This week we're featuring CB Conwy, author of the recently released A Russian Bear.

 Tell us about A Russian Bear. What inspired you to write it? How long did it take you to write it?

Ahem. Well. How could you not write about Mischa and Tom? I mean, they’re just too hot to let go. Not much choice there. I wrote most of the story over a long vacation and then used the next couple of months to finish and polish it. So, perhaps four months from start to end.

Tell us one thing about yourself that your readers would be surprised to know.

It might not come as a surprise after reading A Russian Bear, but I’m a 4th kyu in karate. Very close to a brown belt. Or I would be close if I actually had time to practice instead of spending it writing.

Do you have a favorite genre to read? To write? Is there any one genre you find it easier to write in than the others?

I like reading good stories, then the genre is less important. And I have a weakness for comfort lit – the kind of books I go to when I’m done with the brainy debuts I’m reading for my day job. As for writing, I’ll stick to things with a happy ending for now; I just can’t imagine loving and nursing my characters for 200 pages only to kill them. Torture them, yes, deprive them of a happy ever after, no.

What’s the best thing about writing? How about the worst thing?

The best thing is the rush; it’s almost a physical high when you’re writing and it’s going well. As for the worst part: nobody ever told me that fictional characters do exactly as they please! All that talk about “the author’s intention”? This author is running around, desperately trying to figure out what my heroes want and then coaxing everybody into something vaguely resembling a consistent plot. Sigh.

Character or plot, which comes first?

Situations come first. I explore them, and if they turn out to be interesting enough, I start looking into how the characters ended up in them and how they can go on. And yes, that’s why I’m talking to myself and making funny faces on the train.

What is your favorite way to spend a rainy day?

Same as any other day: reading or writing while eating huge amounts of chocolate. You can never have too much chocolate.

What’s the best writing advice you ever received/found?

Reading about writing and actually writing are two very different things in my experience. All of your theoretical education doesn’t make any sense until you sit down and start putting words together. And have them torn apart by your first readers, of course (my editor is a true hero). Having said that, I laughed my ass off reading “How not to write a novel”; there’s tons of very entertaining advice on how (not) to write something worth publishing in that book.

What are you working on now?

A fantasy/sci fi/counterfactual history romance with a good bit of aliens and Plato in it. And yes, I seriously need to find a better pitch for it if it’s ever going to see the light of day. A certain carpenter from A Russian Bear keeps interrupting me, though, so I suspect you’ll see more of him soon, too.