There is an old African proverb that says “we stand on the shoulders of our ancestors” and this means many things to many people. For me, I’ve found I like to build upon and am inspired by those that come before me.  In writing we all have heroes and they earn the honor for different reasons.  Personally the writers that have influenced me are many, yet the first criteria for hero status is their writing must move me in some way.  As I started my journey as a writer I looked at my favorite authors to read and studied how they got to where they were.  Similar to how a young ball player studies a star athlete, I looked to see how the writer became elite.  There’s the old quote… “If you want to be a millionaire hang around millionaires.”  I wanted to be a writer so…well you get the idea

            Case in point, I’ve loved Judy Blume since I was young and admired her because she writes from grade school to erotic under the same name without a backlash.  I love Sherrilyn Kenyon because of how she treats her fans so well and her journey to become an author was filled with rejection yet she persevered.  My guest today is no exception.   

            I first learned about Darynda Jones when I was looking into entering the Golden Heart award for my first book Chrysalis.  Darynda had just won a few months earlier and had J.R. Ward’s endorsement for how amazing her book was.

            (This is when I earmarked her name in my mind.  J.R. Frickin’ Ward!  Seriously.  The woman who has inmates all over the world begging to be Cellies…yes I’m a cellie and proudly read the Warden’s books.  Okay back to the author at hand.) 

            Then I got Mrs. Jones’ first book First Grave on the Right.  If you haven’t read it…do, but if you have bladder issues take note you will laugh outloud while reading this book.  Darynda has become the author all smart-ass writers look to as our queen.  When did she become my hero you ask?  When I sent her a Kindlegraph request and it was returned with a personalized message in less than 24 hours.  It seems like a simple thing but look back a few paragraphs and see how I love writers that appreciate their fans.  I posted my love of her all over my page and suggested all go check her out.  When I asked for an interview and she said yes…It’s a bit embarrassing how I acted, but contrary to popular belief I didn’t pee my pants…okay, I might have a little.

            We all want to become our heroes and let me tell you if I could become the hybrid child of Judy, Sherriyln and Darynda I’d feel good about who I became.  For I would not only be an amazing author, but I’d be a good person and someone who I could respect when I looked in the mirror.

            Okay, enough of this sappy crap.  I’m interviewing the woman who created Charley Davidson and I can see Charley rolling her eyes and trying stop from gagging as she sits besides the great Darynda Jones.

Five questions for Darynda Jones

MP-    Your heroine Charley seems to walk around with one area or another of her body bruised or in a state of healing.  What’s the worst injury you’ve had to suck it up and walk around with?

DJ-I broke my foot in three places once when I stubbed my toe. LOL. Yeah, I think that’s the worst injury I’ve ever had. I may or may not have had a concussion once after a tragic cheerleading accident. (I was 9.) I was pretty banged up after a car accident once. But fortunately I’ve never been shot or stabbed. I used to be the quickest healer. I was always up and around days before the doctors expected. But not anymore. I’m a wuss. The last surgery I had ate my lunch. I was bedridden for days and it was laparoscopic!

MP-    Do you ever fear running out of quotes?

DJ-You know, I did worry a little at first, but I have a list of hundreds! People send them in and I am constantly finding new ones.

MP-    You have a fifth book in the Grave Series coming out.  How many books do you think we have to look forward to?

DJ-Well, my editor wants it to be ongoing, so there’s just no telling. I would love for
it to continue for quite a while longer. I adore writing about Charley and her
antics. Not only that, I have a spinoff in mind I’m really excited about.

MP- I’ve scoured the internet…or paid attention to The Paranormal Book Club’s quote queen Sam to find one of your biggest fans to ask you a question.  So Sam your question for Darynda is…"Would Charley ever cheat on Mr. Coffee with a foreign stranger like Keurig knowing it could only be a one shot deal? And if so...would she be able to look at Mr. Coffee the next morning?"

DJ-HAHAHA!!! Sadly, she has been eyeing a Keurig. It’s dark red and tempting as hell. But, no, I don’t think she’d be able to look at Mr. Coffee ever again. She’d probably have to put him in a closet and that would just be sad.

MP-Finally we’re going to play a little game called Marry, Dump or Date.  I’ll give you three guys please assign them one spot.  Only one per spot.

