Interview with Ciana Stone, author of Wiley Johns

What can you tell us about your new release, Wiley Johns?

Wiley is the guy I would fall in love with in a red-hot second.  He’s mature, but not too old to take away his sex appeal or vigor, has one hell of a sense of humor and as an added turn on, is kind of a bad-ass who can make a woman dream of all kind of naughty things.  Plus, he is a genuinely good person.  Kind of a complete package.

This story came to be because I was in the mood for a story where the main characters didn’t just want each other, have some obstacles to overcome and fall in love, but one where they had some fun as well.  I wanted a heroine who could dish it as well as she takes it and a woman who was comfortable in her own skin and I wanted a man who could fall as in love with a child and be willing to risk it all for that kid.

What or who inspired you to become an author?

My husband.  Our son was playing soccer which meant a lot of practices, sitting and waiting and while I was doing that, I wrote a little fantasy story.  My Honey Man read it and said I should do more.

What’s on your top 5 list for the best books you’ve ever read?

1.  James Clavell – Shogun

2.  Harold Robbins – The Carpetbaggers

3.  Nicholas Evans – The Horse Whisperer

4.  Eric Van Lustbader – The Ninja

5.  Colleen McCullough- The Thorn Birds

Say you’re the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?

Vladimir Nabokov, the author of “Lolita”  would be my guest (yes, I’d bring him bck from the dead) and my question would be.  “Now that it’s the year 2018, and erotica and erotic romance has become mainstream, do you feel that your book would be as shocking today as it was when it was originally published,  or have attitudes changed so much that it would not create a stir?”

What’s your favorite thing about writing?

Writing lets me create people I like or hate, want to be like or want to smack. I get to spend time in a world I create where the good guys can win, where happily ever after is a real possibility and where people can laugh – even at themselves.

What is a typical day like for you?

I have coffee on the lanai with my Honey Man, then we go walking for an hour.  After that, I do graphic design work (I am a book cover designer as well as a writer).  I work until one, have some lunch then I write until four, do a resistance band workout, some yoga, get clean and fix dinner.  After dinner I normally pile on the couch with my man, put in my earbuds and listen to music while I write and he reads or watches something on tv.

What scene in Wiley Johns was your favorite to write?

That’s a tough one.  I guess the scene where they are working in the yard, end up dirty and in a water fight with the hose and end up fixing and eating lunch wearing only towels. There was fun and light-hearted moments, energy between them that was almost palatable and moments when secrets were revealed that did more than tell a history, it also revealed deep emotions.  That’s the first time we really learn something about who these people really are.

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

Absolutely.  I actually have two.  The first is from my Dad, “I may give out, but I’ll never give up.” and the second is “appreciate every moment.”  Life doesn’t always deliver what we want, but there’s a lesson in every experience, so if we appreciate our moments and the lessons in them, we end being happier people and happiness is the most important thing of all.  (Right up there with books!)

Ciana Stone is the author of the new book Wiley Johns. 

Connect with Ciana:
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