Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Talking with Ashley Ladd

Please give a warm welcome to author Ashley Ladd who sat down to talk to me about her books and more.


Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I write erotic romance, MM, MF, MFM, MMM, and MMF.

I’m a disabled Air Force vet because of hearing loss. I wear double hearing aids and my day job as a customer service rep is becoming more and more challenging as my hearing is getting worse. My awesome boss has let me order a phone amplifier which should arrive this week. I really hope it helps. Unfortunately the hearing aids aren’t helping enough.

I’m originally from Cincinnati, Ohio but I’ve lived in South Florida for the past 24 years. I’ve been married 34 years and we have five children, two grandchildren, two dogs, and four cats.  I keep trying to become a crazy cat lady but my family have threatened to walk out if I bring home one more animal.

I love to go to the movies with my friends and adult children. I also love to talk long walks and swims. I’m a big Trekkie and a huge Big Bang Theory fan.


What are you currently working on?

I’m working on an MMF that I call “Gaycation” for Totally Bound’s Totally Five Star Hotel line. A female erotic MM/BDSM writer attends a gay convention to get more ideas for her books. She winds up getting more than she bargained for.

How long did it take you to get your rough draft finished on your latest release?

I wrote the last five books, ‘Gaycation’ not included, pretty fast, about 2-3 months per book. That’s with working full-time. I wrote about two thousand words daily. Now that I’m promoting the books being released, I haven’t been working on Gaycation like I should be.


If you could be any paranormal creature what would you be?

A winged, flying cat. I don’t know if there’s an official name but I’ve seen a few in stores. I’m sure if I was reincarnated as anything but a human it would be a feline.


What do you do when you’re not writing?

Lately, setting up book tours for my soon-to-be-released books. Filling out lots of interviews. Walking. Swimming. Going to the movies. Going to dinner with my friends and adult children. Watching Star Trek, Big Bang Theory, HGTV, and Food Network.


Are any of your characters like you?

A few. That’s not many considering I have about 75 published books so far.

 In my upcoming book ‘Pretend Lover’, Rachel has a cleft lip and palate like me. I don’t know that she’s much like me otherwise.

In my no longer published book ‘Self Defense’, Rick is a disabled military vet with hearing loss.

In ‘Purrfect Justice’ Haley wanted to join the police force but was disqualified because of her poor eyesight. I wanted to go into the FBI but I was disqualified because of my hearing loss.


What genres do you write in?

Just about everything but historical. Someday I may even try my hand at that.

I write primarily contemporary erotic romance M/F and M/M. Sometimes I write MMF, MFM, and even MMM. Sometimes I write paranormal, BDSM, and even time-travel.


If zombies attacked what kind of supplies would you want?

Besides being a crazy cat woman want to be, I’m a closet doomsday prepper. My family laughed at me A LOT in 1999 aka Y2K. I was canning food such as wheat, pasta, dried fruit, powdered milk, soup mix, pudding mix, and also stocking up on fuel and clothing, etc.

Besides stocking up on food and water for preparation for a zombie attack, I’d stock up on dynamite, shot guns, rifles, ammo, and ways to reload ammo. My dad and I used to reload ammo in our basement when I was a kid – just for sport, but I’m sure I remember how to do it. I’d also stock up on a couple of bows and lots of arrows (I used to shoot Junior Olympic Archery).

And don’t forget – I’d HAVE TO HAVE lots of chocolate and books to keep sane. And cat food for my cats.

Funny story if I may – I had my oldest son back up my computer files just before Y2K. Even though he thought I was nuts, he did it. Wouldn’t you know, my computer crashed right after Y2K so we were glad we’d backed it up.

My motto – Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

What was the hardest part of writing your book(s)?

If you could sit down with any author dead or alive who would it be?


Do you keep a notebook near you for when new ideas pop into your head?

I really should. I used to.

Dreams are so nebulous and fade away so quickly that I need to write about them as soon as I wake up.

I usually have a computer open with me when I’m awake at home so I can write ideas. If I don’t, because I’m making dinner or cleaning, I have a lot of steno pads so I just grab one and write in it.

I used to actually keep a dream journal and wrote down all my dreams. I’m going to start doing that again.


For readers who haven't tried your books yet, how do you think your editor or loyal readers would describe your books?

My editor finds my books humorous sometimes downright funny. Although I don’t necessary write rom coms (although sometimes I do), I often write with a humorous tone of voice.


I’m always looking for book recommendations. What books have you been reading? Would you recommend them?

Here are some recent books I enjoyed so immensely I highly recommend them:

‘I’ll Be Watching You’ by Tina Wainscott

‘He Loves Lucy’ by Ann Yost

‘Secret Ingredient’ by Sherryl Hames Torres


All of the ‘Kiki Lowenstein Scrapbook Murder Mystery Series’ by Joanna Campbell

COOKING UP A STORM by Ashley Ladd
Blurb:
Brooks and Rique desperately want to win a coveted chef’s job offered by an eccentric millionaire in paradise. Even more, Rique desperately wants to stay alive.

Brooks and Rique desperately want to win the head chef’s position offered by an eccentric millionaire Jonah Verleun on his beautiful, private but peculiar island that includes a zoo full of exotic animals, an amusement park and a monster shark tank beneath Jonah’s bedroom floor. While Brooks wants the job to escape his heartache and the lover who thwarted him, Rique is hiding from the mob, hoping to live long enough to pay them off with the prize winnings. Fierce competitors, they cook up a storm in a series of cooking challenges while trying to turn down the heat on their intense attraction. When a hurricane strikes the island, the storm Rique has been cooking up explodes, and no heart—or body—is safe.
Buy links:


Business or Pleasure

Blurb:
Guy Rogers is extremely attracted to his new realtor, Tom Beaudreaux. As a passionate vegetarian and animal activist, he’s ecstatic that Tom is a kindred soul. He could never be with a carnivore. Unfortunately, Tommy isn’t really a vegetarian or animal activist. He never said he was either, he just didn’t eat meat when he was with Guy. And maybe he emptied his house of all meat and dairy products before inviting Guy over. In fact, Tommy’s family owns the most popular barbecue restaurant in town and if his family has their way, he’ll manage the new location.

When Guy finds out that Tommy eats meat and his family owns a restaurant that is a monument to eating meat, he’s livid and doesn’t know if he wants anything else to do with Tommy.

But then Guy’s life gets crazy –his dad’s paranoia blossoms into violent dementia, he gets arrested for picketing a doggy mill, and then he winds up in even more legal trouble. When Tommy sticks by him through all his trouble and does everything he can to help him, Guy wonders if he’s been too militant and narrow-minded. Perhaps he can learn to live with people who have opposite views.

Buy Links:

About the Author

Ashley Ladd is a disabled Air Force vet that is hard of hearing but still loves language, especially the written word. She loves a sexy man, especially one with a military background and they’ll often pop up in her stories. She also loves cats and has been known to empower a cat with the gift of speech. Unfortunately he wouldn’t shut up. J She loves to plug into Pandora and sip Diet Coke while writing, usually with a cat or kid at her side.

How you can contact Ashley:


1 comment:

Unknown said...

Thank you for hosting me Dawn. You're a great interviewer. I had a lot of fun chatting with you.

Ashley

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