Reyes Farrow, Mr. Wong, and Angel…

DJ-
            Marry: Mr. Wong. He is very loyal and never steps out. He’s a great listener and hardly ever interrupts. Yep, he’s a keeper.

            Dump: Angel. He’s jailbait. Never mind that he’s older than Charley in actual years, he died at 13 and that’s just weird.

            Date: Reyes. Dating him would be challenging and exciting. And you’d never need a jacket. 


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As a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Darynda Jones has won numerous awards for her work including a prestigious Golden Heart®, a RITA®, and a Daphne du Maurier. As a born storyteller, she grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, annoying man and beast alike. Darynda lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as New Mexico, with her husband and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys.

MP-In Maddy’s Oasis you branch out from paranormal romance was it hard to make the switch?

LF-It wasn’t hard at all.  I’ve got a lot of stories in different genres/subgenres rattling around in my head!  And I experiment a lot with what types of books people are interested in reading.  Maddy’s Oasis was my contemporary experiment last year.  I also released a sci-fi romance that turned out super popular.  My fantasy romance and my young adult fantasy both received more lukewarm welcomes. 

This year, I released my first futuristic romance and my first young adult paranormal trilogy.  It’s nice to be able to write something different. 

That said, my experiments last year revealed that Maddy’s Oasis was very unpopular among my normal readers in the U.S., who wanted the hero, Jake, to turn into a vampire!  However, Maddy’s Oasis, has been my most consistently selling and most popular book in the UK.  So, even if one market isn’t interested in one subgenre, another might be.  It gives me more freedom to write whatever the muses tell me to!

MP-Is there going to be a sequel to Maddy’s Oasis?

LF-I do want to write about Jake’s sister, so I might write her a novella next year.  She’s a good character.  She had a childhood accident that left her crippled in one leg, and she’s an exceptional cook with big dreams of going to New York City to train as a chef.  I think she’d be perfect for a follow-up to Maddy’s Oasis.

MP-Which series is closest to your heart?

LF-Personally, I like the series none of my readers really did!  I love the Foretold Trilogy, which is my young adult fantasy series.  My readers love the Rhyn Trilogy first and the War of Gods series next. 

MP-Which demon in your books would you sell your soul for?

LF-Haha!  Probably Rhyn or Gabriel from the Rhyn Trilogy.  They’re both complex men who want to do good but don’t always get things right.  Rhyn is violent and curses a lot, but he has s deep sense of loyalty to his family and will do anything to protect them.  Gabe is more of a tortured soul trying to find his way.

MP-Do the characters in your head fight over whose story should be told next?

LF-YES.  It’s awful. Haha!  The first half of this year, I desperately wanted to write the first book in my young adult paranormal trilogy, but I had two huge books in my most popular series that I’d promised my readers I’d publish first.  Goodness, that was rough to keep focused!  At any one time, I’ve got at least four different stories brewing in my head. 


About Lizzy

Lizzy Ford is the hyper-prolific author of the Rhyn Trilogy and War of God series, both launched in 2011, as well as multiple single title young adult fantasy and paranormal romances. Lizzy’s books have reached into the top ten bestseller lists on both Amazon US and Amazon UK for multiple categories. Through her unconventional online marketing strategies, Lizzy has gone from obscurity to selling tens of thousands of books in about a six month period of time. 

Lizzy Ford’s team consists of: Matt, IT and search engine optimization expert; Christine LePorte, freelance book editor; Dafeenah, graphics artist; and Rick, veteran screenwriter currently adapting “Katie’s Hellion.”

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MP-Do you find that your personality came out in your main character Lilah?

JL-Absolutely, I do.  It’s never easy being trapped in a circumstance you didn’t plan for, especially when you’re surrounded by forces (or people) who would stop and nothing to tear you down.  But for a type-A person like myself, and like my heroine, it is always better to keep a stiff upper lip.  In Dangerous Ally, Lilah Benson, a well-respected journalist, is told by her editor at the New York Times that she must go undercover, both working for and living in the home of Raphael Ramone (a known-criminal) and also his son Lucas (also a known criminal.)  Though I’ve never been forced to do anything so extreme as my heroine is, I have no doubt that I would have reacted in much the same way that she does.  That is, accepting the challenge head-on and, and, once in the throw of things, refusing to show my enemy fear. 

MP-What is the hottest physical and the hottest personality trait to you in your character Lucas?

