Liza Interviews Olivia Starke - Dreaming in Blue

Welcome Peeps. Today we have Olivia Starke to discuss Dreaming in Blue, her new contemporary erotic romance for Decadent Publishing's 1 Night Stand Series. 

Liza: And here she is, the very talented Olivia Starke. Welcome. Have a seat.

Olivia: Thanks, it's a pleasure to be here.

Liza: I hope you continue to think so. Well, let's get to it. Why do you love writing so much?

Olivia: I love writing because I love the adventure in it. Creating new exciting characters allows me to live lives I would never be able to otherwise. Though I start out with a singular idea of how the story will run, inevitably my heroes and heroines take the story from me and turn it into their own. So just like reading a novel by another author takes you places you don’t expect, my own stories do as well.

Liza: Wow, we could be twins. That's the way writing is for me too. Is there anything you don’t like about being a writer?

Olivia: Edits! I’ve worked on both sides as an editor and as a writer, so I appreciate the hard work that goes into it. But boy, it can become tedious, because you just want to get the book out and never look at it again. Okay I’m kidding on that last part, sort of.

Liza: Yeah, well, I've got an author kitten who has some tough editors. And when she gets 'hissy' about doing her edits they call in Editor Thug. He's got a motto: Change the edits or meet the swirly.

Olivia: Thankfully, my editors have never resorted to that.

Liza:  Yet... Now what part of your book was the hardest to write?

Olivia: With Dreaming In Blue my heroine is blind, and learning to use other experiences to describe her world made me stumble from time to time. 

Liza: Did you have your eyes closed? Because I stumble a lot when I walk about with my eyes closed.

Olivia: *ignores Liza* We’re largely visual beings, and without that to fall back on, I had to make her world wonderful in other ways. For example she couldn’t see the moon shining over a lake, so I had describe the sharp scent of cold lake water, the sound of nighttime wildlife, of restless limbs creaking in the trees. It’s a whole new world to experience, but in a good way.

Liza: How'd you come up with this story?

Olivia: Actually, one of my favorite books is A Patch of Blue by Elizabeth Kata, and I thought what if the heroine of that work had a better chance in life? What if she’d been able to have her happily ever after? And so this is sort of my way of making that happen for her. I highly recommend the book, by the way. And the 1965 movie starring Sidney Poitier and Shelly Winters is fabulous.

Liza:  Okay, describe your hero in five words.

Olivia: Father, Lover, Survivor, Considerate, Forgiving

Liza: And the heroine.

Olivia: Optimist, Intelligent, Driven, Independent, Caring

Liza: So let's check Dreaming in Blue out.

Dreaming in Blue

by

Olivia Starke

Blind since childhood, Sierra is satisfied with her success as a relationship therapist. Contacting 1Night Stand is an outlet for her physical needs, or so she tells herself. When she meets Daniel, the chemistry is definitely there, but a single parent with a child has the terrifying potential to disrupt her orderly life.

After losing his wife in a fire three years before that left him terribly scarred, Daniel has focused on raising his young daughter and little else. Meeting Sierra through 1Night Stand is a way to step back into the world. And he definitely can’t deny the instant attraction.

Madame Evangeline has a sweet surprise for them as they discover one another…

***

Dreaming In Blue

Excerpt

“So tell me, what do you see outside?” A fresh rush of desire burned through her. She wanted to extend this moment, the wait its own form of foreplay.

“The lake, with some geese and ducks.”

“You see more than that.”

“Hmm, the moon is out, full and silver. The water reflects it, and the birds swimming on the lake look almost ghostly. Dark trees outline the bank to the north.”

He gently tugged her against his solid body. His lips brushed the outer rim of her ear. “A mated pair of white swans swims close by.”

Hot breath fanned her earlobe and she melted into his arms. A hand stroked down, settling against her lower back. She tipped her head up, anticipating the pressure of his lips against hers. His knuckle nudged beneath her chin.

He removed her sunglasses. “I want to see your brown eyes.”

Her breathing grew shallow, making her lightheaded.

“You’re so beautiful, sweetheart.”

His mouth touched hers and the world fell away.

***

Liza: Wow, that was a really good excerpt.

You can buy Dreaming in Blue at:

Decadent Publishing

All Romance Books

Amazon

Smashwords

AND NOW WE RETURN TO THE INTERVIEW

Liza: You and your muse must get along really well.

