Slyce: Brothers and Sistah’s, please welcome our sistah, Author Regina Swanson to “The Interrogation Room”!! Welcome my sistah :-). Are you ready?
Slyce: What inspired you to become an author?
RS: Becoming an author was the next logical step for me. Before becoming an author, I was an avid reader. After reading a good book, I would always envision what happened after the author wrote The End. I loved coming up with different scenarios and alternate endings to my favorite books. After doing this for so long, I decided to not just rewrite the endings of my favorite books. I decided I would write my own books. And here I am 20 books later still enjoying writing my own endings.
Slyce: What is the name of your publishing company?
RS: Royalty Publishing House. I signed to write under Porscha Sterlings company five years ago.
Slyce: In what genre do you write?
RS: Although it’s not fully recognized as one of the traditional genre’s, I like to claim Urban Romance as my genre. I feel like my writing is not quite Urban Fiction/Street Lit and not just strictly Romance. It falls somewhere in between the two.
Slyce: Have you penned under another name?
RS: I’ve only penned under Regina Swanson
Slyce: You wrote a book titled, “When A Real Man Loves You”. What was this book about?
RS: “When A Real Man Loves You” is about love and wanting to be loved. It’s about men treating women the way they should be treated.
Selena Mathis fell head over heels for Theo Carter. She went into the relationship well aware of his first family. His vow to love and cherish her regardless of his situation showed her how it feels when a real man loves a real woman. When Theo unexpectedly dies in a suspicious house fire, Selena shuts herself off from loving again and focuses only on raising her two daughters.
Zell, Selena’s oldest daughter, can be a handful. She reminds Selena of herself at the age of eighteen. Zell is hell bent on learning things the hard way. As much as Selena tries to shield her from loving the wrong man, Zell has her own idea of what a real man does for a real woman.
Although her mom and sister have always thought she was the strong one, circumstances involving her current boyfriend send her into a position of needing someone to build her back up again.
Boz is the youngest of Selena and Theo’s girls. She’s the complete opposite of her sister. She doesn’t have time to think about boys or anything other than making the best grades and getting into a good college. Boz, being the softer of the sisters, is used to Zell stepping in to fight her battles against those who choose to treat her with anything other than respect. Boz’s plan to stay focused on what’s most important to her begins to unravel when she meets her first love.
When a Real Man Loves You tells the story of a single mom raising her girls without the positive influence of a male to teach them what to expect from the men they choose to date. Selena, Zell & Boz are prepared to let you take a look inside their personal lives and give them the advice they need to find the love they desire.
Slyce: Is this book a stand-alone or series?
RS: This book is part of a three book series. Currently two books are available. The final book will release next month.
Slyce: Is this book an eBook or paperback?
RS: This book is available in both ebook and paperback format.
Slyce: How important are interviews?
RS: Personally, I believe interviews are extremely important because it gives readers a chance to ask questions about characters, settings, themes and all other things they specifically want to know about the book. An author can provide insight into a book based on the author’s experience and expectations for a book. But readers experience so many different emotions based off their own personally experiences. Authors providing interviews give readers a chance to delve deeper into the writers mind and provide the reader with a greater connection to the book.
Slyce: How important are reviews?
RS: I rate reviews just as high of importance as I rate interviews. Reviews are important for me because I use them to guide my writing. Improvements can be made, as well as, ideas for the continuation of a story line. I read each and every review that I get on Amazon and Goodreads. When I first started writing, I only looked at reviews to see what rating I received. I’ve learned over the past five years, it’s so much more to just getting a rating. I’ve received five star reviews that simple said, good job. Although it was a five star rating it didn’t give me anything to build on. I’ve received 3 stars with a plethora of insight to go along with it. At the end of the day, I was much happier with the 3 star review than the 5 star because it would help me in my future writing.
Slyce: What does the term, “building a brand” mean?
RS: Building a brand means showing readers exactly what to expect from your writing. When readers see authored by Regina Swanson, they should know exactly what they’re going to get when they open my book. They’re going to get a well written plot, developed characters, twists and turns throughout the book. A cliffhanger at the end of every chapter making them want to read the next chapter. They are going to be taken on an emotional roller coaster. And they’ll be left wanting to read another Regina Swanson novel. All authors should strive for this type of branding.
Slyce: What steps are you taking to build your brand?
RS: To build my brand, I’m studying my craft. I’m reading, researching and continuing to build my catalog of books. Previously I’ve focused more on writing than interacting with readers. I’m currently focusing on finding a balance between the two. These things will increase my presence and subsequently my brand.
Slyce: What goals would you like to achieve as an author?
RS: One goal that I wish to achieve as an author would be to have one of my books turned into a movie or stage play. This would allow non-readers to be entertained by my writing.
Slyce: Is there anything else cooking in the lab for Author Regina Swanson?
RS: Absolutely! I always have two or three book ideas working at the same time. As soon as I finish the final book in the When A Real Man Loves You series, I’m jumping right into my next book titled, He’s Still My Husband. This series is about a woman who’s husband divorced her to marry his side chick. The ex-wife is hellbent on showing the new wife how it feels when the tables have been turned. It’s going to be explosive. Stay tuned.
Slyce: What advice can you offer to those aspiring to become authors?
RS: My advice to aspiring writers is to just write. Write everyday. Even if it’s only one sentence. One sentence eventually becomes one paragraph. One paragraph becomes one page. One page becomes one chapter. And before you realize it you have a book.
Slyce: Do you write for passion or profit?
RS: I write for the passion. I absolutely love creating stories. If you write for passion it will never get old. If you write for profit, when the money stops, the writing stops.
Slyce: Have you ever done blog talk radio/podcast?
RS: I’ve never done a podcast or blog talk radio. It’s on my to do list once I get past my shyness. 🙂
Slyce: Name three authors you’d love to work with.
RS: I would love to work with some of the authors I first read twenty years ago, like Terry McMillan, Kimberla Lawson Roby, Donna Hill & Omar Tyree. This was back when we had Black Expressions and couldn’t wait for the mail to be delivered to receive their next book.
Slyce: Where can our viewers purchase your book?
RS: My books can be purchase online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Slyce: How can viewers contact you?
RS: I can be reached through my website or here on Facebook. I look forward to hearing from readers and writers alike.
Everyone, please go purchase, “When A Real Man Loves You” by Author Regina Swanson. Also, remember to check out her page on Facebook at: 
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