PUYB Virtual Book Chats with 'Bite Thy Neighbor' Esmae Browder

Esmae Browder is an ex-catholic school girl who loves romance and vodka tonics. When not reading a spicy novel, she enjoys creating them by combining elements of well-known tales and updating them for our modern world. She is the author of the Naughty Shakespeare series, as well as, the paranormal romance Bite Thy Neighbor—a sexy Dracula meets Wisteria Lane style novel.

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About the Book:

Title: BITE THY NEIGHBOR
Author: Esmae Browder
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Pages: 300
Genre: Erotic Paranormal Romance

BOOK BLURB: 

Some neighbors suck...literally.

Quirky Maisy Harker spends her time daydreaming about her sexy husband, Jensen Helsing. Though their marriage is one of convenience, Maisy wishes the sparks of heat she feels around him were reciprocated. Sexually starved, she also lusts after her mysterious neighbor, Adam. True, his incisors do look a bit sharp, and he never seems to drink or eat anything—but hey, maybe that’s how he keeps that yummy, drool-worthy physique!

Yet Maisy knows something’s not quite right, and it isn’t long before she learns Adam is a centuries-old vampire embroiled in a gypsy curse placed on the women of her family. All her female ancestors have been drawn to the vampire and bound by his desires, experiencing a terrible side effect of the curse and resulting in death.

It's up to Maisy to find a way to break the curse once and for all before she, too, falls under his spell.

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Before you started writing your book, what kind of research did you do to prepare yourself?

Bite Thy Neighbor is an erotic, paranormal romance featuring a vampire and several crazy neighborhood ladies.  It’s a sort of Desperate Housewives meets Dracula tale. I happen to live on a street where the neighbors are constantly up to all kinds of crazy shenanigans—though we’ve yet to meet Dracula…at least, I don’t think we have! As far as research into creating some interesting characters, I really had to look no further than my street.

Did you pursue publishers or did you opt to self-pub?

I do both and consider myself a hybrid author. I’ve self published which is rewarding and challenging and I’ve been published in the more traditional way. The Wild Rose Press is the publisher for Bite Thy Neighbor. It’s my first time working with them, but I’ve loved their professionalism and the one on one attention I got from my fantastic editor, Trish Owens.

If self-published, did you hire someone to format the ebook version for you or did you do it yourself?  Can you tell us what that was like?

I don’t hire anyone to do the ebook version formatting when I self-publish. I’ve learned how to do it over the years and feel like I’ve got it down. There’s a definite learning curve in self-publishing and it does take time to learn how to make your work look professional. It’s not for everyone and hiring someone who knows how to do it would be a good idea if you can afford it. I’m just a control freak who likes to do it all herself!

If self-published, how did you determine the price?

I believe in the “no higher than $2.99” rule when it comes to ebook pricing. However, I also write because I enjoy what I do. I’m interested in getting it in the reader’s hands and sharing my crazy quirks with them. So I run lots of promotions that lower the price or even make it free. Money is awesome, but that’s what my day job is for. I’m in this to get my book in the hands of a reader who is starved for something different and new. If that means lowering the price, that’s what I do!

If published by a publisher, what was your deciding factor in going with them?

What a good question. Authors are often so hungry just to be published that they will submit to anyone without thinking about the long term results. I look at small presses with strong reputations for professionalism. I study the Editor Preaditor boards and read about the experiences others have had. I’m not afraid to ask the PAN group of RWA that I belong to for their opinions as well. Writers have to stick together in this day and age! I want to work with people who really like my writing and will support it with strong editorial advice and promotional help.

If published by a publisher, are you happy with the price they chose?

With The Wild Rose Press, I’m very happy. However, I have been published with a different publisher who is very prominent and I was a bit unhappy—especially when it came to the paperback copy. That is a drawback of traditional publishing though. The author gets no say in pricing.

How did you choose your cover?

Covers are interesting things. They can make or break a book! I’ve had some bad experiences with covers before so when it came to the cover for Bite Thy Neighbor, I was particular about it. Yes, it’s an erotic tale, but I hate covers that are just some shirtless guy who doesn’t match the story. I had a distinct vision of what I wanted to see on the cover. Luckily, my editor and the promotion team at The Wild Rose Press worked together on it until we were satisfied the cover captured the essence of the book. Just another reason I loved working with TWRP on this project!

Did you write your book, then revise or revise as you went?

I write a fast rough draft of about 50,000 words and then I let it sit awhile. During that time, I work on other things. When I’m ready, I will go back and start the revision process, looking for places where I need to add sensory things or set the scene better. I typically go through 4 or 5 drafts before I let anyone look at it. This can take some time, but it seems to be the best process for me.

What’s your opinion on giving your book away to sell other copies of your book?

I say do it! Make those readers happy and give them something for free. As I’ve mentioned before, money is awesome—but that’s what my day job is for. Writing is all about creative expression for me and I want to get my work out there in any way I can. If that means lowering a book price or giving away copies of the book, I’m for it. Can I afford to do that all the time? No. But when I can, I go for it!

What are three of the most important things you believe an author should do before their book is released?

1.      If self publishing, get your book edited. Consider hiring a professional if you can afford it. If you can’t afford it, check and double check your manuscript.

2.      Make sure your cover rocks and you are happy with it.

3.      Set up some sort of promotion tour whether that means blogging or doing social media on your own or hiring a fantastic book tour service to help you.

What are three of the most important things you believe an author should do after their book is released?

1.      Be accessible. Readers want to connect so be there for them. Keep that website update. Post on your blog. Tweet and Facebook. Be gracious to your fans!

2.      Start working on the next release! Ideally, you should have something already half way edited that can be released within 4 to 6 months. Readers want more.

3.      Don’t focus on the negative. Maybe you got a bad review or someone only gave you 3 stars instead of 4 at Amazon. Perhaps you’ve had an internet troll go crazy on your Goodreads page. It happens to everyone. Let it go. Don’t respond. Keep working. You’re a rock star.

What kind of pre-promotion did you do before the book came out? 

Twitter and Facebook have definitely been my Go To buddies with promotion. They still seem to be the biggest sites for regular people to learn about your work. Keep in mind: you can’t just promote your book all the time. People will tune out, but you can keep them interested in you by tweeting things that are a bit more personal. I like to tweet about my celebrity crush on Adam Levine—which is a good way to also promote Bite Thy Neighbor as Adam has cameo in the story. The promotional team at TWRP also offered some great promo opportunities as well.

Do you have a long term plan with your book?

Bite Thy Neighbor is a stand alone story, but I’m hoping it will widen my fan base. I do plan to build a relationship with The Wild Rose Press and publish more work through them, as well as, on my own.

What would you like to say to your readers and fans about your book?

Hmmm….where to begin? Some neighbors want more than a cup of sugar!

Quirky Maisy Harker spends her time daydreaming about her sexy husband, Jensen Helsing. Though their marriage is one of convenience, Maisy wishes the sparks of heat she feels around him were reciprocated. Sexually starved, she also lusts after her mysterious neighbor, Adam. True, his incisors do look a bit sharp, and he never seems to drink or eat anything—but hey, maybe that’s how he keeps that yummy, drool-worthy physique!

Yet Maisy knows something’s not quite right, and it isn’t long before she learns Adam is a centuries-old vampire embroiled in a gypsy curse placed on the women of her family. All her female ancestors have been drawn to the vampire and bound by his desires, experiencing a terrible side effect of the curse and resulting in death.

It's up to Maisy to find a way to break the curse once and for all before she, too, falls under his spell.

This is fun, fast paced story that I hope my readers will enjoy!