Interview with Elizabeth Finn

Please help me welcome Elizabeth Finn to the blog for an interview!

Thanks for stopping by today, Elizabeth. I'm glad to have you here with us!

First off, tell me about yourself, and your writing.

By day, I’m a Human Resources Specialist in Benefits. I’m the mother of a very precocious four year old, and I’m an adult student in my junior year of a business management program. I stay very busy, and somehow, I still find time to crank out stories. Though admittedly, I blow off homework

sometimes…

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

I started writing about five years ago, but I stopped about halfway through the recently released book, Brother’s Keeper. I put it away, started a family, lived a busy life, and just stopped writing. It wasn’t until this past spring that I finally pulled that manuscript out, dusted it off (proverbially speaking), finished it and submitted it. Brother’s Keeper was just released on 10/22! In the midst of finishing that manuscript, I also wrote, submitted and had published my first release, The Devil’s Pawn, which was released on 9/17. And now, I have my third book, Restoring Jordan, set to release on 12/17! All three of these books fall in to the contemporary erotic romance genre, though I’m completing a fourth book that falls in to the paranormal erotic romance genre.

Do you write in multiple genres or just one? If just one, do you ever consider straying outside your genre?

I have thus far published in the contemporary erotic romance genre, but I love paranormal, and I’m just finishing my first paranormal erotic romance that I hope to have contracted soon!

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

Plotter to a degree. The books definitely evolve as I write them, but I have a general idea of where the story is going to be going. I don’t think I could ever truly be a pantser.

What is a typical writing day like for you?

Sadly, as I work a day job, my writing day usually starts after my son is in bed. I can usually put in a good full day on the weekends, but for the most part, I write late in to the evening hours once my house has quieted down.

Who do you love to read? Favorite authors, favorite books?

I have read a lot from Johanna Lindsey, and she is definitely one of my favorites! She writes historical, which oddly as much as I love her stories, I’ve not yet taken a stab at a historical… Someday perhaps…

What is something you'd like to accomplish in your writing career next year?

I really just want to maintain the pace that I’m at right now. I’ve been submitting a book about every one to two months, and I’m enjoying it so much—everything from the writing to the editing process, that I want to keep up with. It seems a bit daunting at times with school and work and family, but I’m anxious to keep going!

If you could have one paranormal ability, what would it be?

Oh goodness. Just one?.. How about the ability to melt calories as I eat… Yes indeed, that’s the gift I want/need.

If you could keep a mythical/ paranormal creature as a pet, what would you have?

A cat that can use a toilet and requires no litter box. Find me one of those, and I’ll be your best friend forever! If not that, I’ve always wanted to own Falcor from the Neverending Story.

Tell us a little about your latest release.

Here’s the official blurb for my 10/22/2012 release, Brother’s Keeper:

Rowan is ready to embark on a new life as the recipient of a scholarship in ballet to Michigan State University. Having lost her mother at an early age and being subjected to the abuse of a destitute drunken father, she has known unimaginable loss and heartache and been left wanting for a better life—a life that is finally within her grasp. But with one ill-fated phone call, her life is turned upside down. Logan is her best friend’s much older brother, his own career taking off as he prepares to graduate law school and move cross country to the prestigious law firm that has offered him a very lucrative contract. When Rowan finds herself at Logan’s mercy after he inadvertently learns of the abuse she has suffered at the hands of her father, their lives become intertwined in a way neither ever imagined nor wanted.

In an effort to protect her but with his own hands tied by her unwillingness to report the abuse, Logan strikes a deal requiring Rowan to stay at his apartment whenever there is a chance her father might be on a drunken binge—which is often. For her agreement, he will keep her secret. But soon, their time together weighs on them both, and they find themselves constantly tempted to step outside the bounds of their supposed platonic relationship.

When Rowan once again finds herself in the clutches of her father’s drunken rage, Logan’s long held resolve to keep their relationship innocent crumbles, and he’s left fighting his own desires in order to protect her virtue while craving his own indulgence in her as well. But though the boundaries of their relationship become foggier by the day, his passion and love for her does not. But there is no point, because the devastating fact of the matter is that their lives are moving in opposite directions—a relationship destined to die.

The ever present clock plagues them both as it ticks off the days until they are parted. But is being apart from one another truly possible? Is life beyond their time together livable? How can you survive when your other half is taken from you? And the most important question of all, how will he protect her from a father intent on hating her until the day he dies … or the day he kills her?

What is something that you absolutely can't live without? (Other than family members)

Laptop!

Could you ever co author a book with someone? If so, who would you choose, and what would you write?

I’ve co-plotted a vindication story with a very near and dear person in my life. I’ve not yet co-authored with anyone, but with the right person, I could definitely get on board. It would most definitely be erotic romance. Sub-genre… I think it would be fun to do something paranormal or action packed, rather than dramatic. I think a pair of writers could really kick up some suspense as a team!

If you could spend a day with anyone from history, dead or alive, who would it be, and what would you do? What would you ask them?

Gosh… another hard one. Julia Child, and she would teach me to boil water and perhaps cook a bit too…

What are some of your other hobbies outside of writing?

I love movies, spending time with my girlfriends, trying new restaurants, and I love doing all of those things with a good glass of Chianti in my hand.

If you were on the staff to have a book adapted to movie, what would you pick?

