What truly motivates you in general? In your writing?
In general, I crave intellectual stimulation and creative outlets. I take them wherever I can find them! In my life, and in my writing, I’m inspired every day by seemingly ordinary people, places, and things in the world around me. In fact, I write a blog called Lisa Leibow’s Fodder for Fiction devoted to this very aspect of my personality. I share observations about the quirky, silly, deep, and meaningful things in life that not only entertain on the spot, but also contribute to a great store of facts and tidbits I draw from in developing character, setting, and plot in my fiction writing. It’s all fodder for fiction! Visit Lisa Leibow’s Fodder for Fiction .

What are your thoughts on love scenes in romance novels, do you find them difficult to write?
Early drafts of my debut novel, Double Out and Back, contained no sex. My critique partner chided me, “Lisa, you are writing a novel centered on fertility. Your characters need to ‘do it.’”

After turning several shades of crimson to burgundy, I set out to make certain my characters got some sex, and that it was not gratuitous. I checked my nervous giggle at the door and stared at a blank page for a while. It was then I decided to take a break from writing. Delving into my characters’ intimate moments proved to be a great stumbling block.

Like I often do when I’m stuck, I decided to turn to some of my favorite novels and reexamine, with a writer’s eye, what made me fall in love with the tale. It was then I picked up Ayn Rand’s Fountainhead. There are some extremely graphic sex scenes in Fountainhead. I cannot even begin to compare my craft to that of Ayn Rand. However, re-reading the scenes she wrote made me realize that could I write about sex without making my novel pornographic.

Well, it turns out; I’m pretty good at writing about sex. My critique group approved of the steamy new scenes I wove into the manuscript, as did my other early readers, and my editor.

What kind of research do you do?
I love to do research. I’m a recovering attorney, after all. It’s one of the remnants I can really use in fiction writing! I tend to get lost in the research as much as I get lost in the writing. For Double Out and Back, I needed to research not only locations, and medical advances in treatments for infertility, but also the rich history of South Africa, the paths of Jewish immigrants. Of course, the internet is a valuable tool for uncovering information. However, living in the D.C. metropolitan area, I have access to a wealth of information and artifacts through the Smithsonian Institution, Library of Congress, and a multitude of superb university library collections.

By way of example of how information I uncovered along the way impacted the novel, I point to two bits. First, I discovered a database listing where Jews leaving Eastern Europe emigrated at the turn of the century, including their stated occupations, family members, and planned destinations in and out of Liverpool. This gave me some of the background I used to bring Chandy’s grandmother to life in a meaningful way.

The more I read, the more I became fascinated by the melting-pot of diverse cultures in pre-Apartheid Cape Town. I became saddened with what happens when such a rich, cosmopolitan community is torn apart by political extremists. Another intriguing piece of information that influenced this aspect of Double Out and Back is a now-declassified briefing book from the US State Department on South Africa and its implementation of Apartheid. Through this collection, I was able to piece together more of Chandy’s history and the memories that haunt her.

Would you like to write a different genre than you do now, or sub-genre?
I don’t consider myself a genre writer. So, this is a difficult question for me to answer. Double Out and Back is mainstream fiction. It has some elements of historical fiction, multicultural fiction, chick lit, and dark romance. I guess if I had to classify it, I’d call it Smart Women’s Fiction.

That being said, of those “elements” I listed above, what I love writing most the most is historical fiction. I love the challenge of bringing to life a time and place I have not experienced first-hand. It forces me to use my imagination to build a world. I dabbled in this with Chandy’s story in Double Out and Back. I brought to life her past in South Africa during the implementation of Apartheid. With my second novel, which is perpetually almost finished, I explore pre-revolutionary Iran, in the 1960s, where miniskirted women with college degrees are subject to arranged marriages. Here, too, I bring to life a time and place I did not experience first-hand.

