Author Talk Book Club Interview

A recent interview I did with the Author Talk Book Club on Goodreads.com:



1. What inspired you to pen your first novel?




About two years ago, my husband went into law school and I began to write again in order to decompress from all the stress of paying the bills. The result was Psyche's Gate, my first novel, and since its publication with Liquid Silver Books I have never looked back.



2. Who or what has influenced your writing, and in what way?





Being a visual artist has definitely influenced me--my first heroine is a young prodigy painter trying to make her way in the world. My strong interest in world mythology, anthropology, and history have also held huge sway over my writer's imagination.






My mother strongly influenced my interest in angels, and these great celetial creatures have since become the focus of my dark fantasy musings. Reading the works of such authors as China Mieville, Stephen King, Will Christopher Baer, Clive Barker, and Neil Gaiman have definitely had an impact on me as a writer as well.



3. How has your environment/upbringing influenced your writing?





I originally began writing as a very young tween, around 11 years old, and was very enthusiastic about epic fantasy stories early on. My poetry and short fiction was published in student journals and newspapers when I was a teenager. I eventually let writing fall by the wayside in order to focus on fine art and painted almost exclusively for about a decade. I picked up the digital "pen" once again about 2 years ago and have never stopped. My first book, Psyche's Gate, was highly influenced by my frustrations as a "starving" artist trying to make her way--fantasy following reality, in some sense.



4. What genre are you most comfortable writing?



Dark fantasy and horror, with a strong emphasis on mythology and history as an inspiration behind the characters and the worlds in which they live. I also love to write erotica now and then, although hardcore sex doesn't suit every plotline (and I certainly don't force it).



5. How did you come up with the title for your book(s)?



"Psyche's Gate" was inspired by the heroine's "commission of a lifetime"-- a huge mural that ended up being more than what met the eye. I felt that the title carried an air of mythic fantasy that would intrigue the reader.






The title for "Black Dog and Rebel Rose" was inspired very simply by the hero and heroine of the story: Skriker, a tattooed bad-boy hunter who prizefights on his off nights with the "stage name" of Black Dog, and Rose, the rebellious daughter of a warrior angel and his human lover (see the title of my first book above, which focuses on Rose's parents). The title sounds out-of-the-box and a bit harcore--great for a motorcycle-and-tattoo riddled erotic horror story. ;)