Today's guest author on Interviews with Dante is Lisa Medley. Enjoy learning a bit about this wonderful author.

Please tell us a little about yourself.
I have always enjoyed reading about monsters in love and now I write about them because monsters need love too.

I adores beasties of all sorts, fictional as well as real, and have a farm full of them in my Southwest Missouri home, including: one child, one husband, two dogs, two cats, a dozen hens, thousands of Italian bees, and a guinea pig. 

I may or may not keep a complete zombie apocalypse bug-out bag in my trunk at all times, including a machete. Just. In. Case.

Tell us about your latest book.
My latest book to publish is Reap & Reveal and it’s the third in my Reaper Series. There will be a least one more title in that series, Reap & Reckon, which will publish in 2016.

What do you have coming out in the future?
Currently, I’m working on a sci-fi/space opera romance entitled Space Cowboys & Indians. Think of a movie mashup of Cowboys & Aliens meets Six Days Seven Nights.

From where do you draw your inspiration?
Often I’ll read a weird news story or just get a little snippet of something and think, “What if…”. Once I have that spark, I go about chasing down leads and ideas from that single idea and the story begins to germinate from there. Haunt My Heart came to me after I was leaving to go on my first-ever ghost hunt and my husband asked, “What if something follows you home?”.  Indeed! And Space Cowboys & Indians was sparked by the real-life space mission to harpoon and land the Rosetta's Philae lander on Comet 67P. That’s when the “What ifs started.”

Do you ever base your characters on real people in your life? 
I haven’t so far although real-life experiences have been worked into the pages like the ghost hunt I mentioned for Haunt My Heart. That whole EMF detector thing in the book…happened to me.

What was your road to publishing like? Tell us about it.
Well, it’s been interesting. I didn’t start writing until 2011. In 2012 I entered the Harlequin So You Think You Can Write contest and from more than 700 global entries I made it into the Top 28. Then I lost. Sadness ensued. A few months later, I got THE CALL from Harlequin, and they contracted the first three books of the Reaper Series. Two were briefly published with HQN, then they decided to close down that line and returned my rights so I could re-publish them independently. Reap & Reveal, Book 3, just came out in April for the first time ever. Haunt My Heart was completely independently published. It’s been a rollercoaster few years, but I love indie publishing!

How did you come up with the title of your book?
Reap & Repent actual started as Reap ‘Em & Weep. HQN wanted something shorter and I hit upon the Reap & theme. Book four will be Reap & Reckon.

Is your book a stand alone or a series?
The reaper books are a series and would be best read that way.

What celebrity would you chose to play the main character(s) in the movie rendition of your book?
Ooooooo, I want Jensen Ackles as Deacon. Mostly so I can meet him and drool a bit :D

They see death. Can they share a life?

Ruth Scott can read the energy of every person she meets. Then she meets Deacon Walker. She can see his ice-blue eyes, his black hair, and his gorgeous face. But this beautiful stranger has no aura.

Deacon is just as unsettled by Ruth—and, having spent more than two hundred years ushering souls to Purgatory, Deacon is seldom shocked by anything. As he helps Ruth to understand her true nature, she awakens desires that he decided long ago a Reaper can’t afford.

A demon invasion forces Deacon to confront the darkness in his own past even as he fights to save the human souls he’s charged to protect. When he’s taken captive, his first concern is for Ruth. But Ruth just might be able to save herself—and the Reaper she can’t live without—if she can learn to wield her newfound powers.

Have you joined any writer’s groups? 
I am heavily involved a local writer’s group called Ozarks Romance Authors. In fact, I was President one year. That group has been very influential in my success thus far. Great bunch of writers!

Have you won any awards for your writing?
Reap & Repent placed Second in the Paranormal Romance Guild’s 2014 Reviewer’s Choice for Urban Fantasy and The Reaper Series placed Third for Best Urban Fantasy Series.

What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?
Finding (scratch that) making the time to write. I can’t write every day. I stay up late after the family has gone to bed to eke out some words. I usually average 750 words an hour so a couple of hours a night tends to be pretty productive. Still, it’s a slow process for me since I also have a full-time day job, family etc.

Which of your characters is your favorite and why?
Kylen of Reap & Redeem is by far my favorite so far. He’s such a dark character and a bad, bad boy. Seriously, he was possessed by a demon for a century. He has issues. Still, well, let’s just say the title says it all.

Who or what are your inspirations/influences?
J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood books are a huge inspiration for my writing. Dark Lover started my love of paranormal romance/urban fantasy and it blossomed from there. Of course, the television series Supernatural is also huge in my life. I’ve seen every episode. I love them ALL. #TeamDean

How would you describe your writing style?
I started out totally pantsing it. With each book, I’ve gotten more and more detailed with prewriting a synopsis, which is a HUGE help! Gosh, it’s nice to know where you’re going before you sit down to stare at a blank page. Sure, I deviate from the script from time to time, but it gives me a direction to aim for. I think I write must faster and better now because of that transition. 

With many publishing routes available today, which felt the most reliable to you when it came to the many choices? 
I’ve gone strictly with Amazon KDP Select. I tried going on B&N and Kobo with Redeem for a week with no sales. I like the flexibility of offering Kindle Unlimited subscribers the chance to read my series for free. For now and the near future, I’ll stay on that track. 

When did you know you truly wanted to give writing a shot?
Crazy question because you know what? There was a defining moment. Writing had always been in the back of my head but when a coworker quit his job and left his wife (with her blessing) to go to Los Angeles for a year to try to break into acting before they started a family, I decided I had to follow my dream too. What did I have to lose? I mean all I was doing was cleaning out my craft room and transitioning it to a writing cave. The worst that could happen was my family would eat more Ramen noodles, which is NOT a hardship to them. They love them and would eat them every meal if I’d let them. THAT was the moment :D

Today's guest author on Interviews with Dante is JD Byrne. Enjoy learning a bit about this wonderful author.

Please tell us a little about yourself.
I was born and raised in West Virginia, where I still live. My training is as a lawyer, but in that role I've been a writer (of briefs and other legal documents) for nearly 15 years. A few years ago I decided that I wanted to be able to write things over which I had a little bit more control, so I started writing fiction. I started with short stories, then played with some longer works, then came back to the short stories for my first book.

Tell us about your latest book.
The Last Ereph and Other Stories is my first book. It's a collection of ten science fiction and fantasy short stories.  There's no common theme, aside from the fact that I wrote them all.  Here are some specifics about a few of those stories.

“To Watch the Storms” was inspired by a thunderstorm that rolled through Richmond, Virginia, where I was staying at a hotel, getting ready to go to court. Even the average summer thunderstorm can hold untold wonders, if you’re patient enough to see them.

“The Dragon of the Bailey” is about a dragon who is being held captive, and who seizes help when it comes to him from an unlikely source.  I wrote it after I read about the ravens kept in the Tower of London.  Legend says so long as they stay there the kingdom will thrive, but they clip their wings so they can’t fly away.  Seems like a stacked deck, to me. You can read a free excerpt from this story here.

 “Jury Duty” is the only story that ties somewhat into my legal life.  It’s about a guy who gets called for jury duty, finds a stumbling block, and runs with it.  He gets dragged into court, required to be there, then finds out he isn’t modern enough to be a part of the trial.  It was fun to be able to play around with a courtroom setting, given my day job.

In “the Missing Legion” a hunter in pursuit of big game stumbles into a ritual he was not supposed to see.  This is set in the world of The Water Road, a fantasy trilogy I’m working on.  Book one should be out early in 2016.

Finally, “The Last Ereph” is about a thief in a distant land. After stealing a precious gem, he seeks sanctuary and finds a treasure of an entirely different sort. You can read a free excerpt from this story here.

What do you have coming out in the future?
In the fall I'll have a novel coming out called Moore Hollow. It's set in West Virginia and plays off our reputation for creative election practices. A disgraced journalist from the UK, with a connection to West Virginia, comes to explore rumors that a desperate politician once tried to raise the dead so they'd vote for him.

What genre do you enjoy writing the most and why?
I write science fiction and fantasy, that occasionally gets snuggled up with horror. Like I said, in my daytime life I'm hemmed in by the facts of legal cases - things you don't dare make up. When it's time to write fiction I like to really like my imagination run away with things. I probably lean more toward fantasy than science fiction because of the absolute lack of boundaries when you're dealing with the fantastic.

From where do you draw your inspiration?
It's probably clichéd, but everywhere. I keep a running file of notes on my phone, so I can jot down anything - a word, a name, a description of a particular place - that I think might work in a story. On my computer at home I've got a Word file that goes on for pages that's just ideas collected in that way. I try and keep my eyes and ears open, try to look at things in the news and play the "what if?" game.

What kind of books do you like to read?
Do you read the genre you write for or do you prefer other genres?
I'm going to be overly efficient and answer these both at once!

Generally, I like to read the kind of stuff I like to write. So I mainly read fantasy and science fiction, and works that stray into those areas (I'm looking at you, Margaret Atwood!). When I was younger I was heavily into the Golden Age folks like Asimov and Clarke, plus the defining dystopias (Brave New World, 1984, Anthem). More recently I've given over to fantasy a lot - Neil Gaiman, George RR Martin. I've come lately to Ray Bradbury's short stories, too, which have been fun to dig into.

Having said that, I also try and dive into other fictional areas and non-fiction, too. I'm currently reading Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, about a group of soldiers who get "treated" to a halftime show celebration after a particularly high profile firefight. Not speculative at all (sadly), but, so far, darkly humorous.

How have your real life experiences influenced your writing?
The old saw is write what you know, but how does that come into play with science fiction and fantasy? Like I said, I try to keep my eyes and ears open. Undoubtedly, there are things that have happened in real life that slipped into the pages of my stories. "Memory of Water" actually did start because I was having this series of stop start, very vivid, dreams. But that's all they were, in my case (or so I've been told!).

What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I read, naturally. In addition to books I spend entirely too much time reading blogs and web forums. I'm more interested in what people think and feel about something than the actual facts.

I also make music, under the name Infinity Ranch. It's electronic doodles, mostly (my wife hates it), but it's good fun. Creating musically is so different from writing, it feels more like harvesting ideas from the ether. There's more trial and error, I suppose.

Oh, and I practice law. That's what I do with most of my non-writing time.

What was your road to publishing like? Tell us about it.
I really wasn't thinking about publishing when I started writing. I had some grand dreams in my head of people reading what I was doing and becoming "successful," but I hadn't done anything thinking about it. It wasn't until after I had a couple of longer manuscripts finished that I really tried to figure out what the best fit was for me.

Ultimately, I decided to become my own publisher. A big part of it was I wanted to keep control over my work. Also, I hate having a "finished" product and not knowing what's going to happen to it. It keeps me from getting on with other things. With control over what is coming out and when, I can see the finish line for those projects and move on to other ones.

Besides, this is an exciting time to be a new author. Thanks to technology there's never been a better chance to connect directly with potential readers.

Have you joined any writer’s groups?
In the real world I've joined West Virginia Writers, Inc., which has been a really wonderful resource. In my experience, the best thing new writers can do is listen to what more experiences writers have to say. Not everything they've been through or say will be relevant to what you're doing, but more often than not it will. Being able to interact with other writers online and in the flesh has been a big part of my development.

In the purely online world I'm part of Critters.org, which is an online critique group for writers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. That's been a huge help, not just in getting feedback on my own work but from critically reading the stories of others, seeing what works and what doesn't.

What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?
Getting started on a new project. I can plan and make notes all day long and once I get going I really work up some momentum, but there's something daunting about sitting down with a completely blank page (or screen). It's like in music where you try to figure out the right first note. Everything's open to you and the sheer amount of choice is overwhelming. Once the first note's down everything else flows from it. Same thing with writing. Once I have a paragraph or a page I'm good to go.

Which of your characters is your favorite and why?
In terms of main characters, probably Kalsis from the first story in the book, "Of That Alluring Fruit." She's curious, to the point of being obnoxious about it. She's only interested in truth, even if it leads her into trouble. I like to think there's a little of her in me (of vice versa, I suppose).

But my real favorites are ones that pop up out of nowhere when I need something for a story and didn't realize it. There's a character in Moore Hollow, an elderly woman, who provides some information to our hero. I hadn't really given her much thought until I got to that part of the book, but having to figure out not just how she functioned in the plot but who she was turned out to be a lot of fun. You can craft really interesting characters for the smallest of roles. I hope I can, anyway.

Do you have a careful plan when plotting your stories or do you just go with the flow?
Somewhere in between, I think. I'm definitely not the kind of writer who does a lengthy outline and knows where everything's going before I start (if I was, I might not have such a hard time starting!). But I don't really just fly by the seat of my pants, either. At the least, I like to have the main characters named and conceived before I get started. For novels and such I do that for more characters and probably sketch out some locations and ideas about what might happen. But for short stories, once I have an idea and a character I usually just go with it.

Having said that (there's always a catch), with longer works my first editing work is usually retyping the whole thing using the first draft as a guide. So you could argue that's the ultimate guideline, but I just call it editing.

Today's guest author on Interviews with Dante is Jean Lowe Carlson. Enjoy learning a bit about this wonderful author.

Please tell us a little about yourself.
I grew up on a farm outside Eugene, Oregon. My sister and I had a lot of time to ourselves, always in the woods or down in the back pasture, making up fantastical stories. I expressed that creativity as I got older, in drawing, acting, singing, bellydance. I studied opera in college, then decided opera was full of prima donnas and got out. I switched to holistic medicine, and went to school for my Naturopathic Doctorate, then opened a medical practice, where I still work by day. But three years ago, I woke up with a vivid, haunting dream stuck in my head about a white road in an aurora-lit night deep in the desert, which became the opening scene to the "Key of Fire" series. Before I knew it, I had thirty pages! I’ve never really stopped writing after that. I now have about 20 pages of dreams, fifteen vignettes fleshed out into 20-30 page ideas, and twelve books currently in the works from those fascinating nighttime escapades!

Tell us about your latest book.
The first series I am publishing is the Three Days of Oblenite trilogy, Breath, Tears, and Blood (April, May, and June 2015 releases). They are glimpses into a fantasy Victorian-gothic world like a darker version of 1890’s Paris, where religion is in constant conflict with desire. The novels are intended to be read together, the characters from each book influencing each other’s lives. In them, I explore religion, spirituality, and the soul’s mission. What happens when your soul has a dark and a light side, one a curse, the other a blessing, and too often the lines are blurred? All three gifts/curses of the protagonists are double-edged, and bite as much as they bless. So what do we do? Give in to it? Deny it? Try to get rid of it or overcome it? Turn to the church to absolve us of it? Do we harness it? This life is all about choice… 

What do you have coming out in the future?
Too many! But here are a few teasers...

Calamity, my personal favorite! A hard-ass addict of a mechanic lives in an underground city, traumatized by the climactic decimation of their planet ten years prior. She loves and hates a brilliant shut-in of an engineer who has designed a machine to restore the surface, and rallies protection around him as an assassination plot develops. Probably out late 2015.

The Book of Truth, a novel about a hard-luck whore on a “wild west” planet, whose life is uprooted when she meets a bastard of a dark angel cast out of his home and military prestige. The two team up to pursue their personal vendettas, gunslinger-style. Probably out early 2016.

Kingsmen Chronicles, a two-book series about the genocide of an ethnic group who were loyal peacekeepers and elite military for their king, and of their now-grown children who survived, trying to unravel the plot that killed their families. Probably out late 2015.

Adia and Delio (working title), set in the Three Days of Oblenite world, but far to the south. A woman raised like a man finds herself suddenly thrown into the conflict of having to wed. She enters into a plot with a gay duke’s son to forestall marriage, but ends up falling in love as she tries to save the duke’s son from the horrors of his own life. Probably out mid-2015.

Key of Fire, a dystopian fantasy trilogy about a continent that has been dying for centuries, and the seven souls brought together by fate to save it. This was the very first series I wrote, but is still in editing because it is so epic...! Probably out late 2016.

What genre do you enjoy writing the most and why?
Fantasy fiction, often dark/epic, sometimes steampunk/supernatural, with a romantic/erotic and sometimes LGBTQ bent. I love the creativity of it. There are quite literally, no limitations! I feel this way about gender, also. I believe love is love, and it can and does happen in any combination of genders/peoples. I enjoy challenging assumptions about love, and even what boundaries exist in the epic-fantasy genre. A lot of fantasy authors don’t write about sex. I do. Graphically, but it doesn’t occur in my works nearly as much as in erotica, and it’s not always as pretty as your typical romance novel. It’s not about the sex, or even the plot. It’s about the people. And people have urges, and we all have flaws we give in to, and honor that we celebrate. 

From where do you draw your inspiration?
My spirituality inspires me a lot. I’ve had exposure to many world religions, and have settled into a quasi-Buddhist paradigm. But I’m not a practicing Buddhist by any means, though I have a daily meditation/yoga practice. I find Gaiamtv intriguing, and I love imgur! And my husband finds the most random stuff on reddit, from TED talks to medical research to infographics on the evolutionary origin of world religions. You could say I rely on him for my current events.  ;-)

Do you ever base your characters on real people in your life?
Absolutely. Many of my characters have bits and pieces from my own life and I love to write in people I meet. For instance, I wrote my great-uncle Steve into the Key of Fire series. Imagine Santa, make him boisterous and loud, give him amazing bone-crushing hugs, and put him in a Hawaiian shirt. Presto! My great-uncle! (Look for him as Emraj in the first novel of the Key of Fire series!)

How have your real life experiences influenced your writing?
I’ve been a spiritual sensitive and a guide-channel most of my life, and that is reflected in my work. Opening up to guidance from non-corporeal realms many people think of as “woo-woo”, but to me, it’s really not. Native Americans had shamans, they spirit-quested, they saw and conversed with power animals and spirit guides under trance and in sweat-lodges. What I do is no different, just sans any need for drugs. Altered states are natural for me. Opening up to this kind of information has made my life blossom in every way, though there are sometimes challenges. I’m no guru. I’m just a person working on my shit and getting closer to my soul’s essence day by day. And I like to write that into my characters. Their spiritual and otherworldly experiences influence who they are, urging them to go deeper into their true self. And so do I.

