NRR: Why did you choose paranormal
romance?
Paranormal creatures and powers have
been an interest of mine for as long as I can remember. In literature, I think
vampires especially are a wonderful metaphor for exploring topics such as
faith, addiction, abuse, ethics and prejudice, among other things. Vampires
embody the persona of anyone who has ever felt outcast, alone and unable,
unwilling or undeserving to find love. I think that is a basic element of why
we connect with them on some level. I doubt I’ll ever write in any genre that
does not include a paranormal element.
Although I always planned for my
story to include fantastic elements of the paranormal, I didn’t set out to
write in a specific genre. I had an idea for venomous vampires and began to
develop characters and follow their lives. My
books are actually a blending of
genres, being most closely associated with Urban Fantasy, in that they follow
an ensemble cast rather than only one couple. There is definitely romance in my
series, but I do not write in the typical format that once expects in Romance
with only one couple and a ‘happily ever after’ in every book. My series more
realistically follows the evolution of relationships between 6 core characters
– even though the first trilogy is told through the perspectives of only 2. The
first trilogy is really one story told in 3 parts, so that each book is not
stand alone, which is more characteristic of Fantasy than Romance. I tend to
blend genres and break rules ;-)
NRR: Which of your female leads do
you relate to the most?
Honestly, I closely relate to all of
the characters in my books! It may sound strange because my characters are
pretty diverse, but it’s true. Each of these characters has been taken from the
seed of something within myself. I have been lucky enough in my life never to
have been sexually abused or addicted to drugs - but everything that goes into
making up the personalities for my characters, how they feel and react to
things, has come from some little grain of dealing with something in my own
life - magnified. At some point in my life I have totally identified with and
"been" these people. Even if it didn't outwardly show - this is how I
felt and wanted to react.
Outwardly I’m sure my friends and
family would say I am most like Felicity. Physically, I have modeled her after
myself; intellectually and emotionally she is very much the girl that I was at
that age. I was usually pretty quiet and shy, constantly reading my fantasies
rather than trying to live them out. However, the beauty of writing, is that I
can use various past experiences to act out different emotions through all of
my characters. If I could not emotionally live through what they go through,
and transcribe it to the page, I don’t think the writing would resonate very
strongly with readers. That close relationship between an author’s feelings and
the page are what gives a story life.
NRR: In Volume 3: Evolving Ecstasy
there was a romantic twist that surprised readers. Was this planned out or
something that came to you as you were putting the book together?
While writing, I always knew how the
book would end. I plan out the general outline of my books well in advance of
writing a single word. There are times that the story evolves a little
differently as I write it, but it never truly strays from the overall outline –
I have some complexly intertwined storylines leading from one book to the next,
some of which have not even really been introduced yet, but have seeds and foundations
sown throughout all of the prior books. To change anything drastically would
alter overall plan for the entire series.
Without giving anything away for new
readers, I will say that when I was first planning the outline, there was a
part of the ending that suddenly came to me as almost a surprise. Sometimes it
feels as though I am focusing intently on one section of the puzzle, not
realizing that some disconnected part of my subconscious is maneuvering the
rest of the puzzle pieces into place for me. By the time I stop focusing on
that one small section, I step back to see that everything else just seems to
magically fit into place. All of a sudden as I am plotting the story, it all
clicks and I think – Oh, that’s why I made this happen, because now it fits
well with that! It’s an odd feeling – almost as though I am relating what
happened, rather than creating it myself, LOL.
In that same vein, I find myself
very against altering a story event once I’ve envisioned it in my head.
Sometimes I make a choice because I know that it is what one character would do
– but it messes things up for the other characters. To change something feels
like a lie – like I am not telling what really happened. So I relate the events
as I first envision them. Difficult occurrences are opportunities to show
character growth. Things don’t always happen the way we expect them to in life,
and we have to learn to deal with that.
NRR: Between Cain and Ben, which one
would you like to locked up in a room with?
I can’t honestly answer that. It
depends on my emotional needs of the moment, and I truly love them both! (Can I
have them both?) Luckily my husband has qualities of each :-)
NRR: If you could collaborate with
any author, who would you pick and why?
Not to sound unsociable, but I
couldn’t imagine having to write with another person. Writing is a very
personal thing for me, that I pour all of my passion and emotion into. It would
be very difficult to accept alterations in the story I envision, based on the
ideas of someone else.
I will say that an author I greatly
admire is Anne Rice. Her beautifully literary vampire chronicles were my first
experience reading something from the vampire’s point of view, and having
opportunity to truly connect emotionally with such characters. I also love the
writing of Joss Whedon in his Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie and television
series. His witty dialogue, clever metaphors and intelligent storytelling have
always inspired me.
NRR: Does music inspire you? If so,
what would you say has been the most influential song for the series?
