Interview with Anh Leod/Heather Hiestand

Please join me in welcoming Anh Leod to my blog. She was kind enough to allow me to interview her and share her new release - Let me tell you folks. This is a must read!!!!!

When was your first sale?
I believe it was 2005, a story in the Murder Across the Map anthology.

Plotter or Pantser? Why?
I’m a plotter, with handy dandy spreadsheets and everything! I find myself able to wing it a little more with erotic romance than with more mainstream romance, because when you are writing fifty percent sex, it is usually very obvious what your next scene is going to be about! I became a plotter because I have a hard time finishing projects before I get stuck and find something else much more interesting. If I have a nice spreadsheet-y outline I know what I need to write next, even if I’m tired. I'm jealous I'm a panster.

Do you use a pen name? If so, how did you come up with it?
Anh Leod is a pen name, Heather Hiestand (my non-erotic romance name) is not. My middle name is Ann and I changed it to Anh because I thought it looked cool. Leod is a part of my great-grandmother’s name. She was a wild and crazy lady, who I figured would approve of my writing career.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I caught the writing bug at seven and never really wanted to be anything else. Other careers were always about the dayjob.

What do you do to unwind and relax?
I am a voracious reader and am excitedly waiting to enjoy my Christmas Kindle, which is already in my possession but I feel guilty about using until actual Christmas.

Do you have any suggestions for beginning writers? If so, what are they?
The best advice ever given to me was “Finish the book” which is very important advice until you make your first sale. Without finished product you are unlikely to sell. In my case, when I sold my first novel length book, I had an eighteen-hour turnaround after the editor asked me to send in my complete manuscript once she liked my partial, and the offer. If I hadn’t had that book done (Cards Never Lie by Heather Hiestand) I’d have missed my window of opportunity. That was my fourth completed manuscript, and I finished a fifth before it sold. Since then I’ve sold manuscript three (In Flight) and five (One Juror Down), so only two books I left in a drawer. Not too bad.

I absolutely regret not writing more in the eleven years it took me to sell. I’ve got some great excuses, but really, did I have to watch that many The Simpsons reruns? No. Few people have as little time to write as I do right now, but I’ve learned there is still time most days. You get a free pass with major medical problems and family emergencies, both of which have stopped me writing for months at a time, but other than that, you have to write!

Tell us about your family.
I’m married and have a one-year-old son. The child is currently my day job, and I write around his sleep schedule. For those of you who’ve been following my life, you’ll know he was a preemie, born almost four months early. His special needs and lively personality keep me hopping!

What would we find under your bed?
Nothing, or the baby would eat it!

Tell us about your favorite restaurant?
McDonald’s, because they offer under-three toys these days!

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Thank you for buying my books! My email address is anh@anhleod.com if you ever want to comment on one of my stories.

Tell us about your current release.
My almost current release is Christmas a Go-Go, out December 21st at Ellora’s Cave. It is part of the Merry Kinkmas line, and is based on a true story. I’ll let you imagine which parts of the story really happened to me!

Here is the blurb:
Lexie has a serious love for go-go boots and an heiress-sized fortune to build her collection. She has everything but a man who shares her fetish. When her new custom-made Christmas go-go boots capture the eye of Adrian, she wonders if she has finally found the one.

Adrian has always been turned on by a woman wearing boots, and he is immediately smitten with the lovely Lexie. Sparks fly and he leads her away to the VIP dressing room for a sultry, sexy tryst.

They both want more, and Lexie plans to have it. She wants Adrian at home, in front of her boot wall—naked, touching her body, touching her boots—while they have the best sex of their lives.

Buy link: http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-8800-50-christmas-a-go-go.aspx

Tell us about your next release.
My next release is going to be a Heather Hiestand story called “Victoriana Adventure” – the sequel to Victoriana, which is a Christmas story that came out in 2006 and is still available in the Holidays in the Heart anthology, either in paperback or on Kindle etc. The new story is a novella that will be out from The Wild Rose Press in 2011.

To celebrate the December 21st release of Christmas a Go-Go , as well as the releases of all the wonderful holiday guests at my blog, I'm throwing a contest! Comment on here, or visit me and my guests at http://blog.heatherhiestand.com, or email me at anh @ anhleod.com (remove spaces before sending). There will be two prizes for the winner. A story from the Anh Leod backlist (tell us which one you want) and a story from a guest blogger's backlist (tell us which one you want). See further details at my blog.