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- Firstly, tell us a little about yourself? Something more than is in your Bio.
Hmm…well, part of what makes me who I am is that I’m constantly straddling opposite sides of the proverbial fence. I’m literally a composite of opposites, and so it makes me a bit more empathetic, maybe a bit emotional about some things, cold about others. It makes it easier to write characters that feel things deeply with a bit of bird’s eye detachment, or to write males and females equally. But it also makes it hard to find my inner balance and equilibrium. For example, I’m super lazy but totally obsessive. So when I don’t feel like doing something or going somewhere I can be immovable, but when I want to accomplish something or I love something, I can be an unstoppable machine that doesn’t eat, sleep or get tired. It’s a blessing and a curse, which is fitting since those are opposites too, lol.
- How did writing begin for you? How long have you been writing?
I started writing for myself when I was 12, but it was mostly just practice, figuring out my voice and not finishing anything. I’m 31 now and I officially started writing for an audience when I was 24. I started writing my first book, Sunday, under the name TangledinYou on Literotica, and when it started to do well I was approached by a startup press and got published briefly. Sunday was followed by The Fifth Day and #1 Crush (it was called Gabriel back then), but after that press folded I wasn’t sure if I would get published again. So I decided to continue Gabriel and Nicole’s story and it spiraled out into a big, meaty online serial that would become the Loose Ends series. I finished the first draft of Loose Ends in 2011 and after that I took a break from writing. I was smarting from that bad publishing deal and focusing on my military career. When it came to publishing my work, I got a few offers, some looks from some agents and some rejections, but ultimately I think I was just waiting for the bravery to take control and do it on my own terms. I didn’t make up my mind to self-publish until this past March and in May I put Sunday out there again. A rocky start to be sure, but what I have now is the start of something I hope to do for a good long while.
- Do you have a favourite author that you admire or look to for advice?
I have a lot of favorites!! I think I admire lots of different authors for different things. Some authors are great at taking you into another world like Jacqueline Carey. Some author’s can make you care while exploring the gray areas of dark erotic romance, like CJ Roberts. Some are able to cross genres seamlessly in interracial romance like Violette Dubrinsky. Some are able to play with our ideas of what makes a strong female character, like Gillian Flynn. And some are quirky and unabashedly erotic, like Louisa Burton. I think what I admire most about the authors I enjoy is that they leap head first into what they want to write and don’t write for the market. In response their audience finds them and accepts them for sticking to their vision and bringing it to life.
- Do you have other stories in the works?
Yes! Books 2 and 3 of the Loose Ends series are up next. Book 2 is in the editing stage and will be released in early 2015, with Book 3 set to be released in Spring of 2015. After that I’m hoping to release a paranormal erotic horror story called Forgotten, the first installment in a series, and a contemporary dark erotic romance.
- What has been your favourite book to write to date and why?
That’s the hardest question, lol. I loved writing Sunday because it basically tumbled out of me and the response was amazing. I loved Loose Ends because it was so damn painful to write, that just the fact that I was able to conquer all my doubts and make something that beautiful out of the very simple concept of a girl’s crush noticing her…it became so special to me. But I like to think that Forgotten, the paranormal erotic horror story is my favorite right now. I can’t wait for people to read it, to conquer that beast. If I’m doing this job right I hope that every unfinished story is my new favorite, and that every story allows people to see that I can write in whichever direction the wind blows and they’ll still enjoy it because it’s my voice.
- If you could date one of your character from your books, who would it be and why?
Am I allowed more than one? Lol. I think if I had to choose it would be Gabriel from #1 Crush, and that’s a hard choice because I LOVE Flynn in Sunday. But part of what makes Gia and Flynn so fun together is that they have such a combative relationship. They love to push each other’s buttons, and while there’s a part of that in my makeup, I’m a bit older now, more in line with Gabe and Nicole’s journey. I want a partner that can be my advocate instead of my foe because I spend a lot of time battling my own demons. Gabriel’s a bit more like me in that he’s artistic, struggles with duality but is genuinely just looking for fun, kindness and creative fulfillment. He’s more of a mix of things that I find sexy in that he’s kind and affectionate, he’s talented and has a sense of humor, but he’s also got a dark and highly sexual side, a vulnerable side. That’s something all my male characters have in common though. Sexy, vulnerable, full of heart. And I think they all have a bit of me in them. It’s just that Gabriel and I probably would mesh the best as a couple. Don’t tell Nicole though. 😉
- Do you write from experience or totally fictional?
I mix both and hopefully well enough that people can see the characters and not me. I look at it the same way I would if I was acting. Is there a little of me in every character, a little of my life experience in every scene? Yeah, definitely. But do I want you to walk away from a book feeling like you know Kaia’s story, or the characters? If I’m doing what I’m trying to do, you’ll appreciate me for making you forget I’m even there, the way you would when a good character actor takes hold of a role, or a good director presents a story to you.
- Would you ever consider writing a different genre?
Absolutely! One of the reasons it took me so long to share my work, to trust my voice, is because I was flitting back and forth like a hummingbird from flower to flower. Every story is fully developed in my head and the characters, no matter the world they reside in, are what drive me. So I see writing the way I would if I was an actor or a director. Why would I want to tell just one kind of story, play just one character, write for just one kind of world? I want to do it all because I see it all in my head vividly. The only thing that halts me is the time it takes to do that well. The irony is that the first story I ever wrote was a vampire romance. The next was a fantasy saga which I call my Mt. Everest. I’ll get to them all eventually.
- What is the strangest question you have ever been asked?
I don’t get asked a lot of weird questions oddly enough. But if you want the funniest/strangest thing that’s happened to me, I think that would be the few times someone sent me a sexy letter/story. It was written like we were a couple and he was talking dirty to me, like just jumped right into “you’re a dirty slut bent over the table” type stuff. That was weird. I mean, thank you, Sir, nice to know I inspired you, but I don’t even know your name. This is a bit much for me to read at 6am before coffee. It’s a weird genre to write in sometimes. Lol.
