Elia and I met on Twitter. She offered me advice on some love/sex scenes I was debating deleting. After thoroughly exploring her blog, I had to introduce all my friends to her. She is funny and witty and left me giggling for hours.
What do you like to be called?
I have many names, actually. Some of them are even real. Because I have such an active and varied internet life, I have different personas for different circumstances. In my daily life, and in our kink lives, my husband calls me all sorts of things, but I don’t think you want to hear most of them.. 😉 Generally, in the writing world, I like to just be called Elia.
Is creating your day job or night fling?
Writing is definitely my night fling. By day, I’m a high school English teacher. By night, I’m a saucy romance writer extraordinaire. Or at least ordinaire. The two lives shall never meet.
In seven or fewer sentences describe your usual daily routine?
Get up and get ready for the day job. Work the day job. Come home and write for around 1000 words. Eat dinner, sometimes during those 1000 words, sometimes after. Complete grad school work online. Hang out with my husband and watch TV or play video games together. Sleep.
Where do you like to do your creating? Coffee shop, library, your sofa?
Right on the sofa! I have a very comfortable couch that has reclining sections, so I put my feet up, drag the laptop over, slip on some headphones, and type type type until the day’s quota is met.
Do you like to create on the computer or the old fashioned way with a pen and paper?
I’m a computer kind of girl. I used to do all my writing by hand back in the day, back before the internet when we rode dinosaurs to school, but now I am a very fast typist and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.
Do you have any fun – er – research projects? (Was reading your sexting blog post)
*blush face* Well, I enjoy making friends on the internet and sometimes sexting with them, if that’s what you mean. 🙂 I very much enjoy the world of online erotic writing and photography and use it to get ideas for my stories. So, yeah, if surfing internet porn is research – and I DEFINITELY think it is – then I sure do have some fun research projects. I’m also headed to the BDSM Writers Con this August in NYC, and I’m confident that will be an awesome and fun research project.
Is procrastinating a thing? What do you find yourself doing when it is?
Oh, boy, procrastination is CERTAINLY a thing. I’m very proud of my ability to stop procrastinating and get stuff done, which is a necessity when you have a schedule that looks like mine. The seven-sentence summary above doesn’t really touch on all the work I do for my day job, which sometimes keeps me out late, and I just don’t have time to goof off and still accomplish everything that’s important to me. The internet is a huge temptation, mostly social media. I can spend hours doing nothing on the internet. I also love video games. I make myself wait to have fun until I’ve done my writing and grad school work, though, through self-discipline and not taking my own excuses. Now, getting work done first has become a habit, and it lets me enjoy my fun time more than when I’m wracked with guilt because I’m procrastinating. I try and stay out of the Dark Playground, to use a term coined by the amazing author of Wait But Why.
What was the last thing you read? Was it for fun or work?
I’m in my last class for my English Lit master’s degree right now, a course in MultiEthnic Literature, and we’re reading 9 books in 10 weeks because that’s the kind of class it is. So I just finished Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia which was gorgeous and captivating and sometimes infuriating, as good books should be. It was definitely for school, though. I’m accruing a to-read list a mile long for when I finally finish this course though.
Do you prefer to read fiction or nonfiction for fun?
Fiction. My husband is a big nonfiction buff, but aside from the occasional funny or interesting memoir – I’m really enjoying Masters of Sex when I make time to read it – I tend to stick to fiction, myself.
Tea or coffee? (or other artsy drink)
Tea. I do drink coffee, but it’s not a daily habit.
What’s your favorite flavor of Skittle?
The red ones. I’m a fan of purple, too, but if I eat too many in a row, I don’t want more. The red ones are infinitely eatable.
Do you have a favorite piece of clothing that helps you create?
I write best when I’m NOT wearing a bra. I think bras inhibit creativity.
Have you ever gotten a crush on any of your characters?
Oh my god, all of them. I would bone every single one of them, male and female. Max Harlow, the Dom professor from PURELY PROFESSIONAL, was subconsciously based on an instructor of mine from my freshman year of college. Phil (last name withheld) was this adorable grad student who taught an Honors seminar, and he had dark, wavy hair, piercing blue eyes, and this gorgeous ass that filled out his wool pants so nicely. I spent hours of class time just staring at his ass. Well, Max fits his description perfectly, which I didn’t even realize until I was on final edits and my beta reader asked me if he was based on someone in real life. I knew immediately, but I hadn’t realized it until that very moment! Phil has no idea. Maybe I should find him on Facebook and ruin his life by telling him. *strokes chin thoughtfully* (grabs popcorn, “I would love to see that.”
Feel free to share something (or multiple things). It could be a picture, a poem, or a blog post.
Sharing a thing? I love things! I’ve attached a photo of Beaker, the mourning dove we rescued back when she was only a few days old. This is her favorite spot to sit: on top of my laptop while I type.
What’s next for you?
This summer, I have a series coming out from Pocket Star. It’s called Slices of Pi, and it captures my “geeky, kinky romance” brand better than anything else I’ve ever written. The series follows the adventures of the employees of PI Games, a game design company in Tampa, Florida. The first book, EVEN ODDS, releases on July 4th, and it’s on preorder special for $1.99. All three books are available for pre-order!
EVEN ODDS Blurb
As a design manager at PI Games, Isabel Suarez is no stranger to the struggles of being a woman in a male-dominated industry. But when her team attends a gaming convention on the other side of the country, she figures there’s no harm in putting aside her professional demeanor for one weekend to participate in a risqué scavenger hunt. Why shouldn’t she let loose and have a little fun?
A careless romp soon turns into more, however, when Isabel ends up having a fling with Caleb Portland, an artist and animator, without knowing he has just been hired to partner with her at her company—and Caleb can’t bring himself to tell her. When they end up coworkers a few weeks later, they need to find a way to work together and keep things strictly professional. Caleb doesn’t want to take on a relationship and risk failure. Isabel doesn’t want to risk ruining the professional reputation she’s worked so hard to develop. But when faced with the undeniable sizzling chemistry between them, will either of them be able to resist temptation?
Preorder Links (not affiliate links)
Simon & Schuster
Amazon
iBooks
Nook
Bio
Elia Winters has always been a New England girl, despite having spent much of her childhood in Florida. She holds a degree in English Literature and teaches at a small rural high school where she runs too many extracurricular activities. Elia dabbles in many genres, but erotic romance has been one of her favorites since she first began sneaking her mother’s romance novels. In high school, she kept her friends entertained with a steady stream of naughty stories and somehow never got caught passing them around. Now, she combines her kinkster identity with her nerdiness to write geeky, kinky romance. Her first novel, Purely Professional, was a 2015 RITA finalist for Best Erotic Romance and Best First Book. Elia currently lives in New England with her loving husband, their cat, and a tame mourning dove.
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