WATCH OUT: Karenna Colcroft

SC: I want to welcome you all to another edition of Watch Out. This week I’m excited to bring you author Karenna Colcroft.

Welcome to Watch Out, Karenna, it is so great to have you here.

KC: Thanks, Savannah. I’m excited to be here!

SC: For the readers out there who might not know about you or your work, can you please tell them a little about yourself.

KC: I’ve been writing since I was five years old, and I started writing erotic romance in 2006 after a friend challenged me to write something showing sex as beautiful and positive. I impressed myself with the results of the challenge, and was hooked on writing erotic romance. Most of my stories are contemporary MF. However, I have two paranormal MF romances out, and I have a contemporary MFM and a paranormal MM under contract.

SC: Can you tell us a little about your upcoming release?

KC: It actually came out on March 3, and the title is Their Home Port. Reesa Boyd has met one too many Mr. Wrongs, but when she starts working in the office of a marine assistance company (a private company that assists pleasure boaters who break down on the water), she finally finds her Mr. Right in Micah Ward, the son of the company’s owner and one of the company’s top captains.

SC: The publishing industry is constantly changing; do you think that eBooks will one day make paperback books nonexistent?

KC: I don’t think anything will ever completely eliminate paper books. There are too many readers, myself included, who prefer the feel of a book in their hands and like turning pages.

SC: I read in your bio you had started a young adult series, how is that going?

KC: My young adult series are written under a different name (which I won’t give out here, because I try to keep the two personae separate), and it’s going pretty well with them. I actually have two series; book 3 in one of them came out on March 17, and book 4 will be released in July. Book one in the other series will be out in May. I also have a standalone contemporary YA novel under contract.

SC: Out of all the books you have written so far is there one you would consider being your favourite?

KC: Out of my romances, I would have to say that I have a tie for my favourite. Their Home Port is one of them, because Micah is based on my husband, who works for his father at a marine assistance company. I work in the office there, but that isn’t how hubby and I met. I really enjoyed creating the character of Micah, because my husband is a wonderful guy, in my admittedly biased opinion, and I wanted to introduce him to readers, especially since I refer to hubby as my “real-life romance hero.”

My other favourite right now isn’t available yet; I just finished first-round edits on it. It’s the MM paranormal novel I mentioned earlier, and the title is Salad on the Side. When vegan Kyle Slidell is attacked by a wolf near his home, he’s changed into a werewolf and discovers that all of his neighbors are werewolves. And his crush, Tobias Rogan, is the pack Alpha. Even in wolf form, Kyle still refuses to eat meat, and for some reason he isn’t controlled by the Alpha magic Tobias sometimes uses to keep his pack in line. This book is first-person, narrated by Kyle, and I had so much fun writing him. Kyle’s a real wiseguy, and I hope readers will like him when the book comes out.

SC: Does your personal life ever influence your writing?

KC: Frequently. I mentioned above how much Their Home Port is influenced by my real life. I have characters in a few books who are based on people I know, and some of my heroines are pretty heavily based on me.

SC: One thing readers might be surprised to know about you?

KC: Until five or six years ago, because of things that happened to me when I was younger, I couldn’t even say the word “sex” out loud.

SC: Being an author there is always so much work to be done. Do you find it hard to juggle both family life and your writing?

KC: Sometimes, especially since I’m essentially juggling TWO writing careers and a family. And a part-time job. For a while last year, I really felt like I was neglecting my daughters, so I made some changes. Unless I have a chat scheduled or am on a deadline, I’m off the computer by six o’clock every night. On the weekends that my kids are home, I plan an outing or activity one-on-one with each of them. Every Monday night, my daughters, hubby, and I have family time, where we discuss family matters, sometimes do a mini-lesson about something the kids need to know or about a family member they don’t know well, and play a game.

SC: Your favourite part about being an author?

KC: Having someone I’ve never met before say, “Oh, you’re Karenna Colcroft? I’ve heard of you/I read your book!”

SC: What are you currently reading?

KC: I’m reading one of the Kitty books by Carrie Vaughn. I’ve been reading my way through the series over the past few weeks.

SC: What do you think sets your stories apart from other authors?

KC: I create characters who are blatantly not perfect, and sometimes take tropes and flip them on their ear. For example, in Salad on the Side, Tobias is a werewolf Alpha who prefers to be submissive in bed.

SC: Is there anything you’re currently working on that you can give us a taste of?

KC: Hmm…I’m working on a couple of projects in the first draft stage, and a couple of others in edits. I can’t give any excerpts, but since I’ve already talked a lot about Salad on the Side, which is one of the ones in edits, I guess I can tell you a little about the others.

The MFM novel I mentioned earlier is called Shiny Objects. Elena is happy living with her boyfriend Corin, until her former lover Niko comes back to her life. Elena still has very strong feelings for Niko, and when she spends some time alone with him one day, things go a bit too far. When she confesses to Corin, he gives her his okay to keep seeing Niko. This book is also in edits, as is a fantasy novella for Pink Petal Books’s Spellbound Treasure line, a shared-world project that several PPB authors are working on. The editor and I are in the process of changing the title of that one.

SC: What is the best advice you ever got with regards to writing?

KC: Learn your craft and don’t expect to ever completely master it, and do your research when you’re looking for a publisher to make sure you don’t fall into a scam.

SC: What is one pet peeve you have when it comes to publishing?

KC: I don’t really have any… I love all aspects of writing. It’s fun!

SC: Any advice for new writers out there?

KC: I’d pass along the same advice I was given. Keep learning your craft, and be careful about which publisher you choose to work with.

SC: Where can readers find out more about you and your work?

KC: Readers can visit my website, http://karennacolcroft.com. I’m on Twitter, @KarennaColcroft , and also on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/karenna.colcroft .