The guest author for today on Interviews with Dante is Toya Richardson. She is a writer of Paranormal Romance & Contemporary Fiction. Her latest work is Rise of the Chameleons, part 2 of Eternal Love of the Seekers series.
Please tell us a little about yourself.
I’ve been writing since the tender age of four and was always encouraged by my mother. Unfortunately, she passed away in 2009 before she was able to see me published. I still miss her love and friendship and I feel that was the catalyst for me to start writing seriously and since that date, I have written seventeen books. A series of eight paranormal/romance are to be published by Red Sage Publishing and a contemporary romance/thriller was published this February by Little Bird Publishing.
Tell us about your latest book.
Rise of the Chameleons, part 2 of Eternal Love of the Seekers series, is out 1st October 2015. It is a fairly gritty story about the continuing battle between The Seekers and Global Innovations – two warring factions of modern day Atlanteans. They have special powers and manage to live side-by-side with the humans without detection. I’ve attached the book blurb etc. which should give some insight. I am a romance author, so even though there are some traumatic moments, love will always win in the end.
Because it’s a series The Atlantean Birthright – part one – needs to be read in order to keep up with events in the following books.
What do you have coming out in the future?
Books three to eight in the Atlantean series will be coming out one a month from November 2015. Book seven has now been split in to two books because it was over 130K words long. Book eight is called Desire Unleashed. I have written book nine, but it requires editing so I haven’t submitted it yet.
I have several books in fantasy romance and contemporary romance, which have yet to be placed. When all the editing
Is your book a stand-alone or a series?
Most are stand-alone and Eternal Love of the Seekers is a series.
Why romance and what makes your particular brand of romance special?
I’ve always loved romance stories and happy ever after books, but with mine, especially the series, I love to leave a cliffhanger so that the reader cannot wait to read the next one to see what happens. I also love long, drawn out, sexual tension. The slow build-up is extremely important to me.
Is romance the only genre that you write in or do you write in other genres? If so what other genres do you write in?
I did write a fantasy once. I had an agent at the time, although he was unable to place it. I self-published with his assistance, but it cost so much money, for very little return, that I said I’d never do it that way again.
When I get some time, I hope to rewrite the book and turn it into more of a fantasy romance.
I’ve been writing since the tender age of four and was always encouraged by my mother. Unfortunately, she passed away in 2009 before she was able to see me published. I still miss her love and friendship and I feel that was the catalyst for me to start writing seriously and since that date, I have written seventeen books. A series of eight paranormal/romance are to be published by Red Sage Publishing and a contemporary romance/thriller was published this February by Little Bird Publishing.
Tell us about your latest book.
Rise of the Chameleons, part 2 of Eternal Love of the Seekers series, is out 1st October 2015. It is a fairly gritty story about the continuing battle between The Seekers and Global Innovations – two warring factions of modern day Atlanteans. They have special powers and manage to live side-by-side with the humans without detection. I’ve attached the book blurb etc. which should give some insight. I am a romance author, so even though there are some traumatic moments, love will always win in the end.
Because it’s a series The Atlantean Birthright – part one – needs to be read in order to keep up with events in the following books.
What do you have coming out in the future?
Books three to eight in the Atlantean series will be coming out one a month from November 2015. Book seven has now been split in to two books because it was over 130K words long. Book eight is called Desire Unleashed. I have written book nine, but it requires editing so I haven’t submitted it yet.
I have several books in fantasy romance and contemporary romance, which have yet to be placed. When all the editing
Is your book a stand-alone or a series?
Most are stand-alone and Eternal Love of the Seekers is a series.
Why romance and what makes your particular brand of romance special?
I’ve always loved romance stories and happy ever after books, but with mine, especially the series, I love to leave a cliffhanger so that the reader cannot wait to read the next one to see what happens. I also love long, drawn out, sexual tension. The slow build-up is extremely important to me.
Is romance the only genre that you write in or do you write in other genres? If so what other genres do you write in?
I did write a fantasy once. I had an agent at the time, although he was unable to place it. I self-published with his assistance, but it cost so much money, for very little return, that I said I’d never do it that way again.
When I get some time, I hope to rewrite the book and turn it into more of a fantasy romance.
After discovering Phoenicia Coeur is his Mother, Jared realises the Seekers will think he’s inherited her evil. This leaves only one course of action for him – he must kill her at any cost.
Lauren and her eight-year-old brother, Connor, are captured by Phoenicia Coeur while on the run. She’s given two choices, infiltrate the Seekers and bring her son to her and the Seekers location, or her brother will be tortured and killed. Along with Jared’s girlfriend, Sara, they are captured by Phoenicia. Can they be rescued, or will they die along with everyone else living at the Seekers mansion. This is a story fuelled by love, loyalty, betrayal and finally – hope.
Reader Alert! This story is about dealing with trust, revenge and love issues and knowing when to do the right thing. There is an incredibly traumatic part in the story where several people involved have to learn how to move on and deal with what’s happened. Their whole world could be about to crumble around them, which could mean being captured and enslaved by Global Innovations. The finale leaves you wondering what will happen in the next part of the series.
Lauren and her eight-year-old brother, Connor, are captured by Phoenicia Coeur while on the run. She’s given two choices, infiltrate the Seekers and bring her son to her and the Seekers location, or her brother will be tortured and killed. Along with Jared’s girlfriend, Sara, they are captured by Phoenicia. Can they be rescued, or will they die along with everyone else living at the Seekers mansion. This is a story fuelled by love, loyalty, betrayal and finally – hope.
