Ink Motions with Cynthia Sax

 

 



 

An Interview with Cynthia Sax

 

 

When or what made you decide to become an author?

 

I’ve always been a writer. I wrote daily in a diary as a child. I was a newspaper reporter and blogger. And I wrote dozens of romance novels before I submitted stories to a publisher. These stories are hidden under the bed, never to see the light of day.

 

I decided to submit my stories for publishing after a dear friend told me I should. (grins) After many rejections, my first story (Dragon Lord’s Mate) was accepted and I haven’t looked back since.

 

How do you get an idea for your novel?

 

One scorching hot summer night, I was looking with envy at the neighbor’s pool. The moon reflected off the cool water and I was tempted to jump the fence. I began to wonder what would happen if I DID jump the fence.

He Watches Me is an contemporary erotic romance following the unusual romance between Anna, a not-so-innocent-yet-virginal heroine, and Blaine, an egnimatic billionaire. Every night, Anna jumps her neighbor’s fence, takes off her clothes and swims naked in his pool. Every night, Blaine has been watching her. In the past, he’s watched her via his security cameras. Tonight, he plans to watch her from his poolside seat.

 

What is the inspiration you use?

 

I’m inspired by people. Every person, every character is different, finds love in different places, different ways.

 

What is your writing style?  Do you just sit down and write or do you create character sketches, outlines, or notes?

 

I’m a panster, someone who writes by the seat of her pants, without a plot. I usually start with a premise (a midnight skinny dip) and a solid knowledge of my characters.

 

Who is the "Writing Muse" in your life? I.E. who gets your juices flowing when you are blocked?

 

When I’m blocked, I read… a lot. I devour erotic romances. Reading IMHO is very close to writing. Both require imagination and once we start imagining, it is easier to continue.

 

Walk me though the way you create a novel from conception to completion.

 

I start with a premise and my characters and write. For me, writing is very much like dreaming. Both come from our imagination yet we can’t control what happens next.

 

What is the type of voice you use and why?

 

Oh boy, this is a tough question. Explaining a writer’s voice is like trying to explain love. My voice is lighter. I often have humor in my stories. I believe that humor is necessary for lasting love. Couples (or more) have to be able to laugh.

 

How many novels have you written including all work in progresses you are currently working on?

 

I’ve written over 60 short stories and novellas.

 

Who is your "writing idol"? I.E. Who do you like and what is it about there writing that captures your soul?

 

Loretta Chase’s Lord of Scoundrels is my benchmark book. Whenever I think my writing is tight enough, I read that novel and realize I have a lot of work to do. Every sentence in the book means something, often multiple somethings.

 

What is you favorite plot line type?

 

I’m a big fan of beauty and the beast. I love a scarred, damaged hero.

 

What is your current work in progress and how did get the idea for the Work in

 

I recently submitted Henley’s story to Avon Impulse. Readers meet Henley in The Seen Trilogy. The overly serious Head of Cyber Security is scarred (again with the scarred heroes) and very mysterious. He intrigued me and I had to find out more about him.

 

Describe the major conflict between the hero and heroine in your novel?

 

The major conflict between Anna and Blaine in He Watches Me is that Anna wishes to remain invisible, unseen, and Blaine is a high profile billionaire.

 

Is there any advice you can offer to anyone who would like to write?

 

Success is a team sport. It is VERY difficult to be successful in this business working on our own. If you need help, ASK. Be conscious of the other writer’s time but ask! I’d send writers I admire a page, not a chapter or a complete manuscript. Often the writers could pinpoint my problems by merely reading that page. I’d then apply the lessons to my entire manuscript.

 

Where are the bodies buried? IE Is there any old work in progresses you threw aside and decided not to complete and why?

 

There are plenty of book under the bed. They are there because they didn’t work. We’re creating art, not cheeseburgers, and every piece of art is different.

 

What is a good villain?

 

I firmly believe in that saying “A villain is the hero of his own story.” Great villains think they’re doing the right thing.

 

Are there any last comments you may want to include?

 

Thank you very much for interviewing me!

 

Blurb:

 

He Watches Me, Part One of The Seen Trilogy

 

She desires to be seen. He wants to watch.

 

Anna Sampson has a naughty secret. Every night, she slips into her neighbor’s yard and swims naked in his pool. She fantasizes that the dynamic young billionaire watches her nightly nude aquatics, his brilliant green eyes gleaming with lust.

 

She discovers this isn’t pure fantasy. Gabriel Blaine has been watching her via his security cameras, and now that he has returned to L.A., he doesn’t plan to stop. That’s all he wants—to watch. Anna knows she shouldn’t allow him and she certainly shouldn’t want more, but she craves Blaine’s attention, needing his gaze fixed on her body.

