It was my only strike …ever…but the manager came, confiscated my bowling shoes, put my name on a banned list…and escorted me out the door…

Elaine Raco Chase – 31 August 2014

It was so nice for Elaine to sit down and give me this interview.  I told her it was going to be a bit different, but I don’t think she realized how different.  We had a blast and after hearing her answers to my questions, I realized I must read all of her books. 

If you like sassy, laugh out loud, contemporary romances – some more explicit than others – you have found the right author!

Are you a coffee drinker?

I should own a Starbucks…actually there’s a Starbucks machine in our apartment complex totally free…and yup I’m there twice a day. Morning for real java jolt; late afternoon for decaf.  In between we are decaf at home but have wonderful flavored coffee creamers..including the newest Coffee-tini!  I like coffee hot, iced and the Italian roast black with a slice of lemon.

What gets you going in the morning?

I have a routine – coffee, breakfast (something high protein) and the comics…then the rest of the paper.

I see you write Romance, have you done anything REALLY spicy?

All are spicy…some are more explicit or elegantly erotic than others.

Will you name the spicy ones…..uh, not for me, my friends want to know.

Calculated Risk – ‘lusty sex scenes’

Rules of the Game – voted #1 erotic romance by Turning Pages for 2012

Double Occupancy – has been on FB’s Top 50 books to read after 50 shades of Grey list for 27 consecutive months.

Special Delivery, Video Vixen, Lady Be Bad, Designing Woman & Best Laid Plans, & Dare the Devil  all feature explicit sex…

Caught in a Trap – my work in progress may just beat them all!

My friends will need a link for those! 

Links:  How about one main one

All my books are on Amazon, Nook, Kobo, itunes, Smashwords, & All Romance and all have audiobooks attached to them as well!

Now HEARING an explicit romance is HOT!

How many books have you written in your career? 

A dozen romance novels, a 2-book mystery series (with more to follow) and a non-fiction: How to Write the Amateur Detective Novel from Writer’s Digest – part of their HowDunnit Series (this non-fiction book is in the FBI Library at Quantico!

What do you do for leisure or entertainment?

Hmmmm…it varies…I am loving the totally fun Syfy movies like Sharknado and Swamp Gator…real campy fun.  And I love old TV series like Twilight Zone & Perry Mason – black and white is so evocative!

How would your friends describe you, in one word?

Funny

Tell me the ONE character in your books that is the most like you. You can only pick ONE, no cheating.

Samantha Logan in Rules of the Game – I too am banned from singing, golfing and bowling. I use to scuba dive, work and go to night college at the same time…and wasn’t looking for a man until he found me!

Have you ever been banned from a public place? 

Yes, Rolling Greens Bowling in Rotterdam, NY…

You don’t have to tell us why, but we won’t give you a moments peace unless you tell.

Well…ummm….actually….the bowling ball slipped off my fingers on approach…it bounced – hard enough to silence 20 lanes…over two lane returns…but it did make a strike on the third lane after almost hitting the person who was bowling there.  It was my only strike …ever…but the manager came, confiscated my bowling shoes, put my name on a banned list…and escorted me out the door…leaving my companions to follow while hooting and laughing…well the whole place was hooting and laughing….I’ve never bowled again!

Have you ever played golf?

Hmmm….well it’s sort of like my bowling…I tried real golf once and I think I’d still be out there….I’ve done miniature golf a couple times, but then that damn little golf ball sort of ‘escaped’ and went off the course..and slammed into a car’s fender…luckily it didn’t do any damage

I am glad we decided to just drink coffee for this interview, instead of bowling or golf!

Have you ever put a real person into one of your books?

I actually am putting some real people in my current WIP –  I have a fabulous FB street team and they wanted to be in this book…so 6 of them are…mainly their names and their personalities that fit with the main character.

What were you like as a child?

I was a big reader, a tomboy, and very smart. We were very poor and I started working when I was 14 as a lifeguard in a kiddy pool.  Then worked on working papers at 15…all monies went into the family till. I loved it.

What were your childhood dreams?

To be a lawyer – now I get to be one in my books as well as so many other things. I’d won some scholarships but not nearly enough so I had a backup plan – I was a secretary first for the FBI’s Narcotic Addiction Control Commission then worked programming the first computerized TV Station in the US – WRGB-TV

I hear you have hosted a radio show, can you tell us about that?   

I was the creator and host of BlogTalkRadio’s The Authors Corner…it was focused on Indie writers…often had theme shows…and it was one of Blog Talk’s top 5…previously I had a radio show on WGY radio in upstate NY….

Tell us about the radio show on WGY radio in upstate NY. 

It was back in 1968 – I was the ‘Bacall’ to the D.J.’s ‘Bogart’ and we’d do these 5 minute mini promos that were just snappy dialogue thru-out his time slot…I also did voice overs for local TV/radio inserts…

What would be your best achievement to date?

My children

What’s your favorite swear word?  (if you have one)

I actually have more than one: “Look you little bastard”  and “You are a fucking idiot”

Have you ever danced in the rain?

I’ve danced in the rain, walked the dog in the rain and sang in the rain…I love rain!

Do you watch Reality TV?  If yes, what is your favorite?

I caught the Kardashian’s one – it was like watching a train wreck! But nope I don’t watch it.

Do you have any unusual fears or phobias?

I’m not fond of snakes!

I’m with you on that one!  Snakes, *shudder*

Do you have a particular outfit that you wear to write?

Depending on the season…T-shirt and shorts or sweats…or T-shirt and jeans…

Is there anything you wished would come back into fashion?

I think everything is! LOL….I don’t do stillettos…but I love the shoes of the Roaring Twenties..that would be neat and fun to wear. I also loved stacked heels…

If you had a warning label, what would yours say?

Warning: if you shake her, she explodes with laughter that is contagious

Whats the best way to your heart?

Hugs

Whats the craziest thing you’ve ever done for someone?

Well, my husband and I were taking care of a friend’s house while they were on vacation. We noticed a car in their driveway with two men in it..just sitting.  So we went over to see what they wanted…when we came up on either side of the front windows hubby noticed the shotgun and the police radio…I did not.  When the driver showed me a badge that said: US Secret Service, I snorted and said: “You can get those out of a box of cracker jacks” (honest)…  they told us they were on a stakeout.  I didn’t believe them…so we went home, called the police and they said they had no reports of any federal action…then next thing we knew there were helicopters in the sky, state police surrounding the house….  come to find out..they were on a stakeout watching another neighbor two streets away…and we almost disrupted the biggest drug bust in Florida history using race cars coming to Daytona.  We were just watching out for our friend’s house~!

When did you first, without hesitation, call yourself an author?

When I signed my first book contract in 1979! Yup…I’m an old-timer LOL…I have all the rights back on all my traditionally published books and have been updating them for eBooks…well I kept two as classics.

Thank you so much for the interview, Elaine.  It was great fun, and very informative.  I wish you the best of luck in all that you do.