Naughty Nikki
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INTERVIEW WITH NY TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR JACI BURTON
A fun part of creating this Realm and doing interviews is that we not only get to meet authors we enjoy reading, but we have the chance to learn so much about them. Enjoy.
The Realm Let me start with the fun one. I know you live in a small town and the closest Starbucks is what 20 minutes away. Should anyone ever need to bribe you, how much Starbucks would it take? Or is there a bigger ticket to your heart?
Jaci Well, I do love my Starbucks (and blueberry scones to go with the latte…can’t forget the blueberry scones). But bribe me with a beach and an ocean and you’ve got me like nothing else. I’m rather landlocked here in Oklahoma, ya know.
The Realm You’ve said, as have many published authors, that it’s harder to stay published than it is to get published. New writers, struggling to find an agent or editor, may not know the role your numbers play in selling future books. Can you tell us, for you, what has been your biggest obstacle to staying published? Was it numbers related, or something else?
Jaci I think in order to stay published you have to continue to write good books. There are a lot of really good books out there, and this is an extremely competitive market. Making a sale is a wonderful thing, but you have to write books compelling enough for readers to want to buy them, or you won’t be making many more sales. So far I’ve been very fortunate in that what I’ve written seems to have resonated with the readers and they’re buying my books. And thank you for that!
The Realm You write amazingly sensual stories and characters that are so easy to love. Even in your shorter stories you put a depth to the characters that many novellas seem to be missing. How do you know when you’ve got the right mix of character, plot, and sex if necessary to make the novella solid and full of substance?
Jaci Thank you for the compliment! When I’m writing, the story has to ‘hit me’. I have to really feel it deep inside. I have to make sure the plot rolls like it should. It plays like a movie inside my head when I read it back and if that doesn’t work then I delete and rewrite. The same thing with the characters, though that’s all about how it feels to me. Through their emotions and including the sensuality and the sex, I have to feel the characters’ turmoil, their every emotion, and if it doesn’t make me smile, make me tingle inside, make me weep, then I haven’t done my job well and it’s back to the drawing board and I rewrite until it works.
The Realm Your upcoming release HUNTING THE DEMON is book two of your Demon Hunter series. I believe I read that you were working on a third one. How did you come up with the idea for this series? Do you have plans for more?
Jaci I was watching an HBO special on the making of Mr. and Mrs. Smith starring Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, and Angelina did a lot of her own stunts in the movie. And this storyline just hit me about this A-list actress who had no fear, who did her own stunts. My mind just went into this ‘what if’ mode, and I thought…okay, what would scare her. Gina Bliss was born of that what if game. Gina is the heroine of SURVIVING DEMON ISLAND, the first book in the Demon Hunters series. I built the entire series from watching that HBO special—I took a group of characters who all suffered this trauma in their pasts (you have to read the books to find out what that is), put them together and made them demon hunters. They all have a journey
The Realm Many, many people begin writing only to give it up for one reason or another. You stopped writing at one point until 2001 when you met your husband Charlie who encouraged you to start again. Can you tell us a little bit about how it felt to give up something that obviously is an important part of you? How did you feel when you were encouraged to pick it back up?
Jaci Giving it up really wasn’t that hard, because I was so busy doing other things, like raising my children and going to school and working full time. I had ‘life’ in progress, and I think it really wasn’t the right time in my life to pursue my writing career. I think when it’s the right time, you just know it. When I met and married Charlie, and we talked about how I used to write and he encouraged me to write again, it just felt right to me. I knew then that was the right time for me to pursue writing as a serious career objective. And I’m forever grateful for Charlie’s gentle nudging.
The Realm Gushing opportunity…Anyone who’s ‘known’ you more than five minutes can see that your family, friends, and fans are tremendously important to you. Can you tell us about your biggest supporter(s), and do you think you could have reached the point you’re at today without them?
Jaci First and foremost, my husband. I wouldn’t be where I am today without him. I would have never started writing again without his support. He is my biggest cheerleader, he is my support, he discusses plot with me, he edits for me, and I couldn’t do this without him. Second to him are my special friends who I talk to every day, who encourage me, cheer with me, cry with me and put up with me. They’re my writer’s life support. And of course, the people in my chat group and on my blog who show up every day to cheer me on. It’s nice knowing I’m not alone out there.
The Realm When you received the call that you’d sold a book, what was that like for you? What did you do to celebrate?
Jaci It was the best moment of my life. There’s no feeling in the world like the one you get when you know you’ve made it—that you’ve sold a book. My husband and daughter got me champagne, a card and balloons and I think I had this grin plastered on my face for a solid twenty-four hours. And every time I make a sale there’s still this thrilling feeling that takes days to go away. A new sale is always like the first one—or it should be. It never gets old.
The Realm We all write stories for a reason. What do you hope your readers will take away from your stories? What is it about each project you take on that motivates you?
Jaci I hope that readers will come away from my stories with a feeling of emotional satisfaction. No matter the genre, I write emotionally driven stories. They’re all about the characters and what drives them—getting into their heads and into their hearts, learning what mistakes they’ve made along the way and how they’ve grown throughout the story, and how love changes them.
The characters motivate me. I love starting a new book and digging into the characters. Every story is like giving birth, and watching these characters grow—giving them depth and feelings and emotions and flaws and watching what they do and what choices they make and how it affects them and the story. I love that part of writing.
The Realm You’ve recently made a couple of sales. Can you tell us a little about those?
Jaci I’d love to! I sold two single title contemporary erotic romances to Berkley Heat, along with being asked to participate in another Berkley Heat anthology! I also sold two more books to Samhain Publishing. One an erotic Christmas novella which will be out in December and the other is an erotic paranormal. I’m so excited about all these new sales!
To learn more about Jaci and her writing visit
www.jaciburton.com.
--- Naughty Nikki Duncan
The sensuous side of suspense and magic.
www.nikkiduncan.com |
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8/20/2007, 4:17 pm
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McClure
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Re: INTERVIEW WITH NY TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR JACI BURTON
Jaci - I absolutely LOVED Surviving Demon Island. I liked that you didn't have to wait long for the action to begin, and when it did - wow! What a ride!
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9/28/2007, 7:18 am
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Naughty Nikki
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Re: INTERVIEW WITH NY TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR JACI BURTON
OMG, Dawn! Go buy HUNTING THE DEMON!! it ROCKS!
--- Naughty Nikki Duncan
The sensuous side of suspense and magic.
www.nikkiduncan.com |
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9/29/2007, 4:41 pm
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cathy M
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Re: INTERVIEW WITH NY TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR JACI BURTON
Loved Surviving Demon island and have Hunting the Demon sitting on my tbr pile.
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9/30/2007, 11:58 am
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Naughty Nikki
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Re: INTERVIEW WITH NY TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR JACI BURTON
I think you should bump HUNTING THE DEMON to the top of your pile. It's fantastic and Nic is sexy sexy.
--- Naughty Nikki Duncan
The sensuous side of suspense and magic.
www.nikkiduncan.com |
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9/30/2007, 12:04 pm
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cathy M
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Re: INTERVIEW WITH NY TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR JACI BURTON
Thanks for the nudge Nikki, it's goin' on the top now for sure.
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9/30/2007, 12:08 pm
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cathy M
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Re: INTERVIEW WITH NY TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR JACI BURTON
It's because you write emotionally driven storylines that I enjoy reading your books so much. And the upcoming releases sound like more goodies to look forward to.
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9/30/2007, 12:09 pm
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cathy M
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Re: INTERVIEW WITH NY TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR JACI BURTON
Nikki, do you know when the next Demon Hunter story will be out?
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9/30/2007, 12:13 pm
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Naughty Nikki
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Re: INTERVIEW WITH NY TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR JACI BURTON
January or February I think. Too long!
--- Naughty Nikki Duncan
The sensuous side of suspense and magic.
www.nikkiduncan.com |
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9/30/2007, 12:54 pm
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