Name: Monica May
Age: 40
Fiona: Where are you from:
Monica: Born in New Orleans and raised right outside of the city in St. Bernard parish (known as a county to everyone else but Louisiana has parishes).
Fiona: A little about your self `ie your education Family life etc :
Monica: I have been married to an amazing man for over 20 years and we have two crazy wonderful kids together. We intended to spend our entire lives in St. Bernard Parish. Raise our children and spend time with future grandchildren there, but a hurricane named Katrina showed us life can change in a split second. And not only can your life change but you are really not in control of it. We decided to leave the place we have called home for forever and move to higher ground. We know live north of I-12 in St. Tammany Parish which we have grown to love and after 10 years we can finally call it home.
Fiona: Tell us your latest news?
Monica: I am SO excited to tell you that my second book will be released this Friday! July 31, 2015 Hidden Book 2 of The New Orleans Temptation Series.
Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?
Monica: I started writing in 2013. Believe it or not I have never been a book reader. I had a friend that kept going on and on about that 50 shades stuff and I figured what the hell? And that is where my addiction started. I bought my first kindle shortly after that and read like crazy. After that my mind just took off. I would have these stories just running around in my head and I thought what the heck I need to write that down. And here we are.
Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Monica: Ha, I am not sure I do yet. I think we all wait for that validation before we can say yes we are a writer. What that validation is? I think it’s different for everyone and you don’t know it until it hits you yet. With that said I think I will feel much more accomplished once I finish my first series. There is one more book to The New Orleans Temptation Series, maybe when that is done?
Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?
I was inspired by the need to get the stories out of my head.
Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style?
Monica: I don’t have a specific style per say. Sometimes when I read my story back to myself I don’t even know where it came from. My fingers just type and the stories are born.
Fiona: How did you come up with the title?
Monica: So far the titles have been pretty easy. I called my first book Devastated because that is exactly what Shelby was when she found the info on her husband’s phone. And book two is named Hidden because that is what Sunny needs to do to stay alive and away from the man trying to hunt her down.
Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Monica: Women are strong and we need to be who we are with no exceptions.
Fiona: How much of the book is realistic?
Monica: 90% maybe? I would say that both of my books are pretty realistic however there is always a little bit of fantasy there. Why else would we read?
Fiona: Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Monica: I would say all of the above. Some things come from personal experiences or feelings; others come from watching people I know. Or I just write from what I think should happen.
Fiona: What books have most influenced your life most? a mentor?
Monica: There are too many to say. I would say erotica in general has influenced my life and my writing. It woke me up to where a relationship should be and what we as women are allowed to dream up.
Fiona: What book are you reading now?
Monica: Without Me (Men of Inked Book 7) by Chelle Bliss—LOVE the series.
Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Monica: Absolutely! Chelle Bliss, Kristen Ashley, Deborah Bladon, Meg Silver, Joanna Wylde, and Heather Dahlgren.
Fiona: What are your current projects?
Monica: Right now I am focused on getting Hidden off the ground and out to the public.
Fiona: Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.
Monica: My PA Alicia Marietta. It has been amazing to me that a person I have never met would take so much time out of her life to help me get my books out there. She does it because she loved Devastated so much and now she does it because we have become friends and she loves me.
Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?
Monica: I hope so. But being an Indie Writer is extremely difficult so I see keeping my day job for a little longer.
Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Monica: Nope not one thing.
Fiona: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
Monica: Simply from reading!
Fiona: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Monica: So far I have not had any challenges in writing but I fear that first writers block.
Fiona: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Heather Dahlgren is my favorite. I just love the flow of her books. If you feel like you have just watched a movie in your brain the author has done their job. And I feel like Heather does that every time.
Fiona: Do you have to travel much concerning your book(s)?
Monica: I have not traveled at all yet. The budget of an Indie Writer is tight to say the least.
Fiona: Who designed the covers?
Monica: Beth Maddox with Cover It Up Designs designed Hidden. I love it so much I will defiantly use her for the final book of The New Orleans Temptation Series along with the box set and any future projects.
Fiona: What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Monica: Finding the time to write around my job and family.
Fiona: Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
Monica: I learned that writing the book is the easy part. Marketing is the toughest part and most unexpected part of the job.
Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers?
Monica: Write from your heart and write what you want. Don’t worry with what others will think, just put it on paper.
Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Monica: I want to tell all my fans, my PA, and my street team THANKS! Without all of them spreading the word my words would just be lost on a page out on the internet.
Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?
Monica: I can’t remember the exact name but as a teen I recall reading a series about a teenage girl going skiing but do I don’t remember the name.
Fiona: What makes you laugh/cry?
Monica: It takes a lot to make me cry, I’m just not a crier. Hum what makes me laugh? Things that just happen and are funny not stupid funny. If that makes any sense to you?
Fiona: What do you want written on your head stone and why ?
Monica: Nothing I don’t want to think about being dead.
Fiona: Other than writing do you have any hobbies ?
Monica: Watching my kids play sports, cook, and garden.
Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?
Monica: Long Island Medium, Pretty Woman, and Urban Cowboy.
Fiona: Favorite foods / Colors/ Music
Monica: Favorite food is seafood…. there are too many to just say one is my fav. Boiled crabs, crawfish pasta, boiled crawfish the list goes on. Did I mention I am from New Orleans we will live our life around food.
Favorite color is purple
Music: Maroon 5 & Pink
Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done?
Monica: Since I’m not a full time writer I am still just a girl that works a desk job.
Fiona: Do you have a blog/website? If so what is it?
My Facebook page link
https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1445299175756052&ref=bookmark
Authors Amazon Page http://www.amazon.com/Monica-May/e/B00O5FKLDW/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1
Live on Friday 31st of July 2015
Hidden- Book 2 of The New Orleans Temptation Series
After losing her husband, Samantha throws her life into recreating her great aunt’s erotic club on Bourbon Street. She does her best to avoid getting close to any man, but how long can she hold out when Parke enters her life? While trying to avoid her attraction to Parke, Samantha tries her best to make her club a hit by hiring the most beautiful people in New Orleans.
During the hiring process, Shelby begs her to hire a woman she met at the battered women’s shelter. Reluctantly, Samantha caves and hires Sunny, not knowing much about her. Will this hire bring down her entire club? Samantha has no idea that Sunny is running from a man, a man that has vowed to find and kill her if she ever ran from him again. As the president of the MC group The Flaming Dragons, his reach is far and wide. Will he find her? Can Jackson, Sunny’s new love interest, keep her safe?
Devastated – Book 1 of The New Orleans Temptation Series
Living the American Dream Shelby had everything she could have dreamed of. A handsome husband two wonderful children a beautiful home and a great job. What else could she ask for?
In an instant her world is turned upside down when she innocently looks at her husband’s phone. With this Devastating discovery Shelby has to decide if she will walk away from twenty years of marriage or will she find a way to fit into Grant’s erotic world?
Will she walk on the wild side she never knew she had? How far will she go? If she crosses the line will she be able to live with herself when the sun comes up? Or will she let her over conservative personality end her marriage?
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