Interview with Sherri Hayes and Review of Slave

It is with a great deal of pleasure that I welcome the author of Slave, Sherri Hayes to my blog today. She has graciously taken the time to answer some questions for us.

1-What made you decide to write erotica?

   It wasn't a conscious decision, actually. My goal is to write realistically within the world in which I am writing. To me it wasn't realistic to write a BDSM series that didn't delve into erotica. At least, not with some of the subject matter this series will cover.

2-How does your husband feel about your writing erotica?

   My husband is very supportive of my writing in general. The genre doesn't really matter to him. He is lucky to have something he loves in life for a career and is happy that I have something of my own that I can be just as passionate about.

3-Slave is part of a series, Finding Alice 1. How many books will there be in the series and where are they headed?

   This is a question I get asked a lot. There will be at least four books in the series, but only time will tell. Brianna has a long way to go in her recovery, so this will not be an overnight process. She has issues that she will have to deal with and that can't be avoided.

   My plan for this series is to follow Brianna as she heals from this traumatic experience. It won't be conventional, but it was never meant to be. There will also be the budding relationship between Stephan and Brianna. The two today will make for an interesting combination, as they have to face their pasts while trying to navigate the pitfalls life throws at them.

4-I like a book cover to tell me something about the book I am going to read. Yours does. Who designed your cover and did you have any input? (Cover is pictured below with the review)

   Our great graphic artist Jenn, at TWCS Publishing House designed Slave's cover. Thankfully, I am able to have a lot of input into my covers. For Slave, I was driving home from the store one day and it hit me. I saw a woman kneeling in a submissive pose under a single light like you'd find in a warehouse. The tone of the book is dark, so I wanted the background to be black. Once I told Jenn what I wanted, she went to work and before long I had my cover.

5-Who has had the most influence on your writing?

   I'm not sure there is any one person who has had more influence than another. I've always loved romance novels. That, more than anything, along with my love of reading in general, that has been the biggest influence for me. I'm a very emotional reader and writer. Getting swept away by the characters is exactly what I want in a novel and what I hope happens to my readers when they pick up one of mine.

6-When Sherri Hayes is not writing, what is she doing?

   When I'm not writing, I can usually still be found in front of my computer either chatting with friends and readers or marketing my husband's woodworking business.

7-What do you do for fun and relaxation?

   I'm an avid reader, although I haven't been able to read as often as I'd like to lately as I've been writing pretty much non stop this summer. Put a good romance novel in front of me and you'll not see or hear from me for hours. Maybe days. :-) Music is also a passion of mine. I love to sing, so you might find me cranking up the volume on my radio and singing along to anything from rock to country to Broadway.

8-Tell us something about yourself that your readers may not know.

   As a kid I hated recess. In fact, in third grade, my teacher had this rule that if you didn't get your morning work done you would have to stay inside for recess and finish it, so I would intentionally not get my morning work done so that I could stay inside. My teacher eventually figured out what I was doing, and flipped it on me. I was still able to stay inside most of the time. The upside, however, was that now I didn't have to do work. I could read or do whatever I wanted.

You can contact Sherri at:

sherri-hayes @live.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sherri-Hayes/122511444477280

http://findingannaseries.blogspot.com/

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4496779.Sherri%20Hayes

Review of Slave

Slave Finding Anna Book 1

Sherri Hayes

The Writers Coffee Shop Publishing House 2011

ISBN 9781612130484

   Stephen is President and CEO of a not for profit foundation. He knows where he is going and what he wants out of life until his friend and mentor, Darren meets him for lunch. He tells Stephen about a young woman named Brianna who is a slave for a man named Ian. Darren is convinced that Brianna is in the situation unwillingly. He feels Stephen may want to buy her and feels Ian will be willing to sell her for the right price.

   Stephen has the money and the means so he pays for Brianna. She knows she is a slave and will always be a slave. Stephen is intent on taking care of her; but he finds out quickly he has purchased more then he has bargained for. Will Brianna be able to form trust in their relationship and be able to adapt to her new arrangement? She finds out from the start that Stephen is nothing like Ian. He does not want a slave. He wants a submissive to his dominant; but Brianna only knows the life of a slave. The longer Stephen works with Brianna,  the more his feelings are intensifying for her. Does this relationship have any chance of success?

   This is the first book in the series of Finding Anna. I was not too certain about the story before I started reading; but I have to tell you I could not put this book down.  I am not well versed on the ins and outs of BDSM; but I had no idea about the slave business. It is hard to believe that someone would actually go to such an extreme especially when you have someone as sadistic as Ian involved. This is a story of a developing love between two unlikely people when the one is so damaged emotionally and has been injured physically as well. I was so into this book, I could not believe I had reached the end. If you are into erotica and are not afraid of an emotionally charged, well written book, I highly recommend this book. I will most assuredly be looking for the second book in the series.

   I wish to thank The Writers Coffe Shop Publishing House for providing me with a copy to read and review. I was not required to write a positive review. I was not compensated except for receiving the book to review.

I give Slave 5 out of 5 stars