Evangeline Anderson - DIK Interview

For the last 2 days Evangeline Anderson has been a guest of the DIK Ladies on the island where she discussed her 6 DIK books and 7 DIK heroes and gave away some of her books. As you all probably know, Evangeline is a very well known author – she has been published for over 4 years by Ellora’s Cave, LooseId, Aphrodisia, Liquid Silver and Cobblestone Press. She has written over 30 books, notably Dangerous Cravings and The Assignment which have been flying off the shelves at amazon.com and other booksellers. Some of her other books include Take Two, Pleasure Planet and Pleasure Palace from Aphrodisia (all of which are in paperback) Her most recent books are Charlie’s Bargain from Ellora’s Cave and The Last Bite from LooseId. Slave Boy is being released by LooseId on July 8th and we can't wait after reading the excerpt posted today.

Hello Evangeline and thank you for being visiting with us on DIK. We hope that you had a great time with the ladies and other readers while you were on the island -

EA Thanks for having me. I’m so excited to be here. : )

Evangeline what would you like your fans and other readers to know about you

EA Hmm, maybe that I’m pretty much the same as you. I’m a working mom with a husband who won’t help with the dishes and a five month old baby who still wakes me up two or three times a night. I used to believe that being published would change my entire life but nope, I still have to clean the house and make dinner like everyone else out there lol.
As for things readers might not know about me—I am a minister’s daughter. Sex was always a taboo subject growing up, which is why I was so interested in it. My first erotica was dirty stories I wrote just for myself and then burned so no one would find them (this was back when I was a teen). Only in the last five years or so have I thought that anyone else might want to read what I write which is how I got published in the first place.

Your fans love The Assignment and Dangerous Cravings which are both extremely popular and are out in paperback however, you have a brand new book out right now - Charlie’s Bargain. Another release expected on July 8 from LooseId is Slave Boy. In 30 seconds, what’s your sales pitch for these two books

Charlie’s Bargain by Evangeline Anderson now available from Ellora’s Cave

Charlie is just trying to survive. After losing her fortune she flees her home planet and hides from her blood thirsty creditors on a mining colony so horrible its residents just call it Hole.
Lynx is a Xorn, one of a feared race of non-humans known for their savage lusts. From the first instant he sees Charlie, he knows she is the only woman who can satisfy him.
Charlie wants nothing to do with the huge, muscular man with golden eyes but in order to survive on Hole, she will have to overcome her fear and make a bargain with the fierce Xorn—a bargain of desire, pleasure, and pain that will force her to see herself and Lynx in a whole new light.

Slave Boy—Male/Male sci-fi by Evangeline Anderson. Available at LooseId July 08.

Haven is a Master of the Order of the Light—a revered sect of mediators and healers that roam the galaxy righting wrongs. Ten years ago he bought a ragged slave boy from Rigel Six and brought him to live at the Temple of Light on Radiant. As Wren’s master and mentor, Haven knows the young man is off limits, so he keeps his forbidden feelings for his novice under wraps, vowing never to act on them.
Wren has been in love with his master from the moment he laid eyes on him. Haven rescued him from a life of sexual slavery and his gratitude is exceeded only by his desire for the tall, broad shouldered man he calls Master.
When the pair are sent to mediate a conflict aboard the huge Tiberion war ship, Haven discovers that he must have a pleasure slave to fulfill the local customs. Wren offers to play the part but will his role as Haven’s slave boy bring back too much of his painful past? And how can Haven keep his vows of chastity when he is forced to use Wren in the most forbidden ways? In a matter of life or death, both men must act on their hidden desires and hope not to lose each other forever.


You have been a published author for some time and write different genres. What are the recent changes/trends in the industry? How have you adapted your writing to meet the current cravings of your fans and new readers?