What celebrity would you chose to play the main character(s) in the movie rendition of your book? 
I keep pinterest boards for each novel just for this reason! Gryffine from Breath bears a striking resemblance to Jessica Brown Findlay (Downton Abbey) when she’s young, and Michelle Dockery (also of Downton fame) when she’s older. In Tears, I love Anson Mount (Hell on Wheels) for Oruthane d’Iver, and Jamie Dornan (The Fall) for Phillip d’Auvery. And in the third novel, Blood, I think Jude Law is sort of a classic look for Aulen Gregoire. As for dark, sexy Gypsun Jessup Rohalle… I’m still on the hunt! Suggestions? 

Which of your characters is your favorite and why?
There are so many. Oruthane d’Iver from Tears tops my list. He’s seen the world, been crushed by it, literally whipped his demons into submission as he strives to know himself deeply and do good works, and is rewarded by utter devotion and sweet love. Oruthane is masculine, thoughtful, dedicated, and compassionate. He’s got demons, but he’s working on them, striving to get better and better every day. 

Another one is Aluest the Calm from the Book of Truth series (forthcoming). He’s a bastard. Evil. He’s slaughtered continents, enslaved entire societies at the behest of a ruthless tyrant, and it suits him. But there’s a part of himself that has become twisted only because of the ruthlessness of his society, and he learns to uncover a kind of compassion as he progresses through his journey with Elsennia Mae Argentine, whore and gunslinger extraordinaire. 

A third one I love is from Calamity, Altulli Aradan. Aradan is a no-bullshit machinist and runs her crew with a tight fist and drill tossed at their heads. She’s an addict, a drinker, and has more skeletons in the closet that you can shake a wrench at. But she learns to get sober through the influence of another character in that book, Tanuath Rojer, and discovers her full potential. 

Who or what are your inspirations/influences?
Jacqueline Carey, Robin Hobb, Patrick Rothfuss, George RR Martin, Anne Rice, and Laurell K. Hamilton, because they challenge assumptions and write great characters. No one is simple. Sometimes love and hate and all the emotions in-between happen at exactly the same time, and these authors get that. I’m also inspired by non-fictional authors, such as Sogyal Rinpoche, Leonard Shlain (Alphabet Versus the Goddess), Robert Spencer (Craft of the Warrior), and Carolyn Myss, as well as by the EFT practitioner Carol Look. 

How would you describe your writing style?
Mix the lush sensuality of Jacqueline Carey with the dark allure and sexuality of Anne Rice, then throw in a bit of the epic scope and complex characters of Robin Hobb, plus the “sit around the fire” storytelling of Patrick Rothfuss, and you’ll get my style!

When did you know you truly wanted to give writing a shot?
When I just couldn’t stop! I had three novels written (Key of Fire series) and was already launching into writing another (Calamity). I took a look at my life and went, “Huh! Maybe I should do this for real?” And once I felt I had a few projects polished enough to put out there, I did. Fingers crossed…!

Please tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Ella Drayton. I live in a little bitty town in Alabama where there are more cows than stop signs. (There might actually be more cows than people?) I try to squeeze in writing time in between making Play-Dough dresses for My Little Pony ponies and getting beat at CandyLand by my Tiny Tyrant. I am also the care-taker of a rescue mutt named Momma and a ferocious Betta fish named Blouie Green (bet you can’t guess who named him!), and I am blissfully in love with my incredible husband who puts up with all of my antics.

Tell us about your latest book.
The Letters is about a homicide detective named Brodie Barrett who is a little rough around the edges but deep down she’s got a big heart. Things are in sort of a down swing for her when the book first starts out but things seem to be getting better for her after she has a heart-to-heart with her ex-boyfriend. Just as she thinks that life is about to get better, a woman is murdered and a clue on how to find the killer is addressed directly to her. When the clue turns out to be something directly related to Brodie’s personal life and her past, she has to dig deep into her past and question the very people she thought she could trust. Brodie’s got a secret admirer who is tired of being a secret…

What do you have coming out in the future?
Something a little different than The Letters. No murder mystery here. But in all honesty it’s still in the VERY early stages so I’m not exactly sure where it will end up. As of now, it is a story about a woman who just got out of prison and a mental institution for murdering her rapist and the unlikely friendship she develops with a soldier she met in a PTSD counseling group. She’s a single woman whose parents are aging hippies who ran off to live in the Oregon rain forest and her friends abandoned her when she went to prison. He’s raising a son on his own after his wife decided to abandon him and his child while he was overseas. They learn to lean on each other because they have no one else…..and that’s about as far as I’ve gotten with it.

