Read-A-Romance Month Interview Series: Altonya Washington
August is Read-A-Romance Month and all month, we are celebrating this beloved genre. In this exclusive interview series, I am talking with some of my favorite romance authors.
First up is Altonya Washington. Notably, one of my all time favorites! I fell in love with her work when I picked up the Ramsey/Tesano series and have bought and read every book she’s published since then, multiple times!
August is Read-A-Romance Month, why is writing (and reading) romance important to you?
Reading clears away the brain’s cobwebs. Reading romance awakens the mind! I enjoy being whisked away to new worlds contemporary and mystical. Writing affords me the same opportunity, only I’m in control of the world and what goes on there, gotta love that!!
When did you know you wanted to be an author?
Summer 1994- I was fresh out of college and had enjoyed reading romance since age 13. That summer, I realized that while I still wanted to read romance, I wanted to read about characters who looked more like me. I never thought it’d be something I’d still be doing over 20 years later but…here I am.
Where do you find the inspiration for your stories?
Gosh! Everywhere, from a line in a song, to a scene in a film to simple observation of people and situations. Inspiration is everywhere!
What is your favorite part about being an author?
Creating worlds and the people who inhabit them!
Do you have a special writing routine? Any must-haves before you start a project?
No special routine- I try to put in at least an hour a day but I NEVER write when I don’t feel it. Otherwise, I put out something I’d rather never see the light of day. I write everything in long hand before I type it so my must-haves are copy paper for my outline/rough draft, blue Papermate or Bic pens and a college ruled notebook to write the final draft before typing. ☺
You’ve written quite a few books over the years, do you have a favorite character?
If so, who is it and why? I honestly don’t have a favorite character because they are all so very different to me. It’s kind of like asking a parent to choose which kid is the favorite-sure there are different things you like about each child, but to say those things make that one person your overall fave…hard to do. I guess it’s hard to do…I only have one little gem in my life-so, of course, he’s my fave!
What book of yours do you think would serve as the perfect introduction to someone who may be unfamiliar with your work?
Again, that’s a tough question. Let’s see…I’d say A Lover’s Dream. I think that story is a terrific example of how I’d honed my craft by then as well as the style of writing I most enjoy.
Rapid Fire Questions:
Favorite romance novel: “The Falcon and the Flower” by Virginia Henley- the first medieval romance I’d ever read and the story-a bit rough in some spots but it’s just stuck with me throughout the years.
Favorite romance author: Too many to list-I love them all for different reasons. If I have to pick one Karen Moning.
Favorite TV show: Game of Thrones
Favorite Movie: The Color Purple
Which one of your books would you like to see on the big screen? I’d actually love to see my first historical “Wild Ravens” on screen.
ABOUT ALTONYA WASHINGTON
AlTonya Washington has been a romance novelist for 12 years. She’s the winner of two Romantic Times Magazine Reviewer’s Choice Awards and recently won the Romance Slam Jam EMMA Award for Best Steamy Romance of 2014. She lives in North Carolina and works as a College Reference Librarian.
She began her writing career with BET’s Arabesque imprint and now writes traditionally for Harlequin’s Kimani Romance line. Under the pen name T. Onyx she crafts erotica and plans to release a new title in the genre next year. In 2015 AlTonya will begin to conclude her popular Ramsey/Tesano Series with the release of “Lover’s Origin: Black Island”, “A Lover’s Return”, and “Book of Scandal: The Tesano Elders”.
When she’s not writing, she can be found with a good book, a good movie, or a good movie based on a good book!
AlTonya wears many hats, but being a mom is her favorite job.
Follow her on social media:
Natalya is the author of All The Things I Never Said, a soul-stirring collection of short stories, prose and love letters for the soulful wanderers, the brokenhearted and the hopeless romantics.
You can follow her rantings and occasional sparks of brilliance on Twitter @NatalyaMuncuff.
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