Writing Romance: Save My Soul Blog Tour (Interview & Giveaway)

Today we have Zoe Winters, author of Save my Soul, over for our event and a stop on her blog tour! You can find my review of Save my Soul *Here* And don't forget to stop by Secrets of a Book Lover to say hi to author Jennifer Turner!

Zoe Winters writes quirky and sometimes dark paranormal romance. She lives with her husband and two cats, and her favorite colors are rainbow and clear. For more information visit http://www.zoewinters.org or her blog at: http://zoewinters.wordpress.com

Welcome Zoe! Thanks so much for stopping by on your blog tour and joining us during our Writing Romance week! Why did you choose to write romance, and what are your favorite aspects about it?

In 8^th grade I had a teacher who really encouraged my dream to write and told me about a friend she had who was a romance novelist. I thought “those aren’t real books”. (And I really hope I just “thought” it and didn’t say it out loud.)

But eventually I realized that when I would watch a TV show or movie or read a book, what I really cared most about was the sexual tension between characters and what happened on the romance front. Once I figured that out, I kind of just fell into it and lost my snobbery about it.

Can you tell us about the second novel in your Preternaturals series, Save my Soul?

Save My Soul is about a woman who buys her dream house only to learn it’s haunted, but not by what she thinks. She spends a lot of time and effort trying to get the demon out of her house while trying to avoid falling for him and risking her life and soul.

In a today’s paranormal reading world, where vampires and werewolves seem to reign, what inspired you to write about an incubus?

I was trying to write about something besides vampires and werewolves. When I originally wrote Save My Soul everyone was saying that vampires were “over” (which obviously isn’t true). And so I wanted to write something that would stand out and be different. Of course there are also other great demon books out there now. Larissa Ione’s Demonica series comes to mind.

Of course, we're big fan's of Larissa Ione and her yummy demons here!

Tell us about Save my Soul’s couple, Luc and Anna. What do you think readers will love most about them? What makes them perfect for each other?

I actually can’t tell you what makes them perfect for each other without introducing major spoilers, and I don’t want to do that. But I think readers will love that Luc is not ashamed of who or what he is. (He isn’t whiny and broody about his dark past.) Even though he does have darkness in him, he’s a noble guy who is trying to protect Anna. Anna is brave, generous, and a smart ass. These two have some great banter between them. The banter is always my favorite part.

What do you feel are five must have ingredients for a great romance?

1. Banter/wit

2. Sexual tension

3. Alpha-male (Sorry, that’s just my preference. I’m not saying it’s not a romance if it has a beta, but these are just what I feel a romance “must have”, at least for me to like it or write it.)

4. Something else happening in the plot besides the characters just staring into each others eyes or having everything revolve around the “big misunderstanding”.

5. A happy ending

What is your favorite type of male to write about? Alpha, beta, hero, villain, brooding, charming, ect.

Alphas and villains. My favorite character in the series is Cain. He’s the villain in SMS but he gets his own book later. I don’t actually think he’s that evil in SMS to be honest, though I know some readers’ mileage may vary on that one.

Save my Soul is bursting with tension-laden scenes; is there one specific scene that stood out for you while writing?

A lot of it is a blur now. I originally wrote it about four years ago, and it went through so many drafts and permutations. The only things that really stick out for me are things I can’t talk about without major plot spoilers. (The stuff I always want to talk about is the stuff I can’t talk about without ruining it for a reader, which sucks!)

Do you have any more novels planned for the Preternaturals series? If so, how many and can you share with us what we can expect next? 

I have ten planned out so far, but the way the series is written I can expand it indefinitely. It just depends on how I feel about it and if I want to keep going after ten and how fans feel about it. I might retire this pen name after ten. I haven’t decided.

Right now I’m working on the third book which features a panther therian and an agoraphobic witch. I’m really having fun with their story. And book 4 will be Cain and Tam’s book.

What was the first romance novel that you read? Do you still have it?

I didn’t start reading romance until my twenties, unlike a lot of people who started in their teens. So there really isn’t some big “moment” that made me remember the first book. I know the first paranormal chick lit I read was MaryJanice Davidson’s “Undead and Unwed”, but that’s not really romance. I wish I could remember the first actual romance book I read, but I have no idea what it was.

Thank you again for joining us today Zoe!

Thanks for having me!

~*GIVEAWAY*~

Zoe is graciously giveaway away one print copy and one digital copy of her novel, Save my Soul! 
To enter, just fill out the form below AND leave a meaningful comment or question for Zoe. 

One winner each will be chosen at random. Giveaway will end on July 8th, 2011 at 11:59pm. You are welcome to enter for both forms of this novel. Open Internationally. 

Make sure to check out the next stop on the Save my Soul tour at Book Lover's Hideaway!