About J. J. Sorel:
I have been writing steamy billionaire romance for five years, and thanks to the success of my first series Thornhill Trilogy I am inspired to write day and night. I love conjuring up slightly damaged, seductive male characters and smart sassy females, who leave their men breathless with desire. Boasting chemistry that’s off the charts, they’re insatiable in the boudoir, and their souls connect deeply. But despite battling obstacles and struggling with trust issues, love always finds a way, and by the story’s end, that infectiously blissful HEA climax always leaves a smile.

What inspires you to write?
Keen readers of my books keep me going. Also, strange but true stories about people and their relationships. All it takes is one interesting anecdote, and my imagination gets to work, chiseling out a story.

Tell us about your writing process.
Using pen and paper, I construct a workable outline. Nothing too sophisticated. In fact, it ends up looking like scribble. But I need an outline before commencing. I also use pen and paper to come up with the cast. There are lots of doodles and mess everywhere because that’s my brain for you. It tends to wander. But I find that writing by hand slows my brain down and gives me time to reflect. After I’ve devised the characters, the plot, and settings, I’m ready to start the book. I allow myself a little improvisation. Because that’s where the magic happens. Along the way, interesting auxiliary characters are born, and deviations that open doors to useful subplots. As the characters take shape, I learn things about them that I didn’t know in the beginning. The longer I’m with them, the more nuanced they become. Therefore, I find using both methods helps tremendously. The outline method gets the work done, while the improvisation method brings with it an element of surprise and freshness to the story and characters.

How do you develop your characters?
I have an outline, as stated in the previous answer, but to be honest it's not until I'm spending time with my characters that they evolve and, occasionally, take me places I didn't expect to go. They do talk to me at times. I suppose it makes sense because when immersed in the creation of a story, a writer enters a new world. These are new friends or enemies, and one can't help but ask questions.

Who are your favorite authors?
I’ve read so many books in my life that it would be impossible to remember them all. Although I read all the time, I’m finding myself revisiting books I read as a teenager. For instance, I just finished The Other side of Midnight by Sidney Sheldon. I really enjoyed it again, which was nice to know that although I’ve evolved, a good story remains that despite its lack of a HEA ending. As a reader, I’ve grown accustomed to books that don’t always end happily and am fine with that. Of course, as a romance writer, I strictly adhere to HEA endings. I don’t wish to start begging for food.
For over twenty years I read nothing but the classics. George Eliot being my favorite. I fell in love with French and Russian 19th Century literature too. After that, I moved on and embraced early 20th century writers, like Somerset Maugham. His Of Human Bondage is extraordinary and so emotional that my tears dampened the pages. I enjoyed reading Anais Nin’s entire collection of diaries, and Simone de Beauvoir’s She Came to Stay. To name just a few.
Recently, I stumbled on A Woman of Substance by Barbara Bradford Taylor and really enjoyed that too.
Daphne du Maurier is another writer I’m very fond of, especially Rebecca.
A few years ago, after hearing the hype, and therefore out of curiosity, I read Fifty Shades of Grey. That was my first ever modern-day romance novel. And although it’s not literature, despite it being well-written, I found it visceral and emotional, and for that reason, I really enjoyed it.
Apart from E L James’ FSOG, out of all the current romance writers I’ve read, Sylvia Day, Danielle Steel, Georgia le Carre, Sadie Mathews, and Kayley Loring are the authors I enjoyed the most.

What genres do you write?: Erotic Billionaire Romance and Erotic Gothic Romance

What formats are your books in?: eBook, Print

Where to find out more about the author

Website(s)
J. J. Sorel Home Page Link
Link To J. J. Sorel Page On Amazon

Your Social Media Links
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.