Meet Romance Author Erin M. LeafARe Cafe

Erin M. Leaf/Marie E. Blossom is a romance novel devotee, the steamier the better. She writes erotic romance (m/f) as Marie E. Blossom and edgy erotic romance (m/m, menage) as Erin M. Leaf.

Julie: Welcome, Erin. Why don’t you start us off by telling us how you discovered/decided you wanted to become a writer?

Erin: Well, see, when I was a kid, I fell off my bicycle and hit my head. After that, I really sucked at math, so what was I going to do?

*long pause*

Okay, no, not really. I mean, I did fall off my bicycle (more than once), and I’m sure I hit my head (probably more than once), but I was bad at math before that happened, so…

The thing is, I love playing with words. I started writing almost as soon as I could read. I’ve written software manuals, insurance training documents, proofread textbooks, and done other (horribly boring) writing-type things, all because I love chasing the perfect phrase. You know that moment when your heart pounds because you’ve written something so suspenseful you feel as if you’ve just taken a header off a cliff? That’s what I love to do with words.

Julie: What is your writing process? Do you outline, fly by the seat of your pants or a combination of both?

Erin: I used to outline everything. That grew terribly tedious, terribly fast. Then I did the seat of my pants thing. That was extremely stressful (I paced. It made me awfully dizzy). Now, I use a combo of the two techniques: I begin with the seat of my pants, then I outline my butt, and then, after my boys get done making fun of me (sixteen and eighteen-they’re really good at snickering), I start to write.

I only begin a book when I have a great idea for a character. Once I flesh out whom I’m writing about, the rest of the book naturally flows. I generally know what will happen at the end when I begin, but the in-between part of the story often surprises me.

Julie: Give us a sneak peek into the writing life of Erin and tell us about one strange writing ritual you have.

Erin: I sit down at my computer and … stare out the window. A lot. (I know, that’s called procrastination and is not a ritual). However, there’s this crazy thing I do when I finish for the day: I backup all my work. A lot. I have a backup on my computer, two extra hard drives, one online backup site, and a flash drive. I’m a wee bit paranoid, but I can honestly say I haven’t lost anything I’ve written. Ever. Since I started writing at age five (I transcribed my crayon scribblings onto a computer years ago and wow-did I love the color pink).

Julie: Do you have a favorite TV show you can’t miss?

Erin: Castle. Every time I watch it I end up laughing hysterically. I began stalking Nathan Fillion back when he starred in Firefly (the most surprising sci-fi show ever), watched him in Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (a parody! of awesome!), and now catch every episode of Castle (a rich, handsome writer? Yes, please). It’s not that I’m insane over the actor, it’s just that he tends to play characters that I find amusing and witty and full of yum. Thank you, Nathan.

Julie: If you could date any character from any book, who would it be and why?

Erin: Must it be from a book? Because I really, really like Richard Castle. I’d date him in a heartbeat, if I weren’t so very happily married, that is.

Julie: Please share with us some juicy details about your latest release.

Erin: My latest release is a vampire paranormal written via my alter ego, Marie E. Blossom: Bitten by Darkness. Jasper is a vampire. His family was murdered (hello, tortured hero-one of my favorite tropes). He’s out for revenge and then he meets Sienna, who throws a bit of a wrench in his plans. Seems he’s a sucker (oh ha, a pun!) for a snarky, confident, woman. They meet, they bond, they kill bad guys.

Julie: What was your inspiration behind this book?

Erin: My husband said to me one evening: “Why don’t you write a vampire novel?” And I was like: “Are you joking? Since when do you toss me ideas, and also, vampires are so 2008.” (I snapped my fingers in that Z pattern thing while I said this). And he replied: “How about an alien vampire then, since you’re so picky?” Dumbfounded by his inspiration (and annoying-ness), I responded, meekly: “Huh. That actually sounds cool.”

Julie: Well thank you, Erin for stopping by and answering my questions.

Erin: Thank you for having me! It was a blast.

Coming soon:

Seducing Liselle, Evernight Publishing (writing as Marie E. Blossom)

Links:

Erin M. Leaf:

Marie E. Blossom: