K.S. Hello and welcome to the blog. I am very
excited to have you here. Why don’t we start off with a small introduction?
Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a British author, currently living in the heart of a New
England forest – up in the White Mountains in New Hampshire and baby it’s cold out there! I travel at every
opportunity, and I’ve lived in England, Scotland, the US, France, India and
Australia. I’d far rather struggle to make ends meet and have a life rich in
experience, than be nice and secure in another dull nine to five job. Which is
just as well, really!
I write all kinds of things, under a variety of pen-names.
Most of my work involves ghost-writing books for mostly minor celebrities, all
covered by non-disclosure agreements before you ask! It pays the bills and it
sure does give me lots of material. My real writing love is things that go bump
in the night: erotica and romance of all paranormal varieties.
K.S. Any interesting writing quirks or stories you
would like to share with my readers?
For many, writing is a solitary activity, but I love the
buzz of everyday life around me. So wherever I happen to be living, you're
likely to find me at the nearest wifi hot spot with my laptop and a large mug
of coffee.
K.S. When did you realize you wanted to be a
writer? What sparked the desire to pen your first novel?
I’ve always written. At school I wrote stories that featured
my friends and made fun of the teachers – it was how I tried to be cool.
Someone really should have told me there were easier ways to be cool.
At university I worked on my college newspaper, and I went
into journalism and advertising copywriting. I still do bits and pieces of all
kinds of writing, but on my own terms: I have the luxury of variety and being
able to pick and choose and somehow being able to get by.
What sparked the desire? Corny, but once I’d discovered the
fascination of watching worlds unfold before me and creating and learning about
so many different characters there was no way of going back. I know I write
about magic, but this is the real
magic!
K.S. What genre do you write?
As me I write paranormal romance and erotica. My current
series, Shifters’ World, is a
werewolf romance set in a post-apocalypse world; earlier stories have featured
ghosts and witchcraft. Under other names I’d probably struggle to name a genre
I haven’t tried!
K.S. What would you say has inspired you most in
your writing career? Or, who is your favorite author and why?
So many inspirations, but if I had to name a single author
it would probably have to be Stephen King. That’s an easy option – who wouldn’t
be inspired by a writer like King? – but it’s only easy because he’s so damned
inspiring. His is the classic story of a writer who worked his ass off to get
the breaks, but it’s his writing that really inspires: convincing characters,
great stories and complete mastery of using every trick in the book to get
under your skin and hook you into his story.
K.S. What does your family think of your writing?
Mostly they’re very proud. They know how tough it can be to
actually support yourself as a writer. They’re also intrigued: I stick by those
non-disclosure agreements so they don’t know what I spend most of my time
actually writing. They probably think I write that Fifty Shades stuff or something...
K.S. What was one of the most surprising things
you learned while creating your book/s?
That I can still be surprised. Those moments when a
character suddenly acts according to their own agenda rather than following
your plan. You learn to trust those moments and enjoy the uncertainty: your
characters have got themselves into this particular mess and you know they’ll
work it out. I just love it when a story comes alive like that.
K.S. What inspires you?
Living on the edge. Yes, I make my living from writing, but
it’s very much a case of scraping by from contract to contract. It’s scary and
I really should be better at financial planning for the future, but there’s
nothing like a stack of bills to inspire you to get back to the keyboard. And
there’s not much better than having a job where you write stories: other
people’s stories, your own stories, whatever. I love this life!
K.S. Can you tell us a little about any of your
novels? (Do you have a novel synopsis or jacket copy? If you would like you can
also include a snippet of your first chapter. Please no more than 500 words for
space issues.)
Synopsis of Hunted: a
Shifters' World novella by Ruby Fielding:
Should she struggle to survive alone or give in to desire
and risk the - perhaps deadly - company of others?
In a world where plague has swept civilization away like
leaves in a storm, where viruses that cause people to shift and change have
altered what it is, for most, to be human, a few survivors hold out in a desperate
attempt to save the human race. Selene lives alone in the forest, protecting
herself from human and shifter alike until one day a stranger turns up: a young
man called Skinner, out on a quest to hunt down and destroy any shifter he can
find. Torn between desire and fear, Selene must confront her true nature and
make some impossible choices if she is to survive this harsh, post-apocalyptic
future.
Hunted: a Shifters'
World novella - a shapeshifter erotic romance of survival and desire in a
deadly future from the co-author of Seduced
by Moonlight and The Touch.
"He put a hand to her face
then, his knuckles brushing along her jaw and then he buried his fingers in her
hair, tipping her head back. His mouth came down on her neck: hard lips and
then the wet heat of his tongue and the delicious pain of raking teeth,
dragging across her skin to that point where too hard is exactly hard
enough."
K.S. Where can we buy your novel?
Hunted:
a Shifters' World novella is currently available from:
- Amazon.com
- Amazon.co.uk
- Barnes and Noble
- Kobo
- Google Play
- ...and it will be available from Smashwords and All Romance eBooks soon!
K.S. Do you have a website, fan site, or Blog that
we can visit?
All the latest news on my writing and publishing can be
found on my website and on my Amazon
author page; also, why not join my mailing list for news and offers,
or hook up with me on Facebook?
K.S. Do you have any closing advice to aspiring
writers?
Take every opportunity to work with other writers. Whether
you’re following the conventional trade publishing route or going indie, it’s
more important than ever that you deliver your absolute best; feedback and
quality control from fellow writers can make a huge difference to this process.