Lissa Matthews has come to chat with us today and to give us some of her thoughts on the ups and downs of writing that next book. Lissa has not been feeling well lately, so we appreciate her taking the time to be with us and share some frustrations we have all had as readers.

Worth Waiting For

I'm slow. Really slow. At the writing gig. It's hard work. I used to crank out stories in no time. Not anymore. Now, it seems to take FOREVER for a book to get from my head to my fingers to the publisher to the reader. It's frustrating for readers, no doubt. It's frustrating for me, too, make no mistake about that. I have more ideas in my head than brain cells or so it seems.

I can't write until the characters start talking. Sometimes they talk only a little, one line. Sometimes they talk a lot, won't shut up until I have pages of words in the form of notes, synopsis, or book itself. There are multiple books I need to be writing on, multiple books I want to be writing on, and multiple books I want to run the hell away from. And there are multiple books readers are waiting on. Two such books are follow ups to Arctic Shift, my werebear shifter book, and The Demon is an Angel, my sex-demon/sex-angel book.

I am primarily a contemporary author, but with these two books, I tried something different. True Lissa Matthews fans really loved them, others not so much. Such is the way with something new and different. I've read my fair share of shifter books and a few vampire books and a few demon books. My own spins on the demon and the were weren't dark or even devious really. There was no sinister plot to expose anyone or kill anyone. I applied my own quirkiness to my stories and a lot of sex.

But then the follow-up characters, the stars of the next books in the series' got quiet. They went underground and I didn't hear from them for a long, long time. I can't write their stories until they come out, until they're ready to tell me what they are up to, what they want me to know. I can try and ferret them out, but it's usually to no avail. They'll just become more stubborn and dig in their heels until I surrender and leave them be. I'm the writer, but they are the reasons I am the writer and if they aren't ready for me to write about them...

Now, if I come at this from a reader standpoint, if I put myself in the shoes of my readers or as a reader myself, I see a different type of frustration and disappointment. It's never that a writer, myself included, want to make readers wait, want to have to keep telling readers the story isn't ready yet, but unfortunately, it is what we end up doing a lot of times. I don't like being kept waiting for the next book in a series, or for the next season of my favorite shows or the next movie in the line up, the next album, or hell, even for dessert. I want it NOW. I want it ALL right NOW. Creativity takes time.

Sometimes the wait is well worth it, but sadly, sometimes it isn't... Now, for any readers I may have reading this blog post, the Demon Riko has started talking finally for his book, and the bear shifters, Patrick and Doug have started talking as well. These three books will be started soon...

Have you read the next book, heard the next album, seen the next movie, the next season of the show, the dessert menu and were thrilled with the result? Or have you and were disappointed? It happens to the best and the worst of us. So tell me, what are you waiting on from your favorite author, band/musician, or movie or television franchise?

Thank you to the girls here for having me and for their kind invitation and patience with me, I would like to offer up a giveaway to one commenter: A copy of my werebear book Arctic Shift or my demon/angel book The Demon is an Angel along with $10 in eBook bucks from All Romance eBooks. (Please be a follower of this blog before entering)

If you'd like to find out more about me and my writing, my addiction to coffee, what I enjoy reading, or anything at all, I can be found in a variety of places:

Web page : http://lissamatthews.com/

Contact link : http://lissamatthews.com/contact

FB : https://www.facebook.com/LissaMatthewsfanpage

Twitter : http://www.twitter.com/lissamatthews

Goodreads : http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3010640.Lissa_Matthews

Pinerest : http://pinterest.com/authorlissa/

She believes in myths…can she believe in destiny?
Denali Heat, Book 1
Unlike her adventurous sister, Ruby is perfectly content to let her mind be the wanderlust while her body stays safely in Chicago. Melanie wouldn’t be out of touch this long without a damned good reason, though. Which means it’s time for a giant step outside her comfort zone.
While Denali National Park is like another planet, the myths and legends that saturate this wild land are right up her alley. The wilderness guide waiting for her—naked in her bed—looks about as safe as a polar bear.
Carson’s people are kin to the great beast, right down to the white hair. Before Ruby ever set foot in Alaska, his inner bear knew that Melanie’s little sister was his mate. He’s doing his level best not to let his primal needs scare her, but everything about her sends his urge to possess her into overdrive.
To his surprise, revealing he’s a shifter only stimulates her innate curiosity. Warming her with the perfect fire of their lovemaking, easy. Convincing her that real love isn’t a myth—and making her want to stay in his home, his bed, his heart—now, that’s a problem…
Warning: cozy flannel PJs, a naked shifter, incredible food and some fireside sex hot enough to melt the polar ice caps…



When ex-government assassin Delan is kidnapped by Riko, a sex demon, he’s taken care of and sexually serviced in any manner he desires by Riko’s personal sex slaves. And while not one to bemoan his good fortune, Delan is a man of action and in need of a mission. He’s about to be given one by the name of Angel.
Riko’s half-sister Angel is just that, an angel. Not just any kind of angel though, she’s a hybrid being—sex demon and sex angel. And she’s in need of being tamed. Barred by Riko from having sex with her fellow sex demons, she’s forced to suffer the inadequate fumbling of humans, both male and female.
When Delan and Angel meet, sparks fly. She’s defiant and he’s determined, but the lust and hunger hit them both between the eyes and below the belt. Sex is hard and hot, a little kinky and a whole lot naughty. But Delan needs to find something more than sex to rein her in, or she’ll destroy it all.

ABOUT LISSA....

Living in North Carolina, talented, multi-published author, Lissa Matthews, has many loves in her life: Family, friends, NASCAR, football, music of all kinds, cooking, BDSM, and last, but not least, coffee. She loves it so much she and those who know her are surprised she hasn’t floated away on a caffeine-induced cloud while giving life to feisty heroines and hunky heroes.
Lissa’s love of romance came from every book she has ever picked up. No matter what she read, she fell in love with the written word. The promise of escape, the deep, intriguing characters, and the winding journey from beginning to end, constantly drew her into bookstores and libraries as she was growing up.
Her first stories were written in junior high and she kept it up through college. She would stay up late at night when her kids were little reading romance and still penning her own stories. In 2007, when she and her family moved to North Carolina from Florida, she began pursuing writing as a profession and she couldn’t imagine doing anything else… Well, except maybe writing in her own cupcake bakery/coffee shop. But that dream is a ways down the road… Lucky for Lissa, she believes in dreams coming true.
Lissa is married with two children and seven, yes, seven cats. She blames her oldest child for the cats.