Why write this book?
When I was a teenager, I loved reading romantic stories, but I always felt it was a shame those books would build up so much wonderful tension and then skip the scenes in the bedroom. So I decided to write my own stories, combining romantic storylines with steamy scenes. Of course those first attempts weren't exactly great writing, but I enjoyed writing (and reading them back!) nonetheless. One of my best friends turned out to like the same kinds of erotic romantic stories, and we picked up the habit of getting together and reading each other's work, having a lot of fun and getting lots of inspiration in the process.
I recently cut back on working hours and found myself with much more time on my hands than before. It didn't take long for me to start writing longer stories - before I knew it, I'd written novel-length stuff. And Make You See Stars is the very first story I finished in the Stardust Erotic Romance series (even though it's the second part in the series). The Stardust series actually consists of novels and novellas about different couples, but they're all set in the same futuristic world. It's not necessary to read them in sequence, but it helps :)
Do you feel cool being an author? Was it fun to be one, or just happen?
The coolest thing about publishing my work is reading in reviews that other people love my characters so much! When I write, I try to describe the couple (especially the guy :) as well as I can, and it's such a head rush when readers actually dig the people I write about. Sometimes I even feel sad when I'm done writing about them (which is why I sometimes bring them back as part of the 'supporting cast' in subsequent novels). And of course, it's kick-ass that the steamy scenes managed to turn people on ;) One of my Netgalley reviewers even said the scenes in my books were the best erotic scenes she'd read in a long time - nobody can take that away from me anymore!
The Stardust Series is set in a world about two hundred years into the future. Mankind has survived some terrible, natural catastrophes, but at a price. The rich (called the Elite) had the means to preserve technological and scientific knowledge while floods and hurricanes raged all across the Earth, but the poor (called the commoners) barely survived, and they were mostly left behind on Earth as the Elite colonized the rest of the solar system. In this world, Elite and common people aren't supposed to fall in love - but sometimes, they can't themselves.
