So how did I get myself into this situation, you ask? Simple: desperation. When you're faced with being homeless and hungry or taking off your clothes for money, the choice is easier than you'd imagine. That doesn't make it easy, though. Oh no. I hate it, in fact. There's nothing I'd like more than to quit and never go into another bar again, never hear the techno beat pulsing in my ears again, never feel the lecherous gazes of horny men again.
Then, one day, I meet a man. He's in my club, front and center. He watches me do my routine, and his gaze is full of hunger. Not the kind of desire I'm used to though. It's something different. Something hotter, deeper, and more possessive. I know who he is; of course I do. Everyone knows who Dawson Kellor is. He's People Magazine's Sexiest Man alive. He's the hottest actor in Hollywood. He's the man hand-picked for the role of Rhett Butler in the long-awaited remake of Gone With the Wind.
He's the kind of man who can have any woman in the entire world with a mere crook of his finger. So what's he doing looking at me like he has to have me? And how do I resist him when he looks at me with those intoxicating, changeable, quicksilver eyes?
I'm a virgin, and he's an American icon of male sexuality. I'm a stripper, and he's a man used to getting anything and everything he wants. And he wants me. I know I should say no, I know he's the worst kind of player...but what my mind knows, my body and my heart may not.
And then things get complicated.
Jasinda Wilder: I'm from Detroit, born and raised. I live in northern Oakland county, now. I'm a music, theater and dance teacher by trade. I taught voice both privately and as a contractor for public schools. I only recently retired from that after 15 years.
Romance Addict-Steph: Can you tell us something that not a lot of people know about you?
Jasinda Wilder: I've seen nearly every single episode of The Bachelor/Bachelorette, ever.
Romance Addict-Steph: What got you into writing in the first place?
Jasinda Wilder: Well, in teaching theater, I was aways writing monologues, dialogues, soliloquies, group scenes, that kind of thing. So when my husband and I needed income, it seemed natural enough to move to writing fiction.
Romance Addict-Steph: Tell us a little about your writing process. Any pre-writing rituals or routines?
Jasinda Wilder: My prewriting ritual is to sit down and write. I have to have Greek yogurt, toast and coffee, and I go through emails and FB. Then, I start writing.
Romance Addict-Steph: When you create your characters do you ever put bits of either your personality or bits of personalities from people close to you?
Jasinda Wilder: Of course. No one character is ever a direct transcription of one person. Characters are always composites. I've said this in other interviews. For characters to seem real, to feel like unique individuals, you have to give them unique, individual things. If your sister chews her nails, and your BFF has an addiction to weekly manicures, then your heroine might have a habit of getting a manicure on Monday and having it chewed away by Wednesnday, which would bug her since she needs her nails to look pretty but can't stop chewing them since she's stressed. See how that works?
Romance Addict-Steph: What first inspired you to write Stripped?
Jasinda Wilder: Life, like all my other books. I've known girls who have stripped through college. I've known sheltered Christian girls. Very few girls who end up as strippers go, "wow, I really want to be a stripper!" It's usually because they have few other choices and life has brought them to a place where stripping becomes one of the only viable options for making it, financially. For a sheltered Christian girl to reach this point, life would have to be very very desperate indeed, but if she was determined enough to make it on her own, or simply had no other choice besides starvation and homelessness, then she would do it. Stripped came about as a result of wondering what a sheltered Christian girl would do if faced with this choice. And of course, I wanted to do a sexy book with a hot as hell male lead, but i wanted him to be different. We've seen rock stars and businessmen and college boys and bad boy bikers, but we haven't seen too many Hollywood movie stars in romance. So that's where Dawson came from.
Romance Addict-Steph: How is Dawson Kellor similar and/or different compared to heros in your other books?
Jasinda Wilder: Well, he's similar in that he's kind and loving and tender, once he's brought to a place where he's willing to let a woman see that side of him. I don't like the brutish, grunting, caveman type of male lead. Not to say there's anything wrong with those kinds of characters, I just don't write them. I like my men to be intelligent and well-spoken. Rough, brawny, hard-edged, yes. But not brutish or given to monosyllabic grunts. So that's Dawson, he's rough around the edges, he's had a privileged life as Hollywood royalty, and he's never really been told no before. But, unlike some of my other characters, he's totally unapologetic for who and what he is. He's a hedonist, he likes nice things, likes to spend money and isn't afraid to do so. The one other billionaire playboy type I wrote, Shane from Biker Billionaire, didn't want to flaunt his wealth. Dawson doesn't have this compunction. He likes zipping around LA in $2M sports cars.
Romance Addict-Steph: You’ve written books in a couple of different genres, do you have a particular favorite?
Jasinda Wilder: No, not really. I like reading all kinds of books, from erotica to romance, NA, YA, sweet romance, thrillers, suspense, scifi, action, just everything. So it's natural for me to want to write different genres too. I probably won't write a sweet romance, because I enjoy writing some hot and raunchy sex just a little too much, but the sex will always have a place within the story. I don't think I have a favorite genre. I just like good stories with hot and compelling characters.
Can you tell us about some projects you are currently working on?
My husband, Jack (also known as Mr. Wilder), is working on a romantic suspense type of book, called The Missionary, which is due out in September. We're a team, so I'm helping him with that while I work the launch for Stripped. My next project will be a return to emotional romance. The title is After Forever, and I've got at two books worked out, but it might go to one more. I'm not too sure just yet. I can't tell you too much about the project, though, because I'm still in the planning phases, and anything i might tell you at this point would likely end up being a spoiler. So you'll just have to be content with the title. It'll be more like the Falling books, though, in that it will be more of an emotional journey.
Romance Addict-Steph: What are some good books you've read lately?
Jasinda Wilder: Hmm. What have I read? I read an ARC of a book called Heart Shaped Rock, by the talented Laura Roppé, who hosts the Kindle Love Stories podcasts. It's a YA romance, and it's excellent. I also read Hard Evidence by Pamela Clare.
Romance Addict-Steph: If you could collaborate with another author in writing a book, who would it be?
Jasinda Wilder: Hmm. I collaborate with my husband every day. Another writer, besides him? I don't know. That would be tricky. I think it would be fun to collabo with Bella Andre, Liliana Hart or Tara Sivec.
Romance Addict-Steph: If you could offer one piece of advice to a prospective author, what would it be?
Jasinda Wilder: Write. Write. Write. Finish the book, publish it, and start the next one. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, sells books so well as more books.
 |
| Jasinda Wilder & Steph @ Book Bash |
Some of her favorite authors include Nora Roberts, JR Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Liliana Hart and Bella Andre.
She loves to travel and some of her favorite vacations spots are Las Vegas, New York City and Toledo, Ohio.
You can often find Jasinda drinking sweet red wine with frozen berries and eating a cupcake.
Jasinda is represented by Kristin Nelson of the Nelson Literary Agency.
Find Jasinda Wilder:
Like Jasinda Wilder on Facebook
Follow Jasinda Wilder on Twitter @JasindaWilder
Become a fan of Jasinda Wilder on Goodreads
Website: http://www.jasindawilder.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment