Interview and Giveaway with Jayne Rylon

Samhain is releasing NORTHERN EXPOSURE and SOUTHERN COMFORT in one print book called LOVE’S COMPASS in September. For a newbie that hasn’t had the chance to read the series yet, what can you tell us about it? 

It’s hot!!! LOL Okay, that’s a safe bet for any of my books. The Compass Brothers is a great series that has an overarching family theme to the four books in addition to the smoking hot individual stories of each brother. I am proud of what Mari and I were able to produce together.

Yes! Damn those International Heat authors. They challenged me to write a book with FIVE guys. And I’m so glad they did. I like the variety that comes from a larger group and the way I can have the characters interact. There’s something for everyone I think! That’s what I like best.

This is the final (sort of) Powertools book. It’s a little different because there’s no central hero/heroine. The book bounces between couples introduced in the earlier books sort of like a soap opera based around the Crew. There is a little more drama and emotional stuff in this one as I said goodbye (sort of) to some of my favorite characters. But I think that you’ll be happy with what’s coming next. The Crew will definitely cameo in my next series, Hot Rods, coming from Samhain next year. Two of the guys are introduced in detail in this book (you might remember them as the ice fishing friends from Nailed to the Wall) and they learn a lot when they walk in on the crew one day… A whole new way of thinking to take back to their garage and the gang of mechanics there.

All my characters are special to me but I think Star and Rick from the Red Light series are two of my favorites. I think Star is the essence of the culture I saw in Amsterdam on my research trips and it’s a city I really loved to visit. So for me, these books are partially a really interesting memento of my travels.

Ummm, yes. But maybe we should save the really good ones for in person discussions 🙂 Come find me at my next conference or book signing and we can chat! I will say though, that I’ve been to every place I’ve ever written about in a book. I like to incorporate my travels in books. Shifting Gears in China is one of my favorite examples of that. Amsterdam and the Red Light series are too.

I’m so thrilled Lorelei rounded up the gang for another go. Well, she’s a bit of a party pooper and dared me (see this is a theme, everyone knows I can’t resist a dare) to write a straight m/f a little more mainstream than most of my current releases. The anthology is called Two to Tango and all three books are m/f. My story is Where There’s Smoke and I really love the way it turned out. It’s a more traditional romance with a little mystery/suspense subplot. It starts with the heroine rescuing her elderly next door neighbor from a house fire. There is a lot of my home town in this one so it was really fun. My parent’s neighbor’s house caught on fire last summer and when I was back there for Christmas the whole thing sparked some great inspiration ideas. Almost all of the characters are named after my parent’s neighbors and people I know (shhh, don’t tell them) and the heroine’s house is essentially the one I grew up in. So, there you have some trivia 🙂

Well, that’s a good question. I’d like to know myself since I’m not a full time writer yet! For me… I wake up at 5:30, try to answer any emails from overnight then write 1000 words before I head off to my job where I’m a manager of corporate finance (bo-ring!). By the time I get home… well, I’m lucky to eat dinner with my husband before I zip upstairs, haul out my laptop and dig in. I usually do some fan interaction stuff (this is code for I play I facebook and twitter for a bit) and do other promotion work or attend to the business of writing (contracts, etc). Around 8 or 9PM depending on how late I got in from work, I’ll usually start writing again. There are a lot of nights that I write late into the night when my husband is sleeping next to me. It’s not uncommon to have nights where I put my laptop on the nightstand and crash long after midnight and get up again at 5:30 the next morning. On the weekends, I try to write a minimum of 5K per day. Essentially I work about 18 hours a day, every day. I watch VERY little tv. Like… one hour every month or so (although So you think you can dance tempts me but I DVR it and fast forward to just the dancing). So… yes, I try to write every day. I have to if I’m going to make my deadlines. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t dreaming of the day when I have just one job though!

Oh yeah! There is so much new stuff in the hopper it’s not even funny. I can’t wait to get working on them all. Thank you to everyone who has supported my books and made it possible to keep telling stories. So… for the rest of this year, we already talked about Hammer it Home out next month. Then in October is Where There’s Smoke. December will be the release of Healing Touch, the sequel to Dream Machine, my very first book! I can’t wait to go back to that world. Dream Machine was a device bondage book with a medical theme. I’m thinking the next in the Play Doctor series will be the same. Then next year will be chock full of goodies. I have at least six books I can talk about now… Three of the Hot Rods will be out next year: King Cobra, Mustang Sally and Super Nova will all feature hot mechanics and their even hotter cars. Plus group play will be a heavy component. This is where the Crew will be coming to visit. Plus Mari and I are writing more Compass books! The first two of the set of four Compass Girls books will be out next year too. Mari is kicking it off with Seth’s daughter in February in a book called Winter’s Thaw and I’ll follow is Silas and Sam’s daughter in Hope Spings. Also, last but not least, the fourth Men in Blue book, Spread Your Wings will be out in 2013 too. It will be Jambrea, Matt and Clint’s story so get ready for a hot cop menage! I’m trying to sneak in a few other things but… you know… that whole day job thing… 🙂

Hmmm… nope. Can’t say as I ever have that problem. Maybe I should have some kind of filter but… no. The only time I get really squeamish is when my mom asks to read my books. (The answer is still no mom). I think partly because I write at night in the dark (or in the morning in the dark) it’s just me and the words. I sort of forget other people are going to read them until it’s too late and they’re out there. Oopsy!

I am allergic to alcohol… so, I drink Shirley Temples. Seven up and grenadine please.

What authors are on your must buy list? Suzanne Brockmann, Cindy Gerard, Cara McKenna, Sandra Brown, Elizabeth Lowell, Lora Leigh, Jaci Burton, Jambrea Jo Jones and far to many others to list them all.
What was the last movie you watched? I don’t really get to do that right now… maybe when I’m down to one job. I think it was Slumdog Millionaire so that should tell you something 🙂
What do you like to do when you’re not writing? Travel, SCUBA/snorkel, take pictures, drive fast, eat cotton candy.
What is the last book you read? Downstroke by Desiree Holt
Morning person or Night Owl? Both! I hate to sleep. Feel like I’m wasting my time.

HAMMER IT HOME EXCERPT

She expected Joe to take the fork to the right, which led to the private cabin where their friends lived and most of the crew’s interludes took place. Instead, he veered left. Toward the cute bungalows the crew had recently expanded on in response to the initial success of Kay’s venture.