Meet Desiree Holt!

Hi! Let me introduce myself. I’m Desiree Holt and I write erotic romances in almost every subgenre. I currently have 100 titles in release. You can check them out on my web site www.desireeholttellsall.com. You can also find me on Facebook www.facebook.com/desireeholt and Twitter @desireeholt. I live in the Texas Hill Country surrounding by horses, cattle and totally sexy cowboys!

So. A glimpse into who I am.

How did you start your writing career?   I wanted to write for a very long time. I was an avid reader growing up and had so many stories rolling around in my head pushing to get out. So finally, one day, I just sat down and started to write. One hundred and sixty seven rejections later I was beginning to wonder if this was meant for me. Then I sold my first story and was off to the races. And it’s been nonstop since then. I’ve been blessed with a lot of people who helped me along the way and I appreciate every single one of them. 

When in the day/night do you write? How long per day?   I write during the day and I’m actually a very disciplined writer. A NYT best selling author who happens to be a good friend of mine always says you have to approach writing as you would any other job and work to a schedule. I’m never short of plot ideas so it’s just a matter of selecting the one to work on. I spend two hours every morning answering emails and doing promo, then I write for six hours. This also includes doing edits that come in. At night I read and watch television but I always have a notebook with me so I can jot down thoughts about the day’s work. Then the next morning I use those notes as a guide for the day. 

Where do you research for your books?   Actually a lot of places. Much of it comes from the Internet, a wonderful place to find out about anything. Plus I have acquired a lot of human resources: a sheriff, a former Army counterintelligence officer, former Delta Force soldier, gun instructor, cutting horse ranch owner, restaurant owner, you name it. And if there’s a place similar to what I write about and it’s accessible I go there and take a zillion pictures so I have visuals to refer to. I also found that there are people I can phone who are more than willing to answer my questions. And sometimes that happens by accident. When I was in LA for the Romantic Times convention I went to The Viper Room with decadent, fell in love with the band and the bass player inspired a story. In fact the rock club in the book is similar to The Viper Room. 

Plotter or Pantser? Why?   Maybe a little bit of both. I always start off with the outline of a plot, but my books are  very character-driven and my characters talk to me while I’m writing, so very often my plots take an unexpected twist and turn. 

How do you develop your plots and your characters? Do you use any set formula?   No set formula. Sometimes I start with a character just begging for a story, so I do a basic outline of that person and see what my brain tells me to do with him or her. Sometimes I have a setting that says, Oh, please write about me and I let my brain do its thing and come up with a plot. And one book that I wrote I only had one line to begin with but it was a very definitive line. I had to figure out a plot to go with it. Another time I read a Letter to the Editor in the local paper about an incident that set my very strange brain to playing the What If game. So I guess I don’t really have a formula, just a lot of ideas that I corral and then try to put some kind of outline together. And then, sometimes I’ll write a book that by the end just begs to be the start of a series. I think of my brain as a mixing machine filled with ideas about people and things. It spins around and I grab whatever comes out! 

What do you do to unwind and relax?   Sometimes I hang out with my daughter (she’s the only one of my kids who lives close to me) or with friends. But I really love to read and drink wine. My reward at night for making my word count each day is to read at night. Oh, and during football season I’m glued to the television all weekend. I am the world’s most obsessed football nut. 

Tell us about your next release.  I’d like to tell you about my first release coming out with Decadent. It’s called Joy Ride, and was inspired by the very sexy bass player with Run Devil Run, as well as the environment of The Viper Room. It’s the story of Marc, a bass player in a rock band who wants a very grounded life to go with the volatility of the music business, and Emma, who’s spent her whole life never coloring outside the lines until, as she’s approaching her thirtieth birthday, a friend shows her there’s more out there and suddenly she wants it. When she ends up one night at a rock club, the first she’s ever been to, there is an instant physical and emotional connection between her and the bass player. For Marc she represents everything he’s ever looked for in a woman, in a relationship. For Emma he’s a forbidden thrill and the intensity of the relationship frightens her. Want to find out if they manage to work it out? LOL! Look for Joy Ride. I think you’ll fall in love with Marc and Emma and their story.