Author Interview ~ Kelli Zel

Hey, y'all, it's been a rather hectic week, but I'm here. And today on the couch we have The Wild Rose Press author Kelli Zel hangin' out with us. Let's all make sure she feels welcome.

Welcome to The Menagerie, Kelli. It's great to have you here. If you're comfortable let's get started: When and why did you begin writing?

After attending a number of writing workshops and hearing over and over- ‘write what you know’ –I decided to try my hand at erotica. I’ve never lived in a Regency period, been rich, famous or even had amnesia with a deadline to get married-but I have had a number of erotic experiences.

I’ve also spent years dieting and I decided the world could wait for me to write: “The Post It Note Diet Plan”

LOL, I wonder if you eat post-it notes on the post-it note diet. It's a thought. Do you think have a specific writing style?

I like humor and to keep things light, which has been a challenge when writing erotica – words like: wet, hard, deep, penetrating, and gasping – Don’t pair up well with laughed so hard…

Oh, I dunno... I think you could make it work. "She laughed so hard she was gasping and her face was wet with tears." Just for example. Yeah, yeah, I know... not quite what you had in mind. How did you come up with your title?

The leading man is a Master Sergeant in the Army and master at making Lola…smile.

Works for me... heck he'd make ME smile. Are the experiences in your book based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

I’ve attend a number of writing workshops and you know what they say…Write what you know…?

So that would be a yes... lol. What are your current projects?

I am polishing another short story…”Buyer’s Market”

Ooooh, since I enjoyed this one I'll look forward to Buyer's Market. Do you see writing as a career?

Yes, and I saw raising children as a job…my only hope is that writing pays more than mothering.

Again, I dunno, mothering pays in squeeze hugs and sticky kisses. What was the hardest part of writing your book?

The pesky day job…and I don’t see that as a career, but it pays more than mothering and writing… but I’m an optimist and I believe that in five years I will be a bestselling author and be on the Oprah show…(I bought the cutest skirt from a little shop in Galena IL and I plan to wear it on the show)

Hey, optimism is just knowing it will happen. What does your family think of your writing?

Shhhh…they don’t know. I am a closet erotica writer. Kelli Zel is not my real name for a number of reason…the 1st one being my parents had a different last name and they didn’t choose Kelli for my first name.

I received the name Kelli Zel from a psychic, a number of women from work and I went out to a local bar over a year ago where a local psychic performs – I told the psychic that I was thinking of writing in another genre and she said, “Well, you can’t write under your own name…Use Kelli Zel.”

So, I did. And a year later with a copy of Master Sergeant written by Kelli, I returned to the bar. The psychic turned white when I handed her a copy of the story…”Do you know who I had an affair with?” the psychic asked.

“No.” I think she forgot I wasn’t the psychic.

“Sam Zel, he owns the Cub, Los Angeles Times and Star & Tribune newspaper…” she babbled.

I think I’ll switch genre again to murder mystery… Psychic Found Buried in Newspaper at Wrigley Field. (Just Joking)

WOW, poor thing. Here she was probably joking and you ran with it. Serves her right. LOL, Don't worry, your secret is safe with us... and our readers. Not like they'd know your real name anyway. Now, on to the "Absolutely Nothing To Do With Writing" questions: Do you hate how you look in pictures?

Actually, I think and a camera are more flattering than harsh lights and full length mirrors reflecting my naked body.

I completely agree. When you looked in the mirror this morning, what was the first thing you thought?

I need to clean the bathroom mirror.

LOL, something we can all relate to. What’s a saying you use a lot? Where did it originate from?

When someone asks, “how’s it going?” I reply “living the dream.” I have never been hungry or homeless…I have always had enough money to at least pay a portion of my bills…I am loved and have had the opportunity to love. It doesn’t get better than that.

Amen, sistah! What is your favorite pizza?

Onions, green peppers and tomatoes on a thin crust.

Ummm... If you could wish for anything, what would you wish for?

For everyone in the world to feel that they are loved and valued.

That is a great wish, and one that we can all be on board with. Thanks so much for being with us here today, Kelli. It was great fun getting to know you better, and I could definitely use the laughs today. I loved your story, by the way. It was very hot and made me smile. Can't ask for much more in an Erotic Romance.

