Interview with author Brita Addams

We would like to once again welcome Brita Addams back to RomFan Reviews.

Giveaway: a random commenter will win their choice selection from my backlist.

Leave a comment with your email address by Friday, March 8th to be entered.  Remember to include your email address.

Tell us a little about the re-release of Serenity’s Dream.

Serenity's Dream was my debut novel in June, 2010. It, and the rest of the Sapphire Club series has sold very well and still does. With that in mind, I got together with the publisher and decided to add to the story, expand a character that readers loved, and then my editor gave it a good reedit. The result is a tighter story, with 13k more, and some more meat on the bones. I'm very pleased with it.

Will we see updated versions of the rest of the series?

I have completed Lord Decadent's Obsession, which is the second book in the Sapphire Club series and that will come out soon, and I am wrapping up the very new third book, Thornhill's Dilemma. I changed that story almost completely, from the original Chocolate, Tea, and the Duchess. The expansion is vast, nearly double what the original was. Alex Chilton comes into the story very early and, well, you'll have to stay tuned for the release, which I hope will be in the next couple of months. I've taken a risk in that one and I'm hoping readers will like the overall story arc.

When I can catch my breath, I will be revising Love Immortal and Splendid Captivity, which I now have the rights to. I hope to get to those projects later this year.

What is your favorite thing about being a romance writer?

Hmm. You know, I love writing. Romance writing, at least for me, is rather mechanical, in that I'm constantly checking myself, making sure that things happen in the right order. A sex scene is ridiculous because I have to play it out in my head, make sure that arm A can actually be there, while leg B is here. It's a riot.

If I had to name one thing that is a favorite, it would be when a reader writes to me and tells me how much they liked the book. There isn't a feeling like it.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

The blinking title! I am so terrible at titles.

I heard from a little birdie, okay it was you, that you will be going to England soon.  Will you be visiting any of the places that inspired The Sapphire Club?

We are! In May. We plan to tour London for about nine days, during which time, I plan to photograph all the places I write about. Then we will visit Holkham Hall, which inspired the Sapphire Club estate, not the activities. J We'll tour the estate and take tons of pictures.

I'll get shots of the home of Desiree Huntington from Lord Decadent's Obsession on Doughty Street, the street where Preston Meacham in For Men Like Us, set up his employment service. The gentlemen's club, White's, and a ton of other locales. I have a list and they are on our agenda.

When writing your description of your hero/ine what feature do you start with? Eyes, age, hair color, etc? 

This one made me think. I always start with the age, then the hair, then work in the eyes. I tend to make my heroes at least six years older than the heroine, because that is the age difference between my husband and me.

I tend to like my heroes in their mid to late 30s, with a little silver in their hair.

Is there anything special you do to get in the mood to write?

I’m always in the mood to write. All I need is quiet, so I can concentrate and I'm good to go.

What do you hope readers take with them after reading one of your stories?

I hope they enjoy it and will decide to read something else I've written. I don't write with lessons in mind, nor do I moralize. I want readers to fall in love with the characters and become involved in the story.

I listen to readers, read their comments, and examine their suggestions for bettering a story. That is what I did with the Sapphire Club series and I think readers will find significantly meatier stories with the rewrites.

How long have you been a writer?

I've written newspaper articles, journals, genealogical articles, and short stories since I was in grade school. However, I never aspired to publication until about four years ago.  

How much time did it take from writing your first book to having it published?

Including research time, it took me about six months. To rewrite Serenity's Dream, I spent six weeks tearing the story apart and putting it back together.

Do you write under more than one name? Why?

I have one book under the name Tina Ordone, but the rest are under Brita Addams. I have children and grandchildren and I thought maybe it was wise to write under a pen name. However, when my first book came out, my children thought it was so great and they couldn't figure out why I decided to use a different name.

I was going to write sensual romance under Tina and erotic under Brita, but keeping up with two names takes way more time than I have, so Brita is it.

What’s something fans would find fascinating about you?

Hmm. Well, I once kissed Mickey Rooney. True story. Another is that I lived in Iceland for two years.

How do you come up with the titles?

I am so bad at titles. Sometimes they come from a line in the novel – For Men Like Us, Chocolate, Tea, and the Duchess, Demands of the Heart, A Minute After Midnight.

Other times they have to do with the characters. Lord Decadent's Obsession, Serenity's Dream, The Rogue's Salvation.

Some have to do with the fabric of the story itself—An Evening at the Starlight, Love Immortal, Free Me, In His Arms.

With one title, Splendid Captivity, I wrote the story around the title.

