Hello dear readers – so sweet of you to join us! 🙂 Today I’d like to introduce to you a fellow writer and multi-published author, Korey Mae Johnson!

For those of you who are new to Korey’s books, she writes erotic spanking romances that span many different genres (ageplay, scifi, historical, contemporary, fantasy, etc.)

So let’s get to know Korey and hear about her writing process as well as a few of her books.

Hi Korey and welcome! So tell me, were you born and do you still reside in the area?

KMJ: Nowhere near. I was born in New York state, grew up in Reno and then near Portland, Oregon, and then I moved a couple places in the last dozen years until now. I’m finally settled in Dallas, TX. Liking it a lot so far!

GdG: Wow! You’re just like me – I’ve moved around a LOT!

Where is the most random place you’ve been where you came up with a plot or idea for a new book?

KMJ: At a huge spanking party in Atlantic City. I was talking with a new friend, who was awesome, and he said something that sort of lit a chain reaction of ideas, leading to Being Their Baby. It came pretty easily after that.

GdG: Isn’t it great to have friends who keep those creative juices flowing? 🙂

What is a ‘must have’ for you while you write?

KMJ: I like background talking. It’s hard for me to write in complete silence. So I’ll put on a movie I’ve seen a million times in the background and I’ll just let it run. I’m not watching or paying attention to it; I just need the blah-blah-blah.

GdG: I know, right? Silence can be defining sometimes!

Next question: Have you written the book of your heart, and if so, which one is it?

KMJ: Although I didn’t write it fast, I think I’d say it was Pursuit of Glory.

It was sort of my romantic escape through college and I spent a lot of time in that world. I really enjoyed writing every character in that book, and no other book feels more like my baby than that one. I wrote it before I knew what my market liked, and I didn’t write it with the idea of making much money. This one was entirely for me. And the exciting news is I get to republish those with Stormy Night, meaning we’ll be releasing it again in a second, grander addition with Stormy Night Publications, but at the moment it’s not for sale anywhere.

GdG: That’s great news, Korey! And what a beautiful cover!

Now, here’s a question you may have been asked before, but the answer always fascinates me: Are you a pantster or plotter?

KMJ: I’m a panster. I mean, I have some scenes in mind before I sit down to a book, but I don’t really know how I’m going to connect them. My husband is completely the opposite, so this drives him nuts. My books are more character driven than plot driven. I design characters and then I have to figure out what they’d do. I try to give them an overarching goal, then I just cross my fingers and hope they get there.

GdG: I just love how the process is as individual as a fingerprint for each writer. 🙂

What makes your writing erotica stand out?

KMJ: I like to focus a lot on the characters and their relationships more than erotica for the sake of erotica. It’s not just about the hotness–though I try to make as much of that as I can–but I want my readers to have characters to root for–characters they can really connect to.

GdG: Very cool.

What is the biggest thing that trips you up as you write that first draft?

KMJ: It’s hard to explain what my problem is. Let’s just say my first draft is God-awful. I’ve got the basics, but I write like how I’d tell a story orally, and there are a lot of places where I can say something and have my audience get it, but when I write it down, it can’t be read and understood. And I write sentences backwards a lot. It also doesn’t seem like I know where an adverb goes. It’s like, when I’m in the throes of writing, I forget all the rules and so it comes out like something a fifth grader would write. I always swear at myself when I edit my own first draft, which I have to do several times, and then I’ll normally proceed to go ahead and break my editor. I imagine when my editor sees me on her to-do list, she has to do a lot of breathing exercises.

GdG: Ha! The things we put our editors through… Shakes head*

How comfortable are you at public speaking?

KMJ: That is literally the thing in life I’m worst at. The weird thing is I used to be good at theatre arts, and can quote large blocks of poetry and script with little time. If I’m on my own though, it’s a total mess. I freeze up and try not to black out.

GdG: Sounds like you’ve morphed from and extravert to an introvert! 🙂

Have you ever had your work/research challenged by a reader? How did you approach it, if at all?

KMJ: I wouldn’t say I’ve been challenged. I’ve had people say my work sucked or that they didn’t like it or they didn’t like my style. Also I’ve been told that my naming in my scifi novels is no good, because I don’t call my aliens, “Zarg” and “Boog” or whatever. I do follow the Star Wars method of naming my sci fi characters. Namely, I go for names that the kid next door might have. I don’t argue, though. It’s not like I’m going to change their minds.

And I’ve been told “Pursuit of Glory” wasn’t exactly historically accurate, and I hope not because I made it clear in the blurb that it is fantasy novel that doesn’t take place on Earth, only resembles the times of the Napoleonic Wars. I don’t argue with that either. They’re not going to read my argument like they didn’t read the blurb.

