Ericka Scott


Another Passionate Ink Cyber Tour Guest!
Saturday, April 26th, 2008
Filed under Uncategorized


I’m so pleased to have Barrie Abalard here today. Her new book, Hot to Trot, was just released from LooseId.

HOT TO TROT by Barrie Abalard
ISBN: 978-1-59632-665-1
Buy link: http://www.loose-id.com/detail.aspx?ID=695
Excerpt link: http://www.loose-id.com/BAHTHex.aspx

Exes Patti North and Dylan Decker adore each other. Her problem? He cheated. His problem? Her temper. Fixing things will take more than spankings and hot sex, though that’s a good start.

HOT TO TROT, set in the often funny-weird worlds of Boston high-tech and equestrian hobbyists, tells the story of two exes who still adore each other—and still annoy each other—more than any other twosome on the planet.

Where did you get the idea for your latest book?
I’m still trying to figure that out. HOT TO TROT was the first story I wrote that was longer than a short story—the idea came to me back in 2001. Obviously some parts of the story were inspired by my life, but the story itself just kind of appeared in my head one day, poof. It’s been a long road to publish this novel!

I’m what writers call a “pantster” (meaning, I don’t plot beforehand, I just start writing), so Patti and Dylan came to me first, along with the title. Because I was taking riding lessons at the time (and love horses), I added the horse element. And I was working a contract at a company whose products resembled the ones Patti documents in the book.

What do you like about erotic romance best?

I love that my heroines can be fully sexual and unashamedly kinky while falling in love with the man they’ve been looking for all their lives. I love that my heroes can be alpha and still enjoy pleasing a woman in bed. And I love, most of all, that I can write stories that are romantic yet very much true to life.

What’s your writing schedule like?
I am no good early in the morning, so these days I finally get to sleep past seven AM before I go to work. (Can you tell I love my day job?) My “girls” don’t like to write before noon, so I tend to promotional duties, email, errands, chores, and so on in the morning. (I used to do the same thing when I was a technical writer—my prime creative time was about eleven to four. I saved the beginning and end of the day for less creative tasks.) In the afternoon I write as many hours as I can keep my butt in the chair—usually at least three. Sometimes I do more chores when I run out of steam, creatively speaking, or sometimes I simply switch gears to another manuscript and work on that one for a while. I do put in long days.

I have a work-at-home part-time job in high tech. (I’d tell you who the company is, but I’d have to kill you. Seriously, I’m not supposed to broadcast it, at the request of the company.) Between the time I log at my high tech job, and the writing time and associated tasks like email and promo, I work six days a week, between nine and eleven hours a day. That’s real work time, not just sitting in the chair time. So it’s not all eating bonbons. On the other hand, the commute is short, and I can have breakfast/lunch/dinner whenever I feel like it. And I don’t have to go to meetings or answer the phone (I love the last part—I’m not much of a phone person)—or put up with the boss from hell!

What is your favorite part about writing a book? What do you dislike most?

My favorite part is always the first third of any book. My least-liked part is always the middle of the book—sometimes my girls run out of steam at this point, so the writing becomes a chore, and feels like pulling teeth. And the last third is sometimes sort of boring, because I know how it turns out and writing it all down is just too much like, well, work.

I have a very low boredom threshold—can you tell? But I am doing the work I am meant to do. I love every minute, even when it’s hard.

About Barrie
I have been writing and selling erotic romance for over twelve years under the pseudonyms Barrie Abalard, Miss Lee, and Belle. As of 2008, I’ve sold over eighty short stories, eight short novels/novellas, and one long novel. Loose-Id (http://www.loose-id.com), Amber Quill Press (http://www.amberheat.com), and Discipline and Desire (http://www.disciplineanddesire.com) carry my work.

When I lived in Boston, I was a jack-of-all-trades, mastering two: radio personality and technical writer/online help designer. I also did short stints as a taxi driver, clerical chartist for the Federal Reserve Bank, and temporary office worker for half a dozen companies. However, fiction writing is my first and longest-lived love. (If you can say that three times fast, you, too, might have a career in radio.)

I read widely, adoring a good story with quirky characters. Besides reading, I enjoy being around horses and cats, singing, creating new recipes, taking solitary road trips, and hanging with friends. I confess to being hopelessly addicted to the wonderfully-over-the-top television shows Boston Legal, House, Men in Trees, Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, and 24, among others. I write comic romance under my real name, and my first release, Cover Me, is now available.

I’m married with a grown child. All three of us live in one of the Middle Atlantic states, along with two persnickety, high-maintenance cats. I believe that a woman should have a past that’s juicy enough to enjoy retelling in her old age. Not that I’m going to tell it here, mind you, and not that I’m old…

Barrie Abalard
…stories of love that hurts so good
http://www.barrieabalard.com
http://www.barrieabalard.blogspot.com
http://www.myspace.com/barriea

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