Happy Book Reviewers: SPECIAL: Launch Day Author Interview: MR Jones

Interview with

MR Jones,

author of

Ash on the Stairs

Today at The Happy Book Reviewer we’re celebrating the release day of Ash on the Stairs with an interview of its author, Maggy Jones!

Ash on the Stairs takes erotic romance set in the high rise world of New York City. Corporate intrigue and mystery give depth to a tale with a heat level that all but scorches. Jesse Ash takes the stairs at work to avoid a predator and meets a man with golden eyes. He talks her into joining him for the evening. A game with no names leads to a night of hot sex. Will this continue when his identity is revealed? Travis Daniel owns the stairwell and the company. He wants Jesse’s heart. When the predator resurfaces, will they rise above the circumstances to find justice and love?

Whew! I can’t wait to read this one!

Tell, me what inspired Ash on the Stairs? Did you start with the City, or with Jesse and Travis, and build the plot around them? Or did you have the idea for the story, and created the characters to fit into it?

Maggy R. Jones: I became irritated that I was having no luck getting the attention of anyone in the publishing business with the contemporary fantasy I wrote. I decided that if erotic romances were selling, I would write one and see if it sold. I did have a compulsion to make my characters different from the ones I have met while reading other work.

I started with Jesse, she told the story from the beginning. She is a strong young woman, taller and smarter than the average romance heroine. I made sure to give her a mysterious past and flaws without leaving her weak or needy.

Then I decided to set the story in New York City. Jesse had to find a safe place to live far from her hometown of Houston, Texas. New York is large enough to provide anonymity for a person to live quietly out of the reach of childhood terrors.

With Travis, I refused to go the route of the rich powerful pervert that seems so popular now. Travis is rich, powerful, highly intelligent, and socially awkward without the need to dominate through bondage. I gave him a normal family background.

The cover is gorgeous! Who is the designer? How did it feel the first time you saw your characters in physical form?

MR Jones: Thanks. Dawne Dominique is the designer. She’s great. I gasped when I first saw the cover. I was that pleased.

Is this what you envisioned for the cover, or did she totally surprise you?

MR Jones: We worked together to achieve this cover. I have a background in art, illustration, and type design. She allowed my input as she developed this cover. She did the greatest thing in making his eyes golden. That is important to the story.

This book is scorching hot. How was the experience of writing such sexy situations? How did you put aside the “my family will be reading this” thoughts and focus on “my readers want HOT”?

MR Jones: Initially, writing the sex scenes was uncomfortable. I had to get past my Catholic schoolgirl upbringing. I learned to depend on my later adventures in life to lend realism to the sensuality. As for how my family views it, my parents are dead and I have no children. My siblings are supportive and my nieces and nephews are as well.

If you could be sucked into any novel, which would it be? Would you be yourself, or would you be one of the existing characters?

MR Jones: I would love to be an elf in Middle Earth in the Lord of the Rings.

What book are you reading right now?

MR Jones: Me and Mr. Mephistopheles by D.D. Cross

Are you working on a sequel to Ash on the Stairs? Can you give us a hint on what it is about?

MR Jones: Yes, I am working on a follow up to Ash on the Stairs. The working title is Ash on the Beach. The story happens a year after Ash on the Stairs and much of the action takes place in and around Galveston, Texas. It should be even higher action with a kidnapping and rescue.

Do you think you'll stick with erotic romance then, or are you planning to write another book in a different genre in the future?

MR Jones: I'm working on another book, Slant Well. It is a contemporary fantasy, set in Southeast Texas is due out later in 2015. It is quite different from Ash on the Stairs in that it has what can almost be called magical realism in it. Oil men are trying to steal from the Federal Oil Reserves and a mixed crew of mortals and immortals band together and use magic to stop them and bring them to justice. While it is not a romance, it does have a love story woven through it.

One last question! I love collecting quotes, so add to my collection. What is your favorite line from Ash on the Stairs?

MR Jones: “Your goddamn name isn’t Jesus!” Jesse says this to Travis during a fight about him having withheld his name from her.

Thanks for spending some time at The Happy Book Reviewer on your launch day! Readers wanting more info can find you at: