Interview with Award Winning Erotica Author Marilyn Lee

Join us as we chat with Marilyn Lee, a award winning author of erotic romances. Her book written for the grown and sexy feature a wide range of heroines including hot and sexy women with curves. Please take a minute and learn more about this phenomenal writer. Feel free to comment let us know how you feel about Marilyn Lee and the interview.

Contest Alert - All those that comment on this or any of our November and December interviews not holding author sponsored contest will be entered into a drawing to receive a free book. Contest ends December 31st. See side panel for more details on all contest running on this blog.

1) Tell us about yourself? I’m a very shy person who wishes I had half the nerve and courage that many of my heroines exhibit in my books. I love to read (I devour mysteries). I’m also addicted to playing independent role playing games. My favorite to date is the Aveyond series. I have a full-time day job. That and playing computer games help keep writing in my spare time interesting and important.

2) How long have you been writing? That’s a difficult question for me to answer. I say that because when I think back to when I was very young, I realized that I was “writing” even before I realized what I was doing or what writing was. At a very young age, I was making stories up in my head. When I learned to write, I started writing love stories in various notebooks. However, I was nineteen when I first sold anything.

3) What drove you to pick up that pen for the first time? I’ve always felt a compulsion to write. It’s a large part of who I am as a person. So I write because I have to. A number of times over the years I’ve “stopped” writing when the rejections poured in as fast as I could submit my manuscript. But I always had to start again because the characters in my head insisted I tell their story.

4) How long have you been writing books with plus size characters? My first book with a plus sized heroine was The Fall of Troy, which was published in 2001.

5) What are the titles of your books featuring plus size characters? Taking Chances II—Nice Girls Do, Trina’s Afternoon Delight, Bloodlust IV—Nocturnal Heat, Playing With Fire, The Fall of Troy, Full Bodied Charmer, Fantasy Knights, Teacher’s Pet, Skin Deep, Summer Storm, Eye of the Beholder, In Blood And Worth Loving and Temple Neal.

6) Are all of these books available in both paperback and E-book form? All of the books are available as e-books. Skin Deep, Summer Storm, Eye of the Beholder, and Full Bodied Charmers are also available as paperbacks.

7) How can readers purchase your books? My Books can be purchase from my various publishers Ellora’s Cave, Changeling Press, Loose-id, Red Rose Publishing, and Liquid Silver Books

8) I noticed that most if not all of your books can be purchased as e-books. Why did you choose to make your books available as e-books? Years ago, when I first decided to try e-books, I intended to keep submitting books to paperback publishers. However, as the audience for e-books has grown, I’m happy to submit exclusively to e-book publishers. I have the freedom to write what I like without worrying about what’s selling. I’ve been able to try many different genres with e-books publishers over the years.

At the time I wrote The Fall of Troy, there were very few books featuring bbw heroines. My publisher wasn’t sure how such a story would be received, but she gave me the go ahead and I’m delighted to say that it was and still is well received with readers.

I was also able to write a romance with a secondary couple featuring a m/m relationship years before such books were so widely accepted and sought.

I think the most appreciated freedom writing for e-book publishers afforded me was the ability to write the interracial romance stories I love to write. Back when I first started writing I/R romances, most paperback publishers ignored the desire for romance books featuring I/R couples.

9) Along with your Curvy Books (our term for books with plus size heroines) you have also written a number of multicultural romances. Why have you chosen to featured plus size women and multicultural relationships in your books? I have a number of friends who were involved in either I/R relationships or marriages. None of them could find romance books which reflected their relationships because nearly everyone was writing about size six heroines (very few of who were black). It was difficult to find books with bbw women and almost impossible to find any that featured both I/r elements and a plus sized heroine.

After discovering that there was a segment of the romance community eager to read both BBW and I/R books, I decided to merge the two.

10) Tell us about your most recent novel? My latest release is actually a re-release. It’s called A Thing Called Love.

Does it feature a plus size heroine? No. However, my last published book with a BBW is In Blood And Worth Loving.

11) Out of all the plus size heroines you have written about who is your favorite and why? I think my favorite would have to be Angie from my first BBW novel, The Fall of Troy. She’s my favorite because she paved the way for me to be able to write more books with plus size heroines. And I admired her willingness to take a chance to find love on a cruise ship.

12) Do you plan to write more books featuring plus size characters? Absolutely.

13) When will your next book be released? My next book will be published by Red Rose Publishing this month. [This interview was conducted in November the book is currently available for purchase]

Tell us a little about your next book?
It’s called One Sweet Night. Here’s the blurb:

After struggling to accept the end of her ten-year marriage, Jule Grey's best friend convinces her to start dating again. Finding the dating prospects for forty-year-old women thin, Jule reluctantly agrees to a blind date. One look at the sexy, delivery boy, Daniel, and she's certain the coming night will be very sweet.

Daniel surprises Jule by his insistence on extending their one-night stand beyond the weekend. Despite their mutual attraction, Jule battles her fear of Daniel's reaction to the secret that ended her marriage. She doesn't know that Daniel is also guarding a secret he's reluctant to share with her.

Will it feature a plus size character? The heroine in One Sweet Night isn’t BBW.

14) What are you reading now? At the moment, I’m expending all my energies writing. So I’m not reading anything at the moment.

15) Who are your favorite authors? M.C. Beaton, Tony Hillerman, Betty Neels, Valerie W. Wesley, Jo Dereske, Eleanor Taylor Bland, D.R. Meredith, Kenneth Robeson are some of my favorites.

16) How can readers get in contact with you?
They can email me at mlee2057@aol.com or marilynlee@marilynlee.org.

17) Do you have a website? Yes. It’s http://www.marilynlee.org/. I also have a fan site Official Marilyn Lee Fab Club which sometimes has contests.

21) What is the one thing you would like all of your readers to know about you? That I really appreciate their support and that I love to hear from them.

About Marilyn Lee: Marilyn lives, works, and writes on the East Coast of The US. In additional to thoroughly enjoying writing erotic romances in various genres, she enjoys roller-skating, spending time with her large, extended family, and rooting for all her favorite hometown sports teams. Her other interests include collecting Doc Savage pulp novels from the thirties and forties and collecting Marvel comics from the seventies and eighties (particularly Thor and The Avengers.) Her favorite TV shows are forensic shows, westerns (Gun smoke and Have Gun, Will Travel are particular favorites), and mysteries (Charlie Chan movies in particular). Her all time favorite mystery movie is probably Dead, Again. She’s seen nearly every vampire movie or television show ever made (Forever Knight and Count Yorga, Vampires are favorites. She thoroughly enjoys interacting with readers either through email or via her Yahoo web group.