*Contest* Interview with Rowena Cherry

CA: Welcome Rowena Cherry! She is an amazing author from what I hear, and her interview was so much fun to read. She is offering an autographed 8x11 poster of the Mating Net cover to the first person that sends her this link/url…email her at Rowena@rowenacherry.com and put Mating Net Contest in the subject line. Good luck, and enjoy her interview, make sure to leave her a great comment ;)

Author Pen Name: Rowena Cherry/Rowena Beaumont Cherry

CA: What genre(s) do you write? Why do you write the stories that you write?

RC: I write "racy, wildly entertaining futuristic romance" according to Writers Write. I write romances with aliens.... the aliens are gods from outer space. My books are somewhere in the gamut of Romance from fantasy to science fiction.

I write to entertain: My books are primarily entertainment. I expect to provide my readers with six to eight hours of amusement, a couple of really good laughs, a romantic frisson or two from the sensual scenes, something to think about when the book is finished, and possibly some useful information.

For instance, I wouldn't go so far as to claim that Insufficient Mating Material is a survival guide in disguise, but readers might pick up how to test wild berries to see if they are safe to eat, how to build a shelter, how to build a fire, how to find water and some safe things to do with it, if they read Insufficient Mating Material. SURVIVORMAN , Les Stroud was my consultant.

CA: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

RC: I think I always wanted to write. When I was nine or ten, I used to write poems and stories for anyone who would read them, including "petits histoires" in French which I inflicted on my French teacher.

CA: Who or what was your inspiration for writing?

RC: The places I've been and the people and situations I've seen are my inspiration. I've been driven in pace cars around speedways, been flown in corporate jets, fired six guns at tin cans in a desert (I'm a good shot!), been backstage at rock concerts, stayed in a castle folly, dined on a sheikh's yacht in the Puerto Banus, stopped clocks, and been defined formally and informally as "an alien".... among other things.

Authors who have influenced me are: Georgette Heyer for her Regency romance heroes' wit and manners; George Orwell for the ethics of being a writer; Tolkien for his worldbuilding; Asimov, and Orson Scott Card; Agatha Christie for my dangerous little old ladies.

CA: What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

RC: I write best in the early morning. I can't keep to a schedule -- metaphorical alligators are always circling the legs of my chair. Sometimes I get into difficulties with a project, and get up at three in the morning because there are fewer distractions at that hour. I've found that I write better love scenes when the moon is full....

CA: Your book is about to be sent into the reader world, what is one word that describes how you feel?

RC: Panic.

CA: What do you like to do when you're not writing? I like to read, watch the fascinating programs on TV, do jigsaw puzzles or sudokus or play chess, play on the beach especially around rock pools in an environmentally responsible way, write letters, blog (we're getting into writing...)

CA: How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

RC: Forced Mate (twice, in two versions), Mating Net (a novella, really), Insufficient Mating Material, Knight's Fork.... So, depending how you count, I've either written five books, or I've written three and a short.

My favorite is probably FORCED MATE, my first. However, I feel that I have unfinished business with the villain of Mating Net.

CA: Do you tend to base your characters on real people or are they totally from your imagination?

RC: As a rule of thumb, my characters are plausible amalgams of at least three people (sometimes more), one of whom may be based on a Shakespearean type. I did once meet someone who used strong language like Djetthro-Jason, but without the reasonable provocation, (and I found being around him very uncomfortable).My regular human, Grievous, for example is based on Enobarbus from "Anthony and Cleopatra", a janitor I once knew, a military boyfriend I enjoyed briefly, a lot of eavesdropping, and the stuff of corporate textbooks.

CA: Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

RC: Persevere; network; be nice in public, always; take advice, but always with a pinch of salt; read as much as you can to see what sells and why; and register your name for your website before you think you need to.

CA: How can a reader contact you or purchase your books?

RC: My website is http://www.rowenacherry.com/ I don't think I have a "contact" button. However, anyone signing up for my newsletter can write a comment (html gets stripped automatically) which comes directly to my desk.

There's an unsubscribe link, also http://www.rowenacherry.com/signmeup.php

There are Buy The Book links on my website. I do recommend that book lovers take the time to read a freely available chapter of any of my books before they buy. Not everyone shares my sense of humor, or my delight in the complexity of our language.... I'm more wordsmith than story teller.Try the free sampler download, too.

You might like my colleagues' style better:http://www.rowenacherry.com/downloads/FFP_Authors_Sampler.pdf [URL=http://www.rowenacherry.com/downloads/FFP_Authors_Sampler.pdf]10

Futuristic Authors' sample chapters[/URL]I'm on Facebook, and would love readers to befriend me and message me www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=671077032

I'm also on myspace, and welcome booklovers as friendswww.myspace.com/rowena_aliendjinnromance

You can also find me (to chat) on GoodReads and Shelfari or by commenting on my blogs. I'd say YouTube... but I have trouble finding messages.

http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/
Readers can also hear me on internet voices talk radio every now and then.CRAZY TUESDAY (first tuesday morning of every month)http://www.internetvoicesradio.com/CrazyTuesday.htm FOR CHERRY PICKING SPECIALS http://www.internetvoicesradio.com/rowena.htm

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry http://www.rowenacherry.com/

INSUFFICIENT MATING MATERIAL Award-Winning Finalist in the Fiction and Literature: Romance category of the National Best Books 2007 AwardsWinner of the Spring N.O.R. Awards, Best Fantasy/Sci-Fi Romance: Second Place winner, Fall N.O.R. AwardsCAPA Award WinnerFantasm Award Winner

CA: Rowena, thank you so much for a wonderful interview and giveaway! Don’t forget to try and be the first to send her a message with this link to win an 8x11 autographed poster!!