Charlee, could you introduce
yourself to German readers? Who you are, your likes and dislikes, where you come
from etc.
Who I am is a difficult question to answer.
I was born in Sarasota, Florida in the US and grew up in the Deep South.
Until I was in my late 40s, I thought I was the only child of Carl and Vivian
Boyett but found out when my mother was dying that I was adopted. I grew up
proud of my German-Dutch
ancestry on Dad's side and Cherokee Indian-Irish on my mother's. Now, I have no
idea what cultural heritage I really have although I LOVE all things Celtic. I
have been married to my wonderful husband, Tom (affectionately known by my fans
on the Internet as Buddha Belly or BB) for 38 years. We have two grown sons:
Pete and Mike and two grandchildren: Preston and Victoria. I am owned by five
demanding felines. I work a full-time job as the parish secretary of our
Catholic church. I love eerie movies, good paranormal books, and lilting Celtic
music. I'm hooked on Chewy SweetTarts, Archway coconut macaroon cookies, Pepsi,
chips & salsa, and sweet pickles. My favourite food is Southern cuisine. A
totally satisfying supper would be baked ham, collard greens seasoned with hot
pepper sauce (NOT Tabasco but white vinegar sauce), and fresh-off-the-vine
sliced tomatoes….all washed down with really sweet Southern ice tea. I
dislike liver, hominy, and most fish. I loathe people who discriminate against
the mentally-challenged, men who beat their wives, and those who abuse animals
in any fashion.
Why and how did your career as an author start? Is
your writing career of influence on your private life?
My writing career began doing movie, book and play reviews for one of
zillionaire Warren Buffet's newspapers in Omaha, Nebraska. My first novel was
published in mass market paperback in 1996 so my parents were able to see it
before they died in 1997. I will always be grateful they were able to see my
dream realized. My father was as excited by my first royalty check as I was! I
had a book…In the Wind's Eye…being pubbed as a serial on a Southern website
until it was purchased by DLSIJ Press. My first two ebooks…NightWind and
BloodWind…were published by Dark Star Publications in 1998. Since then, I've
had 16 other novels published by Amber Quill Press, Hard Shell Word Factory,
Twilight Times Books and one soon to be released from Ellora's Cave.
Most people in my church aren't even aware that I am a published writer. Those
who do know either ignore that little bit of information or pretend it isn't
true. The folks in Iowa are a bit strange in that they don't like anyone to 'make'
it where they haven't. Notoriety is looked down upon by the average Joe on the
street…..unless you are a mass murderer.  So the writing career
doesn't have any influence on my life.
Did you have difficulties in the beginning getting
your books published? What did you do when you saw your first book in print
for the first time in bookstores? Did you have a party? Or drink a bottle
of Dom Perignon?
Like most everyone, I did the query-everybody-you-can-find route. Agents turned
me down left and right because my work wasn't traditional and encompassed
multi-genre themes. Publishers weren't interested and most never bothered to
even read the manuscripts I sent. I spent a lot of money trying the
'traditional' route until I happened on a subsidy publisher who…though it
turned out was a crook…did print 10,000 of my books. With those books, I was
able to get booksignings, signed up on the Internet and began selling them
myself at Amazon. That book…The Keeper of the Wind…got my foot in the door
and that was all it took for me to begin a true writing career.
Seeing Keeper on the bookshelves of a Waldenbooks brought tears to my eyes.
Holding it in my hand was akin to the birth of my sons. It was a feeling that
will only come once in a writer's life and one that I will always treasure. I
have a picture of that signing and it is very dear to my heart. When that first
book came out, I went on a seven-state tour and sold over a thousand books in
less than two weeks. Since then, I've sold almost that entire print run and they
are now considered Collector's Items.
Yes, BB bought a bottle of Dom and we toasted a long and happy career.
How long did it take you to write the book? And how
did you got the idea for it?
I began writing Keeper when my oldest son was a senior in high school in 1986
and by the time I finished it in 1991, the manuscript was nearly 3 feet tall! I
realized that was a bit too thick to make it so began to chisel it down and when
I'd done that, I found I had 8 books that would make a pretty
neat series. After the last word is written in that series, there will be
ten books.
The notion for the book came from a dream that had been haunting me for years.
It was almost as though the hero of that dream was telling me his tale and would
not let me rest until the book was written. When I was well into the writing of
the book, the dreams stopped but I swear my Muse (his
name is Sean, btw) kept sitting on my shoulder and whispering until the tale was
done.
How do you do your research for your books and
where do you get all the ideas for the plots from? How much time do you spend on
research before you start a new book? Is it a continual process until the
book is finished?
I love doing research but it is rarely with a new book in mind. I just
delve into subjects that interest me. Most times, there will be something in
that research that catches my eye and the beginning of a story will evolve.
NightWind came about from a news broadcast in which the reporter was describing
an 'evil scent' coming from a house. In my fertile imagination evil scent became
'evil sent' and I thought of a demon coming up from hell to cause trouble. One
thing led to another and the demon became an incubus…..<sigh> My
imagination works overtime constantly! I have folder
upon folder upon folder with all kinds of research material in them and ideas
for at least two dozen books.
Can you describe one of your typical work days for
us? How many hours a day do you average writing?
As I said, I work a full-time 40 hour week at the church. When I come home, I go
to my office and write or compile the notes I've scribbled down during the day
when something struck me. I go online to answer email or to send out review
copies, etc. Depending on how The Muse has been during the day, I might work on
one of my books….I am usually writing three at once…until the wee hours of
the morning. On the weekends, I work from about 9 AM until 5 or even later if BB
will allow it. Sometimes…and I honestly believe the man has a sixth sense
about such things…he knows when I should put the writing aside and comes out
to the office to distract me. That's just one of the reasons I adore that
man!
