Hi Alexandra, it's so nice to
meet you and speak to you. You're an author from New Orleans and that is
reflected in the atmosphere and spiciness of your writing. I wonder, growing
up, how did you make the decision to become a writer?
I don’t think I had a choice
really. It was something I started to do at the age of eight. Putting words on
paper that imparted the emotion I was feeling at the time just seemed like
something natural to me. I began with poetry, moved on to short stories, but
because of my career demands in nursing did not write my first novel until I
was in my thirties.
I didn't start until my
fifties, so you're ahead of me! Who is your favorite author? Favorite book?
My favorite author is Ian
Fleming. I know it’s weird, but I really loved his character development of
James Bond. The books are a whole lot better than the movies and as a writer I
learned a great deal about what makes a character memorable.
I tend to read a book after
seeing the movie and oftentimes agree. Where do you get the inspiration for
your stories?
I wish I knew. Ideas pop into
my head and I cannot rest until they are on paper. I think a writer is nothing
more than a super-computer in a way. We put together all of our experiences,
people we have met, and surroundings, and turn them into a story. I see many
people I know or have known come through in my characters. Sometimes you
surprise yourself as a writer.
I'm always surprising myself.
We're also emotional sponges. Yesterday I was ecstatic because my characters
are falling in love. Today, I'm sad because they're breaking up. How about you?
Do your characters come first or the does the plot come first?’
Characters come as I write them
and many times so does the plot. I have an idea for or story or see the end,
but never the whole book. Honestly, as I write the story develops.
Oh, speaking of characters...
Have you ever fallen in lust… I mean love with one of your characters?
Of course! Most of them, if
not, all of them. I write people I would love to know, good or bad. I think
that is the gift a writer has; we can create people. I always hope that heaven
is a place where I finally get to meet all of the characters I have written.
Imagine the fun I will have!
I tend to love the male
characters and live in the emotions of the female ones, so I can definitely
relate. Ahem... When it comes to your sultry sex scenes – where do your ideas
come from?
I get asked this question a
great deal by friends. They look at my husband of twenty years in a whole new
way after they finish one of my books. But knowing how a character moves, talks
or has sex is part of who they are. I attribute the sultry sex in my books to
my active imagination.
I must say, having a great imagination spices things up. Have
you ever been turned on by something you’ve written?
If your story doesn’t turn you on, then you
are doing something wrong. If you can’t get turned on, then your reader won’t
be interested. I write from my gut, if I don’t feel it, I start over. You have
got to feel what you write; otherwise it just doesn’t work.
Okay, we're getting real
personal now. If you had the opportunity for a one-night stand with one of your
characters who would it be and why?
Wow! I think it would have to
be Dallas August from Recovery, Sacrifice and The Secret Brokers. He has got it
all. He is smart, sexy, has a great heart with vulnerabilities that make him
appealing, and yet he can be strong and resilient when needed. Plus, he is a
great cook, and when doesn’t a man in the kitchen turn a woman on. Of all my characters, he is the one I would
most likely want to be with.
Why stop at one-night? Oh wait,
you might have to fight off your female character. Don't tell me if she packs a
piece. As for me, honestly? I don't want to hurt my female characters nor do I
want to stand down Queen Michal, so I limit my imagination to minor characters.
Ha, ha, like Prince Ittai. On that note, tell us about your current novel.
Diary of a One-Night Stand is
about Kara Barton’s life after she has a one-night stand in a hotel room with a
business associate, the sexy Scott Ellsworth. Raised by a single mother who
taught her to use men to take care of her, Kara has fought her past all of her
life. She went to law school, married a great guy, and had a child. But in her
forties, she is beginning to feel like her youth is slipping away and because
of her stale marriage she longs for one more night of lust. However after the
tryst, her life becomes very complicated when Scott wants more, and so does
Kara. After a violent argument with her husband, she takes her daughter and
moves in with Scott, but the security she felt when she was married is missing,
and despite their fairly-tale existence, she has doubts about Scott’s fidelity.
It is really a story about wanting for something better, but finding out in the
end that what you wanted was there all along.
Problem is getting it back,
right? Is it a stand-alone story or part of a series? If it’s a series what can
we expect in the next chapter?
This is a stand-alone novel. I
have done a series in the past with the character of Nicci Beauvoir in To My
Senses, Recovery and Sacrifice. The other current series I have involves the
Dallas August character and begins with the novel The Secret Brokers. I like to
break out and intermingle a stand-alone book with my series work. It gives me a
brain break and I feel helps my writing by starting something fresh with new
characters.
I agree. What can we expect
from you in the future? Any new books in the works?
My next novel hits later this
year. Called, Acadian Waltz it is a romance filled with Cajuns from the bayous
of Louisiana. The main character, Nora Kehoe is feeling pressured by her
overbearing mother to settle down. Then a passionate encounter with a childhood
friend changes everything. The charismatic Jean Marc Gaspard manages the family
business, Gaspard Fisheries. But rumors abound that Jean Marc is running more
than seafood through the waters around Manchac Louisiana. Soon Nora is thrown
headlong into the dangerous world of smugglers and swindlers.
In 2013 I have my first
paranormal romance coming out. The Satyr’s Curse incorporates a great deal of
New Orleans voodoo into a story about a man turned into a mythological
creature, and doomed to roam the earth until he finds the woman who can free
him of his curse. Filled with sex, murder, magic, and a whole lot of good New
Orleans food.
Speaking of New Orleans food,
Alexandra is guest posting about the Big Easy and how it lends its ambiance to
writing. Watch for this article.
Thank you, Alexandra, for the
fun interview. It's been a pleasure.
Author Bio:
Alexandrea Weis is an advanced
practice registered nurse who was born and raised in New Orleans. Her popular
second novel, Recovery, won the Gold Medal for best romantic suspense from The
Reader’s Favorite Book Awards 2011, was named best Romantic Suspense novel by
the Spring 2011 NABE Pinnacle Book Awards, and was a Finalist in the ForeWord
Magazine Book of the Year Wards in 2012. Her fourth novel, Broken Wings, won
best Contemporary Romance by the NABE Pinnacle Book Awards in 2011, and is a
finalist in the Reader’s Favorite Book Awards for Contemporary Romance in 2012.
Her fifth novel, The Secret Brokers, was released in May 2012. A permitted
wildlife rehabber with the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, Weis rescues
orphaned and injured wildlife. She lives with her husband and pets in New
Orleans.
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