Hi everyone! I'm pleased to welcome author C.E. Wolff to the blog today. She has graciously agreed to spend some time with us and answer some questions.
On to the important schtuffs!!!!
On to the important schtuffs!!!!
First off, why don't you tell us a little bit about you.
My name is Carmen Wolff, writing under the pen name, C.E. Wolff. I'm a technical writer by trade, having spent over 25 years working in the government contracting arena.
I live my dreams in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas with my brilliant and handsome husband, my beautiful and talented wordsmith daughter, three preciously precocious stepchildren, and two bed-hog Great Danes. Life is better than good.
My name is Carmen Wolff, writing under the pen name, C.E. Wolff. I'm a technical writer by trade, having spent over 25 years working in the government contracting arena.
I live my dreams in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas with my brilliant and handsome husband, my beautiful and talented wordsmith daughter, three preciously precocious stepchildren, and two bed-hog Great Danes. Life is better than good.
What made you decide to start writing?
On Halloween of 2011, I was a casualty of a corporate workforce reduction. My husband's response was, "This is your opportunity to pursue your dream. Don't let me down." Here I am, two years later, with my first book published just 3 days shy of the 2 year mark of my layoff.
Do you have a specific genre that you write for?
My debut novel, Common Denominator, is a romantic suspense. However, I've found that I love to write about so many different things, even non-fiction, that I consider myself a multi-genre author.
Tell us about your books.
Common Denominator is a story about two life-long friends on separate missions to find love. Jess Freeman is loser magnet that is jumping at the chance to shut down her biological clock as she approaches the big 4-0. Paul Noland is a corporate executive with an eye for younger women. Their desperate choices lead them each on a path that just might get them killed.
What are you currently working on?
My current project, slated for release in early summer 2014, follows a woman after she loses her husband of 50 years. Kathy Thompson sets out on a mission to fulfill her husband's dying wish. In Seven Days to Lambeau, you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll wish you had a love this strong.
What are your favorite kind of characters to write about? Do your characters end up with some of your personality traits (purposefully or unintentionally)?
I love to write about emotionally intense, over-analytical, stubborn women. Is there correlation between them and me? Uhhh...yeah. Is it on purpose? Definitely.
How do you come up with new story ideas?
My life is full of writing fodder. I take pieces of my life experiences and intertwine it into my stories. I'm also one of those people that have crazy dreams that make for awesome fiction.
Do you need background noise of any kind, or do you prefer silence while you write?
Absolute silence, although with my brood, that's not always an option. Noise frustrates me and drowns out the voices in my head.
Could you share an excerpt with us? Pretty please?
******18+ ONLY PLEASE******
"Good morning sleepy head. Time to get up – it's going on ten o'clock already," Jess chirped with excitement when Paul answered his phone in a sleepy fog. "What time are we on for football and rib eyes? I am so ready to watch your Cowboys get their butts kicked."
"Oh, hey Jess. I completely forgot." Paul muttered, leaning on an elbow as he wiped a brisk hand over his eyes.
"How the heck do you forget Thanksgiving?" Jess squealed.
"I didn't forget Thanksgiving. There’s been a slight change in plans."
"No problem. If you want, we can do it here, or just go to Steph's," Jess offered. "Even though everything is organic, you know she's all about tradition."
"As appetizing as dining on tofurky sounds, I'm going to have to pass."
"My sister does not do tofu. She does organic." Jess corrected. "There’s a difference. Seriously, though, we'd be more than welcome there if you want to do that."
"No, I'm not home." Paul spoke with hesitation. "And the menu has been slightly altered. But, you're welcome to come here."
"What?" Jess was taken aback by Paul's unusual invitation for their annual get-together. "What do you mean I'm 'welcome to come here'? Where are you now? How do you alter Thanksgiving dinner?"
"I'm doing things a little different this year. We're having beef wellington, roasted potatoes, Yorkshire pudding with gravy, and spotted dick with custard for desert. I'm sure you'd love it." Paul rambled through the menu as if it were completely natural to him.
Silent tension filled the airwaves between Jess and Paul. Since his parent’s death, they had always spent Thanksgiving together. The sudden, last minute change, threw Jess off. She cleared her throat to break the uncomfortable stillness and stalled to gather a coherent response, confused and unsure of which riddled bomb Paul had dropped, if any, she should address.
"I'm sorry.” Jess finally spoke with a confused laugh, convinced that honest incomprehension would cover the gamut of what Paul had just laid out. “I don't understand anything you're saying."
"I've been seeing someone, Jess." Paul confessed. His guilty discomfort at keeping a mystery lover under wraps was clear through the phone line.
"Someone interested in spotted dick?" Jess gagged.
