Welcome to Jory Strong's guest blog

Welcome Ms. Jory Strong to Love Romances and More, thank you for joining us.

Thanks for inviting me!

Did you always want to become a writer?

Yes, though it took me years to get serious about pursuing it. It was always “I want to and someday I will”, then one day I realized “someday” would never arrive unless I made it happen by committing myself. After that, there was no quitting, despite having accumulated enough rejection letters over the years to paper a room with them.

What is the most, and the least interesting fact about writing?

I love pretty much all aspects of it, despite the agony I go through before (planning a story and working out as many of the necessary details as possible), during (worrying about getting each scene right), and after a project is finished (total stress as I wonder if readers are going to like the story and be glad they read it).

How did you celebrate your first release? What was it like to see your book in a bookstore? Do you have a special ritual for celebrating a book release?

My first release was an e-book (Supernatural Bonds: Trace’s Psychic). I treated myself to a Starbucks Frappuccino. A big deal since the closest Starbucks is an hour and fifteen minutes away.

The first print release I actually encountered in a store was Supernatural Bonds: Storm’s Faeries. I was thrilled to stumble across it (purely by accident). I immediately got on the phone and called my husband and then my parents. I even contemplated buying a copy and taking it home as a trophy but convinced myself it would be better to let someone else acquire it since I did in fact have author copies already. Anymore I take the day off as a celebration when a book releases.


How did your family react to fact that you also write romance novels? Have your family read your books?

My husband and his parents knew, but I stayed in the closet with respect to everyone else for the first year and a half. My parents are very conservative and live in the Bible-belt. After attending RT Daytona, I decided to tell them, mainly because it was such a thrill to be around so many romance fans and authors. I wanted to share stories and let them in on the fun. I am so glad I did. Sometimes I think my parents enjoy my success as an author more than I do. Once they knew, I stepped completely out of the closet. But no, they don’t read the books. Even if I cut out all the sex, almost everything I’ve written is paranormal in nature, not something my parents and husband enjoy.

Most authors are also avid readers. Is this the case with you? If so, who are some of your favorites? Have any influenced your writing?

Yes, I love reading. My parents are both readers. From an early age, they read to my brother and me, and had us read to them. I try to stop work every night by seven so I can read for at least two or three hours. As far as favorites go, I read widely. Nalini Singh, Robert Crais, Ilona Andrews, Wen Spencer, Michelle Sagara, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, PJ Tracy, JD Robb, and many more—anyone whose story premise, world or characters grab me and whose story telling keeps me turning the pages.

I wouldn’t say they’ve influenced me directly. But everything I read is “food for the muse.” It can’t help but be.

Your characters come to life in your books. Do you feel each of your characters live with you as you write? Do their lives sometimes take over a part of your life? Can you name an example? Do you have living role models for your characters?


Yes, they definitely live with me when I write. They get into my head and I get into theirs. It’s an up close and personal kind of thing, sometimes to the point I’ll actually cry with them when something terrible happens in their lives.

When I’m focused on a story, it does take over my life. There are days I have to make myself step away from the computer. Crime Tells: Calista’s Men was the “worst” when it comes to this. The story and characters dropped into my mind fully formed and it was an absolute race to get the scenes written as they were scrolling through my head. It was the most amazing time, but basically for a solid month, I had zero life because I couldn’t risk being away from the computer and losing a scene. It was totally exhilarating, and I would love for it to happen again!

All my characters are fiction. No living role models.

Where do you get the inspirations for your books?


Any more, it’s more often character driven, as in, a character introduced in a previous story steps forward and demands his or her HEA. Sometimes these stories lend themselves to answering questions or solving problems presented in previous books in the series. The books for Berkley have an over reaching story arc: the return of the Djinn and the ultimate battle for control of Earth. But built into these books is also the chance to explore a lot of different story worlds, everything from a vampire-controlled San Francisco, to the lawless red zone of Oakland, to the shapeshifter-held territories outside of both cities…and more.

