Christina Ashcroft – Interview with the Author

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

TRC:  Hi Christina and welcome to The Reading Café. Congratulations on the release of ARCHANGEL OF MERCY.

NOTE:  ARCHANGEL OF MERCY was a finalist in the Australian Romance Readers Award for Favorite Paranormal Romance

Christina:  Thank you so much for inviting me! It’s lovely to be here.

TRC:  We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Christina: I’m an ex-pat Brit who now lives in sunny Western Australia with my husband, our kids, kitties and dog. I’ve always loved reading, and used to love getting English essay homework. I’m not sure the teachers appreciated my 15 page story efforts but they never complained!

TRC:  You bio states that you are a judge for RWAm, RWAus and RWNZ.  How do you separate yourself and change your mindset from reader to author to judge?
As a judge do you follow a specific set of criteria for judging and analyzing books and novels?

Christina: I judge using the criteria specified by each individual contest and these help me get into the mindset of judge, and not just reader or author. I’ve also been in a critique group for a number of years and this has trained me to divorce myself from just reading to analysing for content, structure, characterizations, etc.

TRC:  Do you have a favorite novel (other than your own)?

Christina: I have so many favourite books it’s almost impossible to pick just one, but if I really have to I’ll go with Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M Auel. I first read this as a teenager and the world building completely blew me away. It’s still my fave of the series and I’ve lost count how many times I’ve read it over the years.

TRC:  Many authors face challenges in writing or getting their books to publication.  Would you please tell us some of the difficulties you have faced in your writing and publishing career?

Christina: I started writing category romance about fourteen years ago and after several form rejection letters I started working with an editor, who then left the company. My next editor also left the company. I was getting requests for fulls but never the cigar and I finally decided to try my hand at writing single title books.

I wrote a couple of chick lit novels which garnered interest from agents but then the chick lit bubble burst. So my wonderful critique partners told me to write an erotic romance and because I always do as they say (ahem!) I did. I discovered I loved writing erotic romance and that short story sold to a small e-press, quickly followed by a second one.

It was round about that time that out of the blue a sexy Roman Centurion marched into my mind and refused to leave until I shared his story. Maximus became the hero of my first erotic historical romance, FORBIDDEN, and secured me an agent and two book deal with Berkley Heat.

 

TRC:  ARCHANGEL OF MERCY is the first storyline and December 2012 release in your new series of erotic archangelic novels.  Would you please tell us
something about the storyline premise? Who are the leading characters in this particular novel?

REVIEW: Archangel of Mercy

LINKS TO ORDER: Amazon / Barnes and Noble/ The Book Depository/ KOBO

Christina: Gabriel is an Archangel for hire. He’s one of the Fallen, but not in quite the way you might expect. He and his fellow Archangels used Earth as their playground millennia ago, and of course some of them fell in love with mortals. But the consequences of what happened in the past haunt Gabe today and he protects his shattered heart and guilt riddled soul behind a tough façade.

Aurora is a typical girl-next-door—except she has a unique heritage, and by trying to discover her roots and help her mother she unleashes an ancient force who are determined to punish her for her actions. As a consequence of this she is the catalyst that causes an Archangel to fall from the heavens… and into her arms.

TRC:  How many books do you have planned for this particular series?

Christina: I’ve finished book two, which features Azrael who we meet in Gabe’s book. He’s horrified that Gabe has fallen again. He can’t understand why any Archangel would want to put themselves through that kind of torture because all too soon mortals die. And when they do, a part of the Archangel’s heart dies too.

Well, who could resist that kind of attitude? I knew straight away that Azrael was going to be my next unwilling hero! And who better for his heroine than someone from a race he has always despised and done everything within his power to eliminate?

Rowan is a dhampir and Azrael truly doesn’t stand a chance from the moment they meet. Because Rowan is nothing like the dhampirs Azrael fought nine hundred years ago when he saved the life of a legendary phoenix. In fact Rowan is nothing like any woman he has ever met.

I have some ideas for book three in the series, and I know exactly who the archangel reminds me of. Jason Momoa!

