Author Interview: J J Sorel

About the author:
Born in Melbourne, Australia, I come from a professional dance background. I began writing my first book in 2009, a time-travel romance set in the Regency period. 
50 Shades of Grey, was the first contemporary romance book I’d ever read. Up to that point, I’d spent my entire reading life buried in 19th century books, like Jane Austen, the Brontes, George Eliot just to name a few. Georgette Heyer and Daphne du Maurier were as modern as I got. 
But then, one day, I picked up 50 Shades of Grey and couldn’t put it down. Impressed by their heart-felt, down to earth portrayal of love and sex, I quickly developed a voracious appetite for contemporary romance books. I was so inspired by the genre, that I decided to explore that world as a writer. 
After completing a certificate in Writing Romance with the Australian College of Journalism I embarked on writing three books. All of which are still sitting on my computer. 
Then Aidan Thornhill entered my imagination and came alive on paper. From that moment, like all emotional love stories, nothing else mattered. I fell in love. And was compelled to write, almost in a frenzy, every day without fail. 
I am presently working on my second instalment of the Thornhill Trilogy, Enlighten, which I plan to publish by February 2018.

What inspires you to write romantic fiction?
I love reading contemporary romance so much that it inspires me to create my own stories.

Tell us about how you write.
I write every day without fail on my laptop. Whenever I get ideas out and about, or late at night when I should be asleep, I use pen and paper to note them down. In fact, I like to use pen and paper whenever devising a plot and creating characters. Then, it's the laptop. I'd be lost without it. As I'm sure every writer would be.

Do you listen to or talk to to your characters?
I read the dialog I write, that's about all.

What advice would you give other romance writers?
To write from the heart. If you are feeling a swelling heat while writing your sex scenes then you are getting it right.

How did you decide how to publish your books?
I self-published.

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think there will be more and more indies getting out there. The market is swamped with so many free and cheap books that it will make it increasingly difficult to earn a living as a writer, I believe.

Which romance sub-genere(s) fit your stories best?
Contemporary erotic romance

My books are available in the following formats:
eBook, Print