Interview & GIVEAWAY with Author Crystal Kauffman

Please welcome my guest author Crystal Kauffman. At the end of her interview she is holding a giveaway!

• Do you use a pseudonym and if so, why?

Crystal Kauffman is a pseudonym because I also write romantic suspense and historical romance under my real name. I first chose the pseudonym because I didn’t want readers who liked my steamy stuff to be disappointed in my suspense and historicals which contain no sex, or readers who liked my thrillers and historicals to be offended vice-versa. I also chose the pseudonym because my BWF (best writer friend), a much more established author than myself, receives fan mail from convicts. (None for me, thanks.) After the fact I was glad I did because since publishing the Guardian’s Realm Trilogy, I learned about an online search engine that displayed not only my home address but much more information about me than I’m comfortable with. So for the time being, the woman who writes the kinky stuff shall remain a mystery.

• What inspires you to write the type of stories that you write?

I have been inspired by a trip to the car wash, sitting in a doctor’s office waiting room, and waiting for a flight at Calgary airport. Ideas come from anywhere and everywhere! I get a lot of ideas from watching half a movie or tv program and being left wondering how it ends. I can’t help but develop the rest of the story in my mind. Though I should finish by saying I’m a firm believer that character is story, and my ideas revolve around people, not so much happenings. That’s why, to answer your next question, I’m a pantster. I usually start the writing process with characters and the incident that brings them together, but have no idea how the story is going to end. Actually, it’s the characters who ultimately tell me how the story ends.

• What is your favorite genre to READ?

I love to read an unfolding story where I’m eager to find out “what happens next” no matter the genre. If the story keeps me turning pages, I’m in heaven. Though I do love to see the guy get the girl in the end, so no matter the genre, my absolute favorite stories are ones with a romance in them either as the primary plot or in the background. Books without a developing relationship seem to be missing something, in my eyes. I especially love stories about underdogs who triumph. A good example of that is HBO’s Carnivale. I didn’t especially like the series, but the series conclusion had me riveted and tingling. A group of misfits --in the true sense of the word-- banded together to overcome an unearthly evil. It doesn’t get any better than that. And Carnivale even had the romance I needed between Libby and Clayton.

• Do you have a specific place where you like to write? When, during the day, is your most creative time?

Late at night when vampires are skulking and creepy things lurk in the shadows and I’m all alone with my fantasies…

• What’s your take on the future of ebooks and epublishing?

I think epublishing is the wave of the future. For one thing, we live in an instant-gratification loving society. For another, with the trend toward digital advancement, all forms of entertainment are only going to get more innovative. Epublishing has opened the doors for readers and writers of alternative genres that weren’t popular enough for NY to warrant. I just saw some authors talking about how epublishing has allowed the M/M subgenre to flourish. And putting erotica aside, epublishing has opened the doors to authors of all genres who write great books that sit just outside the narrow confines of mainstream publishing lines, and in essence opened the door to the readers who want to enjoy them. There have always been lots of talented writers vying for too few slots in the NY houses. Lastly, I hope epublishing is here to stay, because the US and other big consumer nations need greener alternatives to sustain our economic gluttony.

• What’s your favorite food?

Pasta is my Kryptonite. Okay I’m going to share this with you because your question got me thinking about it and now I’m craving it. Linguini in White Clam Sauce. This recipe is the most delish!

1. Boil up a pot of your favorite type of noodles. I use wheat pasta for a lower carbohydrate indulgence.
2. In a saucepan brown some garlic in EVOO (careful not to burn it. Have your other ingredients ready to pour over it when the garlic is just starting to turn golden)
3. Dump a can of clams in juice over the garlic.
4. Add 1/3 cup of white wine.
5. Add 1 teaspoon of chili powder.
6. Simmer the sauce on low to reduce some of the liquid while the pasta is cooking.
7. When the pasta is done, drain it and add it to the saucepan with your clam sauce. I let mine sit for 3-5 minutes to absorb some of the sauce and flavors.
8. The most important part: serve with FRESH grated parmesan.

• What’s your favorite movie? Why?

My favorite movie EVER is The Fifth Element. It was another great assortment of misfits and a sweet romance between Corbin and Leelu. Not to mention the eyegasmic futureworld and tons of action and adventure! Call me a strange woman, but I like Bruce Willis movies.

• Tell me about your latest or upcoming release?

My latest release is Guardian’s Realm: The Clash. It is the final book in my Guardian’s Realm trilogy. Though I loved living in this series and I’m sad to end it, I have lots of exciting things planned for the future. My next two releases are going to flex my historical writer muscles. Claiming Lady Marianne is a Victorian set romance that will come out later this year from Ellora’s Cave, and Wild At Heart is an American set western sure to tug at your heart strings and make you sigh with passion, coming from Lyrical Press.

• What’s your next project?

I’m working on a very kinky contemporary erotica between a public defender and the ex-con who blames her father for sending him to prison. He wants a week of no-holds-barred sex for every month he spent wrongfully locked up. Keep your fingers crossed that Laws of Attraction finds a publishing house!

• Where can readers find you on the web?

I have a website at http://www.crystalkauffman.com/ and there you can sign up for my newsletter. I send out a newsletter only when I have a new book to announce and at the release of a new book, I have a contest for a $20 Amazon gift certificate in which I select the winner from my list of subscribers. I do not twitter or facebook. There are only so many hours in the day and I want to spend my extra ones writing.

Thanks so much for having me, Jeanne. I’d like to hold a drawing for a free copy of Guardian’s Realm: The Clash for your readers who comment here.