Author Bio: Dubbed “The Mistress of Erotica” by one of her superfans, C.J. Fallowfield writes novels that will steam up your kindle one moment, have you crying with laughter the next, before she rips your heart out and then slowly rebuilds your faith in a happy ever after. She has a childlike sense of humour, and a penchant for gorgeous, suited alpha males who would do anything for their woman. As C.J. is half French, if they have a sexy French accent, even better. She lives in the wonderful countryside of Wales and is yet to find her own Prince Charming, but shares her home with her extremely pampered fur baby, Pumpkin, kitten of mass destruction and world’s worst serial killer of voles. C.J. is an Amazon #1 U.K. and international bestselling author of contemporary humorous erotic romance novels, and released her debut novel in January 2014. Her sweeter alter-ego, Charlotte, is an Amazon U.K. top 50 bestselling author who writes romantic comedy novels. Her debut became a U.K. #1 contemporary romance bestseller, with both of her books hitting the romantic comedy bestseller charts internationally. Writes: As C.J. Fallowfield I write erotic romance with humour and suspense. As Charlotte Fallowfield I write romantic comedies/chick-lit. Author of: For the Night erotic romance series 31 Days erotic romance trilogy Dilbury Village romantic comedy series Tell us a little about yourself
When I’m not writing I enjoy watching movies, reading, and hanging out with my friends, usually over some good food while we talk the night away. Tell us about your latest release My last release was in February, under my Charlotte Fallowfield pen name, Never The Bride (Dilbury Village #1). It’s a real classic British humour, laugh-out-loud book, that has prompted more messages to me mid-read than any of my other books. What can readers expect from you in the rest of 2017? The second book in my Dilbury Village series, The Great Escape, is out on 31st August. The books are all set in the fictitious village, and feature characters from that village throughout, but each can be read as a standalone as it focuses on one of their love lives in particular. Have you got anything planned for 2018 (book releases, signings etc.)? 2018 will be a busy year for me. I had to slow down in 2017 as I had three surgeries in the first few months of the year. I’ll be releasing five books in total. Two romantic comedies – The Best Medicine (Dilbury Village #3) and The Wedding Planner (Dilbury Village #4). Also two full length erotic romance standalones, Inescapable, and You Promised Forever. Then my annual festive erotic romance novella – this one being called A Red Hot Christmas New York. I’m also venturing overseas for a few book signings. Vancouver in May, Norfolk Beach Virginia in July, and Chicago in November. I’m combining the signings with holidays to make the most of the long flights, so I can’t wait! What is your favourite genre to write? That’s hard to answer, I love my erotic romances, it’s what started me writing, and all I did for the first two years. But now that I’m writing chick-lit material, I’m also loving that too. Regardless of which genre, I can’t keep from adding my trademark humour in any of them. Do you see yourself writing in any other genres in the future? I do have an idea for a young adult series, which could be read by adults too, but at the moment I’m committed to finishing my romcom series and some other books that have been in my head screaming to be got down on paper for too long. Which book was your favourite to write, and why? I really loved writing my “For the Night” series, about a male escort who starts to wonder if there’s more to life, then breaks his number one rule and starts to fall for one of his clients. It was actually quite challenging to write – I made it so that there were eight standalone erotica novellas in the series, each featuring the escort with a particular client’s fantasy for the night, so for example dominant for the night, ménage for the nigh, biker for the night etc. But I had to also include an overriding erotic romance storyline, where, if you read them in order, you’d see Logan transition from the guy who only ever wanted to have sex for money, into a man who wanted to leave that lifestyle behind him for his HEA with the woman of his dreams. I loved the character growth in him from start to finish. For those who are new to your work, which book would you recommend starting with? I’d suggest one of my standalone novels. For the steam lovers out there, probably The Temptress. That way you’d get a feel for my writing, the erotic content, and the humour. For those that don’t like sex in their books, I’d say Never The Bride. How do you find names for your characters? And can you write them until you’ve found the perfect one? I use popular baby names charts etc. Or watch credits roll on the TV and if I see an interesting name I list it alphabetically into a “Character Names” spreadsheet. I have a tab for male names and one for female. Given I’ve written so many books, I also have a note next to each name that I’ve already used, saying which book they appeared in, so I don’t keep repeating a name that I’m drawn to. I already know the quirks of my characters before I start writing my first draft, so I chose a name that I feel fits them before I even put my fingers on the keyboard. Which of your characters would you want to be stranded on a desert island with, and why? That would be Luc Le Grand from The Temptress. He’s a dominant alpha through and through, then throw in a sexy French accent?! What woman doesn’t want a protective, hot, virile male in a tropical setting? Do you have a character you feel more connected to? I would say Mia Page from The Austin Series. This was my debut, and like most authors I drew on personal experiences for her as my heroine. While I look back and see that I made the rookie mistake of putting far too much sex into the six book series (which should really have been a trilogy!), her character growth and the journey she went on was really cathartic to write. I see more of me in her than my later characters, as I came to realise that my imagination was good enough to not put parts of myself into my books. What’s the best reaction you’ve ever received over one of your books? Waking the morning after I sent out my ARCs of Torn, to find messages with emoji knives attacking broken hearts! I’m slightly evil, but succeeding in making all of my ARC team sob and send me “How could you?” messages was really gratifying after I’d put everything into that book. Who is your biggest supporter? That’s so hard, I have an amazing group of loyal readers that found me with book one and have stayed with me from the get-go. But I would have to say Karen Bill. She’s not just one of my best friends (we met over 27 years ago), she