I am very excited to welcome fellow author, and my friend, Ambrielle Kirk to Coffee Time Romance.
Ambrielle, sit back, relax and grab yourself a beverage. I have brought a variety of sweet treats for us to enjoy while we chat. A little birdie told me you’re partial to cakes and cookies. Me too! Your latest release, The Promise, is a Christmas themed short story (I read it and loved it!). Can you tell us a little about your book and how it came to be?
Gina, I’m so glad you enjoyed The Promise! Thank you for reading it and having me on this interview!
The book is about a couple who have been testing the waters for a while. They are very much attracted to each other, but hesitate to act on these feelings. Both know how frustrating it can be when you invest so much time in a relationship, but the other person or relationship is not what they expected. However, in the story Tina and Craig have been waiting for the right moment to admit the attraction for months…
Why did Tina and Craig’s story have to take place during the Christmas season?
This couple’s story could have taken place at any time of the year, however, the Christmas season is the time when we gather with family and friends. I think this tradition urged Tina and Craig together during Christmas because they had essentially become very…very good friends.
Christmas time has a romantic element all on its own. It was a good choice.
At the beginning of the book, Tina is on her way to a Christmas Tree farm. Is buying a real tree one of your holiday traditions? Do you have any other traditions?
Buying a real tree is not part of my tradition. Some of the “fake ones” look just as good as the real ones. Lol! You can hang ornaments and decorate both just the same. What has become tradition for me is to spend this holiday with family and friends. Lot’s of food is also a tradition during Christmas!
Getting together with family and friends is my favorite part of the holidays too. And of course, the food. In The Promise, Craig is a man who can cook. Do you find that a sexy quality in a man?
Definitely! They said that “a good meal is a way to a man’s heart”, but that saying is also true for women. A well thought out dinner prepared by my hubby earns a big smile on my face every time…and his as well.
Oh yeah! Anytime my husband wants something from me he knows all he has to do is bribe me with food.
Now, I enjoy reading holiday themed stories, especially during Valentine’s Day. Is this something you can see yourself doing every year?
This was my first holiday-themed story, and it was a lot of fun writing, so it is definitely something that I will do again. Although, it is very seldom that my characters allow me to dictate during what time of year to write their story.
lol…I know all about that!
Although I know you pretty well, why don’t you tell your readers a little more about yourself. Who is Ambrielle Kirk? Tell us a bit about what you like to do when you aren’t writing.
When I’m not writing, I’m reading or working on day job projects. In real life, I am a bit of an introvert and would probably never say or do some of the things my characters have said or done. I work independently and long hours, both in my writing and my accounting jobs, so sometimes writing from a character’s perspective is the only excitement I get on a daily basis. Sad, but true. I’d like to walk in the shoes of one of my characters for a day, but right now that’s just not possible, so I just write their stories.
Accountant by day, erotica writer by night. You’re a cliché lol
Looking at your back list, your books center around inter-racial couples. Why do you chose to write this specific genre?
When I get an idea for a story, I don’t intend to dictate a character’s race. I think of my books as color blind. What I mean by that is I believe that a reader can take any one of my books and imagine that those characters are any race they want them to be, and it will still fit the story. My published books are interracial or multi-cultural. I have some yet-to-be published works that are multi-cultural paranormal and straight romance. I don’t want to be labelled as that author that writes interracial books. I want to be known as an author who writes diverse books.
Well said. Now for my favorite question. If you were stranded on a desert island, which of your characters would you want to be stranded with and why?
Ooooo. I have to make sure my hubby never sees this interview. Lol! As an author, I am a very promiscuous. I try to give each hero or leading man equal attention. Can I have all my heroes on the stranded island?
Of course. Just as long as I get to come too? lol You learned to share, didn’t you? Speaking of things you might do on a deserted island, your books are high on the heat scale. Did you intend to write erotic romance or was the explicit sex something that happened organically?
Yes, it happened organically 🙂 That’s the first time I’ve ever heard it being described that way, but I like it and that sums it up. Honestly, I have never written a story that was not high on the heat scale, and I started writing very, very early in life. I write what comes natural to me.
Are any of your characters based on someone you know in real life?
Actually, no. I observe real people, their personalities, and their actions, so characters may be similar in that aspect. Although, I have never based a character on anyone I know.
I love my own epiphany story so I am always interested in how other authors kick-started their careers. When did you finally realize that you had to seriously pursue a career in writing?
Like many authors, I started writing early but it was just for fun and my own eyes. However, it took me ten years later to learn that I could actually turn my writing passion into a career. The year before I first became published with A Player’s Agenda (July 2010), I had written 3 full length novels. That sense of accomplishment led to an enthusiasm to get my work out to the public, even if I failed.
It doesn’t look like you’ve failed one bit and it seems you have enough going on to keep you in the writing game for a very long time. You have a very extensive works in progress page on your blog. Do you work on multiple books at a time or do you stick to one book until it’s complete?
Once I became comfortable with the writing and editing process, I began working on a couple books at a time. When you have plot ideas constantly being thrown at you from all direction, what other choice do you have? I try not to kill myself, so I may juggle one full length novel in addition to a couple short stories to balance the work load.
Those plot bunnies can sometimes be relentless.
Can you tell us a bit about your upcoming release from Amira Press, Donor?
Sure, here’s a blurb for the story, which by the way is a paranormal romance (featuring vampires):
Elaina was once a tracker of Dresdan, but the tables have turned by a twist of unlikely fate. Now she is hunted. Not by those she’d pledged to hunt, but by the organization she contracted her life to. District 5’s mission is to create a hybrid between Dresdan and human, and Elaina’s blood is a match.
Vicq, her Dresdan lover, would put his existence on the line for Elaina. Exposing District 5 has been his prime agenda, but claiming Elaina as his mate is what he lives for. Will Elaina stand by her organization’s mission or bond with the Dresdan she’d been ordered to kill?
I can’t wait to read this one! Tell your readers where can we find you?
For more info on my current and upcoming releases, please visit my webpage. I also blog. Not very often (lol!), but when I do I promise it’s not boring stuff.
Gina, thanks again for the interview! You asked very tough, but interesting questions. I think I deserve some ice cream 🙂
Thanks Ambrielle
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