Today we have our very first guest blogger, and it's my honor to welcome this wonderful author here in my blog. Her name is R.E. Butler and - at the time of posting - she's the fifteenth most popular Romance > Fantasy & Futuristic author in Amazon! And you know what's even more impressive? She made that happen in just two years! 

I look at her as a friend, mentor, and role model, which is why when she suggested character names as a topic for her guest post, I jumped on it immediately. You all probably know I'm Filipino-Chinese and as such, I often run out of Western-sounding names to use for my major and minor characters. In your countries, Tom, Dick, Harry sound common enough. But here in mine, it's something like Juan, Jose, and Pedro - yes, it's very Latin and that's because for hundreds of years we were under Spanish rule. 

Surnames are even harder for me because we definitely don't have anyone here with last names such as Smith, West, or Johnson. Here it's dela Cruz for Filipinos or something like Tan or Lee for the Chinese - obviously not surnames I can use to describe someone blond and blue-eyed or a green-eyed redhead. 

And that's just me. Other authors also have dilemmas about choosing and finding the right character names because of a variety of reasons. If you are one of us, then you will definitely find this post helpful! 

I am not supposed to be up at this time - I actually just woke up to open the A/C but since I am, I might as well post this. I was struggling the whole day about what to write for this blog until a conversation with a great author friend gave me this idea.

In my other blog, I posted my first ever published book. Looking back at it now, I still love the story but I do wish I could have written it better. You see, I wrote that book without any input from critique partners / beta readers and I certainly didn't even do research about the dos and don'ts for the technical aspects of writing a novel - with the exception of researching a teensy weensy bit about the finer points of grammar. So end result: not my best work. It's a fun and frothy read, I can promise you that - but the writing could have been better. I admit it. :)

Of course as years went by and I realized that writing is something I would really like to do - maybe even earn money from - I gradually found my way to reading "how-to" books on writing. Now, some of you may say, "But I already know how to write. So why should I read those books?" Well, yes, I get your point, but you see - there's a special kind of writing involved when you want to write your own book / novel and that's the kind of writing you'll learn from these how-to guides. Plus, you get tons of advice from the best in the industry, thus allowing you to avoid the same mistakes they did. 

And so without further ado, here are links to some of the books that have helped me improve in my craft.

• Escape the Slush Pile by Mary Janice Davidson - MJD is my idol. I love her Undead books and when I was still in school, I spent my entire allowance snapping up her books. This particular book is more for getting published, but it's still worth reading and can still help you improve your writing. At the very least, it will help you take rejections (whether it's from a publisher who turned down your manuscript proposal or a one-star review) more easily. 
• On Writing - It's Stephen King. 'Nuff said. I know that he's a very outspoken character and because of that he's picked a lot of enemies along the way. I know he may not even like the books I write because he may consider them fluff. Doesn't matter - it's not just because he's a legend. I think it's more because he's getting, err, older and therefore set on his ways and you just have to think of him as this grumpy old king whom you need to win over - if not with your writing then with your personality. Because either way, he's a good man. Hell, he's a great man - he has to be with the kind of stories he dishes out. :) Now, as you can only expect from King - his advice is spot on, often ruthless, but hey - sometimes, such advice is the kind of wake-up call we need to accept that our writing needs improvement. 
• Writing Great Books for Young Adults - A funny story here. I actually queried Ms. Brooks before I got to read this book. Long story short: she rejected my query. I'm wondering now - if I had queried her after reading this book of hers, would my query have a different outcome? hahaha. But anyway, this book is a must read if you want to write for a YA audience. Now remember - the audience being targeted here is readers of traditionally pubbed YA books. If you are writing primarily for Amazon YA readers, the rules are a lot more liberated especially when it comes to dealing with sex, drugs, and all other sensitive issues. I need to point that out because if you're the type who'd like to push boundaries, you can do so when you're independently or self published. So some of the rules you come across in this book don't have to apply. 

Finally, here are the books that I haven't had the fortune to read but I think are worth checking out AND books that I read in the past but only borrowed from the library (basically that means I didn't get to re-read it over and over and so I don't remember enough to give specific reasons why I loved it).

• Writing Irresistible Kidlit - I had the fortune to have sample pages requested by Ms. Kole on different manuscripts. She was always pleasant to converse with but more importantly you get the feel that she knows her stuff. And yeah she does. So you can't ever go wrong with this one and esp. if you want to write for a traditional pub audience.
  
