Today I am interviewing Rie McGaha who is on a blog tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion. You can read the interview below and at the end of the interview you can read her bio and the book summary of her current release.

Phoebe Jordan: When did you know that writing erotic romance was going to be the thing that you would do with your life?

Rie McGaha: LOL, I'm not sure I ever knew. I started out writing sweet romance, using words like "shaft" and "sweet love trail" to describe anatomy. It sounded ridiculous when I read it to myself, so I started using common language and felt it was a much better match for me.

Phoebe: Which author inspired you to start writing romance?

Rie: I don't think I can pick just one because I was influenced by different works by different authors. Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches series comes to mind, I just loved that whole storyline. Some of Nora Roberts' earlier works, the historicals, are some of my favorites. I love Sherrilyn Kenyon, Alyssa Day and Lynsay Sands too.

Phoebe: Did you know what type of erotic romance you wanted to write about or did you experiment with different genres before you chose the one that you felt was for you?

Rie: I write in different genres now, everything from paranormal, time travel, to contemporary, and I usually cross genres in the same story!

Phoebe: What was the first fiction you ever wrote? And do you still have it with you?

Rie: The first fiction I ever wrote was in the 8th grade and it was a historical about a teacher who came from the east coast to the wild, wild west to start a school. I can say it was very, very mild compared to what I write now, but there was still an element of romance. And no, it's long gone and I hadn't even thought of it till now!

Phoebe: How much research do you have to do for your novels and does it take you a long time to gather that research?

Rie: Research really depends on the storyline, but I do more research for historicals than I do for contemporary work. I love American history, so it's not a burden for me to get lost in my research. But, I am writing erotic romance and it's not the great American novel, nor is it intended to be. I write for pleasure, amusement, entertainment and titillation. It's purely fiction so I don't feel bad about tweaking history if I need to or about changing the facts to suit the story. My short story, Grounded, was loosely based on Greek god, Dionysus, the god of wine and revelry. He was the son of Zeus, whom I put in the story, but he wasn't the son of Aurora, nor did he have a brother named, Ira, who were also in the story. The real story of Dionysus is pretty graphic and didn't suit my needs, so I tweaked it until it did. That's the fun of writing fiction, it can go anywhere my mind takes it.

Phoebe: How did you come up with the concept for your novel Blood Line?

Rie: Funny story. My husband, Nathan, was a truck driver and a huge sci-fi fan. He's absolutely mesmerized by vampires and werewolves and zombies. One night on the road, he had a dream he was attacked by werewolves, so when he told me the dream, I laughed of course. But as I got to thinking about it, I thought, hey, this might work as a book, and it did. I'm working on the sequel, Ancient Blood right now!

Phoebe: How do you come up with each of your characters for your novels? How do you choose their names out of so many names out there?

Rie: Well now...I don't think up the characters, the voices in my head do that, and the characters they tell me about already have names. I know how that sounds, but it's the truth! All my characters are like actual people to me. I know everything about them, including their family history.

Phoebe: Do you have a favorite character that you really enjoyed writing about in Blood Line?

Rie: I really enjoyed writing about all the characters in Blood Line, but my favorite is Ganda. She's old and wise and she's figured out a lot of things in her life. She's strong because she's been through so much in her life, and she's loving and caring, but you really don't want to mess with her or get on her bad side!

Phoebe: Did you have a character that you felt you could really relate to in Blood Line?

Rie: Yeah, I kind of think Ganda is a version of me, but unfortunately, I can't kill anyone with a single bite!

Phoebe: Do you have a process of how you start to write your novels?

Rie: I really don't. If the voices in my head aren't talking, I'm not writing and they can take really long breaks sometimes!

Phoebe: Which do you like best, writing a series or writing stand alone novels? How is writing each different for you?

Rie: I prefer stand alone because they are easier for me. Although Blood Line has a sequel, I didn't write it thinking of what would come next. Ganda took on a life of her own and demanded her own story, so Ancient Blood was born. I think if I ever wrote with a series or sequel in mind, I probably wouldn't be able to start the first one!

Phoebe: What process did you have to go through to get your first book published and did it take you long?

Rie: Wow, yeah. I had one of those nightmare beginnings with a publishing house that was horrible and I didn't know anything and they didn't enlighten me, so we didn't work well together. I've had so many rejections for my work that I don't even expect offers now! Which is good in a way because I don't get upset over rejections either. When I first submitted to Noble Romance Publishing, I expected a rejection, so imagine my surprise when I was offered a contract for my first book with them, Deadly Dreams.

Phoebe: Do you ever get writers block? What do you do to get rid of it so you can get back to writing your novels?

Rie: I personally don't get writer's block, but the voices in my head do. Or at least they are silent for long periods of times, so I just presume they are off partying or can't think of any new stuff.

