Interview with Jasmine Black

Today we have Jamine Black with us for an interview. Welcome Jasmine, let's get started with the interview.

Q: How long have you been a writer? What was your first published work?

A: Hello Roxanne, thanks for letting me stop by. I started writing romance in 2005 and moved into erotic romance in 2006. My first published work was an erotica titled Marital Affair. It's not at all like it sounds. There's no affair. It's a married couple fulfilling a fantasy affair with each other. Hot stuff there.

Q: Do you have a favorite character that you’ve created? One that is especially close to your heart?

A: I'm going to answer both of these questions, if I may. My favorite character is Noah Kittler from 0 to 69 in 5 Minutes. He's hot, sexy and knows how to roll with the punches. He's an all around great guy, and yet he's strong and knows when it's time to take charge. It's not always a good thing to have a favorite character though, because I didn't want to finish this story. I had it all laid out, knew what happened and where it was going, but I couldn't get myself to finish it. I think I didn't want to let Noah go. All in all, it took me two years to write it as I'd stop, write a shorter story and then come back to it. Noah! *sigh*

The one character that's close to my heart is "Buddy" from Missing Pieces. The story is in Coming Together: Against the Odds anthology. All proceeds from this book goes to the charity Autism Speaks and happens to have just won the 2010 EPIC's eBook Award. Yay! "Buddy" is a secondary character in this story. The story revolves around a missing child and the heroine, Caree doesn't know if her daughter has been kidnapped by someone, kidnapped by her father or if something terrible has happened to both her daughter and ex-husband. She looks up her old flame and cop Addison Cougar (hot, hot, hot, *fans self*) to solve the case. The entire anthology has a mystery theme and I wanted to add an autistic child to the story and make him a true hero, hence "Buddy". He knows what happened to the daughter, but he can't speak, so he has to tell them in his own way. "Buddy" is close to me because my step-son is autistic. I was very proud and honored to be included in this great anthology.

Q: Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you just go with the flow?

A: I have never really had a set schedule. When I started writing I was in college and had a part time job. I would write on days off and when I didn't have anything to study. After I graduated and didn't have a job, I wrote when my kids were in school. That was a nice time, but then life kicked in and I had to get an evil day job. So then I wrote after work or on the weekends if I felt good enough to. I have a chronic illness, so I don't feel well very often. My health has turned for the worse and I had to give up my day job. Now that I don't have an evil day job or any money to go anywhere, I've tried to keep a schedule. I get my kids out the door for school, check my email and then try to write my daily quota. Once I hit my daily goal I'll asses how I feel. If I feel well enough, I'll write more. If not, I'll take a nap.

Q: Do you need to be in a specific place or atmosphere before the words flow? Do you have a ritual that you do before sitting down to write?

A: I like to lay down, close my eyes and then play the scene through my head. After I work out the scene in my head, then I'll write it. Sometimes I can't get to sleep at night if my characters don't want to shut up. They keep telling me scene after scene some nights. Other nights they won't talk to me. Or I'll do this during the day. Sometime I'll fall asleep during this process. Did I tell you I like to nap?

Also, I can't write with other people around. I need to be alone in my office. But if the words aren't really flowing, I'll turn on the windows media player, find a tune to suit the mood of the scene and crank it up. It helps to get me in whatever mood and the words seem to flow better.

Q: Name one thing readers would be surprised to learn about you.

A: I was raised in church and lean towards the Assembly of God denomination. Now I write sinful smut.

Q: Do you have a favorite book or a favorite author?

A: Highland Dragon by Kimberly Killion. I love that book. I also love Dorothy Garlock. I don't think I've ever read a book of hers that I didn't like.

Q:What are some of your hobbies besides writing?

A: Computer games and reading. I have a whole collection of things I used to do, but my chronic illness makes most of them impossible now. So I tend to do things to keep my mind busy even if my body isn't.

