GUEST AUTHOR INTERVIEW: CHARLOTTE BOYETT-COMPO

KH: I'm a huge fan of the tortured hero and you are a master at writing great tortured heroes-- Kamerone Cree from BloodWind and Conar McGregor from the WindLegends Saga immediately come to mind. What is it that draws you toward such characters and do you have a favorite tortured hero from your books?

CBC: I think it is the mothering instinct within me. You want to soothe the pain, make it all better. It doesn’t matter that you are the one creating the pain for these poor heroes. What is important is that you be there to take care of it, to hold his head as he cries, to kiss him and tell him it will be all right. My favorite is Kamerone since he was the first of my Reapers whom I created. I put that poor baby through hell but he forgave me. Even now he’s sitting on the loveseat here in my office shaking his dark head at me, that sweet little grin completely transforming his stern face.

KH: You currently write for Ellora's Cave and New Concepts publishing. Would you tell us about your recent/upcoming releases?

CBC:I have three books coming out this month: WindLegends Saga 5: WindReaper from NCP, WesternWind 3: Prime Reaper from EC, and Dreams of the Oasis: 4 from EC. I also have the fourth short story in the Seasonal Winds series…Winter Wind…coming out from NCP. So far next year I have three novels coming out from Ellora’s Cave: Hunger’s Harmattan, a dark fantasy/SF story with my signature Reapers and Amazeens, Journey of the Wind which is part of the Torrid Tarot series, and Tears of the Reaper, the fourth novel in the WesternWind series of post apocalyptic vampire westerns written for Scottish actor Gerard Butler as well as a short story in one of the EC anthologies. I have two other novels earmarked for EC but I haven’t subbed them, yet. The last five books of the WindLegends Saga ten-volume series will be coming out from NCP along with the two prequels to that series, WindFall and WindChance. I also have several short stories coming out with NCP in 2007 and hopefully five or six more full-length novels…including NightWind if they accept it.

KH: I noticed you also have some upcoming stories at Samhain Publishing. Would you tell us about those?

CBC: I have The WyndMaster Trilogy beginning with The WyndMaster’s Lady and then The WyndMaster’s Son. The third book is tentatively titled The WyndMaster’s Apprentice. They are swordplay books heavy on erotic romance and swashbuckling adventure. They have the tortured hero…of course…but they also have very strong, feisty heroines who are take-charge women. They don’t leave all the fighting to the guys and when it’s necessary, they go after the bad guys, themselves. The first book is due out in February 2007 and the second in July 2007 so I imagine the third will be a close to Christmas release. Right now I’m working on a book titled WyndSheer…a Celtic myth novel…that I plan to sub to SP.

KH: To you what makes a great romance hero?

CBC: A man who isn’t afraid to cry. A man who is strong and powerful but who can be weak, driven to his knees but not be broken by it. A man who is handsome and tall and muscular but who isn’t so infatuated with his own appearance that he forgets the heroine is beside him. He must be loyal, have a sense of humor, and be completely pitiless if the need arises. He is a man you don’t mess with unless you want to be messed with in return. Above all else, he loves the woman in his life more than the very air he breathes and is willing to do what it takes to keep her. In other words, he’s most likely a Reaper. ;)

KH: How did you come up with the wind theme to tie together your work?

CBC: I am a Gemini, an air sign, and I’ve always had a great affection for the way the wind feels when it plays across my face. I like the sound of it, the way it sweeps things clean. I like that you can hear it, see its effects but you can never see *it*. It is a phantom and that intrigues me. When I began looking for a title for my first novel, Keeper of the Wind, it just fell into place. I wanted something my readers could easily identify with me and Wind became my calling card. I keep joking that I’m going to write a really sassy comedy with truly bizarre characters. The title would be…BreakWind.

KH: If you could meet one of your characters, which one would it be?

CBC: It would be Kamerone Cree from the DemonWind Trilogy. That man just makes me melt whenever I think about him. He’s strong and ruthless and handsome and a badass. Having him in your corner would be like having an entire army because you know he’s going to do whatever it takes to protect you.

KH: Do you have a website, blog, newsletter or email where readers can reach you?

CBC: My website is at www.windlegends.org and I have a MySpace page where I’d love to have lots of friends join me at http://www.myspace.com/windlegends. I am on a couple of blogs but I rarely have time to post to them since I’m usually working on three books at a time plus I maintain my own website. One is an EC authors blog at http://lustforlifeauthors.blogspot.com/. I also have a fan club at Yahoo at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/windlegends/join. Readers can reach me at my email: charleecompo@hotmail.com.

KH: Thank you, Charlee!