**To enter to win an autographed copy of J.R. Ward’s fifth book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series,   Lover Unbound (Vishous’ story), please send an email with your name and mailing address to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  with BROTHERHOOD in the subject. The contest ends on June 23, 2008, after which the winner will be chosen randomly and notified via email. Only one entry per mailing address.

By Christina Radish

J.R. Ward at the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention Book Fair held at the Hilton Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on April 19, 2008.

Since the series debut, Dark Lover (Wrath’s story), was published in 2005, Ward’s fan base has been skyrocketing, first landing her on the New York Times bestseller list with the third book in the series, Lover Awakened (Zsadist’s story). In the recently released sixth installment, Lover Enshrined tells the story of Phury, Zsadist’s twin, and the most loyal and complex of the Brothers. Sacrificing himself for the good of the race, Phury is the male responsible for keeping the bloodline alive. As Primale of the Chosen, he is to father the sons and daughters who will ensure that the traditions of the race survive, and that there are warriors to fight those who want all vampires extinguished. When his First Mate, the Chosen Cormia, sees the emotionally scarred male behind all his noble responsibility, she wants to win not only his body, but his heart, for herself. While the war with the Lessening Society grows more grim, and tragedy looms over the Brotherhood’s mansion, Phury must decide between duty and love.

A graduate of Smith College, Ward, who gave up her career as a lawyer, in favor of writing full time, spoke with MediaBlvd Magazine about the joy of getting to do what she loves, every day.

MediaBlvd Magazine> How long have you been writing, and have you had any formal training?

J.R. Ward> I’ve never had any formal training. I literally started writing when I was about seven years old. As soon as I could hold a pencil, I was spinning stories out of my head. I feel as though writers, to some degree, are hard-wired that way. Or, maybe it’s a software package you get when you’re born. I’d written a lot of partials and manuscripts and outlines for stories and ideas, before I ever even thought about getting published, and I just kept at it. I wrote short stories in high school. I wrote my first book between high school and college. I just threw it in a drawer, and never did anything with it. While I was in college, I wrote another one. When I got out of college, I went to law school, so that didn’t really lend itself to writing because, going through law school, all you’re doing is just reading and writing. So, for those three years, I didn’t really do a lot. And then, when I was up in Boston and I was working in health care administration, I did it as a way to relax. And so, I wrote a book and finished the manuscript, but I never really thought about getting published or anything. It was never the goal. I just did it because I liked it. But, I had a contact with an agent in New York City, so I sent the book in, never expecting to get a response because I know that they’re so busy. And, she called me on a Sunday night and said, “I’d love to represent you.” And, I said, “Let’s hold that. I’m about to finished another manuscript that I think is stronger, so wait until I have some of that.” And, that was actually my first book. So, that’s how I got started.

MediaBlvd> When did you decide that you wanted to have a career as a writer? And, what made you decide to give up the career you already had as a lawyer, to try for a career that can be so unpredictable?

J.R.> I never really thought I would be a writer, in terms of what I did for a living. That was really not something I ever considered. It kind of evolved. And, when it became clear that I might be able to support myself by writing, because I got a couple of contracts, I thought, “This is what I really want to do with my life.” Being a corporate lawyer is wonderful and challenging and fabulous, but I would much rather live in my head. So, it was an organic process, where I just looked at the opportunities I had and decided to take a chance. I’m still licensed to practice in two states, so I haven’t let the law stuff go completely by the wayside. I don’t want to go back, and I want to continue writing because I enjoy it so much, but I always want to make sure that I have the option still open because publishing is very, very erratic. It’s wonderful and it’s scary, and so, it’s always great, if you have a fall-back position. But, I did take a chance. I scared myself to death, giving up the income from being a lawyer, but it’s worked out so far, and I feel very lucky.

MediaBlvd> What is the best part about being a writer and being successful at it?