You can keep up with Kelli at her website.

Master Sergeant by Kelli Zel

When Lola stopped at the grocery store, she had no idea she’d be picking up a Master Sergeant...

After a brief flirtation with a mouth-watering hottie in the produce section, Lola hurries to her car, hoping to beat the predicted snow storm. Instead, she accidentally runs down the sexy soldier with her cart. Though he assures her he's fine, concern for his condition along with her body's sizzling reaction to his heated touch prompts Lola to take him home and administer a bit of personal first aid.

Friday Fun ~ Funny Friday

Those of y'all who have heard me speak (or type) of my family, knows that my mother is just as quirky and out there as I am. Where do you think I got it from? Anyway, she sent me this email and it just goes to show you that there is humor in just about everything.

Bran Muffins

The couple was 85 years old, and had been married for sixty years. Though they were far from rich, they managed to get by because they watched their pennies.

Though not young, they were both in very good health, largely due to the wife's insistence on healthy foods and exercise for the last decade.

One day, their good health didn't help when they went on a rare vacation and their plane crashed, sending them off to Heaven.

They reached the pearly gates, and St. Peter escorted them inside. He took them to a beautiful mansion, furnished in gold and fine silks, with a fully stocked kitchen and a waterfall in the master bath. A maid could be seen hanging their favorite clothes in the closet.

They gasped in astonishment when he said, “Welcome to Heaven. This will be your home now.”

The old man asked Peter how much all this was going to cost. “Why, nothing,” Peter replied, “Remember, this is your reward in Heaven.”

The old man looked out the window and right there he saw a championship golf course, finer and more beautiful than any ever built on Earth. “What are the greens fees?” grumbled the old man.

“This is heaven,” St. Peter replied. “You can play for free, every day.”

Next they went to the clubhouse and saw the lavish buffet lunch, with every imaginable cuisine laid out before them, from seafood to steaks to exotic deserts, free flowing beverages.

“Don't even ask,” said St. Peter to the man. “This is Heaven, it is all free for you to enjoy.”

The old man looked around and glanced nervously at his wife.

“Well, where are the low fat and low cholesterol foods, and the decaffeinated tea?” he asked.

“That's the best part,” St. Peter replied. “You can eat and drink as much as you like of whatever you like, and you will never get fat or sick. This is Heaven!”

The old man pushed, “No gym to work out at?”

“Not unless you want to,” was the answer.

“No testing my sugar or blood pressure or...”

“Never again. All you do here is enjoy yourself.

The old man turned and glared at his wife and said, “You and your bran muffins! We could have been here ten years ago!”

Hope y'all had a great week and that you have a wonderful weekend. :-D

I Love a Good Sale!

I was all set to talk about one of my passions: writing prompts ... but then I got THIS in my mailbox (sent to me as an author of WRP -- **SQUEEEE**) and had to share.

Its August which means we are celebrating the hottest line in the garden. If you've never walked on the wild side and visited our wilder roses, this is your chance to stop by, pick up a few selections and find out what makes our Scarlet Roses sizzle.

All this month, our titles in the wilder catalog will be on sale. If you have any interest in writing for the erotic romance line here at TWRP now is your chance to check out the type of story we are interested in contracting.

Turn up the air conditioning and indulge your fantasies in some of our hottest books the garden has to offer. Who knows you might even find yourself with a new idea for a book of your own.

So... holy SMOKES! For less than a cup of coffee (unless you're a senior citizen and go to McDs, *G*), you get a smokin' hot story that you get to read over and over and over.

How cool is that?

So... if you haven't checked out WRP's erotic line, it's here and it's on sale.

I love a good sale.

:::wanders off to go shopping:::

Some of these covers are awesome... check it out:





How do you choose? Anyone have suggestions for awesome books from WRP for me to read?

Happy Hump Day!

One Lovely Blog Awards

Look what we got!



