Guest Interview with Author Donya Lynne

The Road to Hell series welcomes author Donya Lynne

Please welcome Author Donya Lynne onto the Road to Hell. Donya is the author of Rise of the Fallen, which is the first book in the All the King’s Men series. I have read this fabulous book and I will post my review below the interview. Other books written by Donya are Heart of the Warrior (releasing May 25) and The Arms of Winter (Silver Publishing to release in June).

Now, it’s time to create a little hell and get to the good stuff by revealing all of Donya’s wicked secrets while on the Road to Hell. LOL  Yeah, you wish! ;-D 

Grab your favorite drink, sink your teeth into something decadent, sit back, relax and enjoy getting to know Donya Lynne…

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GRACEN:  Tell me three things about yourself that we cannot find on the internet or in your bio?  

DONYA: I used to body build; I was studying to be an engineer before deciding that wasn't the career path for me; I can play the clarinet and saxophone and excelled at music in school.

GRACEN: Wow! That’s an eclectic group of info! Psst…Hellhounds, a body builder…she could probably kick some goody-two-shoe ass! ;-) What hobbies and interests do you participate in when you’re not writing?

DONYA: You mean, there's more to life than writing? LOL. My two favorite hobbies are going to the movies (I love going alone) and listening to music. I also collect CDs and music. I have enormous collections of both music and books.

GRACEN: Do you have any writing quirks or certain things you MUST have or do before beginning the writing process?

DONYA: I just need to be awake, and I'm ready to write. J

GRACEN: If you were plotting to take over the world, how would you do it?

DONYA: I would never take over the world. I'm not that ambitious or organized. LOL. So, I guess I would hire a staff to do it for me.

GRACEN: LOL Get some Hellhounds, they’re loyal and will eagerly create as much mischief as you want. That’d be the only I’d manage world domination. If you could make one statement that the entire planet would hear and remember, what would it be?

DONYA: This planet doesn't belong to us. We are only borrowing it in the short blip of time we're here. When we're gone, we'll have to give it back to its rightful owner, so let's treat it well. I have a feeling this planet will kick us out before we can completely destroy it, though, and then it will return to its former glory. We humans think we're the top of the food chain, but we're just worm food. Mother Nature is the real head of the totem pole.  

GRACEN:  Totally agree with you! What genre do you write and why that genre?

DONYA: Generally speaking, I write romance. All types of romance. I don't care if it's M/F, M/M, F/F, erotic, contemporary, paranormal, or a mix of all the above, I'm a romantic at heart and seek to find the romanticism in every story. I remember as a little girl lying in bed and making up all sorts of romantic scenarios in my mind. And even back then I loved the tragic and unique. As I got older, my fantasies became more elaborate and I started writing them down.

 

GRACEN: I still make-up romantic stories in my head, even if I never plan to use them! =D For those who are not yet familiar with Rise of the Fallen, can you please give us some details about the book and/or books slated for the All the King’s Men series?  

DONYA: Rise of the Fallen (ROTF) is the story of Micah Black and follows him as he works through the loss of his second mate. He's extremely volatile and tortured, but he meets Samantha Garrett and suddenly his world begins to piece itself back together. If he can keep Sam alive, he might have a chance at salvation.

      Inspiration for Micah!                                Inspiration for Sam!

Book two of the series is Heart of the Warrior (HOTW), and it comes out on May 25, so right around the corner. HOTW expands on a relationship we saw beginning to develop in ROTF, and I just love this story. Severin and Arion are two extremely conflicted characters who have deeply embedded secrets that could destroy their lives if they got out. Put the two of them together and watch out! Sparks will fly and emotions will roll violently between ecstatic highs and desolate lows. HOTW was one hell of an emotional roller coaster to write, and I cried more than once.

The third installment for the series will be a supplemental novella called Micah's Calling and is not a numbered book in the series. This book is already drafted and relays events that come immediately after ROTF, but which just didn't fit with the story of ROTF. Micah's Calling isn't essential to understanding the rest of the books in the series, but it does provide a unique look at what is a very tumultuous time in a male vampire's life, and gives us more insights into Traceon and his relationship to Sam and Micah.

Book three of the series is also drafted with the working title of Rebel Obsession, but I'm thinking of changing the title to Royal Obsession. This one is the playboy Io's story. We see him push forward in HOTW, and in Royal Obsession we see some significant surprises which I think will please a certain faction of my fans who've read ROTF, as well as a couple of character introductions which will figure heavily in later books.

Books 4, 5, and 6 are in planning, and things will get VERY interesting in book 4 as a new character is introduced, but I won't say who at this time. I have to have some secrets. Let me just say, swoon! I have a feeling heartbeats will accelerate when he and his father are introduced. Book 4 is titled Return of the Assassin, while book 5 is called Bound Guardian Angel and is the much-anticipated story of Traceon. That's the first time I've publicly announced that, by the way, do only your readers are privy to that bit of info. Book 6 remains untitled, but it will NOT stop speaking to me. This character wants his book written so badly that I can think of little else right now.

Lastly, there will be a prequel to this series at some point, once a few more books are released to set it up. I have a feeling fans will want to know what came before as they read more of this series, so I plan on telling that story.

GRACEN:  I’m excited just reading all the upcoming books in this series!! Do you have any new stories in the works and can you tell us a bit about it/them?

DONYA: I have eight stories in the hopper right now, plus several projects hovering and ready to go. Other than the AKM books previously mentioned, I have two short stories I'm working on for anthologies, a Christmas paranormal called The Christmas Pendant I'm hoping will be ready by the holidays, and a contemporary romance set to come out early next year. My novella, The Arms of Winter, published by Silver Publishing, will go on sale on June 30, but it's available now for pre-order on their website.

So, lots cookin'.

GRACEN: I’m sitting here trying to figure out how you find the time to do all this writing. *shakes head* Sooo envious! If you could describe your writing with one word or brief phrase, what would it be? Please delve into the core of your writing to tell us what word or phrase you want readers to take with them when they’ve finished reading your story.

DONYA: Conflict and adversity rule supreme.

I am a conflict junkie. I love tragic, damaged characters who have to overcome adversity to find their pot of gold.

GRACEN: I love writing and reading them, too! What, in your opinion, makes your story unique and what makes it stand out from other stories in your genre? Think of this as a pitch to convince readers to pick up your books.

DONYA: Rise of the Fallen, and the whole AKM series, is what I call a vampire story with a twist. My bad guys aren't werewolves or demons or supernatural forces of evil. They are a sister race to the vampires known as drecks. They are blue-tinted shifters who bite, have venom, are immortal, etc., but they are inferior to vampires, despite being racially similar in many ways. Drecks are like chameleons who can blend in to their surroundings. Their nature is to hide within a human form, and most have been raised to hold a powerful bias and resentment against vampires for being the more dominant of the two races. The vampires and drecks have been at war repeatedly throughout history, but even though they are now settled into a truce, it's an uneasy one. Readers love my evil mastermind in ROTF, the dreck John Apostle. He's not seen much, but when he is, he makes an impression.

Additionally, my vampires aren't your normal vampires, either. Most are night walkers, but mixed bloods (human/vampire or dreck/vampire) can dwell in sunlight. And those with mixed blood inherited strange powers through their genetic melting pot. Traceon, for example, can destroy with just a thought. He is extremely powerful and readers have fallen in love with him because of one very specific scene toward the end of Rise of the Fallen, where the full force of his power is demonstrated. Ah, but Trace has to be careful. Mixed bloods can be consumed by their powers and converted into what are known as mutants. Mutants are the deadliest of all the paranormal creatures in the AKM world. We don't see one in ROTF, but we will in a later book.  

GRACEN: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever done in the name of research?

DONYA: You don't want to know. LOL. Okay, fine. I tried a nipple clamp. Let me just say, OUCH! How do people tolerate those for more than a half-second?

GRACEN: Haha! I have no idea! Of all your books, which character did you have the most fun creating and why?  

DONYA: Probably Micah. He and I helped each other through hard times in both of our lives. And he's devilishly sexy, witty, highly intelligent, and never has trouble saying just what's on his mind.

GRACEN: If you had the opportunity to meet just one of your characters in real life, who would it be and why?

DONYA: Micah. For all the above reasons. *smile* He's my kindred spirit.

GRACEN: Which of your characters would you never want to meet under any circumstance and why?  

DONYA: Steve Garrett. If I met him I'd have to make him laugh. You'd have to read ROTF to understand what I mean by that, but making him laugh in public would be priceless. He's just one of those characters you love to hate.

GRACEN:  If you were interviewing yourself, what is the one question you would ask yourself and please give us the answer to that question?  

DONYA: Why do you write? First, because I have to. Some people were born to sell. Others were born to be surgeons. I was born to write. I've always written stories and poetry since before I was in grade school. I'm compelled to write by a force I have no control over, and I have so many stories to tell. Secondly, I want to provide readers with an experience that will let them escape reality and move them emotionally. A lot of writers say they write for themselves. I'm not one of those. I write for others, not me. Every sentence I write in a book is written with the reader in mind. I can't explain it, but the questions I'm always asking myself as I write and edit are, "How will readers receive this book? Will they enjoy it? Is there anything in this story that could interfere with their experience as they read this book? My goal is to provide an experience, and to eliminate any blunders or plot malfunctions that could impede that experience.

GRACEN:  Thanks so much for joining us, Donya!  It’s been a treat getting to know you better!   

DONYA: Thank you for hosting me. It's been my pleasure to share Micah's world to you and your readers.

Website: www.donyalynne.blogspot.com or www.donyalynne.com

If you would like to buy Rise of the Fallen or take a closer look, here are the links where you can find the ebook:

Amazon: Amazon - Rise of the Fallen

Barnes & Noble: B&N - Rise of the Fallen

Smashwords: SW: Rise of the Fallen

All Romance ebooks: ARe: Rise of the Fallen

Other places where you can stalk—ahem, I mean follow—Donya:

And I'd love to meet you on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorDonyaLynne

Please follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/DonyaLynne

Rise of the Fallen BLURB:

In the streets of Chicago exists an uneasy, centuries-old truce between vampires and their distant cousins, a race of shifters called drecks.  Vampire enforcement agency, All the King’s Men (AKM), is charged with maintaining the truce, but when volatile enforcer Micah Black loses his mate and falls into the biological agony that results from the broken bond, he tests the boundaries of the truce by seeking out Apostle, a leader in the dreck community.  Micah wants Apostle to kill him, a request Apostle is more than happy to fulfill. 

