Alyssa Brooks - In Interview with Jeanne Barrack

The Call

Hi everyone! Since my first Kensington Aphrodisia anthology, The Cop, releases this month, I thought I'd share my recent blog about my novella within it, Arrested.

Arrested is my baby. My lucky charm. It's the first erotic romance I ever wrote, the first erotic romance I ever e-published, and the first erotic romance I ever print published. Essentially, it not only began my writing career, but carried it!

Right from the start there was something about the idea—a Texas sheriff who places an innocent woman on house arrest in his house. I knew I had something…I just never knew how big of a something it would turn out to be.

I was pregnant, so it took me four months to finish Arrested. At the time, being e-published was my goal, so I sent it off to a few places, and soon received a contract from Liquid Silver Books. I went on to e-publish numerous other stories, but I was getting money hungry (babies aren't cheap!). Feeling discouraged, I came a hairsbreadth away from quitting writing erotic romance to follow a second dream of mine—writing sweet romances (I know, I know. Talk about a spilt personality!). In fact, even now, a half-completed attempt is sitting on my hard drive. Maybe one day…

Around the same time, New York publishers started getting hungry for sexy stories. A few friends passed on some info to me, and on a whim, I shoved Arrested in the mail to Kensington. I immediately forgot about it. I'd mailed packages like it a hundred times before, waited on my tiptoes for weeks for some sort of response, only to be disappointed. This time, I didn't hang onto hope, and low and behold, literally two days later, the phone rang. My baby was crying and I was fresh out of the shower and I almost didn't answer. But something told me to—thank God. My editor said she loved the premise, but where was the sex? She wanted the beginning to be hotter, could I do that? Uh, hell yeah! Ignoring the world and my uncombed hair, I sat at the computer all day and wrote, wrote, wrote, thankfully with my crit partner by my side with helpful suggestions. By five, I emailed off the new version and waited. All night, all the next day, I held tight to the phone and waited (and no, I never brushed my hair). Nothing. At a quarter after five, I gave up. It was Friday, business hours were over, and I could safely give up the hope of hearing anything at least until Monday. I ran myself a bubble bath and five minutes later, my husband rushed into the bathroom carrying a crying baby—and yes, the phone. Standing there dripping wet, soap running in my eyes, with a screaming baby in the background (because despite my violent hand gestures, my husband wouldn't leave the room), I tried to pretend all was normal and accepted my first deal. It was really amazing, but so surreal. I, of course, had no time for initial celebration—crying baby—and I think I was too shocked to even breathe.

I learned a good lesson from all this—the call never, ever comes when you expect it. Since Arrested, I've accepted three other deals—all completely out of left field, one more of which I did soaking wet. It's like staring at the clock, or watching a pot of water boil. To stay sane, you just have to turn your attention elsewhere. So if you're hoping for THE CALL, quit waiting, and go take a bath.

Needless to say, I hold Arrested close to my heart. A few weeks ago, I received my author's copies and opening the box stole my breath away. I'm really excited to be a part of this anthology and to share my story with the world. I hope you love the story as much as I do!


		Back to Extras The Call Hi everyone! Since my first Kensington Aphrodisia anthology, The Cop, releases this month, I thought I'd share my recent blog about my novella within it, Arrested. Arrested is my baby. My lucky charm. It's the first erotic romance I ever wrote, the first erotic romance I ever e-published, and the first erotic romance I ever print published. Essentially, it not only began my writing career, but carried it! Right from the start there was something about the idea—a Texas sheriff who places an innocent woman on house arrest in his house. I knew I had something…I just never knew how big of a something it would turn out to be. I was pregnant, so it took me four months to finish Arrested. At the time, being e-published was my goal, so I sent it off to a few places, and soon received a contract from Liquid Silver Books. I went on to e-publish numerous other stories, but I was getting money hungry (babies aren't cheap!). Feeling discouraged, I came a hairsbreadth away from quitting writing erotic romance to follow a second dream of mine—writing sweet romances (I know, I know. Talk about a spilt personality!). In fact, even now, a half-completed attempt is sitting on my hard drive. Maybe one day… Around the same time, New York publishers started getting hungry for sexy stories. A few friends passed on some info to me, and on a whim, I shoved Arrested in the mail to Kensington. I immediately forgot about it. I'd mailed packages like it a hundred times before, waited on my tiptoes for weeks for some sort of response, only to be disappointed. This time, I didn't hang onto hope, and low and behold, literally two days later, the phone rang. My baby was crying and I was fresh out of the shower and I almost didn't answer. But something told me to—thank God. My editor said she loved the premise, but where was the sex? She wanted the beginning to be hotter, could I do that? Uh, hell yeah! Ignoring the world and my uncombed hair, I sat at the computer all day and wrote, wrote, wrote, thankfully with my crit partner by my side with helpful suggestions. By five, I emailed off the new version and waited. All night, all the next day, I held tight to the phone and waited (and no, I never brushed my hair). Nothing. At a quarter after five, I gave up. It was Friday, business hours were over, and I could safely give up the hope of hearing anything at least until Monday. I ran myself a bubble bath and five minutes later, my husband rushed into the bathroom carrying a crying baby—and yes, the phone. Standing there dripping wet, soap running in my eyes, with a screaming baby in the background (because despite my violent hand gestures, my husband wouldn't leave the room), I tried to pretend all was normal and accepted my first deal. It was really amazing, but so surreal. I, of course, had no time for initial celebration—crying baby—and I think I was too shocked to even breathe. I learned a good lesson from all this—the call never, ever comes when you expect it. Since Arrested, I've accepted three other deals—all completely out of left field, one more of which I did soaking wet. It's like staring at the clock, or watching a pot of water boil. To stay sane, you just have to turn your attention elsewhere. So if you're hoping for THE CALL, quit waiting, and go take a bath. Needless to say, I hold Arrested close to my heart. A few weeks ago, I received my author's copies and opening the box stole my breath away. I'm really excited to be a part of this anthology and to share my story with the world. I hope you love the story as much as I do! Website Design by Crocodesigns \|\| © Copyright 2006 Alyssa Brooks. All rights reserved.