J.R.> It frickin’ rocks to get up, every single day, and do what I love. My alarm goes off at a quarter to six, and I’m out of bed, making my coffee, thrilled with my life. No matter how hard it gets, it’s still the most wonderful thing in the world for me to do, and I am so lucky that I get to do it and make a living at it. I’ve been writing full time for a little over four years now, and nothing can beat it. It’s a great commute to my computer. I work in my boxer shorts. I’m a runner, so I run in the middle of the day. There’s great freedom, in terms of my schedule. I work every day, seven days a week, and I work through holidays and sick days. You have to do it every day. It’s kind of like exercise. And, when deadlines hit, sure it’s stressful, but it’s still the best job for me. I heard something about how artists are born, and not made. I rejected the whole idea that I was any kind of artist. I was a lawyer. I was in business. I went to work in black suits. Being in corporate America is about as far away from the artist’s lifestyle as I can imagine. But, the further away I get from those experiences as a lawyer, the more I was like, “You know what? I am an artist, and I’m good with it.”

MediaBlvd> Where did the initial confidence to sit down and write your first novel come from?

J.R.> It wasn’t confidence at all. It was compulsion. It’s never been about confidence for me. Every day, I sit down and I’m like, “Is this going to be good enough? Am I going to be able to take this scene far enough? Is the line-by-line writing correct? Did I get the images sharp enough? Does the dialogue fly?” Certainly, I have more confidence than I used to because the books have been very well received, for which I’m very grateful, but it’s a compulsion. I’ve got to do it. I’ve got to get these stories out of my head. I have to figure out where they go. I have to be with these characters.

MediaBlvd> What attracted you to the romance genre?

J.R.> I’m kind of a happy ending junkie. If you want to get published, it certainly helps to start in a genre that sells well, and romance is a very, very vigorous market. But, aside from that, it also was what always happened in my stories. There was always a happy ending. The great thing that I love about the Brotherhood books is that the happy endings aren’t perfect, so it’s not a fairy tale where, all of a sudden, everything is rosy and it’s going to be like that, for a million years. I think it’s more realistic that there be shades of grey, within a happily ever after, but the satisfaction that things are okay, at the end of a book, is very important to me, probably because I think life is really hard enough. One of the great things about fiction is that it allows you to live other people’s lives, but there’s a safety net, if you know at the end that, no matter what they go through and no matter how hard it gets or how messy or how unpleasant, everything’s going to be tied up, in the end.

MediaBlvd> For those who are not yet familiar with the series, what is the Black Dagger Brotherhood and who are the Brothers?

J.R.> The books are based on the concept that vampires are a separate species that have evolved, both physiologically and socially. They are parallel to humans, but not of the human world. And, they exist in parallel to what we, as humans, know, in terms of our social structures, our governments and our belief systems. The Black Dagger Brotherhood are the warriors of the species, which has been targeted for extinction by the Omega and his Lessening Society. The Brothers are the first line of defense for the survival of the vampire species. Each one of them carries a curse or some life circumstance that makes things very difficult for them and, in large measure, each book is about them coming to terms with their difficulties, or becoming more fully actualized as people, or as vampires, as the case may be. The books are also about the evolving nature of the species. In the first book, it starts out very disintegrated because the king hasn’t ascended, there’s no social organization and the numbers are dwindling. As the series continues, you’re going to see a gradual evolution, where the race gets its act together, after many centuries of it not being so.

MediaBlvd> What is the meaning behind the unusual names of the Brothers?

J.R.> People ask me about the names and why they’re spelled differently, and it’s because they’re spelled as they would be in the Old Language. When the Brotherhood books came into my mind, the characters were just always called by those names, so I went with it. I don’t tend to argue with the scenes in my head because, if I do, they shut up, and then I’m left with nothing. But, I think the names actually really fit who the Brothers are, and they’re part of what I love about the series. I just love the names.

MediaBlvd> You’ve created such a complex world, with all of the ceremonies and rituals. How did you come up with all of that, and did you do any research for any of it?

J.R.> It just comes to me. I don’t do any research. I think that the Dracula myth, or the vampire myth, is very embedded in our culture. You’ve got Halloween and Bram Stroker, and all of these great creepy stories and fangs. The vampire myth is very, very well known, and that’s been distilled in my consciousness. But, in terms of the Brotherhood world, it just comes out of my head. The scenes in the books are sort of downloaded, like movies. I’ll be sitting somewhere and, all of a sudden, I’ll get a flash and I’ll see the Brothers, or I’ll see a ritual, and I just incorporate them in a logical order. That’s how the books get written. I don’t really have any good explanation for where the ideas came from.