JL-Hmm…tough to narrow that one down ;)  Strange as it may sound, one of the things I found most physically attractive about Lucas was his hair. I am definitely a sucker for guys with dark hair and it seemed that Lucas’s perfect strands were a strong compliment for his dark and mysterious persona.  (If you’re not sure what I mean, check him out on the cover ;) )

Personality wise, I loved that Lucas is a practiced seducer.  And as Lilah Benson is working overtime to expose his extracurricular, criminal activities, he has the perfect opportunity to put these skills to use.  From the moment they meet, when Lucas kisses Lilah’s hands, I am totally hooked on the character.  I just love a hero who knows how to put the moves on a heroine so that both she (and I!) can’t resist.  Lucas is the epitome of that type of hero!

MP-Is Dangerous Ally a stand-alone book or do you see it becoming a series?

JL-As a matter of fact, Dangerous Ally was not the first story I wrote in what is now the Pinnacles of Power Series.  I simply fell so hard for Lucas Ramone, that this story (actually book 4 of 5) wound up coming first!

In Dangerous Proposal (which released in June 2012, and comes prior to Dangerous Ally) we meet Lena Benson, Lilah’s older sister, and we see what sort of trouble comes her way when she runs from her then psychotic fiancé Lucas, and meets Alec Westwood, the man she believes her fiancé hired to track her down, a man who’s eyes and touch rob her literally, of sense. 

MP-Were there any parts of your book that were harder than the rest to write?

JL-In the last third of Dangerous Ally, Lilah uncovers a long-lost secret, and in turn is kidnapped and held captive in Italy by Raphael Ramone.  This portion of the story is very emotional, both for Lilah, who does not know if she will ever get home, and for Lucas, who is very much in love with her and does not know if he will ever see her again.  It was very emotional for me as well, the writer, to depict what these two characters, who have essentially lost all hope, are feeling.  I pushed myself to step out of my comfort zone a great deal on this section of the story, in order to enhance the overall conflict as well as to make the bond between Lilah and Lucas that much stronger. 

In turn, there is a scene earlier in the story, in which Raphael is trying to persuade Lilah to help him to steal Lucas’s flashdrive, and he uses some rather unconscionable tactics to make his point.  This too, was a chapter in which I pushed myself very out of my comfort zone.  But I was glad I did it because, once again, things are that much stronger between hero and heroine when Lucas learns what occurred and comes to Lilah’s rescue.    

MP-What was the best thing about writing your own book?

JL-The best thing for me, about writing my own book, is having a place to put all of my ideas.  I write outlines for stories pretty far in advance (I have notebooks full of them!) and I love the feeling I get when I put something together that can stand as a story on its own.  Sometimes, I’ll think, wow, where did that come from?  Other times, I’m filling in the blanks on an idea that’s only come to me in pieces.  But regardless of the order the pieces arrive in, I, the writer, get to assemble them.  There is no greater feeling than putting the last piece of the writing-puzzle into place!
Blurb:

For five lonely years, diamond smuggling kingpin Lucas Ramone has hidden himself from the world. With a father who has baited him all his life, made a game of trying to trip him up at every turn, Lucas will do whatever is necessary to protect what is rightfully his. What he isn’t prepared for is Lilah Benson…

Upon accepting a job in the home of her sister’s maniacal ex-fiancé, reporter Lilah Benson believes she has finally found the perfect way to make her mark on the world. Exposing the criminal endeavors of Lucas Ramone won’t soon be forgotten. But as she comes to know the man who was supposed to be her adversary, Lilah is tempted by a passion far stronger than the desire to see her name in print…

Power and control are tools of survival, critical in a world of thievery and deception. Lilah, an innocent in a land of criminals, may be the one person capable of bringing Lucas to his knees. But Lucas will stop at nothing to keep his empire secure.

He will have it all: His Fortune, His Legacy, and Lilah Benson in his bed…
Bio:

At two years old, Jessica became a devoted fan of both listening to and reciting the books her parents would read to her at night. When she was a little older (about four), she sought a greater challenge in her life, and began making up stories of her own, acting them out with her dolls. “When the dolls got “boyfriends,” she says, “I knew I was getting too old for dolls!”

As a romance novelist and a reader alike, Jessica is most intrigued by dark heroes, who have many demons to conquer…but little trouble enticing female companions into their beds! She feels that the best romances are those where the hero is already seducing the heroine from that first point of contact. “Isn’t it the hero’s job to seduce?” she says with a grin.

