LIANE: Today, I have with me author Hannah Murray. Hannah writes wicked funny, sexy romances, and today we're talking about the story behind her hilarious bondage story, The Boy Next Door, which appears in Secrets, Volume 27, Untamed Pleasures:
Hannah, I'm so glad you stopped by today. Tell me about that first moment of inspiration for your story, The Boy Next Door.
HM: Oh my. Well, actually, I was at a bondage convention! I’d always wanted to go to one, and I had a thought that if I went, maybe I’d get a story out of it. Well, there were all of these people having so much fun learning how to tie each other up, and I thought about how much fun they were all going to have when they took that newfound knowledge back to the bedroom. And I thought, “Oh yeah, there’s a story there!”
LIANE: Did your story come to you full realized, or did it take you a while to reach your final version? Did you ever reach a moment when you thought you'd never get to "the end?"
HM: I knew the tone I wanted for the story, and where I wanted to end up, but the rest I pretty much worked out along the way. It took me months and several rewrites to get to the final version, and I think I had the “when will it end?” thought every day.
LIANE: So what did it take (time, amount of work, etc) to get you from that Eureka moment to getting "the call".
HM: It took time and a lot of hard work. It originally had a completely different beginning, which I changed after attending a workshop on writing a good hook, and the sub plot needed some work as well before it got to where it is now. I spent a lot of time polishing, making sure it was the best I could make it before sending it out.
LIANE: And speaking of the call, our readers like nothing better than those "I got the call" stories, so how about sharing yours?
HM: Oh, getting the call was a huge relief. I’d pitched the story to Alex at Red Sage in July 2006 at the RWA national convention in Atlanta, and by October I had some suggestions from the editor on how to make things stronger. I made those changes, resubmitted it, and waited what seemed like forever! The original editor ended up leaving the company while I was working on those changes, so it went to the bottom of the new editor’s pile. Which only lengthened my wait. But when it finally came, I was ecstatic – I’d written this story with Secrets in mind, and I was thrilled to know I was going to be a part of it.
LIANE: Why do you think this story was right for Secrets?
HM: I’ve read all the Secrets anthologies, and I knew this story would fit right it. The bondage theme, the highly sensualized sexual encounters between the characters, the strong emotion – I worked really hard to make sure it met Secrets’ standards of sensuality and storytelling, and I was thrilled when Red Sage accepted it.
LIANE: For some of the authors in this Secrets anthology, as much as a year and a half passed between the time the story was sold and the time the page proofs were delivered. How did you feel looking at your story after so much time? Did mistakes glare at you, or were you still thrilled with your own words?
HM: I always notice the mistakes, but it felt really good to see my words in print. Of course, I’d spend years editing one manuscript if they’d let me, so I have to force myself not to look at the pages too long or too hard; I can move from proofing to rewriting without even realizing it sometimes.
LIANE: If you could write a sequel to your story, where would it take you?
HM: Oh, I think I’d have to go a few years into the future. Maybe Isa and Jacob have been together a while, and they’re looking to relight the flame…maybe they’ve taken things even further and now Isa wants to start tying Jacob up. I would actually love to do a sequel to this; relationships don’t stop with happily ever after, and I think it would be fun to see what happens after.
LIANE: What's next for you as an author?
HM: I’m polishing up an existing manuscript and getting ready to shop it around, as well as starting two new books – one contemporary and the other is what I like to call “paranormal lite”. There are some paranormal elements, but at its core it’s a contemporary comedy, which is what I do best.
LIANE: Finish the sentence. Small press/e-press publishing…
HM: not just for niche markets anymore.
LIANE: What is the single most important thing you've done to make your work publishable?
HM: I found myself two reliable critique partners and learned to listen to them. Taking criticism is the single hardest thing I’ve learned how to do – it’s made my writing stronger, it’s made me better at plotting, it’s made me better at anticipating the kinds of things an editor will ask me to do so I can do it before it even gets to the editor! I’m never going to be great at hearing negative things about my work, but it’s part of the business, and everyone is going to hear it sometime.
LIANE: Hannah, what great fun. I understand you've got a wicked cool contest going on. Why not tell our readers how they can enter?
HM: Sure. In keeping up with the bondage theme of my story, I'm giving away an actual bondage rope. Readers can find out more by checking out my website.
LIANE: That sounds like too much fun to be legal. I'm sure you've won some new fans here today. Can they follow you on facebook and twitter?
HM: Yes. I'm on facebook as Hannah Murray. My twitter ID is hannahstwits. Readers can also join my announcement only news loop.
LIANE: I understand you're offering one lucky WGW reader a great prize today.
HM: Yes. I'm offering a one chapter critique (less than fifteen pages) to one commenter. The drawing will be tomorrow.
LIANE: Oh, wish I could play. I love the wicked humor in your writing. Hannah, thanks so much for joining us today here at Writers Gone Wild. I hope we'll see you again I the future.
HM: Thanks, it was a pleasure to be here!
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