I am so excited to have Nana Malone here on the blog answering some questions about her later release Sexy in Stilettos!
First off, welcome to the blog. Can you tell us a little about yourself? Hi there! Thank you so much for having me. I’m excited to meet all your readers. I’m a Ghanaian American romance author who currently resides in sunny San Diego with Hubster, Bratlette, and Wonder Dog.
How old were you when you decided that you wanted to be a writer? I was twenty-three. Before then it had never even occurred to me that the books I devoured were written by ordinary women like me, who’d chosen an extraordinary path.
For those readers that haven’t had the pleasure of reading your work, can you tell us a little about it?
I write sexy contemporaries and action packed steamy paranormals. I love reading in both genres, so It feels good to write in both genres. I’ve got a YA or two percolating in my head too.
My latest novel Sexy in Stilettos was so fun to write. Jaya is probably the character that’s most like me. She’d hyper-organized and loves her plans and has no idea what to do when life throws her a curveball. My husband, though, an engineer, is far more spontaneous than I am. So I started wondering what would happen if you paired someone like me with an extreme opposite fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants kind of guy.
Do you see yourself in any of these characters? Like I was saying, Jaya is probably the most like me, but for me all my characters have a little bit of me in them. The hero in Sexy in Stilettos wants to be a free wheeling vagabond and there’s a part of me that’s like this. And in my previous book Reluctant Protector, Cassie was a badass super power having action girl, and I like to thing I give some of her attitude some street cred.
Do you have any odd writing habits or rituals? The only really weird tick is I have to follow my plan. If I know I’ve got edits on one book an outline for another and a spew draft of another, I have to follow the plan. If I deviate, I get pretty overwhelmed then give up and watch Bravo for more hours than can possibly be healthy.
All writers have them, but what was that a-ha moment that inspired you? My romance writing career started with Bridget...Jones that is. I was in New York hating pretty much every aspect of my PR job but the writing when I picked up Bridget Jones's Diary from the library. After I stayed up all night to finish it, I wished I could do that, put words to paper and make people laugh or cry or cringe. Then I thought, why not.
What are your most difficult scenes to write? Most difficult scenes are probably the scenes with Jaya and her father. Coming from a pretty strict Ghanaian home, there was a lot of pressure to be perfect and never crack under the pressure, so I pulled a lot from those experiences.
Describe your ideal writing place. Ha, with a toddler running around, ideal these days equals quiet. Lol.
When you first started out as a writer, what were some of your biggest challenges? So many! So so sooo many. I had no idea how to structure a story. Conflict, motivation, and goal, never even entered my mind. I kept wanting to write a Mary Sue everyone would love and forgot that there needs to be conflict. So I took some classes and got a critique partner or two and rewrote a million times until I got better and things finally started to gel.
Any advice for other writers that are just starting out? Write. Learn. Write some more. Ask for hard core feedback from someone who will tell you the truth, and your mother does not count. Write some more
Are your family and friends supportive of you? Yes! They’ve all been great. My husband takes the baby on weekends so I can write and tells all his work folks all about my books. My friends are usually the ones badgering me for more books. Lol.
What writers have inspired you? The queen herself, Nora Roberts, Helen Fielding, Misty Evans, Eve Vaughn, Harper Lee.
Who is your favorite character from another author’s work? Kali Sweet from Misty Evans Revenge is Sweet book. Spunky is how I like ‘em!
What do you do when you are not writing? Chase my daughter around. Play with our dog and cuddle with my hubby. Oh and work full time as a project manager.
What can we expect from you in the future? My favorite question. I get to let you know what mad goals I’ve got for the year. My goal this year is to release seven books. You read right, seven. The first, Reluctant Protector is already available on Amazon as is Sexy in Stilettos. The next in the Protector series, Forsaken Protector and the next in the In Stilettos series, Sultry in Stilettos are due out in June and August respectively. The end of the year holds three more book releases so stay tuned. It's going to be an exciting year!
First off, welcome to the blog. Can you tell us a little about yourself? Hi there! Thank you so much for having me. I’m excited to meet all your readers. I’m a Ghanaian American romance author who currently resides in sunny San Diego with Hubster, Bratlette, and Wonder Dog.
How old were you when you decided that you wanted to be a writer? I was twenty-three. Before then it had never even occurred to me that the books I devoured were written by ordinary women like me, who’d chosen an extraordinary path.
For those readers that haven’t had the pleasure of reading your work, can you tell us a little about it?
I write sexy contemporaries and action packed steamy paranormals. I love reading in both genres, so It feels good to write in both genres. I’ve got a YA or two percolating in my head too.
My latest novel Sexy in Stilettos was so fun to write. Jaya is probably the character that’s most like me. She’d hyper-organized and loves her plans and has no idea what to do when life throws her a curveball. My husband, though, an engineer, is far more spontaneous than I am. So I started wondering what would happen if you paired someone like me with an extreme opposite fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants kind of guy.
Do you see yourself in any of these characters? Like I was saying, Jaya is probably the most like me, but for me all my characters have a little bit of me in them. The hero in Sexy in Stilettos wants to be a free wheeling vagabond and there’s a part of me that’s like this. And in my previous book Reluctant Protector, Cassie was a badass super power having action girl, and I like to thing I give some of her attitude some street cred.