Jessica loves to see the sparks fly when a stubborn, domineering hero crosses paths with a bold, feisty heroine, and uses the combination frequently in her stories.

When she’s is not writing, Jessica enjoys listening to as much 80’s music as possible, watching the same re-runs of Smallville over and over, shopping for exceptionally unique cameos, and taking long walks in nature where she can daydream about anything romantic. Though she resides in Central New Jersey, her heart belongs to the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire.
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MP-Since there are so few interracial books in general do you find that you’ll have to break through any walls to get your books read?

TD-I think every new author faces the same challenges when trying to get their book read. There are so many books released each year, readers have thousands to choose from. I don’t think the interracial element will make a difference in terms of finding readership. I think my greatest challenge will be finding enough time in the day to promote my books.

That being said, I hope to see an increase in the number of books with multicultural characters. As a mother, I’d like to see more young adult books that feature heroes and heroines with different skin colors and cultural backgrounds. As a reader, I’d especially like to see more variety in fantasy and sci-fi.


MP-You have the glorious love triangle in your book, but this time there is a twist with Alisa in love with Jace who loves Rachel…then Jace’s brother adds an outside element.  Is it hard keeping all the attractions straight?

TD-The love triangle is my favorite part. It isn’t hard keeping the attractions straight in The Claiming Words, but in the second book, I throw another twist into the story with another character, and that makes it a little more complicated.

MP-You’ve gotten a big writing community surrounding you how have you found their support?  Is it always good or have you had some pull you down?

TD-The wonderful community of authors has been such a blessing. I’ve met the most generous and supportive people and I honestly don’t know where I’d be without the help I’ve received from them.

MP-With five books in the series do you feel that you’ve completed your characters journey or is there a chance that you’ll go past the five?

TD-My two main point-of-view characters, Alisa and Rachel, will definitely complete their journeys by the end of book five. I wouldn’t rule out writing a book that follows a different character, but I’m honestly not planning anything like that right now.

MP-How do you handle reviews?

TD-I’m grateful for any reviews, good or bad, though I’d certainly prefer shining five-star reviews. All joking aside, criticism is hard for anyone to take, but it’s a part of life. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and whether or not you agree with a less than favorable review, you have to accept it and move on. 

MP-Have you been able to balance writing with life?

TD_I haven’t. I have four kids, three of whom are still underage and living at home. I also have a full-time day job. Writing and marketing get squeezed in between everything else I have to do. Something is always slipping through the cracks. Just when I think I’ve managed to strike that elusive balance in my life, I remember something I forgot to do because I got distracted by my imaginary friends.

MP-What gets your muse to start talking?

TD-I wish I knew. It seems to be hit or miss. I tend to write in spurts. For example, The First Protector was written in thirty days. Book five has taken months. I never know when inspiration will strike. I named The Claiming Words when I was sitting at my desk at work. And, part of the final chapter was written when I was sitting in morning traffic on the way to work. 


Author Website: http://www.triciadrammeh.com/

The Claiming Words’ Site: http://theclaimingwords.com/

Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/TheClaimingWords

MP-As my mirror opposite I’ll have to ask you the obligatory questions…how has writing interracial characters been received by readers?

JB-*Honestly I have to say that most of my readers have loved reading my stories, they connect with my characters on a level as if they are real people because of course some of the things that my characters deal with in my stories are things that most people deal with in real life. I know that even though my male characters are white and the females are black, it doesn’t seem to faze the reader. All they can see is two people who are really and truly either already in love with each other or slowly falling in love with one another, throughout all the obstacles that may come their way. I see it like this however, that even though two people are different as far as their race, it doesn’t mean that the love between the two of them is no more different than that between two people who are of the same race. Love is love….no matter the color.

MP-Do you set out to have interracial characters or is that the way the characters come to you?

JB-*I write about what my muse comes up with and mainly it deals with interracial characters.  My 1st book was about an interracial couple, mainly I based it about myself and a really great friend of mine, who I never got the chance to let know how I felt about him. For years I’ve always been attracted to white men but of course with my shy ways that never came to be as far as dating, so I write from the heart about characters who deal with issues that either I’ve dealt with myself from my past or from what I get from others.

MP-Is Beauty and Beast your favorite fairytale?