TRC: 🙂

TRC:  You also have a successful career writing as Christina Phillips.  With four series writing as Christina Phillips and a new series as Christina Ashcroft, how have you managed to keep everything separate?

Christina: It’s a constant juggling act! Actually, I don’t have a problem keeping the books separate because they are set in such different worlds. Once I enter ancient Britannia I’m there with my Romans and Druids and their conflicts. It’s the same for my Highland Warrior series. The characters are so strong and real to me I’m living their lives with them in Pictland.

Also, I have no social life 😉

TRC:  You have several books scheduled for release (under Christina Phillip’s) WORLD OF FORBIDDEN series (Druids and Roman Warriors) including BETRAYED and TAINTED.   Do you have a timeline for availability?

Christina: I don’t have firm dates for the release of BETRAYED and TAINTED yet. I’m currently deep in the cave doing revisions on BETRAYED for Ellora’s Cave, and TAINTED is more than three quarters done. I’m hoping that the two books will be released in 2013.

TRC:  How much research is involved with your storyline premises (e.g. logistics, travel, historical accuracy )?

Christina: I’ve always tried to keep the historical aspects accurate, but it’s not always easy as often I’ll find aspects that contradict each other. In those cases I’ll go with whichever best suits my story. There is a lot of information out there on how the Romans lived and their beliefs and I’ve tried to stay true to that. However, there is very little information on the Druids. It doesn’t help that they didn’t believe in writing down their knowledge. It was passed down by oral teachings to their acolytes.

I decided that my Druids weren’t the bloodthirsty, savage barbarians as portrayed by the Romans at the time. The Romans, after all, were the victors and wanted to eliminate Druids from every corner of their Empire. It stands to reason they might have exaggerated things!

TRC:  Have you ever considered writing a young adult series of storylines?

Christina: I did once try to write a YA. It was a time travel and I still have a soft spot for that story. But I find my voice naturally tends towards the more sensual side and my books are always very much focused on the romance, so I don’t know if that would suit the YA market. Perhaps the NA?

TRC:  Many authors bounce ideas with family and friends or, other authors.  With whom do you bounce idea and why?

Christina: My wonderful CPs are the ones I call on whenever I have a writing related issue. We’ve known each other for almost ten years, before any of us were published, and have shared all the highs and lows of this business together. Funnily enough they both write YA 😉

TRC:  What five things would you like to accomplish in the next ten years?

Christina:
1. I would love to find a wider audience for my ancient historical romances. I love my Roman/Druid world of Forbidden and would love to continue to explore the fascinating lives of my sexy warriors and magical heroines.

2. I would also rather love my Forbidden books to be turned into a series reminiscent of Spartacus: Blood and Sand – but without the gore!!!

3. I’d like a good balance of books published traditionally, digitally first and self-published in order to reach the widest possible readership.

4. I’d love to attend a RWA conference in the States, and organize some kind of world book tour so I could meet my readers. I could combine this with a research trip to the Pyramids of Egypt, the Roman Colosseum, the Mayan ruins in the Yucatan Peninsula and the list goes on forever! Awesome!

5. To hit the bestseller lists 😉

TRC:  On what are you currently working?

Christina: I’m currently working on revisions for BETRAYED, the third book in my Roman/Druid series. Then I plan to go back and finish TAINTED, the fourth book. I hope to have that done before the end of January 2013.

TRC:  Would you like to add anything else?

Christina: I love to chat with readers and you can find me hanging out on Twitter and Facebook

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food
Roast turkey with all the trimmings on Christmas Day!

Favorite Dessert
I never say no to a profiterole!

Favorite TV Show
Bones

Favorite Movie
I have so many, and they tend to change weekly!

Last Movie You Saw
The Dark Knight Rises

Dark or Milk Chocolate
Milk

Last Vacation Destination
Gold Coast, Australia

Favorite Flower
Iris

Do you have any pets?
Yes, three cats – Miri (short for Miracle as she was the runt of her litter), her sister Ava and Ava’s adorable son, Theo. We also have an elderly Maltese Cross called Brandi.

TRC:  Thank you Christina for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on your new release.  We wish you all the best in your writing career.

Christina: Thank you for the congratulations and good wishes!