Interview ~ Zenobia Renquist
How do you get an idea for your novel?
I get ideas from everything. Most of my ideas start with the phrase “wouldn’t it be funny if…” or I’ll just be sitting watching TV and characters will start arguing in my head. It’s then my job to figure out why they are arguing, how they met, and where they are going.
Sometimes my friends will give me a prompt to write about, like in the case of Or Current Resident (Soul Debt) and the Assistant’s Position Series. Both of those came from Flash Fiction Friday prompts. Rite Men for Maya, my first novella with Changeling Press, came from a challenge Stephanie Burke gave me to write a story for the “gayest tattoo ever.” Do a search. That exact phrasing and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Other times, it’s just a matter of wanting to write a specific type of character, like a unicorn, and building a plot around that character.
What is your writing style? Do you just sit down and write or do you create an outline?
I used to just sit and write whatever came to mind first. Stream of consciousness is a great way to get words on the page. I’ve found it’s not so great when trying to finish a book in a specific amount of time. For that reason, I’ve taken to creating a rough outline of points I want to hit in each chapter so I keep myself on track.
I have a lot of books I want to finish in the next few months, so I need a plan of attack that will optimize every second I’m in front of my computer. It’s great when inspiration hits and the words just flow but that doesn’t happen all the time with a predictable amount of consistency. Sometimes it’s just a matter of getting words down and hoping inspiration hits when it’s time to edit.
Who is the "Writing Muse" in your life?
I write. It’s something I have to do. Writing is to me what smoking/drinking is to others. It’s my vice, my addiction, my way of dealing with reality. I become very irritable and hard to be around when I’m not allowed to write, like when life obligations pry me away from my computer. Whether I write the story I’m supposed to be working on (ie – in the case of a deadline) is a different matter entirely.
How many novels have you written including all work in progresses you are currently working on?
Written. Wow. Let me count. Under my real name D. Renee Bagby I have written 8 novels. Of those eight, 5 have been published and the other three need to be brought up to my current standards before I try to get them published. One was recently reverted to me but will be re-published after I tweak it. Under Zenobia Renquist, I have written 2 novels and about 42 novellas. Of those both novels and 36 novellas are published. A few titles have been reverted back to me. I have plans to tweak them all and re-publish those as well.
Who is your "writing idol?" I.E. Who do you like and what is it about there writing that captures your soul?
I would have to say it’s a toss up between Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick and Jude Deveraux. Both ladies filled my high school years. They released books and I read them. Their characters weren’t perfect people falling into fated love. They were flawed and combative and worked at getting to the happily ever after. Not only that, their plots kept me turning pages just to find out how they would be resolved. I strive for the same in my stories and use both ladies as my template for achieving that goal.
What is you favorite plot line type?
Always and forever, my favorite plot type will be Beauty and the Beast. I like for my heroines and heroes to clash before they fall in love. I never understood those stories that had the main characters in love from the first moment they meet and everything is roses and chirping birds. If life is happy from the jump for the main characters, why am I still reading this book? I want conflict—man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. self. Beauty and the Beast has all three and I love playing with those major conflicts to create a great story.
Is there any advice you can offer to anyone who would like to write?
If you want to write, WRITE. Talking about writing isn’t writing. Reading about writing isn’t writing. Telling people you want to write a book isn’t writing. Writing is writing. Butt in seat. Fingers on keys. Words on the page. Beginning. Middle. End. Write. Finish. Publish. Repeat. Anyone can be a writer. Only those who get published get to call themselves authors.
What is a good villain?
I recently returned from Dragon*Con in Atlanta, GA. Great convention, if a tad on the crowded side. At the convention I attended the Sleepy Hollow panel when John Noble (Henry) sat in until Tim Mison (Ichabod) showed up, since he was late. Mr. Noble was asked which he preferred to play, the hero or the villain.
His answer has become mine when asked what makes a good villain. He said this (paraphrasing)—a good villain is a person who is doing what s/he feels is the right thing but goes about achieving it the wrong way. It’s easy to point and say someone is a bad guy because they are evil and kick puppies and take candy from babies. What makes a great villain, those villains we absolutely love, are the ones who are acting to achieve a goal s/he feels is worthwhile. But the way the villain goes about getting to that goal is usually the most direct (ie – evilest) route possible.
My best example of that would be dealing with over-population. A hero would try to find some way to convince people to have fewer children and spread out to less urban areas so there isn’t overcrowding. That’s a solution that may work over time. A villain would simply poison half the population. Same outcome (as it were) but different ways of going about it.