JB-*Oh yes, I honestly think that the fact that Beauty was able to look beyond the fact that the Beast was so beastly makes for a wonderful story in itself.  This is something that made me write my 2nd book but I thought that wouldn’t it be neat if instead of the beast being the “man” which it has always been in stories since the beginning of time, why couldn’t the beast in the story be the “woman” instead. I know for myself that I can relate wholeheartedly with the female character in that story because like her, I have been afflicted with something that had made me scared to deal with the outside world, so I can so relate with her in how she felt.

MP-If you wrote in another genre what would it be?

JB-*Oh that is a tough one there, I would like to try either Paranormal with shape shifters or something. Or maybe even something dealing with espionage. Even though I have always been partial with Contemporary and Interracial, I wouldn’t mind trying some other genres down the line.

MP-Has your daughter ever put together a book trailer for you?

JB-*No she hasn’t just yet but I’m gonna see if she can one of these days.

Blurb:

Jackson Belle, the son of a prominent family of landscapers and architects whose work has been the “Showcase of the South”, goes to take what he thinks is a routine job for his father who is soon in bed after a fall. He soon finds himself going to Gladstone Manor, a home well known in town as a house that once would host grand balls and parties for the town. But is nothing more than a shell of its former glorious self. Soon Jackson finds himself diving deep within the mystery of Gladstone Manor and its owner Brooke Langley.

Brooke Langley’s life at Gladstone Manor at one time was wonderful and she enjoyed the many memories she had as a child, watching the many people coming to the parties and balls that her parents would give. But a tragic accident leaves Brooke in seclusion, afraid of what the world outside of the Manor would think of her now. It isn’t until Jackson Belle comes into her life and shows her that someone does care that slowly starts to come out to the world and soon finds true love as well.

Links:

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MP-What’s your favorite type of paranormal characters? 
RP-I adore dealing with the Fae as they are such a part of nature and magic that they can be seen in so many different ways. They are warriors, healers, truth seekers and innocents.

MP-Do you find horror or paranormal easier to write? 
RP-Honestly, I think they both tend to trickle over into each other. Though, I do find writing horror can be such a fun escape. Delving into the psyche of what makes us scared can be quite interesting.

MP-How many books do you see in the Guardians of Nature series? 
RP-I’m looking at doing at least three more, if not four. Each book is going to be focusing on a specific elemental relic. Earth, Air, Fire and Water with the final element being Spirit.

MP-Do you ever fall for one of the villains in your book instead of the hero? 
RP-The initial ‘villain’ in Keepers of Water ends up developing in ways I am excited to look into.

MP-If Keepers of the Water became a movie or TV series who would you see playing Rydan and Arieana? 
RP-I would love to see Karl Urban as Rydan and perhaps Sophia Myles as Arieana. Oh and as a side note, Sorien (whom I adore) I can see being played by Michael Shanks (since his character was tailored after Dr. Daniel Jackson from the Stargate movie/show)

A promise to save her brother's soul unearths a conspiracy she was not
prepared for...

Arieana’s brother has been murdered by her own people in a world not their
own. Forced into breaking ancient law, she ventures into the human realm
in search of her brother's soul. Once she steps through the Veil, she
realizes the renegades are up to more than just punishing a few humans.
They want to destroy the race itself.

Forced to forge an unlikely alliance with the very race responsible for
the storms tearing her world apart, she finds out more of her past than
the elders want. With the war started, each clue they uncover leads them
closer to the first of the elemental relics, and a chance to save mankind.

Together they must work side by side to stop the renegades…

Before time runs out for both worlds.

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Rebecca Peterson is a thrifty, no frills woman, who likes her thing’s organised and her life in order, she knows what she wants and where she’s going.

That is until, one day she decides to do something out of the ordinary, on impulse she buys a dress that makes her feel like a completely different person, so, for one day she decides that she is going to pretend to be ‘Becky’, a woman with a zest for life and a love of Melbourne.

Lucas is dedicated to his work, a workaholic and completely dedicated to his company taking over the country, a business trip to Melbourne results in a lost account and the chance meeting of Becky.

Rebecca under the guise of Becky is flirty, fresh and fun, everything Rebecca is not. As Becky, she enjoys her time showing Lucas around her beautiful city Melbourne, but she wasn’t prepared to fall in love with a man she knew less than 24 hours, she swore it wasn’t possible.