You have written more than 30 romances. Do
you have a favourite hero/heroine among them all? Do your heroes/heroines
have living models, like friends, family or a romance book cover model?
My favourite is Kamerone Cree from the DemonWind Trilogy which began with
BloodWind. He is just the sexiest creature and I love his wicked sense of humor.
I patterned him after Adrian Paul of the old Highlander tv series here in the
States. Most of my characters are patterned after actors and actresses whose
work I have admired over the years. It is my tribute to them for all the
wonderful hours of entertainment they've given me. Eric McCormack is my incubus
Syntian Cree and at the moment, I am writing a book in which Hugh Jackman is the
model for the hero. If I was casting the WindLegends Saga series which begins
with Windkeeper, I would love to have Brad Pitt play Conar McGregor and George
Clooney play Legion A'Lex although the books were not written with those actors
in mind.
When one of your books gets a bad review, how do
you handle that? Are you disappointed or do you try to improve yourself in
your next book?
Reviews are subjective. I might brood over it for a few days but after that I
just push it aside. I know not everyone will like my work and I can tell the
difference in a review whether or not it is a personal attack or just that
reviewer's opinion of the writing. I've had a couple of reviews in which I knew
the 'reviewer' had a personal agenda to bash me as an author. That kind of stuff
can easily be shrugged off. I am a firm believer in the Ten-Fold Rule. The bad
karma that reviewer created will come back to bite her in the rump eventually.
When you finish a book, is this chapter close for
you or do the heroes and heroines stay with you in your mind?
My characters live with me on a daily basis. Every now and then one will start
clamouring for a sequel and usually that sequel gets written. I tell them when
they get too pushy I'll place that sequel at the end of the list so most times
they cool it and let me do things at my own pace. That said,
Kamerone is starting to really get pesky about EvilWind, the last in that series.
I guess I'll have to do his story next since he is my favourite. All my books
stay with me long after I've finished and by revisiting them in a sequel, I can
make that character come 'alive' for me again.
How do you handle family and your writing career?
Is your family understanding to the time that you have to give your career?
Is it sometimes difficult for you?
My family has always been behind my writing 100%. They are very courteous when
I'm writing and will only interrupt me when it is absolutely necessary or in the
case of BB: when he thinks I'm overdoing it. They read my books and are very
proud of me. BB and I just got back from San Diego and on the way to and from
home, he was reading NightWind on the plane. He told everyone who would listen
that he was reading one of his wife's books. I gave out dozens of my business
cards on that trip! My oldest son's favourite story is about when he was an Army
combat medic and on his way to assignment in Korea. He was on the plane with his
platoon and was reading The Keeper of
the Wind. His captain walked by, saw the striking cover and asked what the book
was about. Pete told him then smiled and said: "It was written by my mother."
Of course the captain didn't believe him until Pete showed him the dedication
page. The captain's jaw dropped open and he ordered Pete to let him read the
book when he was finished.
What are your favourite authors/books?
My favourite books of all time are Green Darkness by Anya Seton and Sweet,
Savage Love by Rosemary Rogers. I've read each at least a dozen times. I have
all the Guardian series by Peter Saxon and all the Lucifer's Cove series by
Virignia Coffman. I never miss releases by John Sandford, John Grisham,
Dean Koontz, John Saul, David Wiltse, Michael Connelly, Brian Lumley, Robin
Cook, Andrew Greeley, and Dennis Lehane. I read all of Joanna Lindsey, Jude
Devereaux, and Shirlee Busbee. When I'm in a funky mood, I'll pick up a Dave
Barry comedy book. He makes me laugh until I cry. As you can tell, I have very
eclectic tastes in reading.
What’s your favorite genre to write in?
Paranormal romance/horror. I mix my genres so dark fantasy is what it usually
turns out to be. There has to be romance in there in one fashion or another to
appease the dadburn hero. The man…no matter who or what he is…demands those
sex scenes. Well, we all know: boys will be boys.
Could you tell us a bit about your latest release?
ShadowWind: The Shadowlord is the first in a trilogy. It is about Jaelan
and Aradia. He is a Shadowlord, a very powerful warrior; she is a warrioress in
her own right. It deals with the undying love between the two of these very
independent and commanding people. You will never find one of my tales in which
the heroine or hero is typical or cookie-cutter. They will be vastly different
from the run-of-the-mill romance characters. In this one, Jaelan is psychic and
she can wield a sword better than he! You will find he is the one who
needs rescuing, not her, and how she goes about it will knock your socks off! It
is getting rave reviews and readers are clamouring for the two sequels.
What are your future plans? Are you going to
continue to write the types of books you write presently or possibly change
genre? If so, what would you cross over to?
I will continue to write. It is something in which I have no say. There is an
affliction we writers suffer called GOTTOWRITEORDIE syndrome. The Muse is
constantly there so he is a reminder of your disease. I plan to branch out
and do a dark western with hints of the supernatural in there. I think it
should be an interesting tale.
Are you already working on a new story? What will
it be about?
At the moment, I am working on three novels. One is an erotica sword &
sorcery, one is a ghost ship romance, and the other is a mystery/thriller. They
will each be about 80K. All kidding
aside, I won't really know what they are about until I'm finished since the
characters have a way of going off on tangents I never plan.
Thanks for taking the time to answer my question.
You are very welcome. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
© Danny, June 2004