Reader Alert! This story is about dealing with trust, revenge and love issues and knowing when to do the right thing. There is an incredibly traumatic part in the story where several people involved have to learn how to move on and deal with what’s happened. Their whole world could be about to crumble around them, which could mean being captured and enslaved by Global Innovations. The finale leaves you wondering what will happen in the next part of the series.
From where do you draw your inspiration?
Most of it comes from inside my head, although sometimes I may see a place, or person and imagine them in different scenarios.
In March of this year, I was lucky enough to spend a month in New Zealand and Australia. We visited Waiheke Island, an amazing place off the coast of Auckland NZ. I got off the ferry and almost had sensory overload. It was an amazing place and a story came to me. When I got home, it took around five weeks to get it down and I have ended up with a 75K contemporary romance, which I am attempting to place at the moment.
To be honest, I never know when an idea will strike. If I don’t have my pad and pen with me, I note it down in a text to myself.
Do you ever base your characters on real people in your life?
Not really, most of it comes from inside my head. I did have one surprise though. I’d written The Atlantean Birthright, the hero is called Armand De Silva, and then I went to see the first Thor movie. I’d never heard of Chris Hemsworth but when he appeared on the screen, he was a dead ringer for Armand…very nice surprise :D
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
My main passion in life is writing but when I get the time, in between working and keeping house like most of us authors have to, I love reading, cinema, theatre, going to live gigs, keeping fit and spending time with my friends.
How did you come up with the title of your book?
For some reason, I always find choosing a title extremely hard. It has to be something punchy that will draw the reader in, something which almost compels them to read it. I actually sit in an almost meditative state and then the title usually comes to me.
Do you read romance or do you prefer other genres?
I prefer paranormal romance although since following other authors on Twitter, I read different genres now in order to support them.
Do you have a careful plan when plotting your stories or do you just go with the flow?
I allow my characters to drive the story. I sit at my laptop and let the story take me where it will. I’ve tried to write plot lines but always end up writing something completely different.
When did you know you truly wanted to give writing a shot?
When my mum passed away in 2009, she desperately wanted to see me published and she was mentor. She had always believed in my work and that’s when I had to confidence to really go for it.
What is your favorite quote?
Okay, this was from an author at a workshop I attended years ago, “Write because you love to write. If you write to earn money, then you might just as well give up.”
This is very true because writing is a passion, something a writer cannot function without.
Do you have any advice for other writers and what is it?
Never get disheartened by rejection letters, have the courage of your conviction and keep on writing. Always check your work carefully and edit as much as you can. When you submit your work to a publisher, check the guidelines and follow them verbatim or your work won’t even get looked at.
Wild Card Question.
As an author, what is the one question that you wish people would ask you, but no one ever has and what would your answer be to that question?
Why do I write if I can’t make a living out of it?
Because it is my passion and I am driven by the desire to write and see my characters and stories come to life. And if only one or two people read them and enjoy what I’ve penned, then it’s a marvelous achievement.
Most of it comes from inside my head, although sometimes I may see a place, or person and imagine them in different scenarios.
In March of this year, I was lucky enough to spend a month in New Zealand and Australia. We visited Waiheke Island, an amazing place off the coast of Auckland NZ. I got off the ferry and almost had sensory overload. It was an amazing place and a story came to me. When I got home, it took around five weeks to get it down and I have ended up with a 75K contemporary romance, which I am attempting to place at the moment.
To be honest, I never know when an idea will strike. If I don’t have my pad and pen with me, I note it down in a text to myself.
Do you ever base your characters on real people in your life?
Not really, most of it comes from inside my head. I did have one surprise though. I’d written The Atlantean Birthright, the hero is called Armand De Silva, and then I went to see the first Thor movie. I’d never heard of Chris Hemsworth but when he appeared on the screen, he was a dead ringer for Armand…very nice surprise :D
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
My main passion in life is writing but when I get the time, in between working and keeping house like most of us authors have to, I love reading, cinema, theatre, going to live gigs, keeping fit and spending time with my friends.
How did you come up with the title of your book?
For some reason, I always find choosing a title extremely hard. It has to be something punchy that will draw the reader in, something which almost compels them to read it. I actually sit in an almost meditative state and then the title usually comes to me.
Do you read romance or do you prefer other genres?
I prefer paranormal romance although since following other authors on Twitter, I read different genres now in order to support them.
Do you have a careful plan when plotting your stories or do you just go with the flow?
I allow my characters to drive the story. I sit at my laptop and let the story take me where it will. I’ve tried to write plot lines but always end up writing something completely different.
When did you know you truly wanted to give writing a shot?
When my mum passed away in 2009, she desperately wanted to see me published and she was mentor. She had always believed in my work and that’s when I had to confidence to really go for it.
What is your favorite quote?
Okay, this was from an author at a workshop I attended years ago, “Write because you love to write. If you write to earn money, then you might just as well give up.”
This is very true because writing is a passion, something a writer cannot function without.
Do you have any advice for other writers and what is it?
Never get disheartened by rejection letters, have the courage of your conviction and keep on writing. Always check your work carefully and edit as much as you can. When you submit your work to a publisher, check the guidelines and follow them verbatim or your work won’t even get looked at.
Wild Card Question.
As an author, what is the one question that you wish people would ask you, but no one ever has and what would your answer be to that question?
Why do I write if I can’t make a living out of it?
Because it is my passion and I am driven by the desire to write and see my characters and stories come to life. And if only one or two people read them and enjoy what I’ve penned, then it’s a marvelous achievement.
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