WATCH OUT: Cristal Ryder

SC: I want to welcome you all to another edition of Watch Out. This week I’m pleased to bring you a fellow Canadian and someone whose books I love, please welcome the wonderful and talented Cristal Ryder. Welcome to Watch Out, it is so great to have you here.

I’m thrilled to finally be here! It’s taken a while and here I am. You certainly do have a load of great questions. Thanks so much for having me.

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

I’ve been writing as long as I can remember and finally had my first book published in November 2010. I was thrilled to join so many other authors in the Cave and became and Ellora’s Cave author last year. I work full time and a mom of two boys, 21 & 24. They are both living their own lives now. I love to travel and try not to let my feet stay still for too long.

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

I’d love to, thanks. Rock-Hard Heat, a Naughty Nooner from Ellora’s Cave Cave. It’s the continuing story of my cowboy Chet and his lady Jenna.

Unable to stay away from her sexy cowboy, Jenna flies back to him and the Colorado Rockies. A part of her stayed in the wild and rugged west after she left and she wants to rekindle their passion. And uncover the potential riches hidden in this majestic landscape.

Chet sets out to mine a special place in Jenna’s heart with love and their undeniable chemistry. Their steamy affair has Jenna searching for more than gold in the mountains—she wants Chet’s rock-hard love, anywhere she can get it.

While Rock-Hard Heat can be read as a standalone, for maximum enjoyment, we recommend reading Elemental Heat first.

SC: What influences the topics, and genre’s that you pick to write a story in?

Everything around me. I never know what will spark an idea. I tend to gravitate to writing hot contemporaries but I would love love love to publish a sci fi/paranormal. In fact I have two manuscripts that are. One is completed and a sea witch story I’d like to tweak a bit and the other is a futuristic post apocalyptic. Both are hot of course J

SC: Your favourite part about being an author?

I love telling stories and it thrills me no end that someone actually buys them to read. It’s even more satisfying when they enjoy the story. I know not everyone will like a book and that’s okay. Oh, and I think it’s just great when an acceptance email drops into my inbox.

SC: What are you currently reading?

I have a few on the go. It’s so hard to choose. This morning I picked up Jaci Burton’s, Taking a Shot, from my tbr and loved the way it started. I can so relate to the heroine. I feel the same way she does and I only had time for the first two pages J

SC: Have you ever self published a book and or would you consider ever self publishing?

No, I have never self published. But I know many authors that have and seem quite happy with it. I would consider it, yes. There are no current plans for that – have too many balls in the air right now.

SC: Every author deals with rejection in their career. What is your advice when it comes to rejections?

Rejections make you stronger. They still hurt but it helps you grow. Not everything comes easy and it toughens you. The important thing is not to let it get under your skin and look at it objectively.

SC: What’s your cure for procrastination?

I don’t have one. I’m terrible and can go off on a tangent at any moment. If you have a cure, please share it.

SC: As a reader how much do reviews impact your view about a book you want to read?

I don’t read reviews if I can help it. Except on Tripadvisor J

SC: What does a typical day look like for you?

Up at 5:30, get ready for work, at work by 7:00, lunch at 2:00 when I write, finish work at 3:00, home by 4, write, dinner, walk, family time, bed by 11:00. Weekend, just take out the work day and add more writing, walking, housecleaning. Yep, pretty boring. When I can, I try to get away for a weekend or few days to see something new.

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

I’m working on revising a story that I love but my critique partners are giving me a hard time on. They hate my heroine and that’s not a good thing. Sure, she’s tough, ambitious and selfish, but she does redeem herself. It will be submitted soon after I mellow her a bit and tweak a couple of things. Then it’s right into a women’s fiction – which I can’t get distracted from!

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

Write the damn book!

An Excerpt From: ROCK-HARD HEAT

It had been a glorious couple of days before Chet had to head down and get back to real life. She smiled and enjoyed the heat that bloomed in her belly, remembering their first lovemaking session after being apart for so many months. Desire for her cowboy never failed to heat her blood and she longed for him now. She wanted him with her in the soft mountain water, which caressed her skin so seductively.

The grime and dust of her prospecting activities at Chet’s great-great-uncle Chester’s old claim sluiced off in the creek’s current and left her skin pink and tingly. She wasn’t ready to get out yet and closed her eyes, drifting lazily.

Chet couldn’t confirm when he’d be back and Jenna had gotten used to staying here on her own when he wasn’t with her. At first, he’d been hesitant to leave her, but she insisted and he’d learned a while ago how stubborn she could be. So they compromised. He made sure she was checked on daily by a ranch hand, had taught her to shoot and left the rifle by the door. The radio was primed in case she needed immediate help and his dog Belle stayed with her. All was good with the world.

Letting her legs drop, Jenna curled her toes into the creek bed and stood. The water was deep, just covering her breasts. They bobbed at the surface, buffeted by little eddies of current. She tipped back, ducked her head in the water and swept her long red tresses out of her face. When she stood, it hung to her shoulders and fanned out on the surface of the water like a halo.

A sense of wellbeing filled her and her heart swelled with happiness. Never had such a strong sensation of belonging, being home, been so sharply etched within her. She knew she had been born on the wrong side of the continent. It was here she should have grown up and experienced life, not back east. Jenna inhaled the crisp mountain air and gazed at the bush around her. It was just as beautiful in the summer as in the winter. Her love for this land grew daily and it truly pained her to think of leaving it. And Chet.

She brushed the disturbing thought aside. It was a while before she’d be packing her bags. Jenna’s gaze took in the brand new sluice box. Chet had replaced the broken-down one with a much more modern setup here at the creek and farther up-river where the tree came down. Chester’s old one was being restored and eventually would be donated to a local history museum. She was determined to find his secret claim and Chet had humored her all the way. Jenna smiled and excitement bubbled inside her at the news she had to tell him.

The gurgle of water over the dam of rocks mixed delightfully with the birds singing in the trees. Jenna was at peace. She sighed and shivered with a slight chill from the cool mountain water. Goose bumps rose along her flesh and her nipples hardened, aching with the cold. She cupped her breasts in her palms, the hard nubs pressing against her flesh. This time the shiver that rippled through her wasn’t from being chilled.

“Chet, when are you going to get here?” she whispered to the silence of the surrounding trees.

“What’s the matter, darlin’? Miss me?”

Jenna spun around, sending a splash of water in a sparkling arc. The wonderful, sexy drawl of Chet’s voice slipped around her like hot honey and she warmed under his gaze. He stood on the little rocky beach where they had made love on the bank of chilly snow last winter. She couldn’t help the smile that broke wide on her face when their eyes met.

“Chet.” His name fell from her lips in a breathy sigh.

He had one booted foot propped on a large rock, his elbow rested on his knee. The faded, worn jeans tightened over his muscular thighs and Jenna’s breath snagged in her chest. She let her gaze roam over the typical plaid cowboy shirt which also strained across his powerful chest and shoulders. He poked his cowboy hat back with a finger and winked at her. She knew what lay beneath those clothes and she hungered for him. He was a feast for her eyes and she needed feeding.

“Now then, this sure is a sight to behold. It’s a damn good thing I decided to come myself and not send Blake to check on you.”

“I’d say I have to agree with that, cowboy.”

“Last time I checked we didn’t have mermaids in these parts. Just goes to show you can learn somethin’ new every day.” He straightened and started to unbutton his shirt. “Want some company?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

Where to find me on the web:

www.cristalryder.com

https://twitter.com/#!/CristalRyder

https://www.facebook.com/cristal.ryderauthor