This week we chat to Kristine Charles, who gives us a hilarious insight into her writing journey…

Ok Kristine, tell us about yourself in 3 short sentences.
Here goes one sentence: clearly, Quizmistress, you do not know how wordy I am. (editor: noted 😉 )

I love telling sexy tales, exploring relationships between complex women and the strong men who love them, then working out just how much pain to inflict, or not inflict, before giving my characters their HEA (or, at least, their HFN). I’m also a non-practicing lawyer who now works in human resources, and I write and read, to escape into other worlds where coffee (and red wine) is abundant, designer shoes and handbags are cheap, chocolate has no calories and men always put the toilet seat down.

How long have you been writing?
The first thing I recall writing was ‘fanfiction’ when I was about five or six. I’d been given this amazing book called Come Follow Me… to the secret world of elves and fairies and gnomes and trolls which was a collection of stories and poems about – spoiler alert – elves, fairies, gnomes and trolls. I wrote a story about a little elf-man who lived in tree. I wish I could find it (the story – I know exactly where the book is, and I still read it from time to time).

The next thing I clearly remember writing was a murder mystery for an assignment in year nine English class. I think the victim was killed off with Draino! Then things got serious and I started writing mainly academic things. I only came back to fiction writing in 2012 (after I’d finally retired from studying!)

What genre do you write?
I write at the hotter end of the contemporary romance spectrum. And a little commercial fiction with romantic elements. And occasionally I write children’s stories and poems but I’m very careful not to mix them up!

Why do you write romance? What draws you to this genre?
Love – wanting it, giving it – is universal. And it’s so intricately entwined in life – both romantic love but also the love we have for family and friends. There are many different types of love, but all are rich source material for writing.

I also love writing a good bonk!

And, oddly I think, part of it is because my extended family has overall been pretty unlucky in the relationship stakes. Sure, life is meant to be a bit messy but I’d like to write them all a happy ending …

Where do you get your ideas?
Um… #tradesecret! But, seriously, I get ideas from all sorts of places. My everyday life, friends and family, single words, overheard snippets of conversation, newspapers and magazines, social media. I am definitely one of those authors who should come with a warning label (you know the ones, like: Please do not annoy the writer, she may put you into a book and kill you!).

Weirdly, ideas also often pop into my mind while driving (at the moment I have about a three hour commute each day to/from work) and I’m usually listening to audiobooks or podcasts (#mydadwroteaporno is the best podcast ever podcasted!).

Tell us about your process, how do you get into a writing mindset?
I wish I knew! I am the worst procrastinator known to human-kind, so a deadline always works (but it needs to be a real one. I have little discipline for self-imposed deadlines!). One of the things I’m working on – one of the many – is a short story that had to be inspired by a particular word. As soon as I heard the word, I had a clear picture in my head of what I wanted to write (although it’s developed a little in the complexity stakes since then). The first few chapters of a longer piece I’m working on came to me while reading a work-related article about an office romance gone wrong. Sometimes I listen to music, sometimes I like quiet and I tend to move around the house (desk, couch, bed, outdoor couch). I do, however, tend to write with a cup of coffee nearby and occasionally that coffee turns into wine. Or whisky.

What are you working on at the moment?
Too many things!

My focus (as I write this) is an erotic fiction office romance. I’ve also got a commercial fiction work-in-progress that I’ve parked for a little while as I was having trouble getting it right – probably because it’s the first thing I started working on and the main character is most like me! Then I’ve got a couple of shorter pieces in various stages of development, a pretty good outline of a ménage-a-trois, and the first scenes of a couple of others – one based in Edinburgh and one in Seattle.

Which writers inspire/influence you?
So many! But I’m supposed to be being succinct, so I’ll go with three.

First Nora Roberts. The Queen of Romance. I still go back to her Chesapeake Bay series every year or so and I love it. I’m also currently listening to her Key series… and the Bride Quartet is also high on the favourite series list.

Second, Christina Lauren. They’re my favourites, writing relatable characters, hot sex and a ripping story. A fangirl photo I had taken with them in 2016 has pride of place on my desk. They’re often side-eying me as I procrastinate!

Third, E. L. James. I expect she may be a controversial choice for some, but she can tell a ripping story and knows how to parlay that into commercial success. Sure, success also comes with a healthy dose of right-place-right-time too, but her attitude to the haters, and her drive to hold creative control on her story really resonates with me. And don’t start with me about the story having started as fanfiction. Seriously? Everything starts somewhere … and some of the best writers publishing today started polishing their craft in fanfiction. I’ve got some too … somewhere … I really need to find that …

What else about your writing journey should we know?
I was very chuffed to win the inaugural Romance Writers of Australia Spicy Bites competition in 2017 – a friend read it and gave me my favourite piece of feedback so far: she said that she could have used a cigarette after the sex scenes!

What is your favourite childhood book?
See above! It would have to be Come Follow Me… to the secret world of elves and fairies and gnomes and trolls by Gyo Fujikawa.

But that would be followed closely by The Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton, anything written by Judy Blume … and I’m going to throw Harry Potter in here just because (and even though I read it as an adult!)

And finally, what is the best thing about being a Love Sabrist?
Gif-wars!

Writing is a lonely sport but, being part of the Sabrists (and part of the larger #RWAus tribe, where we met) makes that journey a little less isolated. When I’m excited I can celebrate, and when I’m down I can moan, and I know that they’ll just get it and be able to give the cheer – or the kick up the ass – I need to keep chipping away at whatever I’m doing.

And I can message them gifs of unicorn poo #softserve 😊

Come chat with me: I tweet @wordsbykc, I share pics of coffee, planners and other general goodness @wordsbykristinecharles and I can be found hanging out at Facebook @wordsbykristinecharles or @lovesabrewrites