Ink Motions with Jane Leopold Quinn

Sensual fantasies were locked in my mind for years until a friend said, "Why don't you write them down?" Why not, indeed? One spiral notebook, a pen and the unleashing of my imagination later, and here I am with more than a dozen books published. The craft of writing erotic romance has become my passion and my niche in life. I love every part of the creative process — developing characters, designing the plot, even drawing the layout of physical spaces from my stories. My careers have been varied — third grade school teacher, bookkeeper, secretary — none of which gave me a bit of inspiration. But now I'm lucky enough to write romance full time — the best job in the universe! And I'm fortunate enough to have found my own happily ever after husband.

http://janeleopoldquinn.blogspot.com

 

How do you get an idea for your novels?

 

I've found inspiration lots of ways:

1)  Many years ago, as a single woman, I went to England. At the Roman Museum in Bath I took a photo of the tombstone of a Roman soldier. When the film was developed the edges of the stone were clear but the carving in the center was hazy. I told people that the soldier came out to meet me. A few years later I went back to the same museum with my husband and took the same photo. Clear. I told people that the Roman soldier showed that he approved of my husband. I hadn't begun writing at that point. A few years later the story came to fruition in my mind. It's the story of an Iowa school teacher who visits Bath England, steps through the entry way of a 2nd Century Roman villa in ruins, and meets a Roman soldier. Ancient Ties was born. The book received 4-1/2 Stars and Top Pick from Romantic Times and many 5 star reviews. That was a pretty high place to start and to live up to. Unfortunately, Ancient Ties isn't available for sale at the moment.

2) A Bocelli song inspired my Flamenco dancer heroine, Ivy Westlake, in Jake and Ivy.

 

3) A cough syrup commercial on TV -- an unattractive guy kept coughing and irritating friends and co-workers. He takes the cough syrup and instantly turns into a handsome hunk. My story, Mercenary Desires, was born. A former special forces soldier turned mercenary-for-hire rescues a jewelry designer from Egyptian kidnappers. Even though he's undercover and bearded and scruffy looking and she has no idea what he really looks like, she falls for him.

 

4)  Nick Barkley on The Big Valley -- ah, those black clothes and gloves… He became Nick Gabriel in Jake and Ivy and is the star of his own story, The Long Road to You, which is upcoming.

 

5) Listening to music, tenors especially. Andrea Bocelli, Il Divo, Josh Groban, Mario Frangoulis, and groups like Due Voci and The Opera Band.

 

 

What is your writing style?  Do you just sit down and write or do you create…

I usually start with a rough premise, the two main characters, and I actually know how I want the book to end.  Always happily, of course.  Then I generally start writing a chapter or two to give me an idea of where this is going.  Then I'll sit down and work on a full plot.  I use a simple grid with POV character; scene description; notes about kisses, touches, partial, and full sex; and general notes.  That's when I feel comfortable enough to go ahead and write.  All this isn't hard and fast. I can go back and adjust things if my characters want me to.

 

 

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

As of February 2015, I'll have 16 published books.  Ellora's Cave has 3 more under contract.  I have a few in my WIP drawer, mostly erotic shorts.  My goal is to focus on these in 2015.  My first books written were novel length, but as time has gone on, I've been writing shorter.  I'm much more comfortable with short stories and novellas.  I like to write more of a "snapshot" of the characters' lives than a full-on saga.

 

 

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

Most of my books are erotic romance, but there are two authors that I go back to over and over again to remind myself why I keep going.  The books also just make me happy to read.  Two authors and books are my absolute go-tos, Dream a Little Dream by Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Exposure by Susan Andersen.  Both these books have small children who are so adorable.  But the stories are beautifully written about survival and finding love.

 

 

What is your favorite plot line type?

Haha, romance.  Sorry, that's too simplistic, I guess.  But to me, romance and a happy ending are the main reasons I read and write.  I've read a lot of "literary" novels in my life, and I can understand their greatness.  But now I generally like to read romance.  The world is just too cray-cray these days, and I think we all could use some happy endings.  This doesn't mean that romances aren't deep and complicated books.  I love the way the characters fight their personal demons and maybe some human/non-human ones to find their way to each other.

 

 

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

Just write.  Put your fingers on the keyboard or your pen on the paper and write.  It might be crap at first.  But it might not be, or at least not completely.  You can always fix it.  If you have a story going around in your mind, then it wants to come out.  That's how I started.

 

 

What is a good villain?

Good question.  I'm not really good at villains.  My worst villain was a man who held a grudge to an extreme and hurt people.  My second worst villain was really a sad man who had a great loss in his life that he'd never dealt with.  Otherwise, my stories generally deal with characters' internal conflicts.

 

 

An excerpt (from a novel/work in progress), poem, or short story of your choice. Word count 1000 words. Also include blurb and buy link for book .

 

 

Jake and Ivy

The Brothers Agee - Jake

Blurb

Ivy Westlake, thought to be a demure young lady, comes alive at her friend’s hacienda in Mexico when she discovers the Flamenco. Her wild side is unleashed in the sensuality of music and dancing. She will not allow her father to force her into a marriage of convenience back East, so she runs away with the dance troupe.

