In The Hot Seat With HC today is author, artist and photographer Indigo Skye. Welcome to my blog.
Q. First of all where are you from?
A. I live in the American Southwest, but I have the soul of a gypsy- always travelling. I feel most at home when I’m on the road.
Q. What are your favorite movies?
A. I love mobster movies like Casino, The Godfather, Goodfellas, and American Gangster. Strange to say, but I find them really interesting and compelling. I guess I’ve always been drawn to the darker side of things- society’s seedy underbelly, as it were. I also enjoy bio-pics of artists, musicians, and writers like Frida, Ray, Notorious, Walk the Line, and The Hours.
Q. What do you want your readers to take away from your books?
A. Sticky fingers and a satisfied smile. I want to enchant them with my fantasies, to create a sex scene so real you can feel it, touch it, taste it…to weave a spell of words. I also want the reader to know the characters better, and to wonder about them after reading the last page.
Q. We all love romance. What in your mind defines a great romance novel?
A. A great romance novel is defined by its characters. I don’t read a lot of the typical happily-ever-after romance novels- although there are some great ones out there! I’m just not that kind of girl!
If I can relate to the novel’s characters- no matter the genre- if they are well-drawn and intriguing, funny and sexy and surprising, I’m on board. I really enjoy Helen Fielding’s work. The Bridget Jones’ Diary books and films have given me a lot of laughs- it’s the story of an ordinary working girl falling in love and chasing her dreams- making mistakes and falling in and out of love… and living to tell the tale and laugh it up with her girlfriends. I can definitely relate to that! I also read and loved Melissa Bank’s short stories in The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing and The Wonder Spot. Paint It Black, by Janet Fitch, is an intriguing love story with flawed characters that are sometimes painfully real and human. I am awed and inspired by Queen Latifah’s book, Put On Your Crown. It focuses on a very important- and too often neglected- love story… the love story starring YOU. Listen up, ladies! It’s all about loving and respecting yourself. Latifah’s music and her inspiring words always put a smile on my face.
Q. What qualities do you instill in your hero?
A. Brendan Delaney, the hero of my first novel, Her Captive Muse, is not your typical Fabio fare. He’s a flawed and imperfect man, a junkie caught in the web of need and desire. More of an anti-hero, he prevails through guts and a little dumb luck… but he gets into plenty of trouble along the way. It made him a lot of fun to work with. I loved writing Brendan’s story because he breaks all the rules about what a typical leading man should be. Would you bring him home to meet the family? Definitely not. He’s more a hot-one-night-stand type of guy- and that bad-boy appeal is very attractive to my Muses. He’s not going to ride in on a white charger and rescue anyone- in fact, he’ll be lucky if he can save himself.
Q. If you could meet a paranormal being or character of your choice with no safeguards, what/who would you choose and why?
A. I’ve always wanted to be transported to Faerie, to dance and feast and make merry with the fey folk. I am drawn to other worlds full of shadows and magick.
Q. Do you ever suffer from writer's block? How do you cope?
A. Sometimes I feel creatively blah, and I’m just not excited about anything I’m working on. This has nothing to do with the inherent worth of my work- it’s a message from my Muses telling me something isn’t right. Writer’s block normally occurs when I’m not feeling well, or am under a lot of stress and need to take better care of myself. When I’m feeling juicy, it shows in my work.
When I’m creatively blocked, I focus on spoiling myself rotten. This might continue for days, even weeks. How do I cope? I do whatever it takes to start feeling fabulous again. I read in the bathtub, take a lot of power-naps, drink too much wine, and call in sick at work so I can sleep late. I spend hours on the phone with my girlfriends, take long walks, splurge on a pedicure or a massage- anything to chase the blahs away. A couple of times a year, I do a spiritual retreat with friends. I emerge feeling energized and centered in myself, replete with ideas and creative juiciness.
Q. Book pirating is a big issue at the moment. Can you tell our readers how this impacts on you and other authors?
A. I’ll be real with you. I’m just starting out in this business, so I still have a day job, just to pay the bills. I live paycheck to paycheck. When I get an advance or a royalty check, I don’t buy a yacht or a trophy home- I pay my electric bill, or buy some groceries. Sometimes it allows for the little extras like a night on the town, or a new pair of shoes, and those are happy days indeed.
I work long hours, and then I come home and write for the sheer pleasure and exuberance of it. It saves my soul, it keeps me sane, and it’s cheaper than therapy. I have always dreamt of making a living by my pen alone. If you pirate my book, you are stealing not only my rightful income as a creative professional, you are also stealing my ideas and my dreams. Plagiarism and piracy disgust me. Book-pirating is a crime against writers- second only to censorship, in my opinion.
Q. What are your current projects?
A. I’m currently editing a manuscript for submission- I can’t reveal the details, but I hope to announce a new release soon! I’m also hard at work on The Blackthorn Key, a dark erotic faerie tale, and a collection of short fiction and poetry is in the works. I’m also developing a nonfiction project based on my experiences as a Phone-Sex Goddess. It’s a hilarious expose of the industry, with juicy tidbits from real calls. But don’t worry, all names and distinguishing features have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent! You can read excerpts from this work-in-progress on my blog- Dialing with Sticky Fingers: Confessions of a Phone-Sex Goddess. Here’s the link… http://indigoskyeinkandart.blogspot.com/p/dialing-with-sticky-fingers-confessions.html
Q. Can you tell us a little about your latest release?
Book Blurb-
When Brendan Delaney answered an ad for an artist's model, he was looking for an easy way to earn some extra cash. But Morgan Roan wanted more than just a model. Soon, Brendan finds himself caught in a web of deception and desire, lust and betrayal—her captive muse. What price pleasure?
Q. Is there anything else you would like to say to my readers?
A: I’d love to give your readers a chance to win my first book, Her Captive Muse. To enter, simply comment on my interview below. Don’t forget your email address, so I can get in touch with the lucky winner!
Great!
Q. Where can we find you on the net?
A. My blog, Indigo Skye: Ink and Art, is an exploration of the sensual in words and images. It can be found online here, along with a complete listing of my published works- http://indigoskyeinkandart.blogspot.com.
I love to tweet – follow me on Twitter at- http://www.twitter.com/indigoinkandart.
Here’s a link to my publisher, Noble Romance. You can read the first chapter of my novel and purchase it here:
My short story, “My Demon Lover,” was recently included in the new Noble Erotica anthology, Red Roses & Shattered Glass.
Buy Link for Red Roses & Shattered Glass-
My short story, “True Confession,” has been published in the erotica anthology Uniform Behavior, edited by Lucy Felthouse.
Buy Link for Uniform Behavior-
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