July Featured Author - Mona Moore

Mona Moore is a wonderful author of Erotic Romance. She is a personable sort who is not only a talented author, but also a remarkable person to know.

She is thoughtful and kind, and gives individuals both the benefit of the doubt, and the benefit of her kind heart. Below, read my interview for July with Mona. I'm sure you'll be both entertained and informed. I know I was!

1. Tell us a little about your published works.

Well, I have two Erotic Romance Series that I’m working on completing. As of now, they both have three books. The first series is called Criminally Yours. The Criminally Yours Series centers around Allison & Blake (Oh, Blake…). Blake is a man convicted of a crime he didn't commit. One day he devises a plan to escape prison and in seeking refuge, finds himself breaking into Allison’s house. Conveniently, Allison has been having these fantasies of a man breaking into her home and having his way with her (what are the odds?). One thing leads to another and, well, you’ll have to read the series to find out more! I’m currently writing the final installment, Sweet Surrender. The second series is called Dr. Feelgood which centers around Scarlett and Charles. Scarlett is newly divorced having walked in on her husband banging his secretary into the headboard. After a little break, she decides it’s time to go back to work – as a Divorce & Mediation Lawyer. Things at work seem perfect until the partners suggest she see a psychiatrist to ensure she's in the right frame of mind to continue at the firm. Enter Dr. Charles Winters. He’s not your typical shrink, and from the moment they meet, sparks fly. He’s also not your average man. Charles is a wonderfully messy character who has as many faults as he does strengths. Scarlett just wants to fix him. It makes for a fascinating relationship. I am also working on the final installment in this series called, Crazy Love.

Does writing energize or exhaust you?

It can be both for me. Really, it depends on the type of story I’m writing. As an example, I’m nearing the end of both my series and it’s just dragging. Maybe it’s because I don’t want them to end. Who knows! However, with that being said, I am also writing a novel under a different pen name in the Paranormal Romance genre, and that jazzes me to no end. When I start writing for that WIP, it’s like I just took ten cups of coffee intravenously! So, to answer the question, it depends on the content I’m writing and where I am in the grand scheme of things.

1. What are common traps for aspiring writers?

In my experience, editing as you write. An aspiring author will NEVER complete their book if they work this way. I have found, working as a freelancer, that you should just write without worrying about grammar or spelling. FINISH your book and then go back to fine tune it. If you edit as you go, you can get caught in this vicious loop of trying to perfect every little minute detail, and all it does is stall your success.

1. Does a big ego help or hurt writers?

I think it does more harm than good. Don’t get me wrong, personally, I’m proud of my work, but I know there is always room for improvement. There is this quote: “The wise man doubts often, and changes his mind; the fool is obstinate, and doubts not; he knows all things but his own ignorance.” Leave a little room for change. Nobody is perfect.

1. What is your writing Kryptonite?

Finding that perfect word. I could get stuck in a thesaurus for hours until I discover a word that can nestle comfortably in a sentence.

1. Have you ever gotten reader’s block?

I’m going through that right now. I have a ton of books on my Kindle crying out for me, but when I sit down to read them, I find myself going over the same paragraph two or three times before it starts to finally sink in. I’m pretty sure it’s just life and other preoccupying thoughts getting in the way.

1. Have you ever considered writing under a pseudonym?

Why darling, Mona Moore IS my pseudonym!

1. Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

I won’t lie. I have done a ton of research on what everyone is reading and how well certain books are being received as they go live on Amazon. Honestly, not a lot of those particular tropes call to me. With both my series, I started out with an idea that took me right and then half-way through found myself taking a hard left. At this point, I just write what I like to write and hope it’ll be well received by the public. I can’t write something I don’t find entertaining myself. If I tried, I think my distaste for the theme would translate onto paper, and I wouldn’t want that happening.

1. Do you think a person who can’t feel strong emotions can be a good writer?

I haven’t met a single writer yet who doesn’t have strong emotions! I think writers, by nature, are led by their hearts. For myself, I know that I tend to feel things more passionately than most. I’m a VERY emotional creature. Before I found the writing community on Facebook, I always felt a little skewed or out of place in my life. Too sensitive, is what I’ve been called. It turns out I just needed to be with my own kind to fit in.

1. Are you friends with other authors?

Since I started my journey into self-publishing, I have met some outstanding authors that I feel blessed to call my friends. Connor darling, you happen to be one of those friends! Christine Monroe, Derek Adams, Cassidy London, Nicole Strycharz and JL Moore to name a few. As well as some amazing up-and-comers who are currently writing their first novels, but have yet to publish them: LK Farlow, KC Enders, Mary-May Moore. Pay attention to those names right there folks, they’re incredible writers!

1. Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?

Well, my series novels all interconnect. Where one ends, the other picks up. However, I am looking to write a few standalone novels as well.

1. If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Never give up and don’t doubt your ability. I went through a ten-year patch of writer's block that shifted my world like two tectonic plates colliding. For the longest time, I felt like that fire I had inside of me had been put out. The embers were still there because I would have these random spurts of ideas, but I didn’t have anything to stoke the flames with. When I had my daughters (I’m a stay-at-home-mom of a twelve-year-old boy and five-year-old twin girls), I wanted to find something I could do from home to make some extra cash. My younger sister (who does incredible voiceover work on Fiverr – you can check her out here: https://www.fiverr.com/erikalee17) suggested I do some freelance writing. And it was those freelance jobs that broke me of my writer's block. I would probably still be trying to stoke those embers if it wasn’t for my sister's suggestions. Erika, I love you! So, yeah, never give up and don’t doubt your ability. It’s a surefire way to end up at a stand still in your writing career.