Author, and friend of The Menagerie, Lisa Logan, gave us this lovely award for our lovely blog. How cool is that! Here are the "rules":

1. Accept the award, along with the person's name who gave it to you and their blog link.

2. Pass the award to other blogs.

3. Remember to contact the other bloggers to let them know they've been chosen for the award.

So, now I get to pass it along. :-D My three choices for the One Lovely Blog Award are: Marianne Arkins, Wendi Zwaduk, and Nina Pierce.

Thanks again, Lisa, I'm glad you enjoy our blog.

Author Interview ~ Christina Phillips

Today, on the couch, we at The Menagerie are pleased to welcome our friend, Christina Phillips. Let’s all make her feel welcome.

Welcome, Christina, thanks for joining us today. It’s so great to have you here with us. Let’s get started: First, where are you from?

Originally I’m from the UK, but my family and I emigrated to Australia ten and a half years ago and now live just a couple of minutes from a gorgeous beach!

Oooohhh, the beach! I think I’d like to live near a beach… but it would be futile, I don’t like to swim. Why don't you tell us your latest news, I can see you practically jumping up and down in your seat, so it must be good.

My exciting news is that I recently signed with Emanuelle Alspaugh of Judith Ehrlich Literary Management!

OH, Wow! Huge, congrats, hon! How exciting! I can see why you were squirming to tell us. When and why did you begin writing?

I’ve always loved writing stories, poems, plays, whatever. If there was a pen and paper handy, then I couldn’t resist writing something down. And in fact I haven’t changed in that respect, give me pen and paper and I have the overwhelming urge to doodle! Although I can’t write freehand anymore, I’ve got far too used to a keyboard!

LOL, I know how you feel. I get frustrated that my hand writing freehand isn’t as fast and my fingers typing. How did you come up with your titles?

I have a hard time coming up with titles, made worse by the fact I find it difficult to settle into writing until I do have the title in place. Foretaste of Forever came to me without any trouble but Touch of the Demon was a longer process. I spent ages jotting down random words and stringing them together in various combinations, and then sent the list off to my trusty CPs who unanimously decided on Touch of the Demon! Happily, my editor didn’t suggest changing either of them!

Again, I can so relate. Very rarely does a title come to me easily. What are your current projects?

Touch of the Demon

Dark angel Rafe travels back in time to destroy the woman who is fated to bring untold chaos to the cosmos. Instead, he finds Celeste, a child of the Earth Goddess, who is sworn to protect the one Rafe seeks. He mistakes her for his quarry but an irresistible attraction prevents him from taking her soul. And although Celeste holds the one weapon capable of banishing Rafe from Earth forever, she's unable to deny the overwhelming desire to possess this creature from hell. They come together in a frenzy of passion, each believing they are changing destiny by their actions. But when the Earth Goddess appears they discover her plans are more far reaching than either had imagined.

Foretaste of Forever

Elyesha, last surviving descendant of a line of powerful witches, finally finds the only man she's ever loved, the man who deserted her countless years before. But Ben is torn between desire and despair when Elyesha, his only love, eventually penetrates his protective retreat. He knows what she wants, but the price of their love is too high. At midnight, on the beach, a battle of wills and erotic seduction ensues as each confronts the other's darkest fears.

These were great! Speaking as someone who’s read them. :-D So, do you see writing as a career?

I do see writing as my career, but I really need to knuckle down and become more prolific. I have a terrible habit of procrastinating and staring into space when I get stuck and unfortunately that isn’t the best way to write a book!!

LOL, I know, I actually stare off into space when my characters are going nuts in my head. I eventually have to remind them that they need to pipe down or their story will never get written. Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t interested in writing. I’ve always written stories and poems, and absolutely loved English homework when we had creative writing. I’d think nothing of knocking off 14 pages, handwritten mind you! Now my fingers drop off if I write more than two lines without the aid of a computer!

Sounds familiar, all around. Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

For a long time I couldn’t get to grips with setting. I’d see it all in my mind and think that somehow the reader would also see it (umm, osmosis, anyone?!) I always had to go back and layer in the details and it was a painful process. Now, because I’m so conscious of that aspect, I tend to work at invoking the location and atmosphere in my first draft, to really give a sense of time and place.

