Interview: L.L. Reaper

L.L. Reaper is, actually, two people. I was amazed to hear it, they write as one, so I decided I had to read it and I had to interview them and find out HOW they manage to do it! Their book, Black Widow and the Sandman is already out on paperback.

From Amazon: Children in Cuba are suffering an agonizing death. The cause-a toxin released by a terrorist organization hell-bent on genocide. The scientific community is at a loss, and the Cuban government can no longer hide the truth from its citizens. Cuba's only chance lies in the capable hands of a reclusive scientist from the country that is believed to be behind this terrorist attack-the United States of America. Roman "The Sandman" Tate is the most sought-after mercenary in the world. When he is ordered to protect scientist Jeanette "Black Widow" Mason, he finds she is much more than scientific equations. The two join forces to create an antidote and stop those responsible for the mysterious illness before more children die and Cuba follows through on its promise to retaliate.

Buy from Amazon or The Book Depository.

Tell us a bit about your book.

Children in Cuba are suffering an agonizing death. The cause-a toxin released by a terrorist organization hell-bent on genocide. The scientific community is at a loss, and the Cuban government can no longer hide the truth from its citizens. Cuba's only chance lies in the capable hands of a reclusive scientist from the country that is believed to be behind this terrorist attack-the United States of America.

Roman "The Sandman" Tate is the most sought-after mercenary in the world. When he is ordered to protect scientist Jeanette "Black Widow" Mason, he finds she is much more than scientific equations. The two join forces to create an antidote and stop those responsible for the mysterious illness before more children die and Cuba follows through on its promise to retaliate.

This is one sexy suspense the likes you’ve never read.

How is it writing with 4 hands? How do you divide it, each one writes one chapter or do you sit and write it at the same time?

First we discussed the plot, then wrote an outline—always keeping the lines of communication open. Then we start to writing. We divide the scenes according to who the perspective character is (whose point of view the scene is written from). Once one of us finishes a scene, we send it to the other to review and rewrite as needed.

Our outline is living, so the plot does change as we write, but it all works out great.

How do you manage your time? Do you get together x hours a day to write, do you follow a writing schedule or you just write whenever you feel inspired?

We each have our own writing schedule. We have an end date for the first draft or edits and just work together to make our dates.

Black Widow and the Sandman talks about Cuba and the USA, have either of you visited Cuba? 

Not yet, but we both plan to.

Have you always wanted to be a writer? When did you start writing "seriously"?

Though we’ve both written since we were young, we didn’t start seriously writing or consider being published authors until we were adults.

Do you read much? What kind of books do you usually read?

We both read a lot. We are both big fans of Sci-Fi, thrillers, suspense and romance (from erotic to sweet). Mainstream, fantasy and historicals round out our list. Okay, let’s be honest, we read just about anything.

What are your favorite or least favorite scenes to write?

Favorite—Scenes where characters discover something about themselves or someone else. Action scenes are also fun to write.

Least Favorite—Informative scenes. Of course you have to come up with an exciting way to give information, but sometimes one plus one equals two and there’s little excitement you can put into there.

Do you relate more to any of your characters? Why?

My writing partner and I poured a lot of our own personalities into Jeanette (Black Widow) and Roman (the Sandman). The few people we allowed to read the novel who know us have commented how these characters are much more like us than any other characters we’ve written.

Which genre do you feel it would be a challenge to write?

Christian Fiction.

What would you say about the book - your words, no blurbs! - to convince someone to read your book?

In this sexually seductive suspense, your reading experience will be taken to a whole new level. Don’t be scared, give it a try.

What are your plans for the future, writing-wise? New books, sequels, publishing deals, etc.

The Spanish release of Black Widow and the Sandman is upcoming. We are also writing the second installment of the series, Hell Hath No Fury. The story picks up a year later. My writing partner also has a Simon and Schuster novel coming out in August and is writing his second book in that series. Busy, busy, busy.

Thank you so much for having us. It has been fun.