Rogues Angels Present: Out of Practice by S. E. Babin

Please welcome S. E. Babin author of Out of Practice.

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Out of Practice Aphrodite (Book 1 of The Naughty Goddess Chronicles)

by S.E. Babin

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INTERVIEW:

1.   What or who inspired you to start writing?

I’ve always loved to write, but it wasn’t until I read Danielle Steel’s Message From Nam in high school that I decided to write my own.

2.   How did you come up with your idea for your novel?

I entered a Valentine’s Day flash fiction contest and wrote about Aphrodite. I won the contest and then thought “What if…”

3.   What expertise did you bring to your writing?

Honestly, not much. Prior to fiction writing, I was in the military. Right after I separated, I wrote for law firms and also did some marketing writing. I had zero novel writing experience or immersion in the writing community.

4.   As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?

I have a book entitled Plotting Mr. Perfect that is out with an editor right now. I’m hoping it gets picked up. I’m also writing the sequel to Out of Practice Aphrodite, and I have plans to do a twist on the traditional fairy tales soon.

5.   Can you give us a sneak peek into this book?

I’d love to! Basically, Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, is tired of being an Olympian. She’s been living on Earth for quite some time and unwittingly becomes a pawn in a high stakes game between Eris, the Goddess of Chaos, and Zeus. She’s a little clueless, a little vain, and she has to do a whole lot of growing up in this book.

6.   Do you belong to a critique group? If so how does this help or hinder your writing?

Right after the 2012 Romantic Times Booklovers Convention, I formed a private group called Chicks With Pens. We are four strong and two of us are now published authors. This group has helped my writing tremendously because they offer suggestions and find errors I might have missed. It’s incredibly difficult to find your own mistakes especially when you’ve looked at the same piece of work over and over multiple times.

7.   When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step?

I decided to submit right after the 2013 RT Convention. Out of Practice Aphrodite placed as a finalist in the American Idol writing contest. I didn’t win, but I did receive some invaluable feedback that made the book better.

   8.  What is the best and worst advice you ever received? (regarding writing or publishing)

  The best advice I received was to sit my butt down, keep it there, and keep writing until the    book was finished. You’ll never get it done unless you keep writing. The worst advice I ever received was to write what I know. You can see how much I followed that advice with this book. Not at all J

9.   Do you outline your books or just start writing?

I’ve done both. Honestly, I prefer writing by the seat of my pants. It opens the doors to creativity, in my opinion. With Out of Practice Aphrodite, I outlined a little bit with research from traditional mythology and The Theogeny, and then I threw in a whole bunch of stuff straight from my brain to keep it interesting.

10. How do you maintain your creativity?

I read an embarrassing amount. I run a large local book club, so I’m constantly immersed in the world of reading. I also am constantly thinking about new ideas. My husband always says I have a spaghetti brain.

11. Who is your favorite character in the book. Can you tell us why?

I just adore Artemis. She’s someone I could see myself hanging out constantly. She’s smart, witty and has common sense. Plus she’s super funny.

12. Are your plotting bunnies angels or demons?

I’d say a mix of both. I wasn’t planning on finishing Plotting Mr. Perfect as soon as I did, but the voices of Katie and Will would not go away. That one was the devil. The others tend to be angels, so I make sure I write the idea down in a little notebook I have so I won’t forget it.

Abby’s major screw-up brings the wrath of Zeus upon her head. He offers her a choice – work for him or spend the rest of her days hanging out in Hades with her ex-husband. For Abby, this choice is a no-brainer, especially when Zeus says the only thing he wants her to do is make a love match.

She’s the Goddess of Love. What could go wrong?

Everything.

Abby stumbles into an ex-lover, a dead demi-god and the realization that a crucial relic has been stolen right out from underneath Zeus’ nose. Eris, the Goddess of Chaos and Discord, is behind the theft and murder and the faltering powers Abby is trying to keep secret. With Zeus breathing down her neck, she’ll need to keep her wits about her as she races against the clock and Zeus’ imposed two-week time period.

Of course, this is easier said than done. Not only is she struggling with a budding attraction to a sexy lawman and feelings for long-time friend, Hermes, she’s also trying to keep everyone out of the path of a vengeful goddess while saving the Earth and Olympus from the reign of a tyrant. What’s a goddess to do when the fate of the world rests upon her fashionable shoulders?

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“Aphrodite. You’ve committed a grievous error and your attempt to show unconcern is failing you miserably.” Leaning down perilously close, he pushed his face into mine. Inhaling, he bared his teeth at me in a menacing grin. My heart skittered like prey when he reached out an elegant finger and tipped my chin up. I was forced to meet his eyes. Pools of emerald glittered dangerously, and I began to remember the reason Zeus still remained in power after so many millennia. My stomach churned in fear, and I wondered if this were the one battle I wouldn’t be able to escape.

“You know how I know, golden one? I can smell your fear. Sweet. Like sunshine and tears.”

I felt tears swimming to the surface and cursed my weakness. This was not good. I had screwed up over the years but had never faced more punishment than a slight slap on the wrist. Mistakenly assuming I held the favor of Zeus might be the last error I ever made.

I licked my lips nervously. “I–I understand,” I managed to choke out. “It won’t happen again.” And for once I meant it. Zeus had always been patient and had dealt with me much as a doting father would have, rather than how he normally handled others who had made less grievous errors in judgment. But now I could see the promise of punishment swimming in his gaze. It was something that terrified me more than I wanted to admit.

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Sheryl has had a book in her hands pretty much from the time she could hold things with her hands. Her love of reading turned into a curious exploration to see whether or not she could write her own. Beginning with random, terrible poetry and a slightly popular reimagining of Beowulf’s Grendel in her high school English class, Sheryl ended up spending way too much time in the library, killing any chance of her becoming a cheerleader or anything even remotely cool.

Sheryl has a fondness for humorous, lighthearted stories but also secretly covets bad-ass leather wearing chicks who curse too much. It helps if they’re funny, too. She writes a little bit of everything but is currently focusing on light paranormal mysteries. Visit her at http://sebabin.com/.

Twitter - @hungrybiblio

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/authorsebabin

Website - http://sebabin.com/

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Buy Links: 

http://www.amazon.com/Practice-Aphrodite-Naughty-Goddess-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00J1ABHQG/ref=la_B00J1J236A_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394975176&sr=1-1