Interview with Gina Gordon

Today we have the lovely and talented author of Forever in Lingerie, Gina Gordon. Welcome, Gina! Your readers, I and enquiring minds would love to know more about you and your books. 

Tell me a little bit about yourself and why you choose to write erotic romance? What made you make that particular career decision?

I’m just your average girl.  I turned 30 this year!!  I love cupcakes and happily ever afters.

The wanting to be a writer decision was inevitable.  It’s something I’ve wanted my entire life but the erotic romance part was unexpected.  When I made the decision to seriously pursue my dream, what translated onto the page was sex…and lots of sex.  I fully intended to go the Chick-Lit route but I am so happy it didn’t end up that way.

So what actually happened that turned you to erotic romance as opposed to chick lit? Enquiring minds would love to hear that particular story!

I mistakenly bought an erotic romance, Megan Hart’s Stranger.  Needless to say I LOVED it which prompted me to read every erotic romance I could get my hands on.  I think the discovery of this genre motivated me to get serious about writing and when I finally sat down in front of my computer the sex just poured onto the page.

Do you have a day job? If so, do you get ideas for stories from things that happen on your day job? Want to share a few examples? (I know I do, I work in a hospital and manage 80 anesthesiologists!)

Yes, I have a day job.  It allows me to interact with many different people throughout the day.  However, the context of our interactions are far from romantic so I haven’t had an idea spark yet in the workplace.  Now walking around in the concourse under my office building, totally different story.  It’s actually where I got the inspiration for Her Five Favorite Words.

What other places besides the concourse under your office building inspire you and give you ideas for your stories? Do these ideas just pop into your head when you’re visiting these places, or do you like to play “what if?”

Sometimes I play the “what if” game but mostly ideas just pop into my head.  I get ideas from the news or even just walking down the street.  Something will catch my eye and the wheels start turning.  I also get ideas from stories people tell me.  I have one friend who loves giving me sex scene ideas lol  I think I’ve corrupted her mind…she now turns everything into a naughty scenario.

How do you fill your story well? Do you ever run out of ideas for stories? What do you do if or when you do?

So far I haven’t run out of story ideas and I hope I never do!  I have had writer’s block where the story just doesn’t want to come out.  If I am having trouble I try and read a lot but most of the time it’s a matter of waiting it out.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers who get stuck when they’re writing a story? Waiting is good advice but have you tried other things that work?

Watching movies and reading or even switching to another project might help but for me…I am either in the zone or not.  My muse and I have a weird relationship.

If  you were forced to choose one favorite male character, and one favorite female character from all the ones you’ve created, who would they be?

Sshhh!  Don’t tell my other characters but if I had to choose it would have to be Liv and Jake from my unpublished novel Fire and Icing.  I am partial to them not only because they were my first romantic couple–Fire and Icing was the first project I began when I decided to pursue writing–but because Liv’s character mirrors a lot of my own characteristics and the story incorporates a lot of the things I love.  Not to mention, Jake is based on a man I used to know that definitely made my knees weak!

What made you decide to write a series around lingerie?

I didn’t plan on writing a series on lingerie.  I started off with an image of a woman in black lingerie standing in front of a mirror.  Then when I realized that I had three different stories to tell and when I finally settled on the title for the first book it all came together.

What made you realize from this picture of the woman standing in black lingerie that you suddenly had stories about three different women? Was it by playing the “what if” game as I mentioned before, or did the light bulb just go off in your head so to speak? Please take us through your thought processes in coming up with these stories.

It was a light bulb.  I imagined Carrie, gave her a best friend in Amie, and to add conflict I made her love interest Aleks, the best friend of her brother Rob.  As I was writing I realized that Rob needed a little conflict of his own and so became Martina.  Once she came along they begged for their story to be told first.

What kinds of books do you like read? Are they the same kind as you like to write? If not, why the difference in reading and writing material?

My favorite books to read are definitely the same as I like to write.  I mostly read romance.  I am starting to think I need to branch out lol…but I just never tire of a happily ever after.

Tell us who some of your favorite authors are.

I love Lorelei James and Jill Shalvis.  And when I need a paranormal fix my go-to authors are J.R. Ward and Sherrilyn Kenyon.

I’ve heard authors say their characters “talk” to them and tell them their stories, is that also true for you? Can you explain a little more about what this means for our readers?

LOL…yes!  My characters talk to me.  Sometimes quite rudely!

For many writers it isn’t just a matter of thinking up an idea and putting it down on paper.  It’s not a two dimensional process.  My characters are like actors playing out a scene in my head and if they don’t like where the scene is going they let me know.  They definitely know who they are and what they want and sometimes I can’t do anything but comply.

What do you do when you want the story to go one way but the characters are telling you to take a different path? Who wins the argument?

If I disagree, I usually take a break and revisit the story at a later date.  My characters usually win but I have been in an ongoing battle with a couple of them for months. I have two male characters who just refuse to keep their hands off each other lol  It doesn’t quite work with the series as I had originally planned.  My characters haven’t steered me wrong yet but we’ll see who wins!

Have you ever written a book that was loosely based on people you know?

Yes.  I have a few characters that are based on people I know.  But only one of those people actually know I wrote about them lol

Do you tend to write what you know, or do you do research and then write your stories?

I started off writing what I know but with my Bare Naked Designs series I did have to do research on Holistic Medicine.  It seems that with every new idea I get the more I travel outside of the box and my comfort zone.  Which is always a good thing!

Thanks so much for your time, Gina!

Thank you Regina!