An Interview with Joni Hahn

Today, The Write Way Café welcomes author Joni Hahn. She brings to the page alpha males brought to their knees by love. 

She's also giving away a $20 Amazon Gift Card.

What was your path to getting this book written and published? What type of research did you do?
I love all of the Marvel and DC superhero movies. I’m also a long-time fan of Suzanne Brockmann’s Navy SEAL books. Put the two together and… tada! My son is big into physics and mechanics, and has been a huge help with science angle of my series.
     As for the publication path, I heard Liliana Hart speak about her self-publishing journey at a RWA local chapter meeting. Her presentation gave me a solid promo plan to build on. I’ve been going non-stop ever since.    

Are your main characters completely imaginary or do they have some basis in real people? Do they reflect aspects of yourself?
There is a lot of my husband in these characters. He’s a very strong alpha and has always been very protective of his family and loved ones. My son is into hero characters too, especially his sense of humor.
     I think all of my characters reflect aspects of me to some extent. My sarcasm is definitely evident in every book.

Did you face any blocks while writing the book, and if so, how did you handle them? If not, what's your secret?
I heard Liliana speak in April. I started writing Book 1 shortly thereafter. Books 2 and 3 were written July through early December. Between my daughter getting married in June and working fulltime, my road was full of blocks. Five Hour Energy and me were BFFs throughout the fall. I would come home from work and write for hours before going to bed. When my editor finished with one book, I’d send her the next and work on the revisions of the first. Once I had them done, I went back to work on the third book. It was definitely a juggling act. I think the key is wanting it bad enough. I had a goal of publishing the series before Christmas. I met it by the skin of my teeth.

What are you working on now?
Currently, I’m working on Book 4 of the series, Agent M4: Riordan. Unlike the first three, it is a stand-alone book. My goal is to have it out in April.  

Tell us about your writing space and how or why it works for you.
My writing space is a small, open area off of my kitchen. I wish it had a door. :) But, it is my private space, and is quiet. I need both to write. I have my Thor and Captain America standees in the corner, a poster from my Barnes & Noble booksigning on the wall, and a recliner. The recliner is very important because sometimes I need to step away from the computer, lay back and just think through my story. Any power naps I take are done in my desk chair by just lying back my head and closing my eyes. I can be out in seconds.

What are some of your favorite books and why?
As I mentioned above, I love Suzanne Brockmann’s Navy SEAL books. These guys are the elite alphas, the best of the best, yet they are brought to their knees by the women in their life. I like her writing style because she writes like she’s talking to the reader. It’s very authentic.
     I’m also a big fan of Karen Marie Moning’s Highlander series. Wow, can she craft a smokin’ hero. Her characters leap off the page. I haven’t met one of her heroes that I haven’t fallen in love with myself.

Would you like to try your hand at writing a different genre?  Which one and why?
I do have Book 1 of my romantic comedy series, the Royal Texans, written. I need to write Books 2 and 3. I thought I’d release Book 1 late this year, but readers want more DIRE agents so it will probably be pushed into 2015.

If you were not a writer, what would your dream job be?
Movie critic!  Yes!  I want to watch movies, give my opinion, and get paid for it.

What aspect of writing gives you the most trouble?
Edits. I whine a lot during edits. My editor warned me I would curse her and she was right. Cutting and changing things was very hard to do but her ideas did make them better books.

If your book was made into a movie, who would play your main characters?
This is so hard because I picture my heroes as the men on my Pinterest page, and only one of them is an actor. BTW, I highly recommend readers check out that page before reading the books. :) But, for fun, here goes:

Tristan – Taylor Kitsch
Rachel – Rachel McAdams
Aidan – William Levy
Cass – Brooklyn Decker
D’Artagnan – Channing Tatum
Jocelyn – Nina Dobrev  

You can find The D.I.R.E. Agency Series at all of the major outlets:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
iTunes
Kobo 
Smashwords

Connect with me online:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest

About Joni Hahn:
By day, Joni Hahn keeps her secret decoder ring hidden while she works as a mild-mannered HR manager and accounting generalist. She believes the world can never have too many superheroes, and anxiously waits for the call when one will need help saving the world… or getting into his costume. Joni was born with a hopelessly tender heart and believes there is nothing on earth more exhilarating than falling in love (Other than the rear shot of Chris Evans in The Avengers - that was pretty darn exhilarating). A native Texan, she thinks cowboys are the epitome of masculinity, and that country music is the other soul music.

Joni's three-book superhero romance trilogy, The D.I.R.E. Agency, is available now.   Look for Books 4 and 5 in the Series, Agent M4: Riordan and Agent S6: Jaydan coming in 2014.  

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