Stefanie Sloane Q&A

 

NT: Hi Stefanie! Thank you for being my guest today.

Hi Fatin! It is so lovely to be back with you here at Romance Reader at Heart. Thank you so much for the invite.

 

NT: When did you know you wanted to be a writer? How long did it take for you to make your first sale?

In my mid-twenties to early thirties I worked as the Amazon.com Romance editor. It was while working there that I began to play around with the idea of writing a book. Add in the fact that my best friend is a romance writer as is my mom, and, well, I think fate did its thing.

 

The first book I wrote, back in 2003, did not sell. I took some time off to lick my wounds, raise my girls, and pretend to do housework. I started work on The Devil in Disguise in January 2008 and sold it in October of that same year. Apparently, the second time, not the third, is a charm!

 

NT: You have a new release this month, THE SAINT WHO STOLE MY HEART. Can you tell us about it?

Thank you so much for asking! Here’s a quick description:

Possessed of a brilliant mind and a love for puzzles, Dashiell Matthews, Viscount Carrington, is a crucial member of the elite Young Corinthians spy league. Assuming the façade of an addle-brained Adonis, he hunts for a notorious London murderer known as the Bishop. When fate causes him to cross paths with Miss Elena Barnes, Dash discovers an enigma that will prove delightfully intoxicating to unravel: a voluptuous beauty as intelligent as she is fearless.

Only the lure of a collection of rare books bequeathed to her family by Dash’s late father could tempt Elena from her cozy rural life to the crush and vanity of London. But if Elena finds his lordship to be the most impossibly beautiful man she’s ever seen, he also seems to be the stupidest. Which made her body’s shameless response to his masterful seduction all the more unfathomable. Yet when she discovers Dash’s mission to track the dangerous Bishop, she willingly risks everything—her trust, her heart, her very life—to join him.

I have to say that this is my favorite book I’ve written so far. I learned a lot about myself as a writer during the process and am inordinately proud of the finished story.

 

NT: Do you have a writing routine? What is your average writing day like?

I tend to do my work around others—in some cases, literally, if the dogs are trying to block me from reaching my desk. I grab a couple hours in the morning then a few more in the evening to do the bulk of my work. And when I’m under deadline? I lock myself in the bathroom with my laptop and pretend not to hear the knocking.

 

NT: Is there anyone you use as a sounding board when you’re stuck on a scene?

I could not write without my mom, Harlequin author Lois Faye Dyer. She’s good at, well, everything when it comes to writing a book. And she’s helped me out of plenty of stuck scenes—and stuck plots, and stuck characters. I’m so lucky to have her in my corner.

 

NT: When not busy writing, what do you like to do in your spare time? (If there is such a thing *G*)

I’d really like to say exercise, but that would be a lie. I spend most of my free time with two ill-behaved dogs, two fiercely strong-willed children, and only one husband. Together, we attempt many family activities with moderate success, including biking, game nights, and cheering on the Seattle Sounders.

 

NT: What are the latest additions to your TBR? What are you most eager to read?

Gah, there are too many to count! But a few are Taming an Impossible Rogue by Suzanne Enoch, Monica McCarty’s The Saint, and Elizabeth Boyle’s Brazen trilogy.

 

NT: Any advice to aspiring authors?

My advice to aspiring writers is to write. You can think about writing a book. Talk about writing a book. But if you want to be published, you have to, you know, write and allow your voice and skill to grow. Practice makes perfect, after all.

 

NT: What can your fans look forward to from you in the near future? What are you working on now?

Right now I am working on revisions for the fifth installment in the Regency Rogues series, entitled The Scoundrel Takes a Bride. It features a somewhat tortured hero and the fascinating woman who saves him. I can’t wait for readers to meet Nicholas and Sophia!

 

NT: If someone has not read any of your books, which would be the one you’d recommend they try first?

I would start with either The Devil in Disguise or The Saint Who Stole My Heart. Both are Regency Rogues books, so they are set within the world of the Young Corinthians. But each is the first of three with a closely tied story that carries throughout.

 

NT: How can readers contact you?

Good question! Here are some helpful links:

http://www.stefaniesloane.com
http://www.facebook.com/stefaniesloane
https://twitter.com/#!/stefaniesloane
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4480304.Stefanie_Sloane

 

NT: Thanks for being our guest today!

The pleasure was all mine! And I would like to offer your readers a parting gift: simply comment below and you’ll be automatically entered to win all four of my Regency Rogues books!