Spotlight Author with Lori Borrill

It's Spotlight Author time again! And this week I have Lori Borrill joining me. Lori writes steaming hot romances for Harlequin Blaze.

Tell us a little bit about yourself, Lori…


I’ve been married 21 years and my wonderful husband and I have one son in middle school. By day, I work for an insurance company as a data analyst, and when I’m not writing, I’m enjoying hobbies such as photography, scrapbooking and gardening.


What do Lori Borill fans have to look forward to in 2010?


I’ve got three books out this year. Manhunting was released in February. It’s a Valentines anthology written with fellow Blaze authors Betina Krahn and Joanne Rock. In June, I have a Blaze titled INDISCRETIONS, about a bad girl Hollywood socialite who is ordered by a judge to do 30 days community service as a maid. That was a fun story and I’m looking forward to hearing what readers think of it. Then finally, I’m just wrapping up my November Blaze which is yet to be titled. It’s a Christmas Encounters—four short stories that take place at an office Christmas party.


How many titles do you have published?


I have nine contracted works with Harlequin Blaze.


You have some pretty amazing covers. Do you get a say so in how they are going to look?


Authors fill out what’s called an Art Fact Sheet. It provides the Art department with information about our books, what the characters look like, pertinent scenes, the general story line, themes, etc. So in that we choose how to describe the book, which scenes to select and such, there is some input. However, we never see the finished product until the artwork is done, which is a very exciting moment for an author. We all wait in anticipation to see what that cover will look like. Though in the event we aren’t crazy about it, there’s not much that can be done. I’ve been fortunate, though, in that I’ve really loved all my covers.


How long did it take before you got “THE CALL”?


I got the call from Harlequin Blaze almost exactly two years after I started writing seriously.


Any advice for aspiring authors?


Yes, enjoy the process of crafting books and submitting your work. I know it’s disappointing to get rejections, and waiting on submissions is torture. But really, looking back there is a freedom of expression in those pre-published years that you don’t have once you’ve sold. When you start writing under contract, you need to accept input into your content, you have deadlines, you don’t always get to take your story in any direction you want and the stress level can go way up. Though having my work published is a treasured gift, there is much about my pre-published writing experience I miss. So I guess my best advice is to simply enjoy every step of the process. Regardless of whether someone buys your story, you are still creating something that you should be proud of, and if you aren’t having fun prior to getting published, that’s not going to change once someone buys your book.


Being a writer it is very important to hone your craft. Do you have any special books, classes, or on-line courses that you yourself use to make sure you are keeping up with the latest writing trends?


I bought a ton of craft books before I was published, and I had taken some on-line courses through Writers Digest. But I think I made the greatest strides by working with critique partners and getting specific input into my books. That and reading. Read, read, read. It’s how I inspire my own writing.


Are you a Plotter or a Panster?


I was a panster before I published. Then, Harlequin wanted detailed outlines of my books before they would go to contract, so out of necessity, I had to start plotting.


Does writing ever get any easier?


For me, it hasn’t. I think we continue to raise our internal bars and always want to outperform our last work. It also takes a lot of discipline to keep to deadlines and follow story lines we’ve sold to our editors. It definitely goes from a craft to a business once you start writing under contract, which makes the process more complicated.


When you are not writing blazing romances what do you do?


I work full-time, which doesn’t always give me as much time to write as I’d like. My son plays basketball and baseball, so I spend a lot of my spare time watching him play. When I’m not doing that, I’m tending to my garden. I think it’s safe to say there’s not a lot of spare time in my house!


Where do you see yourself in five years?


Boy, that’s a hard one for me, as I tend to take things one day at a time. If I’m still writing, that’s wonderful. If not, I know I will be doing something I love. I have a lot of hobbies and enjoy creating things. Spicy books for Harlequin are what I’m creating at the moment. Tomorrow, it could be something else.


Fast Five


Favorite Book Ever-

Stephen King’s The Stand.

Cowboy or Businessman-

Businessman.

What’s loaded in your i-Pod right now?

Rain. No, that’s not the name of a band. I mean the actual sound of rain. I find it soothing to write to and it helps my concentration.


Love letter or Roses-

Roses, but that’s the Earth sign in me.


Night Owl or Early Bird-

Early bird.



Thank you, Lori. It’s been great having you here at Micole Writes Romance. You can find Lori’s book at www.loriborrill.com And thanks again for stopping by Micole Writes Romance.

Hugs

Micole