Do you have any odd writing habits or rituals? The only really weird tick is I have to follow my plan. If I know I’ve got edits on one book an outline for another and a spew draft of another, I have to follow the plan. If I deviate, I get pretty overwhelmed then give up and watch Bravo for more hours than can possibly be healthy.
All writers have them, but what was that a-ha moment that inspired you? My romance writing career started with Bridget...Jones that is. I was in New York hating pretty much every aspect of my PR job but the writing when I picked up Bridget Jones's Diary from the library. After I stayed up all night to finish it, I wished I could do that, put words to paper and make people laugh or cry or cringe. Then I thought, why not.
What are your most difficult scenes to write? Most difficult scenes are probably the scenes with Jaya and her father. Coming from a pretty strict Ghanaian home, there was a lot of pressure to be perfect and never crack under the pressure, so I pulled a lot from those experiences.
Describe your ideal writing place. Ha, with a toddler running around, ideal these days equals quiet. Lol.
When you first started out as a writer, what were some of your biggest challenges? So many! So so sooo many. I had no idea how to structure a story. Conflict, motivation, and goal, never even entered my mind. I kept wanting to write a Mary Sue everyone would love and forgot that there needs to be conflict. So I took some classes and got a critique partner or two and rewrote a million times until I got better and things finally started to gel.
Any advice for other writers that are just starting out? Write. Learn. Write some more. Ask for hard core feedback from someone who will tell you the truth, and your mother does not count. Write some more
Are your family and friends supportive of you? Yes! They’ve all been great. My husband takes the baby on weekends so I can write and tells all his work folks all about my books. My friends are usually the ones badgering me for more books. Lol.
What writers have inspired you? The queen herself, Nora Roberts, Helen Fielding, Misty Evans, Eve Vaughn, Harper Lee.
Who is your favorite character from another author’s work? Kali Sweet from Misty Evans Revenge is Sweet book. Spunky is how I like ‘em!
What do you do when you are not writing? Chase my daughter around. Play with our dog and cuddle with my hubby. Oh and work full time as a project manager.
What can we expect from you in the future? My favorite question. I get to let you know what mad goals I’ve got for the year. My goal this year is to release seven books. You read right, seven. The first, Reluctant Protector is already available on Amazon as is Sexy in Stilettos. The next in the Protector series, Forsaken Protector and the next in the In Stilettos series, Sultry in Stilettos are due out in June and August respectively. The end of the year holds three more book releases so stay tuned. It's going to be an exciting year!
Sexy in Stilettos
Nana Malone
Nana Malone
What’s worse than having to watch your sister marry your ex fiancé? How about when that fiancé fires you from the family business?
Hyper-organized, event planner Jaya Trudeaux is used to doing things by the book and never making waves. It’s a strategy that’s served her well until she finds herself in failure alley with no fiancé, no job and her thirtieth birthday looming. Maybe it’s time to change her methods. Starting with an unlikely date to the wedding from hell.
The only thing that can tie carefree playboy, Alec Danthers down is his formidable step mother. When she calls him home to help find his wayward brother, he never imagines an uptight, list making, sass- talking woman would make him think about putting down roots.
Can Jaya put the lists down long enough to enjoy the ride that is Alec? Will Alec stop running long enough to recognize true love?
Warning: Sexy, sass talking women will make you laugh, cry and want a pair of killer footwear.
Hyper-organized, event planner Jaya Trudeaux is used to doing things by the book and never making waves. It’s a strategy that’s served her well until she finds herself in failure alley with no fiancé, no job and her thirtieth birthday looming. Maybe it’s time to change her methods. Starting with an unlikely date to the wedding from hell.
The only thing that can tie carefree playboy, Alec Danthers down is his formidable step mother. When she calls him home to help find his wayward brother, he never imagines an uptight, list making, sass- talking woman would make him think about putting down roots.
Can Jaya put the lists down long enough to enjoy the ride that is Alec? Will Alec stop running long enough to recognize true love?
Warning: Sexy, sass talking women will make you laugh, cry and want a pair of killer footwear.
Nana's love of all things romance and adventure started with a tattered romantic suspense she borrowed from her cousin on a sultry summer afternoon in Ghana at a precocious thirteen. She's been in love with kick butt heroines ever since. With her overactive imagination, and channeling her inner Buffy, it was only a matter a time before she started creating her own characters.
Waiting for her chance at a job as a ninja assassin, Nana, meantime works out her drama, passion and sass with fictional characters every bit as sassy and kick butt as she thinks she is. Though, until that ninja job comes through, you'll find her acting out scenes for hubby and puppy while catching up on her favorite reality television shows in sunny San Diego.
Website / Facebook / Twitter
Waiting for her chance at a job as a ninja assassin, Nana, meantime works out her drama, passion and sass with fictional characters every bit as sassy and kick butt as she thinks she is. Though, until that ninja job comes through, you'll find her acting out scenes for hubby and puppy while catching up on her favorite reality television shows in sunny San Diego.
Website / Facebook / Twitter
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