Monday, December 30, 2013

Discovering new authors

Every now and then we step out of our comfort zone and try a new author or even a different genre to what we normally read.  Kris Radcliffe is an author worth a try if you are looking to expand on your usual reading tastes.  As a child, Kris took down a pack of hungry wolves with only a hardcover copy of "The Dragonriders of Pern" and a sharpened toothbrush. That fateful day set her on a path traversing many storytelling worlds--dabbles in film and comic books, time as a talent agent and a textbook photo coordinator, and a foray into nonfiction. After co-authoring "Mind Shapes: Understanding the Differences in Thinking and Communication", Kris returned to academia. But she craved narrative and a richly-textured world of Fates, Shifters, and Dragons--and unexpected, true love.
Kris lives in Minnesota with her husband, two daughters, Handsome Cat, and an entire menagerie of suburban wildlife bent on destroying her house. That battered-but-true copy of "Dragonriders"? She found it yesterday. It's time to pay a visit to the woodpeckers.

Thomas's Muse
Four years ago, for a brief moment, Sammie Singleton became the muse of an artist she didn't know. The moment vanished, and now Sammie spends her nights with a different man.
Her life is black and white. But she needs food for her soul to feel alive.
She needs color. She needs art.
Everything changes the moment she meets Thomas Quidell. Brilliant and talented, Sammie quickly realizes Tom is her artist--and the man she's been fantasizing about all these years.
Tom offers her more than a lifeline. He opens her eyes to a new life. Vibrant, loving, fulfilling. But is she strong enough to take a chance?
ONLINE LINKS:
• Website:  http://www.sixtalonsign.com/novels/
• Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/AuthorKrisAustenRadcliffe or my profile account, if you want to see the snarkier me:  http://www.facebook.com/kris.austenradcliffe
• Twitter:  https://twitter.com/KrisRadcliffe
        Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/krisradcliffe BUY NOW LINK:
What’s your favorite ‘I need a break from writing’ activity?
Writing is my break from everything else. 
How do you approach writing sex scenes?  They can range from mild to wild.  Where are you on the mild to wild meter?
Totally depends on the story.  With “Thomas’s Muse,” I set out to expand that writing muscles, so to speak, and write hotter than I do in the Fate ~ Fire ~ Shifter ~ Dragon series.  The Quidell Brothers series is populated by characters who are mature and, well,frustrated, so the heat goes up and up. 
When I’m writing Rysa (the heroine from the FFSD series), the love scenes are more about her emotions than the sex itself, but that will change as the series moves forward and she becomes more sure of herself.  When I’m writing Ladon (the hero), the scenes are more explicit, but only because he uses a different vocabulary. 
Do you write in one genre?  Or more than one?
Three, right now, through the Six Talon Sign imprints:
Contemporary Erotic Romance  (Six Love Erotic Romance)
Urban Fantasy Romance  (Six Talon Sign Fantasy & Futuristic Romance)
Science Fiction  (Talon One Science Fiction)
What about marketing?  How do you approach that area?
I’m an introvert, so I hire help, including Vickie at Innovative Online Tours, http://www.iobooktours.com/.  She’s a big help.  I’m also working with someone new (uh-hum) who’s helping me with the social media aspect of promotion.  There’s also some traditional, publisher-oriented promotion stuff that I’m learning right now.
What about beta readers?  Do you use them?  How many do you have?  Where do you find them?
I’m weird about beta readers.  Part of the problem is that I write too fast for beta readers to be of any true use to me.  I can’t sit around and wait for people to finish, so I work with a content editor whom I LOVE, Annetta Ribken at http://wordwebbing.com/) .  Annetta’s a professional.  She understands my process and deadlines and working with her is by far the best solution for me. 
I also work with a copy editor I know and trust (Terry Koch at http://beyondgrammar.com/).  After Terry’s done, the manuscripts go to my “Proofing Crew” who read for typos.  They’re the closest thing I have to beta readers.



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