Leaving him a Dear John Letter she went back to her old life, but she didn’t count on finding her old life to seem dull and boring, he had given her life.

With his Dear John Letter in hand he is determined to find the woman he fell in love with, he would move to Melbourne and he would search Melbourne head to toe to find her, she had shown him that there was more to life than work and without her in his life, he couldn’t live.

With little more than her name, can Lucas find the woman who turned his heart and world upside down?

Could she go back to her old life with her old routine and could she put Lucas out of her mind and out of her heart?



MP-Do you feel your characters have helped you grow as woman?

VE-I'm not sure if it has helped me grow as a woman but definitely as a person, you think differently and you look at things from a different perspective, each character is different and to convey that character you need to see the world from their eyes, walk in their shoes and you need to feel how they feel and so you become more aware that people react differently and you become less judgemental. I continue to learn and grow and continue to be amazed by the things I learn each time.

MP-Your cat makes her way onto your shoulders and computer does she ever make her way into your books?

VE-No, not yet. My cat Daisy is a new introduction to our family, but I believe she will one day, she is a very loving cat and constantly demands my attention and affection. (Sounds like a wonderful character doesn't she!)

MP-Where did your inspiration for your Becky character come from?

VE-I'm not quite sure where the original idea came from, a lot of my story ideas just appear in my head like a movie picture as did the story for Becky, however the character Becky is a woman who is used to being in control and for one day she decides to change her character to be someone else for just one day. I think some of us wish for just one day we could be something or someone we are not, without consequences would be good.

MP-Can you ever see yourself writing a different genre?

VE-Yes, absolutely. My first book was a light hearted crime novel, my second book a romance, I would love to get into fantasy, I have an idea for a book and I am in the process of putting the pieces together, the characters, the scene and how it will all piece together. Playing with different genre's and writing styles will help me improve as a writer and I look forward to it

MP-Is it difficult to deal with other authors when you edit other’s books?

VE-No, not at all, or I don't find it, most of us, or those that I have dealt with welcome another set of eyes and another person's point of view.

Check out Valissa Enever

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MP-Was it difficult writing characters with an accent?

MD-Sometimes but I found writing Dr Hamish George’s Scottish accent harder than Franklin’s as I watch a lot of TV drama set in Yorkshire and have seen it written down. It’s a challenge which I enjoy.

MP-How do you research for your books?

MD-I did a lot of the time periods I cover in history at school plus British TV shows like Upstairs Downstairs and Downton Abbey helped with the settings. I also read a lot of period dramas.  It is interesting learning about other times.

MP-How hard is it to write about a time period that you didn’t grow up in?

MD-If it is a time period that most people know something about it is easier. A lot of people are familiar with the events of the Titanic tragedy, the First World War and the Spanish flu. I try to imagine myself living in these times and most of the female characters have a little of me in them. Knowing my bad luck I would have died of the Spanish flu lol.

MP-How have you found self publishing?

MD-A challenge as I have had to learn how to format and create PDF files which I did not have a clue about before but there are some very helpful people in the Lulu forums. I am enjoying the challenge though and the satisfaction of being able to hold my own paperbacks is something that you can’t understand unless you have experienced it for yourself.

MP-Tell us about the couples in your book?

MD-Margaret Trevelyan was raised as a lady although in fact she isn’t. She knows she wants Lewis Franklin the chauffeur as soon as she sees him but getting from that point to actually becoming a couple is not straight forward. But they are a very committed devoted and passionate couple and the source of most of the series adult scenes.

Lady Lynchcliffe is passionately devoted to her husband Lord Marcus Lynchcliffe who she married at the age of fifteen (there was no legal age of consent back then). When he is murdered she has to find the strength within to learn to live without him and I drew on personal experience for this since my boyfriend, David, died almost four years ago. She later finds love with her late husband’s best friend which proves to be a steadfast comfort to her and they certainly have their moments between the sheets too.

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Bio

I live in Reading in the UK and have no kids by choice. I have been an avid scribbler for years. I wrote the Lynchcliffe series as a celebration of love and the resilience of the human spirit in memory of my late partner, David Thomas, who died on September 23rd 2008.  I like to think he would have been proud of my achievements.

The Lynchcliffe Cuckoo Vol 1 Mis en Scene

 It all began with the tragic and unexpected death of a new mother in the autumn of 1891. A grief-stricken father places his daughter, Margaret, up for adoption convinced he cannot give her the start in life she deserves.

