I’m very pleased to be hosting brillliant author Shea Swain on my blog this month, for one of my ten-question interviews.
1) Shrinks would say that all our (writers’) characters are us, in some way, including the villains. Which character do you most strongly identify with – or, which character is most like you would LIKE to be? Tell us a little about them, and why you loved writing their story.
I would say I agree, especially the villains because our bad become reality in them. I would like to say that I identify with Cianne Baxter of the Halo series the most. She is sweet, shy, anxious, loyal, and has much more strength than she believes. But I also feel that I am Cefus Shaw from Chained to the Devil’s Son, short tempered, uncompromising, bitter, petty. I am Tristan, devoted, determined, and deadly if I need to be. They are all me, my desires, my shortcomings, what I aspire to be. Telling their stories echoes my life and the world around me.
2) Chained to the Devil’s Son is one of your titles – and you’ve released a lot of novels and novellas in the last two years. Did you make a bargain with the Devil? How did you do it?
I’ve been writing for a long time but just published in 2014, a novella to test the waters. I actually think I write and publish slower than most. It took ten years to write The Binding of the Halo series. Then I sat on it for a year before release. I wrote my lastest two years ago but waited to release. I have about 70 WIPs…ideas that I’ve dreamed up and wrote a few chapters but haven’t finished. When I finish a book, I pick my next book to finish. It’s tough because I often come up with new ideas.
3) I’ve read your Halo series; four novels, plus a prequel. Why a series of four, rather than five, or two trilogies?
Halo started out as a duet. But a publisher I was querying told me to split book one. When I did, it became a trilogy but I felt there should be more. When It was all over…four pretty thick books. The Coesen was an afterthought that I wrote last year. The follow-ups…Aidan and Nadia will be a trio soon to come.
4) You write interracial (and with the Coesen Halo series, one might argue, interspecies) romance. There’s a fine line, some say, between interracial romance and sex, and fetishizing the “other.” Where and how do you think that line falls?
Honestly, I never even knew Interracial was a “genre”. I wrote Chained…and it sold well and I was told it was a thing…Interracial. I actually have and raise a biracial daughter so it’s not really a fetish for me, it’s life. As for the alien aspect, I love Sci-fi and it tends to show up sometimes in my work. Not full out but light drops here and there. The sex in my work is minimal, other than my erotica. I think for me it’s life but if some want to see it as a fetish…I can’t stop them.
5) Some authors visualize and build a full biography for their characters, before starting to write. Others are all about the plot, telling the story and filling in character details later. What’s YOUR process like?
I build the image first. I suppose I know who they are before I write them but I NEED to see them. So I Dreamcast immediately then fill in the blanks as I go with a basic understanding of who they are.
6) What’s your split between writing, advertising/marketing, social media, and actually having a life? Do you do a little of each, every day, or do you have some days wholly devoted to writing?
I write fulltime between the hours of 9am-3:45pm usually. I don’t do as much advertising/marketing as I should. Social media is a time suck but necessary but I try to devote as much time as I can to writing but Family comes first.
7) Where do you see yourself in five years? What does success look like/feel like to you?
I feel that for me…I’ve reached my goal and now I have to adjust and create a new goal. To publish Halo was it! I did that!
8) When you finish a book, or a series, do you miss your characters, or are you happy to run as far and fast away from them as possible?
I think they are always with me. Like the family member who has passed on but you will always remember them. Now, I will never read any of my books again once I’ve published them.
9) What’s the best line from a review or fan letter/email you’ve received?
I originally started a hate mail folder but only got love mail. My first is my favorite. It is long but I will paste the first few lines that still make me tear up that someone actually like what I wrote.
Message
Hello, I just finished your book, “Chained to the Devil’s Son”, and ugh. Like all good stories, this made me feel…and for that, I sort of dislike the book haha. The dislike would be due to having this story forever imprinted in my heart and mind.
10) What question have you never been asked about your writing – and what’s your answer?
I don’t get asked many things. LOL
Shea is a woman in love with the idea of love so it’s no wonder she writes Romance Novels. The East Coast native is a romantic to her core and reads and watches anything with a love story. She especially likes binging on Romance TV around Christmas time.
She enjoys meeting people and chatting, collecting Barbie dolls, toys, anime, and is addicted to The Sims games. Shea also loves music and has mentioned that she writes better when she has movie scores playing as white noise in the background.
This new and exciting author writes Adult Romance in the sub-genres of Contemporary, New Adult, Paranormal, Sci-Fi, and Erotica.
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