Author of the Month: Donna McDonald Interview + GIVEAWAY

 

Hi Donna!  Welcome to Mortality Bites!  I'm so excited to have you here with us today.

Thank you Alicia! I’m very excited to be here.
I love your blog’s name. . .and I agree.







THE INTERVIEW:

You write in several different genres.  Which is your favorite?

Wait until I stop laughing. Oh, okay--I’m better now. I knew this question was going to be asked one day.

I like all my genres and need them all to be a happy writer. I have two writer friends who are the same way. I didn’t know that about my writing self when I started publishing in 2011, but I definitely do now with 16 books finished.

I sincerely enjoy the contemporaries, which are mostly funny, because I like to make readers laugh. Plus, I wanted to show that sexy relationships can be terrific at any age and I have done that with my older characters. I had to self-publish my contemporaries because no traditional house thought they could sell them. My rejections were kind, but hinted frequently that my sex was too hot for people over 40. None of my readers think that is the case-lol. The five books of the Never Too Late series are my best selling titles at the moment.

However, I am here on Mortality Bites because my writer roots are in what started out in the mid-90s as “paranormal romances”.  Now that branches from paranormal into fantasy and the science fiction series that I’m having so much fun writing. I am home in these genres.

Now The Shaman’s Mate is a different book for me. I categorized it as fantasy because I tackled life after death, dimensional travel, energy and magic, a possible theory of angels, missing Native American tribes, and a host of spiritual topics in the story. Philosophically, it has a little of everything, but at it’s core is a broken man finding his life’s purpose and the woman he is meant to love and support. I have one more book with a similar theme that I wrote in 2010 which I hope to release next year.

 

At Mortality Bites we love all things paranormal/fantasy.  Can you tell us a little about your Forced To Serve series?

My blog for this work is called “Demons, Dragons, and Space Opera” because I intended to write a dragon book, but after a very detailed dream ended up writing a space opera with an alien demon in it. Until that point, I never even considered writing about demons.

Book 4, The Healer’s Kiss, just released December 4. I’m already getting excited about writing Book 5 in a few months. The first book in the series, The Demon of Synar, is a novella that covers the initial world building and introduces the characters. The rest of the books are larger stories and more complicated books, averaging around 100k words each. The Forced To Serve series is fun for me for many reasons. I get to write fight scenes AND alien sexual encounters. How great is that?

Who are your favorite characters in this series and why?

Malachi, the true ‘Demon of Synar’, is probably my favorite character. He is a non-corporeal being who was turned into “demon mist” as a punishment for the wrongs he committed on his planet. His punishment of serving the Synar family has been ongoing for over a millennia when the series begins. Because Malachi was such a tough case, he has a “demon master” among the Synar males who is responsible for him. The recent one happens to be my ship’s captain. Liam’s evil brother was supposed to be his master, but his father found out and gave Malachi to Liam, though the younger Synar was very reluctant to take the role of demon master.

Malachi’s situation seems to have little resolution, except in the most limited of ways. To have any sort of life outside of his energy-only form of demon mist, Malachi must live in a host, which is the heroine of Books 1 and 2, and his first female one ever. So far, Malachi’s ‘redemption’ is a running theme throughout all the books. Book 5 is going to be “The Demon’s Change” and I’m vibrating to write it.
My other favorite character is the ship’s second in command, Commander Gwen Jet, who is the only Earthling (well half anyway) on the ship. She is 35 when the series opens and quite the warrior. Nasty temper, but loyal with the heart of  a great leader. In ways, she is more a true leader than her captain. Her mate is Lieutenant Dorian Zade, the sexy Siren counselor onboard. My all time favorite moment in the series is a fight that happens between Gwen and Dorian in Book Two. I had a writer’s Zen moment of knowing it was great and perfect for the story.

I have kick-ass women throughout in the series, and the males they end up with are definitely put through the paces. There is a “type” for reader. I’m finding fans are writing to ask me now about what’s going to happen in future books.

In this series you have three books out right now.  Can you tell us anything about the next book in the series? 

Book 4 is The Healer’s Kiss and just released December 4. In Book 2, the crew rescued a captive female mate who ended up helping them find the Peace Alliance ambassador they were sent to the planet to rescue. The accidentally rescued female is Boca Ador.  On the ship, Boca uses her skills to work in Medical, but on the side is training to be a warrior, which is a life career she always wanted.

She fights with knives and is a skilled assassin with them. The ship’s residential healer, Doctor Chiang, has a natural mating urge for her and keeps causing problems in her training as he pursues her. He was a warrior and gave it up, so you can imagine how many issues he has with Boca fighting. So this book is their romance, but it also is transitional for the series in adding new characters and losing others. The crew is returning to Boca’s old slave planet to rescue another female captive, and she is going undercover to help. Chiang insists on going along as well.

 

Your cover art is amazing.  Who does your design and was it fun getting to create them?

If I ever meet her, I will kiss the feet of Dara England of LFD Designs for Authors. Her work for me is amazing and I am grateful every day. Dara has done all of my covers. I think she reads minds. The Siren’s Call (Gwen and Dorian) and The Healer’s kiss (Boca and Chiang) are my first “couples covers”. I did help with those by picking out couples I liked that fit my characters. But my favorite cover of the Forced To Serve series is Book Two, The Demon Master’s Wife. You would not believe the magic Dara did with that one. I love it. It suits Ania’s character perfectly. I just got the cover for Book 5 a week ago. It is equally good.

 

 

I hear you are going to be writing  a book about dragons?  What can you tell us about that?

Yes I will definitely be writing a book about dragons. I love dragons. I get chills talking about them. It will be a fantasy. I don’t have all the details, but I am leaning to the female lead being other worldly. She will be forcing the dragon state on the hero who will not be pleased. I have several ideas, but commitments to readers to complete next books in several of the contemporary series. I don’t know if I will get to my dragon book in 2013 or not. I am waiting for the muses to decide.

 

You are one of the attending authors at the Indie Romance Convention next year.  What are you looking forward to the most about this convention?  Do you have anything special planned for us?

First, I’m looking to meet readers. I attended Lori Foster’s Reader-Author Get Together this year and loved meeting people. But also, two of the indie authors I regularly read are being featured as well, so I will get to meet them and I’m VERY excited. I hope my readers are half as excited about meeting me.

October 2013 seems so far away. I haven’t planned anything special yet, but I’m sure I can come up with something. If you have any suggestions, I’ll consider them.
 

 

 

Now for some fun

 

This or That

That. I use the word to point things out, fearful I guess of others missing what I am taking in around me.

 

Sweet or Salty

Sweet—Chocolate. Donuts. Cookies. Excuse me—I have to make a trip to kitchen. I’ll be back in a minute to finish this interview.

Polka Dots or Stripes

I bought a polka dot scarf to break up all the solid black and white in my wardrobe. Does that count?

 

Bath or Shower

Shower—when I’m in a hurry. Bath—when I want to slow down, or share my relaxation time.

Chocolate Syurup or Whipped Cream

BOTH. If you forced me to pick, I’d probably take the whipped cream. I have plenty of chocolate in my house.

Leather or Feather

Feathers if there are restraints. Leather if there are lots of fasteners and zippers. Wait—who’s going to be reading my answers? Just kidding. . . 

Lights On or Light Off

Lights on.

 

 

Thank you so much Donna for talking with us today!

 

 

 

A Signed, 2 Volume Print Book Set of Books 1 and 2,

The Demon of Synar and The Demon Masters wife

 

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