When or what made you decide to become an author?
Ever since I was a child I found myself creating stories using all that was happening around me. As soon as I learned to write it was only a matter of time before those ideas found their way to paper. Granted, there were ups and downs when I was writing more or less based on what life was throwing at me at the time. I decided to seriously become a writer and submit my books when my friends looked at me and said, "You need to share your stories". It was the kick I needed.
How do you get an idea for your novel?
Generally my novel ideas come from a simple moment or a glance. Scent of a Wolf came about because I saw a documentary on wolves. Grey's Hidden Fire was born out of watching a Christmas parade of lights the fire station puts on every year. Or I may see a person in a store or while people watching and build a life around that brief glimmer of curiousity.
What is the inspiration you use?
I'm inspired by the unknown. I love to mold the lives of characters because it allows me to broaden my own horizons and perceptions of the world. I'm inspired by the every day and how to infuse it with intrigue.
What is your writing style? Do you just sit down and write or do you create character sketches, outlines, or notes?
I generally have the basic outline of a character in mind and sometimes even a synopsis written out before I start to write. Oftentimes though, the book evolves drastically through the writing process and ultimately looks nothing like what I may have envisioned. However, there are times when I have a whole story in mind and it just flows.
Who is the "Writing Muse" in your life? I.E. who gets your juices flowing when you are blocked?
When I suffer from a little writer's block I tend to switch to another project. I always have a couple of books in various stages of completion and when one muse clams up I just go and tap on the shoulder of another.
Walk me though the way you create a novel from conception to completion.
I don't have a set way that I work to create a novel. I kind of just let the ideas flow. Sometimes they are structured and other times I'll just sit and write for hours with no specific end point. I do have the central characters defined with background stories and personality traits. At times I at least know the main conflict that will occur.
What is the type of voice you use and why?
I don't stick to a specific "voice". All elements of writing ebb and flow based on characters, theme, the song on the radio…
How many novels have you written including all work in progresses you are currently working on?
Including works in progress, I've written ten books. I always have more ideas in my head so when one book researches completion, another flows in to fill its place.
Who is your "writing idol"? I.E. Who do you like and what is it about their writing that captures your soul?
Seriously, as an author to ask me who my writing idol is presents an impossible question. I admire and feel amazed by writers in general. By the passion it takes to put forth a piece of writing for others to see. The very vulnerability of that simple gesture is inspiring and captivating.
What is your current work in progress and how did you get the idea for the Work in progress?
I'm currently in the process of promoting my book Scent of a Wolf.
Here's a little blurb:
Jace Shaw is one of the few survivors of a rare wolf pack. He spends his days on the run and his nights in another world with a man he's only ever dreamed about. To sleep is to feel his dream man's hands on his body and hear wicked whispered words. But when the sun rises reality crashes in. The evil that destroyed his birth pack hunts his kind down in search of a way to control their power. To take the light.
Merek Wahya is an alpha dealing with the issues of being newly appointed, but those all falls away when he closes his eyes at night. A man with moonlit hair and mercury eyes crawls into bed with him. When he wakes it's to a painful arousal no one can satisfy. He soon learns their nocturnal meetings were foreplay for a passionate face-to-face encounter.
When Merek's wolf catches Jace's scent he knows he's found his mate The joy of this discovery is shadowed by the trouble that follows Jace. His mate is embroiled in a battle between two ancient packs. A war Merek must now fight and if he fails he could lose his mate forever.
Is there any advice you can offer to anyone who would like to write?
Don't be afraid to share your work. Readers are always looking for a new fantasy to get lost in.
Where are the bodies buried? IE Is there any old work in progresses you threw aside and decided not to complete and why?
I did shelve one piece of work. It centered around my job at the time in the field of psychology. However, I've dusted it off and am reworking it to be a standalone.
What is a good villain?
A good villain is someone who has a piece of humanity. It is really easy to make someone one hundred percent pure evil, but it lacks depth. There needs to be a catalyst to the evil and that means emotional pain…which means at one point in time the villain was vulnerable enough to feel hurt.
Are there any last comments you may want to include?
Thank you for the interview and for showcasing my book. I appreciate it so much!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An excerpt
Excerpt from Scent of a Wolf
Release date: November 12th
“Mate!”
