Donya Lynne-Interview and Giveaway with the Author

Donya Lynne-BIO

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Donya resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, with her husband and a small zoo of cats and dogs. In fact, her writing buddy, Lucky, serves as her writing assistant most days, staying right by her side and distracting Donya with her adorable-ness when needed. Because, hey, every author needs a distraction once in a while.
As a little girl, Donya always had a book in her hand. As she got older, the books became pens and notebooks, which she filled with stories and poetry. For as long as she remembers, she has been writing and studying the writing craft with the goal of being published one day. She is passionate about providing readers with what she calls an experience. She wants readers to be able to sink into her stories and escape reality for just a little while, and every word is written, and every sentence structured, with that goal in mind.

Donya loves music and often finds inspiration for her stories in the wide range of music she listens to. But occasionally it’s a movie, a book, or just a drive around town that inspires her work. She constantly reads new material, new authors, and different styles of writing as a means to improve her own, and believes the writing process is one an author should always strive to perfect, even though perfecting it is an impossible feat. It’s the thrill of the chase and the challenge that keeps her from getting stagnant in her own work.

She has several projects planned and in progress, including eight more novels and two novellas in the All the King’s Men series, as well as several stand-alone novels, another series, and several short stories and novellas. She would love to share her journey with you in this exciting venture.

INTERVIEW with Donya Lynne

TRC: Hi Donya and welcome to The Reading Café. We would like to start with some background information.

Donya: When I was younger, I thought I was going to grow up to be an engineer. In 7th grade, I took one of those aptitude tests and I tested in the 97th percentile in structural thinking. Basically, what that means is that I can see something now, and envision what it will be or look like after it’s gone through a series of changes, which is ideal for engineering. However, my senior year I was failing Calculus, so I figured if I couldn’t do Calculus, I couldn’t be an engineer, so I dropped the class and searched for another career choice. Turns out I aced Calculus in college, so go figure.

Anyhoo, I excelled in English and writing, even at a young age, and I won my first writing contest in fourth grade. My prize was a pack of Hubba Bubba bubble gum. Woo-hoo! I was on my way, and I continued to write stories and poetry all through school. I also enjoyed artistic endeavors and won first place in an art contest for the International Sports Festival my Freshman year in high school. I was also a clarinetist and saxophonist, and participated in every kind of musical endeavor I could fit into my schedule.

If my parents had been paying attention, they would have identified early on that I wasn’t cut out for academic pursuits and would have steered me toward a more artistic career path. As it stands, my dad engrained the idea in my head that writing, music, dance, and art were only hobbies, while my future lay in science and math. At least I figured out how wrong this statement was for me late rather than never.

TRC: Would you please tell us something about yourself?

Donya: I grew up in Indiana, and after living briefly in Wisconsin and Florida, I’m back home. I love Indiana, because we get 3 months of each season here. It’s great! LOL. In Wisconsin, it was cold all the time, and in Florida we never got snow. Indiana is like the baby bear’s porridge: Just right. Other than that, I love music and going to movies by myself. In fact, I enjoy doing almost everything by myself. I’m very independent and have a short fuse with nagging, hovering, needy types.

TRC: Have you always had an interest in writing?

Donya: Yes. Always. I can remember being four years old and making my older brother bring home extra reading and writing homework worksheets for me. I started writing poetry by the age of five, and my first poem was:

Together we can conquer the unconquerable.

Tall buildings, skyscrapers, and mountains will fall to our mercy.

But why destroy such beauty?

As long as we have each other, that is all that matters.

TRC: Who or what inspired you to write your first book?

Donya: Duran Duran inspired me to write my early stories, but I can’t really count those as books. However, after seeing The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, I was compelled to write a story about immortals. Legolas fascinated me, and a story began to percolate in my mind until I was completely obsessed with writing it. I have put this project on hold for the time being, because I am not ready to write it, yet. It is a complicated story, using writing conventions I need to master more thoroughly before attempting to put it out to the public, but when that book is written, it will be the first of another series. I don’t want to say anything more about it, because the idea is unique and unlike anything out there right now. I don’t want anyone stealing my idea. My hope is to pull that story out again sometime next year and have it published by 2014, just as the AKM series is beginning to wind down.

TRC: Duran Duran!! Hungry Like the Wolf-brings back a few memories 😉

TRC: What were the challenges you faced getting your first book to publication?

Donya: Learning all the intricacies of the self-publishing world, as well as making the decision between using a publisher and self-publishing. There’s a lot to learn and it can be daunting for a new author, but now I’m getting more comfortable with it.

TRC: RISE OF THE FALLEN is the first book in your All the King’s Men paranormal series. Would you please tell us about the premise of this book? Click HERE for our review

Donya: Rise of the Fallen is the story of Micah Black as he deals with the loss of his second mate and struggles to find his way back from the belly of Hell, thanks to the assistance of a feisty blonde named Samantha Garrett. But her saving him comes with a price, and Micah’s enemies are soon after both him and Samantha. If Micah can’t keep her safe, it will be his end, because he won’t be able to survive if he loses her after all else he’s been through.

TRC: You have introduced a cast of characters each with a story to tell. How many books do you have planned for the series?

Donya:  Right now, I have at least ten full novels planned for this series, as well as two novellas and a prequel. Micah’s story is a huge part of ALL the books, by the way. The entire series shows an undercurrent of his evolution, and when the prequel comes out (hopefully next year), his story will make even more sense.

TRC: HEART OF THE WARRIOR is your second novel in the AKM series. Would you please tell us something about the premise? Click HERE for our review

Donya: Heart of the Warrior took a turn from the dark nature of Rise of the Fallen. In HOTW, we’re dealing with two male vampires who are struggling with their attraction to one another. One, Severin, is openly gay. He doesn’t advertise it, but he doesn’t hide it, either. Still, Severin has other secrets he is terrified of being discovered. Arion, on the other hand, has lived his life of lies so well, he doesn’t even understand that he’s gay until he and Severin have an “encounter” one night in Arion’s kitchen. After that, Arion begins to question just how heterosexual he really is – or isn’t, as the case may be, and quickly realizes he’s lived the life his homophobic parents had plotted for him instead of what he wanted for himself. As Arion wrestles with his feelings for Sev and the fear of how his parents and best friend, Io, will react to his newfound homosexuality, Severin struggles to cope with being Arion’s “little secret” while keeping secrets of his own. These two are powerfully charismatic and full of emotional upheaval, and I’ve had a few readers already tell me they cried while reading Heart of the Warrior.

TRC: Your novels have a mix of heterosexual, bisexual and homosexual relationships, as well as some BDSM. Do you find anything particularly challenging about writing these storylines?

Donya: Not really, but when it comes to the BDSM portions, I want to ensure I’m representing the BDSM lifestyle as accurately as possible within the context of my novel. Consequently, I have done a TON of research and own several books on the subject.

TRC: With the popularity of novels like the Fifty Shades of Grey series and the media focus on the BDSM aspect of the storyline, have you considered how far you will take that particular outline in your novels?

Donya: I want to take it further than it was taken in Fifty Shades. Since I’ve always planned for BDSM to play a significant role in this series, I was glad to see that the public was ready to accept and embrace this lifestyle in the books they read. That much became obvious when Fifty came out and shot to the top. Even so, I’m still concerned readers won’t be ready for what my novels will show them. I think Fifty was pretty tame compared to some of the things I’ve got planned. But when I’ve got a character who is known in the community as a master dom, I can’t just show him spanking people. He has to know what he’s doing with it all. And Micah has a couple of specialties Fifty won’t touch. One of which is fire play and the other talent is one we see in Micah’s Calling, the first novella of the series. Since I’m not sure of the age rating of this blog, I won’t give the name of this talent since it’s profane. Let’s just say he’s excellent with screwing around with his subs’ minds. Micah also enjoys knife play and cutting, but only with willing subs.

TRC: Many authors bounce ideas and information with family, friends, and other authors. With whom do you bounce ideas?

Donya: Never family. They won’t give honest feedback and also don’t read the kinds of books I write, and I need honesty and familiarity with the subject matter. I have a couple of author friends and a few beta readers I have “trained” to be honest with me. I say trained, because people are so scared to give negative feedback for fear of hurting my feelings, but now that these people have been with me long enough and have seen that I don’t get upset or angry with them for negative feedback, they give it more willingly now.

TRC: On what are you currently working?

Donya: I’m working on edits for Micah’s Calling, the first novella in the series. This novella falls in the time between Rise of the Fallen and Heart of the Warrior. The story in MC simply didn’t fit in Rise of the Fallen and would not have made sense in the context of that novel, so it had to be given its own book. This novella will answer a lot of questions and give readers a deeper glimpse of Micah, Sam, and Traceon.

I’m also working on a short story for a winter anthology, as well as on Royal Obsession, book 3 of AKM. Lastly, I’ve got a holiday story called The Christmas Pendant I hope will be ready by the end of November.

And here’s the funny part, book 6 of AKM is talking up a storm to me. The character for book 6, who won’t even be introduced until book 4, is soooo eager for his book that he will not pipe down in my thoughts. LOL.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Donya: Just that I look forward to sharing my journey, as well as the journeys of each of my characters, with your followers.

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food

Today, my favorite food is bacon. It could be something different tomorrow

Favorite Dessert

Chocolate

Favorite TV Show

The old La Femme Nikita that was on the USA network back in the early 2000s. The one that starred Peta Wilson and Roy Dupuis. Favorite show of all time, hands down.

Favorite Movie

Blade Runner, but as with my favorite food, ask me tomorrow and you might get a different answer. Notable other movies are: Memoirs of a Geisha, Under the Tuscan Sun, Star Wars, Witness, the Bourne movies, and Erin Brockovich.

Last Movie that you Saw

The Vow

Last Vacation Destination

My mind

Do you have any pets?

I have four cats and two dogs. In fact, my cat, Lucky, is my writing buddy, and you can find a slew of pics of her on my Facebook page.

TRC: Thank you Donya for taking the time to answer our questions. We wish you all the best with the AKM series. We are looking forward to Micah’s Calling.

*******GIVEAWAY********

Donya is offering one lucky member of The  Reading Cafe an ecopy of either RISE OF THE FALLEN or HEART OF THE WARRIOR.  To be eligible:

1.  You must be a member of The Reading Cafe.  If you are not a member, please register using the log-in at the top or with one of the social log-ins.

2.  Contest runs from June 14-June 17, 2012

3.  Contest is open-INTERNATIONALLY