GdG: I had an experience like that with my sci-fi-twist novel. The first publisher I submitted it to rejected it because she didn’t think I did my research on the weather in Egypt. I was embarrassed for her that she didn’t realize that my heroine had transported to another planet! LOL

KMJ: Haters gonna hate. On the other side I have more dedicated fans than I deserve who build me up more than others bring me down. On the most part, I think a lot of the criticisms I’ve received are fair. I put my work on the public platform, thus I’m going to get the public’s opinions, and sometimes good and hard. I can deal with that. I don’t always give 5-star reviews myself. I don’t want to break other people’s spirits, but I do like authors to get honest opinions that can help them improve, and that’s what I most appreciate. I’m always looking to get better, and I always will.

GdG: Good on ya, sister! Keep striving and moving forward 🙂

Let’s say that Hollywood picks up one of your books for a screenplay. Would you want to be named a producer like Diana Gabaldon with the Outlander series or would you prefer to hand it over like Margaret Mitchell did with Gone with the Wind?

KMJ: I would Diana Gabaldon all over that situation, for certain. 😉 Producer all the way. I wouldn’t be a stickler or anything, but I’d want to be on the idea squad.

GdG: If you could choose an author/writer living or deceased to be your mentor, who would it be?

KMJ: Oscar Wilde, hands down. He’s not my favorite author, but he was well ahead of his time. Some of his dialogue is the best. He’d be a cool mentor—detail-oriented, fashionable, mercenary, funny, and most of all brutally honest.

GdG: Oh, I adore Oscar Wilde! 🙂

Can you name some of your favorite books you’d read as a child?

KMJ: I read a ton of Roald Dahl as a kid. They were the first novels I read on my own. Mark Twain as well, just because by the fourth grade I hungered for grade-A sarcasm and wit. I was huge into horror stories (like the scary stories trilogy” and the most horrific of fairy tales by the first grade, which is weird because I won’t read anything scary now… Maybe I enjoyed not sleeping and nightmares back then? Can’t explain it.

GdG: Some women are addicted to shoes or jewelry or designer clothes. What are your fashion weaknesses?

KMJ: Socks. Love socks. Life’s too short to wear boring socks.

GdG: Now there’s a quote of the day! 😀

What do you do to celebrate when you write those two lovely words, ‘The End’?

KMJ: Normally by the time I hit the end of a book, I’m so drained and tired that I can’t feel emotion at all. I keep thinking I’m going to feel relieved and satisfied, but then the situation is rather anticlimactic and I look towards the next huge project.

GdG: Can you share some about the plot of your current WIP?

KMJ: Otherworldly One is about a relationship between a wizard and his new, flaky, (and extremely naughty) female apprentice who fall in love a lot like cats would–lots of fighting and rough sex. Otherworldly Discipline, book two, leads more into the other world where the heroine is constantly hunted and threatened by a shadow from her past, and she stumbled upon a life she had long forgotten. Another romance that’s a little less intense, more loving, but still filled with hot sex and lots of spankings. 🙂

GdG: Now please tell us about your latest book release, Conquered Brides.

KMJ: I’m really excited about this release because it’s part of a collection with a group of amazing writers. We all made individual stories that center around the same event: a castle siege. All the women get carried away and married, often quite forcefully, creating a lot of drama. I enjoy the main characters sort of fighting their way into each other’s hearts, and there’s a lot of that in these books. It’s all pretty exciting. Renee Rose was our fearless leader. Nobody wanted to take the Princess (Regent) of the castle so I totally got to write her. It was a hoot to write.

GdG: Cool! Would you favor us with a passage from Conquered Brides?

Sure, and a blurb of all of them!

The Mighty Blurb of the Conquered Brides Boxset:

When the castle they called home is besieged and ultimately falls, five women are captured and carried off as wives by their foes. Will they be treated as no more than the spoils of war, or can their new lords prove themselves worthy of the love and

submission of their conquered brides?

The Conquered Brides is a five-book collection featuring brand-new titles from five top erotic romance authors. This collection includes:

Commanding the Princess, by Korey Mae Johnson

As the ruler of Hohenzollern Castle in name only, Susanna has watched helplessly for years as her power-hungry uncle made one enemy after another for her. One enemy stands out, and the moment she catches sight of him, Princess Susanna is certain that it will be Gerhard of Bavaria who brings her world down around her. As his army smashes through her gates, Susanna makes the only choice she has left. She surrenders herself to Gerhard, hoping to win mercy for her people, though she fears it will come at the cost of her life. But she soon learns that Gerhard has other plans for her, plans which may end with her surrendering much more than just her castle to him.

The Knight’s Seduction, by Renee Rose

Avowed to never again yield to a man’s ill-treatment, Lady Daisy stands ready to fight to the death when her castle is sacked. The imposing knight Sir Barrett has other ideas, however, and to her dismay, Daisy soon finds herself not only disarmed, but soundly spanked as well. Sir Barrett takes her as his captive bride, but when she shows real terror at the prospect of consummating their marriage, he offers her a bargain. She will offer her body to him and accept the pleasurable torments he inflicts, but he will not claim her fully until she aches for it so badly she begs him. Certain she will do no such thing, Daisy agrees, but can she resist the knight’s seduction?

