We are so excited about this week because sometimes two ARE better than one. And today we have one of our go to erotic romance duo, Katie Porter. These ladies can sure steam up the pages and give you tons of ideas. *wink, wink* So let’s find out more about how they make that magic happen.
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The writing process of Katie Porter
Thanks so much for stopping by to talk a little bit about your writing process! First off, how did you decide to work together?
Lorelie—It was a little bit of an accident! We’d been critique partners for a number of years when I started putting together the idea to do a series set in Vegas. But I couldn’t quite make the ideas gel, as I’d never written contemporary at that point.
Carrie – I’d recently done some collaborative work under the name Ellen Connor, so I knew I was capable of it. I had a dream that Lorelie and I worked together under some awful pen name that I can’t remember now. The next time we IMed, I told her about it.
Lorelie—I said it was an awful name but a great idea. And we were off to the races!
Can you share a little bit about your writing process? Who does what and at what point does it happen?
Lorelie—We brainstorm together. The characters, the where, all that jazz. If it’s not working, we keep brainstorming until we have ideas we’re both completely excited about.
Carrie—From there, we split it up by character. Initially Lorelie wrote our military people because of her experience as a veteran and a military spouse, but that line isn’t so hard and fast anymore. And then we alternate writing chapters by POV.
When coming up with new ideas or working out a problem in a book, how do you usually tackle a problem together?
Carrie—Talking. And then more talking. If one of us isn’t happy, the other one won’t go on. There’s a John Cleese quote that I love: “Nothing will stop you being creative so effectively as the fear of making a mistake.” We try to ensure there’s no such thing as making a mistake within our partnership.
Lorelie—There are sometimes ideas that should be saved for our solo writing though! 😉
What would you say is the greatest strength of the other writer?
Carrie—Lorelie is really good at seeing the big picture. She’ll read a story and point out where the story arc is flat. She can tell the forest from the trees, and do it fast. She can read a whole book for editing in three days, while I take significantly longer than that.
Lorelie—If we’re making a forest/trees analogy, Carrie makes sure every leaf on every tree is perfect. She’s an amazing close editor. She’ll rearrange a single word in a sentence and I’ll go “oh! Of course it has to be that way!”
Out of the two of you, who writes the dirtiest sex scenes?
Lorelie—That’s hard to tell anymore. When we first started out, Carrie needed encouragement to break out of her historical romance box. But I think that’s happened now.
Carrie—You’re being nice. I think it’s you. You were the one who had Evan order Kat to re-fold all her clothes in OWN.
Lorelie—Yeah, but that’s more about their D/s relationship, it’s not exactly a sex scene.
Carrie—Is too, even if it doesn’t look like it. *g*
Who is most likely to cry during edits?
Lorelie—You can’t see it, but I’m totally pointing at Carrie and laughing. G I don’t cry during edits. Or writing, for that matter.
Carrie—That’s only because you’re too busy freaking out about whether it’s good enough.
Who is most likely to get details wrong in a book?
Carrie—If mistakes are made, they’re usually made together! When we research, we share what we find pretty assiduously, and we have no problem gently pointing out when someone else has made a mistake.
Lorelie—So when we do get something wrong, it’s a mutual blind spot. In SNAP, the second book of our Command Force Alpha, we have an English character complaining about how they haven’t had a cup of tea for forever—in Istanbul. Where tea is plentiful and strong. Not our smartest move, but neither of us caught it.
And finally, what is the best thing about getting to work with your best friend?
Lorelie—Sneaking away to the movies on a Tuesday morning?
Carrie—Be serious.
Lorelie – I seldom am. It’s why I need Carrie.
Carrie—Which is the best thing. We provide support and resources the other lacks, and we get to be happy and joyful doing it. A deeper well comes from that, where we can go further and write longer and edit deeper than we would have been able to on our own.
As part of the 64th Aggressor Squadron, Major Ryan “Fang” Haverty flies like the enemy to teach Allied pilots how not to die. The glittering excess of the Strip can’t compare to the glowing jet engines of his F-16. But a sexy, redheaded waitress in seamed stockings? Now she gets his blood pumping.
Cassandra Whitman’s good-girl ways haven’t earned any slack from her manager ex-boyfriend, or prevented a bad case of frazzle from holding down two and a half jobs. She sure wouldn’t mind letting the handsome Southern charmer shake up her routine.
Their wild weekend lives up to Sin City’s reputation. Especially when they discover a matched passion for roleplaying. For Cass, it’s an exciting departure from her normal, shy persona. But for Ryan, it triggers memories of a time when his fetish drove away the woman he loved—leaving him reluctant to risk a repeat performance.
Except Cass refuses to settle for ordinary ever again. She’s about to show the man with hair-trigger hands that she’s got a few surprise moves of her own.
Katie Porter is the award-winning writing team of Lorelie Brown and Carrie Lofty. Both are multi-published in several romance genres. Carrie holds an MA in history, loves movies, and has no fear of gross things like formaldehyde sharks. Lorelie is a US Army veteran and true-crime devotee, whose three boys love when she screams around spiders. After years of wishing and planning, they finally share an office in the Chicago area.
All five of Katie Porter’s “Vegas Top Guns” erotic romances received 4½ Stars from RT BookReviews. These books are “impressive and incredibly well done,” and will “move Fifty Shades of Grey to the children’s section.” The third title, HOLD ‘EM , won a Reviewers’ Choice award for Best Erotic Romance, and the m/m Christmas-themed CAME UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR was the first LGBTQ romance nominated for RT’s Book of the Year.
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