The sinking of RMS Titanic throws Margaret into a new life with relatives she had not previously known about owing to a long-held estrangement between her adoptive mother and her sister, Lady Lynchcliffe.

 The passionate love affair between heiress Margaret Trevelyan and chauffeur Lewis Franklin begins.

Secrets, lies, machinations and murder combine with love, friendship and loyalty to shape the beginning of a love story in the early twentieth century

The Lynchcliffe Cuckoo Vol 2 the Enemy Within

A faithful servant falls ill on a wedding day.

Margaret & Lewis Franklin’s love story continues as they seek to raise their children and protect them as Britain goes to war.

Helena, Lady Lynchcliffe, finds new love while she fears for the safety of her son who is fighting in the trenches.

The household at Lynchcliffe Park remain loyal to one another and stand against the heart-ache brought about by shell-shock, marital infidelity and death.

Lord Michael Lynchcliffe returns from the Western Front a broken man. Can the combined love of his mother and his sweetheart, Irene, help him to conquer his demons?

Sometimes the deadliest enemy a man must face is himself.


The Lynchcliffe Cuckoo Vol 3 Making Peace with the Past.


Following the war this final volume is set in 1919 against the backdrop of the Spanish Flu pandemic that decimated the population.

Dr Hamish George finds himself under intense pressure tending to the sick but who will live and die...

Each of the main characters seeks to resolve issues from their past which they do with true integrity and courage, banding together in love and loyalty. Even the seemingly perfect Lewis Franklin must face his own past in order to find peace.

But the sweetest victory over the past belongs to Lady Lynchcliffe.

MP-What countries have you found your books received the best response?

RJ-Its too early to tell but I guess it would be India, US and the UK primarily, but also Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The book has a publisher in India, but I am currently on the lookout for an international publisher for the overseas markets. The book releases in paperback in India on August 1, 2012 through Leadstart Publishers.

MP-How do you hope your stories will change the world?

RJ-The book presents the world with a new concept – it empowers readers to choose the endings according to their belief systems, and at the same time sets them thinking about their own choices in life. The book’s central design is an extension of the Zuckerberg principle to literary fiction, and could form the basis for many refinements in hitherto unexplored areas of reader preferences and tastes. The question for the world today is – how will literature change if readers were to read books primarily on e-readers? I hope the book provides a path breaking way to answer that question.

MP-How did you come up with the idea to have readers come up with their own endings to Love, Peace and Happiness?

RJ-The book did not start out this way. As I wrote the stories, I got some close friends to read the stories. I realized that each story had many layers, and each reader would interpret the storyline and the choices the characters made according to their own set of values and beliefs. I also noticed that the less information I gave the readers, the more affected they were by what happened in the end. So I started to make the stories in the book progressively darker, creating a larger disturbance with each story as the book progressed. This disturbance or dissonance prompted an even stronger reaction, and my friends started to suggest alternate endings. Building a website to support such a craving was just the technical part of putting the concept together.

MP-Has the interfaith relationship between your characters caused negative backlash?

RJ-No, there is no adverse reaction as yet. My publisher in India has put the book through the “advisory board” and he does not anticipate any major problems. Internationally, though it would be interesting to watch how the book would be received by people of different faiths. The book attempts to cut through national borders by creating a universal set of choices that the characters face, and the added delicacy of having characters cross over into each other’s stories brings the whole point of the Zuckerberg principle home. So Hanif in the third story is perceived as a highly negative character, but in the seventh story, the reader understands the world from his perspective and then magic happens as you choose what should or should not happen to him in the story, aptly called ‘The Facebook Stalker.”

MP-Is faith a struggle for all your characters?

RJ-I prefer to think of the character’s struggles as a larger all-encompassing belief system re-orientation, rather than just faith oriented confusion. Though the Almighty does have a role in several stories, sometimes appearing in person, I have deliberately kept the metaphysical implications to a minimum and instead focused on the character’s responses and re-orientations of beliefs. In a subtle manner, as the reader explores the alternate endings, his/her own belief system undergoes some reorientation, transferring the complex richness of the tapestry to the reader’s mind.