• How to Write a Damn Good Novel - Borrowed from the library. :)
• On Writing Romance - It's Leigh Michaels. 'Nuff said.
• How to Write Hot Sex - Check out the names of its contributors. Then you'll know why it's a must read. 
• The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Erotic Romance - Alison Kent wrote this. Again, 'Nuff said.

Hello everyone. We're interviewing Pepper Winters, the lovely author of Tears of Tess, a dark New Adult contemporary romance that's gotten into Amazon's Top 100 in its first week. So let's congratulate her, too! :) And now, without further ado, let's get on with the interview then. 

Hi Pepper! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview and congratulations again on the release of Tears of Tess! It’s an amazingly enthralling read – so much so I had to write a review for it the moment I finished reading. Now, first things first – my questions from a reader’s standpoint:

Please share a photo or a link to one of someone who best looks like Q and Tess. :) I’m actually just interested in seeing Q, but for the sake of fairness, let’s have a photo of Tess as well. :P In any case, it would also be nice to know what kind of girl would attract Q. =D 

Hi! Here are some images of people who I think look like Q and Tess thanks to some bloggers who made images :)

(Interviewer's Note: Oh wow. That image with the whip…mm…I think I’ll chicken out. For now, I’d rather admire Q from a distance. :P But Tess is gorgeous in that photo! Can’t compete with that. :P )

I rarely ask questions about where writers get their ideas, but for this one I really think I have to. Where did you get the idea for Tears of Tess? I know I’m not the only one who’s most curious about how much research you did for human trafficking. It’s a very sensitive issue, too – did you struggle to make sure that the ugliness of human trafficking isn’t whitewashed, especially with the way Q is involved in all of it?

Um, the idea… I can’t really say that anything really inspired me or made me think of the idea as a whole. It sort of grew on its own with no involvement from me. Tess surprised me with how strong she became and Q, most of the book he’s an enigma to me so I never really knew him until the epilogue and then I was like—it makes so much sense. LOL. I’m a writer who loves to go along for the ride and don’t force the plot and when it called for some brutal action when Tess is taken I ran with it. I did do research on how women are taken, destroyed, and broken and it’s heartbreaking to think it goes on every day :(

Speaking of the epilogue, I have to tell you that it was exquisitely perfect. Can’t ask for a better ending, really, but then we got the sneak peek of Quintessentially Q and bam! OMG – guess their problems are far from over. Please, please, please share some more info – what can we expect from Book 2? Aside from what we can get glean from the blurb. Please, please, please spill some beans!

LOL, I can’t give too much away, but Tess and Q have a very unconventional relationship. They both need each other on a much more basic level than a true happy love story. It’s an obsession, whether it’s healthy I don’t know, but Q will try to show Tess how dark he is willing to go, while hoping not to kill her and Tess… well, her complicated life is about to get even more complicated.

Ha! Complicated is putting it mildly, but I don’t much care and most readers probably feel the same. We want more Q, period. So…will this be a trilogy? An open-ended series? Will you at least promise us a HEA with neither Tess nor Q dying at the end of the series?

LOL. If there is more story to tell at the end of Quintessentially Q then I might continue. There has to be a story to tell, but I love the characters so I’d be happy to stay in their world for a bit longer :) And yes, there will always be a HEA in my books. I may twist and hurt and maim, but ultimately the books I write are about romance and finding connection—even in the strangest of places. :)

You can’t believe how relieved I am that we’re assured of an HEA for Q and Tess. *happy dance* Last question for this part of the interview: any other future works you want readers to know more about or events that you’d like to invite them to?

Um, yes. I have another book coming out soon called Last Shadow. Here is the blurb that I’m still working on:  

I may exchange dollar signs for a life, but it doesn’t mean I’m without morals.

I may not know my true name, but I don’t need one.

I may be human, but my soul is rotten.

Kage is a perfect shadow. A highly trained killer and unforgiving mercenary, he’s been trained since birth to suffer no emotion, no remorse, no empathy, or compassion. He’s void, empty; a black unrelenting darkness.

Vivienne is sunlight and happiness. Her twin sister is her reason for living, and she believes her life will be filled with romantic movie-like-moments and golden wrapped opportunities.

But then Kage kills her sister.

