Welcome Karenna Colcroft

My guest today is the fabulous Karenna Colcroft. Karenna, welcome to the blog. Could you tell us a little bit about you and your work?

I’ve been writing since I was five years old, and started writing erotic romance when I was 36, in 2006. The first short story I wrote was a challenge from a friend of mine who’d been helping me deal with some tough stuff from my past. He challenged me to put my writing skills to work and write something showing “sex in a positive light.” I did it, was surprised by how well the story turned out, and was hooked on writing romance. That first story, incidentally, became a scene in my paranormal romance novel Eternal Love, which came out in July 2010.
For a few years, I just wrote stories with no idea what to do with them. Some ended up on a free story site, while some just stayed on my hard drive. In 2009, I finally worked up the guts to submit to an e-publisher, and my first e-release came out in March 2009. Since then, I’ve had books published with Pink Petal Books, Noble Romance, and Siren. For 2011, I have releases scheduled from Pink Petal Books and Ellora’s Cave so far.

Wow, that's a great track record! What event spurred you to become an author?

There was no single event. When I was very young, two or three years old, I made up stories and told them to my stuffed animals. When someone finally showed me how to make those little squiggles we call “letters,” I started writing down my stories. I’d learned to read pretty early, and I always had it in my head that I wanted to see my stories in books like the ones I read. It took me a while to navigate the process of becoming a published author, but that’s what I’ve always aimed for.

What do you think is the hardest part of writing? The easiest?

The hardest part of writing, for me, is coming up with an ending. I might have a great story with a solid plot and good characters, but when all the conflict and stuff is over and the story’s done, I’m never quite sure what to write to end the thing. I know how the story ends, but not the words to use, if that makes sense.
The easiest for me is coming up with the plot and characters.

I agree that creating characters is fun. What do you think makes a book a page turner?

For me as a reader, a book is a page turner if the characters seem real to me and the plot makes sense. If the author grabs my attention right off the bat and I care enough about the main characters that I just have to find out what happens to them, I’m going to keep reading and may not be able to put the book down until I’m finished.

What are 3 things that would surprise the readers to learn about you?

Hmm…I have to think on this one. I’m not very surprising.
I guess it might surprise them to learn that I write young adult urban fantasy under a different name; I met my second husband through an “adult dating” website; and while I’ve traveled to two foreign countries, within the United States I’ve never been south or west of West Virginia.

Excellent surprises, Karenna! Would you share your links with us?

Absolutely! My website is http://karennacolcroft.com, and my blog is located on that site along with links to my publishers. You can find me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/karenna.colcroft, and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/KarennaColcroft.

We’d love to read an excerpt. Do give us a buy link.

I have several releases coming up in the next couple of months. One is a short story called “With this Flower,” in an anthology titled Wishing on a Blue Star, from Dreamspinner Press. That will be out on January 25. http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2158.

I have two releases coming from Ellora’s Cave. Seeds of Desire, a contemporary MF novella, will be released on January 28, and Hear Me, See Me, a contemporary “Quickie” for the Exotika line, has yet to be scheduled. http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-9041-50-seeds-of-desire.aspx

I also have two releases coming from Pink Petal Books. You Shouldn’t Kiss Me Like This is a contemporary novella about two West Coast Swing dance instructors, and Home Port is a contemporary MF about an office worker and a boat captain. Releases are scheduled for February and March. http://www.pinkpetalbooks.com (note that Pink Petal is updating their website, so some upcoming releases may not appear yet on the Coming Soon page).

I’d like to share the blurb and excerpt from Seeds of Desire:

For Cassidy Shelton, working with Jared Jackson is a form of torture, partly because of his arrogant attitude and partly because of the lust for him that Cassidy can’t quite deny.

When the two are sent on an overnight business trip to promote a reforestation project, their desire peaks. From making out in Jared’s car to seduction through thin hotel walls, sparks fly fast and furious between them. Cassidy may feel ambivalent about Jared, but her body doesn’t.

But when Jared strips away the arrogance to bare his heart, can Cassidy accept it? And can she admit, even to herself, that she feels the same about him?

Excerpt:
“How many people signed up to plant?” he asked.

Cassidy scanned the list. “Looks like about fifty. Pretty good, considering we had fewer than a hundred here.” She couldn’t resist a little dig at him. “Either you need to do a better job publicizing these little meetings, or people don’t really give a damn. We haven’t been doing too well with the turnouts lately.”

He glared at her. “That guy was right. We’re in a recession here. People aren’t as interested in trees and that kind of thing if they’re trying to feed and house their families.” He sounded as if other people’s struggles actually affected him, though Cassidy had her doubts they did.

Jared walked away from the table. She watched him go, at first not even realizing that she was staring at his ass. When she caught herself, she closed her eyes for a moment. Get the hell over it!

“I’ll give you a ride back to the hotel, unless you have some deep-seated philosophical objection to cars,” he shot over his shoulder.

She had no objection to cars at all. Only to the idea of being trapped in a small, enclosed space with Jared for the time it would take to reach the hotel. They’d driven to the meeting together, of course. JaBro provided only one company car for these trips. However, on the way to the hall, Cassidy had been too worried about her speech to think about him. Now that her libido had taken over, she didn’t know if she trusted herself to be that near to him with no one else around. She might wind up touching him, rubbing his thigh or something harder.

Or she might get control of herself and take the damn ride. She didn’t have much choice about riding with him. Since five miles separated the hall from the motel, and Cassidy had worn non-sensible shoes, she chose not to snipe at him. Walking that far in these heels would suck. “Thanks for the enthusiastic offer,” she muttered, following him outside.

Thanks for coming today, Karenna. Good luck with all of your releases.