Jake Agee, cowboy, horse trader, loner, has carefully built a life with no commitments. That life explodes in his face when Ivy dances. He doesn’t know she’s run away until he spots her performing in a small California town. He battles his desire to have this woman against his well-honed sense of independence.

Jake and Ivy perform their own style of pas de deux throughout southern California until their passions ignite in a desert cave in the middle of a thunder storm. Jake fights his growing love as Ivy fights her craving for their erotic pursuits. Jake’s long lost brother suddenly and mysteriously surfaces. Will this appearance tear Jake and Ivy apart? Will it destroy their love?

 

Excerpt - R-rated

The drawers dropped.

He groaned. Her dancer's body, one long graceful line from head to toe, reminded him of a painting he'd seen in San Francisco. He'd been wandering along Market Street near the Palace Hotel and caught a glimpse of a beautiful naked woman through a window. When he went to investigate, to his embarrassment he discovered he'd entered an art gallery. A painting—a woman rising from a pond surrounded by thick woods. Now he stared stupidly at the very image of the woman in the painting, at the real life woman's pale translucent flawless skin. He had the living breathing Ivy here before him, not unobtainably flat on a canvas.

His palms itched to cover her full white breasts. His body flamed hot wanting the feel of her dark rosy nipples rubbing against his bare chest. And in his mouth. His clenched jaw ached. He growled deeply in his throat at the insistent throbbing of his cock, at the thickening inside his pants. Ravenous to touch her, her breasts, her belly, the dark triangle below it, he swallowed, suddenly nervous.

He lifted a hand to her hair, slipping his fingers through it, fluffing the damp strands out to spill down her back and over her shoulders to teasingly cover her breasts. The woman in the painting, her hair was like this. He'd stood so long in front of the painting that the gallery proprietor had to cough to get his attention. At the time he believed he'd never see a woman's hair like that in the painting. But he was wrong. It was here, within his reach, rich and thick and wildly curling around her breasts, her nipples peeping through. Fingering the length of the waves drifting over her neck and shoulders, his hands shaking slightly, he reached the round cushions of her breasts. His breath caught in his throat as he brushed the backs of his knuckles down the center of her body.

His eyes widened to take it all in, his mouth watering to taste her. His lips softened, his breath rasped. He heard her sharp indrawn gasp and a moan echoed so deeply inside her he could feel its vibration on his fingers. Glancing up, he saw she was watching with fascination as his fingers skimmed around her breasts finally reaching their tips.

She looked up at him then, her lips parted in anticipation, her eyes swimming with desire. "Mm," she sighed shakily, pursing her lips, her body quivering, her eyes glazed and dreamy as he drew the backs of his fingers over her.

His only reality was his hands on her body, on her hot skin. Curving his palms around her, he caressed her breasts, her neck and shoulders. He'd never made love like this, had no plan of seduction. Yes, he'd had sex before but never with the feeling that this time would be momentous. He wanted it to be good for her. If he was going to take her innocence, he didn't want her to regret it.

"Ah."

He leaned in, their lips meeting, soft at first, just a gentle brush.

"God, Jake." She groaned into his mouth.

Their lips parted momentarily, then his kiss turned savage, his tongue plunging into her slippery mouth and intertwining with hers, filling her until he felt breathless and weak. Her fingers clutched the back of his shirt, nails digging into the skin beneath. The sharp sting kindled a spark in him. His hands raked through her damp hair, cupping her head in his palms, holding her as he moved over her lips, taking control of her mouth.

He caressed her shoulders and neck with his thumbs, nibbling at her brow and eyelids, nuzzling her ear and, with repressed ferocity, he bit her earlobe.

"Jake," she murmured repeatedly. She pulled frantically at the front of his shirt, clumsily unbuttoning it. "I want to feel your bare skin," she demanded, her voice lying low and husky. As the shirt fell open, her hands grazed across his chest followed by the hot softness of her breasts. Crying out at the contact, she kissed his shoulder. Her lips moved down, following her fingers as they skimmed over the light hair covering his chest, following the trail directly to his belly button.

He stopped her hand from going lower. Stupid son of a bitch.

 

Buy Link - Jake and Ivy available at Amazon - http://amzn.com/B00OEFC9LK

 

My Books

Ellora's Cave

Lost and Found

The Real Deal (coming Jan. 7, 2015)

Indie

Valentine's Day

His Hers & His

The Keeper

Soldier, Come Home

Winning Violetta

A Promise at Dawn

Jake and Ivy

Wooing the Librarian

Home to Stay

The Long Road to You (coming Feb. 5, 2015)

Siren

Undercover Lover

Mercenary Desires

I'll Be Your Last

Jane Leopold Quinn

My Romance:  Love With a Scorching Sensuality

http://janeleopoldquinn.BlogSpot.com  +  https://twitter.com/jelquinnauthor

Amazon Author Page