Fallen Angel Reviews would like to welcome CJ England.
Thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions
about yourself and your books.
Hey there, I’m happy to be here.
Tell your readers something about you that they'd never
guess.
Hmmm, something about myself. Well… I have several
tattoos, and my belly button is pierced.
I’m an old fashioned romantic who cries at Hallmark
commercials.
I’m a Native American of the Ntlakyapamuk people in
British Colombia, and my totems are the Hawk and the Doe
and my air sign is the Wind.
What made you pick up the pen and write?
I started writing so early, I think it was like
breathing to me. I wrote my first story when I was in
second grade. I kept writing all the way through school.
I remember writing a story about a popular singer that I
would love to rewrite now that I have a little
experience ‘cause it was really bad. I was on my
school newspaper and spent a lot of time in the library
because I loved books. All kinds of books.
It wasn’t until my kids were older that I started
writing professionally. I started out by doing magazine
articles for Country Magazine and Homeschooling Today
and then branched out into collaborations in Rodale
Books and local newspapers. About four years ago, I
started my first full length novel called The
Peacekeepers Journals: The Joining when I was snowed
in during the winter. But it wasn’t until December of
2005 that I submitted my first sensual romance to Silk’s
Vault. It was picked up immediately and I’ve been very
pleased with the response from my fans.
You write the full gamut of topics, do you ever find it hard
to keep everything straight?
Not really. I enjoy writing about different things. I
have such an active imagination that I can’t imagine
writing about only one idea. I adore writing about the
paranormal and fantasy worlds I create. Even when I
write contemporary, I wind up adding details that make
my books just a little bit different.
As for keeping them straight, as I continue to dream, I
hope to make my worlds intersect in some way. My fantasy
novels will interact with the paranormal ones. And who
is to say that my hero Sawyer, in Hot Tubs and Hot
Hunks won’t show up in one of my Sci Fi novels.
From what do you derive the most inspiration for your
writing?
I can be inspired by the oddest things. One reviewer
wished she could have been in my head when I came up
with Here Comes Peter. I wish she had been, maybe
she could tell me where that idea came from! All
I remember is riding my bike and wham!... Here Comes
Peter was born.
I can be inspired by a picture or another story or even
a song. But the number one inspiration for me… are my
dreams. I am one of those lucky few who can lucid dream.
That is… I can take an idea to bed with me and during
the night I can dream up an entire story. Sometimes it
is only an outline, but other times it is the whole
book. That is what happened with The Peacekeeper
Journals: The Joining. I woke up with the whole book
in my head and I immediately started writing it down.
Now it is the first of an eight book series.
And of course, I can’t forget my husband. For a sensual
romance writer…having such a hot hunk of my own is an
absolutely wonderful inspiration!
What is your favorite part of a book to write?
I have two parts that I enjoy writing. I love to write
the first meeting of the hero and heroine, and I love
writing the resolution.
The first meeting is so important because it sets up
anything else that happens between the hero and heroine.
It is a chance for the reader to meet the two characters
at the beginning of their relationship. When you know
how they start, it makes the journey to the end that
much more fun.
The resolution between the two must be rewarding to the
reader. It has to be full of all the emotion you can
give it and it has to answer all the questions the
reader may have. As an author, I want the resolution to
be as important and fulfilling as the rest of the book.
I want my readers to close the book and be totally
satisfied with the ending.
Do you outline your stories or do you just write as you go?
I have the dream in my head, but I write as I go. An
outline is great for some writers, but for me it stifles
my creativity. Once I dream it, I can create it.
Besides… my characters refuse to follow a story line, so
why bother?
As my worlds get more intricate, I will have to chart
things, but I’ll always dream them out first. When I
wrote The Mylari Chronicles: The Soulmates, I had
dreamed it through and then just followed the dream as I
wrote it. Working the way I do, it only took me three
weeks to write it out and it is a 426 page novel.
What would you like to accomplish with your writing career?
I have several goals I would still like to accomplish. I
have been published in magazines and now in e-books.
When I was at the Romantic Times Conference, I was asked
by an agent and two different print publishers to send
in my work to them. Getting published in print would be
my next objective.
