 Stephanie Tyler has long since given up trying to control her characters, especially the Navy SEAL alpha males, and today she writes military romance for both Harlequin Blaze and Bantam Dell. You can find out more about her Blazes here and her Bantam trilogy, which will be available beginning in May 2009 with HARD TO HOLD - here.
And, because she loves being busy, she also writes paranormal erotic romance with a military twist for Bantam Dell with co-author Larissa Ione under the pen-name Sydney Croft. Stephanie lives in New York with her husband, her daughter, a weimaraner and her blog.
For more on Stephanie, check out the FAQ section or head over to the blog for the daily comings and goings.
 Why do you write romance? This is a great question. The answer I’m going to give you is long, and it’s part of a post I made over at Romancing The Blog, but it explains why I love the genre as much as I do: I came to the genre of romance writing late in my career. For a while, I was writing poetry and short stories, and then I moved into the more academic world of studying and dissecting literature and finally teaching. And then I was trying to write the great American novel, but nothing ever came of it. And then I had a baby. And then my world changed forever.  Romance gave me that brief respite I needed when I couldn’t deal with doctors and nurses and beeping machines and people telling me things might be taking a turn for the worst, and most of all from the guilt of not being able do more to help my daughter. All I could do was sit there and wait. In the romances of Tami Hoag’s Lucky’s Lady, Suzanne Brockmann’s Out of Control and Cherry Adair’s Kiss and Tell, I was able to lose myself in a totally different world, one where happy endings abounded and the hero and heroine saved each other.  I don’t know if any of these authors will ever know how they saved me, but ladies, you did it in a major way. You made me want to pay it forward by writing romance novels and deepened my respect for both writers and readers of the genre.  I also don’t know if romance writers fully comprehend how much good they do, how much joy they bring to people everywhere, every day, but I’m going to attest to it here from firsthand knowledge. I’m not really sure that any other genre can quite claim to do the same thing, so this is my thank you to all of from this reader of romance. Romance writers possess a greater courage than they know (beyond dealing with the stereotypes they’re often labeled with) - they dive into the complex emotions that surround love and sex and men and women, and they delve and prod the human psyche and create characters so memorable I’d swear some of them were alive. And that’s what I strive to do in every book I write. So, how else do I pay it forward as a writer of the genre? I try and create heroines I know my daughter would be proud of, or proud to be. They might not be as strong physically as my heroes, but they can kick ass, all-around, any day of the week, once they’re up and running. And yes, they often need to be saved on some level, but don’t we all? I try and explore the symbolism of the save on many different levels – the physical save and the emotional one, the obvious save and the save you didn’t even realize you needed. My daughter’s getting better every day, and so is my writing. I’m proud to call myself a romance writer, and I just hope that one day I’m given the chance to help a reader lose themselves for just a few hours. Because, in the end, it’s all about giving someone their HEA. - top -  I love writing about Military heroes, so calling what I write Military Romance, or milrom, seemed natural. Some of my books are very action/adventure, while some feature soldiers, or ex-soldiers, in a non-military setting, but they all find and fall in love in some of the most unlikely places. You can read excerpts from some of my books here. - top - Where can I buy your book?You can purchase my books through Amazon or any other online bookstore as well as most brick & mortar bookstores, like B&N and Borders, Target, Costco and the like. Sign up for my newsletter or check my frequently updated blog for more details concerning pre-orders and giveaways as the time gets closer to my new releases. - top - Who is that Jake guy you’re always talking about on your blog?
 Jake’s one of my Navy SEAL characters who wants his own book. Like any good alpha male romance hero, he’s not happy about having to wait his turn. You can find the full blog post entries of Jake’s continuing saga from the beginning at Jake & Co. He’s also managed to integrate himself into my site design – just look up at the header and you’ll see him. His book , titled, Hard To Hold, will be published in February 2009 by Bantam Dell - for more information, please go here. - top - Do you have a writing schedule?I’d love to have a writing schedule that puts me at x number of pages per day. However, I think I might be genetically incapable of both that and plotting, although I attempt both every once in a while. I try to write every day, but my style tends more toward writing a large amount in a two day period and then not much the following days, although during that time I’ll usually edit. I also write out of order and I work on multiple projects at once. I’ve tried to change this, but since it’s working for me I’m not going to question it. - top - Do you think unpublished writers should have a website and/or a blog? Yes. Someone once told me that you should prepare for the career you want to have, and I think an online presence is key in today’s market. Blogging, for me, serves a multi-fold purpose. First, it’s a great way to reach out to other writers for support, it’s a great way to connect with readers and it serves as a writing warm-up. Plus, I find it fun. If you don’t find blogging fun, you shouldn’t do it, but even a one or twice a week post, if your readers know to expect that schedule for you, is a way to keep your website fresh and updated. And that’s the key to a website – to get people to come back and visit again and again. - top - Do work with a critique partner?Yes. I started out in a larger critique group and gradually moved to two smaller ones. I was very lucky with the experiences I had in all my groups. Today, I work mainly with Larissa Ione and my editors. - top - What’s the hardest part of your job? Working from home has a lot of benefits and pitfalls. The pitfalls can make you unproductive, since there’s always something else to do around the house besides write. So being my own boss is tough, because I have to be harder on myself than any outside boss could be in order to get the writing done. But I’ve always wanted to write for a living, so I’m grateful to be able to have the chance to make the dream a reality. - top - What’s the best part of your job?The best part of my job is that I love what I’m doing. I love writing. I also love being able to stay in pajamas most of the day and justify it as a necessary part of my job. I’m lucky enough to be able to write full-time (well, as full-time as it can be with a toddler.) and I’m eternally grateful for that. - top - What’s the best advice you ever received? I’ve gotten a lot of good advice. One of the best was, finish the book. It sounds so simple, but until you actually finish your first book, you don’t really know if you can do it. So that’s what I’m going to tell you – finish the book. It doesn’t matter if that book never sees the light of day or not. The fact remains that you understand how to get from the beginning to the end of something. - top - What genre(s) do you write?I write contemporary romance, romantic suspense, erotic romance, paranormal erotic romance. All of my Stephanie Tyler books can also be classified as military romance. . - top - Where can I find a list of your past and present releases?Check out my printable booklist! - top - Who designed your site?- top - Who is your agent?Roberta Brown of Brown Literary Agency. - top -  How can I ask you a question you haven’t answered here?You can contact me here or check out my blog. - top - |