What was your road to publishing like? Tell us about it.
A little crazy. And maybe even a bit premature?  I have always, always, ALWAYS, wanted to be a writer. I decided to participate in National Novel Writing Month last year and my husband was my biggest cheerleader through the whole process. I have mixed issues about NaNoWriMo but I did “win” and I had a complete story to show for it. After I started editing it, a friend asked if I was going to publish it and I honestly hadn’t even thought about it. Then, I got my “goodies” from NaNo and there was a coupon for two free print copies of my book through CreateSpace. I went through that process just because I wanted the two free print copies because how cool would it be to have my very own book that I wrote sitting on my bookshelf?? So, from there I clicked the little option to send it to Kindle and *tah-dah* it was published. I don’t think I really had time to process what I was actually doing until after I sold my first book. I wouldn’t recommend following in my footsteps.

From where do you draw your inspiration?
Hmm, a little bit of real life experience and then other stories, movies, TV, pictures, etc. Everything around me, basically.

Do you ever base your characters on real people in your life?
If I say “yes”, some people in my life might not be too happy! I would say that I do draw some character traits from people in my life but I’ve never written a character that was exactly like someone in my life. I mix and match their traits so that no one knows! My husband swears up and down that Brodie is actually me, which in all honesty I’m not sure is a compliment because she’s kind of a bitch. (Thanks, honey! Love you!)

Brodie Barrett is a widowed mother of a 10 year old girl and a homicide detective for the Birmingham Police Department. Everything seems fine in her world until her ex-fiance, Keaton Maddox walks back into her life. She's ready to start a new life with Keaton but he's also got a pregnant girlfriend working at his restaurant. Things at work start heating up for Brodie when someone decides to send her love letters at work. These aren't your ordinary love letters, though! These letters leave clues for Brodie to find bodies of her admirer's victims. Who could be sending these letters and why do they want Brodie to find the bodies?

What kind of books do you like to read?
I am a sucker for sappy romance novels, self-help books, mysteries, and true crime. I am also an avid reader of children’s books. 

How did you come up with the title of your book?
This is actually a little embarrassing but when I first put the book out, it was under the name 3 Clues and I was so hyped up about how cool yet simple it was. And then when I went through for another edit, I felt like a complete idiot because I had FORGOTTEN that there were actually 4 clues. FAIL. So….I kept trying to think of something super cool and mysterious and just happened to come across the picture that I used for the cover and in the book the clues are typed so The Letters was born. (I’d like to blame it on alcohol but I was completely sober. Yes, I feel ashamed.)

Do you have a careful plan when plotting your stories or do you just go with the flow?
I try to plan things out but as the mother of a toddler I have learned that things don’t always go according to plan. My writing time usually ends up being scheduled for after Tiny Tyrant, the dog, the fish, and the husband are all in bed so I usually just do whatever I can before I pass out myself. 

When did you know you truly wanted to give writing a shot?
I’ve always loved writing little stories since I was a kid but the moment I knew I really truly wanted to give it a shot is when my husband and I were going through some boxes after we moved for the fiftieth time and I found some old writings I’d kept from before my Tiny Tyrant was born. He read them and encouraged me to start writing again. He’s the first person I can think of who truly encouraged me to follow my dream of being a writer. From that day I’ve been trying to make it a reality. 

What is the easiest part of the writing process for you?
Brainstorming. 

What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?
Getting all those ideas I came up with during brainstorming to work together and actually make some sense. 

Today's guest author on Interviews with Dante is Sylvie Nickels. Enjoy learning a bit about this wonderful author.

Please tell us a little about yourself.
I'm very old, started writing as a child in World War Two (i.e. over seventy years ago), and have barely stopped since.  Much of it has been as a travel writer for major UK newspapers and magazines.  In retirement I have returned to my first love of writing fiction and, since 2005, have self-published several novels, two anthologies of short stories, a YA novel dealing with addiction and a true adventure (The Big Muddy – a canoe journey down the Mississippi with my late husband).
A recurrent theme has been the effect of war on the children and grandchildren of participants (as in my trilogy ‘Another Kind of Loving’, ‘Beyond the Broken Gate, and ‘Long Shadows;  and in my most recent novel ‘The Other Side of Silence’).  Reconciliation is also a recurrent theme as is my belief that it is better to be part of the cure than part of the problem. 
More about me and my books can be found at http://tinyurl.com/SNickels-books and www.sylvienickels.wordpress.com
I live in a village in the county of Oxfordshire in England.

Tell us about your latest book.
My latest book is an anthology of short stories celebrating advancing years¸ about which I know quite a lot.  In fact mine is rather an interesting generation and there is not nearly enough interaction between the old and the young.  This is my attempt to bring us together.