Olivia: I can only say good things, because she’s listening. If offend her I’ll never get this latest WIP out the door. I would say we have our ups and downs. I should be stern with her, but she’s just so darn cute I can’t help but let her have her way.

BREAKING FOXLIKE NEWS--NO TIME TO FACT CHECK. 

Olivia Starke's Muse wears the manboots in the house.

Olivia: What was that?

Liza:  Just ignore those. So how does the reality of being a writer compare to the one TV writers live? Say for example Castle.

Olivia: Ha-ha! Castle makes me think of Nathan Fillion, which makes me think of Captain Mal, which makes me miss Firefly. Now I have fangirl feels.

Peep rep: Olivia thinks a lot, but none of it makes any sense.

Liza: Maybe this will help. I found this video on Youtube, explaining Fangirl Feels.

Liza: Did that help?

Peep rep: Well…we understand Fangirls feel now, but we’ve still no clue what Olivia said.

Liza: Let’s try this again. Olivia, could you explain the main differences between you and Castle.

Olivia: Well I don’t think Castle eats weekly meals of Ramen Noodles, not out of necessity anyway.

Liza: He’d be a fool if he did. Fictional characters, even those played by actors, should never have to eat Ramen noodles, unless they’ve been kidnapped and kept in a room with no doors, making food delivery impossible.

BREAKING FOXLIKE NEWS - No Time for Fact Checks.

Olivia has been kidnapped and lives in a room with no doors forced to eat Ramen Noodles.

Olivia: No, I haven't. 

Liza: Seriously, you need to ignore those news breaks. Now back to the differences between you and Castle...

Olivia: Well, I don’t get to be a crime fighter, which is probably a good thing. I’m not detail oriented in the least. But that’s not to say he and I wouldn’t find the same fulfillment in creating new worlds, even if the pay scale differs. And we both have a passion to write the best books we can, so outside of money and crime fighting I’d say we live similar lives.

BREAKING FOXLIKE NEWS - No Time to Fact Check

 Olivia believes she has a great deal in common with a fictional male writer--talk about desperation. So Sad!

Liza: If you met an alien from outer space, how would you explain what you (as an author) actually do?

Olivia: Aliens make me think of Doctor Who, which is MAJOR fangirl feels, so I’ll pretend I’m being interviewed by the Doctor (who is technically an alien) which makes me happy beyond belief.

The Doctor: Ms. Starke, what exactly does an author do? I mean I’ve been to the biggest library in the universe, which happens to consist of an entire planet, but I have no idea how one goes about writing a story.

Me: I sit in front of my laptop all day inventing people. Then I take two of those people and make them fall in love. Then I rip them apart by throwing some awful obstacle in their path until they believe all is lost. Then I say “Ha ha! Never mind, you guys can be together. Now kiss and make up. THE END.” Actually when I put it that way, I sound like a terrible manipulating person!

But yeah, that’s it in a nutshell. We authors are sort of evil.

BREAKING FOXLIKE NEWS - No Time to Fact Check.

 Olivia declares all authors manipulative and evil.

Olivia: Liza, where are these news alerts going?

Liza:  Don't worry about them.  Now, if you had to live on a deserted island with one author, who would it be?

Olivia: Caitlin Moran! She’s a hilarious outspoken British feminist, and I <3 her and would be her stalker if, you know, she didn’t live in England. And if I had that much get up and go, which I don’t, so Caitlin you’re safe. I always have your Tumblr page.

BREAKING FOXLIKE NEWS - No Time To Fact Check

Olivia has kidnapped Caitlain Moran’s Tumblr page and intends to become a stalker just as soon as Foxlike News sends her to England.

More on this story once we send Olivia to her stalking grounds.

But right, here's additional information we've gathered on Evil, Manipulative, Stalker, Olivia, whose Muse wears the manboots, which means she must really, really be scary. Glad I didn't interview her.

-Official Bio-

Olivia Starke calls the Ozarks home. One of the most beautiful areas in the country, she loves hiking trails with her dogs, kayaking on the numerous waterways, and enjoying southern Missouri’s fresh air and sunshine.

She’s also ‘Mom’ to her four dogs, a growing number of kitties that show up at her door, and four VERY spoiled horses that do little to earn their keep. Not that she’d ever hold that against them.

Liza: For the record, I can attest that the Ozarks are lovely. I kind of regret being so Foxlike mean, because I love to kayak and hike. Alas...too late now. My Bad!

Olivia: Very bad.

Liza: Thanks for stopping by and telling us of your book. It sounds fabulous! and different. I like things that are different.