"It's a dessert." Paul retorted.
"I bet it is.” Sarcasm bit through gritted teeth.
“Je-“
“No.” Jess interrupted. “You know what, Paul, you just do your own thing this year. I'm going to go to Steph's and have a good, old-fashioned, normal Thanksgiving dinner."
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Paul apologized. "I knew you would get upset after your confrontation at the museum. So I wanted to wait and see if it was going to go anywhere and, apparently…it is."
"Oh my God." Jess breathed out with a heavy gust of shock. “You are kidding me.“
"Paul? Is everything all right?"
The drowsy, accented purr in the background was immediately recognizable and Jess felt as though she’d been punched in the stomach. Paul was in bed with Vanessa Reynolds.
"I'm going to Steph's," Jess managed to say before disconnecting the call.
"Shit!" Paul growled as he slammed his phone on the nightstand. He threw back the thick down cover and sat on the side of the bed modestly still covered with the silken sheets.
"What's wrong, darling?" Vanessa asked innocently as she cozied up against Paul's back.
"It's Jess." Paul dropped his head in his hands and briskly rubbed his tired eyes. "I screwed up. We always spend Thanksgiving together. Now she's going to her sister's for dinner."
"Well now, that's not so bad. It's lovely she has family with whom she can spend the holiday." Vanessa dropped moist kisses along Paul's tense shoulders then dropped her arms around his neck.
"Yeah. I suppose." Paul wavered, his thoughts distant as he patted her hand. The gesture felt awkwardly cordial after having spent the last four nights in her bed.
"Come back to bed, lover." Vanessa grazed her breasts across his back, stiff nipples left a trail of tingling impressions along his body as she wound her way into Paul’s lap. She gyrated her hips into him, the thin sheet the only barrier between their nakedness as she thrust her bare breasts into his face. "Shall I give you something to be thankful for?"
Thoughts of anyone else instantly vanished as Paul took pleasure in the slim lines and curvature of Vanessa's body as he slid his hand from her shoulder and down her back. Reaching the roundness of her bottom, he massaged and cradled her cheeks. His attention was rewarded with a seductive dance in his hands.
After three nights of passionate lovemaking, his hunger was still far from quenched and he desired her as much as the first time. Her arms opened wide in surrender and he wrapped her in an embrace, pulling her back onto the bed for another round.
On Halloween of 2011, I was a casualty of a corporate workforce reduction. My husband's response was, "This is your opportunity to pursue your dream. Don't let me down." Here I am, two years later, with my first book published just 3 days shy of the 2 year mark of my layoff.
Do you have a specific genre that you write for?
My debut novel, Common Denominator, is a romantic suspense. However, I've found that I love to write about so many different things, even non-fiction, that I consider myself a multi-genre author.
Tell us about your books.
Common Denominator is a story about two life-long friends on separate missions to find love. Jess Freeman is loser magnet that is jumping at the chance to shut down her biological clock as she approaches the big 4-0. Paul Noland is a corporate executive with an eye for younger women. Their desperate choices lead them each on a path that just might get them killed.
What are you currently working on?
My current project, slated for release in early summer 2014, follows a woman after she loses her husband of 50 years. Kathy Thompson sets out on a mission to fulfill her husband's dying wish. In Seven Days to Lambeau, you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll wish you had a love this strong.
What are your favorite kind of characters to write about? Do your characters end up with some of your personality traits (purposefully or unintentionally)?
I love to write about emotionally intense, over-analytical, stubborn women. Is there correlation between them and me? Uhhh...yeah. Is it on purpose? Definitely.
How do you come up with new story ideas?
My life is full of writing fodder. I take pieces of my life experiences and intertwine it into my stories. I'm also one of those people that have crazy dreams that make for awesome fiction.
Do you need background noise of any kind, or do you prefer silence while you write?
Absolute silence, although with my brood, that's not always an option. Noise frustrates me and drowns out the voices in my head.
Could you share an excerpt with us? Pretty please?
******18+ ONLY PLEASE******
"Good morning sleepy head. Time to get up – it's going on ten o'clock already," Jess chirped with excitement when Paul answered his phone in a sleepy fog. "What time are we on for football and rib eyes? I am so ready to watch your Cowboys get their butts kicked."
"Oh, hey Jess. I completely forgot." Paul muttered, leaning on an elbow as he wiped a brisk hand over his eyes.
"How the heck do you forget Thanksgiving?" Jess squealed.
"I didn't forget Thanksgiving. There’s been a slight change in plans."
"No problem. If you want, we can do it here, or just go to Steph's," Jess offered. "Even though everything is organic, you know she's all about tradition."
