Here at Place of Reads,
We Welcome Dawn Chartier
PoF: Everyone
has a story, so can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
DC: Sure can. Here
is my author bio:
Dawn Chartier never knew she wanted
to be a writer while growing up. Sure
her parents owned a book shop, and she was surrounded by bookworms, but she
wasn’t one of “those” writers who started early. No, Dawn was inspired by strange events in
her life, one was a bitch named, Katrina. Yes, that hur-ricane. But a few
months before the storm, Dawn read an article on Marie Laveau in the New
Orleans local newspaper and it sparked an idea. She began researching the
voodoo priestess, and then Katrina hit. Out of destruction, ideas formed,
characters spoke and plots twisted. One thing lead to another and an author was
born. (Must have been something in the air, because a few authors were born out
of Katrina’s wrath.)
Dawn Chartier sold her first
paranormal romance book, (Not An Angel) to The Wild Rose Press, and her second
book, a contemporary erotic romance (Diamonds) to Siren BookStrand. Dawn is a
member of RWA, Sola-Writers, FF&P and Savvy Authors. You can find her
chatting on Twitter and Facebook when she’s not buried inside of a book or
writing her next one.
She now lives near New Orleans with
her husband, two daughters, two golden retrievers, and plenty of wildlife.
PoF: Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way
either growing up or as an adult?
DC: To
be honest, I didn’t read much as a child, unless it was a school assignment.
(Am I the only person out there that got hooked late in life?) But I remember
how I got hooked. It was long after my parents closed their book store. My
ex-husband (husband at the time) and I started going through some rough times.
So my sister suggested I try this vampire novel she’d just finished. (she was
bit by the book bug ever since she was little) She said it will take your mind
off your problems. So, I said what the heck and started reading it. I can’t
remember the name of the series off the top of my head, (I need to ask my sis)
but I remember the characters. The heroine in the series was Maeve (spelling?).
Geesh, it was so long ago, and I’m terrible with names. Anyway, those books influenced me to continue
reading (adding Feehan and Kenyon) and then the writing bug hit years later.
PoF: So I loved Not An Angel, and I would love to see more. Are you planning on making a series of
Poryria Vampire novels? How many books would you hope to have in this series?
DC: Thank you! I’m so
glad you loved Trace and Kira’s story. Yes. I plan to write the next book in
the series. Drago who came in at the end keeps demanding his story be told, but
I had planned on Mike’s. Go figure. I don’t like series that go over 5 books,
so I’m hoping four or five at the most.
(there are only a few series that I will continue to read over 5, but
for the most part I get bored.)
PoF: Now, in Not
An Angel there are two types of vampires that are extremely similar but
with one major difference. What gave you
the idea about your vampires and the fine line that defines them?
DC: Once
the Poryria’s blood is mixed with the Vry’s blood it chemically changes their
brain wave patterns and they become a monster of sorts. However, it appears if
they have a strong enough royalty blood line, it is possible for them to be far
from the average Vry. I can’t give more details without spoiling the
story. (The idea just formed from lots
of research on blood)
PoF: Are there certain characters you would like to go
back to, or is there a theme or idea you’d love to work with?
DC: I
always want to save the villains even though not all of them can be saved. We
will have to see what happens with Chason. I don’t believe his story is over
yet. And maybe Mary will get her story told one day too. Theme would have to be
second chances.
PoF: I know there were certain aspects of your
characters that I could really relate to.
Of all your characters in your book, which character do you relate to
the most?
DC: I
can relate to both, but Kira is probably more like me because she wants to
protect the people she loves. Don’t all Mom’s find themselves wanting to do
that on a daily basis?
PoF: One of your characters has a real-life
phobia of water; do you have a phobia of anything? If you do, what might it be?
DC: Sure
I have my phobia’s. Water is not one of
them, unless it has sharks in it. Lol My
phobia is snakes, and what is the first thing I see when I go on vacation with
my hubby. Yep. A snake. The hubby and dogs walk right by it and don’t see it. I
sort of screamed, and the sucker took off. Not that it heard me. Snakes can’t
hear from what I’m told.
