I *might’ve* saved the best for last

We’re two days away from the release of our charity mega-anthology, Felt Tips! Have you seen our cool cover? This is the end of the road for my fun interviews with the contributors. Hopefully one day very soon Tiffany will have a minute to send me hers, but with all of the success of The Sinners Series, I understand how overwhelmed she currently is.

Equally as fantastic is my guest today, the lovely Miss Allie Sanders, writer, wife, all around sweet person, and our fearless Editorial Assistant (Ed. Ass. for short) on Felt Tips! I want to take a moment here to personally (and publicly) thank her for not only donating her time and no doubt loads of hard work to not only this project, but also for being an ear and eye on a few of my other little projects as well. She’s given me nothing but great advice that I’ve always taken to heart. Girl knows her stuff so we could not have been in better hands. When Allie’s not working her day job and wrangling a husband and a dog, she manages to find time to write YA. I will be the first person in line to read whatever her pretty head and fingers put forth!

Here’s Allie:

Tell everyone a bit about yourself and how you got into writing, or better yet, how it got into you.

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. Longer than I can remember. They started me young and for some reason I just can’t shake it. I’ve tried, trust me I have tried but the boring day job thing never did it for me. I guess I’m a bit of a masochist.

Do you write primarily erotica/erotic romance or in other genres?

Oh lord no! I’m a young adult writer. I swear I got the giggles just thinking about writing the sex scene. This was probably the most awkward thing I’ve ever written. I still fear my grandmother will get ahold of it and lecture me on the dangers of sex, ignoring the fact I’m three years married.

What influences your writing?

Everything. Books, music, movies, real life. I get a lot of my crazier characters from my husband and his family. They’re a bunch of goofballs and make great YA characters.

Do you have a writing routine? A favorite time or place? Is music involved?

I have two rocking chairs in my house that I switch between, most of the time it’s the middle of the night. When I need to completely zone and focus I sit at my desk, the rest of the time I’m in my living room listing to my YouTube station on my husband’s computer. The music changes based on what my book needs but it’s a lot of poppy music. I do write teens after all.

What do you do when you hit a writing wall?

I keep on writing. I bitch, I moan, I rearrange my bulletin board of story information, I switch up my playlist, I watch bad teen television but mostly, I just keep writing. Sometimes I have to jump ahead, write a scene far ahead of where I am in the story but I have to keep writing. I’m always afraid if I stop writing I’ll give up and never go back to the story so I keep on writing. Some of my end drafts look worse than Frankenstein’s monster but like they say, it’s easier to edit than stare at a blank page.

If your house was on fire and you only had time to grab one book, what would it be and who’s the author? Why that particular book?

Superfudge. I’ve had this book for as long as I can remember. It’s survived seven moves, a billion readings, and a dunk in the bathtub. It’s the only book that survived all the years with me. It’s comforting. One day I’ll share Fudge with my nieces and nephews and I’ll be able to relive him again.

What are your guilty pleasures?

Guilty in what way? I have an obsessive love of chocolate and baked goods that my waistline feels guilt over. I have a love of Disney Channel movies and pop music that my grown-up brain should feel guilt over but honestly, I can’t. I don’t really feel guilty for anything anymore. I figure why feel guilt over something I enjoy? Life is too short and people are always going to laugh at me for something.

What turns you on?

A sense of humor, pretty eyes and strong arms. A broad chest, a man in a baseball cap or a three-piece suit.

What turns you off?

Neediness, cling-ons, stupid people. I like my men with brains and lives of their own.

Tell us the name of your Felt Tips story and your chosen office supply.

My story is called Love Letters and involves computers and a nice, big desk.

Give us a one or two sentence “teaser”.

On the night of her blind date, Sabrina’s stuck working late but it could turn out a better night than the one she had planned.

How did you come up with the idea? 

I wrote a dozen stories before I ended up with this one. Like I said, I’m a YA writer so this was outside my realm of experience and each different story I started brought me closer to this one.

What made you decide to submit a story to Felt Tips?

Peer pressure. The World’s Most Unprofessional Editor Tiffany Reisz and fellow writer Marie Wright pushed and prodded until I sent it in. Honestly, I was hoping for rejection. Now I’m glad to see it going out there.

How did you come to be involved in editing the project with Tiffany?

It was my attempt to get involved without writing a story. Tiff had me beta read a couple of her stories and she knew how brutal I could be with my edits. Plus, I have a severe lack of a life. Why else would I sign on to edit 40+ stories?

What does it mean to you to be a part of this anthology?

I thought this was an awesome experience. I loved to see all the different writers from all the different backgrounds come together for this project. We have a lot of writers with no publishing experience and writers with a lot of publishing experience but they’re interacting, they’re having fun doing the thing we all love. Plus, we’re writing for a good cause. All of the proceeds of Felt Tips are going to be split between two charities to help get school supplies into classrooms and women back into the workforce. I’m a firm believer in education and in people making their own way whenever possible but I know sometimes people need help and I like being a part of being a part of the boost.

Why do you think readers will enjoy Felt Tips, aside from its general smutty goodness?

I think people will love it for the same reasons I do. The book has a little bit of everything. The writers took the general theme in every direction possible from sweet romance, kinky exploits, paranormal, sci-fi, even a historical piece. The styles, the voices, it’s all so different yet somehow blends nicely. We have drama, we have comedy, we have some downright silly stuff mixed in with the stuff that could steam the sheets and maybe even set the bedroom on fire. Plus, there’s such a variety that if one story doesn’t work for a reader there are forty other stories that will.

Lastly, tell everyone about your current work and where they can find you.

I’m currently in the middle of rewriting a contemporary YA that I hope to be able to shop around to agents early next year. I may be in for more heartbreak and rejection but honestly I’m ready to get moving on it again. In the meantime I can be found on Twitter almost all the time (https://twitter.com/WriteAllieWrite ) and when the mood strikes I ramble on my blog (http://alliesanderswrites.wordpress.com/).

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Again, I just want to say a heartfelt THANK YOU to Allie for all of her hard work! Hugs and kisses, sweets!

Jenny