A Year in the Life

Holiday season is in full swing, and the year is almost over. This is the time when a lot of us think about where we've been and where we'd like to go.

I just ran across an interview I did with Fallen Angel Reviews just about a year ago. It was interesting to see where I was then, where I wanted to be, and where I actually am at this point.

The positives: I achieved my publishing goals and a little more. In 2010 I had the release of my second erotica title with Loose Id, HEARTSONG, and not one or two, but THREE of my House Phoenix series. DEVIL'S HONOR and MASK OF THE SERPENT came out earlier this year, and the fourth book, SHADES OF BLACK, was just released last week. And of course, my real-name debut MASTER OF NONE was released in March.

The negatives: I no longer have my own office. I didn't realize how difficult it was to not have a writing space of my own until I lost mine.

I'm hoping that 2011 will see the release of the final books in the House Phoenix series and my erotica trilogy, as well as the sequel to Master of None. Beyond that... who knows?

Here's the interview from last year. What have you achieved in 2010? What are you aiming for in 2011? I wish you much happy writing!

S. W. VAUGHN: INTERVIEW WITH LINDA OF FALLEN ANGEL REVIEWS

Everyone welcome, S. W. Vaughn. Hi S.W. and thank you for speaking with us today. Why not grab a cup of coffee and tell the readers something about S. W. Vaughn. S.W., if a reporter were to follow you around for the first part of the day, what interesting facts would they learn about you?

They’d learn that I don’t function at all for the first hour or so after I get up, because that’s how long it takes for the coffee to kick in. During get-ready-for-school time, my poor son is lucky to get monosyllabic responses (except when he tells me he “forgot” to do his homework the night before. That wakes me up fast).

They’d also learn that hanging around me is boring, because I spend almost the entire day in front of the computer, either writing, editing or working on some writing-related project like my website, trailers or blogs (or wasting time on Failblog and YouTube).

I love the covers to Hunted and Broken Angel. They both have a certain enigma that pulls in the reader to read the book. Would you please tell us a little about each book?

Thank you! I’d be happy to.

HUNTED: Grace Carrington is a freak with abilities she doesn’t understand. While on the run from a mother who wants to exploit her talents, Grace encounters two beings with powers stronger than hers...who for some reason want her dead.

What she doesn’t know is that her father was an angel, and that he’s far from the only one to have mated with humans. She is Nephilim: half human, half angel, and no longer alone.

But some angels are not all white robes and fluffy wings. Some angels do not suffer their children to live – and seek to destroy the Nephilim at every opportunity. Now Grace is being hunted by the angel who commands the Stalker: an inhuman killer of unknown origins, from whom no Nephil has ever escaped alive.

BROKEN ANGEL: For six months, Gabriel Morgan has hunted his missing sister through the underground of New York. But when he finally finds her, his nightmare is just beginning. Lillith has become trapped in the organization: a multi-million dollar underground world of street fighters and prostitutes, led by five ruthless men who control the action in each borough of the city.

Marcus Slade, a self-styled businessman who deals in flesh and crooked favors, rules Manhattan -- and he also rules Lillith.In exchange for her freedom, Slade demands ten million dollars... earned through Gabriel's blood. Gabriel must become a fighter in a ring with no rules save one: don't lose.

To prepare for the ring, Gabriel is forced to undergo a brutal training program with Slade's top fighters. He is soon introduced to Slade's lieutenant, Jenner, a sadistic torturer who warps his body with needles and his mind with twisted psychological games. Gabriel is given a new image and a new name: in the ring, he is Angel. And he does not lose...

Because the price for losing is Lillith's life.

Do you feel writing urban thrill-mance action works good for you when composing the stories?

Absolutely. I’ve never been a color-inside-the-lines type of person, so I tend to blur the lines of genre when I’m writing. Just a little smudge here and there makes things interesting.

I read that you have a thing for dark, scarred heroes and heroines. Who is your favorite dark character in any book you have read by another author? Hero or Heroine

Havelock Vetinari, the Patrician, in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, specifically the book Night Watch, which features Vetinari’s tragic and fascinating backstory. Though Pratchett does write comedy, his characters are amazingly developed and realized.

What would you say has been the greatest story, so far, that you have composed, that is close to your heart?

I’d have to say the House Phoenix series, starting with BROKEN ANGEL – just because it’s the one I’ve worked on longest (ten years and counting), screwed up the most, agonized over endlessly, and lived and breathed these guys for so long that they’re practically real. With four books out of five finished, I just hope I don’t screw up the last two. It’s a story that’s gone from wanting to needing to be told – because if I don’t finish it, I think my characters will kill me!

What does the start of the New Year hold for S.W. in upcoming works?

By the New Year, HUNTED will be available in print and BROKEN ANGEL will be released, and my first erotic romance, SKIN DEEP, will be out from Loose Id. In 2010, I hope to release at least the next House Phoenix book, DEVIL’S HONOR, and another erotic romance. 2010 will also be my “real name” debut with an urban fantasy from Simon & Schuster, MASTER OF NONE.

Do you ever make New Years Resolutions or just brush that thought aside?

Oh, I resolve the hell out of New Years every year. I just never actually get around to seeing those resolutions through...

Have you ever completely finished one book then suddenly decided you wanted to change the ending?

I have actually finished a book and then suddenly decided to change the entire thing. When I wrote the third book in my series, MASK OF THE SERPENT, it was like trying to knock my wisdom teeth out with a hammer the whole time, when all of my other novel writing processes had been smoother (none have been walks in the park, but at least things managed to come together eventually).

I finally realized what was wrong with the book. I’d written the entire thing from the point of view of the wrong character. So, after some painful deliberation, I scrapped the entire 90,000-word manuscript and started all over again.

It was the right decision, because all of my readers so far have agreed the third book is the best in the series so far.

How would you describe your working space?

The first word that comes to mind is MINE! I had no space to work in for a long time when I started writing, and I’d steal out a corner or a seat wherever I could. I finally have my own room, my office, and it has a door and everything.

Of course, the door jamb is broken, so there’s nothing to attach the hinges to, and occasionally the door falls on me while I’m working. And all four walls are different colors, because I haven’t been able to paint in here. And half the flooring is ripped up, and I share my space with a couple of field mice when the weather’s cold because there are gaps in the foundation.

But it’s mine! All mine! *cue evil laugh*

Do you have a favorite character that is close to your heart?

If I chose one, the rest of them would go on strike...

If you could be a character in any Disney Movie, which movie would you choose?

Captain Jack Sparrow. Without a doubt.

You are on a picnic, which do you go for first, hot dog or hamburgers?

Hamburgers. Especially if there’s mayonnaise. There’s something about a charred lump of meat that really hits the spot.

If you were given a choice to spend a day at the spa, or have a maid for a day, which would you choose?

I’d take the maid, and worship the ground she walks on, and tip her twice what they’re paying her to clean this place (assuming, of course, this is a pretend kind of situation where I actually have money).

You are trapped inside an elevator with a woman with a screaming baby, a toddler who wants to try to push every button and a teenager who is complaining because he is bored out of his wits; how would you handle the situation?

I let the toddler push the buttons. We’re stuck anyway, so he can’t make it worse – and little kids seem to have an incredible knack for fixing things anyway (when they’re not breaking them). I teach the teen and the woman how to play JERK (a fun movie game that requires nothing but talking), and we pass the baby around and take turns cuddling her until she falls asleep.