Fallen Angels would like to welcome romance author Erica DeQuaya. Erica, thank you for taking the time to be with us.

Thank you, Joletta – I appreciate your time and that of Fallen Angels!

Your newest book MIXED MEDIA has received great reviews. Can you tell us about it?

Certainly, MIXED MEDIA concerns Stephen Lemont, who had a major role in my first book, BACKSTAGE AFFAIRr. Stephen ends up falling for Jennifer Wartner, a newspaper editor with Chicago’s City News and all seems well between the two of them until he’s slapped with a sexual harassment suit from an actress who was his former lover. Though he’s innocent of her charges, it causes some rough times for Stephen. It also causes some rough times for Jennifer, who has to decide between sticking with Stephen or her dedication to her newspaper.

What else can readers expect to see from you?

I’ve just released CRITIC’S CHOICE through AQP – it came out on Valentine’s Day weekend. It’s a short story with Cupid being punished for doing something really dumb to Apollo. His father, Mars, disciplines him by making him to bring together two people who are like oil and water! I’m toying with writing a sequel to my hockey novel POWER PLAY. That’s been a struggle, trying to think of the right way to work with it, but I think I’ve finally figured it out.

Also, I'm editing a soon-to-be-published manual written by a couple of good friends, Vered and Nisandeh Neta, called Art of Lovemaking. It should be released in the next couple of months. The Netas run a training and healing center in Amsterdam, and this book is an outgrowth of various marraige workshops they've conducted over the years. I'm thrilled to be affiliated with this particular project, because it teaches couples how to put sensuality back into marriage. It's a great project for an erotica writer.

Do you have a formula for writing or do your characters ‘come’ to you?

Characters mostly come to me. I think of the characters first, put them in the back of my brain, then ask the “what if” questions. You know, “what if so-and-so where in a particular situation?” Then the plot germinates and I eventually sit down and write the book. That’s what happened with MIXED MEDIA, in fact. I’d liked Stephen so much that I thought he should have his own romance, and I spent weeks wondering who it should be with – at one point, I had him taking up up with a body-building friend of Edward’s! (Edward was the hero in BACKSTAGE AFFAIR). But Jennifer was the right choice, because then I could ask the question of what could happen that would drive them apart.

Do you think that your previous writing experience has helped you with your fiction writing or hindered?

Definitely. It’s helped me with the mechanics of writing, of course. Also, knowing how to research through asking questions – as I do when I’m writing an article – has helped me, too. It helped in the writing of MIXED MEDIA because I didn’t know a thing about sexual harassment laws in Illinois. Fortunately, I found a couple of attorneys who knew about that (and who knew about media ethics) and were able to help me. That’s what I mean about researching.

What did you do to celebrate the sale of your first novel?

We had a huge party, actually *grin*. This was my husband’s idea, mind you. He decided that the sale of the first book deserved a great send-off, so we invited all the neighbors and friends. It was pretty wild and a lot of fun.

Where do you story ideas come from?

I wish I could tell you that I have a process to generate story ideas, but I really don’t. Sometimes they come to me when I’m doing something else. I really think the writer Richard Bach said it best when he said he gets his ideas from the “Idea Fairy.” Sometimes I think that’s how it happens to me. Two characters come to mind, then the situation. Then how they handle it.

Was Texas a big adjustment after living in Chicago your entire life?

I think it would have been a little bit of a bigger adjustment if we hadn’t lived in New England for about two and a half years first. Now THAT was a big adjustment from Chicago! We lived in Northern Rhode Island. It’s very rural and very different from Chicago. But we now live near Dallas, and except for the weather during the summer, it’s not too different.

What would we find on your bookshelf?

You’d find a lot of different authors on my bookshelf *grin*. I run the gamut from mystery (ala Sue Grafton and Ed McBain) to history (books on Anna Anderson and Henry the VIII). Then there’s science fiction and of course, some romance. I’ve got it all. It just depends on what mood I’m in when it comes to what I’m reading.

Is there a genre that you haven’t written yet, but would like to explore?

Yes – I’m marketing a book about a Biblical heroine to some agents and publishers. I feel very strongly about my religion – I’m Jewish – so I’m trying to find a way to mix that with romance. It probably won’t be strict erotica, but my feeling is that the Christian romance market is starting to take off, so why not Jewish romance, too?

You have just been arrested, what would the headline read?

Here you go – “Woman goes to jail: Says she now has more time to write her novels.”

Tell us something that your readers would be surprised to learn about you.

There’s nothing too surprising about me – as I like to say, I’m the typical soccer mom. I wake up in the mornings, get my family out the door, get my work done, then write dirty books! I probably don’t look at all like my readers might picture me (if they do) – I have short, dark hair (beginning to go gray), glasses, and about 20 pounds around my hips I’d give my eye teeth to get rid of.

What do you always carry in your purse?

Keys, definitely. Credit and debit cards. No cash (too tempting to spend it). And a cell phone. I don’t carry a purse, I carry a beat-up old fanny pack that holds my life on the road – my wallet, some keys and some lipstick or chapstick. And that’s it.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

The only thing I can say is keep writing and keep submitting. I ran into someone last night who said she had a great idea for the TV series “Nip and Tuck” – I think that’s the one, it deals with plastic surgeons. But she didn’t think it would get noticed because she thought they only took ideas from Hollywood writers. I told her to go ahead and submit it anyway, because the worst anyone could do is say “no.” So that’s my advice. If you’re not sure, submit it anyway. You have a 50 percent chance of something being accepted.

Is there anything that you would like to add Erica?

Only that I like to hear from readers, and they can reach me at ericadeq@comcast.net. I always respond, too.

Thank you so much for allowing us a peek into your life. Do you have a way for readers to keep tabs on your work?

I’d say “my Web site” but I haven’t updated it in awhile *g*. Still, they can log onto my site. Or better still, if they want, they can email me here: ericadeq@comcast.net. I have a huge e-mail addy list and I try to keep everyone up to date on what’s going on with it.

Thanks for your time, Joletta – and happy reading everyone!

Interviewed by: Joletta