Thank you, Amber, for interviewing me today. I love your questions! They really got me thinking about how much fun I have doing my job. I'm Randi Alexander and I write cowboy erotic romance. I'm published with The Wild Rose Press' Cowboy Kink line. My second Cowboy Kink, Her Cowboy Stud, was released March 23.
Where do you dream of traveling to and why?
Since I'm writing about cowboys, I would love to spend a month seeing Texas. I'd rent a convertible and start smack in the middle of the state and travel a spiral through as many little towns and big cities as I could find. I'd talk with the locals, the cowboys and cowgirls, get a real feel for the variety that is Texas.
Tell us about your current release.
Her Cowboy Stud started out as a short story that I gave away with my last blog tour. Readers liked it so much, but asked for a longer story, that I rewrote it and sent it in to my editor at The Wild Rose Press. She sent it back and said, "Add some BDSM and more adventurous love scenes and we'll put it in Cowboy Kink." So, I rewrote, making Trace a Dom, Macy a sub, and I gave her a naughty occupation that worked very well in a couple of the bedroom scenes. ;-) That's a little teaser…
When in the day/night do you write? How long per day?
I'm lucky to be a full-time writer. I usually get the family out the door on weekday mornings then spend some time on social networking. It can get addictive, chatting on Facebook and reading authors' blogs. So when the coffee pot in the kitchen beeps to tell me it's turning itself off, I know it's time for me to log off the internet and write. (Wow, that was quite a detour from the question, wasn't it?) I usually write from 10 AM to 3 PM. Sometimes I go longer, usually I find time on the weekend to write, too. My longest writing session was 16 hours straight. Lots of words that day!
What is the hardest part of writing your books?
Definitely coming up with a plot. I have friends with whom I love to sit and plot stories, and I do much better with the synergy of a group than I can ever do alone. I heard a speaker recently say that authors should throw out their first three plot ideas because they're probably too cliché and dull, and they should go for the fourth idea. I'm going to try that!
Where do you research for your books?
My research is so much fun! I have a friend who's an ex pro-bullrider, and I talk with him about story ideas, and I send him parts of my stories for authentication. I also chat with cowboys and cowgirls as often as I can just to hear their stories.
Do you have critique partners or beta readers?
I have a great critique partner who is e-published in erotic romance also, and a CP who is pre-published. She's very interested in traditional publishing – a big New York publishing house, mass-market paperbacks, etc. She's very close to making it, too. The two of them look at my books with very different eyes, which is amazingly helpful. I also have a wonderful beta reader who catches the smallest little things. I'm always astonished at how much I learn from her.
Do you hear from your readers?
I do hear from readers, and I truly enjoy it. If a reader ever thinks that an author is too busy, and doesn't want to hear from them, it's just the opposite. We LOVE to hear from readers. I enjoy chatting on Facebook, getting e-mails, responding to comments on my blog. I've even received gifts from readers, which I truly cherish, I've been invited to attend a rodeo in a reader's town this summer (and I'm going!) and one rancher is going to name one of her spring calves after me! Randi The Cow. I love it!
Do you use a pen name? If so, how did you come up with it?
I do use a pen name because my real name is rather dull and difficult to spell. I wanted to go with a quirky name like Brandy Alexander, but I didn't want to compete with the cocktail. A guy friend suggested Randi Alexander. He said it was like Brandy Alexander, but kinkier. That's how I introduce myself, now. (LOL)
What book are you reading now?
I always have three books going. On the Kindle app on my phone, I'm reading Hidden Talents by Emma Holly (fascinating book!) In paperback, I've just started In Good Hands, a Harlequin Blaze by Kathy Lyons (super sexy!) On my iPod, I'm listening to The Player's Club: Lincoln, another Harlequin Blaze by Cathy Yardley (I listen when I take my daily walk.)
Do you have any suggestions for beginning writers? If so, what are they?
I do. I mentor writers, and am working with three right now. A paranormal romance author whose first book was just published (Yeay!), my ex pro-bullrider friend who is fictionalizing the story of his rodeo days, and a romantic mystery writer who is just starting out. My suggestion is to find someone to mentor you, to walk you through everything from which how-to books to read, to making your book video trailer. Having someone to guide you is priceless. For romance writers, joining RWA (Romance Writers of America) and attending the local meeting is a fabulous resource for finding people to mentor you.
Thanks for letting me tell my life's story ;-) If you have any questions for me, please post a comment, and I'll be happy to answer them. I'm attaching my book's blurb and a romantic excerpt for you. And check below for today's giveaway and my big contest that I'd love for you to enter.
Trace McGonagall’s quiet life on his Houston stud ranch is shaken up when gorgeous Macy Veralta arrives to claim an inheritance left to her in his uncle’s will. Trace sees her as just another gold digger, but he also can’t resist her curvy body. When she hints at being the perfect submissive to his Dom, he has to have her.
Macy wouldn’t have been three months late to claim her inheritance if she’d known Trace was sin in jeans. The cowboy’s dominant bearing and the smoldering glint in his eyes send shivers to her toes and stirs images of being bound in his bed and disciplined at his hand. But could Trace’s perfect seduction be part of his plan to reclaim her inheritance?
EXCERPT: Over 18 only please.
Pulling Macy on top of him, Trace grinned. “You won the bet. Anything you want is yours. You just need to ask.” His heart gradually slowed to normal while his body tingled with a major afterglow.
She kissed his shoulder. “Anything?” Her voice purred.
He pulled a pillow under his head to look down at her, combed his fingers through her soft hair. He would give her anything. His house, his horse, his heart. “Name it.”
“Would you feed me?”
His brow lifted. “Are we talkin’ food here, or is this sexual?”
She laughed. “This time it’s food. All the sudden I’m starving.”
His stomach growled at the thought of whatever JaniceLynn left in the oven for them, which smelled pretty damn good when he was in the kitchen before. He bent to kiss her. “I’m your servant, ma’am.”
He picked up his briefs and made a quick run to the bathroom. When he emerged, she stood and he handed her his shirt.
She slid into it, smiling. Nothing in his closet had ever looked so good. No one had ever felt so good in his arms, or been as perfect in his bed. He still didn’t know what Macy was thinking. Was this his one night with her, or would there be more?
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To celebrate the release of Her Cowboy Stud, I'm giving away, to one lucky *commenter, an e-copy of my first erotic romance, Chase and Seduction. Just leave a comment today and we'll choose a winner tomorrow. *Commenter must be 18 years of age or older to win.
I'm also giving away a custom-made messenger bag and a $50 gift certificate to Pureromance to one subscriber to my newsletter. For more details, and to sign up for this contest, please go to my website, RandiAlexander.com And while you're there, you can read the first chapter of Her Cowboy Stud.
Good luck, and thank you!
Randi
"Rode Hard and Put Up Satisfied"
http://www.randialexander.com/
WildAndWickedCowboysBlog
Her Cowboy Stud available at The Wild Rose Press Wilder Roses
Kindle version is available at Amazon.com
