About

Where do you get your inspiration for your stories?

I get inspiration from all sorts of places and people. Stories are really about people and the things they go through and the obstacles they overcome. I came up with my book Fan Girl after hearing people say they were “fangirling,” which sounded kinda creepy. So, I suppose that story was inspired by my readers.

How do you develop your characters in a story (personalities, etc.)?

Maybe I should, but I don’t do character sketches before I write a character. Instead, I try to let them grow through the story and let them figure out who they are. I will say that I like strong female characters and don’t believe in giving them mindless jobs or dainty personalities in my stories.

Do you write your stories from start to finish, or is it a bunch of written parts at separate times that fit together?

I have a hard time writing anything from start to finish. I have so many ideas floating through my head that they are constantly fighting with each other. At any one time, I can be working on a dozen stories.

When did you decide you wanted to write?

I’ve been writing since the eighth grade. Although it was definitely off and on until about 2006 when I decided to pursue a graduate degree in creative writing. Then it took me a few years to have the nerve to put my stories out for public scrutiny. I enjoy doing it. I enjoy daydreaming about it. I enjoy the what-ifs.

What inspired you to begin writing novels? What is your preferred genre to write? Do you have a favorite novel or series of the ones you’ve written so far?

I think daydreaming inspired me to write. I had all these things in my head and decided I needed to put them on paper. I used to spend time in chat rooms, telling stories. Finally, it was suggested that I publish my stories. My preferred genre is erotic romance for the simple fact I see a woman’s body as a temple. Laugh at that if you need to, but it’s the truth. If someone were to analyze my writing, they would find that all my stories are about men pleasing women. My favorite series is the Heat series, the series nobody really reads. It really is me writing as me. I just have fun with it. I get every girl I want and get to do everything I want.

Do you have certain music that you listen to while you write? Do you have a ritual that you go through before you start a book? Like notebooks in a certain spot, special coffee cup?

I’m probably one of the few writers who does not listen to music while I write. I have to be distraction-free. I’ve tried listening to music, but it starts to pull me away from the writing. So the only ritual I have is that I like to write when it’s dark outside, so early morning or at dusk. I just like that vibe.

What books have inspired you? How do you come up with your book titles? Can you list some of your “blooper” titles? What is your favorite passage out of all your books, and why?

I don’t read erotica or romance, so I really have no idea what’s out there. I just know by looking on Amazon what’s currently being written. I think maybe Anne Rice’s Interview with A Vampire was the closest thing to inspiration, and that’s just a maybe. Book titles are pulled out of thin air. Although I was walking through the grocery store once and saw a package that said Meat Market on it. I thought, now that is a title! My favorite passage is from my Vegas Heat book. The two characters are in a shanty at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and they are just about to have sex. They are sitting on the bed watching each other. There was just something about that scene that I found sensual and envious.

Does your wife help with any plot ideas or any help with your writing process?

I’m working on getting her more involved. I think she’s afraid to ever tell me something isn’t working or something is bad. It is hard to put family in that situation. And to be honest, she’s the only one who really knows I write this stuff.

Do you use any personal experiences that you’ve had in your books?

Say it here. Yes . . . and we will leave that right there.

Do you see things when you are out and about that you think would be a good fit in your story? Like a sign, a bar name, street name, hear a person’s name?

Everything in life is prime pickings for a story. I recently met with a group of people and, in my head, wrote a story about every one of them before the meeting was even over. I think it is why I love the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty so much. The way he daydreams throughout his day is all me.

If you could be ONE of your characters, which one and why? Do any of your characters have similarities to you?

What's a product or service you'd like to show. I would want to be Quinn in the Heat series. I wrote him as me. I identify with some of the shit he goes through. There is a little bit of me in all the male characters I write. I want what they are getting. This is why the Heat series is destined to be 51 books.

On your recent travels, was there any particular place that grabbed your imagination for a base for a story?

The funny thing about my recent travels is that I went places I wrote about in my stories. I did that intentionally to see how close I came to what it was really like. But, unfortunately, I’ve not been blown away enough by a place to say I have to write this place into a story.

What are your goals as an author? What makes being an author part of who you are as a person?

This is a tough one. Since Quinn Slater is a pen name, it is kind of hard for me to have lofty goals and keep my identity under wraps. My goals are to write characters people care about. I’ve heard the genre be called mindless reading. I try hard not to make it mindless. I try to incorporate things for people to think about. I hate for people to see the books and think it’s just porn. It’s really not. Those people are probably just prudes. People murder, and books are written. War is waged, and books are written. Families fall apart, and books are written. All three of these things are horrendous, yet society says it’s okay to write about them. Write about what people do in the bedroom and it pornography. It makes no sense unless people are embarrassed or ashamed of what they’re doing in their bedrooms. I like to tell stories, and being an author allows me to share those stories, regardless of what some people may think of them.

If you could spend time with a character from one of your books, whom would it be? What would you do during the day?(personalities, etc.)?

I would love to spend time with Christy from Vegas Heat. I wish she hadn’t been such a bitch to Quinn. Man, he cared so much about her. Arizona Heat was so hard to write (if I said why it would be a spoiler).

Do you ever think of going back to a book you’ve already published and adding to it, embellishing it a bit more?

Funny you should ask that question. I wish I could go back and turn Stealing Claire (a short Fantasy Factory read) into a full-length novel. It had everything a romance reader wants. I should not have killed the male character off at the end. I’ve spent many sleepless nights wondering how I could undo that ending. That’s one I wish I could have back. It really needs to be a novel.

What’s your favorite part of a book signing? Why do you think they are important to the book community?

An hour before a book signing, I’m so stressed out that I have to actually force myself to show up. There’s a huge worry about letting down readers regarding who or what they imagine me to be. I’m older than most of my readers. Will that turn them off when they actually meet me? Do I need to be in better shape? Is my hair straight? Do I smell? I stumble over my words at signings because my mind is firing at such a high rate of speed (I’m hellaciously shy in person because of this). Online, I have a quicker wit because my thoughts travel straight to my fingers without interruption. When speaking, I worry about those thoughts before they come out of my mouth, thereby making me stumble. The list goes on and on. I do the signings to show I’m a real person. I know many people on Facebook are not really who they say they are, so the signing is for me to say here is the real me. I know, that goes totally against the first part of the answer.