By mistake.

His real target was Vivienne, and he steals her away to cover up his blunder. But nothing is secret from the Society of Shadows and Kage is ordered to deliver Vivienne to a high roller in Thailand as a gift for his screw-up.

Kage does his job, and Viv becomes the latest acquisition in a harem of women at the mercy of the highest sadistic bidder.

Life shattered for Viv, and Kage managed to tie up loose ends, but they both weren’t prepared for the unexpected, or a force greater than a human hand.

Release date to be advised, but it’s dark too.

Ha! Dark is fast becoming an understatement with your books. And if Kage is as hot as Q, I'm pretty sure readers will be quick to one-click this once it's out. :)

On to the second half of the interview, which is dedicated to aspiring writers who would like to learn from Pepper's experiences. :)

How long did you work on Tears of Tess and is this your first book? What is your writing routine like now? What were the hardest and easiest things to do while writing ToT? 

I wrote Tess in 7 weeks --- it was write until I could no longer sit upright and my wrists starting screaming at me. (Those were) hardcore, kill myself, never leave the laptop 14 hour work days. I slaved away until my eyes bled. But it was worth it. I set a deadline (a crazy one) and decided I would do it. 

But now my other job has kicked back into gear so I won’t be able to dedicate as much time (which sucks.) So I suppose it will be write at night and try and steal some hours in the day.

(Tears of Tess) is my first published book, but not my first manuscript. I’ve got a few books on my computer that won’t see the light of day :)

(Interviewer's Note: I know I should be sorry about that crazy deadline, but since it was the reason we got ToT earlier – mmm…please stick with that schedule for Quintessentially Q, please?)

How much time do you devote to marketing your book and what marketing strategies have you tried or you’d like to recommend to indie authors? Are you in favor of paid marketing strategies? 

The day I decided that I was going to be serious about this I opened a FB page and started reaching out to bloggers. I was lucky enough to make friends with some amazing reviewers and they in turn helped me spread the word. I know I wouldn’t have been able to do this without them. And yes, I’m all about paid. I didn’t have enough time to arrange blog tours so paid Xpresso, and CBL Tours to do that for me. I’ve also paid for a Kindle Nation Advert to go live on the 6th of September so we’ll see how that goes.

Before going indie / self-pubbing, did you try finding an agent first or made an attempt to have your book traditionally published? Is traditional publishing (still?) a goal?

With another book I did do the whole query and try and nab an agent. Didn’t work and all I got were rejections. I then turned to smaller presses and a book did get a contract but after looking at the terms I figured… I can do that myself. So I did.

Do you write full-time now? If not, do you have a timeline on when you could quit your day job and write full time? If yes, a lot of aspiring writers are worried about their expected income once they write full time – would you like to say anything about this?

I don’t write full time yet, it’s a dream—as like every writer. I would have to make a substantiable one lump sum to be brave enough to quit as I know some books are well received and others aren’t. I would freak out too much even if I had good success with one title to risk it until I’d proven myself with a few titles. :)

Lastly – any other writing advice you’d like to share with writers who look up to you? :)

Writing advice? Write. A lot. Don’t let emotions and insecurities drag you down. Just keep plowing. And if this is what you want—to be a writer, make money from it, and spend your life creating stories—don’t ever stop. Success comes to those who fight.

As a way of thanking everyone who took the time to read this interview and/or share a link to it, Pepper and I have come up with a little GIVEAWAY. To join, just use the rafflecopter below and you guys stand to win either a free eBook of Tears of Tess or a $50 Amazon gift card! The contest will run for a week. :)

Pepper is also currently running another giveaway, and you can join that one too by clicking this link.
Hope you all enjoyed this interview and feel free to post any other questions you have for Pepper! We’ll make sure she knows! :)

I admit it. I love outlines to death. My outlines are so very detailed that by the time I reach the climax part, I could already be sobbing because I'm that moved by what's happening. Well that or I'm just a crybaby at heart. But anyway - I really envy those who can wing it from start to finish. I tried doing it the past two days, writing without any end in sight but I didn't come up with anything good. So lesson learned - once an outliner, die an outliner.

Most times, those who have only started writing aren't aware of what an outline is or even how important it is to setting up your story. Long story short, outlines make sure that every chapter contributes to the story as well as builds momentum for the climax and denouement in the end.