Interview with Dalton Diaz and Samantha Cayto

The Quirky Ladies are thrilled to announce the release of Dalton Diaz' second book with Ellora's Cave, Illegal Moves. She and co-author Samantha Cayto have written a sexy menage story that is sizzling hot! We are celebrating her new release with the following interview. Please check out the full book blurb and an excerpt on the Ellora's Cave site, and leave a comment for these two talented authors on our blog.

Here's a brief description of Illegal Moves...

Attorney Caroline Ellis and hunky businessman Jordan Fox have some old business to settle, and secretly bisexual Seth Foster is all for playing judge. Illegal Moves by Dalton Diaz and Samantha Cayto will be released on May 29.

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The Quirky Ladies Welcome Dalton Diaz and Samantha Cayto!

The Quirky Ladies (TQL): Welcome Dalton and Samantha! Thank you so much for joining us today. First up, we want to know the background on this story. Can you tell us how you came to write it?

Dalton Diaz (DD): We still argue about that. We're friends from way back when we first joined RWA, and I went through a rough patch with my health. Samantha wanted to help me out, and to get me back into the writing game she offered me a chance to help rework one of her first manuscripts into an erotica.

Samantha Cayto (SC): Yeah, Dalton likes to remember it as my helping her, and I sure wanted to help her get back to writing, but I needed help, too. I'd been knocked around pretty good by the whole submission/rejection thing and she'd been there to help pick me back up. It was during dinner at Nationals one year when she turned to me and suggested we try writing erotica together. I sent her an old story and she ran with it!

DD: See, that's where we disagree. I don't remember being the one to ask. I thought you offered. Water under the bridge, really. I have something to add, too, that still makes me laugh. Samantha and I were already collaborating when the opportunity came up to work with Ashlyn Chase on Love Cuffs. I asked Sam if that would be cool since that would mean setting Illegal Moves aside for awhile, and her response said it all: "What are you, stupid?"

SC: LOL! I don't remember putting it quite that way, but yes that was the sentiment. I am very grateful to Ashlyn for giving us both a leg up. She is a very generous person who is happy to give advice and help to a new author.

TQL: How do you come up with your ideas?

DD: It starts with a germ, and evolves as I write. I'm what's known as a pantser/puzzler. I don't plot my books - I go where my characters take me, and I don't necessarily write in order. You'd think that would make it harder to write with someone else, but it doesn't, especially if they ARE plotters. It keeps me in line.

SC: I start with a germ, too, but I always begin at page one and keep going until the end. Writing with Dalton was my first taste of seeing more detail throughout the story from the start and back filling as we went. It gave me new perspective.

DD: And I learned a lot from Ash about moving forward instead of obsessing. OK, I still obsess, but not nearly as much. Not as much. Not so much. Huh.

SC: Sure, Dalton, not so much.

TQL: Do you have future plans for your characters in Illegal Moves? Will they show up again?

DD: I hope so! I believe there's room for a couple of replays. Samantha?

SC: Oh, absolutely. I always want to revisit my characters. Their story never ends and I like to see how they're doing.

TQL: What's your biggest writing challenge?

DD: For me, it's making the heroine strong but likable.

SC: I have trouble making my heroines likable, too, I think. Oddly for an erotica writer, I find writing the sex scenes are hard. I worry about making them realistic as well as hot. I remember one night in particular sitting on a hotel bed showing Dalton how something I was thinking was physically possible. So glad no one else was watching!

DD: Didn't I tell you? I was taking video. It's going to be our trailer on Youtube...

SC: Hey, I hope it goes viral! All publicity is good, right?

TQL: Something tells me EC isn't going to use that video for promotional purposes. Next question...What was the easiest part of Illegal Moves to write?

DD: Any part with Seth in it. Yeah, he's pretty much demanding his own story. You game for that, Samantha?

SC: Need you ask? MM has been my passion for years. I love writing it.

TQL: Which character did you most fall in love with and why?

DD: Seth. We had to constantly beat him back with a stick, and we're not really into that kind of thing...

SC: Ah, speak for yourself, Dalton! Yeah, Seth won my heart.

TQL: What's it like to co-author a book?

DD: I've done it twice, and I love it. There's always someone there to bounce ideas when you're stuck, and that input is coming from someone who has just as much invested in the characters and the storyline.

SC: Agreeing to write with Dalton was easy because I'd seen her work before and I knew that not only was she a good writer, but our styles are so similar. I really have trouble knowing which words are mine and which are hers. The other important thing is that neither of us is so wedded to our words that we can't agree to change them if the other has a better way.

DD: That's actually a great point. It's really important to remember that there's always a third option.

TQL: What's your favorite genre and how does it affect your own writing?

DD: I don't have a favorite, as long as it's romance. I do prefer the HEA.

SC: I like different ones, too, and I definitely need the HEA. I do tend to favor stories with a kick-ass heroine, though.

DD: That's because you kick ass. I'm a wimp.

SC: You're not a wimp, just quietly assertive.

DD: If you're calling me passive aggressive, I'm going to have to kick your ass. Is there a third option?

TQL: All right ladies! No ass-kicking on The Quirky Ladies blog! Thanks Dalton and Samantha for a very informative and humorous look at the glamorous life of erotica co-authors. I can't wait to re-read your fabulous book. And something tells me that a review of Illegal Moves just might show up on Penelope's Romance Reviews. Look for it!