Aubrey Leatherwood

"Hall Monitor": Security guard Eric Mallisham has everything he wants except for Gayle Dearing, an aloof yet smoldering stunner in a suit and stilettos. Gayle has everything she wants, too, except for that one elemental, passionate connection she's sought but never found. Their dual desires collide when Eric seizes an opportunity to speak to her, banning her from having drinks in the company library. An electric awareness of each other flares, and Gayle entices Eric with a simple request: Watch me.

"The Kiln": All Lucious wants is a nice job with benefits. But once he starts working at Blaylock's Brickmaking, the eerily tight-knit team on the night shift gives him so much more to desire. For one, there's his trainer, Tammy, who knows how to fire bricks and fire up his desire... Welcome to the kiln, where the ovens are never as hot as the employees!

"Sahara's on a Plane to Munich": Graduation looms, and so does a proposal from Sahara's boyfriend. Sahara's happy -- or maybe not. She doesn't have a job yet and she finds herself drawn more and more to Ingo with his piercing blue eyes, honeyed accent, and body built for travel... Decisions, decisions. Will Sahara find wedded bliss and stability, or will she get on a plane to Munich?

Urban Reviews:  Where did you come up with the concept for this story?
Aubrey Leatherwood:  Both "Hall Monitor" and "Sahara's on a Plane to Munich" were inspired by a place I used to work. I kept seeing the physical structure of the building in my mind while I wrote "Hall Monitor". "Sahara" starts out with the lead character working in a campus bookstore very much like the one I worked in when I was in college. "The Kiln" has the funniest background, it was actually inspired by a documentary I saw on the Discovery Channel.

Urban Reviews:  What kind of career would you rather have...a short yet popular career....or a long yet profitable career?
Aubrey Leatherwood:  Seeing as I love to have my cake and eat it too, this is a difficult question for me to answer! I think I'd rather have a short yet popular career. I answer that way because I'll always be a writer, whether I sell ten books or ten million. In that sense I'll have a career as long as I live. Luckily, if it's not so profitable I have other skills to pay the bills. (I know! That was a bad rhyme!)

Urban Reviews:  Why did you decide to put out E-books instead of traditional hard copies of your books?
Aubrey Leatherwood:  ePublishing is where I've started my career mainly because the submission guidelines were more convenient than traditional publishers. Additionally, responses to submissions were quicker. Additionally, epublishers seem to have a much broader range in what themes and genres they are willing to consider. Still, just like many authors, the feel of my own hard copy book in hand is a great one and I look forward to closing a trade paperback deal very soon.

Urban Reviews:  What has been your biggest challenge as a new author?
Aubrey Leatherwood:  Finding markets. Actually, it's interesting. I'm not a natural sales person. So promotion has been something I've had to learn while growing as a published author. I'm slowly becoming a mini-PR person!

Urban Reviews:  If there was one thing you could do differently, what would it be?
Aubrey Leatherwood:  In writing? I think that the only thing that would have changed would have been that I was more focused in my youth. I think that just a little more ambition would have potentially seen me writing full time now.

Urban Reviews:  What other projects have you recently completed and what do you have coming up?
Aubrey Leatherwood:  I just finished a full length contemporary erotic novel about a couple preparing to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. There's no adultery, no disrespect, no deception. Instead, we see a couple with a healthy relationship and healthy sex life.

The real tension and compelling part of the story comes from us taking a journey with Candy. She lets us in on how they fell in love and how they have managed to get through tough times together even including a tenuous relationship with their adult daughter. I wasn't intending to send a message when writing it, but I can't deny that this was a labor of love and Candice and JB's story is certainly one I aspire to. Oh, and it's really, really hot!

Urban Reviews:  Do you have any favorite authors or books?
Aubrey Leatherwood:  I read a lot. It's very hard for me to pick any favorite author or book because I'd almost have to list them out by genre! The book that sticks in my mind right now is Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison.

Urban Reviews:  What should every aspiring author know or learn about before jumping into the literary arena?
Aubrey Leatherwood:  Be self-conscious. I say this because you truly need to have an idea of your strengths and areas of improvement before you enter this business. If you don't know them, someone, maybe an acquisitions editor, will absolutely let you know and being blindsided can be very discouraging. Know what you need to work on, get second opinions and not just from your friends. You need an objective perspective on your work even in regards to audience and marketing plan.

Urban Reviews:  Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself or your novel?
Aubrey Leatherwood:  Actually, I'm excited to announce that The People You Know; The Sex They Have has been nominated for a Romantic Times Award for Best Contemporary Erotica 2008. Cross your fingers!