Q: So let’s start out with you giving us a glimpse into your world as an erotica writer. Is everything as sinful as your stories or is your imagination just rich with sexual scenarios?

A: Ha, ha. Good question. You pulled this out because I told you I was a preacher's daughter. What can I say? I'm a good girl, the one who no one would believe writes this stuff. I don't drink or smoke. I don't party. I'm married with two kids. I don't even have open discussions about sex. The worse thing about me is my potty mouth, I just can't seem to stop. But let be alone with my husband (or my writing) and a whole new woman comes out. I love lingerie and have a nice selection to choose from. I guess I believe in keeping sex between the individuals involved. My books may be erotic or erotica but they fall more on the vanilla side. Though I think the scenes are hot and steamy.

Q: Many people picture the life of an erotica author along the same lines as a porn star- sex, sex, and more sex. Is that how your life is or is it a little more mundane than that?

A: You just won't stop will ya? *wink* Well, I've always pictured a sex phone operator as the woman who's standing in a moo-moo washing the dishes while talking dirty. She might even need to mute the phone to yell at the kids to "get back in bed before I send your father in". Then she gets back on the phone in a sexy voice, "oh, baby, yeah". LOL. But to your question, in my life I have ballet, guitar lessons, band, football games, driving kids here and there, grocery shopping, paying bills...You get the idea. No sex parties or partner swapping. Though I did watch a movie once about a swingers party. *shakes head* I guess that doesn't count.

Q: If you could be intimate with three people (not necessarily all at the same time) without getting in trouble with your significant other, who would they be?

A: Wow, another sex question. You just want to get inside to my dirty mind. Okay, let's see. This is hard. I've always had a thing for Dennis Quaid especially in The Rookie. David Cubitt who plays Lee Scanlon on Medium. That man is h-o-t. Then I'd have to say Addison Cougar, he's wild and sexy as hell. Rides a bike and that just turns me on.

Just for fun lightning round-

Light or dark? dark

Red or pink? pink

Coke or pepsi? coke

Coffee or tea? tea

Abs or buns? buns

Vampires or angels? angels


Q: In closing, tell us a bit about your latest release. Feel free to share an excerpt.

A: Well, I have a new story coming out May 10 from eXcessica called 0 to 69 in 5 Minutes. It's an erotic romance with my style of dry humor. My heroine Val is someone people will probably love or hate. She tends to have a lying issue where her family is concern. Especially her overbearing mother who hounds her day and night to get pregnant. Val makes up a fake boyfriend, Sam White, to get her mother to back off. Plus, she has a ten year high school reunion coming up and she wants to show her ex-boyfriend that she's not hopeless in the love department. So she goes to speed dating to hire a man to play the part of Sam. That's where she meets Noah Kittler. One lie leads to another and before Val knows it, she'd in way over her head with lies and she's falling for her fake boyfriend fast and hard.

Here is an excerpt from a few pages into the story. Now it's not the official copy as I haven't got it yet, but I don't foresee anything really changing.

Oh, he was perfect. His blue eyes had twinkled when she rubbed her foot on his muscled leg. He must have thought she was an easy score, but she had to know if his legs were as toned as his arms. Of course, they were.

His dimples were divine. For some odd reason, she loved a dimpled face. Her heart had flipped when she saw them. Two identical indentions on his cheeks. She wondered what his other set of cheeks looked like. How they would feel in her hands.

Slow down before you run him off. The advice might work in normal circumstances, but she didn’t have time to slow down. She needed a boyfriend who all but lived at her house and had advanced to the meet-the-parents stage in a relationship.

After a deep breath, she gathered her nerve. “All you have to do is pretend you’re my boyfriend and attend my high school reunion. Of course, we’ll have to become very acquainted with each other, and we only have two weeks. Afterwards, I’ll tell my family we broke up, and you’ll get your grand.”

He stared at her in disbelief. “That’s all? I don’t have to kill anyone or anything?”

