Interview with Cheryl Brooks

Even for a Zetithian, Tarq Zulveidinoe's sexual prowess is legendary. Believing it's all he's good for, Tarq sets out to perpetuate his threatened species by offering his services to women across the galaxy...

BUT ONE FORCE CAN BRING THEM TOGETHER...

Lucinda Force is the sensitive dark horse in a self-absorbed family, repeatedly told that no man will ever want such a plain woman. Lucy longs for romance, but is resigned to her loveless lot in life-until Tarq walks through the door of her father's restaurant on Talus Five...

Interview

Kayla: Thanks for coming out to be a guest at Simply Kayla’s Book Reviews to talk about your newest release, Stud. Could you give us an overview of Stud, and tell us how the idea of Stud came to you?

Cheryl: Thank you for the invitation! Because there are so few Zetithians left in the galaxy, I envisioned Tarq, the hero of Stud, to be the Johnny Appleseed of his endangered species. Tarq’s learning disability has undermined his self-confidence to the point that he believes his only talent lies in the bedroom. After charging a thousand credits a session in the Zetithian Palace brothel on Rhylos, he’s made his fortune. Now, he’s traveling the galaxy offering his services free to any woman wishing to bear a litter of Zetithian children in an effort to bring his race back from the brink of extinction.

However, on Talus Five, he not only meets up with the love of his life, Lucy, a downtrodden waitress who works in her father’s restaurant, but discovers that hatred and prejudice against non-humans is alive and well in the town of Yalka. Leading a band of outcasts on a harrowing trek through a dangerous mountain range, Tarq proves his worth. But is it enough to win Lucy’s love?

Kayla: In Stud, Tarq has a reading disability, what inspired that?

Cheryl: My son Sam, to whom the book is dedicated, is mildly autistic and has a language-based learning disability. Despite being unable to read well, Sam never ceases to amaze me with what he’s been able to accomplish, and in Stud, Tarq also gets the opportunity to prove his self-worth.

Kayla: After reading Stud I realized that you had a whole series on these yummy Zetithians. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

Cheryl: Even as a child, I made up stories in my head, and I’ve been writing off and on since the early 80’s. However, it wasn’t until recently that I began to seriously pursue writing as a career. My husband and I were watching Under the Tuscan Sun, which is about a writer who buys a villa in Tuscany. I remarked that I wouldn’t mind living in Tuscany, to which my husband replied, “Write!” So I wrote!

Kayla: How many books total have you written, and which one was your favorite to write?

Cheryl: I’ve written about 25 books of varying lengths. Slave was the most fun to write because it was the sci-fi romance I’d always wanted to read.

Kayla: What is your writing schedule like?

Cheryl: No schedule. I just write all the time. If there isn’t something else I absolutely have to do, I’m at my computer. I recently cut back to part-time in my other job as a critical care nurse to allow more time for writing. Hopefully, it’ll pay off!

Kayla: When you aren’t writing what do you like to do?

Cheryl: LOL! Sleep! Actually, I enjoy gardening, cooking, and guitar playing. I also have two horses.

Kayla: Do you hear from your readers often? If so, what kinds of things do they say about your books?

Cheryl: Generally speaking, when someone enjoys a book, they send the author a nice email. When they hate a book, they post a review on Amazon, and I’ve found this to be true with respect to my writing. I receive the most email around the time a new book is released. I get a lot of “I don’t normally read this kind of book, but I loved it!” from my new readers. Readers of my previous books will tell me how the new release compares with the others and nearly always tell me to keep writing. Also, through my blog, I keep in contact with readers on a daily basis.

Kayla: What is your least favorite part of writing a book, and why?

Cheryl: Writing a synopsis is right up there with getting a nasty review. If I write the synopsis before I write the book, I know it will change. However, it’s also frustrating to write it after finishing the book, because I just spent 100,000 words telling a story, and now I have to condense it down to six pages. Not fun!

Kayla: What does your family think about your writing?

Cheryl: They like the idea that I write and they’re very supportive, but they tend to read a different genre. ;)

Kayla: Are you planning on writing more books in The Cat Star Chronicles?

Cheryl: The ninth book, Wildcat, is scheduled for a February 2013 release, and is the last one I am contracted to write. I would like to write at least one more in the series, but that’s up to my publisher.

Kayla: How do you think you have grown as an author since you first started?

Cheryl: Anyone reading the series from start to finish will realize that I’m a much better writer now than I was when I wrote Slave. Slave wasn’t the first book I’d written—actually, it was about the tenth—but when I first began, beyond a few creative writing courses, I was completely untrained. My critique partner, Sandy James, has taught me so much since then, and I’ve learned a tremendous amount from attending conferences, workshops, etc.

Kayla: Where did you get the idea for The Cat Star Chronicles? Well, what I mean is how did it all start?

Cheryl: The series has its origins with my love of sci-fi from the time I watched Star Trek as a child to seeing Star Wars as an adult. I enjoyed all of that, but wished that Mr. Spock had gotten the girl more often and that the Han & Leia romance had been developed more. I originally envisioned Cat, the hero of Slave, to be the last of a species of attractive feline aliens with sexual abilities that were second to none. However, when I sold the story to Sourcebooks, my editor wanted a series. Her suggestion was that Cat was not the last of his kind, and that there were others like him scattered throughout the galaxy. So I came up with the idea of six comrades in arms who were captured near the end of the war in which their planet was destroyed and sold into slavery.

Kayla: Thank you so much Cheryl for chatting with me about Stud. If you haven’t I suggest you check out Stud, it is an awesome book. I wish you the best Cheryl :)

Cheryl: Thanks, Kayla!

Biography
A native of Louisville, KY, I graduated from the Kentucky Baptist Hospital School of Nursing in 1976 and then went on to earn a BSN from Indiana University in 1989. Horse crazy from the time I knew what a horse was, my family moved to rural Indiana in 1989. Since then, I've managed to accumulate a number of animal friends, but am currently holding at two horses, four cats, and two crazy little dogs, Bugsy and Peaches!

I have been married to the same wonderful man (aka Budley) for more than thirty years, and we have two grown sons, Mike & Sam. I've been working full-time as a critical care nurse for more than thirty years, and while this has been an exciting and rewarding career, I have recently cut back to part-time to allow more time for my writing.

As a writer, I find that any fantasy you have can come true if you simply write it down. I've been keeping my friends entertained with my books for a number of years, and self-published a book in 2006, If You Could Read My Mind, writing as Samantha R. Michaels. Slave was the first of my books to be published with Sourcebooks Casablanca, and has since been followed by Warrior, Rogue, Outcast, Fugitive, Hero, and Virgin. Stud is the current release, to be followed by Wildcat in February 2013. In June, 2011, I self-published an ebook titled Sex, Love, and a Purple Bikini.

I'm a member of the Romance Writers of America and the local Indiana chapter. I’ve recently published a series of erotic short story anthologies along with some of my INRWA friends which are published by Siren. We call ourselves The Sextet and we've had so much fun with this, it ought to be illegal! I have another novella in the works with Siren titled Small, Medium, & Large; A Toy Story, which is due to be released in April 2012.

My other interests include cooking, gardening, singing and guitar playing. I'm still hurt that The Eagles got back together without me!

If you have any questions to ask Cheryl please feel free to comment and ask! She will be stopping by today to answer any questions you guys may have (: