Interview of Liz Crowe

Please welcome my dear friend Liz Crowe today. Liz has been one of the hardest working writers I've ever seen over the last few months, with a ton of phenomenal released that could satisfy every taste. Plus she always brings some good beer with her. She here today to talk about a few of them, and give us some insight on how she manages to do so much.

Tell us a little about your writing. What type of stories do you like to write?

I write contemporary erotic romance, with humor and many times set in unique places, like a brewery, or in Istanbul.

Any characters you like to write about?

Well, who doesn’t love a classic Alpha male? What I tend to do is give them a dash of real life annoyance: bossy, demanding, control freakish, relentless flirt, hard to read, you get me. I like my heroines real too.

Any themes you find especially inspiring?

The redeeming power of love over anger, mistrust and unhappiness.

What is your favorite part of the writing process?

Going from head writing to first draft, without a doubt. I get ideas sort of randomly, and am rarely in a position to be able to get it straight onto the screen/paper. I head write for at least a day or three depending on what’s going on in my life. That moment when it finally comes pouring from my fingertips is a cathartic, dam-bursting, nearly marathon day/night. I think my downfall is that I HATE leaving it. I will write and write and write until it’s either 3 in the morning or the kids are all staring at me with hungry eyes and dirty underwear.

What are your most dreaded tasks?

The first editing pass. I have great editors at all of my publishers and respect them and their talents. But I HATE that first round. It’s brutal and usually involves comments like “huh?” and “you can do better than this” or (my personal favorite) “Try again.”

Anything special you do to get through the tough parts?

Alcohol.

What’s a typical day look like for you?

I spend a couple of hours when I get up (before anyone else does) imbibing as much caffeine as my body will hold and early social networking, catching up and commenting on my fellow writers and beer people’s blogs/sites. Then I do hot yoga (most days) to clear my brain. Then I walk the poodle muses. Then I spend a few hours at my brewery handling whatever crisis is there, soothing the inevitably ruffled feathers of my brewer/artist, handling promotions, meeting distributors and fielding requests for “can you donate beer for…” stuff. Late afternoons are usually spent at kid sporting events. I edit/write late at night OR if I’m in that “zone” (see answer above) I write around the clock and generally ignore everything else (most especially my high maintenance employees).

What’s your writing schedule?

When I can fit it in depending at what stage I’m at with what project. At one point had 2 novels and a short story in edits. Now I have 3 releases, 4 upcoming releases, 2 large subs OUT and a major project rattling around in my brain pan and making me generally insane.

When you’re not writing what are you doing?

Marketing and sales for my craft brewery, driving to or watching soccer practices/games/hot coaches, helping daughters with essay homework, walking poodle muses, doing bikram yoga, pretending to be ahead of the housework/laundry curve, or reading my current obsession: JR Ward books.

What is your favorite guilty pleasure?

Home made macaroni and cheese. With bacon.

Who is your favorite TV show? Why?

It depends. Right now I’m on a Boardwalk Empire kick as I’m pondering a prohibition era/Detroit based love story. I also love Mad Men (yeah, how can you NOT), Hung (ditto), this new show called Terra Nova on (gasp) regular television, True Blood, and reruns of Deadwood (my ALL TIME FAVORTE SHOW EVER. Seriously. Shakespeare with the Eff word inserted every fifth line? Amazing acting, sets and dialogue.)

Please tell us about your current projects and where we can purchase it. Where can we find you on the web?

I have a “choose your romance” novel from Breathless Press just out last month. The Tap Room is the “Brewing Passion Series Novel” that began with the short stories: The Rookie, XXXMas Ale, and Jockey Box and will conclude later this month with Specific Gravity.

I also just released my first ménage love story: Vegas Miracle from Rebel Ink Press. I had a LOT of fun with this one. Let the old imagination run amok—not as relates to paranormal creatures mind you but relative to how exactly three people COULD manage a real relationship together. VERY hot.

But my newest project is the Turkish Delights Trilogy, part of the popular 1NightStand series with Decadent Publishing. It is the story of the Deniz family, of Istanbul. Emre and Tarkan are twin brothers. Emre’s story is told in the first book.

BLURB:

The fifteen year age difference between Elle Kensington, ex-patriat American executive and Emre Demir, son of Istanbul's most successful businessmen, has not kept them from becoming fast friends as they tour Istanbul together. But the time has come for him to return to the U.S. to finish his master's degree and she has just been named CEO of the pharmaceutical company that brought her to Turkey in the first place. Elle adores her adopted country, and is alarmed to find herself falling in love with the young man who's been her impromptu guide for the last few months.

But she knows they can never be. She will return home to California within a month, leaving behind all she loves about the ancient city. In a rare fit of spontaneity, Elle has contracted with Madame Eve's OneNightStand dating service to hopefully find a way to forget the dark, handsome young man who has captured her heart. Little does she know what awaits her in the ancient recesses of the Ottoman palace turned luxury hotel under the hands of her one night stand masseur.

Buy Link: http://www.decadentpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=382&osCsid=9bosc7k88md2easevptfuq34l4

EXCERPT:

“I miss you already,” Emre said, with his usual candor. “I can’t believe I just met you and now we must part.” He finished his tea and signaled the waiter for another. Before she could lean back, he reached over the tiny table and captured her hand, putting it to his mouth. Elle’s entire body zinged. His lips were gentle, soft but with a firmness that spoke of his potential talents with them. Exactly as she thought they would be, even if only pressed to her hand. She bit her lip, no longer caring what the gawkers around them thought, as she pressed her thighs together to ease the ache building between them.

"I know.” Her voice was a whisper. “It’s been…nice getting to know you.” Lame, her brain screamed. Just kiss him, for crying out loud. You are the newly-named CEO of a major pharmaceutical company. You eat fear for breakfast. What the hell is your problem?

She stood, pulling up her bag. Emre remained seated, staring at her.

“I’m not what you think,” he said, as he stretched long legs out in front of him.

Her face flushed with anger. Good. Now I’m on familiar ground. Mad at a man for assuming things about what I think.

“Just what do I think, if you don’t mind sharing.” She used her coolest-cucumber voice, and it pleased her to see the young man frown. Anger she could cope with. Besotted was beyond her, especially since she felt the same damn way about this boy nearly fifteen years her junior.

“Never mind.” He stood, towering over her even as she stood in her highest heels. “Let’s not fight. It’s our last day together, no?”

The urge to run a finger down his strong, stubbled jaw was intense. She clenched her hands together so hard they hurt. He put a familiar arm around her shoulder, nearly bringing her to her knees with lust. The smell of his subtle cologne, mixed with the exotic manliness she’d come to associate with him in his element at his grandfather’s spice booth nearly sent her over the edge. She shut her eyes, leaning into his strong torso ever so slightly. Was it her imagination, or did he flinch? She drew away, ashamed at herself.

“I should get back,” Gesturing in the general vicinity of where her car and driver waited, she gasped when Emre held her close then dropped to one knee right onto the cobblestones. Embarrassment and excitement fought for her brain. He took her hand, kissed it, held it to his heart.

“You are the most amazing woman in the universe. It has been my honor to know you. I wish….” He blinked, and she used the opportunity to pull her hand away. “I just wish we’d known each other sooner.”

It was Elle’s turn to blink. Realization rushed through her, heating her face. He knows damn good and well I’m a dried up specimen, too focused on my career to find and keep a man or sustain any relationship beyond the office. Fists clenched at her sides, she tried to calm her breathing.

You are a fool, Ellery Kensington. He knows you're a horny old lady. And he might oblige you between the sheets, but get the foolish romantic bullshit abotu spiriting him back to the States with you out of your head. That's patent nonsense and you know better.

Finished with her self-lecture, she squared her shoulders and leaned in to press her lips to his jaw. Closing her eyes against the chemical reaction she had to him, she stepped away quickly.

Tarkan’s story is next with Blue Cruise and I will tell you now: a box of tissues will be required to get through this one. It’s my first m/m love story but had tragedy at its core. It releases November 8.

Blurb:

Caleb and Tarkan were an odd couple, men from two different cultures, but so in love they were determined to overcome any obstacles. Fate had different plans. Two years after tragedy strikes, Caleb is still a hollow shell of himself, alone and miserable.

Adem Broussard is happy enough, as owner and chef of his restaurant on the Turkish southern coast. But a tall, American Adonis he saw once, years ago on a Turkish Blue Cruise haunts his most erotic dreams and he hopes contracting with Madame Eve's 1NightStand service for an unconventional date will help him forget.

When Caleb caves in to his friend Elle's insistence that he return to Turkey and exorcise some of the demons that haunt him, he reluctantly climbs on board a private yacht for a special 1NightStand Blue Cruise. There he comes face to face with the man who remembers him well, and wants to help him heal.

The third book: Tulip Princess is about Emre and Tarkan’s younger sister Lale (pronounced “Lah-Lay” which means “beautiful tulip” in Turkish). She’s spiraling out of control and there is a certain very handsome, very Greek man out there…will they connect?

Where can we find you on the web?

www.lizcrowe.com

www.brewingpassion.com

www.a2beerwench.com (beer blog)

Facebook: Liz Crowe

Twitter: beerwencha2

Google+: Liz Crowe

Beer, Sex and Writing--OR Welcome to the Wench's World!

Thanks to Tabby for the opportunity to address all you fine followers/readers/stalkers/creepers/others.

(ahem)

On Beer and Sex and Writing

I get a lot of sideways looks when I tell people I’m a “published author.” 

“Of what?”  is the inevitable question.   I live in a quintessential College Town, complete with authors of all ages, sizes and genres.   It also has its fair share of would-be, pre-published types in all stages of regret, rejection and story arc outlining. 

