Today I am speaking with D Musgrave.

Hi D! And welcome to Fallen Angel Reviews! It is great to have you with us today. Thank you for taking time out of your hectic schedule to answer questions for us. The readers would love to hear something about D Musgrave.

D, how would you like to be addressed? I want to tell you that I read Foxy! A Tale of Bikers and Babes was a very interesting delight. Your stories have a way of drawing the reader into them, very intriguing!

Linda,
Thanks for the opportunity. It's great to be here and to answer these questions.

You can call me Derek. I use the initial because I always have. It's not a factor of trying to hide my gender.

Thanks for the kind words about Foxy! I loved writing that story, primarily because the story was something I'd choose to read. I knew Jake couldn't be portrayed as the standard clichéd biker dude. He was more complex and layered, much like everyone is. No one person is all good or all bad. We make mistakes, second-guess ourselves, and feel insecure. I felt it was important to show that. To get into his mind, I felt it had to be written in first person.

I noticed that Blood Creek Haunting was garnishing some great reviews. Why not tell us something about Blood Creek Haunting?

Thanks. I've been pleasantly surprised. This was my first serious story of any length in the paranormal genre. I wrote this for Venus Press' All Hallows Eve Collection and I had a great time painting the scenes. I drew upon the imagery of some of the best movies in this genre, 'Sixth Sense', 'The Others', and 'The Forgotten'. It has been so well received that I plan to make this genre a regular part of my writing.

Synopsis:
In Blood Creek Haunting, Emily is trying to rebuild her life after the loss of her fiancé. While building a house built on her family’s land, she discovers that her great-great grandfather was the leader of a Calvary brigade that massacred an Indian village. A set of strange hauntings begins and Emily must find some way to repay her ancestor’s debt and find peace in her new life before she loses everything, including her mind.

What do you have in the works next, Derek?

As I tend to have a general bend toward A.D.D. in my writing, I have several projects in the works. Currently, I have a Sexy Confession slated for release from Venus Press on December 20th.

My New Jewelry tells the story of a woman and her discovery of her sexuality with a gift of a very intimate piece of jewelry.

Synopsis:
Sabrina receives a special set of jewelry. A voice in her mind tells her to wear the jewels in public. The story follows the struggles of trying to maintain her composure while fighting the urge to give in to the desires her jewelry give her.

When you are deciding your genre, do your characters decide for you?

Sometimes, characters do force a shift in plot/genre. Mostly though, I have a basic idea for a story. The genre is largely set before I begin the drafting of the story, but there have been times when a character will force the story into an entirely new direction. The most recent example of that was Emily in Blood Creek Haunting. The story basically remained the same, but her sexual journey changed from my initial conception. To find out what direction she ultimately took, you will have to read the story for yourself. I know that was subtle as a sledgehammer.

What prompted you to seek Internet publishing?

I can't say any one thing prompted me to seek e-book publishing. I'd been working on a mainstream crime fiction series, (still am) and had been writing erotica for years. Most of it was for personal enjoyment. I'd write something steamy for my then wife. Something we'd done or fantasized doing, but didn't have the guts to try. Most of that will never see the light of day. Largely because I don't think the quality is good and second person POV is a hard sell.

Some years ago, I was administering a fetish discussion group. I'd posted bits and pieces of the better of these second person POV stories and a member contacted the administrator of an online writing group. This administrator sent me a request to join her group based solely on the word of this one person. I joined, posted a non-erotic story, and was contacted by the admin, one Jude Mason. She praised my work on the story and we hit it off. She pushed me to explore my erotic voice and wouldn't listen to any of my excuses for why I couldn't or shouldn't write erotica. I owe her a debt of gratitude I'll never feel paid in full. From there, submitting to online publishers was a natural step.

Do you have any disappointing moments in being an author?

We all do. I've been rejected. I've had bad reviews. I've even had the odd personal attack from readers. But I think the biggest disappointment had been the fact that I have to struggle to find time to write. I'm not in a position to write full time. Working a full time job takes away so much from the opportunity to create that I feel pressured to make every spare minute count. My dream and goal is to one day have the chance to write full time.

Do you have problems promoting yourself? What are some of the avenues you've used and do they work?

I was shocked in the beginning how much of the business is self-promotion. That's not something most writers talk about publicly, we're too busy promoting. As a writer, I'm generally an introvert. That personality flies in the face of self promotion. It's something I've had to learn to love. I've used various methods of promotion, all with differing levels of success. No one of these by itself will be enough. I've had interviews…wink...received many book reviews, been a guest in live chats, hosted email loop chats, joined and been active in online writing groups, developed my personal online newsletter, and most importantly have a website. I can't stress enough the importance of having a website and an online presence. Since all my books are available online, I have to be visible online. It takes time, often more than the writing process itself, but it's vital.

