Tuesday, October 14, 2008

An Interview with Skhye Moncrief And A Naked on the Staircase Contest!


I'm happy to interview my sister muse, Skhye Moncrief. For those of you living under a rock, all three books in the first series of Song of the Muses are now available! Book I is now available in print and Skhye's muse tale, Ancient Musings is included in this gem! (Book II will be released in print in November and Book III will be available in December.)

Skhye's Naked on the Staircase is NOW AVAILABLE! Just in time for Halloween!!!

CONTEST
Skhye is giving away a box of treats fit for the season to give to one lucky person who can tell me what they think NAKED ON THE STAIRCASE refers to. All guesses are welcome. Nothing is wrong. This is just for fun. And all guesses must be posted by midnight CST Oct 15th.

I'm also giving away a Halloween treat in a separate drawing after midnight!

I had the honor of interviewing Skhye in her penthouse last month. Check it out!

Alisha: Naked on the Staircase sounds yummy! How did you come up with the idea for this story?

Skhye: The title is from an Ashley MacIsaac song. I figured it couldn’t hurt having “naked” in a title. I tend to go for sacrificial, spell, sacrilegious, or seduction. So it’s only fitting I use an “n” word… Not in the just-say-no sense though. Beyond the title, I had a secondary character in another Time Guardian story who needed a story. So, Cowboy got his bit of limelight. He’s really cute in his skivvies!

Alisha: This is a Halloween themed story. Don’t you just love this holiday? What do you do to celebrate?

Skhye: Since I have a toddler, we go trick or treating. We’re very into pumpkin patches too.

Alisha: Giggle...me too. My daughter will be a blue fairy and my son will be a skeleton. Can't wait!

Alisha: When did you first begin writing?

Skhye: Novels… well back when someone asked me to read the first chapters of her story. I remembered that I wrote part of a novel back in high school. It was California-or-bust after that.

Alisha: What inspires you to write?

Skhye: Usually a good documentary on death, Scotland, ancient architecture, or UFOs. Since I like just about everything, let’s just say it’s all in my Time Guardian series.

Alisha: Ooooh, I love documentaries! Lots of good ideas come from these!

Alisha: Do you do anything to get into the mood to write? Music? Food? Beverage? Scenery?

Skhye: To answer these questions, I whipped out a tub of frosting. Isn’t that scary. Food is my catalyst.

Alisha: Mmmm...I just ate some fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. I know what you mean! Those go good with red wine!

Alisha: What is your very favorite kind of hero?

Skhye: My favorite hero is in Feehan’s Mind Games. Love him. Couldn’t tell you why. Isn’t that crazy? I write romance!!! Geesh. I prefer the hero with a good sense of humor curbed by a little cave man in his personality. *snort* There’s nothing like a guy willing to beat someone over the head who messes with you! Not to mention, cave men had muscles.

Alisha: I know what you mean, sis! I love a caveman! My husband is a perfect example. He even has the giant forehead...snort!

Alisha: Do you plan your stories or do you write by the seat of your pants?

Skhye: I write by the seat of my pants after the initial stages of planning a proposal. This seems to be working these days. But it requires a writer to understand the significance of a synopsis and be willing to go back in and add-just the romantic or character growth if it’s lacking.

Alisha: What is your favorite time of day to write and why?

Skhye: For me, whenever. I rarely get to choose when I get to write. Writing in itself makes me feel productive. So I go for it. ;)

Alisha: Please tell us about yourself. What do you do when you aren't writing?

Skhye: Shop for tubs of frosting on sale. Seriously, I’m a big good-deal shopper. And I shuttle the child to her little classes. We spend a lot of time doing crafts, reading, adding, and playing games. I’m concerned about being a responsible parent and want to nurture my child’s intelligence.

Alisha: Man! I need to work on my parenting skills. Elmo and Big Bird seem to be the only people...er creatures... nurturing my children these days. Oh and Slimy the Worm! He's way cool!

Alisha: Do you write other genres? If so, please elaborate.

