Shelly Alexander Interview Published on: 20, May 2017
Tell us a little bit about yourself. Your background, your likes and dislikes, etc.
I grew up traveling a lot (and still do). I've lived in 6 different countries and 8 different states (US, Canada, Iran, Brazil, Abu Dhabi, Venezuela, Texas, New Mexico, California, Idaho, Louisiana, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia), and moving around was hard. But it's also the thing that opened my imagination and allowed it to soar, so I'm very thankful for that. I still love to travel as much as I possibly can. I love to experience different cultures, different food, different music. Just sitting in a small cafe in Istanbul or Paris or Edinburgh and listening to different languages and accents, smelling the scent of different foods and spices is an incredible experience for me.
Do you think your history in marketing and business has given you any sort of edge?Absolutely, As a business person I tend to think of my readers (my customers who keep me in business) first and my own desires as a writers second. After all, my readers are the reason I write in the first place.
Which romance book did you read that captured you and made you decide to write one of your own?In college I read a book by Jude Devereaux titled A Knight In Shining Armor. After that I made sure to throw a good romance into my reading lineup every now and again. By the time I was in my mid twenties I was reading mostly Amanda Quick's historicals. That's when I decided that someday I'd try writing one of my own.
How many scenarios do you run through in your head before you finally pick the scene where the two protagonists meet?Honestly, not that many. Maybe one or two. It's that part of the story that comes the easiest for me. In fact, that's usually where the seed of every story starts in my head. I'll get an idea which pops into my head something like this..."Wouldn't it be funny if a guy meets a girl like this..." And a story is born.
What is the hardest part about writing from the male point of view? How did you overcome it?Actually, I usually have a much easier time writing in the male point of view than I do in the female. I think it's because I grew up with 4 older brothers and had 3 sons of my own. I find it easy to get inside of the male's head than the female's. I guess that's why I'm writing my erotic novellas strictly in the male POV.
In your book "It's In His Heart", your character Ella Dennings is also a writer. Did you base her attributes after your own? What would you do if you were in Ella's position?The reason I made her an erotic romance writer that has kept her identity a secret is because my husband often gets teased about his wife's sizzling hot romance books. His answers have gotten funny and very creative over time, so I thought it would be funny to write that into a story.
What is one writing cliche in the romance genre you promised yourself you would never use?A weak heroine who waits around to be rescued by a man. I believe relationships are a partnership, and we can make our own destiny.
Do you like to focus more on descriptions or on dialogue?I try to incorporate a mixture of both.
Coffee or tea?Oh, coffee! Strong, strong coffee.
What would you do if you met Leo Foxx, protagonist of ForePlay, in real life? Is there anything you edited OUT of this book?I LOVE smart men who are also alpha. I find a man's mind much sexier than his body. So I'd probably fall head over heels for him. (LOL) All of my heroes are a little bit my husband. He's smart, and extremely funny, and I find that incredibly attractive, so that is what inspired me to write a series about very smart, very sexy, entrepreneurial men who put their brains to work in unique ways and weren't afraid to own it. There was very little if anything I edited out of this story, which is why it's so utterly HOT.
How do you decide on how to end a book?Well, we all know that romance always has a happy ending. That's why romance writers usually write romance to begin with - we like happy endings (I love Susan Elizabeth Philips tagline - Life's too short to read depressing books) I will often decide on the ending when I first start writing the story, then work backwards from there and ask myself: how did they get here?
If you could have an all-expense paid vacation for two, where would you go and who would you bring with you?Of course, I'd take my husband. Nothing is ever as much fun without him. I've been around the world multiple times, but there is still so many places I want to go. I think if I were offered an all expense paid trip I'd go to Tahiti and stay in a cabana built over the water.
Are you a fan of Nicholas Sparks?I've read a few of his books and seen several of his movies. Of course, the Notebook is my fave.
Have you ever made any of your friends of family cry with one of your books? Have you ever cried while writing a book?Oh yes, I've cried. That's how I really write the emotion into my stories - by feeling it myself. I don't know if any of my family has cried. Hopefully, I've made them laugh, though. That's what I aim for.
Finally, how would you describe your experience with AllAuthor? Has it been useful and would you suggest this platform to other authors?It's been very helpful helping get the word out about my books and scheduling tweets. Thank you!