 

Part One of The Seen Trilogy

 

Excerpt:

 

I’m like a ghost. I drift aimlessly through the Leigh’s empty Beverly Hills mansion, my bare feet slapping against the painted gray concrete floor, shoes not allowed in the sprawling modern bungalow.

 

I’m not dead. I move the oversized, never-been-opened book staged on the chrome coffee table an inch to the right. I’m breathing. I flick one light on and turn another light off, maintaining the minimum required amount of illumination. I have a physical form. I rearrange some of the catalogues, creating the illusion that they have been recently placed on the modern glass table, all of the stores featured priced out of a new graduate’s budget. But I’m not living, not truly, and no one sees me … which is how I like it.

 

I tilt my head back and study one of the many life-sized portraits of Suzanna Leigh hanging on the walls. No one would dare look at Mrs. Leigh with disapproval. The plastic surgeon’s wife, with her blond hair, blue eyes, and big breasts, is the epitome of L.A. beauty. I’m not. I have brown hair, brown eyes, and a flat chest. I pluck at my faded pink camisole, the garment clinging to my small breasts, and I continue my stroll.

 

The sheer silver curtains billow in the night breeze, the windows cracked open in an attempt to alleviate the stifling heat. I can’t afford to turn the air-conditioning on. My agreement with the Leighs is to pay for the upkeep and utilities while they jaunt around Europe, straightening noses and increasing bra sizes. In exchange, I get a free place to stay.

 

A trickle of perspiration runs down my bare nape, my constantly frizzy hair pulled up into a ponytail. The digital wall clock buzzes midnight, and I should return to the tiny bedroom I’ve been assigned. Instead, I wander to the back door, seeking lower temperatures.

 

I slip my feet into a pair of scuffed baby blue flip-flops and slide the door open, venturing into the darkness. The scent of newly cut grass teases my nostrils, the gardeners having mowed during the day while I was at work.

 

Work. I sigh, looking out at the covered pool, wishing to swim, that indulgence denied to me by the Leighs. Who gets fired from a charity? I suspect this will be my fate tomorrow, my inability to raise donation money straining even my boss’s easygoing personality.

 

I impulsively grab the towel I had left drying on the deck railing and meander across the modern-art-littered lawn toward the wrought-iron gate, unconsciously moving closer to the property I’ve sworn never to trespass onto again. The soothing sound of falling water calls to me.

 

I gaze between the ornately crafted bars separating me from nirvana, the gate locked. Water cascades down rock into a naturally shaped pool, the feature blending into the purposefully wild backyard.

 

Only the pool is lit. The two-story house, its design as classic as the Leighs’, is contemporary, and is shrouded, as always, in darkness. I’m not surprised. I’ve seen Gabriel Blaine, its elusive and surprisingly young owner, only once in the three weeks I’ve been house-sitting.

 

That once made an impact. I had been fiddling with the finicky front door lock when the billionaire exited from a long black limousine. He paused, turned his head toward me, and our gazes met, his eyes brilliant green and hard, so very hard. Even the lock of ink-black hair falling over his forehead failed to soften his sharp chin and pronounced cheekbones.

 

My keys dropped from my lifeless fingers to the concrete steps and I froze, unable to breathe. Blaine’s lips twitched and he inclined his head toward me as though I had confirmed something he’d long suspected. I, idiot that I am, nodded back, agreeing to what? I don’t know.

 

Whatever I had agreed upon seemed to satisfy Blaine. He moved like a predator toward his rarely used mansion, his stride smooth and almost graceful. He disappeared into his home, closing the door behind him, and I haven’t seen him since.

 

I won’t see him today either, and it would be a shame not to use his gorgeously cool swimming pool. Trespassing is against the law but I am too much my father’s daughter to allow little things like laws stop me. I toss my towel over the fence and climb over the wrought iron, thanking my misspent youth on the rough streets of Detroit for developing this handy skill.

 

I pick up the towel and I pad to the edge of the pool, my flip-flops bending the grass as I walk. I pause and look around me, having the peculiar feeling someone is watching me.

 

Buy Links:

Buy On Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/He-Watches-Me-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00CD36FS8

Buy On Barnes and Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/he-watches-me-cynthia-sax/1115122850

Buy On Kobo:

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/Books/he-watches-me

Buy On ARe:

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-hewatchesme-1223674-149.html

 

Bio:

Cynthia Sax lives in a world filled with magic and romance. Although her heroes may not always say, “I love you”, they will do anything for the women they adore. They live passionately. They play hard. They love the same women forever.

Cynthia has loved the same wonderful man forever. Her supportive hubby offers himself up to the joys and pains of research, while they travel the world together, meeting fascinating people and finding inspiration in exotic places such as Istanbul, Bali, and Chicago.

 

Author Website: http://cynthiasax.com/

Blog: http://tasteofcyn.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.sax

Twitter: @CynthiaSax