She laughed, then stifled her amusement when she noticed his seriousness. “No. You don’t have to kill anyone, physically. Emotionally, I hope my ex cries for days after he sees me in the best shape of my life and with a man sexier than he could ever hope to be.”

Had she really confessed her attraction to him out loud? Minutes ago she’d scoffed at the hornballs in the room. Now drool threatened to drip from the corner of her mouth.

The coordinator’s voice boomed over the microphone, “Switch.”

Oh, no! Her time was up, and he hadn’t answered. Months of searching for the perfect man and he was about to move out of her life. Well, maybe just move to the next table, but what if he found a better offer a few seats down? There were a lot of attractive women here tonight.

“Move buddy, I’ve been waiting to talk to number five all night.” A man wearing a wife beater and ripped jeans nudged Noah over to the next table.

Noah inched over without answering her question. A lump formed in her throat. The man of her dreams… or lies, however you wanted to phrase it, left her waiting for his reply.

The next guy in line sat down. Dip bulged in his lower lip, and he held an empty soda bottle to spit in. She wrinkled up her nose and inched away from the table. His breath overtook her when he opened his mouth and introduced himself.

“Hello, hot momma. I’ve been waiting to get in your panties since I saw you walk in the door.” He spat in his bottle. Dip juice ran down his chin, and he growled at her.

Gross! She looked at Noah as he sat down with the woman next to her. He hadn’t said yes, but he hadn’t taken his eyes off her either.

“Forget about him, darlin’. He had his chance. I’ll be your man for two weeks. When that times up though, you’ll be begging me to stay. I’ll satisfy you like no other can.” He touched her hand, and she jerked back. “What’s wrong, sugar britches? Afraid of a real man?” He reached across the table again, seized her wrist and squeezed.

She tired to free her arm, but he tightened his grip. Blood throbbed where he pressed and her fingers tingled from the loss of oxygen.

“Get your hands off my woman.” Noah jumped up, grabbed the man’s arm and twisted it behind his back until the man screamed out.

“Quit, quit! I’ll leave her alone.”

Quiet rushed through the room, and people stopped to stare. Things happened so fast.

Noah let go with a light shove. “It’s a game we play. You know, like go to the bar and act like you’re picking up a woman when the woman is already your wife.”

“Hey, buddy. Calm down. I didn’t know.” The man rubbed his arm where Noah had twisted it.

The coordinator and a few large guys with Staff T-shirts hurried over. “Sir, we’re going to have to ask you to leave.” The lady spoke in a soft voice to Noah, probably afraid to upset the other daters and have them ask for a refund.

“No problem, we were going anyway.” Noah held out his hand to her.

She couldn’t leave him hanging there, make him look bad in front of everyone after he’d defended her, but did he always have such a hot temper? Maybe she should walk out with him, tell him thanks and then politely excuse herself. But then she’d be back to square one. Noah might be the only guy to fit her description and it was a mere two weeks of her life.

While everyone stared, she took his hand and exited the convention room with Noah. Once they were in the hotel lobby, her feet and tongue froze. She started to plan her escape, but thought twice before she said anything to ruin her chance to pull off her lie.

“I’m sorry about that jerk. A man should never put his hands on a lady! In fact, I wouldn’t call someone who did that a man. Are you all right?” He took her wrist and tenderly rubbed. “Did he hurt you?”

“No, I’m fine. Just a bit shook up.” Maybe he did have a slight temper, but he’d used it to defend her. Didn’t he say men shouldn’t hurt women? His outburst seemed understandable.

“I’m sorry about what I said.” He released her wrist.

She wrinkled her brow, confused. What had he said to apologize for?

“About you being my woman. It popped into my mind first.” He blushed a light pink, like he had when she’d commented on his dimples.

Comfort washed over her as his temper died down and concern took over. “Well, I did ask you to be my man for two weeks. So…” She looked down at her feet. The nail polish she’d expertly applied today looked stunning. Oh, stop stalling and just ask. “What do you say? Would you like to be my lover?”