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?
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.
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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