Willa Okati's website is, like the lady herself, quietly understated. It isn't until you get to the books page that you really see the fire beneath that quiet exterior. By the time this interview appears, Willa Okati will have published four dozen books with Changeling Press, Loose ID, Samhain, and Torquere Press -- and in this case, quantity and quality go together like, well, like Slate and Ash, the heroes in Willa's A Year and a Day, which won a coveted Gold Star from Just Erotic Romance Reviews and is both an Eppie GLBT Finalist and a 2006 CAPA nominee for Best Paranormal Romance. It's no wonder at all why she's also a CAPA nominee for Favorite Erotic Author of 2006 -- Willa's books have received more five-star reviews than I can possibly count, and have garnered recommended read awards for Lust Magick, Hell at One Dark Window, Straight Man and Coffee Guy, Dante's World: Morgan's Creed, Everyday Specters: Too Close to the Sun -- among others! And I'm pretty sure Willa's blushing by now! A writer who saves her passion for the page, Willa Okati consistently produces stories that are beautifully written, scorchingly hot, and achingly romantic. She was kind enough to take some time with me, and I was thrilled at the opportunity to interview her.

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Sierra Dafoe: Willa, it seems as if everybody's suddenly talking about the "new trend" in erotic romance, and you've been quietly writing these gorgeous love stories for years. What first attracted you to m/m romance, and what do you think of its growing popularity?

Willa Okati: Like many writers of male/male erotica, I started with fanfiction. I'd wanted to be an author for as far back as I could remember, but I'd grown disheartened with trying to submit to print publishers and had actually stopped writing for over a year. I dabbled with short stories and soon found myself writing like a madwoman whenever I had a spare second. I've drifted out of fandom circles, but that's where I first found and fell in love with the idea of slash. As for its growing popularity, I think that's dependent on two factors: one, authors are reading it and discovering that they'd like to try it for themselves and two, readers are getting more and more intrigued by the idea of two men in lust, love, or what-have-you. They want more, and we're happy to provide.

Sierra: One of the things I love about your stories is that they are love stories -- I've yet to read a book of yours in which the emotional connection wasn't equally as important as the sensual one. And yet the love scenes are invariably scorching -- I'm going to refer once again to that incredible scene in Freedom Rising: What Price Freedom? between Silken and Nanashi, which was the first Willa Okati I read, and totally got me hooked on m/m erotic romance. What kind of research did you do to achieve such a blistering realism in your love scenes?

Willa Okati: Silken and Nanashi are a little different from other works I've done. They're more in keeping with Western Yaoi (which is a whole different ball game). But I'm pleased that you liked the scene. To me, love is just as important as sex. There has to be both, and I like a sizzling sex scene as much as the next person, but if there's no emotional connection the book just doesn't "click" for me. As for research on that book, I was lucky. An online friend of mine who was an expert in Asian culture helped me build the world and served as a great source of inspiration. It didn't hurt that she liked the idea of two men hooking it up in that situation, either ;-)

Sierra: Your output is simply amazing -- what kind of work schedule do you keep, to achieve that kind of productivity? Are there any techniques you use to keep on track and focused?

Willa Okati: I'm lucky in that I don't have a "day job", so I'm able to write as much as I want. I do stick to a regular schedule, though, which I find helps me produce more work because my brain is "trained" to jump into action at certain times. I get up at five a.m., check my e-mail and re-read the previous day's work, and then start writing at six. I usually take about an hour's break and finish up about noon. By then, I'll generally have finished two chapters. Sometimes I do three a day, but that wears me out and gives me a bad start on the next day. To help me do this, plotting is essential. I'm anal about it, no pun intended -- from start to stop, I have a grid that tells me what goes in which chapter. If you're going to do this as a full-time job, you really have to ride yourself hard.

Sierra: Another characteristic of your writing that's received a lot of positive comment is your world building. Your secondary characters and settings in The Brotherhood: Amour Magique, for example, have an incredible vibrancy. How do you manage to give each character such fullness?

Willa Okati: There's not really an easy answer for that. I might see a face on a bus or in a magazine ad, and my mind instantly fills in their backstory. It's like an autopilot thing. A little chatting things over with my plotting buddy and I have a fully-fledged character who's ready for adventure.

Sierra: I'm embarrassed to admit, I haven't read A Year and a Day yet. What is it, do you think, about that particular book and the relationship between Ash and Slate that has captured so many readers' imaginations? No, scratch that -- what was it about that book that captured your imagination?

Willa Okati: A Year and a Day was one of those books that just "pops" for me. Everything fell into line from the first sentence and it all became so real for me that it was as if I knew Slate and Ash personally. I knew I was taking a risk writing a very achy-breaky story, but Samhain believed in it enough to e-publish the work, for which I'm grateful. I'm also flattered at the attention it's received!

Sierra: I remember reading something -- an interview, I think it was, might have been a blog post! -- in which you mentioned that you've always written m/m love stories, first as fanfic and then your own, original stories; the only big difference now is that you get paid for them. And I have to say, I think it's absolutely critical to have a passion for what you write. I'm curious, has becoming a professional writer dimmed that passion at all, or has it increased it?

Willa Okati: My life is writing. If I'm not actively pounding the keys, I'm thinking about ideas and characters. I eat, sleep and breathe stories. I could promo more *grin* but I'm appallingly shy. Odd when you think about what I write, isn't it?

Sierra: What do you have coming up? I know the third installment of the Magick series, Sex Magick, is coming soon from Changeling Press -- what else can readers look forward to in the near future?

Willa Okati: Oh, wow. There are several things. "Sex Magick" and "Elven Encounter" (a sequel to "Elven Enchantment") and "Freedom's Fire" from Changeling. "The Brotherhood 11: Nothing Like Experience" from Loose Id. "Café Žoctem" from Samhain Publishing. "The Name of the Game", "North Storm", and "Stranger Things Have Happened, Part 1" from Torquere.

I stay busy, LOL.

Sierra: And what about for you? What new goals and challenges would you like to set yourself?

Willa Okati: I'd like to accomplish all of the writing goals I have set for myself and I'm always looking to improve on my technique and style. I'm also starting to get into M/M/F menage and I'm interested in seeing where that takes me. I'd also like to dye my hair a new color. The blue is almost faded out.

Sierra: Finally, I have to ask -- how many cats are you up to now?

Willa Okati: LOL! Five. Ringo, Merlin, Loki, Nimue, and Numfar.

Sierra: Willa, thank you so much for taking the time with me! It is, as always, a delight.

Willa Okati maintains a website at www.willaokati.com. Her latest release The Brotherhood 10: Salt of the Earth is available online from Loose ID (click here) and in bookstores everywhere. She also has books and stories available online with Changeling Press, Samhain Publishing, Loose ID, and Torquere Press.

Books by WILLA OKATI (click covers for info!)