I met Sugar this past summer at RWA Nationals in Atlanta. I don’t remember what we started chatting about, I just recall that I laughed and laughed and laughed some more. It was a very good first meeting. After that, I kept running into her (I swear I wasn’t stalking), and then I complimented her on the cover of her then new release and fabulous title: Dangerous Curves Ahead. By the end of RWA Nationals, I’d found a new bud and a new author I truly enjoyed. Today, she’s taking a few minutes to join us here at the pond. She also has a giveaway (all you need to do is comment to be eligible for a chance to win)! So let’s get started with an introduction and then we can dive into the questions, and Sugar’s fabulous responses. Enjoy!

From her official bio: Sugar Jamison is a southern belle trapped in a New Yorker’s body. With a love of big hair and high-heeled shoes, she spends her day at her very normal day job and night dreaming up sweet but sassy romances.

Denny: How long have you been writing and what was your inspiration for the Perfect Fit Novels?

Sugar: I started writing my senior year of college after reading Jennifer Crusie’s BET ME for the second time. I figured it wouldn’t be so hard to write a romance novel. I was wrong. Writing romance is much harder than I thought it would be, but it’s also so rewarding.

Denny: What has been the biggest surprise about the reaction/response to your Perfect Fit series?

Sugar: I don’t know if anything surprised me about the reactions to the Perfect Fit series. Except maybe how many people took exception to my heroine referring to herself as “FAT”. The book is about a plus sized woman. Real women call themselves fat. ALL THE TIME. It’s not a bad word. I’m not degrading myself when I use the word and neither was she. Overweight, plus sized, big. It all means the same thing.

Denny: How much do you love marketing and social media? What have you found works best in promoting your books?

Sugar: I don’t love marketing, but the team at Saint Martin’s Press does a good job spreading the word about my books. I really like Facebook. I update my fan page daily. I feel like most of my readers hang out and connect with me there. I don’t really like Twitter that much, but other people love it. As far as promotion goes, I’m not sure what really has worked in terms of sales. I took out ads in a few places, but honestly I don’t think I got a return on my investment. Goodreads giveaways and the Free Book Friday I found gave me more exposure to readers than anything else. I’m sure there are other things I could be doing but usually I find that word of mouth has worked the best. I get emails from readers who’ve told me that their friends recommended that they read my books. That is the best feeling, much better than getting reviewed by a big magazine.

Denny: Did you have a pre-launch strategy for finding readers? If so, what was it:)? (yes, inquiring minds – noisy ones like me, what to know!)

Sugar: Nope. Sometimes I think I suck at this whole author thing. My publisher sent out review copies all over the place. I think that really made the difference. But I teased it on Facebook and Twitter. I had really great friends who spread the word for me. I’m very grateful for them.

Denny: What did you think I’d ask that you were hoping to answer?

Sugar: I get asked what advice I would give writers. And it would be… besides writing a great book is to build your backlist. Write as much as you can and put out as much as you can, in whatever format you choose to publish in. But make sure that whatever you publish is polished and professional looking.

Denny: What’s the Next Big Thing for Sugar Jamison?

Sugar: My next Perfect Fit book is out February 25th. Thrown For a Curve. I LOVE my hero in this book. I fall in love with each of my heroes, but I really LOVE LOVE LURVE Colin who is my sexy Irish bad boy. My other big thing is that I have another series of books coming out for Harlequin’s Kimani line. The first book is LIBERTY (Ginger Jamison) is also due out February 25th. Here’s a description. When Ryan Beecher returns home after a long deployment overseas, Lexy barely recognizes her husband. The man who left Texas for Afghanistan was cruel and abusive. The man who comes back to her is a badly injured stranger with amnesia—and no memory of their life together.

Lexy can’t believe how much Ryan has changed. The wounded marine is now gentle, caring and tender. And his touch awakens yearnings she’s never felt before. As he takes them both to the point of no return, can Lexy trust this lover who seems to live only for her pleasure…as he seeks his salvation in her healing embrace?

A poignant and erotic story of longing, secrets and second chances, Liberty explores the limits of desire and the boundaries of love.

Thank you Sugar!

It was great having you in the pond. And readers – COMMENT BELOW to be eligible to receive a copy of “Have Yourself a Curvy Little Christmas” by Sugar Jamison (and if you’re nice – and only a tad naughty – we may be able to give away an e-copy of Dangerous Curves Ahead, too!)