Interview and Giveaway with Author Jill Myles

So, Yay, the lovely Jill Myles is visiting my humble blog today *quick hide the smut* and she's graciously offered to giveaway a signed copy of Gentlemen Prefer Succubi to one lucky winner, details after the interview.

So, let's get this party started. Now last week I asked for questions from readers to ask Ms. Myles so I'll be asking those along with some of my own hard hitting ones.

Jill writes sexy paranormal romance starring a succubi named Jackie and her adventures. There are also a couple really hot guys in these books, one is a fallen angel and one a dark and broody vampire. Yeah, the possibilities are endless.

So, I had a question from a reader *coughKBcough* and she wants to know, who would be better in bed, a fallen angel or a smokin hot dark vampire?

It depends on what you are looking for in bed, of course! Do you want a tender, thorough lover that would satisfy you for hours, or would you rather have someone that likes it short, hot and violent?

(I'm talking pillow-fights, of course.)

Uh huh, suuure you are. ::fans self:: Moving on.

Mandi wants to know the following:

1) What 3 things do you have to have beside you when you write?

Coffee or tea, a bright light (I like to pretend that I'm outside even though I'm not), and lately...my SNUGGIE. A writer's feet get cold, after all.

2) How is Jackie going to explain her change in appearance to friends and family?

This is something that's come up a few times in reviews, so it's good that I can tackle it a bit here. We don't see Jackie interacting with a lot of friends/family in the first couple of books because she's kind of a loner. Which is lame, but I kind of saw her as one of those people that thinks they know better than everyone else, which makes it hard to cultivate a lot of friends. She was obsessed with moving up in her job and she's not a native Wyoman (Wyomingan? Man, I should know this, right?) so I imagine if she went back to where she grew up, she'd have a lot of 'splainin to do. It hasn't come up yet because I've really wanted to focus on how out of her element she is in the current books, but I am definitely toying with the idea for a later book or a short story.


3) How can she (Mandi) go about meeting a sexy man, preferably named Zane? (I'd like to know that one, too)

It involves lots of alcohol, some biting, and finding a willing fallen angel. Or so I hear.

Hmm....I may have to move to NYC for that kind of action.

Now, we're going to embarrass my sis a bit here *waves* Hey Jen!

O.k., Jen wanted to know the following:

1) How do your stories come to you and what inspires you?

At this point, I'm going to embarrass myself and say that I'm a lot like a squirrel hoarding nuts. Each nut is a bit of a story. And if it's shiny and neat, I grab it and take it back home with me. And then I see another shiny, and grab it and take it back home with me too! And another! And another! And all of these little 'nuts' fill up my brain (okay, so that part isn't like a squirrel) and they keep turning back and forth as I try to figure out what to do with them. Then, one day, it hits me, and all the individual nuts suddenly glom into one giant nut - the story. Which isn't squirrel-like either, come to think of it.

Clearly, I need to work on my analogies. But you get the idea. It's not from any one place, it's the mental hoarding of tiny tidbits and trying to figure out what to do with them until they all glue together and make a real story.

2) Do you have a favorite character?

I love Remy! She's just fun to write. The gloves are off with her, and she says and does what she wants. Partially because she knows she can get away with it, and partially because she's been around the block and no longer cares what people think of her choices. Oh, and there's a new character introduced in book 3 that I'm having a lot of fun with too.

3) If you could dine with one of your characters, who would it be and why?

Good question. Remy would be entertaining, Jackie would gripe the entire time, Zane would sit around looking sexy, and Noah would pay. I'd probably go with Noah, then. I'm a cheap date.


4) Have you ever had a story turn out differently than you planned?

All of them! I try to plot it out (even if it's just in my mind) in advance, but my brain is constantly thinking up right-turns for the plot to take, and it ends up changing the story. But I'm totally game for the changes, so I like to think that the story turned out exactly the way it should. :)


Now, these are all good questions, but I feel I have to ask the truly hard hitting stuff now.

So, we read that Jackie ends up with a lot of Victoria Secret undies and that's cool and all, but what I really want to know is, what kind of underwear do Noah and Zane wear?

Oh boy. I think Noah would be a briefs kind of guy. Not in the boring, tighty-whitey sort of way, but in the David Beckham pictures sort of way. I've included a picture so you can see what I'm talking about.




Zane, I have always pictured as a more trendy, boxer-briefs sort of guy. And again, I've added a picture because I think visuals always help. ;)



Oh, yeah, visuals always help. ::drools::


How many adventures do you have planned for the lovely Jackie and her sidekicks?

Good question - one I don't have an answer for. It depends on my publisher! Without spoiling things, I'll say Book 3 offers some sort of closure to multiple plot lines, but if there's enough demand, I have enough ideas for at least 3 more books that would be more of a 'second series' involving the same characters, if that makes sense.

Are we going to meet anyone new and possibly sexy in the next story, Succubi Like It Hot?

There is someone new in book 2, yes! And he is sexy. But is he a good guy? This is the part where I raise my pinky finger to my lips like Dr. Evil.

So, these books are considered Paranormal Romance, but we have two smokin hot male leads. Is there going to be a point where Jackie will be forced to choose between her lovers or is there the possibility of a HEA for all of them?

Everything is not wrapped up all pretty and neat at the start of book 2. Rather, the relationship is going through some growing pains. You have two guys that don't seem to like each other very much that are forced to share someone they care about. Of course there are going to be conflicts. And I can say that as of right now, none of the three is exactly sure what they want out of the relationship -- just that no one is willing to step aside just yet.

I can't say more or I'll spoil things! :)

What was the best advice you received while you were trying to be published?

I forget who told me, but I was really busy trying to make my stuff sound like everyone else's. Someone told me not to bother with it, and that I had a funny voice (or at least they thought I was funny!) and that I should try and cultivate that. I spent a long time trying to write serious, serious, angst-riddled storylines and it wasn't clicking for me. Once I embraced that my stuff was going to be funny and light and told from a first-person POV, it all sort of came together.

Do you have a word of advice for aspiring writers out there?

That's my advice for everyone else, too. We're not all emo angst-muffins that have to write dramatic, unhappy stories. If what calls you is kind of funny and quirky, go ahead and write it. It'll sound far more natural than trying to force your writing into something it's not.

Was any particular character hard to write for you and why?

Does it sound weird if I say Jackie? So much stuff happens to her that I'm constantly juggling her reactions, and trying to make her pro-active when her natural instinct is to try and run away from bad things. And sometimes the first reaction I come up with for her is not...appropriate. So she feels like a constant juggling act to me. To make her sympathetic but still interesting enough to follow, and not a doormat.

But if she was a breeze to write, it wouldn't be a challenge and she wouldn't be interesting, right?

Well, I'd like to thank the lovely Jill Myles for stopping by to play with us today. And I have to say that whoever told you to write funny was right on the money. Your great sense of humor really comes through in Gentlemen Prefer Succubi, and it was fun to read.

So, now on to the contest. Here are the rules:
You have to leave a comment on this interview in the comments section to enter and you have to live in the continental USA to be eligible.
Now what's up for grabs is a signed copy of Gentlemen Prefer Succubi and some pretty bookmarks, which makes me totally jealous cuz I didn't get any pretty bookmarks ::sniff sniff::
Contest is open til next Tuesday Jan 19th which is coincidentally when the next book by Jill, Succubi Like It Hot comes out ;)
Contest closes at 11:59 PM PST 1/19.

OK, kids, have fun and thanks for joining us.