Q&A with Libby Campbell:
Your first book, Simon Says, came out in January 2016. Sadie Says I Do is a December release. What did you learn in that first year of writing romance?
When I finished Simon Says, I got a big surprise: I’d fallen in love with Simon and Sadie and wasn’t ready to say good-bye to them. Their story just kept unfolding in front of me and I had to explore their world further. Three books later…
Next I realized I love writing this genre. It’s playful but still demands a lot from an author: the characters must be complex and the stories have to have a well-paced. There has to be a satisfying ending that brings all the threads and characters together. For me that means there has to be an HEA.
I also learned that other writers in this genre are enormously helpful and supportive.
What was your best date ever?
My first date with my husband. In the middle of a crowded restaurant, he said I needed a spanking. I was gazing out the window but that got my attention. Even though he’d never spanked a woman before, something in me triggered that response. How could that be? I’m such a compliant, easy going sort of person.
At that moment, I knew we were meant for each other. The opening scene of Simon Says is based on that date.
Chocolate or chips?
Chocolate but blue chips are a close second.
Smooth or hairy?
Are we talking fruit, jackets, or cats?
Can you tell us about your newest release, the one that follows Winning Sadie?
Sadie Says I Do closes on Christmas at the end of that year in which Simon and Sadie first met.
Between their New Year’s meeting and their December wedding is all the passion and lust of a new love followed by the period of leveling off, of rethinking that early desire. Writing the courtship stage in the first book was easy. The early days of love are so forgiving.
Catching up with the lovers six months and then twelve months down the road was an interesting way to see their relationship develop. Sadie learned to assert herself more in the relationship, all the while submitting to Simon’s authority. Simon learned to let more of his vulnerable side show.
While all the books are basically billionaire-romance fantasies, the characters are meant to be well developed, three-dimensional people.
Even though Sadie Says I Do is book three in the Simon in Charges series, it can be read as a standalone novel.
When you write do you ever model your characters after real people?
Simon’s ease with languages is based on two people I know, both of whom only need 4-5 hours of exposure to a language to develop working fluency. What a gift!
All the other characters are straight from my overactive imagination, often inspired by real events. My female protagonists may include a great deal of my own personality.
What do you hope people will take away from your books?
The most important element in any relationship, but particularly relationships where one partner takes the command position over another, is trust.
I’d also like to emphasize most emphatically the elements in DD and BDSM don’t always work well or effortlessly. It’s not a generic, one size fits all practice.
If you’re new to the world and want to integrate elements of discipline into your life, take it slowly. The heroes on the romance pages don’t exist in real life and expectations must be adjusted accordingly.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known when you started writing?
When pitching a book, it’s helpful if you have your next one or two books mapped out so the publishers knows their investment of time in you will continue to be productive. I didn’t do this, by the way.
The real work starts when you get a contract. Once you have the release date, a new phase begins: that of getting it into the hands of readers.
Much of a writer’s time is spent in peripheral activities. It begins with writing and rewriting, which includes research and fact checking. Add to this the social media demands. A writer needs some of the following, and possibly more: a blog, a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest etc. Maintaining these profiles can consume a huge chunk of the day. Many writers publish regular newsletters. I haven’t waded into those waters yet.
Also there’s the very real need to keep upgrading writing skills, going to conferences, and networking. Then there’s the obvious: a writer needs to read. A lot.
I’d only read part of the job description when I decided it was time to write some stories. Just as well – it might have been overwhelming if I’d known how much was involved! It’s not too much though: you just take it one step at a time.
(Simon in Charge – book 3)
By Libby Campbell
Release date December 2nd, 2016 by Blushing Books
Genre: Erotic contemporary DD romance.
Blurb
Sadie and Simon are ready to exchange vows. Almost. All they need now is a place to call home. Once that detail is settled, Sadie promises she’ll start planning the wedding.
Money is no object and a realtor finds them a house they love immediately. Could it possibly be that easy?
Of course not! An outstanding claim means the title won’t be free for a few months yet. In the meantime, Sadie wants to carve out a life with a daily routine focused on volunteer work with homeless people. Haunted by a ghost from his past, Simon wants to resume his life of international travel at least until the house is theirs.
Can they find a happy medium?
This is book 3 in the Simon in Charge series. It can be enjoyed as a standalone novel and includes that all-important HEA.
Publishers’ note: Sadie Says I Do is intended for adults only. Spanking and other sexual activities represented in this book are fantasies only, intended for adults. Nothing in this book should be interpreted as Blushing Books’ or the author’s advocating any non-consensual spanking activity or spanking of minors.
Buy links:
Excerpt (Rating: NC-17 – sexy & spanky)
After shampooing my hair, I washed my body with the Lady Million shower gel my mother had given me the week before. The smell was white honey and jasmine, a gentle contrast to the citrus Coco Mademoiselle I usually wore. Mom’s best friend had given it to her as a get well gift after her car accident but nothing would persuade my mother to use anything other than Chanel No. 5.
If Mom could have seen me standing in that shower, quaking slightly at the thought of what was to come, she would have told me to run for shelter. She didn’t know the rush of love that came with the spankings.
I’d been with Simon long enough to appreciate the way that spankings cleared the slate with him. He’d punish me for breaking his rules and then he’d forgive and forget my trespasses. The air would be fresh again, as if a terrible thunderstorm had rolled through, renewing and invigorating the world.
I knew couples whose partnerships were battlegrounds. When one did something the other didn’t like, sulks and bickering ensued. The grievances often snowballed to dissatisfaction of major proportions. Simon’s spankings were an efficient way of resolving conflict and I loved the tender way he held me after.
Still I hoped to disarm him just a little so I tiptoed into his office, the water from my shower still beading on my skin. When he looked up at me, his pupils dilated. I bit back a giggle of triumph and lowered my eyes so he couldn’t see the victory in them.
He pointed and I walked to the bedroom in front of him, dragging my feet ever so slightly. This time he sat in the armchair by the window. We were on the top floor of the tallest building around so no one could see in. Yet standing in front of that open door to the patio made shyness creep over me.
“Close it.” He nodded at the door with his uncanny way of knowing what was worrying me.
“And the curtains?” I asked hopefully.
“No. No one can see us but I don’t want anyone to hear the unmistakable sounds of a naughty girl having her bottom warmed.
At those humiliating words, warm dampness rose between my legs. I stepped quickly and closed the window, determined not to give Simon more cause to spank me. His stern face said he had enough reasons already. He indicated for me to kneel in front of him and I scrambled to obey.
Don’t miss these other great books from Libby Campbell and Blushing Books:
Simon Says (Simon in Charge, book one)
Winning Sadie (Simon in Charge, book two)
Libby Campbell, mischief maker and dreamer
Libby lives on the West Coast of Canada with her husband of over twenty-five years. An avid reader, she savors books that feature strong, independent women and the loving men who challenge them.
She loves mountain hikes, deep bubble baths, and all animals, but particularly small dogs with big attitudes and big dogs who think they are lap dogs. A woman for all seasons, Libby is happy cuddling in front of a winter fire, watching a summer sunset, listening to birds in the spring and walking in the autumn rain.
Optimistic by nature, Libby wants a solid HEA in her reading and her writing. She hopes you will enjoy escaping to the dream worlds where she spends far too much time.
Recently she’s been dipping into Pinterest and building boards with images of people and places that inspire her characters and the worlds they live in.
Connect with Libby Campbell on social media:
Follow her on Twitter: @LibbyC26
Visit her Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Libby-Campbell/e/B01B75CENW
Pinterest: https://nz.pinterest.com/libby3054/
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