Author Katrina Milings Shares Their Story

About the Author
Before self-publishing on Amazon, I’ve written hundreds of short stories and articles under various pen names. I live in Corpus Christi Texas and when I’m not writing I spend my spare time thinking about writing, or Dolphins Watching. My friends have on occasion referred to me as a beach bum.

What inspires you to write romance books?
I started reading erotic romance at a rather young age when I discovered Harold Robbins, the king of mainstream erotica back in the eighties, long before Fifty Shades. His stories were much more than erotic. They told the story of dark characters so strong some of them still haunt me today. Today, I still love to read erotic romance, but I have trouble finding those strong characters that stay with me. A previously published author, writing my own seemed the logical thing to do.

Tell us about how you write:
That is such a hard question. A friend asked me once if I would teach him how to write. He was interested in joining the self-publishing wave. The only answer I could give him was to say that writing itself is the best learning tool. I do try to follow the motto, “Show, don’t tell.” The reader can’t see whats going on in your head, so the more descriptive a writer can be, the better.

One thing I’ll say is that I cannot follow an outline to save my life. When I begin a story, it’s just an idea I’ve begun to develop. I don’t really know my characters. They begin to come to a quarter of the way through the rough draft. Anytime I’ve tried to follow an outline I’ve realized that my characters would never do the things I originally planned on them doing. Now I simply plot as I go along.

Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I have no choice but to listen to my characters. They’re floating around in my head, saying things and doing things even when I’m not writing. They will not shut up or go away until I tell their story.

What advice would you give other writers?
Don’t be afraid your writing isn’t good enough to share with readers. Thanks to the internet, we have a world wide audience to appeal to and someone out there will appreciate your work. Some won’t and that’s okay. My friend doesn’t care for Stephen King’s books, but I think he’s doing okay without her.

How did you decide how to publish your books?
I self-publish on Amazon Kindle. I have been traditionally published in several print magazines back when digital books weren’t an option. I don’t miss those days. I’d spend a month writing a short short. Then I’d rush to the post office and spend a pretty penny on postage. After I dropped it into the mail box I tried to forget about it, knowing it would be at least six weeks before I received a reply from an editor. Now I write, edit, upload and move on to the next story. I love the fact that I can let the reader decide if my work is for them.

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I don’t think self-publishing is going anywhere, but I do believe we’ll see new forms of it. Sites that offer free fiction, romance and other genres as well, are getting popular. I think for a writer to survive, we’re going to have to offer more to our readers in terms of quality writing. We need to develop our writer’s voices and find ways to stand out and have our work seen as unique.

What genres do you write?
Erotica, thrillers

What formats are your books in?
eBook

Website(s)
Link To Author Page On Amazon