I get a similar eye-brow raise when I tell people “I own a craft micro-brewery.”  Especially when I tell men this little tidbit.   In my town where the bulk of the Real Estate is taken up by an entity that pays no property taxes (I’m a Realtor too so this is on my radar) we have something like six different places where beer is made on site and you can buy it.  Be they “brew pubs” like the majority of them or “tap rooms,” the more traditional setting like mine, they all boast hand crafted malt beverages ranging in style from complex, fruit infused Belgian ales to accessible, Strohs-like lagers.  Thanks to my company, which just opened its doors about ten days ago, Ann Arbor has the highest per-capita number of microbreweries of any city in the Great Lakes State.  And that is saying something since Michigan is sixth in the nation in the number of microbreweries behind the craft powerhouses of California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado and Pennsylvania. 

Random great torso holding a beer..

I’m living the dream of many I realize.   But I can assure you that the long, late nights of serving beer then cleaning up, closing out and falling face first into the pillow only to have the alarm pound into my brain about five hours later is more like a nightmare.  Not that I’m really complaining, merely making an observation about the nature of living an entrepreneurial life. 

Writers are no different.  Having had a small taste of success so far (“The Rookie,” my first release in a series is my small e-publisher’s Number One Best Sellers—which can be compared to being able to say you’re the Number One Best Selling Lager amongst breweries selling 150 barrels per year or less—oh, wait, never mind) I realize that the dog and pony show that one must create to go along with your already carefully crafted, edited, line edited and proofread publication is just as demanding as the writing itself.  But it all must be done, lest you get lost in the clamoring frenzy that is the publishing world, especially now that we are all Writers of Blogs (myself included).  The published work, in other words, is only one-third of the battle.

Craft brewers are notorious for not-so-subtle-sex-names...THIS is one of my FAVORITES from Sweet Water in Atlanta, GA

And especially in my ultra-crowded yet popular genre.  So…back to that question:  “Of what?” 

I write stories about real people in the beer industry, including what I think are some of the more interesting careers in brewing, sales, and distribution.  These people live real lives and have real (read: complicated) relationships with each other.  Most of them are men, as the industry is dominated by Them—although we women are making strides.  My main characters are the women who people said industry.   My fictional creations fall in and out of love, lust and varying degrees of obsession with each other, mirroring how “real life” tends to magnify the chaos of natural human attraction.  I write “erotic fiction” yes, but of the sort where the sex is not some random drop-in scene placed there in order to get you off so you can then throw the book (or e-reader in my case) down after the scene and pick up another, without ever being engaged in the story.

and again, with the Great Beer Names...

In reviews, it’s been said that my first work “The Rookie” has believable, interesting and funny (even snarky) characters that you find yourself “rooting for” so they “hook up.”   I could not ask for a more gratifying description of what I’m trying to do.   I want to tell stories that simply don’t “fade to black” when the fire is lit, so to speak and in which the people have to live their lives after zipping the zippers and buttoning the buttons back up, usually in close working contact with each other, which can really complicate things. 

I’m also highly amused by those erotic reading rookies (no pun intended) who read, blush, glance up at me in an email or some similarly removed format and say things like “Well, somebody has an active fantasy life.”  Or, my favorite, “Wow you really kiss and tell.”  Please, people, if I had as much sex as I wrote about I would barely have time to eat or sell the beer I gotta sell.  Do you accuse Janet Evanovich or Agatha Christie of being murderesses because they write about such things?  Do you really think Stephen King has seen a dome come down over a small New England town?   It’s called: “Imagination” and “fiction” arises from such.  Some of us are just eager to get it out of our heads and out onto the page, erm, screen.  Yes, we “write what we know” to a certain extent, using our real life experiences to set the stage or give the story some credibility.  I have a long novel series about Realtors myself, whereby the naughtiest of them do take advantage of empty Open Houses or penthouse condo showings to have a little fun.  But again, just setting the stage, making a story credible, and creating plausible real characters who, by the time they ARE hooking up, you give a shit about them enough to want more. 

This is not to say I have not had my fair share of interesting encounters.  But the way I’ve evolved in this particular genre is by observing how the natural chemical attraction between certain men and women, women and women and even some men and men plays out.  I just take it to its next level in my head, then in written form, and will continue to plausibly deny any sort of Open House romps, shenanigans amongst the fermentation tanks or beer festival hot hook ups.  Yeah, they don’t call me the Beer Wench for nothing!

Thanks for listening, reading, following, and drinking CRAFT beer as opposed to macro swill. Good luck to you all.  It’s a jungle out here, but Tarzan is as hot as promised.

Cheers

Liz Crowe

www.a2beerwench.com

www.aabedwench.com

http://www.breathlesspress.com/erotic/the-rookie.html

“XXXMas Ale” released 12/17/10

“Jockey Box” released 1/21/11

“The Tap Room” released March 2011