Skhye: There are other genres? Huh?

Alisha: What are you reading right now?

Skhye: National Geographic TRAVELER. I’m a geek and blog about reference materials. So, if you want to know what I’m reading, check it out. blog.skhyemoncrief.com

Alisha: Please tell us where we can find you and let us know what you’re working on now!

Skhye: www.skhyemoncrief.com, www.timeguardians.com, blog.skhyemoncrief.com, and www.myspace.com/skhyemoncrief

Alisha: What is sexiest to you?

Skhye: KILTS because I’m a leg woman. *snort*

Alisha: What one word or phrase will get you all hot and bothered?

Skhye: Betty Crocker Whipped Butter Crème (LOL, couldn’t resist!)

Alisha: Cackle! Now that is some sexy frosting! Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to conduct this interview. BTW, I love your pool man at the penthouse. He makes one hell of a Cosmo!

Happy Reading!
~Alisha

16 comments:

Asylumgirl said...

Well, the title sounds somewhat gothic which suits a Halloween story and like Skhye said, the word naked is going to get people's attention no matter what. LOL

Deidre

TamiC said...

I am hoping Naked means getting busy on the staircase!! HEHE

Linda LaRoque said...

Entertaining interview, Skhye. Frosting, huh? I've been scarfing down M&Ms lately.

Answer to your question.
I'm thinking naked means without protection, vulnerable.

Linda
A Law of Her Own
www.lindalaroque.com

Skhye said...

Shh, Tamic. You think like me! ;)But then again, Linda might be right... Oh the mysteries of the Universe. Bwah ha haaaa. I lucked out Deidre. I never even thought twice about using Naked in the title. It just sounded right, while I was listening to some caustic New Foundland fiddle music. Thanks for stopping by everyone. Skhye

Jane said...

My guess is that the characters have to get naked in order to time travel.

Skhye said...

Oooooooooo, maybe I should do that! Wha ha haaaaa. Jane, you're brilliant. MWAH! Skhye

Anonymous said...

Great interview. I think that Naked on the Staircase means baring all and not just your body.

Lisa

Skhye said...

Excellent guess, Lisa! Thanks for stopping by. Skhye

Dena said...

Hi Alisha, I just learned a bit about you over on Skhye's blog so it's cool that Skhye is here now. Skhye's Naked book sounds so good, I love Druid stories and her's isn't like any I've read before.

I think the title has a couple of meanings. Being naked on the staircase is what the heroine is at the beginning of the book and also meaning naked in a emotional sense.

Skhye said...

Great guesses, Dena. I'm glad you made it over. Isn't Alisha cool?

Skhye said...

Congratulations, Linda! You won a box of Fall goodies. I'll need you to email your mailing address to me at skhye@skhyemoncrief.com so I can get your box in the mail. ;)

Thanks to Alisha for having me here and reminding me that there's a tub of frosting in the pantry! And thank you to everyone who commented. Your guesses really got me thinking. That's a tough thing to do without eating frosting! Skhye

Skhye said...

Everyone is invited to hang out at my blog the rest of October. I'm running a Trick or Treat event with prizes! Bwah ha haaa Skhye

Viola Estrella said...

Darn, I'm too late for the contest, but I love that title!!

Alisha said...

I entered your name into the contest for my prize too, Viola!

And the winner is.....Tami C! My daughter loves drawing the names! She shakes them up in a cup and does this little dance and then hands me the piece of paper with a big toothless grin! Email me Tami and let me know which ebook you'd like...Canyon Wolf Bride, The Wooden Nickel, A Love Beyond Time or Nocturnally Vexed. You can read the blurbs and decide on my website at www.alishapaige.com!

Thanks for stopping by everyone! Thanks for a great day, Skhye!

Happy Reading and Writing!
~Alisha

Alisha said...

Duh!

Tami~
My email address is alishapaigewilson@yahoo.com.

Skhye said...

Love the duh! LOL. My three-year old says it. I guess I need to watch what I say. ROFL