  

 As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? How has that childhood dream affected your career?

I wanted to be a nurse and then an airline stewardess. I decided early on that I could never give someone a shot, so nursing was out. I could have flown, but circumstances kept me from going to the training school. I was barely out of high school when I got married and thirteen months later, I was a mother. My childhood dreams were just that, the dreams of a girl who went on to a much better life. J

What tools do you feel are must-haves for writers?

The Chicago Manual of Style, a good editor, tough skin, open mind, understanding family, and endless hours to indulge your imagination.

Okay time for a few fun questions, is that okay with you?

Sure, I like fun.

What song would best describe your life?

All My Exes Live In Texas. True story!

What’s a guilty pleasure you have?

Oh, my. I love bite size brownies. Peach iced tea. Anything Gordon Ramsey. American Idol, The Amazing Race, Dancing with the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, BBC America, Cake Boss, and anything my husband cooks.  

What drives you crazy?

I would love to say that I am very even-keeled and I never get driven crazy, buuuuut, I can't say that. I do have some pet peeves. I am a person who believes in the truth, so anyone who equivocates drives me nuts. I take people at their word and I get terribly disappointed when others don't hold themselves to the same standard.

A biography has been written about you. What do you think the title would be?

The Truth About Happiness. My life is one that, as a young girl, I had reason to think I'd ever have. Having grown up with a dad who lived a very sad life and inflicted his unhappiness upon his family, I believed I didn't deserve a life that gives one happiness. My husband has spent our entire marriage showing me that happiness is not only possible, but it is mandatory. Fortunately, my children have always known what I didn't growing up.

If you could have three wishes granted, what would you wish for?

1.      Many more years with my husband. We have been together for 37 years, married for almost 33, and there will never enough years for us to spend together.

2.      Of course, good health, always.

3.      Continued happiness for my children.

Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

Please visit my website, blog, say hello on Twitter or Facebook. I love to meet new people

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Newest releases:

Serenity's Dream is book one of my Regency historical Sapphire Club series. It originally came out in June of 2010. I recently revisited the series and rewrote the books. My editor re-edited them and seemed please with the additional thirteen thousand words I added to Serenity. I hope readers will be as well.

You can find Serenity's Dream here.

Blurb

Serenity Damrill has returned to her husband, Lucien after a ten-year absence. She carries with her a secret that could destroy her life and possibly all that Lucien has built.

Lucien was quite happy in his life running the Sapphire Club and has no need for the frigid wife who deserted him the day after they were married.

Can Lucien teach Serenity that her fear of the marriage bed is unfounded? Will Serenity's secret be the death knell for their marriage?

I also have For Men Like Us, which also takes place during the Regency. You can find it at Dreamspinner Press. Just click the title to be magically transported.

Blurb for For Men Like Us

After Preston Meacham’s lover dies trying to lend him aid at Salamanca, hopelessness becomes his only way of life. Despite his best efforts at starting again, he has no pride left, which leads him to sell himself for a pittance at a molly house. The mindless sex affords him his only respite from the horrors he witnessed. 
The Napoleonic War left Benedict Wilmot haunted by the acts he was forced to commit and the torture he endured at the hands of a superior, a man who used the threat of a gruesome death to force Ben to do his bidding. Even sleep gives Ben no reprieve, for he can’t escape the destruction he caused. 
When their paths cross, Ben feels an overwhelming need to protect Preston from his dangerous profession. As he explains, “The streets are dangerous for men like us.” 

Coming March 25^th at Dreamspinner Press – Tarnished Gold

In 1915, starstruck Jack Abadie strikes out for the gilded streets of the most sinful town in the country—Hollywood. With him, he takes a secret that his country hometown would never understand.

After years of hard work and a chance invitation to a gay gentlemen's club, Jack is discovered. Soon, his talent, matinee idol good looks, and affable personality propel him to the height of stardom. With fame, however, comes inherent distrust, an issue that skews Jack's ability to love.

When Jack meets Wyatt Maitland, his life is turned upside down. He wants to be the man worthy of his good fortune, but old demons haunt him. Only through Wyatt's indomitable strength, can Jack face that which keeps him from being the man he wants to be. Love without trust is empty.

As the 1920s roar, scandal rocks every facet of the movie industry. The public's tolerance of Hollywood's decadence has reached its limit. Under pressure to clean up its act, the studio demands that Jack either give up the man he loves or lose his well-established career.  

Will Jack decide to remain Hollywood's box office darling, or will his decision render him tarnished gold? 

Available for preorder at Dreamspinner Press.