Jace’s scent hit Merek like a pile of bricks. The familiar scent called out to him. He took a deep breath, and there it was—Jace’s sweet and earthy smell. His mate. Here in the real world. There was no doubt about it. Merek’s wolf perked its ears up and stood waiting to change beneath the shifting sands of his skin.
He’s here.
With that thought panic slammed into him. His heart pounded a savage beat as the urge to get to his mate swept through him. He rose. His form changed even as he prowled forward, away from the meeting hall and in the direction of Emma’s cottage.
“Merek?” Sean asked, apparently confused by his sudden movement. “Wha—”
“My mate.” Merek growled and quickly shifted into the form of a midnight-black wolf.
He advanced through the underbrush, Sean following close behind in wolf form, scarcely a consideration. The only thing that remained of their human forms was a pile of ruined clothes.
The pull to get to his mate made the distance seem never ending, although it only took about five minutes to reach the clearing just beyond the tree line from Emma’s house. Two dead half-shifted weres lay in the center. A third were—a large, mangy gray—slammed the body of a man against the base of a tree. Merek felt the pain of that impact as if it were his body.
He snarled a sound full of fury and looked over at Sean. Their gazes briefly locked. Sean’s were alight with the strength to battle.
Merek and Sean burst into the clearing. The action was enough of a distraction to cause the gray wolf to turn before he could deal a killing blow to Merek’s unconscious mate.
Sean leaped at the gray as Merek advanced toward his mate, who was slumped on the ground. Jace’s body was sleek and elongated in a partial transformation. Before Merek’s eyes, the exposed claws on his mate’s feet and hands drew in. The long, toned muscles of his body retracted into his human form. His figure was pale in the moonlight, but streaks of blood marred its perfection. The slender lines of his body denoted strength and stealth. Merek knew those skills alone were what had kept Jace alive. His mate was naked save for the silver hair that flowed around his shoulders and concealed his face beneath its weight.
Merek howled into the night. He crouched closer and nuzzled the pale silver hair from Jace’s face—the soft lips, the bottom fuller than the top, square jawline with the dimple on his chin, and his aquiline nose. Altogether, they made up the man in Merek’s dreams. His mate. A mate who was bleeding from gouges on his chest and stomach. He had bruises already forming around his neck, but what worried Merek most was the blood that was changing his beautiful silver locks to a bright red.
In mere seconds Merek shifted back to human form. Naked, he knelt over his mate. With trembling hands he checked Jace’s pulse. It rebounded faintly against his fingertips. Breathing deeply to keep the pain at bay, he managed to lift the heavy weight of his mate’s body and bolted as fast as he could to Emma’s house.
It wasn’t exactly how he wanted to be naked for the first time with his mate. He would have preferred much different circumstances. Non-life-threatening circumstances. Before he reached for the doorknob, the door flew open to reveal a panic-stricken Emma.
She stepped aside, and he stalked through the door. He laid his mate on the couch in the living room and stared down at him with something akin to wonder.
“Tell me you can fix him.” His voice was a hoarse rasp as if he’d been screaming. He wanted to let loose a pained howl. He wanted the world to know how unfair it was he hadn’t been able to protect his mate. He didn’t want to feel the fear and helplessness that covered him now.
Not even standing in Emma’s domain, filled with light and decorated in shades of emerald and amber, could he find comfort. All he wanted was for his mate to wake up so he could see Jace’s silver eyes sparkling with life.
Emma knelt next to Jace and threaded her fingers through the silver fall of his hair. She closed her eyes and hummed softly. Merek was shocked when the soft locks wound around Emma’s hand. Merek had thought the magical hair was a trick of his imagination played out in his dreams. Then again, he’d thought Jace was a dream, but here he was, in the flesh.
Emma’s eyes opened, tears cresting in them.
“Oh, Jace, sweet child, what have you gone and done now?”
Buy Links for Scent of a Wolf
Loose Id
Amazon
Bio:
Draven St. James is a born and raised Oregonian. She has travelled extensively in search of mischief and mayhem to fill her books. Her ventures have been quite successful in inspiring a wealth of stories. Of course at the end of the day, coffee within reach, laptop at the ready is where she finds her peace.
Links
Facebook: www.facebook.com/draven.stjames
Blog: www.dravenstjames.wordpress.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/DravenStJames
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/dravenstjames
Email: Dravenstjames@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment