Full disclosure: Alexi Lawless hired my business, DaSh factor, for marketing & consultation. It was just a deliciously wonderful surprise that I’ve ended up loving her book (a curl up and read romantic-erotic-adventure) enough to recommend it here on MomsGetReal.

Getting Real with Shadra Bruce

I sat down (long-distance, via Skype and email) with Alexi, my new FAVORITE author, for an interview to get to know the writer behind the well-paced, uber-exciting, now-available-on-Kindle Complicated Creatures.

We skipped the boring questions and got straight to the meat.

MomsGetReal: What do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors?

Alexi: I’m a die-hard Anne Rice fan. She had me at “Lestat”. I think my mother was incredibly worried that my dream man was an 18th century vampire with a penchant for leather pants, hot blood and the debauched streets of the French Quarter. When I read “Exit to Eden” at fourteen, I was pretty certain being a Domme was my intended job description, and may actually explain a great deal of my career path in strategy and management consulting (those hard-ass executives seem to jones the most for chronic abuse after all).

I’m a big fan of some up-and-comers too. Tarryn Fisher writes an evil plot twist that makes me want to hurl my Kindle across the room and purr with pleasure at the same time. CD Reiss may write some of the hottest sex scenes I ever read (and that’s saying something given my proclivities for the dark arts) with some fantastic character development and CJ Roberts is both spell-binding and disturbing in an entirely Rice-esque way. (I think she may have actually been torn from Anne’s rib). Alice Severin writes a rocker like no other– she makes Mick Jagger look staid compared to her vision of Tristan and I thoroughly enjoy that woman’s turn of phrase.

Your profile says: “Corporate Runaway. Novelist. Wanderer. Bourbon Drinker.” What are your drinks of choice (besides Bourbon)?

Pinot I drink by the case. Bourbon I drink by the bottle. Martinis I drink by the glass. 

Writing is hard work. What inspires you?

Music. I can’t write without music. In fact, I’m so reliant on it, I find no matter where I am in the world, if I turn on my playlist for the book/scene/character I’m writing, I can transport to that pretty quickly.

Check out Alexi’s playlist.

Your book spans the globe, almost literally. Where are your favorite places to travel?

I spend a lot of time on the road. I think I’ve traveled something like 60% of the world. I just finished a several month stint in South America. Next up: the Middle East. But I’ve been all over Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Northern Africa, Western Asia, Eastern Europe and the Pacific Ocean.

What do you do for fun?

Travel. Read. Drink. Write. Read while drinking. Write while traveling. Sadly, the drinking while writing is rarely productive, so we had to put a curb to that.

Are you a curl up with a good book kind of girl or a discotheque ‘til 4am kind of girl? In other words, how similar is Alexi to Samantha?

In the words of Sandra Cisneros, “I’m an aim-well, shoot-sharp, sharp-tongued, sharp-thinking, fast-speaking, foot-loose, loose-tongued, let-loose, woman-on-the-loose, loose woman. Beware, honey.”

What are you working on now, Alexi?

I am knees and elbows deep into writing Complicated Creatures Part 2. I also spend a bit of time thinking about who I’d like to play the key roles in Complicated Creatures if it became a movie.

I’m grateful Alexi took the time to chat with me about herself…and I do HIGHLY recommend the book. This is not your typical read-it-in-an-afternoon romance. It’s a highly evolved, deep story about a very strong woman, Samantha, who alternates her time between dodging bullets and dodging heartbreak…and if you think she is awesome (she is) just wait until you meet Jack.

If you are a blogger interested in reviewing Complicated Creatures, we have review copies available. To join the blog tour that runs June 25-July 31, sign up here.

Find out more about Alexi LAWLESS and Complicated Creatures:

AlexiLAWLESS.com

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