Phoebe: What is your biggest reader pet peeve, if you have any? (stock characters, unresolved endings, predictability, everything wrapped up hurriedly in the end, etc.)

Rie: Predictability is the worst, followed very closely by using sweet words to describe sex scenes. When I pick up a book and have it figured out before I've finished the first chapter, I will skip to the end to find out if I was right, and I usually am. When I read sex scenes, I want to hear real dialogue, real terms, not silly stuff like "love shaft" or "love canal"...I don't know anyone who really talks like that!

Phoebe: Which aspects of writing do you enjoy the most and why?

Rie: I personally love writing the gritty, dirty, nasty, bad guy scenes. I love making my bad guys not just bad, but down right scary, make you have nightmares bad guys!

Phoebe: And what is your biggest writing pet peeve? (overuse of exclamation points, adverbs, bad guys named Wayne, etc.), if you have any?

Rie: Dialogue tags drive me crazy. I recently reviewed a novel and just about couldn't get through it because of the inane dialogue tags. For example, the author wrote, ""Father?" A scantily raised and archly penciled brow came with the query." Don't do that! It takes away from the story.

Phoebe: What is the one writing tool can you not live without?

Rie: Does my editor count? LOL I still like to use pen and paper to make notes. I sometimes write whole chapters longhand, it just helps me connect my brain and ideas. I type so fast that my brain can't keep up sometimes so I like having pen and paper.

Phoebe: How do you handle your writing schedule and your personal life without going insane?

Rie: Oh, that's sweet, you think I'm sane now! LOL My kids are moved out, my husband is gone all day, so I have lots of time to myself.

Phoebe: What do you do to relax after having spent a long while writing? Do you have any hobbies?

Rie: I have a three-person Jacuzzi in my bedroom!

Phoebe: Is there any advice that you would give to an aspiring romance writer that you wish someone had given you?

Rie: Don't wait until you are published to join writing groups, get a critique partner, and start getting your name out there now before you start promoting a book.

Phoebe: Is there any writing tips, research tips, promotion and marketing tips that you would give to an aspiring romance writer that you wish someone had given you?

Rie: Always get someone else's opinion about your work. It can be very difficult to be objective about something you've spent months working on, and it can be very difficult to see typo's, so let someone else read you and give you constructive criticism. You'll never know all there is to writing, so keep learning as you go.

Phoebe: Do you have a favorite genre you like to read? Who is your favorite author(s)?

Rie: I pretty much read all genres, except I'm not a big fan of sci-fi. I love James Patterson and his Alex Cross books. Alex is the perfect man, but I fell in love with Alex's partner, John...I was so upset when James Patterson married him off!

Phoebe: What are you reading now? And what do you plan to read after that?

Rie: I just finished reading an ARC to review called Home After Dark by Darryl E. Robidoux. It's an autobiography and I just loved it. My reviews are posted at my review blog. Up next, I'm reading Spank Me Once anthology available from Noble Romance Publishing.

AUTHOR BIO:

Rie McGaha was born and raised in northern California along the shores of Humboldt County where her grandmother often took her to search for seashells and watch the humpback whales migration. Though her father was a bit of a gypsy and moved his family all over, Rie always enjoyed the trips back to Eureka, California where many of her 12 children and 23 grandchildren still live. As a dreamer of dreams and being born with a gypsy soul, Rie has lived all over the United States. Settling in SE Oklahoma with husband, Nathan, she enjoys a quiet life in the Kiamichi Wilderness where she takes in abused and neglected animals, nurses them back to health and tries to find them new homes. The ones that don't find new homes remain with Rie and she currently has 18 dogs and 1 cat. Between her husband, children, grandchildren and all of the animals, Rie tries to find a few moments to write. She is currently working on Ancient Blood, the sequel to Blood Line, and Caleb and Arion the second and third installments of the My Soul To Keep Trilogy. She also writes reviews for Romance Writers United. For more information, visit Rie at website or read her review blog or even check her out on YouTube.

BOOK SUMMARY:

Truck driver, Joshua Kaine and his wife, Jessie, enjoy the freedom of the open road until one night on a lonely country road Josh is attacked by a rabid dog. After killing the animal, Joshua becomes very ill, but quickly recovers. Weeks later, when the full moon rises and Josh begins howling, the trouble has just begun. Drawn by an unknown force, Joshua finds himself in a remote mountain area at The Gathering where he meets Garan, a gray wolf who has walked the earth for thousands of years, and Joshua learns the rabid dog was actually a werewolf and his clan is now after Josh. On the run, hunted by a clan of werewolves, and searching to undo his plight, Josh ventures into the swamps of Louisiana in search of an old, black woman who holds the key to his existence. Josh is pushed to the limits, and when the merciless werewolves kill his wife, the hunted becomes the hunter. Available at Noble Romance Publishing and also you can enjoy the book trailer of Blood Line below.