunch interview. I would ruin it if I went
over there and acted jealous. Besides, we aren’t together anymore. He made that
quite clear to me yesterday. He can see who he wants." I try to rationalize.
"Or
you could cut her!" My heart
pipes up and I notice hatred in her eyes as she stares at the blonde.
"Whoa!
Shit just got real! I think I will just have a rational conversation like a
normal person." I shake my head.
"Fine.
Whatever you want to do. But know this Morgana, we will support you in whatever
or however you choose to handle this. And by handle, I mean take care of. And
by take care of, I mean cut a bitch..." My Brian surprises me by going along with Heart, who is nodding her
head in agreement. I quickly cut her off before she talks about making the
blonde disappear.
I have been watching a lot of Dexter
reruns and I think it's getting in my head.
"Ladies.
Please. Just, stop."
"Hey Morgana. You ready to head
ba... Is that Henrik?" Aria happily skips out the door with her belly full
of ham and cheese until she sees what I see and comes to a halt.
"Yup." I am so confused that I
can only utter one word.
"Who is that slut he’s with?"
Aria notices.
"We
told you Morgana. I think they sell knives in the 7-Eleven," Brain adds.
"You know what? I am not going to
cut anyone, so let it go," I yell out.
Aria turns her head to me scrunching her
brow in confusion.
"What are you talking about
Morgana? I said slut not cut." Aria slaps me on the back as she giggles.
I look back to where Henrik and Ms. Slut
were and now they’re gone. My eyes dart around and I see them crossing the
street and heading straight toward us. He hasn't seen me and I wonder if maybe
I should hide and then follow him. He followed me in New York, so now I can do
the same to him. Find out if he is with her or if they just work together.
I quickly dash behind a parked car
beside the curb as Aria watches me. She nods in acknowledgement and runs back
inside the sandwich shop as she watches through the glass window. I gasp as the
car starts and exhaust fumes blast into my face. I have to close my eyes as I
gag and cough. Then the car pulls away.
"Morgana?" Henrik’s deep voice
calls over to me and I look up to see him tilting his head with the blonde at
his side.
I look frantically down on the ground
and see a dirty wrapper and quickly grab it as I stand.
"There it is." I shake my head
and chuckle as I walk over to Henrik. I raise the shiny metallic paper in my
hand letting them know I found what I was apparently searching for.
"Fell out of my hand. Thought I
lost my lucky..." I examine it closely and discover it's a condom wrapper.
Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath before I open them to see Henrik as he
tries to cover a laugh.
"Your lucky what, Morgana?"
His shoulders are shaking and his hand is now covering his mouth.
Smug bastard.
"Condom wrapper! My lucky condom
wrapper. I mean, come on, doesn't everyone have a lucky something? If you think
about it what is worse, a lucky rabbit's foot, which is morbid by the way or
the wrapper from the condom you lost your virginity to?" I raise my brows
and nod as if this makes total sense. But as I hear myself I realize how
disgusting I sound. When I glance over at the blonde who is now looking at me
like I have the bubonic plague, my suspicions are confirmed: I am revolting.
I drop the wrapper and wipe my hand on
my jeans.
"Your lucky wrapper is blowing away
Morgana!" Henrik pretends like he is trying to catch it.
"Shut up." I say as I fold my
arms over my chest.
WYLABWYW: Do you have any upcoming signing events or
appearances scheduled later this year or in 2016?
Not at the moment. Those events cost a
lot of money for authors and most authors lose money doing them, but they do
them to meet fans and readers. I totally get that and would like to be in that
position one day. Unfortunately I am such a new author I don’t even make money
on my books yet, let alone have money to lose for a signing event. I have to
wait until I am making, even a modest, income from my books to afford a
signing. I can’t wait to one day meet the fans that have been so nice sending
me messages and talking to me on Facebook!
WYLABWYW: Which new authors have caught
your attention?
Obviously Desiree A. Cox! I like L.E.
Chamberlin, Julie Jaret, Penny Reid, Mia Sheridan and the amazing CD Reiss. I
love LH Cosway and M. Pierce.
Thank you so much for taking the time to
share with us all.
