Around The Writer’s Block

Please tell us about your books.  
I have 3 series at 3 publishers. Liquid Silver has the Bonded fantasies, where everyone has magic, and a race of shapeshifting warriors needs human women. I’ve just finished work on the fifth Bonded book, Honor Within. The hero, Burke, is really damaged. Why women love fucked up men is a mystery, isn’t it?

Loose Id has Team Epsilon 983, a polyamory scifi. It just released on Sept 23, and is the hottest thing I’ve ever written. I thought I would combust when I worked on the final 5 person ménage. (5 people? That’s a lot of umm … body parts to keep track of! )

Samhain has (of Nov 1) the Singer series, in which three friends plot a rebellion in a post-apocalyptic future.

I love your Bonded series, what made you decide to go in that direction?
I finished Wild Within, and the world and characters just sparked more ideas. Plus, I’m lazy and if I can reuse a world I’ve already created, then why not? Now I’m so addicted, it’s sad. I want to disappear into that world, be adopted by a beast, and live happily as an earthmage. I was always a fanciful child, but it’s a little less attractive feature in an adult.

Your characters in the “Bonded” series are part of a clan. How did you come up with them?
I love shapeshifter stories. Back before I thought of myself as a writer, when it was something that I did in secret, I spent a day or so with my journal just brainstorming, trying to figure out a new take on them. Why have just wolves? Why make them a secret? But then wouldn’t they be more powerful than humans, and wouldn’t their status reflect that? Why would they be interested in human women? I was influenced by my pagan faith, wanting a world where elemental magic was vital. Because I read runes, I know a lot about the culture of ancient Scandinavia, so the warriors in the Clans were influenced by Vikings. The best way to discover the Clans was to introduce them through the eyes of an outsider, and so the kickass KarRa was born. After she started to talking to me, the story just rolled out with all of this mishmash supporting her.

If you came with a warning label what would it read?
Warning: this woman looks normal but inside she is scattered, silly, and sexy.

I just got my royalty check. I’m thinking about buying this new flogger … any opinions?
Good luck? (Oh, Mima with this bad boy, it’s not luck I’m hoping for, hon!)

I know you write “shifter” stories, what attracted you to that genre?
We all wear masks. Shifters just have a bigger one. And if your core is animalistic, there’s a perception that you might live in a purer, more essential way.

Tell us about your writing process. Are you a plotter or pantzer? Do you have comfort drinks or snack foods. Any favorite music you play while writing?
Pantster!  Once I started into the Bonded series, and realized I was gonna go with a book for each Clan, I thought, “Crap. Now I gotta make sure they’re all really different. I’m going to have to, like, be purposeful.” So I mapped out the rest of the series, in a loose sort of way. And I promptly froze. I didn’t write for 3 months. My brain started a gazillion other plot bunnies (the Server series was born).  The amount of avoidance and phobia I had about writing once I knew the story’s direction was staggering. I rewrote the beginning of that next book, Honor Within, 5 times. I think discovering the unknown is part of my author-ish-ness. Obviously, I have to grow as an author and get over this.  Cross your fingers that book 6 graduates to, say, only 4 rewrites. I write in silence. I eat candy while I write: spree, smarties, bottlecaps.

If we asked your friends to name 3 personality traits about you, what do you think they would say?
Loyal, cheerful, childlike. They actually tell me this often.

What thing about a hero is a turn off for you when reading a book? Anything about heroines that drive you insane?
I really dislike the librarian/model/homemaker heroine who insists on going with her Navy Seal on a drug mission because it’s her right to face the bastard who murdered her sister. Puh-lease. And I don’t think much of the hero who lets her go. Gawd, I hope I didn’t just inadvertently describe some book. I made that up, but I’ve read lots like it. Everything else in the book could sparkle, but once an author sets up that situation, I’m disgusted.

The editing process is an important aspect of writing. Do you have a routine you follow when going through it?
I’m too new, and have worked with too many editors, for a routine. I learn something from every editor I work with.

You have a fulltime job. How do you fit writing into your busy schedule?
Shuh. I can’t write in small blocks. I need chunks of time, so it’s a problem. The house doesn’t get clean very often. Sometimes I stay up all night, until my fingers are bloody stumps. Depends on how much I want to escape into the story.

A hot soak in the tub or a smokin’ BBQ with friends?
I have 2 non-digital friends. One’s a non-dairy vegan and one’s an Italian who takes food seriously. So the BBQ really wouldn’t work. Can I have hot tub with friends? (The Cabana boys are starting the bubbles as we speak …)

How does your family feel about you writing smoking hot erotica?
My mom and dad are very happy for me, because they know I’ve written and read romance all my life. But they don’t want to read it, and they don’t tell their friends. I’m ok with that, cause Mima is a pen name (although it’s my real nick in life). I’m not out to coworkers, so if I can hide, they can, too. My friends are really supportive.

Wow, that one flew by. Thanks so much for sharing some of your time to hang out at Around the Writer’s Block. When Mima’s not here you can find her at her website where she’s got some excerpts and reviews. And she’d love to have you friend her on MySpace.

But she’s already settled in to the hottub with an umbrella drink. I’m sure I can pull her from the bubbles if you’d like to ask her some questions or just show her some comment love!