Today I am speaking with Angel Martinez.

Hello Angel and welcome to Fallen Angel Reviews! It is really great to have you with us today. Thank you for taking time to answer some questions for us.
Angel, I noticed on your website your slogan says erotic fiction for the hungry mind. Do you believe more people are reading erotic fiction today than they used to?

I know they are. The last statistics show that Romance holds 24.6% of the consumer fiction market and that erotic fiction is the fastest growing piece of that market share. Probably most surprising is that male readership is growing as well.

The slogan on my website does imply people are hungry for erotic fiction, but it also refers to the types of stories I write. Though written purely as entertainment, I hope some of my stories leave the reader with, perhaps, a thought or two they didn't have before.

Why not tell us about your latest release?

The last one, Aftermath, from Forbidden Publications, is a male/male romance that's had overwhelmingly positive reader response. A couple try to piece themselves and their relationship back together after one of them is brutally sexually assaulted. Tense in places, tender in others, it's a portrait of a relationship in crisis.

Cody and Victor have developed something of a rabid fan base since the March release. Partly because of that, partly because I found it difficult to let them go, I've continued their story with a writer friend soap opera style on my Yahoo blog.

What do you think about the e-book industry and its progress for the future?

E-books are still in their infancy as an industry. It's exciting to be involved with something still in its growth process. With the expansion of personal technology (iphones, smaller notebooks, etc.) the opportunities for e-books expansion appear limitless. I don't think the print book will, or should, ever go away, but consumers are ready for alternatives.

Like all new venues, e-books will endure (and have endured) a certain amount of resistance from the large, established publishing firms. The smart ones will eventually embrace the trend.

How many hours a day do you spend writing?

On those days when I have to go to my day job, I may get in an hour or two. On those days where other obligations can be shoved aside, I can get in eight solid hours (more, given the chance.)

Have you ever written a screenplay or considered doing so?

Briefly. There's a rhythm and feel to good screenplays, though, that I'm not confident I could capture.

Do you get a toasty feeling all over to see your book in print?

Oh, yes! I'll stare at the new cover grinning like an idiot. It is satisfying, to see all your hard work amount to something. Writers are anxious parents to their works. We nurture them and worry they'll never succeed, our printed children. We have terrible qualms about sending them out into the world, exposed and defenseless. Nevertheless, there's a feeling of pride that creeps into the anxiety when they officially leave the nest.

What were some of the greatest joys after the release of your first book?

My readers’ reactions. I can't stress that enough. When someone tells me they enjoyed the book or cried over it or fell in love with the characters, my heart soars. The writing is for the reader, after all, and I'm so grateful to have them.

Do you have problems promoting yourself?

Any independent, monetarily-challenged author will find self-promotion an issue. Add to that the fact that many fiction writers are shy by nature and the promotion becomes a bit of a bear. How much is too much? When does promotion cross the line between informative and P T Barnum huckster-ism? What might put people off instead of interest them?

Do you find promotion hard work?

The hardest thing about promotion is there aren't enough hours in the day. If I had a personal assistant who could do some of the typing and updating sites, I wouldn't find it hard work at all.

Why not tell us about any upcoming releases?

My next book, due to release soon from FP, will be Lioness on the Knife, a short story anthology about 'women on top.' Some serious stories and some humorous, I think there's something for everyone in this eight-story collection.

A brief rundown of the collection:
"A Bowl of Milk" - Broken fences and smashed crockery are bad enough but when Meara discovers her mischievous night visitor is a pooka, her real troubles begin.

"Itsuka" - Vitez has chosen to serve a kitsune, a fox spirit, to fight demons beside her and guard her back though he yearns for so much more than mere commands.

"Aphrodite's Rubicon" - Aphrodite's famous affair with Ares is touched on in myth but what really happened? The goddess of love faces her greatest challenge trying to save her own marriage when Hephaestus discovers the affair.

"Zilar" - captured as a child and raised by Amazons, Zilar has always been an outsider, considered wild and strange. Long past marriageable age, his foster mother worries he'll end up alone until General Azeria makes an offer for Zilar's hand.

"Hero" - Cedric's too young to be a proper knight but he's determined to rescue the princess and prove himself. Too bad she has other ideas.

"Blood Borne" - Selena's illness takes stranger turns every day. When the true nature of her disease becomes apparent, her lover, Alex, must decide whether her needs are more bearable than life without her.

"Private Hell" - Lucifer's mom has moved in, disrupting his work, his peace of mind and his sex life. But she's his mother; what's a Lord of Darkness to do?

"Hot Chocolate and Celestial Fire" - Still grieving over her husband, Sylvia takes a friend's advice and goes to an unusual brothel staffed exclusively by men. The young man she picks out turns out to be not at all what she expected.

If you had the opportunity to work with any author, past or present who would you choose?

Oh, dear, what a question. I have so many favorites. So many writers I admire, though, were unstable or unpleasant people in real life--E. A. Poe, William Blake, T.S. Elliott. I think the one author I would like to have met and worked with would have been C.S. Lewis. He understood the language in a way that only someone who truly loves it can and though I might not agree with his theology in every sense, I admire his convictions and his optimism.

Is there anything off the top of your head that you would like to share with your readers?

We've just returned from Hawaii. If you ever have even the slightest chance, go. And, please, don't go to a resort or spend your time in the cities. Go to the big island. Experience the people and the land and the life. There is no place like it on earth, from the breathtaking (literally at fourteen thousand feet) top of Maua Kea to the depths of dark lava tubes, you walk with ancient spirits and feel a difference in your step.

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

I wish I could obsess less and simply write faster. The need to get everything right before moving on is, on occasion, crippling.

Are you an organized person?

To a certain extent. My internal life is highly organized. My desk is a mess.

Who is your favorite actor/actress that you could watch in any movie over and over?

I have lots of favorites but I tend to like actors who allow me to forget who they are when they take on a role. Russell Crowe, despite his personal issues, is one of the best. He slips into every role so completely you forget the same man is playing a schizophrenic math professor who played the gladiator or the sea captain. Besides, he's awfully nice to look at.

I noticed that you are a great cook. Bobby Flay, from the Food Network, comes over and challenges you to a throwdown, what specialty would you challenge him?

A great cook? I'm not sure I would go that far. If Mr. Flay wanted a challenge, I'd be more inclined to baking, where I think he might be at a disadvantage. A good homemade chocolate cake, for instance. (He probably wouldn't think of putting in the coffee and chili powder.) I have the greatest respect for natural-born cooks, though. Baking is a science, a chemistry experiment that demands exacting detail. Cooking is an instinct, an art.

Do you have a website other than freewebs.com/angelwrites/ that you would like to share with your readers?

I do have the story blog mentioned above (completely free--the reader just needs to sign into Yahoo 360) at 360.yahoo.com/ravenesperanza

For Fun: Of all the cities to visit in the U.S. which would you say would be the best to take a trip?

Within the Continental US, San Francisco. Hands down.

Which do you like best, sunsets, or sunrises?

Sunsets. There's a peace to them, a restful feeling you don't get with sunrises.

Long walks, or cuddling by the fire?

Cuddling, please! For various reasons of health and general laziness, I'm not much for long walks anymore. Not to mention, cuddling is more fun.

Angel, thank you so much for chatting with us today. It has indeed been a pleasure. Good luck to you and your writing.

Interviewed by: Linda L.