Can we go two seconds without someone else trying to cash in on E.L. James' "Fifty Shades of Grey?" The answer, of course, is a succinct, hard no.

On the bright-side of the all this "Fifty Shades," and "Bared To You" mania, though, is the growing mainstream acceptance of, and very vocal hunger for erotic-leaning novels. It seems like it's easier than ever right now to find steamy, passion-filled books, especially on bestseller lists. 

Well, add author Lisa Renee Jones to that list. The writer of more than 30 novels and novellas for several publishing houses, including "Harlequin" and "Ellora's Cave," her newest book, "If I Were You," is the tale of a schoolteacher who finds herself swept into a world of intrigue and seduction. The first book in her "Inside Out" trilogy, "If I Were You" relishes in suspense and steamy trysts.

And the reviews are already overwhelmingly positive. 

From Amazon, which currently rates the book 4.7/5:

"After having only read book one of a planned trilogy, I already can tell I'm going to like this series even more than the Fifty Shades one." 

"This story needs to come with caution because this one has a cliffhanger that hopefully will have some answers in the next two books. "

"One intense read, an excellent one to be specific. Exciting, adventurous, sensual, mysterious, surprising and fun!

The accomplished author, a self-described workaholic who writes seven days a week, is also set to release "Beneath the Secrets," "12 Shades of Surrender," and "Follow My Lead" later this year.

HEA recently spoke to Jones about her sultry new read, her decision to become a writer, and how indie publishing has changed her life and work for the better.

From an interview originally appearing in USA Today:

You've said that "If I Were You" differs from your other work. What led you to drift from your usual style of writing?

It is very different for me. The idea came about a few years ago when my fiancé started buying and selling storage auctions and found a journal he couldn't stop reading. He and I started talking about an idea and the more it developed in my mind, the more the heroine's voice did as well. I actually started writing it in third person and put it aside. It felt wrong. Then about a year later, I picked it up again and started writing first person, and it just fell into place. It felt right in every way. The characters and the story were suddenly alive like they haven't ever been in any other story I've written. This was the first time that I wrote in first person and for some reason it really worked for me. I loved it.

So much of the book comes from a past history. I remember looking through the storage units and realizing that the person (who owned the items) had died. Or that their marriage had broken up.

Since I had been working on the story for so long, the characters were so developed in my mind. There have been times where I had a book due to my editor within three months and I felt that I didn't have the time to really live with a character.

"If I Were You" centers on an average school teacher whose life grows more exhilarating as the story progresses. What inspired that concept?

My fiancé's dad is a schoolteacher, and he was so intrigued by the story idea and the idea of the journal, so that triggered the schoolteacher side of things. Also, I think we all identify with how life can become predictable and how we can hunger for more and not know how to get it. I think that the story is easy to identify with for most of us at some point in our lives.

You originally ran your own staffing agency but sold the business to pursue writing. How did that decision come about?

When I sold my business I got a sizable offer to work in the corporate world for another five years. I knew that if I took the offer, five years later, I may not have had the courage to go ahead and (become a writer). There were a lot of people who thought that I was crazy and a lot of times that I thought I was crazy. (Laughs) Now I'm glad that I did it. I love what I do and I'm so glad that I'm not in that corporate world anymore.

What is a typical day like for you?

I'm a workaholic and I have a very hard time relaxing. I owned my staffing agency for 11 years while raising two kids so I was used to crazy work hours and no rest. I write seven days a week. I just find it keeps my creativity going strong. That's how I put out so many books. I do make time for movies and lots of audio books at the gym. I'm a gym rat in a huge way. I work out six days a week. Believe it or not, I wrote one of what I think is the best sex scenes in If I Were You on the exercise bike on my iPhone Notes (app) because it just came to me and I was afraid I'd forget it!

How much do you write each day when working on a new book?

I typically write 1,000-2,500 words a day. I think a lot about what I'm going to write next. When I was working on If I Were You, I did a lot of thinking and a lot of processing. It was very important to me to make sure that every little word counted and had some sort of meaning to it.

Why do you prefer writing series to stand-alone books?

I tend to get attached to characters I write and they are hard to let go of. I hope readers feel the same way. I think that when you are writing about a character the people around them say so much about who they are so those people have to become very real to the writer and the reader.

The upcoming anthology "12 Shades of Surrender" is generating major buzz, how did you become involved with the project?

I was lucky! I wrote a short for my "Harlequin" editor and it was picked out of the blue for this project. I'm very honored and excited to be a part of this. There are some spectacular authors involved.

Who are some of your favorite authors and how have they inspired your work?

I have a number of favorites and I believe they have all influenced me. I am a huge Karen Moning fan. I love her romances and her Fever series. She has such a way of making characters come to life. I aspire to do this for my readers with my characters. I have to say I hesitated to end If I Were You the way I did because her Fever series had me dying between books and that is torture! However, it felt right, and ultimately, I went with it. But yes! Karen made me fret about if I dared do that to readers.

My favorite sexy suspense author is Shannon McKenna. She writes such raw, real people. I aspire to be able to do that, but it's just a gift she has that is magical. I think she does it in a very special way.

You've decided to self-publish some of your work. In what ways has that been beneficial?

Indie publishing (or self-publishing) has really led to a night-and-day difference in income for many writers. For me it's been unbelievable. This doesn't mean that I don't rely on traditional methods of publishing, though. Working in the corporate world taught me not to put all of your eggs in one basket, but the truth of the matter is that I make 70% of my income off of indie publishing now. It's changed my life and many of my friends' lives.

At the moment, I feel like releasing my work on my own. I have a real feel for what my readers want and I can turn out a book that readers want faster than I can with traditional publishing.

"If I Were You" is available now.

Have you read "If I Were You?" If so, let us know what you thought in the comments!