VIP Room Service (Other Related Duties #1) by Zenobia Renquist
A hotel erotica tale hot enough to set the screen on fire.
She offers satisfaction above and beyond what is requested.
Lexie's job as a maid at a five-star hotel doesn't normally include the unique and risqué form of room service that rich guest Mr. Malena has requested, nor the generous tip he's offered. Submission and exhibition and a ménage. Lexie can't resist. What should have been a one-time thing turns into an introduction into the sensual world of customer satisfaction. This is one workplace encounter that could get her fired...or will it?
NOTE: Title previously published as Wine Service (Professional Courtesy 1).
Genre: Contemporary BDSM Erotica, MFM, Exhibitionism/Voyeurism
Publisher: DZRB Books
Length: Novella - 37K (approx. 83 pages)
ISBN: 9781634750004 (ASIN B00V8RE64K)
Price: $2.99 99¢ - On Sale! (Ends 26 Sep 2015)
** Read an Excerpt **
She drew in a long gasping breath and then choked on it as someone knocked at the door.
“Room service.”
She widened her eyes, and her pleasure dropped to nil.
“Ah. Right on time.” Mr. Malena dialed off the vibrator, removed it, and set it aside. He called, “One moment.”
“What?” Lexie asked in a frantic whisper. She clutched at the comforter, debating if she should hide in the bathroom or under the bed. Had the server heard her? Had he recognized her voice?
She looked at her uniform draped over the back of the chair. He would know a housekeeper was with Mr. Malena. A housekeeper who was undressed with a wide variety of toys out in the open. No deductive reasoning was needed to figure out what was happening or who the housekeeper was.
Mr. Malena patted her belly. “Shhhh.” He held his finger to his lips. “Just relax.”
“I can’t relax,” Lexie whispered back. “He’ll see me.”
“No, he won’t.” He grinned. “Not your face, at any rate.” He urged her to lie back before draping a towel over her head. “There.”
“Wha—”
“Shhhh. You don’t want him to recognize your voice, if you know him. So long as you stay still, he won’t see your face.”
“What about the rest of me? What about my uniform? And the cart outside?” Lexie could see her job ending. She should have known this was too good to be true.
“I’ll take care of it. Now hush.”
Clothing rustled. Lexie peeked under the towel in time to see Mr. Malena fold her uniform into one of the dresser drawers and close it. He slipped on a robe and then glanced back at her. She yanked the towel back down. She wanted to roll herself in the comforter. Wanted to and didn’t at the same time.
She only had to keep her face covered, and the server wouldn’t know who she was. The idea of letting a virtual stranger see her naked titillated her. Her clit throbbed and ached to be touched. She clutched at the towel and waited.
Mr. Malena opened the door. “Thank you, my good man. I am famished. This way.”
Lexie frowned. When had he ordered room service? Had he done it before she arrived and known it would get here while they were playing? He did seem less flustered by this turn of events than she was, as if he’d planned it.
The server asked, “Where do you want— Whoa!”
A long pause followed that exclamation. The server had seen her.
Want more? Read the full first chapter online at DRB1stChp Blog:
http://drb1stchp.com/2015/03/vip-room-service-by-zenobia-renquist/
** Buy Links **
All Romance eBooks | Google | iBooks | Kindle | Kobo | Nook | Smashwords (use coupon code FH44L at checkout to receive sale price)
** Bio **
Zenobia Renquist is the alter-ego of D. Renee Bagby. Call her Zen or Renee, she answers to both. Air Force brat turned Air Force wife, she was born in Europe, has lived in Japan and in several states of the US, including Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, California, Maryland and Hawaii.
She moved a lot in her younger years and remembers all too well being the new kid in fish-out-of-water situations. But those experiences only made her better able to adapt, as well they gave her a love of travel, preferring road trips over flying.
Turning her favorite pastime into her career, Renee loves to build worlds and torture her characters for the enjoyment of her readers. She can’t fill everyday with writing alone, and also enjoys watching anime, reading manga, crocheting, knitting (yarn and mail), and binging shows on Netflix. She’s a Whovian (David Tennant for the win!), a trekkie (DS9 because Odo rocked), and a fan of pretty much every Marvel live action movie and DCU animated movie.
She has a wacky imagination and tends to write all over the place. In order to keep up, she only asks one thing—Leave Your Reality Behind to Discover Different and Unique Romance & Erotica.
Visit her website: http://zenobiarenquist.com
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