Author Interview: Decibelle Pound

About the author:
I work as a receptionist for an accounting firm in St Albans, New Zealand, although, right now like everyone I'm at home. I enjoy swimming and looking after my spaniel, Toby, who is a Very Good Boy.

I spend too much time watching cooking and home renovation shows and I'm slowly redecorating my little house.

I've written six books in the Mitchell Grace Mysteries series, three of which are novellas and three linking short stories. These are the first books I've ever released out into the world and I am both excited and nervous about that. They are:

1 – The Spider Affair
2 – The Private Affair (short)
3 – Human Resources
4 – The Caffeine Hit (short)
5 – Rogue's Gallery
6 – Poles Apart (short)

What inspires you to write romantic fiction?
Falling in and out of love is super exciting. And almost everything in life comes down to relationships between people. Writing in the romance space allows all these to be explored at a heightened level. I love it!

I write at the erotic end of the spectrum so also the chance to write sexy scenes that are consensual and move the narrative and characters forward is really important to me. I think Romance as a genre embraces these ideas.

Tell us about how you write.
Each of my books follows a strict format – prologue, ten chapters and then an epilogue. I roughly outline the events of the story, chapter by chapter, to give a roadmap to where I'm going.

Unfortunately, I always do this with several glasses of sparkling wine, so sometimes it can be hard to work out what I was thinking at the time!

Once I have a title and setting I send it to my cover designer who works SO fast they usually have something to show me before I've even outlined the book fully and I'll often use what they've come up with as another piece of inspiration.

Do you listen to or talk to to your characters?
Not really. I think they'd always be wanting to talk themselves out of trouble, but my job is to put them in more and more. Their job is to get out of the trouble.

What advice would you give other romance writers?
Gosh, I feel a bit new to be giving advice but I would suggest, write real people, consent is sexy and get someone who isn't you to read it first to make sure all your twists and turns make sense to someone who isn't you. If it's not on the page, it's not part of the story.

How did you decide how to publish your books?
I talked to my friend's at Aotearotica who publish New Zealand's only erotic literary journal and asked them for some advice. They helped me out with formatting and layout and put me in touch with some designers. They also promo it through their channels, but ultimately I am self-publishing.

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Books are back baby!

Which romance sub-genere(s) fit your stories best?
erotica, mystery, funny

My books are available in the following formats:
eBook