10 Questions to Delight and Despair over…with Shannon West

For the month of January, 2012, I decided to do something a little different with my blog. As many of you know, Starline (the first in the Warriors of the Elector Trilogy) is due to be released in February (Well actually it looks like January 23 now!) with Secret Cravings Publishing (how exciting is that??). So I thought, wouldn’t it be nice to get to know a few of the authors from Secret Cravings….so below meet our Author du jour…

Shannon West

This is me in my dreams, LOL....Actually, I have a day job that I have to work to support my writing habit, so I must conceal my real identity. This company which shall be nameless would frown upon my writing predilections, so....Shannon is my pen name.

Could you give me a brief rundown of your currently available items with Secret Cravings?

Winning Bette, a m/f Hot Flash novella about an older woman with secrets and a younger man who discovers them

Lube Job, a m/m short story just for fun and hot sex


Come Hell or High Water, an erotic m/m romance about (believe it or not) Christmas wishes that come true

Georgia Heat, a m/m romatic erotic novel about two hot young men who can’t seem to get it together and stop fighting long enough to live happily ever after.

Street Angel, a new novel, and one of SCP’s free reads in installments on their website every week. About a young, beautiful prostitute who teams up with a hot cop on the trail of a young boy who has been kidnapped, drugged and forced to walk the streets of Atlanta.

Fire and Ice, an upcoming paranormal, historical, m/m/m menage erotic romance! Whew! Could I make it any more complicated? About a gorgeous, supernatural Light Elf from Scandinavia circa 600 A.D. (think Vikings) and a beautiful slave boy and the sexy barbarian they meet on a quest to kill a monster ravaging the country side. One of my crazier and most fun efforts. Coming soon from SCP.

Training Tristan, an upcoming m/m romantic erotic story about a young cop in the closet who meets a swishy boy who will out him if they’re seen together. Trouble is, he can’t stay away.
Wow! You've been busy, haven't you? They all sound so intriguing... :)

Onto the 10 questions...

1. What is your main genre, and how did you get started in it?

My main genre is male/male romance, or as some e publishers call them—Romantica, a combination of romance and erotica. I got started with a friend and fellow author named Remy Devereaux who also writes for SCP and co-authored several of the books. This is his genre, and I found I really enjoyed it. I didn’t know if I could write it at first. Then I thought, hell, I love men, and I love the idea of them having sex, (preferably with me, but any old port in a storm) so why not? The writing seemed to flow pretty well from my typing fingers, so I just went with it. Now I love the relationships between the young men. They can be so sweet and loving and yet rough and wild. The sex can be rough and wild too, just the way I love to write it.

2. Okay, what is the most exotic location you have written in? And how did that come about?

Hmmm? Exotic? I don’t think I’ve written much in exotic locations. It’s usually me and my computer surrounded by screaming kids and loud tv’s, but I did write a few chapters of Georgia Heat on my laptop on the beach.

3. Have you got a current WIP and can you give us any hints as to what we will find within the book?

Why yes, I do. I’ve got an idea, really, since I just finished a story and can’t get time to sit down and put it on paper. It’s about a rich, handsome man who receives a letter from an old college friend. The friend is in trouble, being victimized by a beautiful, heartless male prostitute who is taking all his money and refusing his love and pleas to marry him. Later, when he learns the friend commits suicide over this boy, he decides he needs to revenge himself on the prostitute by turning the tables on him. The only trouble is, once he meets him, he’s in serious danger of falling in love himself.

4. Coffee, Tea, Hot Chocolate or something stronger? And why?

Definitely something stronger! You need to be a little buzzed sometimes when you write about hot sex. Makes the words flow a little uninhibitedly. So I like to write these scenes when the house is quiet, late at night, alone with my trusty glass of red wine.

5. What was the hardest scene you have ever written, and why do you think it was difficult? (emotionally for you and/or your character)

Has to be a menage scene I wrote once for Fire and Ice. Trying to decide just who puts what into who and how was a little complicated. Lots of fun, though.

6. If you had the opportunity to try something in your books, what would it be?

I like to dabble a bit in spanking and BDSM. Nothing harsh or too much, but love to read it and I think I’d like to write about it.

7. If you could invite 3 of your characters to a dinner party, who would you choose and what do you want to learn from them?

Brandr, the Light elf from Fire and Ice, cause he’s just so hot and supernatural to boot. He could tell me all the ways to do a proper menage scene. Then probably Mark from Georgia Heat, just because he’s my perfect Alpha male. He could teach me to make my alphas even tougher. And Will from Come Hell or High Water, because he’s wicked funny and sexy and very brave.
He could teach me to be myself and throw consequences to the wind.

8. What would you do differently on your road to becoming published?

Start younger, be less afraid of what people think about your style and what you love and who you love!

9. You are going on a holiday and can only take 5 things with you. What would you pick and why?

My man, my laptop, my Nook, some wine, and some chocolates.

10. If you could give a piece of advice to a reader who wants to write a book, what would it be?

Just do it! Get the words down, find a crit partner who can help you polish and edit and then send it in! There are so many wonderful independent publishers waiting to see it. Don’t be afraid, and don’t let it languish on your computer. Just go for it--

You can catch Shannon West at http://www.remyshannon.weebly.com

Her current releases include…
Street Angel
Come Hell or High Water
Lube Job
Georgia Heat


Shannon West has kindly offered your choice of back list or Come Hell or High Water in a pdf file so, in order to win, name their most recent release with Secret Cravings.
Prizes will be drawn randomly on 6th January...


So come on, don't be shy!