What do you have coming out in the future?
My next project is concerned with the growing problem of dementia in what is a massively increasing number of our ageing population.  Having cared for a husband with mild dementia, with all the humour and frustrations that go with short term memory loss, I am also keenly aware that beneath the illness remains a very worthwhile companion and friend.  His long term memory remained phenomenal and has led me to create a new type of hero for my next book:  a man with mild dementia who provides the solutions to a mystery involving identity theft and internet scams.

From where do you draw your inspiration?
Mostly from my experience and real life.

Do you ever base your characters on real people in your life?
Yes a lot.  Not entirely of course.  I use people's characters or incidents, and I think quite a lot of me creeps into my books too.

How have your real life experiences influenced your writing?
Enormously.  Surely inevitable since life experiences form one's character and outlook.

How did you come up with the title of your book?
It was my late husband George's.  After an extremely active life (Bomber Command during the war, sole survivor of an air crash, three years as a prisoner-of-war, climber, sole survivor of an avalanche, explorer, long distance canoeist) in late life he lost mobility, had many ailments including early dementia.  Whenever I expressed concern about the future, he would say cheerfully, "It'll be Better Tomorrow".  So I used this as the title of my book.

Is your book a stand alone or a series?
This one is.  Earlier ones have been part of a trilogy, though also could be read separately.

Have you joined any writer’s groups?
Yes, we have a local writing group and pride ourselves on being constructively critical.  I also belong to several groups through Goodreads, though some of these I find to be rather time-taking as contributors tend to go off-topic or at times use the group for self promotion.

What is the easiest part of the writing process for you?
It would be the first draft if I didn't know that it would need to be followed by a great deal of re-writing.

What is your preferred writing environment?
A good walk if I need to get over a writing block.  Otherwise quiet corner with a pad and pen (I like the physical process of pen on paper), and inevitably in due course a space for my computer.

Do you have a careful plan when plotting your stories or do you just go with the flow?
Ideally I like a plan, but more often than not I get an idea, a beginning and an end, and my characters in due course work out the rest of it.

With many publishing routes available today, which felt the most reliable to you when it came to the many choices?
A good publishing house would be great, but unless you are well established or a celeb this could be a forlorn hope.  I find self-publishing quite satisfying and not expensive.  The main bind is marketing and the incomprehensibilities of other people's websites!

When did you know you truly wanted to give writing a shot?
Aged ten or eleven.  It just seemed the obvious thing to do.

Please tell us a little about yourself.
Well, my name is Drako (pen name obviously) and I’m from St. Louis, Missouri. I’m a psychology major in college, just got my associate’s degree last year and working on a bachelors. I write paranormal fantasy erotic romance (mouthful, ain’t it?). I’ve been writing since fifth grade when I was assigned a short story and just loved writing and being creative. As an adult, I kind of write the type of romance I’d want in my life but definitely don’t get.

Tell us about your latest book.
The latest book I released is Blood Monarch. It’s a very different version of the most infamous vampire of all time, Dracula, who I refer to as Vlad. In my version, he is every bit as seductive as some might imagine him, and insanely powerful, yet a bit more humble and loyal, specifically to the god he serves. The book focuses on him finding his soul mate after long years of life and fighting to save another world, another kingdom.

What do you have coming out in the future?
Got a lot going on. Continuing my main series, the next book in it will be the Dragon’s Secrets, in which Vlad will return for a cameo of sorts. I also have a new series I’ve entitled the Coven, with the first book being named Bewitched Souls, and a third series called Journeys waiting on a publisher to put it out.

What genre do you enjoy writing the most and why?
My books are a blend of paranormal, fantasy, erotica, and LGBT. The reason is simple. I have a very lively imagination. I don’t much like living in the real world. But I like realism, so I don’t limit my characters to being straight or gay. I want them to be believable.

From where do you draw your inspiration?
Life in general.

Do you ever base your characters on real people in your life?
LOL, yes, as a matter of fact in the Dragon Hunters series, one of the major players is Brandon. His first boyfriend is based off a guy I went to high school with and his mate, Phil, is based off a friend of mine.

What authors inspire your writing?
Anne Rice inspires me the most, because she is so creative. Her writing isn’t concerned with society’s hang ups. She writes mesmerizing characters that are who they are and people love them. Sherilyn Kenyon was another inspiration to me because she has such a wonderful and long running series with no end in sight, so it inspires me to truly follow my creative path to its end because people can stay interested in a long series.

What kind of books do you like to read?
I like to read most books. I don’t tend to get into Christian fiction very much. Not my spiritual path personally so I sometimes find it hard to get into. I have read a few that are interesting, but those don’t sound preachy to me so I can simply appreciate the story.