MediaBlvd> Did you have any specific goal, in writing the series?

J.R.> I didn’t have a specific goal in writing and creating it, and I didn’t have any inspiration, other than the Brothers. At the time I began to plan the series out, I loved contemporary romance -- I think it’s great, and it’s fun to write -- but I had just stopped working full-time, and now that I had enough discretionary hours to really pour into the writing, I thought, “What do I really want to write?” I’ve always been a fan of horror, and I like books that have a very mainstream feel to them, that use very contemporary language and prose that is not real flowery. And so, I thought it would be great to try a paranormal because, at the time when I started to do this, it was four years ago and paranormals were really gathering momentum in the romance genre. I thought, “Well, I’d love to write a book or two about vampires, where they’re the heroes and not the villains.” And then, once I started thinking in those terms, that’s when I started to see the pictures and the scenes. That’s where it took off from. I think it was my natural interest and inclination towards horror, melded with my affection for the happily ever after.

Photo by LeElla Scott.

J.R.> I think it’s important, in the marketplace, if you’re writing two wildly different kinds of books. The contemporary romances that I’ve written are not like the Brotherhood at all. So, it was an issues of just clarifying what kind of book people should expect, when they pick it up. Yes, you could argue that the covers are very different, but I do think it’s important to have the name be different. And, also, having a pseudonym offers you a little bit of anonymity. It’s sometimes good to have that separation.

MediaBlvd> Are you happy with the beautiful covers you’ve gotten for the Brotherhood books?

J.R.> I remember when they sent me the cover for Dark Lover and I was like, “Oh, my God, they got it right! They so totally got it right!” The thing that I think is really great about them is that they really, honest to God, reflect the sensibility of the books. The books are erotic, but they’re also character studies. And so, it’s really about two people coming together, and I like the intimacy and the evocative nature of it. I think they’re wonderful covers. And, I have nothing to do with it. I’ve never had any input. It’s like Christmas when my covers come. I’m like, “They did it again! It’s beautiful!” 

MediaBlvd> The Black Dagger Brotherhood is a very dark series. Is that just how things evolved?

J.R.> It’s exactly what’s in my head. It’s exactly what I see. It is very dark. I don’t have any better explanation than that’s just what I see in my head. And, that’s what I like about them, actually. It makes it very hard to write because I find some of the scenes so disturbing. When I wrote the rough draft for Vishous’ book, Lover Unbound, I put off writing three scenes, simply because I didn’t want to go through putting myself in that position and seeing what happened. I found them so disturbing and upsetting. It was the same thing with Zsadist’s book, Lover Awakened. There were scenes there, particularly when he’s with his owner, the Mistress, that I found so disturbing to write, I just didn’t want to go back and edit them. There are still parts of that book that I won’t read, just because I get upset.

MediaBlvd> Was there one of the Brothers that came to you first, or did they all come to you at the same time?

J.R.> Wrath was the one who came first. I just felt something in the back of my head, and it took a couple of days to come forward. I kept waiting, and I kept thinking, “What the hell is this?” And then, it was him. So, he was the first one that came to me. And then, I guess I followed orders well enough because the rest of them came.

MediaBlvd> With so many vampire series out there, what sets the Brotherhood apart, and what do you think has made it such a success?

