Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Deborah Court: My Next Big Thing


Last wednesday, I was tagged by my friend and talented author Lynette Sofras to answer 10 questions about my next release - "Bound by Magic", the second book in my Elven Warrior Trilogy and sequel to "Bound to the Prince".  To read about Lynette's own Next Big Thing, her upcoming romance "In Loving Hate", you can visit her blog - which is very entertaining and worth reading, anyway!

Now here's some info about my own "Next Big Thing" I'd like to share with you:

What is the working title of your book?
Bound by Magic. It's not a working title anymore. When I first thought about writing a story about elven sorcerer Calatin, a character from my debut novel "Bound to the Prince", there was just this one line in my mind. I like it short and simple when it comes to book titles.

Where did the idea come from for the book?
It was very unexpected. During writing my first story about an elf who fell in love with a human woman, I invented Calatin and fell in love with him right from the start. Originally I just wanted some kind of funny sidekick as a friend for my hero, Elathan, who is more the dark and brooding type.

Calatin is my idea of a typical elf. He loves to play dice with trolls, gets drunk and - since he is known for his male beauty in all of the elven realms - he loves to seduce any compelling female who happens to stumble into his arms. But he's also a loyal friend, brave and selfless when it comes to protecting his people. And he hides a hurt, vulnerable sould behind his handsome, smiling face.

What genre does your book fall under?
Although I like to call it H.E.R. (Hot Elven Romance), it's actually a Fantasy/Paranormal Romance.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Ok - I'm thinking big so let's choose actors for all my three elven heroes:

Alexander Skarsgard - he has the height, the Nordic features and most of all, the brooding quality I'd need for my elven prince, Elathan. Anyone who has seen him as Eric in True Blood knows what I mean.

Benedict Cumberbatch - he is an amazing actor (just watch him in Sherlock), and I can think of nobody who has more elven-looking features than him. He'd be my perfect Calatin.
  
Tom Hiddleston - this is just a teaser because I can't reveal anything about my third book in the Elven Trilogy yet but let's say that for my leading man, I need a type that's a bit more sinister and villaineous. Loved him as Loki in "Thor" and "The Avengers".


What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Elven sorcerer is cursed by furious ex-mistress and thrown into the human world, bereft of all his magic - right into the back yard of a human female who needs protection from lethal enemies since she knows too many secrets.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? 
Self-published.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?  
Hard to say. I'm constantly writing and re-writing, adding new scenes. Maybe five or six months. It's still a work in progress.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? 
Since it's part of a trilogy, obviously to "Bound to the Prince". But this story will be very different from the first book.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?
Writing "Bound to the Prince" helped me through a very painful time in my life; it was pure escapism when I couldn't sleep at night. This is probably why the story has a certain darkness to it. Bound by Magic was inspired by my character, Calatin. He simply commanded me to write it.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
In all of my elven books, I include elements of Celtic Irish and Scottish mythology, and the language I chose for my elves is real Gaelic. I believe that our whole culture is influenced by those ancient legends, more than we realize. We automatically respond to them, in an instinctive, emotional way.

A damsel in distress on a lonely island inmidst a lake, a brave, tragic knight coming to her on a silver elven vessel trough the wavering mist. Every woman secretly yearns for her very own warrior to save her. And yes, I'm talking about self-confident, modern women who successfully manage their careers and families. Deep inside, we are holding out for a hero. And I don't think that this contradicts feminism in any way. It doesn't hurt at all to be soft and a little bit weak at times. Life is hard enough, don't you think?




Next Wednesday (October 17th), my fellow authors Blak Rayne and Leigh Savage will tell you about their "Next Big Thing" - make sure to check those awesome blogs out!

Monday, October 1, 2012

Favorite Blogger of the Month (October)

Tadaa ... and here's my Favorite Blogger of October!
It's Danielle Schmidt from Romance Book Junkies. Welcome to my blog, Danielle! It's a pleasure to meet you.





Tell us a little bit about yourself and your blog. Why did you start your own book review blog, and which genres do you feature?
I am a 31 year old housewife. I love to blog, read and paint. I also enjoy chatting with other romance junkies so email me anytime. I started my blog because I had met very few people in my life that actually read romance novels and I wanted that interaction with other romance lovers. I also wanted to share all the books I read with others that might like to read a good book that I could recommend. We spend all that time reading a book it seems only natural to want to share that experience with someone else. I will talk and post about any genre in romance on my blog. If there’s a romance going on in the book then it has a spot on my blog that’s why I sometimes will even venture into genres such as historical fiction.

What genres do you read in private? What are your most favorite books of all time?
The genres I read normally are paranormal romance, historical romance and erotica or at least those are the ones I love the most. My favorite book of all time hmmm? That’s like asking a mother to pick her favorite child. Off the top of my head two books come to mind “The Other Boleyn Girl” and “Twilight” even though I normally don’t read YA.

With all those books being offered to you, you surely must be a bit picky about what you read. What intrigues you most in a story? Are you influenced by a good blurb or cover?
You really do have to be picky about what you read when you’re a blogger because you get so many review requests and you just don’t have time to read them all. I look for books in the genres I like most to read and I hate to say it but I am extremely influenced by a cover. I just can’t help it and I know its wrong.

How on earth do you find the time to manage such a busy blog besides your job and family life?
Like I said I have no real job besides taking care of the family so when everyone is off to school and work I get to blog and I do most of my reading at night before I go to bed when everyone else is sleeping. I have many late nights especially with good books sometimes I’ll be up until 2:00 in the morning then get up at 6:00 and start all over but it’s a labor of love truly.

Be honest: Is it easy or difficult to deal with us writers? I know that we can be an unorganized, sensitive lot sometimes. (You don't need to tell names …)
Honestly, I find most writers to be very delightful, corporative and generous.

You will be attending the first Indie Romance Convention next year! Please tell us what you've planned for the event.
I am very much looking forward to the Indie Romance Convention next year. Some of my favorite authors are attending. I don’t have a lot planned besides taking pictures, getting books signed and meeting authors. I may be planning to bring along some goodies to hand out from my blog but we’ll have to wait and see. I am also planning to donate a gift basket for the charity raffle that we’ll be having.


Just for fun - some quickies:

Favorite movie: The Wizard of Oz
Favorite TV series: I don’t watch TV ever so I don’t have a favorite series.
Favorite singer/band: Fergie with the Black Eyed Peas
Most beautiful male celebrity: Brad Pitt
Sexiest fictional hero ever: Gladiator (Russell Crowe)
Best fictional villain ever: Snow Whites Stepmother in the movie Snow White and the Huntsman
Best fictional heroine ever: The Queen in the movie 300 she was kick ass
Your secret beauty tip: Wash your face everyday with Olay Regenerist
Your secret favorite cooking/baking recipe: (full recipe or maybe online link)

Dump Cake
1 can cherry pie filling
1 can chopped pineapple
1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick buttler
Grease your pan then pour in your cherries and pineapple evenly. Top with yellow cake mix then cut butter into slices and layer on top of cake mix totally. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes and your done. Yummy and simple.

Thank you for your wonderful and interesting answers, Danielle! ;-)