Fighting Dirty with Lori Foster, NY Times Bestselling Author!

The amazing Lori Foster is making her debut appearance on the blog today!  She's a prolific author who married her high school sweetheart, and she loves animals. (I'm gonna stop before I share the whole interview in one paragraph:)

Lori Foster is a New York Times bestselling author. She’s received the Romantic Times “Career Achievement Award” for Series Romantic Fantasy and for Contemporary Romance; Amazon’s top-selling romance title for  Too Much Temptation; Amazon’s Top Ten editors’ picks in romance for Causing Havoc; Waldenbooks’ second “Bestselling Original Contemporary” romance for  Say No To Joe; the BGI group’s “Bestselling Original Contemporary” romance for the The Secret Life of Bryan, “Bestselling Romantic Comedy” for Jude’s Law, “Bestselling Romantic Suspense” for Back in Black; and Amazon’s #1 Editors’ Pick in Romance for Servant: The Acceptance.
Lori has been featured as a clue in the New York Times crossword puzzle, and the USA Today “Quick Cross” puzzle.
To give back to the community, Lori does an annual “benefit” book where all advance and royalties go to a charity, and she hosts the annual “Reader & Author Get Together,” facilitating major interaction between readers, authors, and industry professionals while also donating all proceeds from raffles to local charities. Visit Lori at her website LoriFoster.com

FIGHTING DIRTY

He’s the hottest MMA fighter in the game, but one woman is ready to try out a few steamy moves of her own…

With the life he’s led and the muscles he’s gained, Armie Jacobson isn’t afraid of anything. Except maybe Merissa Colter’s effect on him. It’s not just that she’s his best friend’s little sister. Fact is, she deserves better. Women pursue him for one night of pleasure, and that’s all he wants to offer. Until rescuing Merissa from a robbery leads to the most erotic encounter of his life.

Good girl meets bad boy. It’s a story that rarely ends well. But Merissa is taking matters into her own hands. No matter how he views himself, the Armie she knows is brave, honorable, and completely loyal. And as past demons and present-day danger collide, they’re both about to learn what’s truly worth fighting for…

READ A LITTLE, BUY THE BOOK  Click Here

Jan Schliesman: How often do you Get Lost In A Story?

Lori Foster: Writing-wise, pretty much every day. Only on those rare occasions, like holidays or emergencies, do I skip writing. I feel somewhat bereft without it.
If we’re talking reading...not nearly as often. I do love to read, but I also spending time with hubby so when I’m not writing we’re often heading off to the movie theater. I probably only average reading 8 books a year. 

Jan: How did you catch the writing bug?

Lori: Years ago, long before I was even a reader, I got very sick and was confined to a bed. To help me pass the time, my sister brought me over a paperbag filled with romances - and I immediately got hooked. I’d never read romance! The books I had read (school assigned) had never even come close to instilling a love of reading. But from the very first romance I was hooked. I was only a voracious reader for a year or so before I tried my hand at writing. It still took me 5 years (and more than 10 books) to finally sell one, but I’ve never looked back!

Jan: How important is flexibility to an author these days?

Lori: I’m sure it depends on the author. I’m a creature of habit so I like to do the same thing, the same way, day after day. Chaos around me is fine, as long as it doesn’t interrupt my schedule too much. However, back when I was brand new at this, my 3 sons still lived at home and there was no such thing as a set writing schedule because, as a mom, my schedule was based around whatever they needed. I still made it work. Over the years I’ve written in many places, like the airport, a hotel, in my car, etc... to meet a deadline. I can do it - doesn’t mean I want to. ::grin::

Jan: What was the best advice you were ever given by another editor or author?

Lori: To write what I wanted to write without any thought to selling. Very rarely can you target the market. And if you, and you’re successful...then what? You’re forever committed to writing books that you don’t LOVE writing. Being published is awesome - I’d never say otherwise. It’s also hard work, regardless of how you enjoy it. (But it’s definitely not the same type of “hard work.” I can think of a million jobs that are far, far more difficult.) Writing is in large part awesome because I get to do what I enjoy doing, instead of working just for pay. I’ve worked for pay. My husband worked for pay. Being a published writer, for me, is better. ::grin::

Jan: You’ve been instrumental in pulling authors together for worthy causes. Tell us about the Animal Adoption Foundation.

Lori: I LOVE the AAF. It’s amazing. A very friendly, caring no-kill animal shelter, rescuing animals and finding them loving homes. It breaks my heart - like, literally makes my heart hurt - to think of any animal alone, hungry, cold, afraid. I wish I could save them all. I can’t, so I help support my local shelter. www.AAFPets.org. Each year I write one book that I dedicate to them. All advance and royalties go directly to the shelter. In an effort to do even more, my husband and I catch feral cats, get them spayed or neutered, get any shots they need, then turn them loose again. They tend to hang out on our wrap-around porch (currently 20 or so) and twice a day we fill numerous dishes with cat food, put water in the heated dish so it doesn’t freeze, and we keep hay-filled shelters available for them so they can get out of the cold. Every so often, a feral will sneak into the house - which is how I’ve ended up with 5 cats. You don’t come to the Foster household if you can’t take a little fur here and there.

Jan: What are you currently reading?

Lori: I told you I don’t read often, but I never miss a Katie McGarry book. I got an early copy of WALK THE EDGE and, like the rest of her books, it’s *amazing.* I just finished a book by Linda Howard/Linda Jones, and before that was a Jill Shalvis book.

Jan: It was love at first sight when I met Mr. Wonderful. How did you meet your hubby and/or do you believe in love at first sight?

Lori: I believe in instant attraction on a very basic level - and if given a chance, it grows into love. I met my hubby on the 3rd day of our sophomore year of high school. We married right out of high school. We’ve been together a long time. I thought I was crazy in love with him when we married, but every year I love him even more. That’s a pretty wonderful thing.

Jan:  If you could live anywhere but Ohio, where would you go?

Lori: Anyone who’s read me could probably answer this: Kentucky. By a lake. Or North Carolina. By a lake. lol. I love being on the lake, and I’ve set many books in KY and NC.

Jan’s GOTTA ASK: 

Lori’s GOTTA ANSWER: I LOVE vanilla bean first and foremost. Nothing too exciting for me. But second and third from that is strawberry and peach. In fact, in the summer, one of my favorite treats is vanilla bean ice cream with strawberries or peaches on top. Delicious!

FIND LORI FOSTER:

 Website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, Newletter

THANKS SO MUCH, LORI, FOR VISITING THE BLOG TODAY! 

LORI IS GIVING AWAY COPIES OF THREE OF HER BOOKS:

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