British writer M.J. Perry

Today I'm interviewing British, Romance writer M.J. Perry who is a full time wife, mother, reader of romance and now an author. She has a love for happy endings so she decided to try her hand at writing her own. You can get contact M.J. on facebook and twitter.

So M.J...what are your ambitions for your writing career?

I love writing. I like the thought of becoming a best-selling author, doesn’t every author? But honestly I just write for myself and hope that whoever reads my stories will enjoy them as much as I do.

Which writers inspire you?

Karen Rose, Diana Palmer, Charlotte Lamb, Lucy Monroe and Lynda Chance to name a few. They write stories that pull you in and make you lose yourself.

So, I saw you wrote Blackmailing His love, do you have any other works?

I also have Her Mistake but I have more in the works. I love writing. I write a lot, I have many ideas and my notebook is filled with them.

I like this back and forth dialogue from the characters in your novel, Blackmailing his Love.

"I don't have a choice do I?"

"No, and I'm glad you see it.  I want three months of marriage.  In that time, we'll act like a happily married couple."

(With these lines alone I can sense the Blackmail that's about to take place).
What are you currently working on and what is it about?

I’m writing a romance book about James and Scarlett. (The book doesn’t have a name yet.) Scarlett has a sister who has got herself into a situation and while Scarlett is trying to sort it out she meets James. They have an instant connection and James basically decides he’s going to help Scarlett whether or not she wants him to. Luckily she does want his help.
What drew you to write in this genre?

I love reading romance, I like knowing I’m going to get a happy ending. I wanted to be able to do that.
How much research do you do?

I research bits and bobs but my characters haven’t really given me any reason to do too much yet.
For your own reading, do you prefer ebooks or traditional paper/hard back books?

I usually buy ebooks and if I love a book I’ll buy it in paperback to add to my ever growing bookshelf.
Do you think that the cover plays an important part in the buying process?

I think it helps if a cover is eye catching but I don’t think it’s a necessity. I’ve bought romance books with plain covers before because of the description. Sometimes just the name would make me buy a book if it’s interesting enough.

What would you say are the main advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing against being published or the other way around?

I think promotion is harder for a self-published author. If you don’t know where to advertise or haven’t the money to do it, it becomes hard work. I’m still learning now, luckily there are a lot of websites who will help; most will do this for free.  The main advantage of being self-published is you have control over your work; you don’t have to answer to anyone.

Do you have any advice for other authors on how to market their books?

Social media, and google. If you type in “how do I promote my book” Many websites will pop up who will actually promote your book for free.

What part of your writing time do you devote to marketing your book?

I try to do a little each day, sometimes it’s just a Facebook update or a tweet.

Well folks, that's all the time we have today.  You can contact M.J. at  facebook or twitter. Readers if you know of any great Romance writers type them in the comments below.