I'm so happy to introduce another Naughty Nights Press author! Cree Walker has just released her first Hot Shot, Taming the Cougar. You mention on you chose Naughty Nights Press in part because of their selection of Naughty Hot Shots. No, the Naughty Hot Shots came a little later. But as a business woman I did notice how well they were doing and how well the authors that were writing them did in return. Since I’d also been thinking of working on something in another genre I thought a short story would be as good a place to start as any.
Oh, I misunderstood. Did you consider any other publishers before settling on Naughty Nights Press?
I tried for a long time to find a traditional publisher but with things being as they are with the economy, cracking that code is a little easier said than done. Most publishers aren’t taking risks with new authors at the moment so I did a little research into up and coming small ebook publishers before submitting to NNP. As it turned out my instincts were right and they accepted my submission. Today NNP is a steadily growing company and they are now releasing their first paper published works.
You say Taming the Cougar is an attempt to write outside your normal genre. What is your normal genre? Do you have publication credits?
My normal genre is paranormal romance. Taming the Cougar, is an erotic comedy with no paranormal aspects at all. I was really surprised at how easily it came to me and it has encouraged me to write a full length romantic comedy. As far as publication credits are concerned my second book Willing Sacrifice was recently nominated for Urban Fantasy of 2012 by http://sizzlingpr.com and both of my first novels Whisper on a Scream and Willing Sacrifice received outstanding five star reviews from the highly respected Paranormal Romance Guild.
Wow! Congrats! How long did it take to write Taming the Cougar? Did you have anyone read it before submitting?
I wrote, Taming the Cougar, in less than twenty four hours. I was sitting at my desk typing away and laughing out loud at my own writing. I knew it was pretty good, so I did have a friend read it before submitting it. She choked on a Poptart because she was laughing so hard. You can’t fake a laugh like that, and I can see no greater compliment as a writer than to see someone truly enjoying your work.
I understand completely. It's been a while since I banged out something so completely in one take. I kinda miss it. I am constantly impressed by the art produced by Shane Willis for Naughty Nights. What did you picture for a cover? How is the current art different? What makes it better?
The cover for Taming the Cougar is about as perfect as I could ever imagine it. I would have made it a little more comedic had I been in charge of things but after seeing what he was able to come up with, I was humbly reminded that he is cover artist and I am just the writer.
Indeed! Do you have more stories planned for Naughty Nights Press? Are you working on other stories for other publishers? What's next?
Right now I am working on Karma Baby. It is full length romantic comedy about a very unlucky woman, but I have two full length novels coming out shortly with NNP and both are paranormal romantic comedies. The first one is A Winter’s Grave. It is about a young woman who wakes up in a snow bank with no memory of who she used to be. Then she finds out she’s been given a second chance at life as a Reaper. As it turns out she’s not very good at being a Reaper and her assistant, a 12 pound Hellhound named Titan isn’t helping matters.
The second is, Maple Lane Manor Home for Retired Supernaturals, and it is about a one quarter vampire who’s just inherited her Great Grandmother’s failing retirement home and it’s four elderly residents. She’s spent the last decade of her life screwing off and messing around but now it’s up to her to save her family home and her family from a fate much worse off.
Wow, those sound very different... Corey comes up from time to time in your posts. What did he think of your first erotic story? Is he very supportive (can I get a little more heat in here)? Somewhat supportive (that's great, do I get some too)? or not very supportive (get away from the keyboard, I need you)?
Corey is my partner in crime in every way. If it weren’t for him I may never have tried publishing anything, so I’d say he’s completely supportive. Out of the two of us he is the more ambitious so I took a note from watching him in his, why not, attitude and it’s made me the writer I am today. Quite recently he met me after a workshop I was presenting with a rose and a card telling me how proud he was of me. What a man, huh? I guess I have to get romantic inspiration from somewhere right?
We all need someone to support us. Sounds like he's got that part covered. What social media platform have you found helps you the most when writing? Do you think the same will help you reach readers?
Facebook, of course, and it is only for the simple matter that a social network is only as big as its members. If I am going to reach as many people as possible I need to stick with what works and focus my attention there. As far as promotion goes though, I do not suggest people only use a single method. Sometimes you have to think outside the box.
Cree Walker lives in northern Maine with her partner in crime and their two dogs. She currently has three published works with Naughty Nights Press, Whisper on a Scream and it’s sequel, Urban Fantasy nominated book of 2012, Willing Sacrifice, and her latest release as well as her first short story, Taming the Cougar. She has plans to release two more novels very shortly, both of which are paranormal romances with Naughty Nights Press, A Winter’s Grave and Maple Lane Manor, Home for Retired Supernaturals. When she isn’t busy at her computer she is working full time as an advance psychiatric technician for her local hospital and spending time with her family.