PoF: I love random questions, so I must ask:
Angel food cake or Devil food cake?
DC: Devil
food. Yum.
PoF: Every one has those moments where they feel
uninspired or stuck. If and when you get
writer’s block, what do you do to beat it?
DC: I
put whatever I’m working on to the side and grab a good book. I find reading
helps a lot. I also find writing sprints
are good to get you going again. I meet
up with a fellow author and we hang out at Starbucks and do 20 min. writing
sprints, and it helps force me to jump back in. I might have to skip a scene if
it’s giving me trouble, but I get back on track. We try to do this at least
once or twice a month.
PoF: Is there anything that you
would like to say to your readers and fans?
DC: Yes.
I would love to tell my readers and friends how much I appreciate their support
and kindness. I also want to say that even though I have a contemporary erotic
romance coming out on the 18th of January, (DIAMONDS) with Siren
BookStrand, I will get back to writing the Poryria series soon. I’m also working
on a witch and warlock series too. So I have a lot on my plate, but the next
Poryria novel will be written this year for sure.
One
last thing for those wanting to learn how to go about writing and if you are a
fan of Karen M. Moning, she’ll be in New Orleans at the Fantasy On The Bayou
Writers Conference, March 2-4, 2012. (www.fantasyonthebayou.blogspot.com).
Woot! I’ll be there too. There is a book signing with lots of great authors. If
you want to learn about the industry the FF&P RWA chapter will have over 20
workshops. I would love to meet some readers and authors. Come on down! I don’t get out too much, but
this is one place I’ll be for certain this year.
Thanks
so much for having me!
You can read my review for Not An Angel here
For More About Dawn Chartier, Check out:
Not an Angel
Kira McCoy wants to die. Losing her husband and daughter tragically left her without hope. Now her disturbed brother-in-law will stop at nothing to have her for himself. All she wants is to find peace, but instead finds herself on top of a bridge ready to end her suffering.
Protector of the Poryria, Trace Stuart is called to defend his race or embrace death. Defending humans is not part of the plan, but he cannot stop himself from saving Kira.
Realizing that he shares a special bond with Kira, Trace defies his Queen and rushes into the heart of darkness in order to rescue the woman he loves. Will Kira be able to reach past her own pain to pull them both into the light?
Excerpt from Not An Angel by Dawn Chartier:
As he measured her, his gaze warmed the consuming chill that had invaded her body. She glanced down, holding the material out. Nothing she could ever afford. Standing next to him in his stunning black suit, gave her more confidence than if she wore plain clothing.
“I wouldn’t have picked it out for myself, but you have good taste.”
“I know.” Trace’s gaze traveled down her torso, to her exposed toes and slowly up to her face. “And you take my breath away.” He kissed the inside of her wrist.
Heat shot up her inner arm overpowering any nervousness she may have felt earlier. She leaned into him and whispered, “You breathe?”
Trace half smiled. “Sometimes.”
She blinked. “Oh.” That meant sometimes he didn’t breathe either.
Trace stiffened, then glanced toward the entrance flanked with four massive columns. It took a moment before she heard footsteps in the foyer. Five men entered the parlor. All dressed similar to Trace, except their cold penetrating eyes made her worry. Scared was more like it. One man strode toward her, eyes narrowed, mouth pulled down in a frown. She swallowed, then took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. They will not get to me. I will be strong.
“He won’t hurt you. Will you, Dev?” Trace stepped forward and crossed his arms.
Dev smirked and stared through his long dark lashes. “Depends.”
An eerie rumble vibrated the room. Kira advanced toward Trace. The sound of a wild cat drifted in the air. She tilted her head, glanced at Trace and realized the noise came from him.
“Boys. Boys. Boys. Dev won’t touch her, but I might.” A slender brunette appeared out of thin air and stood directly in front of the other men. Oh hell.
Happy Reading!
Cana
