Meet the Author: Ayn Amorelli aka Ayn Hunt

November 30, 2008 in Meet the Author, for Readers
Tags: author, Ayn Amorelli, ayn hunt, black velvet seductions, gothic romance, holiday, regency romance, tradition, writer

 

 This week our author is Ayn Hunt. She has four published books. The most recent is Contract Bride. Her fifth book, a Regency, is at a publisher which requested it, and she’s working on her sixth book.

 Ayn is a Texan who writes ghost stories and also writes romances using the name of Ayn Amorelli. Her first book, Unwilling Killers, was inspired by one of the ghosts that periodically visit her and her husband of 36 years. “Talk about hands-on research,” she laughs. “It was great!”

After several published novels which feature ghosts and earned her rave reviews, she decided to stretch her creative wings by writing sexy romances. “I knew it was risky,” she says, “But I love reading realistic romances. It was something I had to try.” 

A year later, Contract Bride was published by BlackVelvetSeductions.com as an e-book and paperback, which instantly became a best-seller at Fictionwise.com. But instead of using her name of Ayn Hunt, she used Ayn Amorelli (which translates to ‘Little Lovers’ in Italian.). The reason she uses two names is to keep the two genres separate.   

Hard at work on her sixth book, a very spicy contemporary romance, she also writes articles about writing, some of which have appeared in Neverary.com, GentleChaos.com and WomenonWriting.com among others. When not writing, she can usually be found baby-sitting her two grandchildren.   

 

 Where to find you on the web?

 My website, http://www.AuthorsDen.com/aynhunt is currently the website for both of my writing names, and features excerpts of my books as well as my PR activities. I’ve been redoing it, little by little, but it’s slow going with my deadlines for various projects.

 

 Question of the Month: Economics are tight right now for everyone. Most of us are cutting back in some way. With the holidays coming, what one tradition would you keep if you couldn’t do anything else? 

Christmas because that’s the time the entire family gets together and catches up on the news they’ve missed about each other during the previous year. With our daughter and her husband and two children and my husband’s family and their children, there are usually 20-25 or so gathered for Christmas dinner.   

 

 What’s your current project?
 I usually have several. Right now, I’m working on my 6th novel, Lover’s Revenge, a contemporary romance. I’m also writing an article about Settings in a novel, including the physical, emotional, and psychological components from the character’s point-of-view. It’s due to appear in the January edition of BlackVelvetSeduction.com’s newsletter.

In addition, I’m working on the upcoming interactive monthly chat on December 14^th which I give for the Writer’s Oasis, headed by Shirley Flanagan. I try to have my material ready a week or two earlier than the chat, so Ms. Flanagan can go over them beforehand.

  

 What’s your genre and how did you choose it or have it chosen for you?
I chose both, ghosts and romances. I think a writer has to write about what interests her, otherwise the writing is stale. I’ve always loved reading all types of  romances and one day, wanting to take a break from writing ghost stories, decided to try writing one, a contemporary, which turned out to be Contract Bride. I had intended to keep it simple, but ended up with two strong characters whose abusive pasts influence their current situation. 

   

 I know you write Gothics. Would you describe yourself as a spiritual person? How does it come through in your writing? 
I’m a very spiritual person. I believe the process of life occurs on several different levels.  But then I’ve seen ghosts, which scared the heck out of me the first time. Once I realized he wasn’t going to hurt us, I relaxed and was able to interact with him, up to a point.  

When I wrote The Haunting, for example (my third book), I drew on my experience with the first ghost we saw here and put that knowledge into my book. Occasionally, there is more than one ghost that appears, but I draw the line then. I especially don’t like more than one when I’m home alone. But even when I don’t see them, I never feel all alone.  

Was there a special moment that told you “I’m a writer”?
Ever since I can remember, I’ve thought of myself as a writer. When I was four, I got angry at my mother, but I knew better than to talk back. When she gave me paper and a pencil and told me to draw a pretty picture, I decided to write about my anger instead. Then I got frustrated. I didn’t know how to read, much less write. I was really upset then. 

 

What advice would you give writers about rejection letters?
We hear over and over that writers have to develop a thick skin. Getting rejection slips is just part of our job description. I used to file them away, and collected a drawer full. But then I got tired of all the blasted filing, and now just toss them. Let’s face it, not everyone can be in love with what we write. That’s just a fact. So I take them with a grain of salt. But it took me years to get to this point.  

 

What is this romance writer’s idea of the “perfect romantic evening?”
 When my husband and I first started dating, he took me to a tiny, candlelit Italian restaurant, which quickly became our favorite. It’s so small, you’ll miss it if you blink, and it’s clear out in the boonies. But I love going there on our wedding anniversaries. We always have one of their specialties which they make from scratch along with a little vino, listening to Italian songs (which I don’t understand, since I don’t speak Italian), but I love that place. It has just the right mood, conducive to romance.

 

 When did you attempt your first novel? What’s become of it?
 I wrote my first novel when I was 10…or maybe 11. I can’t remember for sure now. I know that it had well over 100 pages and I named it “The Stormy Seas of Life” about rich people dealing with their problems. I have no idea what became of it. We moved a lot when I was a child, so I’m pretty sure it was tossed at some point.  

 

 If you decided to no longer write, what would you do instead?
 I think I’d go insane.  That’s no joke. I deal with my problems by escaping into a fictional world, populated by characters no one but me sees, hears, or talks to. Life is scary. It’s great to have my own private refuge. 

 But I’m a realist and know that without hard work, I’d never have my things published. Unlike some, I believe that if a person has talent, combined with hard work, they’ll get published. It usually takes a while, often years. But if they really want to be writers, they’ll preserver because they can’t keep themselves from writing.  

 

 Thanks, Ayn, and have a very Merry Christmas!

 Readers, you can purchase some of Ayn’s books through the Paperback Diva Book Shop

 

: : : : : : : : : : :