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Please give us your website addy, a list of your books and a short bio.

My actual website is undergoing renovation but it is: www.lizcrowe.com

My blog site is: www.brewingpassion.com

BIO: Microbrewery owner, beer blogger and journalist, mom of three teenagers, and soccer fan, Liz lives in the great middle west, in a Major College Town.  Years of experience in sales and fund raising, plus an eight-year stint as an ex-pat trailing spouse plus making her way in a world of men (i.e. the beer industry) has prepped her for life as erotic romance author.  When she isn’t sweating beer inventory, sales figures or promotional efforts for her latest publication, doing pounds of laundry for her sweaty athletic children, watching La Liga on the Fox Soccer Channel, or trying to figure out what to order in for dinner, she can be found walking her standard poodles or doing Bikram Yoga.  Liz loves her Foo Fighters Pandora station, and watching reruns of Deadwood, when there isn’t any decent European football on the telly.  If you want a beer education follow her: www.a2beerwench.com.  For writing related stuff, including her backlist, go to:
www.brewingpassion.com.

Who is your Yoda—your seasoned mentor?

I have a couple of them:  Cindy Spencer Pape is more like my “head cheerleader” which is cool since we are practically neighbors.  One of these days I hope to get more involved in the local RWA chapter with her but the beer biz takes precedence when it comes to my meeting/conference/event time right now.

Katalina Leon has been instrumental in making sure I don’t lose sight of the goal.

Desiree Holt is a huge inspiration to me as well and always good for a quick knock on the noggin when I’m feeling pitiful.

Laura Harner, a self publishing success story if there was one, is a CP  and mentor.

And you, my dear and inspiring one, Tina Donahue, whether you know it or not, inspire me.  I watch how you handle yourself on line, on blogs and in promotional mode and am very impressed (No I am not sucking up. I’m serious!)

*** Okay, I have to respond to you naming me, Liz. I’m flattered and honored. Really.

Do you play music when you write?  If so, what kind?  Or, do you have to have silence or background noise to set your writing muse free?

I play music nearly constantly.  In the car, in the house, while walking.  I find it helps me a lot.  I have a couple of very honed Pandora stations from which I just heard (in this order):

Bitch by Meredith Brooks

Monkey Wrench by the Foo Fighters

Murder in the City by the Avett Brothers

Steve McQueen by Sheryl Crow

Make Some Noise by the Beastie Boys

And

Short Skirt Long Jacket by Cake

What is your process from idea to first draft?

I head write for days, even weeks, given that I have precious few opportunities to sit and write for stretches at a time.  I will flesh out the overall plot and main characters in my noggin, then sit down and just start the thing.  I’ve had to outline a few of my longer books just to make sure I had time line veracity so to speak, but otherwise, I pants my way through that.

Have you ever given assistance to a struggling new writer?  Has another writer ever come to your aide?  How?

I have been EXTREMELY lucky with the group we belong to: Romance Books R Us.  I’ve found 3 solid critique partners and shoulders to cry on when I get inevitable rejections.  All of them have been in the biz much longer than me, and can offer advice and help as needed—one of them is my own personal plot bunny. I’ll be darned if I don’t get some great ideas from her!

I’m still too new to offer much help although I get a LOT of requests for help with promotions stuff.  That’s an area of strength for me.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishments in your career so far?

I think I’m an interesting point right now, this day, in 2011.  I had 2 short stories published in 2010.  Then I got the real writing bug and ended up with 2 novels, 1 anthology inclusion, a trilogy of short stories, and the conclusion of a series with today’s release of Specific Gravity from Breathless Press.  I’d say, so far, my greatest accomplishment has been to get to this point. Right here.

The constant opportunities for learning I get from 3 great editors and many friends who won’t let me get down.  Frankly, the friends I’ve made since starting this thing are amazing.

But ultimately, the growing up process of getting your ego alternately stroked and hammered has made me a better person.  You start off thinking you HAVE THE NEXT GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL (or romance book or whatever) and when you hear repeatedly, “well, no actually you don’t” you learn to adapt, adjust, and not fly off the handle.  I needed to learn those skills.  And boy, have I.

I am doing some serious pondering of self publishing, writing to a few publishers’ formulas to beef up my back list and all the business side stuff you have to keep in mind every day (at least those of us without agents to do that thinking for us).

If money, education and fear factors were set aside, what three careers would you like to attempt other than writing?

I’m doing it actually and you do NOT want to get me started on what I could to with unlimited money in my craft brewery….rubs hands together contemplating large orders of stainless steel and national advertising campaigns.

I love being the “Beer Wench” for my company.  I also love writing.  It’s hard to feel pulled between 2 things that are so compelling and that need my full attention.