"As appetizing as dining on tofurky sounds, I'm going to have to pass."
"My sister does not do tofu. She does organic." Jess corrected. "There’s a difference. Seriously, though, we'd be more than welcome there if you want to do that."
"No, I'm not home." Paul spoke with hesitation. "And the menu has been slightly altered. But, you're welcome to come here."
"What?" Jess was taken aback by Paul's unusual invitation for their annual get-together. "What do you mean I'm 'welcome to come here'? Where are you now? How do you alter Thanksgiving dinner?"
"I'm doing things a little different this year. We're having beef wellington, roasted potatoes, Yorkshire pudding with gravy, and spotted dick with custard for desert. I'm sure you'd love it." Paul rambled through the menu as if it were completely natural to him.
Silent tension filled the airwaves between Jess and Paul. Since his parent’s death, they had always spent Thanksgiving together. The sudden, last minute change, threw Jess off. She cleared her throat to break the uncomfortable stillness and stalled to gather a coherent response, confused and unsure of which riddled bomb Paul had dropped, if any, she should address.
"I'm sorry.” Jess finally spoke with a confused laugh, convinced that honest incomprehension would cover the gamut of what Paul had just laid out. “I don't understand anything you're saying."
"I've been seeing someone, Jess." Paul confessed. His guilty discomfort at keeping a mystery lover under wraps was clear through the phone line.
"Someone interested in spotted dick?" Jess gagged.
"It's a dessert." Paul retorted.
"I bet it is.” Sarcasm bit through gritted teeth.
“Je-“
“No.” Jess interrupted. “You know what, Paul, you just do your own thing this year. I'm going to go to Steph's and have a good, old-fashioned, normal Thanksgiving dinner."
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Paul apologized. "I knew you would get upset after your confrontation at the museum. So I wanted to wait and see if it was going to go anywhere and, apparently…it is."
"Oh my God." Jess breathed out with a heavy gust of shock. “You are kidding me.“
"Paul? Is everything all right?"
The drowsy, accented purr in the background was immediately recognizable and Jess felt as though she’d been punched in the stomach. Paul was in bed with Vanessa Reynolds.
"I'm going to Steph's," Jess managed to say before disconnecting the call.
"Shit!" Paul growled as he slammed his phone on the nightstand. He threw back the thick down cover and sat on the side of the bed modestly still covered with the silken sheets.
"What's wrong, darling?" Vanessa asked innocently as she cozied up against Paul's back.
"It's Jess." Paul dropped his head in his hands and briskly rubbed his tired eyes. "I screwed up. We always spend Thanksgiving together. Now she's going to her sister's for dinner."
"Well now, that's not so bad. It's lovely she has family with whom she can spend the holiday." Vanessa dropped moist kisses along Paul's tense shoulders then dropped her arms around his neck.
"Yeah. I suppose." Paul wavered, his thoughts distant as he patted her hand. The gesture felt awkwardly cordial after having spent the last four nights in her bed.
"Come back to bed, lover." Vanessa grazed her breasts across his back, stiff nipples left a trail of tingling impressions along his body as she wound her way into Paul’s lap. She gyrated her hips into him, the thin sheet the only barrier between their nakedness as she thrust her bare breasts into his face. "Shall I give you something to be thankful for?"
Thoughts of anyone else instantly vanished as Paul took pleasure in the slim lines and curvature of Vanessa's body as he slid his hand from her shoulder and down her back. Reaching the roundness of her bottom, he massaged and cradled her cheeks. His attention was rewarded with a seductive dance in his hands.
After three nights of passionate lovemaking, his hunger was still far from quenched and he desired her as much as the first time. Her arms opened wide in surrender and he wrapped her in an embrace, pulling her back onto the bed for another round.
Here is where you can go to purchase C.E. Wolff's book, Common/Denominator!
http://amzn.com/B00G8SE5RC
http://amzn.com/B00G8SE5RC
Where you can FIND and STALK C.E. Wolff on the web.
www.cewolff.com
www.facebook.com/cewolff
www.twitter.com/cewolffwriter
http://instagram.com/cewolff
http://pinterest.com/cewolffwriter
www.goodreads.com/cewolff
cewolff.tumblr.com
http://about.me/cewolff
http://cewolff.wordpress.com
http://cewolff.blogspot.com
www.cewolff.com
www.facebook.com/cewolff
www.twitter.com/cewolffwriter
http://instagram.com/cewolff
http://pinterest.com/cewolffwriter
www.goodreads.com/cewolff
cewolff.tumblr.com
http://about.me/cewolff
http://cewolff.wordpress.com
http://cewolff.blogspot.com
Thanks so much for chilling with us for a bit today, C.E.!!