Hi Jaci, thanks for taking time to talk with Fallen Angel Reviews. While trying to make this as painless as possible for you I'd like to ask you a few questions about Jaci Burton. To get us started . . .

Tell us a little about Jaci Burton the author, the woman, the wife and the mother.

Wow, I'm all those? Hehehe. Okay, seriously, first and foremost I am wife to Charlie. He inspires me, and without him this wouldn't be nearly as much fun. I am also stepmother to his daughter, Ashley, and I have two grown sons, Kevin and Matt. Fortunately 'mom' time doesn't take up as much of my day as it used to, and that's why I started writing. It keeps me busy…some days WAY busy…but I love it and couldn't imagine a day not spent writing.

Tell us about the writing and publishing of your first book Passion in Paradise - Paradise Awakening.

I found Ellora's Cave thanks to one of my great critique partners, Jodi Lynn Copeland. She was writing a hot book geared toward EC, so I went and investigated and fell in love with the books. The idea for Paradise Awakening just popped into my head and I wrote it nonstop until finished, knowing I was going to submit it to EC. I was lucky in that they liked it too and bought it.

You're an author who has written contemporary, futuristic, paranormal and BDSM. Did you make a conscious decision to not limit yourself to a particular genre?

It wasn't conscious, no. I'd always been a contemporary writer, and figured that was all I could ever do. The thought of branching out hadn't occurred to me until my editor, Briana St. James, asked if I'd be interested in writing a short futuristic for an anthology entitled "Mesmerized". I was a little concerned that I had no experience in that genre, but I've never been one to turn down an opportunity. I wrote "True Lies" for that anthology, and found out there was way more to writing than just contemporary. That opened the door for me, and since then I love writing in all genre's. It keeps the ideas and stories fresh and allows me to step outside the box creatively.

You currently have five different series of books out. Can you tell us a little about each series and what you have planned for the continuation of each?

Five? Really? I have five? Wow. Okay, the Paradise series is finished, at least for now. I know that someday I'll revisit Paradise resort, though. Have a couple more stories up my sleeve there. I just finished the third Storm For All Seasons book, Winter Ice, and that leaves one more to go for that paranormal series about the Storm siblings of New Orleans. League of 7 Seas will go on for awhile yet. I really loved writing that first underwater story with Dolphin's Playground, so I'm looking forward to revisiting Oceana again in the future. My faeries and elves of Kismet will continue with at least three more books. My first trek into BDSM with Bound to Trust will continue with two other books in that series.

Which book has been the easiest to write and why? And the most difficult to write and why?

Paradise Awakening was the easiest. It's like I dreamed the plotline and it flowed quite easily. Probably because I was so charged up about writing my first erotic romance after having spent two years mired in trying to write euphemisms for hot sex. The most difficult? Probably Dolphin's Playground from League of 7 Seas. I'm really not sure why it was that difficult to write, other than there was a lot of research to do on that book. But I also found it incredibly rewarding.

When I open up and begin to read a book by Jaci Burton what am I going to find inside?

Hopefully an intriguing plot, two engaging characters, lots of deep emotion, and great sizzling sex.

You chose to write under a pseudonym. What prompted that decision? Do you ever feel like you've lost your "true" identity to that of Jaci Burton?

You mean I'm not really Jaci Burton? *gasp* Okay seriously. I've never tried to hide under a pseudonym. I chose the name Jaci (which is pronounced Jaysee) because it's a combination of initials of my name and my husband's name. Burton is my husband's middle name. The pen name just seemed to flow, and I chose it as a tribute to Charlie, because he's the one who encouraged me to start writing again.

You are the step mother to a teenage daughter. Does she know that you write "erotic" romance? Why or why not?

Yes, she does know. First because I'm not ashamed of what I do, and second, we don't believe in hiding things from her. (Okay, maybe we hide the sex toys, but she's only 15 so there are some things she can wait to find out about *g*). She also knows she has to wait until she's 18 to read erotic romance. But I talk about the plotlines, she knows they contain hot sex, and she's very proud of me. She's a very enlightened girl, very smart, and someday will be an amazingly savvy adult. We feel the more educated she is about sexuality, the better informed she'll be when it's time to make critical choices.So while we won't let her read my books quite yet, I'm sure the time will come when she's old enough that she'll be more than welcome to read them. Sex is healthy and wonderful and shouldn't be hidden from teenagers. The less they know, the more trouble they seem to get into .

When ever your name is mentioned we hear the name "Charlie" mentioned right along with it. Who is Charlie and what kind of influence has he had on your writing career?

As I mentioned above, Charlie is the reason I started writing again. After he and I got together, I told him I used to dabble in writing and he asked why I stopped. I explained it was because 'life' got in the way and he encouraged me to start writing again. I wrote several manuscripts geared toward category romance before I drifted over to Ellora's Cave and fell madly in love with their passionate stories of love, sex and happily ever afters. If it wasn't for Charlie, I'd have never started writing again, and for that I'm eternally grateful.

Rumor has it that you and Charlie are working on a book together that will be out sometime later this year. Tell us about that book, how it came into being and how it's coming along in the writing process.

Yes! I finally browbeat…errr..convinced him to cowrite a book with me. It's been slow because of all my other deadlines, but we're moving forward on it. We're writing a futuristic about a couple who meet on the internet. Since he and I met that way, we figured we could accurately speak about what it's like to fall in love with someone before you ever meet face to face. The writing process is going quite well, considering we've never written together before. He's the idea man, and I'm the typist for his ideas. Hmmmm how come I don't have my own secretary? *g*

Do you think that an author has to experience true love before they can write about it?

I do think you need to experience it. Love encompasses incredible joy and amazing pain, and the intensity of emotions is something you have to experience. I know that I have, and because of that it enriches my characters and their emotions. I will say that I think loving someone the way I love my husband brings more emotional depth to my characters.

How important do you think that promotions and PR is in the success of an author?

It's very important. If no one knows who you are, what kind of books you write and where to find them, then you won't have as much success as someone who gets their name out there on a regular basis. That being said, I think you can promo til the cows come home (sorry, Oklahoma theme there) but if you don't write something the readers want, it won't matter. You have to write compelling stories that readers want, not just promote 'something' that's out there.

Being as hind sight is 20/20, what are some things that you would have done differently in your life?

Absolutely nothing. Every mistake I made, every road I chose, led me to where I am right now, living happily with the man I love. I've raised two wonderful sons and am working on helping to raise a beautiful daughter. I have a man who loves me unconditionally and brings me warmth, passion and laughter to each of my days. I wouldn't change anything about that.

At this moment in time twenty years from now, where do you want to be and what do you want to be doing?

Sitting in my chaise lounge on a beach somewhere, listening to the ocean waves lap upon the shore while I'm writing my next book. Charlie will be next to me, having just come back from playing another 18 holes of golf. He'll bring me a drink, share some time on the beach with me, then we'll go back to our little house near the ocean and…. …well, you get the picture ;-)

Interviewed By:
Missy