Monday, March 11, 2013

Author Interview - I. J. Miller


I.J. Miller
Erotic Romance


Hello Everyone!
While answering the interview questions for Tonya and Brenda, I’m sitting at the breakfast table overlooking the beautiful windswept moors of Wuthering Heights, located in the Northern part of England in Yorkshire County.  The fir trees are bowed by the constant breeze.  The ground often trembles from the unearthly passions that inhabit this vibrant landscape.


I look forward to visiting Naughty's blog this week and meeting the Readers. My Publicist and I would be glad to do an e-book giveaway. Details below!



Naughty Reader’s: Tell us a bit about yourself  that our readers might not know.

IJ: In addition to being a writer, I’ve been an award winning collegiate tennis coach.


Naughty Reader’s: What made you want to become a writer?

IJ: I started out developing a love for language and stories by being an avid reader.  In late high school, I started translating that love into stories of my own.



Naughty Reader’s: Please share a bit about your new release  without giving away any spoilers.

IJ: WUTHERING NIGHTS is out now as an e-book and will be in bookstores on April 23 as a trade paperback and audio book.  It is an erotic retelling of Emily Bronte’s classic Wuthering Heights.  What makes this book different from other typical mashups, is that it’s not a lot of verbatim text with some sex thrown in.  I dove deeply into the story and produced a novel that stays true to the original language, themes, and characters, but has many new plot twists and turns that help make the eroticism more organic and heightens the romance.

Romantics everywhere have been enthralled by Emily Bronte's classic novel of the tragic love between beautiful, spirited Catherine Earnshaw and dark, brooding Heathcliff. The restrained desire between these two star-crossed lovers has always smoldered on the page. And now it ignites into an uncontrollable blaze. In WUTHERING NIGHTS, writer I.J. Miller reimagines this timeless story to reveal the passion between Catherine and Heathcliff--in all its forbidden glory.

Set against the stark, raw beauty of the English moors, Heathcliff, an abandoned orphan, recognizes his soulmate in wild, impulsive Catherine, the only woman who can tame his self-destructive nature. And Catherine cannot deny the all-consuming desire she feels for him, despite his low birth. Together they engage in a fiery affair--one that will possess them, enslave them, and change their destinies forever...

Naughty Reader’s: Do you write under a pen name?

IJ: Yes.

Naughty Reader’s: What types of hero or heroine do you like best?

IJ: Ones that are complex.  Not simply all good and perfect.  I like revealing the strengths as well as the flaws.  Makes for a far more interesting story.


Naughty Reader’s: Tell us about a typical day in your life as a writer.

IJ: Get up, shower.  Log on usually to take care of Facebook, Twitter, and email business.  Do my daily workout.  Eat breakfast.  Go back to my desk to work on my current writing project.  Finish late.  Often miss lunch.  Prepare dinner for my significant other.


Naughty Reader’s: Do your books have a common theme or are they all different?

IJ: What is common is that the sexual scenes are all used to reveal character and story, never gratuitous.  I think all of my protagonists are usually looking to gain some control over their lives and reshape their living into a more fulfilling existence.


Naughty Reader’s: How long does it take you to write and then edit a story?

IJ: Could be anywhere to three to six months for the first draft of a novel.  Although I was given a six week deadline for WUTHERING NIGHTS, three more weeks for rewriting.  That was a totally different project.  I was truly possessed by the characters and story and very little else registered in my life during that time but writing this book.  Short stories usually sit in my brain for awhile and by time I’m ready to write they usually come out in one sitting.  The editing and rewriting usually take longer.

Naughty Reader’s: Do you have to be alone to write?

IJ: Yes.  I need all other business to be taken care of as well.  My mind must be clear.

Naughty Reader’s: How do you go about naming characters?

IJ: I like names that have some association to characteristics or personality traits my characters have.  A strong heroine in my novel WHIPPED: Leigh Stern.  An abuser in a short story I once wrote: Anthony Pfister.


Naughty Reader’s: Is it easier to write about the characters if you find pictures of them before you write or do you write then find character pictures?

IJ: I have a strong background in screenwriting as well.  So I usually start off seeing everything.

Naughty Reader’s: How do you pick locations for your stories?

IJ: Of course I like a locale that fits the story, but it also must be a place I’m familiar with so I can add the details that will bring full richness to the story.



Naughty Reader’s: What are you working on now and what should readers be looking forward to from you in the future?

IJ: I’m working on a New Adult erotic romance for the 18-25 crowd called CELINE’S SOLUTION, about a college girl who gets her final, senior year education from her young English Professor who is both a master of passion and a troubled, secretive soul.  Before she can know for sure whether she has found true love or needs to move on, she must unravel all of his mysteries.  


Naughty Reader’s: Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

IJ: WUTHERING NIGHTS on Amazon

WHIPPED, SEX AND LOVE, CLIMBING THE STAIRS on Amazon


My sites

Facebook

Twitter @Heathcliffian 


About The Author:


I.J. Miller is the author of five, distinct, literary, erotic works of fiction: SEESAW was translated into two languages, with over 130,000 copies in print; WHIPPED appeared in both English and German; SEX AND LOVE, a collection of short stories, made its debut in the summer of 2011; CLIMBING THE STAIRS, a novella, was released just a year later.  His latest novel, WUTHERING NIGHTS, is an erotic retelling of Emily Bronte’s classic, Wuthering Heights, and is published by the Grand Central Publishing imprint of Hatchette Books.  It is available now as an e-book and will be in bookstores in trade paperback on April 23.  Miller has a Master of Fine Arts from the American Film Institute and has taught creative writing and screenwriting at the university level.
 
***CONTEST***
Leave a comment and please include your email address (so we can easily contact the winner). Tell I.J. Miller if you have read Wuthering Heights and what other classic tale you would like to see retold as an erotic novel. One lucky Commenter will be drawn on Sunday, March 17 for an e-book of Wuthering Nights. Good Luck!

3 comments:

  1. I love the way you come with names for your characters. very fitting. :)

    Thanks for the chance to win your book.

    ReplyDelete
  2. IJ sure knows how to write some hot stuff. I have read some of his other books and he is really great at writing some sexy stuff. I look forward to reading Wuthering Nights. Thank you for the chance to win this book.
    Email is: bookcrazy0927@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. The book looks interesting. I'd love to read it.
    sylvieargirakis@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete