Delilah Fawkes is the best-selling erotic romance author of "The Billionaire's Beck and Call" series, selling more than 150,000 e-books in 2012.
She's known for sizzling romances with red hot alpha males you'll fall in love with and strong women who capture their hearts. If you like your romance gripping, fast-paced, and dripping with sinful love scenes, you've got to check out what Delilah has to offer.
Do you plan everything or just let the story flow?
I'm kind of an in-betweener! I have to know the ending before I can start writing, and I have to have at least a few "anchor" events along the way to get my characters from the beginning to the end, but everything else, I write as I go. Even my anchor points end up being more like "guidelines" than a hard-and-fast outline, and change with the characters if they start calling BS on me when they arrive at that moment. I feel like sometimes they boss me around and make me change even my best intended plans. Once you write them, it's almost like their personalities are now in charge of the narrative instead of you as the author.
Do your characters ever want to take over the story?
Okay… I'm reading these questions as I answer them, so that's too funny. YES! All the time! And I feel like I'm nuts if I ever say that out loud. Like, tin-foil-hat kind of nuts. I'll have something written down that I want them to do, and they'll just… refuse. "Rose wouldn't do that," my mind whispers. And it's at that point, when I finally give up control and just let whatever comes out come out, that the real magic happens. The characters are always right.
What is your favourite food?
Okay, I love food waaaay too much, so this is a tough one. I think if I was ever on death row and had to pick my last meal, one of the first things to come to mind is some great Chicken Korma, Naan and Pakora with chutneys. I love Indian food so much I should just marry it. What's not to love about spicy cream sauce?
Are you a morning person or a night owl?
*hoots* I'm a night owl through and through. I went to bed at 4 a.m. just this morning, actually, and I'm sort of regretting it. I'm convinced my brain doesn't really power up until about noon, so afternoons into the wee hours is the kind of life that works best for me.
Where do you dream of travelling to and why?
I want to see the whole world, but the "dream" vacation would be to Bora Bora. There is a spot where the bay meets the ocean, where if you just float face-down with your snorkel, I hear you can see hundreds of feet down while whales and sharks pass below you. I think it would be a mind-blowing moment to feel so small, but also like a part of a sort of alien landscape, right on planet earth. The idea really excites me.
Do distant places feature in your books?
They do indeed. In TIED TO HIM, we actually go to Jamaica for a bit with Rose and Jackson. I've been, but I carefully refreshed my memory on where things were and how it felt to make it as realistic as I could. I really enjoy travel, and if I can bring the reader along with me, all the better. In LUSH CURVES, we travel with the curvy Aolani Kahale and millionaire Gavin Fletcher through the Caribbean, to Edinburgh, Scotland, and then to Hawaii as the plot plays out. I love researching new places and bringing them alive for myself and my readers!
Do you listen to music while writing?
I do, and it can vary wildly from Etta James to black metal, but recently, I've been "listening" to the food network while I write. It works oddly well hawing Alton Brown instructing me about the chemistry of a great meringue while I write. I think the extra stimulation makes it easier for me to focus. I have ADHD, so if my brain doesn't have a couple of things to do at once, I'm all over the place.
Could you tell us a bit about your latest release?
TIED TO HIM was a joy to write from start to finish. Each of the three books in The Billionaire's Beck and Call Series are stand-alone stories, but are linked with a continual narrative. In this one, I wanted to tell the story of a marriage of convenience set up to help a politician cover up his sordid past, but I wanted to do it with a lot of heart, and a lot of emotion. Jackson Pierce is ashamed of his dark side, which includes a rough and wild sexual appetite, and has to accept that it's a core part of him, and the person he presents to the media, the polished Golden Boy attitude, is really just a mask. Rose Turner, the one who agrees to be his fake bride, comes from poverty, being a former foster kid, and has not only a barrel-full of trust issues, but has to struggle with relating to Jackson on the issues closest to her, because he was born so wealthy. They both want the same things--to help the community the best way they know how--but they are flawed, and they both can learn incredible things from one another.
The love story that results is as heart-warming and emotional as it is sizzling (because I can't help myself!), and I hope my readers enjoy experiencing it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
What have you learned about writing and publishing since you first started?
Hell, I'm still learning! This industry is constantly in flux, so basically, the most important thing I've learned is how to watch the trends and that the most important thing you can do is remain flexible. I've actually started surveying my readers to make sure I'm doing the best I can for them, which keeps me heading down the right path.
