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SRR: Welcome
to Simply Romance Reviews, it’s very nice to have you with us. Would you
like to tell us a little about yourself? |
| Anya Howard:
Hi Renee J I am a
stay-at-home Mom, Wife & author at this time. Some years ago I worked as a
model, and later I briefly worked as a script consultant/researcher for the
television show, The X-Files. But the bug to write my own fiction was
a much stronger desire. It was one that started when I was a little kid, and
it’s just always stayed with me. |
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| SRR:
Who or What has been your biggest influence on your work? |
| Anya Howard:
I can say that
one author in particular did encourage me, and that was the late Marion
Zimmer Bradley. She was very encouraging to me at a time in my life when I
wasn’t sure if I had what it took to go it professionally. This was when the
MZB Fantasy Magazine was still alive. I had once submitted a story to the
magazine and whichever editor it was who read it turned the story down. Then
I got this letter from Marion; she told me not to worry about what the
editor said and asked me to send her some more to read. I did, and we
exchanged several letters. She told me that while my stories didn’t fit what
her editors were looking for she enjoyed them. She also told me that she
felt I was trying too hard to write hearth witch stories and felt my
passions were directed toward more exciting genres. I took her words to
heart, and well, while it’s been ages since I came up with a hearth witch
story, I’m still writing! |
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SRR: I
so loved Naughty Elizabeth’s Romantic Surrender, can you share with
us how you developed her character? |
| Anya Howard: I
am so happy you enjoyed it, Renee!
Elizabeth is a character very much akin to my own personality. I will only
add that her story was inspired by an amalgamation of personal events and
private fantasies. |
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SRR:
How did you develop such a gift for storytelling? |
Anya Howard:
I’m not sure, except I’ve been writing since I was a kid. I probably use a
variety of styles dependent on the genre of the story. But with Erotic
Romance I do try to remember to use what I’d personally enjoy if I was
looking at the story from purely a reader’s perspective. For me, the
important components of a juicy read are a compelling storyline -the kind
that keeps the reader passionately hinged- along with beauty of
language. I feel there is so much more versatility when one tries to express
beautifully; whereas common “street language” and trite terminology get old,
quick.
And while I adore
explicitness, I hope my writing holds a charming explicitness as opposed to
in-your-face explicitness. |
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| SRR:
What is your next story and can you tell us a little about it? |
| Anya Howard: My
next published story will appear in the upcoming Kensington/Aphrodisia
release, Dangerous Ties, due out in 2009. The title of this story is
Rapture Bound and it is part of an anthology written with the
very talented authors, Jodi Lynn Copeland and Devyn Quinn. A BDSM Erotic
Romance novella, Rapture Bound is the lead-in story for my
Kensington debut novel, Rapture’s Surrender, also due for release in 2009. |
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| SRR:
When you aren’t writing, what do you to for fun? |
| Anya Howard: I
spend a lot of time playing with my youngest children; we love games and
action figures, dolls and telling stories. Some days I spend hours writing
dialog for cartoons over at Jambav’s Toondoo. (My toons can be found by
searching for member “subDes”) I also spend a great deal of time with my
smart and sexy husband, Robert. He’s my best friend and the inspiration
behind all of my Alpha heroes. Frankly, I can’t get enough of the man, lol! |
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SRR:
Thank you for the wonderful interview, before we finish up, is there
anything you would like your readers to know? |
| Anya Howard:
And thank you, Renee! I’d love to let readers to visit my new website!
www.anyahoward.com/ I also
hold contests/giveaways a few times a year, and readers can participate in
these by subscribing to my Yahoo group at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Anya_Howard_readersgroup/join |
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| ~ Anya Howard was
interviewed by Renee for Simply Romance Reviews |