Hi Ann! Welcome to Fallen Angel Reviews! Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit with us.


Your Obsidion series is receiving rave reviews. The first two, Diamond in the Rough and Garnet's Fantasy, are now available. Can you tell us about these two dynamic women and the men they meet?

Sisters, Emerald and Garnet's mates have been chosen by a matchmaker based on the two women's main criteria for ideal men-power for Emerald, who is given a prince, and wealth for Garnet, who has a wealthy alien chosen for her. They meet their mates only at the mating ceremonies, and discover more than they'd asked for in Prince Arik and Romulus of Aurelion.

You also have a new erotic persona that will be bringing more books to your fans, Shana Nichols. Can you tell us a little about her? :)

I came up with Shana Nichols as a new name to introduce a new, more plot-driven type story than what I write as Ann Jacobs; however, since I've made no secret of the fact that both of us are really "me," I'm in the process of "retiring" Shana-or rather, rolling her work in under the Ann Jacobs name, to avoid confusion (mostly of myself when I can't remember which author I am, at any given time).

Does your writing style differ when you are writing a standalone book as compared to a story that is going to be part of a series?

Actually, my style differs more when I'm writing futuristics versus contemporaries, or contemporaries versus contemporary BDSMs, than it does between books I conceived as standalones and ones I've planned as part of a series.

To be honest, most of my series evolved rather than being planned, in other words, I started out to write one book and made the fatal error of falling in love with a secondary character somewhere along the way, thus causing me to write one or more spinoff books. Only the Dark Knights, Shana's series at Loose Id, and Luna Ten and Obsidion at Changeling were pre-planned as series.

From what do you derive the most inspiration for your writing?

Music. I start envisioning characters and story lines to go with them when a particular song sticks in my head and makes me visualize a scene, or imagine how the words/music would affect a character's emotions under various circumstances.

Since everybody needs a break, even when doing something they love, how do you like to spend your time away from writing?

I enjoy playing with my kids, shopping, working out at the gym, and-of course-reading, mostly erotic romances with the occasional legal or medical thriller tossed in just for variety.

You are a member of Novelists Inc., RWA, and the Authors Guild. How do these organizations help you as an author?

NINC keeps me up to date on happenings with the major publishers, and gives me a wonderful source of information on various aspects of writing fiction. RWA membership is a prerequisite for belonging to its chapters, where I socialize, commiserate, and otherwise interact with fellow authors. Authors Guild is the umbrella organization that advocates for authors in general as opposed to authors of particular kinds of books.

Your books encompass a wide variety of characters; do you have a particular favorite?

I like writing the tortured Alpha hero, but it doesn't seem to matter whether the torture is physical or psychological. Casey, from Tip of the Iceberg, is one of my favorites, but I can't really say I love him any more than many others. Arik (Diamond in the Rough) and Stefan (Dark Knights 1: Eternity of Darkness) come immediately to mind, along with Gray in Lawyers in Love: Bittersweet Homecoming (in print in Lawyers in Love: The Defenders).

As for heroines, my strongest one probably is Erin from Another Love, because she has to overcome tremendous odds to find her happily ever after. My favorites, though, are earthy, fun-loving types like Shana in Black Gold: Love Slave and Alina in Zayed's Gift (Mystic Visions anthology, available now at www.ellorascave.com and coming soon in print).

Readers have come to expect solid, imaginative, romantic stories from you. How do you keep your ideas fresh?

No two people react exactly the same to other people or similar situations. I've found that by concentrating on the characters in each story, I can present their stories in ways that are uniquely theirs.

You are also working on Forever Enslaved. This is an opportunity for fans to revisit Shana and Bear from Love Slave. How do you approach a story that builds on characters fans have met in a previous story?

Actually, it's much like filling in the inside pieces of a very complex jigsaw puzzle. Shana and Bear make appearances in most of the Black Gold books, as well as being the stars of their own story, Love Slave. I know who they were as young lovers willing to face tremendous odds and reach for happily ever after. I also know that years later, they were still hotter than firecrackers in bed and still deeply committed to each other.

It's that space in the middle-the crisis year when the spark seems to have dimmed in the face of strains of living in a difficult time and facing physical danger-that I have to enter. Shana and Bear will have to talk to me, let me know what triggered their trouble and what extent they'll go to in order to rekindle the flames.

I'm dying to get started on this! Shana and Bear have always been favorites of mine, ever since they sprang into my head as secondary characters long before I wrote their first hot love story.

Can you tell us a little about your other upcoming works?

At the moment I'm finishing Dark Knights: Dance of Darkness, a FLING for Loose Id. It's tentatively scheduled to be released in late July. The other two Dark Knights books, Darkness of Night and Beyond Darkness, will hopefully materialize out of my head before too long. All of these are urban fantasies, identified by my "Shana" pseudonym. Material Girl, a scorching novella by Ann, should also be coming along this year from Loose Id.

At Ellora's Cave, I have Forever Enslaved, to be followed shortly thereafter by Wrong Place, Wrong Time?, a spinoff from Tip of the Iceberg. After that, I'll be doing a three-book contemporary BDSM series called Heart of the West. In between, I'm getting older EC books ready for print. Mystic Visions anthology is scheduled for October, Black Gold: Another Love for November, and additional books more or less every three months thereafter. Many of my EC books will have to be combined because they're too short to go to print as single titles. Sandstorms will combine Love Slave, Forever Enslaved, and Entrapped (from the Captured e-book anthology), so that by next spring, the entire Black Gold series should be in print.

I've been asked to participate in Changeling's first print anthology with a brand-new futuristic story, as yet untitled. I also have the final installment in the Obsidion series, Pearl of Passion, which should be coming out by the end of summer.

With readers anxiously awaiting the third installment in the Obsidion, can you give us a hint what we can expect in Pearl of Passion?

Pearl, the youngest of the sisters, has asked for a man who will satisfy her every sexual fantasy. In Pearl of Passion she will meet her match in Pak Lin, son of Obsidion's renowned sexbot-maker, Pak Song. Expect lots of high-tech sex toys!

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

I think everybody now knows more than they ever wanted to about me, LOL. Thank you for a very interesting interview!

Thank you so much Ann for stopping by. It has been great getting to speak with you and I know I will be stopping by and picking up some new books.


Readers if you have not had an opportunity to read Ann Jacobs' work you are surely missing out. Stop by her website for some wonderful excerpts and some spicy links!


Interviewed by: Amanda