5 Questions For . . . Adrianne Byrd

Today please welcome bestselling author Adrianne Byrd, who has graciously agreed to take five questions.

I have not actually met Adrianne, but we’ve “chatted” a bit on-line over the years. I read one of her books, the Kimani Romance She’s My Baby, and it renewed my faith that all romance novels do not have to be cut from the same cloth (or, as I was starting to feel, from the same piece of cloth). I found it refreshing in a field where so many books are structured in a similar manner (and if she did a sequel, I sure wasn’t able to sniff it out, where usually I can spot the author’s intent to do spin-offs the moment they bring in unattached family members or friends, which is starting to happen earlier and earlier).

I had intended to ask Adrianne for an interview next month (in May) to coincide with the release of her new Arabesque, Controversy. Unfortunately, when two authors with April releases did not respond to my request for interviews and the third one’s e-mail bounced back undeliverable, I reached into the future and contacted Adrianne, who responded promptly and in doing so kept my every-three-weeks interview cycle going unbroken. Thanks, Adrianne!

Adrianne is one of a handful of authors who is writing both category romance for Kimani Romances plus single-title contemporary romance for Arabesque. In addition, the year 2008 finds some of Adrianne’s earlier novels being re-released by Arabesque, so that new Byrd Watchers can discover Defenseless (re-issued just this month) and Forget-Me-Not (and her current readers can replace their worn-out copies with new ones). Not one to rest on her laurels, Adrianne is continuing to produce new work on a frequent basis. In the last 12 months alone she has penned Blue Skies, Feel the Fire, To Love A Stranger, Two Grooms and a Wedding and is rounding it out with Controversy, her fifth romance since last June.

Adrianne also has an alter ego of Denesha Diamond the pen name under which she has created the Bentley Manor housing project for a three-book series written with her writing partner, Meesha Mink (nom de plume of well-known author Niobia Bryant). Check out the Hoodwives, y'all!

Here we go!

Bettye: Adrianne, your novel Defenseless is being reissued this month. You have a brand new Arabesque coming out in May with the intriguing title Controversy. (I’m humming the Prince tune as I write this.) Can you share with us the plot of the story? Is it . . . controversial? Why?

Adrianne Byrd: Controversy is book 3 in my Adams sisters series. The story revolves around Michael Adams, the intentioned troublemaker of the family. With a rap sheet about three inches thick, Michael lands in trouble when she may or may not have hired hitmen to knock off her ex-husband. It’s all a blur since she was drunk at the time. The minute Homicide Detective Kyson Dekker shows up on her door, she knows she’s in trouble-not just because of the case, but because of an undeniable attraction.

Bettye: Sounds sexy. And you gotta love those handcuffs on the cover.

As someone who marvels at the speed with which some authors write, I must ask you: How long does it take you to write a Kimani Romance? Your single-title Arabesques?

Adrianne Byrd: It depends. If I have plenty of time, I write incredibly slow. If it’s due next week. I can be done in a week. Some times I need the horror of an approaching deadline to get my butt planted in the chair. Maybe I’m addicted to the challenge. I don’t know.

Bettye: You write different genres: Romance, Urban Fiction, Romantic Suspense, usually at the same time. I use music to get myself in the right mood if I’m writing two projects simultaneously. Do you follow any special preparations to set the stage for the genre you’re going to work in, or do you just sit down and write?

Adrianne Byrd: When I’m switching genres-I usually go and read a bunch of books in that genre real quick to get my mind to think along those lines. I tend to have ADD when I write. My mind drifts about every 15-20 minutes. So I write for 20 minutes then go do something else for 20 minutes, the write for 20 minutes. You get the picture.

Bettye: Oh, yeah. I tend to have a short attention span myself.

One of the reasons I enjoyed She’s My Baby so much is that I know zilch about babies (and I’ve always objected to the notion that being female is supposed to give you some kind of built-in knowledge) and neither did your heroine. I could really relate to someone as inept as me. Are you familiar with infant care, or did you learn when you wrote this book?

She’s My Baby was based on what was going on in my life at the time. One of my younger sisters (who was staying with me at the time) informed me that she was pregnant about 10 days before she delivered. (Tells you how much I pay attention.) And was seized with this fear that I was also going be stuck taking care of a newborn as well. I hadn’t been around babies since well, since my sister was a baby. I didn’t remember how to do anything.

Bettye: I'll bet that's your sister's favorite book by you.

What lies ahead for Adrianne Byrd? Byrd Watchers want to know!

Adrianne Byrd: More books. I don’t know why people even call asking me what I’m doing. I’m writing. I have a deadline. I’m blessed enough to have my back list being re-issued along with 7 new titles, including my first venture into YA as A.J. Byrd. So people are either going to fall in love with me or get real sick of me. But either way people can drop me a line over at my websites: http://www.adriannebyrd.com/ or http://www.deneshadiamond.com/ .

Bettye: I know what you mean. I always think it's silly to call someone at work and ask, "What're you doing?"

Adrianne, thanks so much for answering my questions! Continued success to you.