Blurb:
Stories surround us. Stories about people like us who make difficult and often complex choices that sometimes astound us. You must have come across some people in your own life who closely resemble the characters in these stories. Maybe you have gone through trying moments in your life too.
For instance, have you ever been bugged enough with your partner to want to leave? Have you ever had to choose between love and money? Have you ever had to compete with your partner? Have you ever felt that your family weighs you down when it comes to choosing your partner?
At times like these, haven’t you wished that things happened differently and that you could change how they ended?
Now you will control how the stories in this book end.

Each story centres on the life of an urban middle class character caught in a set of circumstances beyond his or her control. A Hindu girl living in with a Muslim boy is suddenly in the glare of global media in a reality TV show, a divorced cynical man faces the prospect of committing himself to a prostitute, a highly talented small town girl must choose between life and death. All must resolve the conflicts within their beliefs.
Read the way the stories end in the book, but if you don’t agree with the ending, visit the website www.riturajverma.com for alternate endings.
If you don’t like the way the stories end there either, write your own, and if your ending is selected, see it in print in the next print run with your name in the acknowledgements.
Hoping to change the world, one story at a time…
Rituraj Verma, born 28th June, 1967, is currently working as a freelance retail real estate consultant. He grew up in Delhi and Mumbai and cleared the IIT-JEE in 1984, in which year, he was also selected as a Special Class Railway Apprentice by the Indian Railways. He was the editor of his college magazine, SAM, when he first started writing the book’s first story ‘A High Like Heaven’ almost twenty three years ago.
He later obtained his MBA from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA and worked with Philip Morris USA for five years before returning to India to start his entrepreneurial retail venture, Naya Yug Bazar which he ran for seven years. In 2006, he joined Future group as the head of Consumer Insights, a job which led him to travel the length and breadth of India to ascertain the changing nature of aspirations and expectations of Indian consumers.
 
He then set up the Retail Agency and Transaction Advisory Services for Knight Frank India, a leading international property consultant. He has recently started out on his own as a real estate consultant. His wife Smriti works for the Indian Railways and he has a son Arjun, aged 17, and a daughter Aradhana, aged 15.
Website: www.riturajverma.com
The website contains the alternate endings, excerpts, podcasts, contests, reviews, and updates.
Buy links:

Amazon
Smashwords
Kobobooks

MP-Lets choose three of your characters…who would you most like to marry? Spank? Dump?

MK-I would marry Lorne, from “The Perfect Third”. He is so obviously in love with Alexa, and he’s strong, sweet and romantic. He’s also quite the hunk. Of course, his best friend Antony would have to be included in the deal, but I could learn to get used to it!

I would spank Jeffrey from Dirty Discoveries in the Bound by Pleasure series, because he just needs to be put in his place and taught a lesson!

I’d dump Greg from the Bound by Pleasure series, because he’s really a jerk, and I don’t think he has very much respect for women.

MP-If you have a playroom (none of my business if you do) what toy is a must have?  What is top fantasy for in the playroom?

MK-Hmmmm – should I write a flash fiction for this question? Phew, that’s tough to answer in a few sentences, but I’ll try! A flogger is a must have – it has many teasing and training possibilities. And as for fantasies? Wow! I think the scene from The Dungeon in the Bound by Pleasure series, where Mia is passed around and gets initiated by three men and women in the art of pleasure and pain.

MP-Do you read your genre or is your favorite genre something else?

MK-I actually do read my genre, and I think that’s why I tend to write ménage and BDSM. Because ménage and more involves many same sex scenarios, I’ve drifted into more M/M lately, and I would like to start adding some paranormal and/or historical. I may decide to use another pen name for that, so as not to risk confusing or frustrating my readers!

MP-What book was the most fun to write?

MK-A Spirit of Love, coming out in September from Total-E-Bound. It’s a contemporary MMF, about a group of ghost hunters that involves lost love – both on this earthly plane and the ethereal. I loved Sophie’s character as an empath and medium, and the scary ghost parts – it was a blast to write those sections.

MP-Leather, plastic or chains?

MK-Leather – it’s very tactile. The stretch, smoothness and scent all add to the experience.

All Together Now, a ménage anthology featuring “The Perfect Third” is available in print here: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=1730

To buy a standalone ecopy of “The Perfect Third” from All Together Now, it is available here: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=1688

If you would like to learn more about Morticia or some of her other available titles, you can find her at these usual hangouts:

Blog: www.morticiaknight.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/morticia.knight

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/MorticiaKnight