J.R.> It’s hard for me to say exactly why it works so well because I think that each reader likes different parts of it. I’ve gotten overwhelmed by the number of emails that have come in, and it’s interesting how people respond to different parts of the books. I think, fundamentally, why the books work is because they’re credible character studies. Although the backdrop is paranormal, a lot of the themes that are in the books are universal. Getting over what your past did to you, triumphing over odds, finding love and making it work are all things that are pretty accessible to people. That’s something that everyone goes through, in their lives. They also work because of the credible surprise issues. For me, as the author, when these scenes come down, I’m frequently surprised. I don’t know where the series is going, all the time. It will corkscrew on me and take me in different directions that I never would have imagined. I’ll see characters in scenes and be like, “Oh, my God, he ends up with her? How is this going to work?” There are a lot of surprises that happen that are satisfying and interesting, but not predictable. Lover Revealed really corkscrewed on me. I had no idea that Butch would end up where he ended up with the prophecy. I had no idea that’s what was going to happen, at all. I thought that it was going to be about him, turning into a vampire, and I outlined it like that. And then, I started to write the book, and these scenes about the prophecy and the Omega started coming up and I was like, “What is this? This is not in this book, people!” As the author, these things happen and I’m just like, “Oh, my God!” So, I figure, if I’m surprised and I’m interested, chances are, the readers will be too. I also think that they’re not particularly formulaic. There are some conventions that a lot of romance novels embrace, and they work. That’s part of the reason why romance is so popular. But, the Brotherhood books don’t always fit into those predictable patterns. Except for the happily ever after at the end, there is a lot of stuff that happens that is not found in all romance novels. Certainly, other people do it too, and do it very, very well. I’m not the only person.

MediaBlvd> Who is the book after Lover Enshrined going to be about?

J.R.> Rehvenge is after Phury. Rehvenge plays a tremendous role in the series, so it’s logical, at this point in the series, that it would be about him. His book is called Lover Avenged

MediaBlvd> How do you determine which character you’ll write about next?

J.R.> I know this sounds nuts, but they tell me. What scenes I see in my head next is how I determine which character to write about.

MediaBlvd> Given how the books are so interwoven with each other, are you always thinking ahead as to who you’ll be writing about next?

J.R.> I am so far ahead of where I’m writing. I’m always thinking far, far down the line. I think four or five books ahead. One of the things that I think is really great about these books is that they layer on the lives of, not just the two people who are focused on, but the other people around them as well. So, building a trajectory for future books is really important. John Matthew is a perfect example. Each book, his life progresses a little bit further, getting him ready for his book. He will get his own book as well.

MediaBlvd> Are there any of the Brothers that you haven’t gotten the chance to write yet, that you’re really looking forward to writing?

J.R.> I couldn’t wait to start writing Rehvenge. He’s got that sympath thing going on, and that’s a thing. I couldn’t wait to go there. That sympath stuff is really great because they’re completely amoral, as a species. It’s fascinating to explore what that’s like, and what the motivations are for someone who is just not hard-wired to care about other people. How do they make their way in the world, and how do they interact with the Brothers? It’s really fascinating! It’s going to be interesting, that’s for sure.

MediaBlvd> How do you find the right balance between the romance, telling the story and developing the characters?

J.R.> If you do romance well, by definition, it’s a character study. As people fall in love, they have to confront a lot of their demons. Since becoming intimate with someone makes you feel very vulnerable, it’s a very dynamic time in someone’s life. And, if you fall in love really deeply, it frequently kicks up a lot of crap. One of the things that I think is really important is maintaining the emotional imperative with every scene between the hero and the heroine, as it goes through the book. Where are they in the evolution of their relationship? What’s it kicking up about their pasts, their curses, the things that they’re really insecure about? And, sex is another thing that changes people’s perceptions of themselves. It certainly changes their perception of the other person. As they fall in love, the different layers of their personality are exposed, and they are affected by it. And so, by definition, that’s why good romances, at their core, are character studies.

MediaBlvd> Is it difficult to write such complex characters? Have any of them been particularly fun to write, or particularly difficult?