became one of my editors, she’s one of my PA’s, she attends book signings with me as my assistant, and constantly shouts from the rooftops about my books, as well as just being there for me when I need a moan, or to run an idea past her. To have someone next to you, that has such belief in you and what you do, is incredible. I love her to death! Who are your must-read/one-click authors? My absolute number one is Sarah Morgan. I was late to the chick-lit scene, I was an avid reader as a child, but didn’t pick up a book again until 2013 as my career in finance was busy and stressful. She’s the only author I pre-order from the moment the links go live. I’ve loved other authors books, but some are hit and miss and I’m never sure what I’m getting from them. With Sarah you know exactly what you’re getting in terms of how her books make you feel, but with new and exciting storylines. What book has made you laugh most? Terry Ravenscroft’s “Dear Air 2000.” – I was on a long haul flight to Vegas with my mum as I read this book and I was crying with laughter. Not just tears of laughter, but gasps for air, can’t control yourself, might wet your knickers, raucous laughter. So much so, passengers around me started laughing at my laughter, and I had to read sections out to them all. If he’s reading this, I’m sure I must have been responsible for a sales spike around that time. Pure British humour magic! What book has made you cry most? That’s a toss up between two books. One was my own, Torn, a very angsty erotic romance that had me sobbing on the keyboard as I wrote it. The other was Tillie Cole’s A Thousand Boy Kisses. I can’t say I loved that book as it gutted me and part of me hated the ending, but any book that can give me a hangover (and few do), leave me virtually unable to see for puffy eyes the next day, deserved a five star rating! Were you an avid reader as a child? Very much so. I received a report card with an effort made grade D, attainment grade A for my reading! I read the entire library of my primary school and they had to get in a mobile library especially for me. I had a very advanced reading age, along with the ability to speed read, and was reading 11+ books from the age of six/seven. Often devouring one or two a day. Are any of your heroes based on real men in your life? Most definitely not! I have a few failed relationships behind me, and I made sure to write my heroes as the kind of men I wished I’d dated, and hope to date one day! Not to say that they’re perfect, as characters become boring if they have no flaws, but I never write about abusive men, or men who cheat, or make a woman feel as if she isn’t worthy of being loved. Are any of the experiences in your books based on events that have happened to you/someone you know? Of course. I think any author that says everything is pure fiction is lying to themselves. We draw from our experiences, people we know, people we might see on the street, things we’ve seen, heard or been told. Nothing is written verbatim, or characters written exactly as the person who inspired them, but everyday life is our inspiration. Do you have any funny writing quirks or stories you could tell us? I found a gorgeous old cottage, that used to be a Cider Mill, down in Hereford. I like to go there for a week each year to get away from social media, the telephone, housework etc. and get a solid week’s writing in. Last year the toilet cistern kept running, so I had to ring the owner of the cottage to tell him that the sound of water trickling was driving me crazy. I got back to writing my book, a particularly brutal scene where I killed off a beloved character. So there I am, laptop on my knees, sobbing my heart out when the owner and the plumber turn up to fix the toilet. I tried telling them why I was crying and looked such a state, but I don’t think they believed me as the owner kept coming every few hours to check on me for the rest of my stay – I’m sure he thought I was seriously depressed and might self harm! Are you a sporty or curl up with a good book type of person? Curl up with a book for sure. Though I have started doing a bit of exercise each day, as sitting writing all of the time isn’t conducive to keeping calories off your hips and backside! What is the most romantic thing someone has ever done for you? I was hospitalised for a week after a ruptured endometriosis cyst, and told my boyfriend over the phone how much I was hating the hospital food. At midnight on the Friday, our ward was woken up by him singing “Could you be the most beautiful girl in the world” by Prince, as he staggered in pissed as a fart carrying a take out curry for me. The ward matron wasn’t amused, but let me go and sit in the lounge to eat it with him on the condition he stopped singing and got a taxi home as soon as possible. What is the wildest thing you’ve ever done? I would say all revolve around pretty public places that I had sex with my partners. The craziest being in the men’s public toilets in our home town – what was worse was we only lived a two minute walk away, but we just couldn’t wait! What is the strangest thing you’ve done in the name of book research? Google pig’s penises! I know right?! I was trying to find a penis that looked most like a human’s for a particular scene (don’t ask!). I told one of my editors, so she gets on the case and I get a message from her saying “I can’t believe I’m Googling pig penises on a Sunday afternoon!” As it happens, a pig penis looks nothing like a human one, in case you had the sudden urge to go and check! What is your drink of choice while writing? Water or coffee – very boring but I can’t write when I’m tipsy. What is your favourite writing snack? I don’t have a snack – I get so lost in writing nothing else matters. I can start at 3 p.m. then when I look up at the clock it’s one a.m. and I’ve missed dinner and haven’t even been to the toilet. Do you have any pets? I do. Mr. Pumpkin, a tuxedo rescue cat with a black half-moustache. I adore him, except when he tries to climb on my laptop to get attention when I’m in the zone. Are you a morning person? Definitely not. I work from home so I don’t set the alarm until 8.30 a.m. but on the flip side I often write until 1 – 2 a.m. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? Invisibility – I’d love to be able to get closer to people watch and get more inspiration for my characters. What book are you reading now? Sarah Morgan’s Holiday in the Hamptons. I’m meeting her at an event on 13th July and can’t wait. Authors get their fangirl on too from time to time! Name 3 books everyone needs to read (excluding yours). The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, Mrs. Frisby & the rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. All favourites from my childhood.
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