But overall what I would like the most is to be able to
continue to write those stories in my head and make a
living while doing it. Jonathon, my husband jokes about
me being his retirement plan, but I would love to get to
a point where we can do what we dream about… Our dream
is to travel and me be able to make a living writing
about the places we visit.
What is the biggest misconception about being an author?
I think the biggest misconception is that all an author
does is write a story. In actuality, that is just the
beginning. For me writing the story is easy. It’s what
comes afterwards that is hard. Promoting yourself can
take up so much of your time that a lot of authors can
burn out and forget why they started writing in the
first place. I have learned that balance is the key.
Writing is as necessary to my wellbeing as breathing and
eating chocolate. So I have learned that it has to come
before all the other business stuff. I do it for my
readers as well as myself. I am happiest when I am
creating.
You mention having just submitted a book, Changes in
Latitude / Changes in Attitude. Can you tell us a bit
about it?
It is a pair of short stories for Whiskey Creek’s torrid
teaser line. They tell the tale of a brother and sister
who leave New York when tragedy strikes their family.
They move to Key Largo, Florida hoping for a change in
their lives.
In Changes in Latitude, the love Bethany thought
she lost shows up unexpectedly. But can he convince her
that this time his love is for real?
In Changes in Attitude, Derek, Bethany’s brother
meets his match in a sassy dive instructor. Can their
new love stand when she finds out that he is keeping
dangerous secrets?
These stories were the first of my Florida series. I
have several other works in progress about Florida since
that is where I am living right now.
Can you tell us a little about your other upcoming works?
I have three full length novels ready for publication,
as well as several short stories that are ready for
submission.
One is The Peacekeeper Journals: The Joining. A
war is coming, and Kira, the Peacekeeper has been sent
to stop it. Created by an unknown Power for good, she is
sent into the lower city of San Francisco to join with a
group of supernatural leaders, in order to find a way to
prevent the war.
But her way is fraught with distraction and danger. In
order to complete her mission, she must join with
different men. As she does so, she finds herself
surrounded by the Chosen…six handsome supernaturals, two
of which want more from her, than just a magical
joining. As this group begins to blend in a force ready
to fight for good, she is confronted by her own
yearnings, confused by desire she doesn’t understand.
Should she give herself to Gallegar the vampire, who
owns her heart? Or to Lucas, a wolf shapeshifter, who
has brought passion into her life? And how can she do
either, when she has been called to chastity?
As Kira struggles with these questions, evil attacks
her, and it is only the love of her Chosen that can save
her. But this evil is clever and wants her dead. Will
their sacrifice be enough?
The Peacekeeper Journals: The Gates of Life is
the sequel to The Joining. A battle has been won,
but the war is just beginning. Kira, the Peacekeeper and
her Chosen set out to answer their next challenge. Who
or what has shut down the Gates of Life?
Mystery and danger follow the company as they seek the
answers to these questions. There are forces of evil
that will not allow Kira to complete her mission.
And what of the mission of her heart? Will Kira find the
man who completes her? Will Lucas, the wolf
shapeshifter, convince her that passion should rule the
day, or will Gallegar, the vampire king, show her that
he truly does own her heart?
A third book that has just been submitted is the first
of a series. It is called Second Chances: Waiting in
the Wings. It tells the tale of Callie, a lighting
designer and Jordon, a country musician. When they meet…
sparks fly, but any chance of happiness they could have
is snatched away when someone plots against them. Can
they sift through the lies to the truth beneath? And
once they do, will it give them a second chance at love?
The other short stories in submissions at this time
include my first stand alone werewolf story, called
The Mythbusters: Son of the Moon, Don’t Spank the Vamp…
a fun look at sex games from a vampire’s point of view,
Damned if you Do…Damned if you Don’t… a novella I
am writing with Annmarie Ortega and Do You believe in
Magic?... a trio of stories about magic in other
worlds.
I also have been asked to submit to a new print journal
that will be published in the fall. I am very excited
about this new opportunity, and am working on my story
as we speak. It is another werewolf tale set in Florida
introducing a true alpha male bad boy that will steal
your heart.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
First off, I want to thank Fallen Angel Reviews for
interviewing me and allowing me to share my worlds with
everyone.
