1. When did you first realize you wanted to become a Writer/author?
As a kid I was always obsessed with becoming an author. My cousin and I had this crazy plan to design a bank and a jail (he wanted to be an architect), have my younger brother rob it, me write a best-selling novel about it and, if my brother was caught, he’d escape (Prison Break style) and we’d all go live on a tropical island somewhere. Needless to say it didn’t happen ;-) Eventually the voices won out and the book got written (still no robbery though) and I haven’t stopped since.
2. Where do you get your ideas for your book?
Whiteout came from standing on a mountain in New Zealand. The kids were throwing snowballs at each other with my hubby, and I was enjoying the view. As crazy/corny as it sounds, a gust of wind blew and on it the words were delivered… only joking, but seriously it was kinda like that. The gust of wind did come and there might have been a ridiculously hot alpine rescuer involved too. Next minute, I’m frantically plotting out a story and getting pummelled by snowballs. Totally rude!
3. What kind of things do you enjoy when not writing?
Glass of wine, a good book and time down the beach or at the pool.
4. How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
I’ve written nine novel-length books – holy crap, that’s a lot! Ink’d (MF), Whiteout (MM) and White Noise (MM) have been published. I’ve got three more planned for this year. The other three won’t be re-released for some time yet, but I’ll get them out eventually. I’ve also written three novella-length stories – One night in Daytona (MF), A Christmas Wish Come True (MF) and The Gift (FMMM) which is a freebie for my newsletter subscribers.
Of those, my favourite characters are definitely Reef and Ford from Whiteout and White Noise. They’re everything I love about characters – strong yet vulnerable, open to new experiences, loving, stubborn, protective, fun, you name it. I couldn’t tell you which of their three books is my favourite though – it’s literally like asking which of my kids I like best (except I choose the dog most of the time ;-) ). If I’m picking favourites though, Declan and Ollie from A Christmas Wish Come True are close runners up. I adore those guys too and I can’t wait to turn the short story into a full-length novel.
Under my pen name, Olive Hiscock, I’ve published seven short stories (one series is a novel-length collection). They’re all MM+ erotica.
5. Do you have any suggestions to help others who have a passion for writing?
I could write about the benefits of a great critique partner (and mine is the best), editors who say it like it is and who know what they’re doing (again, mine rock), and cover artists to do all the pretty things, but I think it’s even more than that. Social media is such a crazy-big part of our world. Some people are trolls. Don’t be like that. If you don’t have anything nice to say, keep your bloody mouth shut. Don’t be any-phobic. You’ll suck. Oh, and as a secondary point, your readers probably won’t be your readers anymore. You aren’t in competition with anyone except yourself. Help others out because it’s the nice thing to do. And chances are they have, or will, help you in return more than you ever expected. And most importantly, show the bloggers some love. What they do is mostly done for free for the love of books. They don’t owe you anything. They’re doing you a favour. Say thank you. Please!
6. What do you think makes a great story?
I read predominantly erotic romance, so for me it’s the storyline behind the sex. If the story stands on the sex alone, I get bored. Sure, there have to be sexy scenes – it doesn’t need to be sex itself, often the build up to that point is just as hot – but there has to be a story. It’s also got to be believable – I love real life characters (if you haven’t gathered, I don’t read anything paranormal).
7. Which Writer/Authors inspire you?
*kicks back and laughs* It’ll take me a year to write down all the authors who inspire me. I adore Kindle Alexander, N.R. Walker, Riley Hart, Ella Frank, Sloan Johnston, Jayne Rylon… I know I’m forgetting a bunch but I can’t think of any more off the top of my head. I love the way their stories are put together and they’re all such great ladies – they inspire me.
8. What are you working on at the moment?(optional)
Ooooh, so much goodness! Whitewash (MM), the final book in my Unexpected series, is in edits at the moment. That will, hopefully, be released in the next couple of months. Now that it’s nearly finished, I’m starting to rework two other novels which I have in train too. They’ll be released later this year (one is a MMF and the other is FMMF).
9. What genre are your books?
Contemporary romance. I’d classify myself as a gay and bisexual genre writer, but I do have some MF stories too.
10. What drew you to the genre you write?
See my answer on who inspires me – with books like those written by my fave authors, I couldn’t help but want to be like them when I grew up. So I gave it a go and loved it. Now, I couldn’t imagine writing anything but that.
11. Which Actor/Actress would you like to see portraying the lead character from your most recent book?(any book you like)
Ryan Reynolds as Reef and Bradley Cooper or maybe even Ben Affleck as Ford, mainly because they’re on my to do list… oops I mean my bucket list… (don’t show hubby this - actually scrap that, he knows) my wish list, maybe… Anyway, I love them.
12. Do you write full-time or part-time?
Part-time, between working, studying (I just finished my PhD), looking after a family and, at the moment, building a house. My life’s not crazy at all! *insert nut job lady here*
13. What is the hardest thing about writing?
For me the most painful thing is promotion. The craft itself, is something I always enjoy, and seeing my baby go from an idea percolating in my head to a fully-fledged book is freaking cool.
14. Any tips on how to get through the dreaded Writer’s block?
I put the story down and do something that inspires me, or more likely, something that I’m really behind in and should have done weeks ago (like upload a paperback to Createspace which should have been done months ago!). Then I try again. If nothing, then I extend the break. Plotting always helps me too.
15. Do you read much, and if so who are your favorite Authors or genres?
About a book a week mainly in MM contemporary romance. All of the ladies listed above are my go to’s and auto-buys so between them, I usually have something to read!
16. Is there anything else you would like to add that I haven’t included?
Um?
17. How can Readers discover more about you and your work?(please provide proper links)
I’m kind of everywhere, but your best bet is Facebook. Here are my links:
Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview 
<3 <3 <3
