Interview and Giveaway: Cheryl Brooks

Please join me in welcoming Cheryl Brooks back to Debbie's Book Bag today. Cheryl is here guest posting about her latest book in the Cat Star Chronicles series, Stud and her experiences getting into writing sci-fi romance. The publisher is sponsoring a giveaway for two copies of Cheryl's book, see details at the end of the post.

 Hi Debbie! It’s always a pleasure to visit the Book Bag. Thank you so much for the invitation!

There is no single, specific answer to the question of how I got started writing sci-fi romance. No writer ever truly begins simply by putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. A book is the compilation of life events and influences, which then contribute to an idea. Those ideas may stem from actual events, songs, or phrases—even something as fleeting as a smile. Other ideas come to me as I write, but the primary vision must already be in place.

Even as a child, I made up stories—fantasies, really—which I seldom shared with anyone else. I didn’t fall asleep easily, but instead of reading until I got sleepy, I let my brain do the writing. With rare exceptions, those tales all involved romance.

According to my mother, I was an incurable hero worshipper, although I came by it honestly. She had done the same as a child, collecting photographs of various movie stars. She also had an eye for a handsome man, and I see a great deal of her in myself. However, she was not the writer in the family. My father was.

I wish I could share with you some of my father’s letters. His job involved some technical writing, but he never wrote fiction. His ability was to take ordinary events and make them interesting. Blessed with a dry wit, he could send me a copy of his will, and the accompanying note would make me laugh.

Unfortunately, neither of my parents is alive today, nor did they live long enough to see my first book in print. However, they were around as my writing career developed. 

As a life-long fan of sci-fi, it’s no wonder I wound up writing in that genre. The surprising thing is that my first sale just happened to be the one manuscript in my portfolio that wasn’t a contemporary. I had attempted to write a sci-fi romance years before, but never finished it. Still, it was always in the back of my mind that what the world needed was a really hot sci-fi romance.

Slave was my first published novel, and is still the book of my heart. In it, I created a tough, gun-slinging heroine and a purring pussycat of a hero. I set out to create the ultimate alien male—not one who was arrogant and aloof, but one who was far more human than many other heroes. On top of that, I made him the sexiest man in the galaxy.

Slave began the Cat Star Chronicles series, of which Stud, the latest release, is book eight. Once again, I’ve let an idea take me on a journey—one that allowed me to give free rein to my imagination. You’d never think to look at me that such things could have their origin in my mind, but they do. My mother once remarked that she had no idea what was going on in my head—which, when viewed from my current standpoint, is probably a good thing. If she had known what I was thinking, she probably would’ve had me committed. 

Are there ideas in your own mind you don’t dare share with anyone else? If so, let’s hear them. Now’s the time to let your imagination run wild!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

The publisher is sponsoring a giveaway for two copies of Stud by Cheryl Brooks.


~ You must be a GFC follower or E-mail subscriber to participate.
~ US and Canadian addresses only.
~ The deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST February 15th.

1. Cheryl asks a question in her guest blog. Answer her question in the comments section.
2. Please fill out the FORM.