Today, we’re interviewing Shelby Reed, author of sexy contemporaries and paranormals for Ellora's Cave Publishing.

1) Where are you from?

I was born in Washington, DC—a seventh generation Washingtonian. I’ve been doing genealogy and my roots run all over that beautiful city.

2) Tell us a bit about your family.

Well, the first thing that comes to mind is how noisy we are! I grew up in a very vocal, affectionate household. My father was twenty years older than my mother. He happened to see her performing as a nightclub singer in Washington, and fell in love with her at first sight. It took him two solid years to convince her to marry him (the first time he proposed was the minute she walked off the stage that first night), and eventually they had three children. I wish the story had a happy ending, but he was killed in a car accident when the three of us were still little. Even though I grew up without him, his spirit has pervaded every part of my life, so in many ways I feel like I’ve known him all these years. When I was ten, my mother moved us to Florida to begin a new life. Now she’s getting ready to retire from teaching pre-school children. My younger brother is an emergency room physician at George Washington University and has a little boy of his own, and my older sister is a special education teacher in Florida. None of them read romance. LOL

3) Can you share a little of your current work with us?

I’m working on the sequel to Midnight Rose, a paranormal romance I released with Ellora’s Cave in 2005. It revolves around Jude, who was a child in the first book and ultimately became a vampire. In this story, he meets his first love, a much older woman who also happens to be mortal. Here’s a little tidbit from the scene I’m working on:

I watched in rapt silence as he prepared the injection, my pulse surging. I thought he’d regretted giving me his blood before. I thought he detested the bond it created between us.

“I’m not turning you,” he said, his attention on his task.

Warmth flooded my cheeks. “I know that, damn you.”

“This will make you feel better, though.”

“Good,” I retorted. “Maybe then I can call a cab and save the perfectly good night I ruined for myself by coming here.”

His gaze darted to mine, then back to the syringe. “You’ll stay the night.”

“Why?” Astonishment, followed by a crisp, cold burst of anger, stiffened my spine, and I had to resist yanking my captive arm from his grasp. “What do you want from me?”

“Reassurance,” he said, rising on his knees before me. “I’m not sure what kind of effect this injection will have on you, and if you throw a reaction this time, I’m the only one who can fix it. Besides…” He tapped the bubbles from the syringe and rubbed his thumb across the inside of my arm, feeling for a vein. “I’m already damned when it comes to you, Moira. You might as well stay.”

The needle slid into my flesh with a pinch and he depressed the plunger. “Okay?” he prompted softly when he was done, and set aside the syringe.

*Your heart’s desire, Moira. Identify it. Embrace it.*

“Okay.” I whispered, and closed my eyes as the warmth of his blood began a slow crawl to my heart.

4) Do you ever suffer from writer's block? If so, what do you do about it?

I just came through a devastating block that lasted almost four years. I couldn’t pinpoint what caused it, and I honestly thought I would never write again. It began right after I finished my sixth novel, Seraphim, and at first I thought I was just burned out. I didn’t connect it to a new medication I was taking to treat migraines. It wasn’t until this past Christmas that, in desperation, I began looking at physiological reasons for the block. I had been blaming my own lack of focus and discipline…and then my doctor changed the medication because it wasn’t working anymore, and within a couple of weeks the block began to dissolve. When I questioned him, he confirmed the drug is known to affect the creative part of the brain. ARGH!! Now I’m writing full force again. So if I can give any advice on this subject, it’s to turn over every stone while you’re examining your creative block. It’s not always a lack of focus or inspiration!

5) What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?

Getting to meet readers at the Romance Writers of America National Conference literacy book signing, where I sat with a zillion other authors and autographed my novels. I was profoundly touched by the people who had read my work and sought me out. It was the first time I’ve come face-to-face with the true fruits of my labor—more than a royalties check, more than seeing the books on the shelf at Border’s, actually talking to people who had read my stories and were back for more completely astounded and moved me.

6) Which is your favorite of the books you have written?

The most blood, sweat and tears went into Seraphim. It was tricky marrying romance and sensuality with the hero's status as an angel, but I felt really proud of it when I was done. Here’s the blurb:

When a masked group claiming to be warrior angels kidnaps Gia Rossi, she believes it's retaliation for her wealthy husband's shady dealings. Squired into a high-tech underground world by her strangely gentle captors and placed under the tutelage of Joachim, their handsome leader, she soon learns that among her lost childhood treasures is a medallion, which places the fate of the world in her hands. Gia's job is simple: locate the relic and lead the angels to it…and somehow, fight the forbidden attraction that fast develops between her and Joachim.

As commander of the angelic warriors, Joachim must protect Gia and, with her help, locate the sacred relics needed to conquer the demon Therides. But Joachim doesn't count on falling prey to sexual attraction when it comes to their beautiful, headstrong captive and soon another battle commences, one between consuming desire for his charge and a weighty sense of celestial duty. For if Joachim and Gia succumb to the fire smoldering between them, it could prove to be the end of both their worlds.

7) Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.

That's a no-brainer! Since 2000, I’ve been a member of Romance Writers Unlimited. This club is comprised of some of the best people I know! I can say with complete confidence that I would never have finished the first novel—or any novel—if I hadn’t found RWU. If I lose internet access or the site goes down, I feel completely adrift. That’s how attached I am to my writing buddies. RWU opened a whole new door to me. There I met and developed friendships with such authors as Paisley Scott, Laurie Breton, Katherine Allred, Katherine Coffing (who’s also a professional writing coach), and Gina Ardito. Meeting some of these ladies at writing conferences has been the joy of a lifetime!

8) What are you reading now?

I’m between books right now. I just ordered Call of the Highland Moon by Kendra Leigh Castle and Three Nights of Sin by Anne Mallory. I love paranormal and historical romance, although I don't know if I could ever write historical fiction. It would be the challenge of a lifetime for this writer, but I think about it.

9) What about the romance genre interests you?

I’m fascinated by the complexities of human relationships, and try to include more than just a romantic relationship in every story I write. For one, I believe doing so helps give the reader a deep glimpse into the characters’ hearts. Secondly, I’m interested the tangling or untangling of the webs we create with others around us. It’s a form of people-watching, I guess. It helps me to understand other human beings. And since I live so much in my head, it pulls me out of myself.

10) What is romantic to you?

Romance is the gradual beating-down of the doors to each other’s hearts, so anything that exposes us as the fallible beings we truly are. People going out on a limb to show their feelings for each other is romantic. My brother recently took his wife to Ireland for their anniversary. While they were wandering around a little country village, he suggested they go inside the ancient church and look around. When they stepped inside, there was candlelight, and music, and a priest waiting for them with a handwritten ceremony to help them renew their wedding vows. My brother had arranged all this via the Internet months ahead of time as an anniversary gift for his wife. Now THAT’S romantic. :-)