J.R.> The most difficult is always the one I’m working on. I like complex characters and I like characters, particularly the males, to be not always buttoned up, nice and tidy. It’s not particularly interesting to have a perfect guy. That’s why I didn’t want to write about Rhage. When it became clear that he was the second book, I was like, “You’ve got to be kidding me? Now I’ve got to write about a blonde surfer guy who’s perfect looking, fabulous, the life of the party, who has all the quips, and is the BMOC?” I just don’t find that particularly interesting. But, when I got into his book, I was like, “Oh, man, this guy’s a mess!” As soon as I got in touch with his dark side, with his curse, I was all about Rhage. The complexities of the characters keep me engaged, as the author. Vishous kicked my ass. Because he had the dom thing going on, I wondered about how far I was going to be able to reveal that side of him. That’s part of what fascinates me about him, but that had to be handled carefully. I wanted to make sure that an audience found that book as captivating as I do, regardless of their personal tastes, which may differ from mine. That’s what was hard for me about him. With each one of them, it’s a different challenge. For me, the challenge with Zsadist was that he was the one who I love the best. How to handle his past with the sexual abuse and how that worked was difficult. I think Wrath was the one that I liked best because he was the first one. I was learning all about the world, as the scenes went down. I think Wrath is just fabulous as a hero. He’s a great hero. I loved the fact that he was mostly blind. I loved the fact that he had pushed aside his birthright. I loved the darkness in him. Wrath was probably the most fun to write about, although each one of them has been a struggle.

MediaBlvd> Is it generally the Brother that comes to you first, and then their mate? Or, do they come to you at the same time?

J.R.> The scenes don’t come to me in chronological order, and they come to me any time. Tohr is going to get his book down the road, but I know exactly where he’s going, I know who he ends up with and I know the basis of his story. That came to me over two years ago. So, since I have little bits and pieces of all of their lives, I try to put the bits and pieces into a rational order and determine the chronology. That’s how the next book is chosen. I have to look at where they are in the evolution of their lives, and where the series is at. That’s why I was certain it was Rehvenge after Phury. That’s where we were headed. I always knew that Butch needed to come before Vishous because Vishous’ character development needed Butch. Butch needed to be in Vishous’ life, so that V began to open up to somebody. Otherwise, V never would have given anyone a chance. He never would have been vulnerable enough to fall in love with Jane. So, although I knew the scenes and I knew what was going to happen and I knew what his book was going to be about, it became evident to me that, in the order of the series, his book had to come after Butch. I have to determine how the chronology is going to go, in the most logical way, and what kind of building blocks need to happen, before the next book gets launched.

MediaBlvd> You talk about how the Brothers speak to you, but do their mates speak to you as well? Or, do you learn about them through the Brothers?

J.R.> I talk mostly about the Brothers just because I need to narrow my subject matter down. There’s just so many people in the series. Although I talk mostly about the Brothers, the scenes are the same for all the females. I saw the scenes for Marissa, in the beginning of Lover Revealed, when she’s at that ball and she’s in the ladies lounge. It’s the same with the women. There are just so many moving parts to the world and the people. That’s why the books can be kind of tricky. Everyone else is still living at the compound. Beth and Wrath are still in their relationship. And, Zsadist and Bella, and Rhage and Mary are there. Their lives are still going on. I see bits and pieces of them and their lives, after their books, but I have to rein the focus in, fairly tightly, with each book, otherwise it would just ramble and lose its cohesion. But, it’s the same for the women, and the same for Fritz, and for Boo the cat.

MediaBlvd> Do you have an end-goal for the series, or are you writing it open-ended?

J.R.> There are four more books after Phury, in my original conception of the series. But, now that I’ve gone on, there have been other people that have come up, and I want to write about them as well. So, although the series started, when I took it to my publisher, with the idea of 10 books, now it’s open-ended.

MediaBlvd> Since a publisher’s goal is to ultimately make their authors best sellers, does reaching that point take some pressure off of you, or does that create new pressure to keep reaching that goal with each book?

J.R.> First and foremost, for me, the writing quality has to be there. My first and primary directive is to always make sure that the writing is as strong as I can possibly get it. So, I try very hard and, for the most part, am very successful in not thinking about the business end, when I sit down to write. I can’t let anything get in the way of the writing, so I can’t be thinking about best seller lists or book signing appearances or advertising, or any of the business aspects or the pressures associated with them. I’ve got to just shut them out because that is such a drain on the creative energy that I really can’t even go there. So, when I sit down, I usually write for about five hours in the morning, every day. No matter what happens with the business end and the publishing end, I can’t let that in. I try to divorce myself from any kind of pressure. The only pressure that I allow in the door is to meet my deadlines. That’s appropriate pressure. That keeps the focus on the work. So, outside of the writing time, I think that, any time you reach any kind of plateau, there is pressure to exceed it. I think that’s the nature of all business. I don’t think it’s just publishing. And, generally, I’m very comfortable working in pressure situations. That’s part of having been a lawyer. I think it’s also part of my personality. I’m very into sports, so I like challenges and I like to compete with myself. I’m not particularly interested in competing with other people because I think that’s just not fun for anyone. But, I compete with myself to make sure that I’m doing the best I can do, on all aspects of whatever I’m working on. So, yeah, the pressure is always on, but it should be because it’s business. That’s part of the reality, if you want to get published, and you have to figure out ways of keeping it away from the writing, but then live within the pressure cooker.

MediaBlvd> Have you been surprised at the overwhelming response you’ve gotten for the Brotherhood series?

J.R.> Yes, completely. Completely flabbergasted. I never would have predicted this, ever. One of the things that I did decide to do, consciously, when I started to write these books, was that I decided that I would write the first one for myself. What that means is that I wouldn’t tie my hands with any conventions, whether it was line-by-line language or plot stuff or characters or darkness. I just decided Dark Lover was for me. I thought that, if my agent didn’t think I was completely nuts, maybe I would be able to find a publisher who would take me up on it, and maybe some people would like it. I was not prepared, in the slightest, for the response, which has been just amazing. I’ve been so incredibly blown away, and just very, very grateful. It’s like lightening in a bottle. It’s like, “Holy, Moses! How did this happen?”

MediaBlvd> Do you come up with the titles for the books?

J.R.> The titles are a collaborative effort. Dark Lover, I came up with. Lover Eternal, my editor and I kicked around titles, and she came up with that one, and I liked that very much. Lover Awakened was a suggestion. Each title is a collaboration between my editor and I. We’re sticking with the word “lover” because it’s associated with the series now, but we work together on what word goes along with it. I think the world of my editor. I worship her. She is spectacular and I am very grateful that she gives me as much head room as she does. She just basically lets me go, and lets the books come out as they do. I can’t say enough good things about her. She’s my champion, she’s my friend, and we have a great time together. It’s a really good relationship.

MediaBlvd> Have you ever had an editor that wanted you to make changes that you didn’t agree with?

J.R.> I’ve only had three editors, in my career, and I’ve been very, very lucky. Part of that may be that I tend to be pretty familiar with the market and I have a fairly good sense about where some of the limits of the market may be, so I try to make up my mind beforehand. I really haven’t had any problems.

MediaBlvd> Aside from writing every day, do you have any other specific writing habits, like a particular location or time of day that you prefer to write in?

J.R.> First thing in the morning, at the crack of dawn. I’m not actually a morning person. I am a coffee person. I bust out of bed, quarter to six, every morning, and just fire up the coffee pot. And, usually, I work until about 11. Then, I go for a run, and I come back and, in the afternoons, I’ll do business stuff or try to get on my message boards and do emails. And then, later on in the afternoon, I’ll go back to writing, for a couple of hours. Then, my husband comes home and we have dinner, and then I go back to the writing. But, it’s not with the same intensity as those first five hours, unless I’m on deadline. If I’m on deadline, then it’s flat-out. I’ll do 12-14 hours a day, just to get it in, get it done and get it where it needs to be. It’s a great lifestyle.

MediaBlvd> Do you like to plot first, or do you prefer to see where the story and the characters take you?

J.R.> I can’t really do any plotting. Anytime I try to think up something, or I try to muscle things around, it never goes well. So, I am a seat of the pantser, in that I do what my Rice Krispies tell me. I listen to the voices in my head and the scenes that I see. But, where I am very, very cut and dry is that I outline, extensively. Before I pull the trigger on writing these books, I work off of a 50-60 page outline that has the order of all the scenes that I’ve seen in my head. It’s really the book, from start to finish, and I follow that, religiously. Because there are so many moving parts to the books, and so many different subplots and people, I need to have my master document all figured out. I don’t want to get 40 or 50 pages into a trajectory in a plotline and then discover that that isn’t where we end up because I misinterpreted something, or I put something in the wrong order. So, I think that outlining, for me, is very necessary and very important. I am lucky, in that my head seems to keep things in pretty good order. But, it’s very complex and overwhelming, sometimes. That’s why I’m a big outliner.

MediaBlvd> Do you enjoy getting feedback and suggestions from fans? What have been some of the most common things that you hear from them?

J.R.> When it comes to suggestions, I can’t even make any suggestions about the stories. The stories are what they are. And, I actually don’t get a lot of suggestions from fans, at all. The most common thing that I’ve found people say is that, when they read the books, they feel like they’re watching a movie. They see pictures in their heads. And, I love that feedback because that means I’m doing my job well. I’m describing what’s in my head sufficiently, so that when other people read it, they can be like, “Oh, my gosh! I can see the room. I can see the battle. I can see the person.” It means that my descriptions are vivid enough to actually pull those images out of other people’s heads. That’s what’s great. I love to hear that kind of feedback. My other favorite feedback is, “You kept me up all night!” The other feedback that I get is, “Would you please write faster?” Those are probably the top three things I get.

MediaBlvd> What is your proudest professional accomplishment, thus far?

J.R.> I don’t mean to come across as Pollyanna-ish, but my proudest accomplishment is the fact that I got up this morning and I sat down at the computer, and I busted on through some scenes that were great and I made them stronger. By making sure that I focus on what I do, every single day, that’s the imperative that I need to keep in touch with. Don’t get me wrong, I was thrilled to make the New York Times best seller list. Absolutely, without a doubt, that’s great! But, I really can’t control whether or not I do that. It’s a gift from God that comes in. I can’t control whether people will read the books, or buy them. But, what I can control is that I sit at my computer and do a really good job. If I’ve had a good day at the computer, that is awesome. That’s what makes me feel really good.

MediaBlvd> Do you know what’s next for you? Is there something that you’d like to write that you haven’t gotten the chance to write yet?

J.R.> I do have another series in my head, yeah. I can’t wait to write it. It’s paranormal. It’s definitely got an erotic side to it, absolutely. The issue, for me, is time. I don’t want to get over-committed. The schedule with the Brotherhood books, coming out every six or seven months, is really tight, which is great. I think that because they’re published relatively frequently, people can really get enthusiastic and really get into the series quickly, which is wonderful. But, the books take a long time to write. Right now, I’m sitting on this other series because I don’t want to do a half-ass job with the Brotherhood, and I don’t want to do a half-ass job on the new series either, and there are only so many hours in a day. So, I’m going to wait and hold off. But, I’ve talked to my editor about the new series and she thinks it’s great, and I’m really hot to trot, to write about it.

MediaBlvd> What kind of advice can you offer to aspiring writers who are not only looking to get published, but who would also like to have a long-term career?

J.R.> Number one, focus on the writing. Focus on the craft. The rest of it is just conversation. If you want to make a career out of writing, then don’t focus on the business side. Do the writing part well and be true to what’s in your head. The rest of the stuff has a better chance of following through, if you do that. Whatever is in your head may not find a large market. Each writer has to determine what success is to them. But, first and foremost, focus on the writing. Get good at your craft, read other people and develop your internal editor, so that you can present the best, most polished product to the marketplace. That will increase your likelihood of making a career out of it. Two, I would suggest finding a really good support group. I don’t believe in critique groups. I think they certainly work well for other people. I know that several of my friends use them. I’m a loner. I do my own thing. But, I do find great solace and enthusiasm in my writer friends. So, although I don’t talk content with them, I’ll talk business with them, and I’ll talk life with them. Finding a support group of people who can nurture you, either with the line-by-line writing, or with the other stuff that goes along with wanting to do this and trying to do this, is really important. I also think that if you find a professional group, like the groups for mystery writers or romance writers or horror writers, they offer avenues to explore learning the craft. That’s really important. The third thing I would do is educate yourself about the market. Whatever slice of the market you want to get involved in, find out what’s selling, find out which publishers are publishing it, find out which agents rep that kind of material. Generally, getting an agent is really helpful. Try to get an agent first. Publishing is incredibly competitive, but any business that you try to get into is incredibly competitive. So, getting out and trying to find an agent first is generally a good thing. I would say the writing, the support group and really educating yourself about what kind of market you want to get into are the big three.