Today I am speaking with Leigh Ellwood.

Hi Leigh! Welcome to Fallen Angel Reviews! It is great to have you with us today. Thank you for taking time out of your busy agenda to join us. The readers would love to hear something about Leigh Ellwood.

Leigh, where do I begin? Your stories are so creative and engaging that they are hard to put down. You always leave the reader begging for more. I still have memories of The Stars Look Down. And congrats on Sinful Sundaes being nominated for CAPA.

Why don’t you tell our readers what it is like in a day with Leigh? Are your days quite hectic?

Very much so, mainly because I still have to work for a living. I'm an eight to fiver, yet the job doesn't always stay put when I leave, since I work for a web design company and clients do need assistance in the off hours. When I get home, a good chunk of my time is devoted to my little one, who is now 16 months and jabbering up a storm. Once I get her down at eight o'clock I have what time is left in the evening to write. When I'm not working on a book or short story, I'm writing for SUITE Magazine or maybe something for the Playgirl.com members site. Since I also maintain my own website at www.leighellwood.com, I've been doing some updates of late. I don't take much time to sleep, maybe six or seven hours.

You always have something new coming out. Would you care to tell us about some of your upcoming projects?

It's going to be a busy summer, with releases from a number of different publishers. With Midnight Showcase, I have works coming in the anthologies Dragons, Elves and Myths (my story is "Leading Lady," about a washed-up sci-fi actress who encounters some amorous groupies), and Sinful Sundaes 2 (my story is "Marriage, Mayhem and Marzipan," about a werewolf with an incredible appetite).

From Venus Press, I have Virgo: Under Covers, which is part of their Mystical Sign series. This one is about an undercover reporter who happens upon a story bigger than the one assigned. Under Covers is due this summer, as is Taste This, recently contracted by Samhain Publishing. Taste This is an M/M novella about love and chocolate, the perfect combination.

What makes a great book to you?

Dialogue, realistic, compelling dialogue. To be able to capture well how people talk to each other (and to themselves) in books makes the characters more realistic to me. To me, I know a book is good when I read it and can actually picture the events and conversations happening.

Do you have a character that is especially close to your heart?

Everybody knows it's always been Cal Briscoe of Dare Me, the second Dareville novel with Phaze, who has me at hello, goodbye, and are you going to finish that. LOL Shaping his character in the first Dareville book prompted the second one, plus a Dareville novella I recently submitted for approval. I credit him with spawning more ideas in the series.

What was the first story you ever wrote?

Non-erotic, would have to be a Halloween story I wrote in fourth grade about a little girl who encounters the ghost of Thomas Jefferson. My first attempt at erotica was a short ménage piece which unfortunately evaporated during a computer mishap. Luckily I haven't encountered that same problem since.

While writing, how does the story develop for you? Do you go from start to finish or create scenes as they come to you?

It depends on the story. The last two Darevilles I wrote from beginning to end, as I did with Taste This. Right now I'm working on a piece for one of my publishers, and I've reached a sticking point. To help overcome the block, I've been writing various scenes which I hope to piece together once I get back into the story.

Do you get along well with your editors?

Very well. One editor once told me she looks forward to my books as they tend to be cleaner than most manuscripts she receives. Even when we come to a disagreement, the points are worked out to mutual satisfaction.

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

Advice: keep writing, keep revising, keep shouting to the rooftops that you are a writer, and make people listen. Pitfalls: time can be your friend and your enemy. Learn to budget your time well, save some for promotion and some for yourself. Remember, too, that only you can write your books. Don't be frustrated when fame and fortune don't show overnight.

Leigh, tell us the best thing you love about your job of writing?

I love getting to know my characters better. There are times that, just when I think I know what a person is going to do, I suddenly take the story in a different direction. I try not to think too much about a story before I sit down to write...I want to know if it has legs to move on its own.

What are some of your hobbies besides writing?

With the baby, I don't get to do much by myself, but I practice yoga when I can and go mountain biking when the weather is warm.

What do you do to relax?

I plug in the iPod, put baby girl in a stroller, and go for a walk. I find I get some great idea when I go walking.

You are planning the “perfect” romantic evening? You can do anything you wish. Is there food involved? Music? The stars are yours...

We are simple to please folk. LOL! Definitely there is food, maybe some chocolate fondue and strawberries, angel cake and red wine. Sometimes it's nice to huddle by the fireplace and just enjoy the silence and each other.

Do you have a website other than www.leighellwood.com that you would like to share with your readers?

I have my webblog, which is also the site of my podcast. http://leighellwood.blogspot.com - here you can download every episode of the podcast, which features news about my writing, and a hot romance excerpt from either myself or another great author. Also, my newsletter at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/leigh_ellwood is out once a month and is free!

Just for Fun: You are on a tropical paradise stranded, who would you wish to be with you? Hot showers or soothing bubble baths? Name the best appliance ever created? Your favorite comfort food?

Paradise Partner: assuming hubby is not an option, Hugh Laurie of House

Hot showers all the way

Best appliance: tie between the Foreman Grill (because I want my hamburger NOW) and the Diaper Genie (for reasons so obvious)

Comfort Food: Mac and cheese and lots of it

Thank you so much for sharing time with us today, Leigh. Anyone interested in reading more about Leigh and her incredible books, please visit her website to read more about her engaging works. It has been a complete delight, Leigh, and I wish you the best with your writing.

Interviewed by: Linda L