[page_section image=’https://eroticbookreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/images-1.jpg’ textstyle=’dark’ position=’default’ padding_top=’on’ img_static=’on’][one_half_first]For our featured “Author of the Month” for January, I had the pleasure of interviewing one of my favorite authors, N.M Catalano! She writes with a passion that really connects with readers and takes you on a journey that will have you wanting more. Have you ever wondered what drives an author to write their stories and what inspires them? Well, look no further! I present to you an inside look into Amazon bestselling, multi published author N.M Catalano!![/one_half_first][one_half_last]N.M. Catalano is an Amazon best selling multi-published author.
She spent many years in the corporate world, and owned several businesses. Having been fortunate to have such varied exposures, she had many opportunities to be exposed to different societies and cultures. After years of studying people and lifestyles, her fascination comes to life in the pages of her stories.[/one_half_last][/page_section]
What made you choose Erotica to write about?
“Oh, my, lol. Let’s start at the beginning…when I wrote STRANGER, I had just ended a relationship with a man I was madly in love with. It was a passionate but toxic situation. I had all these turbulent emotions going on so I was moved to write this story. To me, the elements of erotica is so much more than sexual. It’s intense human emotion, consisting of trust, respect, and a shedding of one’s own inhibitions. It’s a very sacred place. And I feel it is a place where many people are still intimidated upon delving into. Erotica, at least in my stories, is about tearing down walls and allowing yourself to go to a place safely.”
How do you develop your characters and plot? Also, which is your favorite character? Why?
“Initially when the first embers of a story begin to spark in my mind, there are glimpses as to where the story will go. The characters speak to me first, making their presence known, (sounds like schizophrenia). Their personalities and traits, their flaws and situations, are what molds the story. Then the polishing and fine tuning takes place. For instance, when I wrote KINK, I knew that Elsie’s character had a lot of pain and personal trauma from her history, as did John. With John, it was more about who he was, with Elsie, it was more about what had happened to her. The how’s, what, and why’s became clearer when all aspects of their personalities were identified.”
“Each character is my favorite for different reasons. Marco, because he is so perfect, but there’s a humbleness to him. John, oh John. he is strong yet sensitive, scared yet courageous, and both he and Elsie are scarred and damaged, which is part of what makes them beautiful. In my current series, BLACK INK, Alexander Black is by far, not perfect. But yet, he is. Absolutely perfect. It is his imperfections which makes him perfect, and wonderful, and beautiful.”
Tell us about your latest project?
“I am currently finishing up the conclusion to the trilogy, BLACK INK. In part one, we meet Gemma Trudeau, whose husband stole three million dollars from business mogul, Alexander Black, ruler of the corporate empire, Black Inc. She’s the plague in the business world because of it, but Alexander Black is the king of darkness. He hires her to keep her close in order to find any affiliations she may have had with her husband in the embezzlement.”
“A stranger breaks into her house with the sole purpose of indulging her in the most passionate nights of her life. She never sees him, never finds out his name, but she lets herself go. At the same time, Alexander Black is seducing her, breaking her down. What he finds out is she is captivating him.”
“He determines she has nothing to do with her ex, but also, they realize that someone is watching Gemma at Black Inc., which leads Black to find out he has a spy in his company.”
“A business transaction is being sabotaged, one that is only a cover for a more life threatening covert operation. Someone is trying to destroy him.”
“Gemma is threatened by someone who is looking for something that her ex-husband has left, something that is worth killing for.”
“Gemma was offered protection by family friends, members of the Italian mob. Those friends, she finds, cannot be trusted.”
“Alex rescues her and takes her to the only place she’ll be safe, his mansion on East Ninety Sixth Street.”
“Danger begins to unfold as the enemy is becoming clearer and the link between the person threatening Gemma and the one who wishes to destroy Alex. Alex does everything in his power to keep her safe, and to avert the danger to all of his operations. But not before the enemy corners him…and Gemma, leaving each exposed and in the midst of enemy territory.”
“When they’re finally trapped, will they survive?”
What real-life inspirations do you draw from to create a story?
“Real life situations, let’s see…”
“In THE ROOSTER CLUB, The Best Cocks In Town, that story was based on real guys I knew when I was younger. Most every single one of their encounters and adventures were based on factual experiences, most of them theirs, one or two from someone else I know.”
“So to answer the question, some of the characters in some of my stories are based on real people, some of my own experiences, true experiences from real life, such as the shark attacks in PERFECT, (they all happened), things that are going on with the world, (as you will see in the final chapter of BLACK INK), experiences from other people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and talking to, while others are pure imagination.”
“In KINK, I know people who have struggled with self-mutilation, I’ve watched their struggles and the helplessness their loved ones face. Elsie, the heroine in the story, is such a strong woman but she’s so vulnerable and raw, that’s part of her beauty. And she’s a survivor, the strength she has is inspirational.”
What do find difficult when writing?
“Sometimes it’s the intimate scenes. There is a lot going on inside the characters that create the scene and how it will transpire. Sometimes there’s a purpose, sometimes it’s destiny.”
How do you overcome writers block?
“I read 🙂 sometimes a LOT.”
What do you want readers to come away with after reading one of your books?
“That life is not perfect…for anyone. That love is an incredible thing. That each and everyone is beautiful, and it is most important to love yourself first.”
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
“Enjoy my family.”
Have you ever participated in a Book Club reading at a fans house, bookstore, or other venue?
“I have not but it is something I really would like to do. Although, I don’t think I can read some parts of my books in public.”
Do you have a message for your fans?
“I hope they read the acknowledgements in the front of my books. Some of them have been with me from my very first book. My greatest desire is to make them feel, have something stir inside them. If I can touch them that way, make them love the characters as much as I do, because I truly love of hero of my books, then I have done what I most wanted to do.”
“And I sincerely appreciate them.”