Is there anything you would do differently?
I would definitely have started delegating more of the non-writing work sooner so I could do more of what I love. I started off learning photoshop and making all my own covers, as well as learning how to format my ebooks, paperbacks, etc, which is a huge time suck. Now, I'm starting to assemble what I think of as my Dream Team--people who I can count on for beautiful cover design, audio book production (coming soon!), formatting--the works. This frees me up to be a more prolific writer, which benefits me as well as my fans!
Who, or what, if anything has influenced your writing?
So many wonderful authors have influenced me over the years, but funnily enough, I think my own quirks as a reader have shaped my writing style more than anything else. I always enjoy emotional romances, but if it's too much emotion and not enough action, I'm bored, bored, bored. I love vivid language, but if there's too much description, I get irritated. I like sharp dialogue, but I don't like it when it's too staccato and everyone sounds like they're in a bad noir film.
I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm hugely high maintenance, so I write the stories I hope will make my readers laugh and smile and swoon, but I do it in a way that meets all of my ADHD, nit-picky requirements. I have to read it first, so it better make me happy, dammit! I like my books like I like my hamburgers--hot, fast, and well done.
Anything you would say to those just starting out in the craft?
READ! Go check out the top 100 best-seller list in whatever category you'd like to take a crack at. Read as many of them as you are able to and pay attention to what it is you love about them, and what you'd change if you were the one in charge. Also think about why other people like them--what is it about these stories that is making people fall in love with them? Once you do this, you'll start to read between the lines as it were, and you'll find out what kind of books you need to write to make both yourself happy and your readers happy.
This is a business, but it's also a love affair. Write smart, write with passion, and the rest will follow!
What are three words that describe you?
Eccentric, Caring and Driven. I'm a crazy person, but a crazy person who's got your back, and one day will take over the world. ;)
What's your favourite book or who is your favourite writer?
My favorite book is The Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons. It's a science fiction work based around Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and blends the stories of a group of pilgrims together in a way that's heartbreakingly beautiful and also totally enthralling from a fantasy/sci fi perspective. It's got everything--beautiful love stories, tragedy, regret, terror, humor, irreverence… it's just great. If you have any interest in science fiction or even just want a wild ride, I highly recommend it!
Blurb of your latest release or coming soon book
by Delilah Fawkes
Romantic Suspense
Buy links: amazon | b&n
Top 100 Best-seller in Romantic Suspense!
From best-selling author Delilah Fawkes, comes another sizzling romance, packed with suspense, sensuality, and a billionaire so hot, he'll leaving you begging for more!
This is the third book in the Billionaire's Beck and Call Series, but can also be enjoyed as a standalone.
Jackson Pierce is a man with a secret...
Becoming Governor isn't in the cards for billionaire and former D.A. Jackson Pierce unless he can squelch the unsavory rumors flying around. He's not ashamed of his bad boy past being a dominant at a BDSM club, but he knows the revelation could ruin his political career before it even begins.
He's skeptical of his campaign advisor's idea--find a do-gooder wife to give him a more respectable image--until he meets Rose Turner, a former foster kid working in a local community center. Compassionate, feisty and passionate about helping troubled youth, she's perfect for his needs. But as they get to know one another, his feelings for her grow all too real.
Rose Turner can't take another heartbreak, not after being abandoned by everyone she ever loved. When she accepts Jackson's proposal, she vows to keep her distance, but the more she gets to know him, the more she wants to let him in. But trust doesn't come easy--if he wants it, he'll have to earn it.
As the two draw closer, threats roll in: if Jackson doesn't flip on education reform, a blackmailer will expose the fake marriage, ruining his career and tarnishing Rose's reputation. But if he gives in, funding for the community center will be cut, and Rose's kids will lose it all. With everything on the line, he must make an impossible decision as the clock runs down.
What's a man of principle to do when everything he believes in falls apart?
List of previous books if any
The Billionaire's Beck and Call: The Complete Series (Book One)
Bound to Him: The Billionaire's Beck and Call, Book Two
Lush Curves: The Complete Series (A BBW Erotic Romance)
Any websites/places readers can find you on the web.
http://www.delilahfawkes.blogspot.com
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4888965.Delilah_Fawkes
Twitter: @DelilahFawkes
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Thanks so much for having me on your fabulous blog, Annette! :) You're awesome!
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