Thursday, April 7, 2016

Rena Marks Interview


1. What inspired you to write about Vampires and Werewolves? Which race do you like more? 

Vampires and werewolves go hand in hand, like peanut butter and jelly. The race I prefer depends on the actual character involved. I like the bad-boy violence of the werewolves, but the mystique of the vampire. So I guess the answer is: it depends on my mood!

2. Why did you want to become an author?


I've always tended to live in fantasy-land, and I knew I could do this during a brief dry spell when I couldn't find anything to read. Like anything, the craft of writing is a learning curve, but the stories themselves just burst from inside me.

3. If you could pick your top 3 vampire books and top 3 werewolf books what would they be?

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong, North Wolf by M.A. Evereax, and my own Shared By Wolves. (Warning: it's erotic) As far as vampires, I still love the Sookie Stackhouse series for Eric. The books, not True Blood. The Carpathians, and the tortured Dark Hunters.

4. We hear Authors talking about all the characters chattering away in their heads. Which character of yours is the loudest?

Right now, it's Cesar from the Stargazer Series. He keeps interrupting incessantly and making me laugh!

5. Is there a part of you that you wrote with the main character?

Definitely. Anjelia battles a dark side that threatens to take control of her soul. I fight to keep mine at bay. A bit of that battle bleeds over into my heroine Afton from Kiss Me Before I Die. In fact, there's even a little in the psychic Sara from Born Again. And the three Demon heroines in my Wanton Sins series, Keara, Natalya, and Holly. Apparently it's an issue with me, LOL.

6. What’s your next book going to be about?

I'm working on my Stargazer Series right now. In 1692, a starship comes to planet Earth to see if humans are compatible with Stargazers. It lands near a small town called Salem, Massachusetts. The long journey across many light years caused the female inhabitants drastic memory loss. They had no memories of who and what they were, and were as helpless as newborn lambs. The goal was to breed with Earthlings to keep their own race from dying out. If they were successful, more Stargazers would be sent out years later to co-exist with humans. Instead, the females were slaughtered. As an apology, the American government has given parcels of land to the Stargazer species so they may form their own communities. Each stand-alone tale is that of a titled Stargazer, who had once dedicated his life to protect other species, given a reward by having the first shot at traveling to Earth to take his chances at falling in love. Currently, I'm about to release the fourth book in the series and have book 5 halfway through.

The Hunter

The Enforcer

The Defender

The Protector

The Guardian


7. When you are writing, what do you think is the most difficult process?


The end. I write out of sequence, so when I'm at the end, I have to string scenes together like puzzle pieces. It's an enormous, confusing project! I wish I could right sequentially, but it doesn't happen. I still end up moving scenes around.

8. How many books will be in the Forgotten Kisses Series?


Right now I'm almost done with the third book. Whether or not there's a fourth depends on supply and demand. The demand is for my Stargazer series right now, so I am focusing on that.

9. How do you keep your characters in line, or how do you keep your world straight without losing your story?

I don't. I let my characters be or do whatever they wish. That's the beauty of paranormal, there are no rules. If my character changes from the original story, that's growth! I'm not the same person I was in my twenties, and Anjelia shouldn't be the same person after she discovers her memory loss. One of my pet peeves is bending too many rules in the paranormal realm. I hate when an immortal dies, because it breaks the rules. And I really hate when a person is killed and resurrected without any good cause. It breaks the believability of the world.

10. If you could choose are you Team Julian or Team Leo?

That is a tough one. Originally, Leo was the villain in the story, and I killed him off. My critique partners were in an uproar over it, so I had to bring him back. Since then, he's gained a soft spot in my heart, especially since he was the one who lost the most. (Anjelia should have been his mate only.) On the other hand, Julian's whole motivation for wiping Anjelia's memories and tricking her into becoming his human servant was for love. He loves her so much, he's willing to share. He loves her so much, he's willing to accept Leo's child as his. (Book 2)

As the author, I'm going to have to reserve the right to be Team Triangle. :) Sorry for the spoiler!

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