That sounds like a good idea, then you have less to edit when the time comes… well, technically you have MORE to edit, but you know what I mean. Who designed your covers?

The covers for my two short erotic romances published by The Wild Rose Press were designed by the amazing Angela Anderson. Angela was also my editor for both Foretaste of Forever and Touch of the Demon, so although I filled in the art sheets to the best of my ability it was just fabulous to have Angela’s added insights as editor. And I’d just like to add that her final designs were far more gorgeous than my proposed ideas!!!

It’s got to be just so fantastic when it works that way. Now for the “absolutely nothing to do with writing” questions: What is your favorite animal?

Cats. Domestic and wild. I’m a Leo, what can I say?

Hey, you like what you like. :-D Have you ever cried during a movie? If yes, which one and why?

Oh yeah, I’m a shocking cry baby. In fact I now avoid movies if I know they’ll make me cry since I hate crying over movies! The last one I watched which made me howl was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It completely ticked me off, as the more I tried not to cry the worse I felt. In the end my kids were staring at me, alternating between gaping and laughing because I was sniffling so badly!!!

I won’t be watching that one again!!

Well, I haven’t watched that one yet. Do you like thunderstorms?

I do like thunderstorms but only if I’m safely inside and can watch the magnificent display of lightning without fear of being struck. I also love thunder, but again only if I’m in no danger and I think part of the reason I love it all is because it’s so unearthly and potentially deadly and reminds me that when it comes to elemental power there’s nothing humans can do against the might of Mother Nature.

Very true, and I’m sure many others agree with you. Do you sleep with the light on? Why or why not?

Since we had the children we’ve always kept the hall light on so they can find their way to the bathroom without falling down the stairs. However, in our old house we had street lights which always cast a pale glow into the house so I’m not used to pitch blackness. That’s one of the reasons I get a little freaked when we stay in the heart of the country – once you turn out the light it’s like you’re in a bottomless pit!!

Ugh, yet another reason to add to my “Why I don’t like camping” list. Can you taste the difference between Pepsi and Coke? If so, which do you prefer?

I’m a Chardonnay girl, LOL!!!

ROTFL, well, then that settles that question. Thank you so much for hanging out with us on the couch today, Christina. It was so much fun getting to know you better. Don’t be a stranger.

Born in the UK, Christina met her very own hero when she was just fifteen, was married at twenty and has three children and one insane Cairn terrier/Maltese cross.

After moving to Australia ten years ago she decided to get serious about her writing and joined the eHarlequin community, where she hooked up with her three fabulous CPs. She is a member of the RWAustralia and RWNZ. After nine years, during which she wrote books targeted towards category romance, chic lit and paranormal romance, Christina sold her debut short story, a paranormal erotic romance, Foretaste of Forever, to The Wild Rose Press in June 2008.

You can keep up with Christina on the web at her website and blog.

Touch Of The Demon by Christina Phillips

Dark angel Rafe travels back in time to destroy the woman who is fated to bring untold chaos to the cosmos. Instead, he finds Celeste, a child of the Earth Goddess, who is sworn to protect the one Rafe seeks. He mistakes her for his quarry, but an irresistible attraction prevents him from taking her soul. And although Celeste holds the one weapon capable of banishing Rafe from Earth forever, she's unable to deny the overwhelming desire to possess this creature from hell. They come together in a frenzy of passion, each believing they are changing destiny by their actions. But when the Earth Goddess appears, they discover her plans are more far reaching than either had imagined.

Book Commercial ~ Touch Of The Demon by Christina Phillips

Touch Of The Demon by Christina Phillips

Dark angel Rafe travels back in time to destroy the woman who is fated to bring untold chaos to the cosmos. Instead, he finds Celeste, a child of the Earth Goddess, who is sworn to protect the one Rafe seeks. He mistakes her for his quarry, but an irresistible attraction prevents him from taking her soul. And although Celeste holds the one weapon capable of banishing Rafe from Earth forever, she's unable to deny the overwhelming desire to possess this creature from hell. They come together in a frenzy of passion, each believing they are changing destiny by their actions. But when the Earth Goddess appears, they discover her plans are more far reaching than either had imagined.

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