The Widow Is Mine, by Ashe Barker

Since her husband’s untimely passing, Lady Natalia has resigned herself to a quiet life as a young widow and perhaps one day as a nun. But when her adopted home is conquered by the enemy, her world is turned upside down. After he rescues her from the chaos of Hohenzollern’s fall, Duke Stefan of Richtenholst cannot imagine allowing Natalia to languish behind the walls of a convent. The duke takes Natalia home as his wife, and he quickly proves himself ready to compel her obedience when it is necessary, but can he ever truly make her his own?

Conquering Lady Claire, by Sue Lyndon

As Hohenzollern Castle falls, mayhem unfolds around Lady Claire, and her only aim is to lead as many women and children of the castle to safety as possible. In an odd turn of fortune, her courageous efforts ultimately lead to her capture by none other than Lord Galien of Minrova, the very man that her brother, a powerful duke, recently commanded to find her and claim her as his wife. Claire’s defiance is quickly overcome by means of a firm hand applied to her bare bottom, but Galien is not content merely going through the motions of a political marriage. His skilled lovemaking soon leaves his new bride begging for more, but can he conquer her heart as well?

Kidnapped and Claimed, by Dinah McLeod

When her husband’s repeated infidelities and drunken insults become too much to bear, Lady Cecily flees to her childhood home at Hohenzollern, but things quickly go from bad to worse and she is kidnapped from the castle stables only moments after her arrival. Cecily ignores her abductor’s warnings of ruin about to befall Hohenzollern and his claim that he took her from the castle only to keep her safe. She resists him every step of the way, until at last he spanks her long and hard. Despite his firm chastisement, it soon becomes clear to Cecily that her captor cares for her in a way her husband never did. But can she forgive him for stealing her from her home?

Publisher’s Note: The Conquered Brides contains spankings, sexual scenes, and more. If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book.

Excerpt from “Commanding The Princess” by Korey Mae Johnson:

“Have you ever been kissed before?” he asked her, easing his grip on her hair.

She pressed her lips together but then shook her head ever so slightly. “No,” she replied in just a breath.

“Then you’ll remember me as the first man to do this.” He let go of her hair and gripped her face with both hands, lacing his fingers behind her neck. He had sacked cities and beheaded dukes, spoken his mind in front of the emperor more times than he could count, but he had never felt bolder than he did in this very moment.

He kissed her, pressing his lips hard and hungrily against hers and tasting her mouth deeply. He had nearly forgotten what fear felt like, but now he felt it brewing in his stomach. He didn’t want her to be leery of him. He just wanted her to let go of everything, of her kingdom, of her old life, and just be joined with him. He had fantasized about this moment for ages—the moment where a princess could make love with a man such as him without cringing. He wanted her to just kiss him back.

But she wouldn’t. Deep as his kiss was, it was one-sided.

He stopped kissing her and just held her face in his hands. The prettiest, sweetest, and most innocent face he had ever seen. Far too innocent for the lady of a great castle to have. Her uncle had at least done this much—by ruling her kingdom, he had also kept her out of the politics. There was no world-weary hardness to her. Maybe that’s what captivated him… or maybe it was those light blue eyes. “Beautiful,” he said, petting her cheeks with his thumbs.

“You shouldn’t…” she swallowed. “You shouldn’t kiss me.”

“Why?” he asked her, still gazing at her and stroking her cheeks. She still hadn’t pushed him away or cried out, and until she did, he wouldn’t move.

“Because… Because you’re not my husband, nor my betrothed…” she replied unsurely, quietly, and then her eyes closed sleepily, like a cat’s.

“If you were one of those women up in the castle, you would have been mine already,” he assured her. He grinned and pulled her body closer. “I would have singled you out, hunted you down, carried you off, married you, and taken you to wife in less than an hour’s time.”

GdG: Sweet! And is this available right now?

KMJ: March 4^th was the first day Conquered Brides was up for sale! It took especially long for Amazon to get that up, but now it’s up! It will soon also be available as paperback, hopefully by the end of next week.

GdG: Awesome! Can you tell us a little about your publisher?

KMJ: My publisher, Stormy Night Publications (also referred to as SNP) is actually owned by my husband and myself, and we’ve now published over 200 novels from over 20 different authors! We specialize in spanking and kink-genre fiction. We’re always accepting new authors, so if anyone wants to read about SNP, check out our website at www.stormynightpublications.com or take a look at our submission guidelines and author FAQs! http://www.stormynightpublications.com/submissions/

GdG: And where can we find you on the web?

KMJ:

koreymaejohnson.com

Facebook.com/koreymaejohnson

Twitter.com/koreymaejohnson

Goodreads.com/koreymaejohnson

GdG: And the buy link for Conquered Brides?

KMJ: Amazon Buy Link

GdG: This has been tons of fun, Korey! Thank you so much for taking time out of your schedule to answer my questions and giving your readers a glimpse into your world. 🙂

LEAVE A COMMENT AND ENTER TO WIN!

Korey has consented to give away an ebook copy to one lucky commenter! If you’d like to enter, please include your preferred format along with your comment and we’ll contact the winner via Facebook – so like our pages as we’ll make the announcement there.

Thanks all, good luck & happy reading!

G.