Interview with Andrea Glenn

June is coming in hot and steamy, and we have some hot authors talking with us this month. Today we have Andrea Glenn, and she will be talking about her book Coffee Shop and a little about herself. Coffee Time wants to take this time to Welcome Ms. Glenn.

I just finished COFFEE SHOP, I really enjoy it a lot, can you tell me what if anything inspired this story?

Thank you very much. I’m glad you liked it. The story is based loosely on an actual occurrence. I was online reading about a young women meeting her favorite actor in a coffee shop in NYC. He was in town doing a play and they kept running into one another. Eventually they started a few conversations and she found he was not only handsome, and talented, but also very funny and attentive to his fans. The rest….I added. I had to put in just a wee bit of spice!

I noticed that you have a couple more books coming out would you like to talk about those?

Style of a Lifetime was released on May 24th. It’s about a young woman that just graduated from cosmetology school and is invited by her new employer to attend a hair show in London. There, she meets a gorgeous and talented stylist. The book goes on to show how much they do share in common, and how sensual a budding romance can be. The story is very sweet, but filled with an intense longing between two people.

Safe Haven doesn’t have a release date yet, but it is about a young woman that has been terrorized by obscene phone calls and a possible stalker. She calls in a security professional from a company called “Safe Haven”, who comes out to evaluate her risks and to design an alarm system. The hero is a strong Latino who takes his job seriously and feels that it is his personal obligation to take care of the young lady. The story is very romantic, yet it is also extremely erotic themes with strong depths of passion.

Andrea, you are a southern belle from Tennessee, I am too, do you find the a lot of inspiration around you in the area you live in?

I think so. I’m surrounded by lovely homes and farmhouses from the Civil War era. There is a very strong sense of romance and history here. I can only imagine how much love was won and lost during the war. And, of course I’m right in the middle of majestic mountains and the Tennessee River, such beauty is hard to ignore when painting a story with words.

When did you decide to start writing professionably?

In 2002 I was prodded gently by a woman that read some of my work. I had never wanted to share my romance writings, thinking they silly and trivial, but this lady, who passed away in October of last year, encouraged me to send her a few “fan fictions” that I had written, and from there she about drove me mad, until I decided to polish “The Coffee Shop,” which was released a month after she left us. She gave me the confidence to try.

Coffee Shop is a short story, when you are writing, do you tell yourself it is either a short story you are writing or does the book she reveal itself?

I have a yahoo group that I created in 2002. There, we basically focus on fan fiction, and from that group, I got into the habit of what we call “one shots.” These are very short stories that take you on a wild ride and back, quickly. In the past few months I’ve been working on a book that now has over 70,000 and it is killing me! I do much better with…quickies!

Andrea, where do you see yourself career wise in say five years?

I hope to be a very well known and very successful author with a large fan base. If not that, I hope to be able to still enjoy writing for myself and others. It has become an addiction for me.

Are you a reader? and if so what is your favorite genre?

I’m an avid reader, and will read just anything. I love Dean Koontz, Jackie Collins, and Sidney Sheldon the most. I’m a huge fan of the paranormal, so anything that is suspenseful and a mystery… I will grab first. Romance is something I never get tired of as well.

Do you have any stories that you have put aside, thinking maybe you would finish it and have not yet?

YES! The very first book that I’ve ever written is sitting here screaming for attention. It is called The Professor and it is a massive book filled with love, romance, and angst. I keep pushing it back to write these very quick ones. Also, I’m waiting on approval for two books: Twenty-One, and Man in Black. Both are very sensual and quick reads. I do have a deadline in July for my very first vampire fiction. It will be released in time for Halloween. I’m creating a character along the lines of Antonio Banderas from “Interview with a Vampire.” Now, that is one vampire that I wouldn’t mind meeting in the dark!

Andrea, do you consider yourself a romantic? and do you think it takes a romantic to write romance?

I’m very romantic. I love flowers, candlelight, soft music…you name it. I enjoy writing poems and leaving them around for my love to find. I think that as a writer, you do have to have an interest in what you’re writing about. So, yes, a romance writer needs to love romance. I have read books where the writer is a bit too rushed to get to the love scenes and once there, too rough and crude. A good romance needs a strong, sought after build up, before the climax…pardon the pun!

Do you plan on writing only contemporary romance or are you planning on expanding in the genre area?

I have a suspense thriller that I have a few chapters completed already (no romance) The tentative title is Reanimation, Inc , my vampire novel…it will be scary, but with a strong erotic feel, and a few contemporary romances that I need to get out of my head.

Andrea, do you have scheduled time to write, or just when the inspiration hits?

I work and have two sons, so I write when I get a chance, which isn’t often. I try to at least get in an hour or two every day, and if the kids are gone, I will write for hours and hours.

What do you find is hardest (if any) about writing a book?

I thinking coming up with an original idea is very tough. Everything has been done! So, coming up with new ways to create a story is a challenge. Also, I have dozens of plot bunnies hitting me at once and I just throw them all out, and then I go back and edit, edit, edit…..I can go over a story twenty times before letting it go.

Is there anything special happening or something new you would like to share with your readers?

Keep your eyes open at Halloween for the vampire book. I don’t even have a title yet! The novel is a real departure for me, because I’ve never written anything in the dark/horror genre, but that combined with erotic-romance is very sensual and exciting. There are tons of vampire fics out there, and I promise that mine will be a little different. Vampires scare me to death, and writing this has literally given me nightmares, so hopefully the completion will expel any lasting fears.

Can you give us your web site address?

Sure!  www.andreaglenn.net

Andrea what is some of the triaits you feel your hero should have?

I think a hero needs to be passionate, protective, and have a very strong character. In “The Coffee Shop, Alex Richmond was an older British man, not some Brad Pitt look alike, but Alex was filled with passion and desire. His personality was strong. He knew what he wanted and got it.

Okay Andrea last but not least, what do you consider a perfect romantic evening?

No kids! A glass of wine while getting ready to go out with my love, a candlelight dinner, whispered conversation, and then either dancing, or a long walk under the stars.

Another great interview, and learning more of your favorite authors.  Coffee Time Romance wants to thank Ms. Glenn for giving us this opportunity to learn more about the author and her work. Thank you.