Is writing something you've done from an early age?

I was more of a story teller than a writer.  I can remember the neighborhood kids asking me to tell a story on the bus ride to school, ones that contained both humor and gore always scored real big. I did write a romance at thirteen, though I can't remember what it was even about. That was about the time my mother found her copy of The Wanton under my bed.

Can you remember the first story you ever wrote?

The first fantasy I actually remember taking the time to write down was one I wrote about five or six years ago entitled, A Chance Encounter. It was painful, desperately trying to put what had played out in my head onto paper. But it was also one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life.

Is there anyone specific that has had a great influence in your decision to become a writer?

Two people. The first being my grandmother. She passed away when I was in high school from pancreatic cancer. She journaled the entire process from diagnosis up until she could no longer write.  Her fight, her suffering, her heart, all of it lives on forever.
The second person is my partner. She's encouraged me from that very first story, which was sent to her soon after we met online, to this very day. Due to her gentle words, constant encouragement and sometimes not so gentle kicks in the ass, I'm still writing.

Who are some of your favorite authors, and what do you admire/like about their work?

King, Ketchum, Koontz to name a few in one genre. And that's on a happy day. I love dark fiction, love being frightened and intrigued.  

What are you working on at the moment?

An erotic short story called "The Collection" which will hopefully be accepted into an anthology.

After your first novel, In Too Deep, did you feel any pressure with the second book, Wild Abandon?

I felt pressure while working on Wild Abandon only because I wasn't at home in my own space. I was with my sister during the early summer up in Seattle. She left me one morning to take out some friends that were visiting from Louisiana. I had a deadline that was approaching quickly and was sitting at the kitchen table with my laptop, notebook and diet dew. When they came back at around eleven that night, I was still sitting there, typing furiously. "Have you moved from the table at all?" she asked. The answer was no. I had to take advantage of a quiet house; the long nights were killing me.
Then, after it was finished, the real pressure hit. Wild Abandon is nothing like In Too Deep. It's strictly romance, the story literally developing around two characters. I grew nervous, worried that readers would expect all the twists and turns and mystery of ITD.  I would love to say that I no longer worry about it now that's been released but that would be one big whopper of a lie.

How do you decide what to name your characters?

If it's a main character, I take the time to look through a name book.  I like my characters to have names that are unique and not often used but at the same time won't take away from who they are. Sometimes I may have a first name chosen that I love but end up changing it because I can't find a last name to my liking. The first and last names have to flow for me. For other characters, I simply open up the phone book for a quick name. Or my partner gets a sporadic phone call in the middle of her day, "Give me a name, any name. Ok, now a last name. Thanks, babe." She just loves those calls.

What is your writing environment like?

One large, overstuffed cushioned couch, an ottoman to prop my feet up, something to drink on the table with the lamp, my mp3 player and my Jack Russell Terrier resting her chin on the laptop. She likes to watch me work; she reads every line and lets me know when she disapproves.

What has been your feedback from readers—any curious emails you'd like to share with us?

The one to date that has been the most "curious" came about during hurricane Rita. I was in Baton Rouge with my very pregnant sister and two year old nephew. We went to her gracious sister in law's house where there were four more kids (all of them under the age of seven) and four more adults. We had no power, the house was dark and hot, the kids were running around with flashlights screaming and jumping on the air mattresses, we were trying to get the generator going and it was equally as loud and resonating the lovely smell of gasoline…when my cell phone rang.  I heard my partner's voice and was alerted at once.
"I need to talk to you," she said. "Something weird happened today." Concerned, I stepped outside into the wind and rain where it was more "peaceful" if you can believe that.
"What?" I asked. She was back home in Phoenix.
"A lady came up to me today at the university. Her English was poor but I understood her. She stopped me and said, 'You're Elizabeth Adams.'"  
I was stunned. "What?"
"Wait, it gets weirder," my partner said. "I was shocked and said, 'Uh, noooo, I don't know what you're talking about.'" To which the stranger responded, 'I have In Too Deep. You look like Elizabeth Adams. I want Ronica Black to sign my book."
 Shocked myself, I shouted, "What! No way! How the hell does she know you? Or know you know me?" I was blown away and not from the wind. I began to wonder if I was hearing her correctly.
"I don't know!" my partner shouted. "I'm a little freaked out right now! I just told her I didn't know what she was talking about and walked away. It scared me you know, having someone come up to me like that."
So my mind was going a hundred miles an hour. I knew my picture was on the back of my book but how the hell did this woman know my partner! And where to find her for God's sake! There had to be more to the story. I told my partner to log on and check my email. Sure enough there was one waiting. I listened as it was read to me over the phone.
"Dear Ronica, I saw your Elizabeth Adams today. She is as cute as you are handsome. I saw you two before at a bar. I would like to buy you dinner and talk about In Too Deep. And I want to show you my horne. I will be thinking about the two of you together tonight."
That's some straight up freaky stuff right? Hurricane schmurricane. The whole house could've blown away and I wouldn't have noticed. All that was going through my mind was my partner and the kids and was someone stalking us. But there was nothing I could do about it at that moment. So I started debating just what exactly she meant by the word "horne". As that discussion was going down another call came in from my grandmother who was in North Carolina worrying. I was frantic, still standing in the hurricane, clicking between two lines trying to talk to both. "No, I don't think she's talking about a trumpet here honey, I think she's talking about her dildo!" Well that little sentence was exclaimed to my grandmother.  Try explaining that one!
Hurricane Rita was most definitely crazy, but for me, it had nothing to do with the weather. Eventually, when things got settled, I answered the email in a purely professional manner, and fought off my urge to ask her to "send pic of horne." One can only wonder. And that, to date, is the strangest email I've received. Needless to say, we haven't been back to a gay bar since and my partner just loves the fact that someone thinks she looks like Elizabeth Adams.

What was the last book you read?

Stephen King's On Writing.

Besides writing, what are some of your favorite things to do?

Anything creative. Drawing, painting, etc. I also love spending time outdoors and seeing a good flick when one arises.

Did the personal challenges with writing In Too Deep differ much for you from writing Wild Abandon?

Yes. With Wild Abandon I had been through the editing process once and thought I had learned what I needed to know. So while I knew a lot more while writing WA, I soon realized it wasn't enough. The learning process continues.

Are there any other genres you'd like to experiment with at some point?

I have numerous ideas for stories and some do fall under different genres. Hopefully, I'll be able to write them all. Mystery, science fiction, horror, both gay and mainstream are some examples.

 What was your first reaction after hearing that you've been nominated for a Goldie Award in two characters this year?

Disbelief. "No way. My book? Something I did?"

Tell us something about Ronica Black no-one else knows…

I'm terrified of flying. It takes more than one nerve pill to get my behind on a plane.

If you could sit down with any writer for a chat, living or dead, who would you pick?

Hmmm, right now, Stephen King. He just seems so laid back and human.

What's the best advice anyone has ever given you about the publishing industry?

Everything I've ever been told about publishing was done so by a mainstream writer and I have to say my experience thus far with my publisher, Bold Strokes, has been a vastly different experience than hers. In a good way. In a very good way. I can actually "talk" to my publisher. So I've been lucky.