Thanks for joining me for the 2013 Blog Hop. After reading the following interview with me, please hop on to meet the other authors on the tour, whose links you will find at the end of this post.
Tell us about your
current release.
NM: THE KNIGHT OF WANDS, my
debut novel, will be released in Spring 2014 by Soul Mate Publishing. It will
be the first in a series called THE KNIGHTS OF AVALON about four Scottish nobles enslaved by a faery queen
after falling in battle.
To give you the flavor of
the book, here’s what I’ve composed for the back cover:
Vanessa Bentley awakens
in a Scottish inn with a hangover and a hunk in her room—Callum Lyon, the sexy
Leo she came to John o’Groats the night before to seduce. So why is she still
dressed and he on the couch? Did she pick a good guy for a change?
Callum has the good looks
typical of his sign, but also the leonine possessiveness—the last thing the
free-spirited Aquarian wants. Vanessa soon learns they are opposites in other
ways, too: she’s a social butterfly, he’s a recluse; she’s an out-front
activist, he stays behind the scenes; she’s vegetarian, he drinks blood; she’s
mortal, he’s a Knight of Avalon, a shape-shifting dark faery who was once court
astrologer to King James IV.
Callum, ready to take a
mate after centuries of solitude, calls Vanessa mo dearbadan-de—my butterfly in Gaelic—because she flies away
before any man can catch her. Vanessa claims it’s because she values liberty
over romance, but deep down is afraid anyone who sees her flaws will cut and
run.
To win her heart and her trust, Callum must fight his desire to pin her down—even when she flies away and lands in trouble that could expose his dark secret and ruin his life.
How did you begin your
writing career? I’ve written since I was a kid and tried my hand at writing a
romance thirty years ago, but it didn’t go anywhere. Five years ago, I decided
to apply myself more seriously to fiction writing. THE KNIGHT OF WANDS is my first
published novel, but not the first I’ve written.
Where did you get the
inspiration for this book?
NM: I set out to write the
story of two astrologers who were zodiacal opposites. One needed to be a
Scottish nobleman turned blood-drinking faery. The rest flowed from there. I
did, however, incorporate a chunk from an earlier unpublished novel, but had to
turn a good guy into a bad guy in order to make it work in this story.
How long did it take you
to write your current novel?
NM: The first draft of The Knight
of Wands took about two months to complete.
What else are you working
on?
This week, I’ll be
sending out to publishers another paranormal romance/urban fantasy titled THE
QUEEN OF SWORDS. It is something like the 12th rewrite of my first
paranormal novel and is not part of the KNIGHTS series. I’m also a few chapters
into the second book in the KNIGHTS series. As soon as I get QUEEN sent off,
I’ll get back to THE KNIGHT OF CUPS.
Readers love following
their favorite authors, which social networking sites can fans find you?
Facebook: Nina Mason,author
Blog: Nina Mason Romance
Twitter: @GemdeLovely
Who reads the drafts of
your novels? At first I tried to have family read them, but they weren’t the
right audience and everyone was too busy. I’ve since recruited a few beta
writers, several of whom really liked QUEEN OF SWORDS, so I’m optimistic about
selling it.
Share a pet peeve of
yours (related to writing or otherwise).
NM: Pet peeves? Where do I
start? The misuse of myriad and comprise. Too-stupid-to-live heroines.
Controlling heroes who can’t fathom their own hearts. My heroes are strong, but
also sensitive and romantic. They know when they’re in love and when they’re
not. They’re the kind of men I’d fall in love with—and do as I’m creating them.
Do characters invade your
head the moment you stumble on a new writing idea?
NM: I wish they would! My
characters generally start to speak several chapters in—after I’ve figured out
who they are. They might turn out to be different from how I first envisioned
them, but they don’t usually come through right away. Callum and Vanessa did,
which is why I was able to write the novel in half the time it usually takes. Leith and Anna, the H/H in THE KNIGHT OF CUPS are more elusive. But I also keep putting their story on hold to work on older
manuscripts. Hoping they come through loud and clear when I can give them my
full attention.
Thanks for stopping by. Here are links to the other participants. You can also click on the covers of their current releases in the left-hand column to visit their blogs.
Sounds like an entertaining series and I wish you the best of luck. Was it hard turning one of your good guys into a bad guy?
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough, the good guy was meant to be a bad guy from the beginning but refused to cooperate. He was a great character, so it was very difficult for me and for him to make the switch to the dark side. He's still not totally unlikeable as a bad guy. At least I don't think so. It will be interesting to see how readers react.
DeleteFabulous interview, Nina! Your series sounds fascinating. I'm really looking forward to reading Knight of Wands!
ReplyDeleteGreat interview Nina. Your book series sounds very interesting.
ReplyDelete