Welcome back to another day of Duck Chat!

If you’re looking for some awesome and steamy, very sexy romance reads and you haven’t discovered Cathryn Fox yet, well, it’s a good thing you’re here!

Cathryn became a favorite author of mine when I read The Hot Line a couple of years ago. I’ve not been disappointed in any of her stories once since that time. So I know if you decide to pick up any one of her books, you’re going to have a very pleasurable time.

If you’d like to ask your own question of Cathryn or you just have a comment for her, post it here and we’ll add your name to the pot for a copy of Instinctive, the first book in her Eternal Pleasure series, that Cathryn has very generously donated.

Now let’s chat!

DUCK CHAT: Glad to have you here at the Pond today, Cathryn! First, let’s find out a tad about you. Tell those folks in romanceland who aren’t familiar with your work a couple of things you’d like them to know and then for your die-hard fans, maybe something even they don’t know.

CF: First let me say how happy I am to be here.  I’m a huge fan of The Good, The Bad and the Unread!

So a little about me….okay, I’m a wife, mom, sister, daughter, and friend. I loves dogs, sunny weather, anything chocolate (I never says no to a brownie) pizza and red wine. I have two teenagers who keep me busy with their never ending activities, and a husband who is convinced he can turn me into a mixed martial arts fan. I can never find balance in my life, am always trying to find time to go to the gym, can never keep up with emails, Facebook or Twitter and try to write page-turning books that my readers will love.

Now here’s something you might not know.  I am co writing a series with a colleague under the name Taylor Keating.  Our first book, Game Over, comes out from TOR November, 2010.

DC: If you could retire any interview question and never, ever have it asked again, what would it be? Feel free to answer it.

CF: Probably, tell us a bit about yourself.  It’s not that I dislike the question, it’s just that I’m an ordinary gal, not much glitz and glam in my life and I simply don’t want to bore readers with my answer.  [Ed. LOL, I’m going to have retire that question!]

DC: I’ve heard writers often say their stories take them in surprising directions, or dialogue flows from some unknown place. Is it the same with you? Do your characters surprise you sometimes?

CF: Yes, I can have a synopsis and the story all plotted out and then wham, just like that I go off in another direction.  Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s not.  The key is to figure out the difference before you go too far.

DC: Let’s talk about your last few releases – they each sound just terrific. First up is Instinctive, an Eternal Pleasure novel, which was released last October. You’ve got some paranormal going on this book – vampires, demons, witches, lycan, shapeshifters. I have a feeling Jaclyn is surprised by Slyck on a number of levels. Would you tell us about them?

CF: Instinctive kicked off the Eternal Pleasure series and I’m so happy with the way readers have been responding.  I loved writing about Jaclyn and Slyck’s journey.

Here’s a bit about it.

Free spirited Jaclyn Vasenty is about to inherit a cosmetics empire, yet her scandalous personal history may ruin her chance for a corporate take-over. Saying goodbye to her naughty ways, she moves into a quaint gated community in Serene, New Hampshire. But these gates are locked at sunset…

The town’s dark sensuality rocks Jaclyn’s insatiable appetite to the core—and stirs desires that are… inhuman. That’s because Serene is home to demons, witches, vampires, lycans, and panthers, for whom primal exploration comes naturally. Especially for shape shifter Slyck, the cunning panther who’s pushing Jaclyn to the brink of erotic possibilities and making her feel wildly…feral. As tension between species rises, Jaclyn learns she must draw on all her feminine wiles and join forces with Slyck if she wants to make it out alive.

DC: Do you ever argue with your characters while you’re writing? Who usually wins?

CF: I argue with myself.  Sometimes I waffle back and forth… would my hero really do that?  Would my heroine really say that?  My critique partner usually wins when she says CUT, your character really wouldn’t say that.

DC: What is sure to distract you from sitting down and working/writing?

CF: My husband.  He’s a shift worker, and when he’s home in the day he wants to play!

DC: What has been your favorite book cover from all of your releases and why?

CF: I’ve had so many great covers.  Right now it’s Impulsive from NAL.  It’s so gorgeous, and the guy on the cover rocks.  Another favourite is Blood Ties from Samhain.  Of course, Wrapped in Seduction is fabulous, too.

DC: How about your least favorite cover?  Why?

CF: I think my least favourite is Pleasure Control because it doesn’t fit what’s inside the book.  The cover has a girl on a bed with her legs tied together.  It’s a light hearted book, and not about bondage so I think it’s misleading to readers.

DC: How do you feel your male or female characters have evolved over your career? Do you think you write them differently now than you did when you started?

CF: I think my writing has evolved and matured over the years and I also think my heroines have become stronger.  I think we all continue to grow as writers as we learn new things.  The key is to keep learning, pushing past comfort zones, try new things, and never become complacent.

DC: Is there a genre you haven’t tackled but would like to try?

CF: Young adult.  I’m dying to try it.

DC: In March, All Lit Up was released through Samhain. Daniel and Anna have a past. Would you give us a look into their relationship?

