Interview with E. Ayers

Happy Saturday! Please help me welcome E. Ayers to the blog with an interview!

tell me about yourself, and your writing.

I've always been a writer. If a test in school had essay questions, I knew I had an A. When my children became school aged, they quickly ran out of things to read so I started writing stories for them. I've just stayed with it.

But it was a friend's daughter about fifteen years ago who said write romance. She has quite a few books published in romance by one of the big houses. I rolled my eyes. She told me if I didn't think romance novels were very real, then write them they way the story should be told.

So I did. I don't strip the life out of the books and that is very obvious in my full-length novels as they all have heavy mainstream elements. People have lives, jobs, and commitments. Mr. Wonderful isn't going to waltz into the office and whisk you off feet for a grand cruise. We all know how hard it is to get two weeks off! So why should a romance novel portray things differently?

How long have you been writing? How many published books do you have, and what genres?

I have eleven books published in contemporary romances. Three are my Creeds Crossing, Wyoming books, A Snowy Christmas in Wyoming. A Cowboy's Kiss in Wyoming, and my latest is A Love Song in Wyoming. My Creeds Crossing books are sweet westerns, but not sugary.

I have four River City books, which are full-length novels about young urbanites, living, working, playing, and falling in love in River City, a mid-sized city in the eastern USA. In my River City books, I don't close the bedroom door, but they are far from hot, yet honest.

I have a twelfth book, Coming Out of Hiding, that should be released by mid-month. That's another full-length novel about a severely wounded war hero who returns home and becomes a recluse until Tae Harris looks beyond his scars and drags him out of hiding.

Are you a plotter or do you write from the seat of your pants?

Oh, I'm a pantzer! I write first in my head, and I'm usually only a chapter or two ahead of what I'm typing into the computer. Sometimes I know about a big event that is coming. Sometimes, I'm surprised. To me, the fun is the journey. If I plotted it all out, then I'd know the ending, and I wouldn't want to write it. Well, I do know the ending. They must each reach their happily ever after, but each couple is unique so getting there is part of the joy of writing.

I let the characters develop in my mind and then something will trigger the actually story. The story brews for a while until I'm certain there's enough of a plot to sustain it. Then I start to write. Often the characters, once they are turned loose onto a page, become more than I expected. I discover traits that I didn't know they had. That alone can send a story in a slightly different direction than I had anticipated.

If you could have one paranormal ability, what would it be? Actually, I think it would be fun to blink and travel. Just pop into the grocery store and pop out. Pop over to Hawaii for an afternoon, or maybe take an evening walk by the Seine. If I could pop over to Wyoming right now, I would. Then visit with my friend in Texas. No carbon footprint and no cost!

If you could keep a mythical/ paranormal creature as a pet, what would you have? When I was a little girl, there was a picture that hung in my room of brownies. These elf-like creatures were all very busy doing things. They washed, polished, shined, mended, ironed, hammered, sawed, etc. I really could use such help. Of course with my luck, my brownie would be as spoiled as my two dogs and my cat. I'd never get any help, and I'd just have one more pet to feed.

Tell us a little about your latest release.      

My latest release is A Love Song in Wyoming. I've had so much fun writing these East meets West books. This is the third one in the series. Each will stand alone as it is the area that keeps them glued together. Creeds Crossing is in the middle of nowhere, just a tiny dot on the map. I think of it as a hub that supports the community and the ranches in the area. Various people do show up again throughout the series. So it's not exactly a true series, more like a collection of stories within the locale.

This particular novella has a wonderful heroine named Angie. She's strong, independent, and has her feet planted on the ground. Angie's a cowgirl from a poor ranching family with a secret that she's never told anyone. All she's ever wanted was to fall in love, settle down on a successful ranch, and have a few children. Jacino "Jack" Alveraz comes back into town, and once again, she finds herself falling for his smooth lines and promises of better life on a ranch with him.

Johnny Rockthorne, America's most popular country vocalist, finds his dream home in the ranching community of Creeds Crossing where he can relax between concerts and write music. He also finds Angie Clovis. She's part Native American with long, straight, black hair and sky-blue eyes. As his heart reaches out for her, she becomes the inspiration for a new song. But convincing her that he's not looking for a little plaything in Wyoming, and that he's just a normal guy isn't easy.

Torn between two men, Angie's forced to make a split second decision.