Welcome to Coffee Time Romance & More, today we have the great honor of talking to author Tianna Xander author Sinful Heat, Book 2 of the sizzling hot Endowed Series!
Hello Tianna, How are you doing this evening?
I’m fine. Thank you for having me. It’s very good to be here. First, I would like to tell you that I have always enjoyed the Coffee Time Romance yahoo group and look forward to becoming active in it again.
I must ask because I absolutely love your name. Were you named after a relative, friend of the family, or historical figure?
It’s actually a shortened version of Christianna Alexander. Christianna Alexander was an online character I played in Star Trek online role playing and fan-fiction for a number of years. Since everyone I knew liked that name I kept it when I got published. I’m a huge Star Trek, Star Trek TNG, Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis fan. That may explain my science fiction stories…
That is fabulous; I love Star Trek unfortunately I am stuck on the Next Generation Crew. In today’s literary market there is a lot of pressure and competition in becoming an author. What made you decide to become a romance writer and what did you do before romance writing?
I have managed and owned several of my own businesses from restaurants to cleaning services. I’ve worked for full service resort hotels, car dealers and detailers, a couple of department stores and photo labs. I have a lot of experience in a lot of different fields. I’ve even taken a few college courses in law, which helped with the contract in Mia’s Discovery.
What made me become a romance writer was the fact that I spent so much money on books that my man was going crosseyed thinking about it. One day, when I complained that there was nothing new from my favorite authors and nothing coming in the near future, he asked, “Then why don’t you write your own?” It seemed like a good idea at the time…
What a diverse experience pool to draw from. I happen to love the romance genre, but if you weren’t writing romance, what would you be writing? ( I think I can guess this one……)
I would probably still be writing Star Trek or Stargate fan-fiction.
Okay Tianna I must tell you and I will probably say it a few more times, I love your Endowed Series and the outstanding characters you have created but I happen to know you have written other books and series. To date which is your favorite book or series you have written and why?
I think my favorite book is Alicia: The Awakening. I love her character because she comes a long way in her story from a scared of everything rape victim to a strong woman who won’t take crap from anyone, even her mate. I love the emotion in the story and the way Gabriel takes care of her even though she wants nothing to do with him at first. I also love the way she saves his bacon at the end.
As an avid reader; I think that a good book should leave me smiling or moved in some way. What do you look for in a good novel? Which genre are you personally drawn to?
I like paranormal romance. It has to be sensual. I have never liked novels with closed door sex. Sex is such a natural part of genuine love and romance that a romance book without it just seems incomplete. I also like a bit of comedy in romance. If you can’t laugh together and tease each other, how can you live together for a long time?
I love paranormal romance and agree that sex is a big part of loving. Many writers say they are inspired to write by their dreams or the characters chattering away in their head. What inspires you to write the stories you create?
I’m inspired by pretty much the same thing. Although, my day job has been an inspiration as well. Large coolers at work became stasis pods in Mia’s Discovery or a character is similar to a person I’ve met at the local bookstore or super market. Dreams help too. I’m currently working on a couple of stories inspired by dreams.
At risk of repeating myself, I must say again how much I love the Endowed series, could you tell us a little something about the newest installment, Sinful Heat?
Sinful Heat takes place partially on a cruise ship, but mostly on a Caribbean island. When Maya, the heroine, lets her friend book her on a holiday cruise, she gets a lot more than she expected. The cruise is a swingers cruise and Maya, though not really a prude, doesn’t appreciate her friend’s practical joke. She’s also surprised to find that there are three ‘younger’ men vying for her attention.
The three younger men aren’t younger at all. In fact, they are all quite a bit older than her forty-something years and they are vampires. Determined to have her and share her, they pursue Maya and try to convince her that they aren’t a bunch of crazy cougar hunters and they have a chance at a fulfilling life together.
Although I am enraptured with the characters that you’ve written in the Endowed Series I am unable to tell you which hero is my favorite. They are all so hot, hot, hot! If you were pressured to select a personal favorite who would it be and why?
In The Endowed, I think I like Angelo Rigatti best so far. He lived so alone for so long, that he deserved to finally find someone to love.
The heroes of the Endowed series may be hot but the heroines take the lead as the absolute perfect blend of strong but feminine women which makes them so very sexy and appealing. How do you strike that perfect balance in character building?
Thank you for that wonderful compliment. Actually, what I do is I take the strengths and weaknesses from several different sources or characters from my own life and try to blend them together into one complete person. Every one of my heroes has a bit of my man in them though he hates to hear me say that and every one of my heroines has a bit of someone I know in them. Whether it’s me, my daughter, one of my sisters or a friend. Blended together, the characterisics just seem to work out the way I need them to for each book.
Since it appears that the hottest trend for authors today is to turn their books into movies. I have been trying to visualize different actors in the roles but find that your heroes and heroines are tough shoes to fill. Could you ever imagine Sinful Heat on the big screen and if so who do you think would be the perfect actors to play your characters?
Wow, Sinful Heat on the big screen would be an X-rated movie, don’t you think? lol I don’t know that I could choose actors to play those roles. It’s something to think about. Though one certain tall, dark and handsome Scot comes to mind.
The romance genre is on the rise and I know there are a lot of retreats out their for romance authors, aspiring writers and fans. Do you ever meet with other authors or readers to discuss romance writing?
I belong to a lot of groups online and I belong to a lot of romance author groups. I also gone to the Lori Foster reader author get together every year for the last three or four years now. It’s a blast. It gives me a chance to talk to both authors and readers to hear what they are doing and what they want in a book.
Any advice for aspiring authors out there who are looking to break into the romance genre with all the competition?
Write what you know and write what you love. When you write what you love, your passion shows through in your writing and an editor or agent will see that.
As you can imagine I will be looking for the next in the Endowed Series. *grins* Can we get a taste of what is to come from you in the future?
The next story in The Endowed series is as yet untitled. I can tell you this much though, the heroine is a vampire slayer, but don’t ever, ever ask her, “Do you mean like Buffy?”
Do you have anything to add or say to our readers?
Thank you all for your kind letters and requests. I always read and answer my own mail. It may take me a while to get back to you if I’m working on a story, but I will eventually. Please don’t be afraid to contact me and never, ever think it’s a bother for me to read your mail.
Thank you from myself and the Coffee Time Readers for spending some time here allowing us to get to know an author with such amazing talent.
Again, Delane, thank you for having me. It’s been a pleasure.
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