That's What I'm Talking About...: AAD Author Spotlight: Eliza Gayle

Thursday, December 15, 2011

AAD Author Spotlight: Eliza Gayle

Hello Readers! Today I bring you paranormal and erotica author Eliza Gayle. Eliza lives a life full of sexy shapeshifters, blood boiling vamps, and a dark desire for bondage…until she steps away from her computer and has to tend to her family.

After penning several sequels to her favorite movies in her youth, with a more romantic slant of course, Eliza temporarily put away her dream of writing for service in the Marine Corps. After the service she was waylaid with college, marriage, the corporate world and having babies.

From the moment she read her first erotic romance novel a few years ago, she knew she had found her niche and realized that her dream was passing her by. So after years of thinking about writing she finally grabbed her laptop and wrote.

She likes her stories hot and spicy whether they be contemporary, fantasy or paranormal and will write in whatever genre her imagination has conjured that day.

Eliza is a featured author attending Author’s After Dark in New Orleans. For more information about AAD2012, click HERE.

Please help me welcome Eliza to That’s What I’m Talking About.

Twimom: Eliza, welcome and thank you for stopping by.

Eliza: Hi there. Thank you so much for having me on your blog today.

Twimom: You write a variety of books from paranormal shifters to more erotic BDSM titles. Can you tell my readers more about your writing and books?

Eliza: A variety does kind of sum it up doesn't it? Some might say I can't stick to one genre to save my life. While my focus has narrowed a bit to mostly shifters and contemporary BDSM, one of my big loves is witches. So in between the big projects, I like to write a little of this and a little of that to feed my wandering mind. I also love alpha males so it's pretty much a guarantee that my books will have at least one and sometimes two. I'm not much of a funny writer but I do like the occasional snark. If you like fast paced action with lots of steam, I'd say try one of my paranormals. If dark, intense erotic BDSM is more your flavor then try one of the contemporaries.

Twimom: Which books do you enjoy writing more: the shifter/paranormal or BDSM titles? Is one more difficult to research and/or write?

Eliza: It would be impossible to choose which ones I prefer since both genres are so different. I do need to write both though. Not only do I enjoy writing all of them but I find that being able to move back and forth between genres gives me a much needed break from the book I just completed without delaying my writing schedule.

As for the research I do love the freedom to sometimes just make stuff up when building a paranormal world. I still research a lot though. Since I write primarily about feline shifters, I turn to a fantastic organization called Big Cat Rescue to learn as much as possible about the different breeds. I could watch their videos for days. If you follow me on my Facebook author page you will certainly get an eyeful of the Big Cat Rescue cats as I share their pictures at least once a week.

When researching the BDSM books most of what I need to find is done by talking to actual people. I like to ask a lot of questions and then listen a lot. It's amazing how a question about one thing will lead to a completely unexpected topic which then often sparks a completely new book or scene idea.

Twimom: Can you tell us more about your current release, Power Play?

Eliza: Power Play is the second in the Pleasure Playground series. (Midnight Playground was the first) While the first book was a menage, this one is not. The complexities between Jennifer and Daegan was more than enough without any need to add a third person. lol While this book is as hot as any that I've written, I reached a bit outside my comfort zone when it came to the emotional history of these two characters. If this had been a paranormal book someone would have had to die. lol

A lot of people ask me about the actual Pleasure Playground and the differences between the other BDSM places I've created. While my Purgatory series is solely based on a club and the Sanctuary from Submissive Beauty is and educational and training facility, the playground is something completely made up in my head.

Here in the South, especially in the suburbs, there has been a growing trend for a while now to create these unique live/work type facilities. Usually an outdoor shopping village with condos or townhouses above them. So, when the female character from Midnight Playground presented a huge three story building in desperate need of restoration I began thinking of what I could turn it into by playing the what if game. Ultimately I asked myself what if there was a live/work facility that catered specifically to the alternative/fetish crowd and the Playground was born. As the series progresses so will the restoration and reopening of the facility. So far we have an erotic photo studio, an art gallery, a small party space called the Dark Room that can be used for a variety of sensory deprivation activities, some apartments, and a handcrafted jewelry store that specializes in lifestyle items. We'll call that phase one since I have many more goodies to reveal.

Twimom: Sounds fascinating! I look forward to seeing where it goes.

You have attended Authors After Dark in the past and are a featured author in 2012. Why AAD? What are your favorite aspects of AAD?

Eliza: Authors After Dark was originally just the name of a blog of paranormal authors that I was lucky enough to belong to. Of course Stella grew that out into something much larger, and I've gone to all three of the AAD events thus far. Honestly, I love it. The smaller size allows for a lot of easy interaction among attendees and you end up going home having met so many new and friendly people.

Meeting readers and other authors is always going to be my favorite part but I can't discount the many events that add to the fun. The BDSM panel is always standing room only, I adore admiring everyone's costumes at the evening parties, and the after hours hanging out with friends in our pajamas is pretty freaking fun too. :)

Twimom: I agree with all of the above! AAD is awesome!

I always like to ask authors about their reading habits... What types of books do you enjoy reading? What was your favorite read so far in 2011?

Eliza: I read every single day before I go to bed. It's my treat to myself after a long day. Since I don't have as much time as I used for reading I tend to gravitate towards shorter novella length books with an occasional full length thrown in. As for what I like to read I have fairly broad tastes. Except I don't reach much historical or sci fi. I burned myself out on historical as a teenager and I haven't found a lot of sci fi that grabs me.

Hmm. A favorite... I just checked Goodreads and I've read 68 books so far this year so I've read a lot of really good ones. However, I came a bit late to the party but I fell in love with Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series this year so I'll pick those books as my favs so far.

Twimom: What upcoming 2011/2012 releases are you most excited to read?

Eliza: There is actually two that just came out that I am dying to read. The latest Breeds book from Lora Leigh and Cowboy Casanova from Lorelei James. Since I have several deadlines going at the moment, I'll be saving those as my Christmas break reads so I can savor them with no interruptions.

Twimom: OH! I’m reading Lawe’s Justice right now! It’s HOT!!! The Breeds are my guilty pleasure.

Eliza, once again thank you so much for taking the time to tell my readers a little bit about yourself and your writing. It was wonderful chatting with you.

Eliza: Thank you again for having me, it's been my pleasure. Happy Holidays!

You can find Eliza on line at

Her Website

Twitter

Facebook

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About our reviews: The reviews posted here are the writer's own honest opinion of the book, not a judgement on the subject matter or author. We read for pleasure and at the request of authors and publishers. We do not receive compensation for our reviews, other than the copy of the book to read for the review.

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