Although my main characters are Cain
& Felicity, I do feel the story’s supporting cast are just as important and
emotionally involved in the series. The strongest correlation to song is
between my character Sindy and the song “How Does It Feel?” by Avril Lavigne.
That song seems to voice everything that Sindy feels inside and will not show
others. I was writing Sindy’s scenes for the beginning of ALMOST HUMAN Volume
3: Evolving Ecstasy (Chapter 4, Honesty – when she is with Cain), when I
realized how apropos the song was to her situation. Most people might not
infuse so much emotion into that song, but now every time I hear it, I think of
how Sindy must feel and it can make me cry.
A list of songs I connect with my
series (it’s a bit eclectic, but so are my characters):
How Does It Feel? – Avril Lavigne
New – No Doubt
This Is How I Disappear – My
Chemical Romance
Uninvited – Alanis Morissette
Light In Your Eyes – Sheryl Crow
I’m Not Dead – P!NK
Broken Hearts Parade – Good
Charlotte
(Don’t Fear) the Reaper – Blue
Oyster Cult
All That I’m Living For -
Evanescence
Lifetimes – Sheryl Crow
NRR: How hard was it to become a
self published author? Why did you choose this path?
I first tried publish my series back
in 2004, and as it is for most authors, it was a long and difficult endeavor. I
spent a few years trying to get published by traditional methods. I researched
the whole process and jumped through every hoop. Unfortunately, most publishers
and agents are swamped with inquiries these days, and are unable to give each
submission the attention it may deserve. I got numerous rejection postcards
without a single request to actually read my manuscript.
As a busy wife and mom, I wasn’t
able to attend conventions or camp out on door-steps to be read. I stopped
trying to publish, and continued writing my series for myself, and for the love
of the story. I was earning my Masters Degree to be a school librarian, when a
professor mentioned that Amazon would accept previously unpublished books for
the Kindle. I knew that once you self-publish, most traditional publishers will
not consider your work, but no one was considering my work anyway. After some
research and deliberation, I decided to publish on Kindle in 2008, because it
was an effective way to share my stories with the public. I could have closure,
feeling like I'd done something with the books, and be able to move on. I
wanted to begin writing the 2nd trilogy for the series, which had already been
playing out in my head, no matter how I tried to focus on other things.
After my series began to gain Kindle
readers, I got many requests for print copies of the books. To try and make
that happen, I shopped around again for agents & publishers in January ’09.
This time I had verifiable sales to show them – but it didn’t help. There is
still a stigma against ‘self-published authors’ (although I believe that is
slowly changing). They didn’t like the fact that my books were already out in
e-book format, even though they had never been printed. Again I was constantly
rejected without even being read first. I finally decided to publish in print
independently, because I was more interested in sharing the stories with
readers, than waiting for a publishing house to back me.
I handled every aspect from editing
& formatting, to cover photos (that's me on book 1). It took a lot of time,
research, learning what needed to be done, and finding the most cost effective
way to carry it out. I chose a printing company that allows me complete
control, and I learned what was involved to become Independently published in
print. In April of 2009, WoodWitchDame Publications was born. Word-of-mouth
through readers has helped spread the addiction of my venomous vampires, and
I’ve been blessed with many devoted readers. I am very happy with the success
of my series being Indie published.
I would still be open to
entertaining offers from larger publishers, but not at the expense of my
creative control. A larger publisher would have the connections to get my books
into more stores, more quickly, and could provide a budget for a promotional campaign,
to create better public awareness of the books. However, many traditional
publishing houses expect the books they support to conform to a certain genre
and format that is associated with their company. My series blends many genres
and does not follow set conventions. Staying true to my vision for the
characters, and having complete creative control is of utmost importance to me,
so I will not publish with another company unless I feel their offer is in the
best interest of the series.
I also appreciate the fact that
being Indie published means that I can take the time to research aspects of my
story, and truly flesh out fully developed and evolving characters. I don’t
have to worry about compromising my story, in order to meet a deadline. At this
point in time, I may not have a contract with a big bonus or advance check, but
every time a reader tells me that my characters resonate with them, and my
stories have touched their lives, it is more rewarding than I ever would have
imagined! That is what makes Indie publishing the path for me.
NRR: Do you plan to write any more
books in this vampire world?
I have been thinking about my
characters and their story for years, and have already planned their future for
many books to come. I have decided to write my ALMOST HUMAN series as a
succession of trilogies. The series will continue chronologically with the same
characters throughout, but each trilogy will have a new focus and storyline
that follows through its three books. Each trilogy is fairly self-contained,
allowing those three books to be read separately from the rest of the series,
but will be more enjoyable if the trilogies are read in order, illustrating the
full history of the characters.
Writing the series as a succession
of trilogies gives readers the opportunity to feel a sense of completion during
points in the story, even though the series will still continue for many books
to come. I have planned 4 trilogies for the ALMOST HUMAN series, meaning 12
books in all, and then I have plans for a spin off novel, which may result in a
series of its own.
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