Please join me in welcoming Leia Shaw. Leia will be presenting a workshop on Polyamory and joining a panel discussion with fellow authors Desiree Holt and Miranda Baker during BDSM WRITERS CON. Leia is also one of our Featured Authors for BDSM BOOK SIGNING SUNDAY. She will have several of her books available for sell during the conference. She will also sign autographs, taking pictures, and answer your questions.
Below are a few questions we thought you’d like to know about Leia Shaw just to get you started. Please feel free to ask more and/or leave your comments below.
How did you start writing BDSM?
Now that’s an interesting story. There I was, minding my own business, writing my funny paranormal romance novels, never having had a single kinky thought in my little head (wink, wink). When along came Cari Silverwood and Sorcha Black, tempting me with naughtiness and promises of cold hard cash and girl on girl action. Who could say no to that, right? So I dove down the rabbit hole of my twisted mind and out came the Badass Brats books, for your kinky amusement 😉
Have you reacted badly to a bad review?
When I first started writing and published my first two books, my skin hadn’t been thickened yet. My friends all told me what a great writer I was and how much they loved my books. The first reviews that came in were all positive. Until THE ONE. I think every author gets at least one scathing review of their book – someone who sounds like they just hate your guts and would be thrilled if someone chopped your fingers off so you could never write another word again. Yeah. It was that kind of review. I was crushed. At that point, I couldn’t understand how anyone could hate my book that much. Like I said, I was a newbie. But it wasn’t only that she hated me and my books, but she took quotes from my book out of context and got all her friends to slam the book too, even though they hadn’t read it. And this was a prominent reviewer from a very well-known review site. I think I even cried.
Now every seasoned author knows, you NEVER comment on a review. Well, no one had told me that so I very politely told the reviewer why I thought she was wrong and why she should like my book. I know, I know. Rookie mistake. Anyway, it didn’t get as bad as it could’ve – I’ve seen authors literally torn apart just for daring to comment on a review site. So I was lucky the reviewer just unfriended me on goodreads and let it go. Now that I’ve been doing this a while I have thicker skin. Most of the time, I laugh bad reviews off, if I even bother to look at them. Every once in a while something will strike a nerve. I might grumble to close friends but I eventually let it go. After all, you can’t please everyone.
Are the names of the characters in your novel important?
They are to me. Naming characters is part of the fun when I write on my own. With Sorcha and Cari though, names can cause some of the biggest fights. Getting three opinionated women to agree on everything is close to impossible. I’m amazed that we have four books published together. Lol.
When I name my characters, there are a few things I keep in mind. One, the generation the character was born in. An eighty year old woman is unlikely to be called Tiffany. So if you love a name that wasn’t common for the time period the person was born in, you need a compelling reason the parents picked that name. Were they hipsters that liked going against popular trends? Was the character named after a family member? The other thing to think about is heritage. In The Dom with a Safeword, my character was a feisty Italian girl. So I named her Sabrina Romano. Lastly I think about their personality. What seems to just fit them, what sounds right. This is based on instinct.
Sometimes a name is just a name, sometimes it’s much more. A name can be a story. Or it could build into who that person is. In The Dom with the Clever Tongue, my character Reece Duncan thinks she’s a plain Jane, even her name sounds plain to her. And in The Dom with the Perfect Brats, my character with kooky parents is called Gemma Stone. For me, it’s fun to use the name as more than just what the person is called. I like having a story behind it – whether the character makes it a story or the name makes the character.
Do you ever write naked?
No, but sometimes I write in my underwear. Mostly if I’m feeling lazy and want to write in bed. I hate wearing pants to bed for some reason. I feel all hot and uncomfortable. So if I’m writing in bed, I’m usually just in my underwear. Now you can picture that when I update my status that I’m writing. Lol.
Have you ever modeled one of your characters after yourself?
I think there are parts of myself in most of my characters. It’s true, even in fiction, that you write what you know. When you make a character like yourself, a friend, your spouse, etc, the character tends to feel more real, more deep, more authentic.
What are some ways to stay sane as a writer?
- Get rid of the notion you’ll make money.
- Don’t read your reviews.
- Don’t compare yourself to other authors.
- Don’t expect to make money.
- Get a real job.
Stalk me at:
www.badassbrats.com
www.leiashaw.com
www.badassbratsblog.wordpress.com
www.facebook.com/leiashaw
www.facebook.com/thebadassbratsseries
I want to thank Leia once more for joining us. As she stated, please feel free to follow her at the various locations and visit her website to review her “Bad Ass Brats” series.