1. How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?

It didn’t change much. If anything, I’m more careful in my editing, and I always ask someone to read through it first before I hit that publish button on Amazon. Now, I’ve yet to put my books in print. I’m waiting for both my series to be complete before I do that because as individual books they’re quite short (roughly running between 10-13k words per book). I’m sure my process will change again once I start making the books available in paperback.

1. What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel?

The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure by William Goldman. Most people don’t know the book and only know the movie. The book is pure genius.

1. Do you utilize real people to base your characters on?

Blake and Charles both have a little bit of my husband in them. He somehow always finds his way into my books.

1. How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

I have an entire Paranormal Romance Series mapped out. It will have five or six books in total that will need to be read in succession. I have another Erotic Romance Series worked out. It will have ten books total that will read as standalone novels. A new Adult novel that I’ve had in my brain for the past fifteen years or so. A lot is going on in my head!

1. What does literary success look like to you?

To me, literary success is hearing from the readers. I love seeing reviews of my books go up or getting the odd message here and there from people who've read my books and loved them. It makes me feel really good inside. That’s success to me. Knowing that I’ve touched or entertained someone with my writing.

1. What’s the best way to market your books?

This is something I’m still learning. I do a lot of the promoting and marketing myself. I’ve been fortunate enough to have found readers and fellow authors who believe in me enough to spread the word around. For the most part, I do a lot of promotion on Facebook and Twitter. I haven’t quite figured out Instagram yet!

1. What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

The only book I’ve really had to do extensive research for was Exotic Touch (Book Three in The Dr. Feelgood series). Scarlet and Charles go to Thailand, and I’ve never been there in my life, so I had to look into it. I googled hotels, beaches, markets and excursions; you name it, I googled it. At one point, I had so many web pages and photo files open on my desktop, my computer would freeze up at least twice a day. In the end, it became something I was really proud of.

1. Do you write full-time? If not, can you tell us your ‘day job’?

I wish I could write full-time, but my day job is MOM. My girls are with me during the day, so for the most part, I’ll write while they’re crafting, or even watching a movie. Between cooking, cleaning, and educating it’s hard to find time during the day. I do most of my writing at night after everyone has gone to bed. My body can run on very little sleep. I’m extremely nocturnal. The moon and I are friends. Sometimes I’ll just go up to bed and sit there in the dark tapping away on my phone. For some reason, I always get my best ideas when my head hits the pillow! Go figure!

1. How many hours a day do you write?

It’s hard to tell. If I get a Saturday to myself where my husband takes the kids, I can go straight through to dinner from breakfast on my computer. Other days, I may spend no time at all. It fluctuates for me.

1. Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?

I can’t say that I have.

1. What are your ethics of writing about historical figures?

That depends on what you mean by ethics. I think if you are going to write about historical figures, you’d better damn well do your research and certainly do not treat your readers like idiots. Research, research, research. Make sure you know that person inside and out so you can do them justice on the page. I’m one of those annoying readers that fact-checks everything I read. Especially if it’s something new to me. I like to google the character to learn more about them, so if I find inconsistencies in the writing in regard to the history, well, the author loses a bit of credibility with me.

How do you select the names of your characters?

I have the baby name book my mother used to try and find my birth name. In the end, she named me after a soap opera character, but she had the book. For a while, she entertained calling me Natasha. I’m not a Natasha! She went a whole other way. But, yes, I have that book, and I use it to this day to find my character’s names. It will be thirty-nine years old this year, along with myself.

1. Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

I do! I love reading my book reviews. As for the bad reviews, I haven’t had any bad ones yet per say. I have had someone who was not aware my books were series books, which she didn’t like, but she didn’t have anything negative really to say. They were more individual opinions, which is fine. I think like with anything you need to look at it and find the positive in the negative. For example, I realize that perhaps my books may be a tad short for most people's liking. In hindsight, I could have probably written a full-length novel for each series and called it a day. Hindsight: It’s 20/20.

1. Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

No, but that’s a fantastic idea!

1. What was your hardest scene to write?

Blake and Allison’s goodbye-for-now in On The Run (Book Three in The Criminally Yours Series). I cried the whole way through. It was devastating for me.

1. Do you Google yourself?

I don’t. I would rather not know what people think of me. Less drama that way.

1. What was your favorite childhood book?

Anything by Dr. Seuss and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein.

1. What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

Finding the time to be artistic! And the sex. It’s tough keeping the sex fresh. There are so many ways you can describe two people fucking before it starts to get old.

1. Does your family support your career as a writer?

I’m very lucky to have the family I have. My husband never questions the dirty dishes in the sink or if dinner is late on the table because he knows how much being a writer means to me. Sometimes I get lost in my books, and he’s ok with it. He wants me to succeed, and I love him for it. My mother is so proud of me. She tells me every day: “You’re finally doing what you’ve always been meant to do.” It’s great. My kids support me as well. They know mommy’s a writer and they tell me how they want to be a writer like me when they get older. I would love it if at least one of them followed in my footsteps!

1. How long on average does it take you to write a book?

Because they’re so short, I can usually bang a 10k short out in two weeks. However, with that being said, my littles (that’s what I call my girls) are starting kindergarten in September, and I think it’s finally dawning on both them and me, that our time together is limited. So, I’m taking more time out for them, and for my son as summer vacation is looming nearer. He’ll be starting High School next year so, significant changes for everyone across the board. Right now, my family needs me more than I need the writing, so it’s taking a little longer to complete these last installments for my series’.

1. Do you believe in writer’s block is a ‘thing’?

I know damn well it is! I also know that you can come out of it. You just need to write. If I’ve learned anything from my bout with writer's block, it’s that. You need to write to beat it. Even if you’re writing gibberish, do it. Eventually, the nonsense becomes coherent sentences.