Hello Ms. Cohen, and welcome to Coffee Time Romance. My name is Venus, and I am thrilled to speak with you today about one of your newest releases “Silver Serenade”. We would love to know a little bit about the woman behind your creative stories. What is a typical writing day for you?
I wake up very early and bring a cup of coffee into my home office. Then I start work right away. When I’m on a writing schedule, I have to complete at least five pages a day. I take a break for a morning walk and later for the exercise bike. During the afternoon, there’s email, promo, website updates, blogs, etc.
How do you balance your personal and writing life?
That’s not always easy. Many days I work twelve hours and don’t get out much. I have to schedule in lunch dates with friends to drag myself away from the computer. Fortunately, my kids are grown and out of the house and my retired husband keeps himself busy.
Do you have a romantic story to tell about your husband?
My husband is a romantic soul. He sent me a dozen red roses after our second date. That won me over right then.
You have written a number of serials, do you prefer them to single titles?
Yes, I prefer to write a series, because it’s easier to jump into the world you’ve created after the first novel where you lay the groundwork. And once readers get hooked on any book in the series, they want to read the rest.
You write in several different genres, what attracts you to each of them?
I love the plotting aspect of mysteries. It’s fun to create the suspects and figure out their motives. For my science fiction and paranormal romances, I still like a strong plot with political intrigue and adventure along with futuristic or fantasy elements. And of course, my stories all have a HEA ending.
Please introduce us to your hero and heroine in “Silver Serenade”. What makes them special?
Silver and Jace share the same goal but for different reasons. They’re both hunting the same villain, Tyrone Bluth, the leader of Tyrone’s Marauders. These space pirates prey on innocent colonists and destroy entire settlements. Framed for murder on his home world, Jace needs Tyrone Bluth alive to prove his innocence. Silver means to kill Bluth who ruined her career and destroyed her family. Together, Silver and Jace have a better chance to catch the man, but what will happen when they succeed? Which one will make a sacrifice to help the other? One of them is after revenge, the other wants justice. Who will prevail? These questions compelled me to finish this story to see what would happen when Silver and Jace finally caught Bluth.
Your descriptions are fantastically detailed; how did you approach world building for this story?
Using the five senses is essential for making a scene come alive for the reader. It doesn’t matter what genre you write in. What does matter are the details. For contemporary stories, often I will visit a place and take detailed notes on these sensory impressions. For my sf/f stories, I may create the environment, but you still have to imbue the scene with sensory details the reader can understand. Sometimes modeling a place after a location on Earth helps provide descriptions. A bar on a space station, for example, will still have smells of ale and smoke like a nightclub at home.
If you could live in one of your stories for just one day which would it be and why?
I’d either visit Marla’s salon in my Bad Hair Day mysteries and have her do my hair, or join Sarina and Teir on his starship, the Valiant, from CIRCLE OF LIGHT, the first book in my Light-Years Trilogy.
How far are you willing to go for research?
For my mysteries, I attended Citizens Police Academy, toured a beauty school, participated at a beauty trade show, and did more particular research for individual stories at a Russian shvitz, aquaculture research center, haunted hotel, biohazardous waste disposal plant, and more, plus visits to on-site locales. KILLER KNOTS takes place on a cruise ship and various ports, and I based that one on the twenty plus cruises I’ve been on.
What in your opinion makes good chemistry between your leading characters?
They complete a need in each other so it’s more than a physical attraction that draws them together.
What do you think is the biggest misconception in romantic fiction?
That it’s formulaic. What isn’t? Mysteries are about solving murders. Sf/f is about saving the galaxy. We know how these stories will end. It’s the journey and characters that make each story unique.
Where can fans get more information?
Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook
To Order SILVER SERENADE, click here
Is there anything you would like to add?
I have more mysteries and a paranormal romance in the works, plus a potential sequel to SILVER SERENADE, so please consider signing up for my newsletter at my website for updates.
Thank you again for answering my questions.
And thanks so much to Coffee Time Romance for this opportunity!
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