How have your real life experiences influenced your writing?
Well, real life experiences give the inspiration for some of the scenes I write. Plus, that need for a little realism in a fantasy setting comes from the variety of people I surround myself with in life.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?
I’m a gamer, and I’m the nerdy kind. I still play Pokemon (don’t judge me, it’s fun and addictive and I grew up on it). I also watch wrestling. I take care of my godnieces, and I have been known to enjoy a drink or two. Oh, yeah, and there’s that day job I’m not the most fond of but gotta pay the bills.

What was your road to publishing like? Tell us about it.
Well, I self published my first book in 2012, the beginning of my Dragon Hunters series. Paid for that one, then found KDP and pulled it away to self publish through them and createspace. My books seemed to pick up a bit more speed when the third in the series was released. The fourth book seems to be the most popular. Only this past year did I try using an author house to publish, and that book hasn’t come out yet (not real happy about that either. I’m not a patient author). In a sense, I like self publishing best because at least I can stand by my plans to release a book. Cover design has been a struggle for me though. It’s expensive and I can’t find a simple affordable program that I can use to do it myself yet.

How did you come up with the title of your book?
Well, Vlad is a kind, and he drinks blood. Hints, Blood Monarch. Didn’t have to think that hard about his.

Is your book a stand alone or a series?
I haven’t found the secret to stand alone books yet. I always come up with characters that have multiple stories to tell, or have family and friends that have stories. All my books are part of a series so far.

Blurb: A king's duty never ends, even when his kingdom changes. Vladimir Dracula is one of the most famous and misunderstood figures in all of history. One thing is true, he is a king, and he is a vampire. He is the true king and enforcer of the vampire race. Feared by all of his own kind, he is perhaps the most lethal of the Black Dragon God's mortal born servants. At the same time, he personifies sex. None can resist his charms, save one. 
Vax King is the Chosen of Hecate, the Heir of Mjolnir, and has no plans on a mate. When he's called on to enter Fae lands, he's surprised to find the legendary vampire there. Looking to aid the beautiful Fae, Anaya, and her soul mate, Galen, Vax must enter a world of sex of violence with only Vlad to accompany him. Here, there can be no denial, no hesitation. Only truth....and dominance. 
A war is brewing in the Fae lands, as the fallen angels rise to lay claim to the power of their goddess, Verlaine and topple their higher brethren. Older than most, Vlad must accustom himself to having a soul mate, and use all his legendary power to stop the forces of darkness long believed to be controlled by him. A new kingdom is the prize, and none knows better than the famed Dracula that the secret to power lies in the blood.

Do you read the genre you write for or do you prefer other genres?
Kinda prefer my own, really. But I read others. Long as the story is good I’ll read it.

Have you joined any writer’s groups?
Not really. Can’t seem to find a good active one.

Have you won any awards for your writing?
Not since high school. Haven’t exactly been entering any contests though so who knows what’ll happen in the future.

What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?
Editing. It is the devil!!!!

What is the easiest part of the writing process for you?
Coming up with the story

Which of your characters is your favorite and why?
I don’t have a favorite, really. I love most of them. I did have a period where I wanted Brandon and Phil to be conjured into the real world so that I could choke them for taking me on an emotional rollercoaster starting in the end of book two and continuing to book five, which was their book. (no, seriously, they were the hardest characters to get to pair up and they fought it every step of the way. That’s the life of an author though)

Who or what are your inspirations/influences?
Music inspires a lot for me. Sometimes a song dictates a whole book for me. But as far as who inspires me, my mother. There is nothing like having the unconditional support of your mom, and I’ve had it since I started writing.

What is your preferred writing environment?
I need noise. I cannot write in silence. My first several books were written almost entirely while I was at work (I work in a call center and we get plenty of downtime some days). When I’m home, I need the TV or music.

How would you describe your writing style?
I’m not sure. I think I’m pretty descriptive, especially in fight scenes. I see my story a certain way and I want my readers to see it exactly how I picture it.

Do you have a careful plan when plotting your stories or do you just go with the flow?
I go with the flow. Every single time I make a plan for a story, the characters take me another way.

With many publishing routes available today, which felt the most reliable to you when it came to the many choices? 
Self-publishing. I don’t like missing deadlines to my fans because a publisher hasn’t done their job. It kind of irks my immortal soul to have built this story that I think is great and be stuck waiting on someone else to put it out.

When did you know you truly wanted to give writing a shot?
As far as publishing, I think I’ve always wanted to, but as a teenager it’s really hard to find a publisher. I wasn’t exactly Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. Self-publishing gave me my way to get my foot in the door.