Thanks so much for taking the time to let us ask you a few questions.


I'd like to start by asking you a little bit about yourself. You seem to be an extremely introverted person, for those of you not in my head, that's sarcasm. How is it that a woman with your checkered past has become a writer of extreme erotica?

LOL!! Shy, I'm not. You're right. I wrote since I was seventeen, mostly for the amusement of friends. When BBS' were fashionable before there was an Internet, I told a few of those amusing tales for my online friends. I got my very first fan then, and she's still a friend today. She encouraged me to write hotter and hotter. When I got my first contract, I vowed to learn to melt monitors. I'm trying. (Big Cheesy Grin)

You've done quite a few things and I wonder exactly how those things add to your writing. How much of your life goes into your writing?

"We are the sum total of our experiences." Oh, yes, I put many of my life events --good and bad -- into my writing. My love for adventure and new experiences are something I love to share. Makes writing them easy. I'll get around to telling you about as many as I can eventually.

You don't write any specific sub-genre, how do you keep it all straight?

I'm a Cancer in the zodiac, and very moody. Whatever idea pops in is noted and stored for later use. Depending on my mood when I need my next story is what I choose. I do take requests, but gosh knows what I'll do with it! LOL!

Can you take us through a day in your life?

That's easy. I'm very disciplined.

I rise at somewhere between 6 AM and 7 AM and take a shower. I grab a cup of coffee and mumble over my email until the caffeine level is refueled. I don't try to write during the day, so I do business, play with my promo, run errands, and do housework as necessary. In the early afternoon, I do critiques and get serious. My husband and my lover both work nights, so after dinner is when I sit down and pound keyboard.

How do you write? In silence? Music?

Instrumental Music. This will vary according to the story. If I can, I find the music that matches the setting and mood of the story I'm writing. If nothing else, I play classical.

Computer? Pen and paper?

All computer, all the time. The only hard copy I keep is the plot plan and written chapters. My office looks like a bomb went off in a paper factory as it is, and I don't need to add to it.

Outlines? Seat of your pants?

I'm an anal-retentive plotter. I don't know what writer's block is! That's why my critique partners are so valuable to me. We plan things out, then turn and burn. Our monthly meetings can take on the appearance of "crystal meth night at the Improv" when all three of us get on a roll.

Do you have any kind of ritual you like to do before you start writing?

One of my fans turned me on to Vietnamese coffee, and I bless her forever! It's better than Starbucks. I get a cup of that high-powered fuel, turn on the coffee pot for the regular stuff, and turn on the CD player. If necessary, I read the previous chapter I wrote to get back in the "world." That's it.

For those who have not read your books, how would you describe them?

(Blinks) Okay, you stumped me with that one. Women's adventure stories with sex they may never experience for themselves, in short vacations for their minds.

Can you give us a synopsis of a few of your books in publication?

Let's just go with the three most recent. I doubt you have time for all thirteen presently available or due for release.

1. Berdache (Changeling Press - A Native American m/m paranormal that is one warrior's journey of self-discovery on the way to becoming that rare individual of legend: the Berdache, the two-souled one. Novella.

2. Eyes of the Cowan (Triskelion Sister O - A male witch discovers the skeptical journalist who comes for an interview is more than she appears in this lighthearted look at the pagan holiday of Beltane. Novella.

3. The God's Wife (Cerridwen Press - This mainstream historical was inspired by the real life of one of the few successful female Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt: Hatshepsut. Hati is a member of a sect known as The God's Wives. These noble-born sorceresses did everything and anything for Egypt, including sex, assassination, extortion, or politics. Who needs to make stuff up when history provides more intrigue than I could dream up? Novel.

Personally, I want to know if you have any more of the Sex World series coming out, but I'm sure that everyone else would like to know about any new books in the works. Can you give us a sneak peek?

Happily. First, I'll ease your mind by saying yes there will be two more Sex World books. Sex World 2 is already in the planning stages.

First down the pike is Unicorn Valley 4: Moontyger's Quest, due for release in late July at Changeling Press. This will end the series. How does a shape shifting, gender-bending Chinese Imperial dragon strike you?

Second up is After the Flood 2: Rise to Power with Loose Id, scheduled for an early August release. Will the denizens of the Valley fight a war to save an unborn child and a human mage? You bet they will.

Third, I'm presently writing the sequel to Eyes of the Cowan for Triskelion, highlighting the pagan Sabbat of Yule and featuring a delectable Cajun hero to heat up anyone's winter holiday.

The rest are closely guarded secrets.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

I have my first print book coming up from Loose Id! TAKING CHARGE is the new title, pairing my story Black Widow, with Stephanie Vaughan's Cruel to Be Kind. I don't have a release date on it, so just keep checking at the Loose Id website for more information.

While I will be taking a short hiatus to "just write" (Hah! Like I ever shut up on the loops) from September through November, I'll always be around on my reader loop. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LenaAustin. Come and yak!

If you're interested in reading more about Lena Austin, take a look at her website, www.lena.realmsoflove.com. You can find her books all over the web, but here are a few websites, http://www.loose-id.com/searchresult.aspx?CategoryID=32,
http://www.changelingpress.com/author.php?uid=11 and http;//www.cerridwenpress.com/AuthorsBooks.asp?AuthorCode=Laus
http://www.triskelionpublishing.com/Austin.html


Interviewed by: Serena