Do you find it difficult at times to write love scenes?


Sure. There are times I’m just not in the mood to focus on them, or I’m more interested in pushing forward on the main plot and don’t want to lose the writing momentum I’ve got going or the scenes I see vividly in my mind.

What is your favorite book from the books that you have written so far? Who are your favorite hero and heroine, and why?


This is always a tough question for me. It’s like asking a parent what child they love the most. So I’ll have to qualify my answer by saying it’s subject to change on any given day depending on focus. If forced to choose only one, and not allowed to cheat by picking one erotic romance and one urban fantasy romance, or claiming a tie, I’d say Spider-Touched (the second book set in the post-apocalyptic world of Ghostland). It’s the book I consider the best I’ve ever written, though Ghostland is the book of my heart and The Angelini: Mystic’s Run is the book I consider my best EC title.

Dante and Benito (Crime Tells: Calista’s Men) are in a tie with Fane and Cable (Carnival Tarot: Kiziah’s Reading) for favorite heroes. My favorite heroine…a lot harder choice. Today I’m feeling kick-ass so I’ll say Araña (Spider-Touched) though Skye (The Angelini: Skye’s Trail) is a close second.


Which book was the hardest to write and which the easiest?

Supernatural Bonds: Storm’s Faeries was the hardest. I can’t even say why, because when I reread it, I love it. But when I was working on it, I thought getting it finished was going to burn me out completely. Crime Tells: Calista’s Men was the easiest. It dropped into my head fully formed and the race was on as I tried to type the scenes as fast as they came to me. I’d love, love, love for another book to arrive that way!

If you could change places with one character from your books, who would it be and why?

Well, if I wanted to stake my claim to the above named favorite heroes, I’d swap places with Kiziah or Calista. Or better yet, Mystic and end up with her three men If I wanted the heroine’s special ability it would have to either be Syndelle (The Angelini: Syndelle’s Possession) or Aisling in Ghostland.

If you could travel through time to visit a special time period or famous person, what or who would it be and why?

I actually wish I could travel into the future. It’s far more interesting to me than the past.

Do you listen to music while you are writing and if so what music is it?

No. I need silence.


If you could choose one of your books for a movie, which one would it be and who would you as the cast?

Crime Tells: Lyric’s Cop, mainly because I’ve been involved in animal issues in the past and while I don’t have time any more to rescue dogs from euthanasia at shelters and place them into good homes as I once did, I still hate it that so many of them are needlessly destroyed every year, or end up in miserable situations because of human irresponsibility and greed. Someone else would have to cast it for me. I don’t have that gift.

Are you working on anything right now, and can you tell us a teaser about these projects?

I just typed THE END on Fallon Mates: Zoë’s Gift. Now starts the editing, refining and polishing process. I’m really, really excited about this story. It’s the first MMF ménage set in this story world (all the others are MFM stories), plus there’s a big revelation and significant movement with respect to the series arc.

For those not familiar with the series, a virus has left the winged races of Belizair (the Amato who have feathered, angel-like wings, and the Vesti, who have suede bat-like wings) unable to reproduce. The only solution so far has been to match unmated males to a human female who carries a certain genetic sequence. That catch, it takes both a Vesti and an Amato male for there to be children.

Since you asked for a teaser, I’ll also mention that as soon as I turn Zoë’s Gift in to EC, I’ll get to work on a new book for Berkley. It’s the third one set in the world of Ghostland and Spider-Touched. The heroine is a gifted human healer who was an important character in Spider-Touched. The hero is a jaguar shapeshifter. As much as I’ve loved being in the world of the Fallon Mates, I can hardly wait to return to this post-apocalyptic one!

Contest:

One lucky poster wins either an e-book download of one of Jory's EC titles or an autographed print copy of one of Jory's available books, winner's choice. Here you can find a list of her available print books. Please check back here tomorrow. The winner has 7 days to contact me.