However, in each of these instances, the setting is one where I could interview people who had been there to obtain first-hand accounts. I see my interests in historical fiction deepening. Lately, I have been crafting a novel that takes place in colonial America. It will be my first truly historical fiction in that nobody alive today was there. I must rely on historical documents, museums, and the like to build a realistic portrayal of my characters and setting.

Tell us which Red Rose title you will be promoting on this campaign:

DOUBLE OUT AND BACK
Mainstream Fiction: Contemporary, Chick Lit, Interracial/Multicultural
ISBN: 978-1-60435-365-5
Cover Artist: Emmy
Editor: Wolf Cassell
Word Count: 103,130
Release Date: August 13, 2009

Not every woman who rides the fertility treatment roller coaster winds up like Octomom! Who will find friends, family, and fertility?

Three women’s lives are intricately intertwined, as Amelia Schwartz and Summer Curtis struggle with the complex dynamics of intrafamily embryo adoption, and Chandy Markum strives to make her patients’ dreams a reality.

After more than a decade, of mourning her parents’ deaths, anal-retentive Amelia Schwartz decides to take control of her life, pursuing single motherhood via embryo adoption. While her fertility doctor, Chandy, is preoccupied with the destruction of the cosmopolitan Cape Town of her youth and her first love in apartheid-torn South Africa, believing all is lost, her niece, a young, married, overachieving attorney Summer Curtis, juggles zealous career ambitions, demanding bosses, and friction with her husband over family and fertility issues. They must confront the painful reality that, no matter what technology humans devise to manipulate reproduction, prolong life, and construct family units; they have not yet mastered control over their beginnings and endings.

Thrown all into this is one story that can make or break. Are you up to it?

How can readers connect with you online?
Website
Blog
Facebook
GoodReads
Twitter

ATTENTION EVERYONE!!!
For a limited time today from 4 – 8 PM EST — visit -Red Rose Publishing to purchase a copy of IF I WERE YOUR WOMAN. Then stop by my promotional page to enter in your details, your Red Rose receipt/transaction number, and promotional code – LISA – to receive a download of Lisa Liebow’s new book, DOUBLE BACK AND OUT, absolutely FREE!

Your purchase and download today also guarantees you an entry in a drawing for a FREE Amazon Kindle to be given away on Saturday, March 13, 2010 @ 12 NOON PST/2 PM CST/ 3 PM EST right here at my blog.

Thank you so much for joining me and Lisa Leibow on the online campaign for IF I WERE YOUR WOMAN!

What truly motivates you in general? In your writing?
I get motivation from life. I’ve always been the self-motivating type in my life as well as my writing. It’s truly all internal. Once I decide I want to do something I usually do it.

Where do your ideas come from?
Driving down the street, the words to a song, looking at the mist creep over a mountain. Even hearing an interesting name. I find ideas in everything and anywhere. The truth is I write because there are stories in my head wanting to get out.

Do you feel humor is important in romance and why?
It’s not necessary, and its importance would depend on the romance. Light humor in a dark paranormal has its moments, but for me it’s not necessary.

What are your thoughts on love scenes in romance novels, do you find them difficult to write?
I can read a romance with or without a love scene. Pride and Prejudice is one of my all time favorites. Not even a kiss while courting. As far as writing love scenes, no problem. I write sensual romance as opposed to erotic, although I can take my scenes to a spicy level. So I have no problem writing a love scene. A truly erotic scene in the truest sense I don’t write. It’s just not my style. I try to focus more on the relationship, the emotional connection between my couples, rather than the physical one.

Tell us which Red Rose title you will be promoting on this campaign:

CHANCES ARE
Erotic Romance: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery, Interracial/Multicultural
ISBN: 978-1-60435-648-9
Cover Artist: Missy Lyons & LaVerne Thompson
Editor: Lara Parker
Word Count: 53,180
Release Date: January 28, 2010

If we work together can we still sleep together?

