Meet Author Bridget Midway

A year or two ago, I hit a dry spell on romance novels. It started feeling like I was reading the same story over, but someone had changed the names and locations.  Then one of my reading buddies mentioned Bridget Midway and lemme tell you. This was not what I was used to reading and in a good way. Lawd have mercy she knows she can write some HOT books. LOL. I’m fanny myself right now.  Anywhooooo, Erotica Romance author Bridges Midway is here today to hang out with us. Enjoy.

Tell us a little about yourself.
For readers who may not know me, my name is Bridget Midway. I write erotic romances. I love writing interracial romances and interracial BDSM erotic romances. Right now I’m published through five different publishers: Phaze Books, Loose Id, Liquid Silver Books, Whispers Publishing and Parker Publishing. I’m always looking for other publishers, especially the larger publishing houses.

I live in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and I have a wonderful man in my life who is not always cool with some of my research, but is very understanding. He’ll also tell you that he’s my inspiration for every one of my heroes. I must admit. He is pretty amazing.

Tell us a three things few know about you.
Hmm, three things about me that not a lot of people know. Okay, 1.) I’m painfully shy. 2.) I have no tattooes but I would like one. And 3.) I’ve been to an open house at a nudist resort. That’s the only time you can go and wear clothing. I won’t say if I took advantage of that or if I went with the flow.

What genre(s) do you like to read?

Romance! Romance! Romance! Just like Kurt from “Glee” said in a recent episode, I love the happily ever after ending. Reading about how a couple overcomes some adversity to get together makes me smile and sigh after finishing a book.

What is your favorite novel and why?
My agent suggested to me that I read authors in my genre, and one author was Anne Rice. Not the Lestat Anne Rice, but the erotica Anne Rice. So I read Exit to Eden. Loved it. Loved how she got into her characters’ heads without having to beat over her readers’ heads what she wanted to convey. It was sexy and well written and still titillating.

What was the last novel you read that you enjoyed and why?
I’m slowly going through my To Be Read pile. I read Gwyneth Bolton’s Sweet Sensation. Talk about taking me back to my old hip hop roots. The story was sweet and sexy and intriguing and full of drama and fun and great sexual tension. Loved it.

When did you begin writing?
I actually started writing when I was 11 years old. I would just break out a pad and pen, and start writing a story. It was very freeing for me to escape into a world that I created.

What genre(s) do you write?
I mainly write contemporary erotic romances with interracial and multicultural characters. I’ve written one 3-novella futuristic erotic romance collection. Although it was fun to write, I’ll always love writing contemporary works. I have an idea in my head for a time travel erotic romance. The only thing holding me back is the research. If I can get through that, I can write the story.

Where do your concepts for your novels come from?
A lot of my stories come from dreams. I also get inspired from news stories and articles. For example, I had read an article about a man who sued a woman who used to be a dominatrix and who he had hired as an office assistant because she refused to do BDSM play on him like spanking and caning. Many years ago he was one of her clients, however, she didn’t remember him when she started working. His argument for wanting her to resume her past BDSM activities on him was that going through a session calmed him down. Because she refused, he couldn’t concentrate on his work. So essentially he was suing her for mental distress. So I used that concept for the basis of Corporate Desires, a contemporary interracial BDSM erotic romance through Phaze Books.

Sometimes I’ll write a story to figure out if a concept would work. Although I’ve never watched the show, I did wonder if there could be a BDSM version of “The Bachelor.” So I wrote Love My Way to see if a BDSM-themed show could actually fly.

Readers of mine also know that I get a lot of my story ideas from song titles. Love My Way is one. Some other ones have been That’s What Friends Are For, Woman In Chains, and Fascination Street.

How long does it typically take you to write a book?
For a full-length, if I can plot it down chapter by chapter, and if I can stay away from the Internet, I can write one in 2-3 months, with another month to revise and edit. For short stories and novellas, it can take me a month to finish.

Tell us about your latest book?
In April, I’ll have a novella released through Whispers Publishing called “Last Call.” The story is about a woman who attends a club opening by an old high school friend who became an enemy. She accuses her former friend of cheating with her high school boyfriend. Little did she know that her old boyfriend is also at the club working at the door as a bouncer. So when she sees her old flame, will she give him another chance or is it “Last Call”?

My story along with stories from Yvette Hines and Aliyah Burke will be in a print anthology called Reignited through Whispers Publishing. That anthology should be out in June 2011.

Where can readers purchase your latest book?
My latest release that’s out now is Corporate Needs, which is also up for a Romance Slam Jam Emma Award for Steamy Novel of the Year. It can be purchased at http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Corporate+Needs/exact_match=exact

What other titles have you written?
All of the books in the Corporate series are Corporate Seduction, Corporate Desires and Corporate Needs. My other full-length novels are That’s What Friends Are For, Fascination Street, Woman In Chains, and Love My Way. I’m also in several anthologies including Original Sin, Coming Together At Last – Volume II, Night Whispers – Volume II, and What White Boyz Want. And if readers would like short stories and novellas, I have “Adam and E-V-E”, “Suburbia”, “C-A-I-N and A-B-E-L”, “Walls”, “Public Domain”, “Silly Fears”, “Sodom and Gomorrah”, and “Casual Fridays.” I also have a free read called “The Dance” that readers can get directly from the Phaze Books site as well as All Romance eBooks, Amazon.com, and Barnes and Noble’s website.

If you could change one thing about your writing career thus far, what would it be?
Just like with all writers, I would love to make writing my full-time and only career. Unfortunately right now I have to keep a day job while I keep writing.

What do you find to be the best and worst part of being a writer?
The best part of being a writer is creating whole worlds that you hope readers will enjoy as much as I enjoy writing them. The worst part of being a writer is probably all of the time I have to take to the business end of writing like dealing with contracts and doing promotions. It does take a lot time away from what I really want to do, which is write.

What advice do you have for aspiring authors?
I always tell authors to keep writing. A lot of writers, myself included, when they finally finish a novel will spend time submitting their “baby” hoping to snag a publisher, editor, or agent. What happens is that once you do get that publishing professional to accept your work, the first thing they’ll ask is “What else do you have?” You want to make sure to have a whole backlog of manuscripts ready to submit. The best promotion is your next book.

What do you have on the burner for the next year? What new projects, books, submission, dreams.
I spent a lot of time writing full-length novels, which takes a lot of time. The downside of that is that I haven’t put out a lot of work lately. So I’m concentrating this year on putting out novellas and short stories to keep readers happy. I have a couple of things submitted to my agent, so we’ll see what happens with that.

How can readers reach you?
Readers can find me on my website at www.BridgetMidway.com, my newsletter group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/midway_lowdown, Twitter at www.twitter.com/bridgetmidway, Facebook at www.facebook.com/bridgetmidway, and My Space at www.MySpace.com/bridgetmidway

Thank you so much for interviewing me. This was fun! Readers will be able to ask me anything I didn’t answer here in person at this year’s Romance Slam Jam event in April. I’ll also be at Authors After Dark event in October, and various BDSM conferences in between.

Stay sexy,
BridgeT

Thank you for spending a little time with us. It’s always fun to talk books and writing and I look forward to reading more of your work and seeing you next month at the Slam Jam.

Readers, be sure to heat up your read and grab a book or two or three of Bridgets.