If you had the opportunity to speak to a "budding" author, what advice would you give them, and what pitfalls would you share?

Work hard. Learn as much about the craft itself. Never think you've learned all there is to know about writing. If you stop striving to improve, you'll regress. Also, expect rejection. Everyone has been faced with it at some level. Also, keep in mind that writing is a business and if your story isn't marketable, it won't sell. That was the hardest lesson I had to learn. I have several stories that, though the publisher admitted were well-written, wouldn't sell and now live in my orphan folder on my desktop.

There is a lot of talk about the value of obtaining "reviews" of your work. How do you feel about having your own books reviewed and what value, if any, do you get from them?

I think reviews are important. They give readers something to consider when spending their hard earned dollars. I can't quantify the value of reviews, but I know that they help and for that reason are part of the whole PR recipe for a successful release.

Do you have anything else you would like to share with your readers?

Yes. A common misconception of those who don't write is that us writers are writing stories about our fantasies or dreams. Sometimes that may be true, but more often than not, we're just telling a story. I think of it this way. Does Patricia Cornwell want to be a serial killer because she writes stories about serial killers? Does R.A. Salvatore want to be a Dark Elf because he created Drizzt Do'Urden?

It's the same with writers of erotica/romance. We're telling stories and though there may be a grain of ourselves in them, it's more likely we're writing what fits the characters and not some deep-seated desire to experience what we're writing.

If you could change one thing about the way you write, what would it be?

My access and time to write. I have more ideas and stories than I can write. It's hard getting up and going to the office, knowing I have stories waiting to be written.

What about the one habit you have that you know you'll never change?

I hope you mean with writing. GRIN I have a habit of working a story to death. I'm not sure it's something I want to stop doing. The reason I do it is I'm trying to make sure the story is as good as I can make it.

What is your favorite part of writing? What about your least favorite part?

My favorite part is the whole creation process and seeing a story idea develop from start to finish. My least favorite part of writing is stopping for sleep or food.

Do you miss your characters when you are finished with their tale? Any that you wish you could write about again?

Yes! I miss Jake from Foxy! I miss Richard Hurtz from Jaded Dick. I know I'm going to miss many others.

I plan to find a way to write more about Jake. I think there's more left to his story. It's in the hopper and I hope to invite him back to my desk one day soon.

Every writer dreams about receiving “the call”. What were you doing when yours came in? Did you do anything special to celebrate?

What was I doing when I got the call? Tough question. I think I was checking my email and saw the name of my first publisher in the inbox. I stared at it for several minutes before opening it. I'd been rejected several times and wasn't sure I wanted to read another rejection letter.

I finally sucked up the courage and read the first line. "Dear, D. I'm happy to give you the news that your submission has been accepted…"

I don't remember much after that. I think there was some fist pumping and beer consumption.

Do you belong to any groups? Have any unfinished projects sitting around?

I belong to several online writing groups. Most of them Yahoo groups. One in particular is Sexy Authors With Attitude.

www.sexyauthorswithattitude.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sexyauthors/

We're a group of diverse writers who have banded together to share PR duties and have fun. We host daily events and a monthly newsletter.

I have several unfinished projects. Currently, I'm in the finishing stages of a short story for an anthology. It's tentatively called 413 Remembrance Lane. All the stories are based in the same house in New Orleans and each story is set in a different time. We have stories that go all the way back to the 1700's up to the late 1900's.

My contribution is set in post WWII. Sergeant William Beauregard has just returned from WWII in the South Pacific. He is seeing visions of the death and destruction from the war and thinks he has shell shock. What is really happening is he's being haunted by those he killed in the war and his men, who died beside him. Because of these hauntings, he can't be intimate with his wife. He's afraid of the voices and images and worries he may lash out at them, and hurt her. To try ridding himself of the ghosts, he must take a huge risk, one that could lose his wife to him for ever.

Do you have a website other than http://www.dmusgrave.com that you would like to share with your readers?

Yes, I have a page with Venus Press:
www.venuspress.com/catalog/authors/dmusgrave.htm

Also, I have a yahoo newsletter group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/d_musgrave_newsletter/

Thank you so much for sharing time with us today, Derek. Anyone interested in reading more about D Musgrave and his books, please visit his website to read more about his fantastic works. It has been a pleasure Derek, and I wish you the best with your writing.

Linda, it's been my pleasures to answer these great questions. Thanks so much, and thanks to everyone who has or will buy my works.

D. Musgrave

Interviewed by: Linda L.