Kayla’s world is turned upside down: first she’s fired from the bank she’s worked at for fifteen years. Then on the same day rehired by the new bank president, a man she’s got the hots for, but he’s her boss and he’s got the hots for her too. Until he finds out his bank’s been robbed and Kayla’s somehow involved.

Talbert Reynolds, III isn’t at the top of the financial world because he shied away from risks, and pursuing Kayla could be one of the biggest risks of his life. But she’s worth it.
Or is she?

View CHANCES ARE Book Trailer

How can readers connect with you online?
Website
Blog
Facebook
GoodReads
Interracial Multicultural Romance Readers
MySpace

ATTENTION EVERYONE!!!
For a limited time today — 8 AM to 12 NOON EST (7 – 11 AM CST) — visit -Red Rose Publishing to purchase a copy of IF I WERE YOUR WOMAN. Then stop by my promotional page to enter in your details, your Red Rose receipt/transaction number, and promotional code – LAVERNE – to receive a download of LaVerne Thompson’s new book, CHANCES ARE absolutely FREE!

Your purchase and download today also guarantees you an entry in a drawing for a FREE Amazon Kindle to be given away on Saturday, March 13, 2010 @ 12 NOON PST/2 PM CST/ 3 PM EST right here at my blog.

Thank you so much for joining me and LaVerne Thompson for the online campaign of IF I WERE YOUR WOMAN!

What is your writing routine once you start a book?
My writing style is pretty much the same. I usually do a rough outline of the book by deciding on the characters names and what their occupations are going to be. I try to get into my character’s heads as much as I can, so I can feel like I’m one with them.

What about your family, do they know not to bother you when you are writing – or are there constant interruptions?
My family is wonderful. They know what when I sit down at the computer it’s my time to write and I don’t usually get too many interruptions.

What do you do to relax and recharge your batteries?
I love relaxing in the bathtub with a good book or just watching one of my favorite television shows. J

What truly motivates you in general? In your writing?
I’m truly motivated by a giving person who doesn’t ask for anything in return. I think it’s a wonderful quality to have. I’m motivated by my characters and giving them the HEA they are constantly screaming for. My fans are also an outstanding motivation.

Tell us which Red Rose title you will be promoting on this campaign

LOVE PLAY – Mainstream Romance: Contemporary, Interracial/Multicultural, Holiday (Valentine’s)
ISBN: 978-1-60435-655-7
Cover Artist: Shirley Burnett
Editor: Marguerite L. Lemons
Word Count: 45,760
Release Date: February 04, 2010

Ben Forster always gets what he wants… and without a doubt; he wants the sexy Rishelle Damian back in his life. But there’s one problem she hates him and doesn’t want anything to do with him. She has made that loud and clear time and time again.

Ben; however, can’t erase how good they were together from his mind or his heart. Since he is known as a man never to give up easily; he is going to work night and day to get Rishelle back into his life…

Rishelle Damian wasn’t about to give the guy who broke her heart another chance. Ben must be out of his mind. They haven’t seen each other in forever. What makes him think he is still even a thought in her mind? She’s about to tell him to go to hell….until Ben invites her to spend a month with him at his cabin.

How can readers connect with you online?
Website
Blog
Facebook

ATTENTION EVERYONE!!!

For a limited time today from 4 – 8 PM EST (3 – 7 PM CST ) — visit -Red Rose Publishing to purchase a copy of IF I WERE YOUR WOMAN. Then stop by my promotional page to enter in your details, your Red Rose receipt/transaction number, and promotional code – MARIE – to receive a download of Marie Rochelle’s new book, LOVE PLAY, absolutely FREE!

Your purchase and download today also guarantees you an entry in a drawing for a FREE Amazon Kindle to be given away on Saturday, March 13, 2010 @ 12 NOON PST/2 PM CST/ 3 PM EST right here at my blog.

Thank you so much for joining the online campaign for IF I WERE YOUR WOMAN!