I think my 9/17/2012 release, The Devil’s Pawn, would make an awesome movie.

What is a talent you wish you had, but don't?

Is being an extrovert a talent? I’m shy by nature, and I wish that I had the ability to stow my shyness on occasion and live out loud and with no limitations. Here’s to wishing!

Favorite color?

Green

Weather: Hot or cold?

How about cool – I love 60 degrees.

Favorite place to read?

In bed.

Favorite meal

Pasties (stew mean, potatoes and onion wrapped up in a pie crust and baked)

Favorite non-alcoholic drink.

I love love love Coke. I never drink real coke because of the sugar, but I love it, and it’s a guilty pleasure when I feel like being naughty.

If you could travel anywhere and do anything, no limits or money holding you back, where would you go?

I would find a secluded cabin in the woods or mountains. The weather would be sixty or so degrees, and I would write… I would maybe or maybe not have a man with me, or maybe I would just send him away when I was done with him, so I could write some more after he’d inspired me… Now that’s where I’d like to be right now.

The Devil’s Pawn

Elizabeth Finn

When Ashton is left orphaned after her parents are murdered, her life becomes a hell she could never have imagined. Left to fend for herself, and responsible for a debt she doesn’t owe, she is swept into a life as a gentleman’s escort at a private men’s gaming hall. Her new manager makes it abundantly clear he doesn’t appreciate her inexperience, innocence, and shyness. On the contrary, he despises everything about her.

Derek can be “difficult,” she’s been told. And however dark and handsome he may be, he terrifies her in a way that chills her to the bone, but leaves her begging to understand him. As they are pulled along together, more secrets and threats than either one could ever conceive are revealed, and a common enemy emerges. This enemy will stop at nothing to bring Derek to his knees while using Ashton as the greatest pawn in his torturous game.

Will Derek be able to let down his shield of cold, harsh emotion before it’s too late? Will he be able to sacrifice himself to save Ashton, or will they both be destroyed by the secrets of their pasts?

About the Author:

Elizabeth Finn is an Iowa native, where she lives with her husband and son. By day, Elizabeth is a Human Resources Specialist, but by night, she checks her professionalism at the door and immerses herself in the world of writing erotic romance. Look for more to come from Elizabeth Finn.

Website / Facebook

Excerpt:

Once in the fitting room, Derek takes the chair again while I start to remove my clothes. I intentionally wore ugly, stretched-out, white cotton underwear that is entirely too big on me in the event he should be here. My mouth isn’t the only thing that can get me into trouble—my sarcasm knows no bounds when I’m unhappy.

As he sees the appalling excuse for an undergarment, his eyes move up to mine, narrowing darkly at my obvious defiance. I look coolly back at him before looking away dismissively. My anger and resentment of him from the humiliation he subjected me to the previous morning, not to mention his treatment of me over the past two weeks, have charged me into a bold, fiery bitch that no longer cares what retribution I might face. While my tongue usually gets me in trouble, today I decided to let my underwear do the talking.

Jacob enters with an armful of dresses for me to try on, and he cringes as he takes in my defiant granny panties, hated the world over by men, including, apparently, gay men.

He turns to Derek, and with a scrunched-up face, he worries out loud. “The dresses aren’t going to lay right over those…” He tosses a nod in my general direction.

Derek wastes no time at all reassuring Jacob and striking back at me. “No worries. Ashton was just taking them off. She won’t be wearing underwear anymore.”

I glare defiantly back at him as I drop the loose fabric to the floor. He returns the glare for a moment before letting his gaze travel down my body to my sex, and as it lands there, smoldering with heat, I turn abruptly from him, intentionally showing him my backside instead. I look to the mirror in front of me, and I catch his eyes flit away from me in annoyance. He worries his lip with his thumb and index finger as he contemplates, and the slightest of smirks crosses over his mouth. Jacob is standing by looking from one to the other of us, obviously wondering just exactly what he’s gotten himself in the middle of.

Derek finally looks back to Jacob. “Get on with it.”

I try on one after the other of the dresses. Some are perfect; Jacob pins in additional alterations in others. Derek sits by bored, only glancing up from his cell phone occasionally. One such occasion is when Jacob remarks that I’m “just not curvy enough for this one.”

Derek looks up to Jacob, but he shifts his eyes to mine before commenting, “Yes, well, if you can figure out some way of making her look female, you let me know.”

Jacob again lets his eyes pass between us, seeming to wonder all the while what he’s missing. As I hold Derek’s eyes with my own, my anger falters, and the pain that is behind my fury pushes through. I try to wrangle my tears into submission, but it’s no use. In defeat, first one, and then another spills from my eyes and slides down my cheeks. Jacob regards my state and excuses himself from the room.

I stand on the hemming block in the center of the room, refusing to look at Derek. But he’s looking at me, and as my hurt continues to work through my entire body, I let my tongue do what it does best. “Why do you hate me so much?”

He says nothing, but stands and moves to me. Reaching around behind me, he pulls the zipper of the dress down, and then, returning his hands to my shoulders, he pulls the straps down, exposing first my small breasts, and then the rest of my naked body as it falls to the floor.

He leans in to my ear and speaks. “You don’t know anything about me.” He then takes me by the hand and pulls me to stand in front of the mirror, and leaning to my ear once more as I watch him in the mirror, he speaks gently. “Lean forward and put your palms on the mirror.”

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