EA Well the biggest change I have seen lately is the fact that male/male stories are being accepted by publishers and embraced by readers. It used to be that some of the biggest pubs wouldn’t take any M/M stories but when they saw how well the smaller pubs were doing with them, they changed their tune.
In response to some of my own M/M books, most notably The Assignment, I have been writing a lot more M/M myself. I just had a M/M book out from Loose id in April called The Last Bite and I have another coming out in July called Slave Boy.
Also, e-book covers have gotten SO much better. Unfortunately, covers of books coming out of New York seem to be pretty much the same. I know from sad personal experience that when you sell a book to a big NY print pub, they will slap any cover they want on it so no improvements there. But e-books are getting better and better which makes me happy since I write a lot of them.

You are a very successful author. What advice would you like to pass on to aspiring writers and especially those DIK ladies who are trying to become published?

EA The best advice I can give you is write, write, write. The more you write, the better you write. Never stop. And once you’re at the point where you have a book ready to submit, be prepared for rejection. I got enough rejection letters to paper an entire room of my house when I first started writing and now, even though I have both print and e-book contracts and an agent in NY, I STILL have to deal with rejection. It’s part of the game so you can’t have a thin skin when it comes to trying to get your books out there. All you can do is keep trying and don’t get discouraged—eventually you’ll break through and get your book in the hands of the right person who will believe in it the way you do. Good Luck! : )

I know you write several genres but I think this is a fair question since you write M/M books as well. What do you really think about when you’re writing those hot sex scenes between two guys?)

EA Okay, this is kind of embarrassing, but when I’m writing a really hot love scene, it’s almost like mental masturbation. I don’t skimp on the sex in my books and I feel like if a scene isn’t turning me on, it won’t turn my readers on either so I go for it all the way. That means locking myself in a room and telling the rest of my family not to bother me whenever I am “writing sex”. When a love scene between two characters is really flowing, it’s the hottest feeling ever. My hubby knows if he’ll just leave me alone to finish, he’ll reap the benefits later. Lol

Since you’re female, how do you ensure that the M/M love scenes are realistic and that the action doesn’t seem fake? Do you ever get critiques from male (or female) readers about the sex scenes in your M/M books?

EA Well, I guess I try to think like a guy. I don’t want my scenes to sound like they’re between two women with penises so I try to keep my characters from acting girly.
I have gotten e-mail and letters from both male and female readers and just about all of it has been positive. I’ve never had a guy write me and say, ‘hey, that’s not how it’s done’ so I assume I’m getting it right. Of course, the sex in my M/M books, like all the sex I write, is idealized sex. I mean, if you could really have sex that’s as good and hot and never ending as what you can read in an erotica book, why would you bother to read it? You’d just be having it all the time. So the idea is to stimulate my reader’s imaginations while staying within the realm of that idealized reality.

What question have you never been asked in an interview (or anywhere else) that you’re dying to answer

EA No one has ever asked me if I would rather have sex or write it. The answer is (God I hope the hubby never reads this) I would rather write it. Sorry, I like a good roll in the hay as much as anyone but when I’m writing it, I can stretch things to the limit and really go for it. Plus I can pretend I’m the slender young heroine instead of a pleasingly plump nearly middle aged working mom. So writing wins hands down over doing.


Before we let you loose among the ladies, E could you tell us what you have planned on your site on your final day with the ladies?

EA Well, we’re going to have several contests and lots of book give-aways, both e-books and print books. We had a round robin yesterday to see if we can write a chapter of a new erotica book and I’m going to have some trivia questions for people to answer to win book prizes. Sounds like fun, huh? ; )


How can fans and other readers reach you?

My website is http://www.evangelineanderson.com/ and while you’re there you can find links to my yahoogroup and my myspace page. I also recently joined face book and I am listed as Evangeline Anderson. Come friend me on face book or myspace, I would love to add you. Also, if you have something to say about something I wrote, you can e-mail me directly at vangiekitty@aol.com I love to hear from readers and will always respond to e-mail.

Thanks E - that was really cool.