CF: All Lit Up is the third ebook in the Pleasure Inn series.  The stories will be combined and come out in print in 2011.  All Lit Up is about a boy next door, and lost love.  I really enjoyed telling Anna’s and Daniel’s story.

Here’s a bit about it:

When interior designer Anna Deveau is hired to create a room made for romance at a Victorian inn, she is thrilled—and a little wistful. A fairy-tale ending will never be hers, but perhaps tapping into abandoned dreams will fan the flames for someone else.

Then she learns the only bricklayer available to build the room’s fireplace is Daniel Long. The sexy boy-next-door who filled her teen years with angst, broke her heart—and still colors her nights with red-hot fantasies.

Daniel never understood why Anna stopped talking to him a week before her sweet-sixteen party. Or why the wall between them remains a mile high. But now that he’s back in town, he intends to figure it out once and for all. Pushing the limits of her seductive design, he sets out to prove he didn’t burn her in the past.

Anna finds herself doing the one thing she swore she’d never do again: laying herself bare. Until the ghost of rumors past threatens to snuff out the fiery fantasy that, this time, Anna thought was real…

Warning: Years of sinful fantasies about the sexy boy-next-door lead to a night of wild indulgence. Be sure to keep a bevy of toys on hand when reading this tale, or better yet, get a boy-next-door of your own.

DC: What advice would you give to your younger self?

CF: The same advice I still give myself today.  Work hard, play hard, make time for yourself, your family and your friends, and always say yes to a brownie.

DC: If you were a book, what would your blurb be?

CF: She’s nice, kind and generous, but if you piss her off, beware of the wrath of Cath! LOL

DC: What would be your “voice’s” tagline?

CF: Sassy with a little sweet!

DC: What romance book would you recommend our readers pick up during their next bookstore run? (Yes, in addition to any Cathryn Fox  novel!)

CF: I’m currently reading a YA book, The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins and I’m loving it.

DC: And today is the release of Impulsive, also an Eternal Pleasure novel, and I love the sound of this book. Kane and Sunray are lycan shifters. Can you give some insight into their story?

CF: I LOVED writing this story and so far Kane is my favourite hero.

Here’s a review and a bit about the book:

“This dark paranormal novel is the latest in Fox’s Eternal Pleasure series about shapeshifters. Fox brings together two unforgettable characters, transformed after one devastating night, adds plenty of erotic tension and draws readers irresistibly into their world. It¹s all about second chances in this sexy, suspenseful and satisfying read.” — 4 Stars, RT Book Reviews

He is the hunter.

She’s fled her alpha wolf—and the entire paranormal community of Serene. Now a free woman—wolf, Sunray returns to Chicago, full of bittersweet memories. The last thing she expects to find there is her reincarnated lover, who died at her feet the night she was changed into a lycan a century ago. Still, Sunray knows they can never revive their intense passion. Because now he’s a lycan hunter—and she is his prey…

She is the hunted.

Not for a minute does Kane believe this beautiful lycan’s story, that they were once lovers. Still, he recognizes Sunray as the woman who’s been seducing him in his dreams. For now, prey and predator have forged an uneasy, temporary truce as they join forces to capture a rogue shifter. But after their work is done, will either of them be able to resist a passion that could be dangerously all-consuming?

DC: If you had never become an author, what do you think you would be doing right now?

CF: I shiver to think about it, but would likely be a Financial Officer working for the Federal Government.  Many, many years ago I gave that job up to write full time.

DC: For a reader who has yet to pick up a Cathryn Fox book, which one would you recommend they start with to become addicted like the rest of us?

CF: Start with Instinctive, the first in my Eternal Pleasure series.

DC: What’s on the horizon for Cathryn Fox?

CF: I’m currently finishing up Indulgent, the third book in the Eternal Pleasure series, and working on a proposal for the 4th book, Impure.  I’m also working on book 2 for Tor, Enter Sandman.

Lightning Round:

– dark or milk chocolate?      – Milk
– smooth or chunky peanut butter?    – smooth
– heels or flats?    – heels
– coffee or tea?      – coffee
– summer or winter?     – summer
– mountains or beach?    – beach
– mustard or mayonnaise?     – mayonnaise
– flowers or candy?    – candy
– pockets or purse? – purse
– Pepsi or Coke?    – pepsi
– ebook or print?   – print

And because they’re still a lot of fun:

1. What is your favorite word?    – Clearly…

2. What is your least favorite word?    – Brainfart.

3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?    – Sunny weather and chocolate brownies.

4. What turns you off creatively, spiritually or emotionally?    – Sinus headaches.

5. What sound or noise do you love?    – The sound of my kids laughing.

6. What sound or noise do you hate?    – People chewing gum or their food loudly.  DRIVES ME CRAZY!

7. What is your favorite curse word?     – Goddamn.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?   -Interior decorator.

9. What profession would you not like to do?   – Farmer. Those early mornings would kill me

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?   – I’d like for him to say, “Every hero you’ve created is here in the flesh waiting to give you eternal pleasure.”  What I expect him to say is, “What the hell are YOU doing here?”

DC: Thanks for making this such a terrific day, Cathryn!