SPECIFIC GRAVITY BLURB:

Trent and Lisa have a sizzling hot physical relationship. Ever since they first met, it’s been a non-stop hands-on fest. Perfect for him, he thinks, coming off a rancorous divorce. But lately, it feels like something more…and it terrifies him.

Lisa knows Trent is the man she wants, but is too independent and stubborn to make him believe it. He has to figure it out on his own. Their shared love of craft beer and specific expertise in the business do make them a good match, and the sex? It’s off the charts.

“Specific Gravity” is a crucial moment in the beer brewing process—a moment of truth upon which successful outcomes depend. Lisa hopes Trent will go to the next level with her, but isn’t about to force him, but the moment of truth has arrived. Can he admit his true feelings before it’s too late?

Related posts:

1. CONTEST and guest blog with Liz Crowe!!!
2. CONTEST and Character Interview with Mahalia Levey!!
3. Contest, blog & interview at TWO sites today!!!

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Juggling

It’s no surprise that we’ve adopted this term to express the feeling of trying to keep track of all the responsibilities, jobs and projects that we take on. Being a writer is only part of what I do. I’m also a mom and a wife, and those designations come with expectations that take up my time as well. On top of that, I’m also a professional with a day job, and I run a small side business besides all of that.

So yeah, I juggle. I could write a juggling self-help book in fact. I could join Tony Robbins on the road. We’d be a great team. He would tower over me with his killer smile and I would give everyone more buzz words to use and try to help people just like me keep their sanity when those balls in the air start to come crashing down.

What are my sage words of wisdom then?

I guess if you can avoid taking too much onto your plate in the first place, you’d save yourself a lot of agony. But it never happens that way, does it? The day job is the day job. You have to go. They pay you to do stuff. There’s no avoiding it.

The other stuff? Prioritize. Be ruthless about creating a list of things that have to be done, the order they must be done in to make deadlines, and then stick to it. Give yourself reasonable “break” periods to pop onto Twitter and Facebook and say “hi” – you know, to make sure the earth is still turning while you’ve had your head down. But be ruthless about that too and try to keep those breaks short and sweet. You won’t miss anything there, trust me.

And the family? That’s tough. I hate telling my family no to something because I’m on a deadline. But they will always know that they come first in my heart, even if at that particular time they can’t come first in my schedule. They understand. And the way to help that is to plan a full day or two of fun things for when you’ve met your goals. It’s like a reward for sticking to your guns and getting your work done, and a gift to the family for being so understanding while you were busy.

You know, since starting this crazy author’s journey, I’ve come up with a TON of ways to keep all the balls in the air, and different ones work at different times. Different ones work for different people.

How about you? What do you do to crack down on yourself when you have a ton of things on your plate and they all need to get done ASAP?

JK Coi

Website: www.jkcoi.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/jkcoi

Facebook: www.facebook.com/JKCoiAuthor

FALLING HARD is now available from Carina Press!

After a life filled with tragedy, rocker Gabriel Gunn thinks he’s finally getting the better of his personal demons. Then he’s attacked after a concert—and rescued by a warrior goddess brandishing a sword and white wings. As hard as it is to believe in an angelic bodyguard, Gabriel must face an even more impossible truth: he carries the devil’s soul within him.

Amelia has been watching over Gabriel for years, using her angelic powers to prevent Lucifer’s return. Now she must also protect him from warring angel factions with their own agendas. Amelia would do anything to avert another angelic war, even sacrifice her own emotions to avoid temptation. Yet with Gabriel she feels things she no longer wants to deny, and pleasure she never imagined.

But the closer Gabriel and Amelia get, the stronger Lucifer becomes. Will Amelia be forced to kill the man she’s come to love to stop the war she’s always feared?

Buy Link

Related posts:

1. CONTEST and guest post with Skylar Kade!!
2. CONTEST and guest post with Adele Dubois!!
3. Guest post with Nina Pierce!!

Do you love paranormal romances? Are you eager to meet and chat with your fav authors?

Here’s your chance. Tonight, August 24 from 7 to 9 pm ET, Samhain’s paranormal authors – myself included – will be on hand at Samhain Cafe (a yahoo loop: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/samhaincafe/) to answer questions and talk about our current and new releases.

I’ll be offering a contest for one lucky commenter (chosen at random) to win a copy of my bestselling paranormal The Yearning.

I’ll also be talking about my October erotic paranormal Unending Desire.

So join the loop (it’s easy – really!) and drop by to speak to me and other Samhain paranormal authors. Remember, by leaving a comment you’re entered in the contest to win a copy of my erotic paranormal The Yearning.

Related posts:

1. Passionate Paranormal Nights at Samhain Cafe!!
2. Chatting at Samhain Cafe Today about The Yearning!!
3. CONTEST for Read an ebook Appreciation Event