Interview with Donya Lynne

Donya Lynne's Bio:

Donya resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, with her husband and a small zoo of cats and dogs. In fact, her writing buddy, Lucky, serves as her writing assistant most days, staying right by her side and distracting Donya with her adorable-ness when needed. Because, hey, every author needs a distraction once in a while.

 As a little girl, Donya always had a book in her hand. As she got older, the books became pens and notebooks, which she filled with stories and poetry. For as long as she remembers, she has been writing and studying the writing craft with the goal of being published one day. She is passionate about providing readers with what she calls an experience. She wants readers to be able to sink into her stories and escape reality for just a little while, and every word is written, and every sentence structured, with that goal in mind.

 Donya loves music and often finds inspiration for her stories in the wide range of music she listens to. But occasionally it's a movie, a book, or just a drive around town that inspires her work. She constantly reads new material, new authors, and different styles of writing as a means to improve her own, and believes the writing process is one an author should always strive to perfect, even though perfecting it is an impossible feat. It's the thrill of the chase and the challenge that keeps her from getting stagnant in her own work.

 She has several projects planned and in progress, including eight more novels and two novellas in the All the King's Men series, as well as several stand-alone novels, another series, and several short stories and novellas. She would love to share her journey with you in this exciting venture.

donyalynne.blogspot.com/ 

 

Book blurb for The Arms of Winter

(stand-alone enovella)

Book blurb for The Arms of Winter (on pre-order now at Silver Publishing. Goes on sale June 30 at Amazon, B&N, Are, and other  book distribution sites):

After spending four months recovering from a brutal beating for being gay, Sam Winter is medically discharged from the Army and sent home. Upon returning to his family horse farm in Kentucky, he faces a father who condemns him, a mother who’s in denial about his homosexuality, and an uncertain future. The one thing he is certain about is his feelings for his best friend, Cooper Brown, who Sam has secretly been attracted to since high school.

For years, Cooper has harbored his own secret attraction toward Sam and is finally ready to tell him. During a camping trip to their childhood stomping grounds, all their secrets are revealed and their bonds of friendship are expanded in ways neither thought possible. Love is finally within reach. Will the two best friends be able to overcome the prejudice and odds stacked against them?

 

Can you tell us 3 things we can’t find about you on the internet?

I used to body build before injuring my back about 3 ½ years ago. I used to play the clarinet and saxophone and was very successful musically in high school. I have a lot of food sensitivities, including wheat, gluten, shellfish, dairy, peanuts, and chocolate.

Can you tell us a little about Heart of the Warrior?

Heart of the Warrior is the story of Severin and Arion. Sev is a very much “out” and comfortable-with-his-lifestyle gay male vampire, but Arion is only just discovering why he’s been so unhappy living the life of a heterosexual male vampire: he’s gay. But Arion’s parents and best friend are severely homophobic, and Arion has never felt comfortable with investigating why he just doesn’t seem to get into any of the women he dates…until Sev comes along. Sev makes Ari open his eyes and his heart to the truth of what and who he is. Now he just has to come to terms with his homosexuality and find a way to make his attraction to Sev work when he can’t reveal the truth to his parents or best friend. Meanwhile, Sev is hiding a couple of truths of his own, such as the fact that he is half dreck, which makes him half the enemy. Sev and Ari have to navigate through a sea of emotional upheaval and intrigue if they’re to find happily ever after with each other, and even that might not be enough.

Out of all of your books, what scenes stand out the most to you?

The one toward the end of Heart of the Warrior stands out the most by far. If I say anything about it, it will give away the climax and turning point of the book, so all I’ll say is that while I wrote the scene and the buildup to it, I bawled my eyes out twice. It was so emotional and evocative. Arion became my second-favorite character because of this scene. I just love him as a character. He was so rich and complex. Another scene that stands out is from Rise of the Fallen, at the end, where Traceon unleashes the full potential of his power. He marked himself as Badass Numero Uno in that one scene, and he pushed forward to become the favorite character of most of my readers. So many tell me they can’t wait until his book. Nothing like a little pressure, huh? LOL.

What made you want to become an author?

That’s like asking the sun why it shines. Or asking Peyton Manning why he wanted to become a quarterback. LOL. I really don’t have an answer. I’ve always written. Even before I was in grade school, I carried paper and pens around and wrote poetry. I think I was born with a pen in my hand. If I wasn’t writing, I was dreaming up stories and poems in my head. I started writing stories when I got in school, and won my first writing contest when I was in fourth grade. The teacher told us to write a story that was at least a page in length. I think I wrote close to twenty. I won a pack of Hubba Bubba bubble gum. LOL. My stories got more mature and erotic as I got older, and my friends voted me Most Likely to be a Romance Novelist when I grew up. How funny is that?! I guess you could say I was born to write, so it wasn’t a matter of deciding or wanting to be an author. I just was.

What does a typical writing day look like for you?

Before I got hired for a full-time temporary assignment by an old friend of mine at a company where I used to work, I was up by 7:00AM and writing. I spent 12-16 hours a day, seven days a week, working on my writing in one way or another. Now that I’m working again, I get up around 5:00AM, write for about an hour, write on my lunch hour, if I can, and then work on more business-related aspects of writing in the evenings. I devote weekends mostly to writing.

What are you working on?

I am working on the edits for Micah’s Calling, a novella supplement to the AKM series, as well as edits for a short story to be published in a winter anthology. I’m also working on book three of AKM, Royal Obsession. This story wants to fight me a little, but I think it’s because the two main characters are dealing with a lot of shame and are afraid of communicating with me what they want. So, I’m trying to coax it out of them.

If you could pick an author to write with, whom would you pick?

I have a couple I’d love to collaborate with. Ivan Rusilko, because he’s a debut author like I am, and having that new-to-the-arena energy could prove to be synergistically powerful, and because he seems like such a fun guy. Lots of energy, always smiling and laughing. I think working on a book with him would be an absolute hoot and wildly successful. The second author I’d love to collaborate with would be J.R. Ward. I think she and I could make hot, paranormal music together. I fell in love with her BDB series, and have never read a book more than once (other than Charlotte’s Web) before her book, Dark Lover, came along.

Do you have a favorite character of yours?

Micah. Without a doubt, it’s Micah. He is so much a part of my psyche that we’re almost soulmates. I love him beyond measure because he and I have been through so much together since this adventure began. We’ve helped each other out through some very tough times. Funny how a fictional character can bring about catharsis, but Micah did that for me.

Thank you so much for the Interview Donya Lynne