When ex-Army medic Samantha Garrett inadvertently disrupts the plot and saves Micah’s life, a chain reaction sets Micah’s heart on a collision course with Sam’s, but he will have to protect her from Apostle and her obsessive ex-husband, Steve, if they will have a chance at forever.  Can Micah hold his emotions together to keep Sam alive?

Rise of the Fallen EXCERPT:

This is the first time I've used this excerpt, so your blog gets to unveil it. This scene is obviously between Micah and Sam, is explicit and for adults only, shows a hint of what's to come in the future for this couple, and they have just concluded a brief discussion about Sam's profession and Micah has, um, persuaded her to take some time off. Can you tell that Micah is used to getting his way?

"Your body calls to mine," he said breathlessly as he pounded into her once more.

She only moaned and arched her back so that her head lay against his shoulder and her tight, perfect breasts jutted out alluringly.

"Mmm." He ran one hand up her stomach and his palm layered over the perfect handful of firm flesh, topped by her tight nipple. The hard nub pressed against his palm and he couldn't resist swirling his hand in a circle to feel it tease his skin.

"Micah…" Sam pressed her hips back, her ass forming a perfect seal against him.

Oh God, she was too much. He couldn't hold himself back. In a swift flourish of movement, he threw his pillow over so it was in line with her hips then rolled her to her stomach. The pillow angled her hips perfectly so that when he rose up behind her, his hard length drove into her right to the hilt.

"Yes!" She cried out, burying her face into the mattress as her long fingers groped the sheet on either side of her head.

"Yes, what?" His inner dom worked to the forefront as he sank inside her and lowered himself over her body. With his stomach and chest pressed against her back, he thrust again and whispered harshly. "Yes, what, Sam?"

For a moment, she seemed not to know how to respond.

"Say my name, Sam," he said, cluing her in. "I want to hear you speak my name."

Sam shivered beneath him and whimpered needfully. "Yes, Micah. More, please."

He grinned, eager to give her what she begged him for while his need to control the scene stirred his own desire. Micah hadn't felt the urge to dom anyone in years. Even when Jack had wanted to experiment with submission, Micah hadn't been very interested. But now, here he was itching to spank Sam and more.

His hand slapped down on her ass as he rose up and rammed his erection into her. Sam trembled and her hands curled into fists as she gritted her teeth through the sting.

"You like when I spank you, don't you?" He swatted her ass again then again on the other side. Rosy hand prints blossomed on her pristine flesh.

"Yes."

He spanked her harder. "Yes, what?"

"Oh God!" She cried out and arched her back before undulating beneath him. She looked like a slender, elegant reed bending in the breeze. She was so flexible and graceful. "Yes, Micah!"

Her tender, inner walls tightened around him. She was going to come, and he wanted to taste her when she did.

Crashing down over her body, he fucked her hard, opening her legs by pushing the front of his thighs against the back of hers. The new position gave him leverage to hit her deep and rough, and each forceful drive forward provoked a tight, feminine gasp of pleasure to burst from her throat.

"Tell me you're mine," he said, his voice a growl as his mouth pressed against her ear. "Tell me you belong to me."

She quivered and groaned, lost in ecstasy. "I'm yours. I belong to you, Micah."

"Your body is mine." He punctuated the command with a demanding thrust of his hips.

"My body – Oh, God yes – my body is yours. Please…"

"Please what?"

She took a ragged breath and groaned as her body tightened beneath his. "Please, Micah."

"Good girl." He gave her everything he had then, thrusting hard and fast, working her G-spot into a quivering rage of delirium. And just before she tumbled into full-on orgasm, he bit her. He licked her shoulder and sank his fangs in deep.

As the euphoria of his venom took hold, she screamed. Her body spasmed and her muscles blew apart as she erupted in a series of violent tremors.

"Yes, yes, yes, YES, God YES!" She collapsed against the mattress as her body quaked ceaselessly.

Only then did Micah allow himself to release his own pleasure. The taste of her blood, the feel of her body jerking under his, the feel of her feminine canal vibrating and gulping like a throat against his cock, and the knowledge that he alone had given her such tremendous pleasure sent him over.

"UNGH!" Never had such a harsh release claimed him, and his fangs sank in even deeper as he slammed his hips against the curves of her ass. And once more he unloaded his offering and filled her, layering his scent over and inside her body as her scent wafted around and sank into his.

He didn't take much of her blood, and soon released her shoulder before collapsing in a sweaty, well-spent heap over her back. Neither could speak for some time, but he slid his arms up and over hers until their hands met and their fingers wound together in two tightly bundled death grips.

When he could finally speak again, he nuzzled the back of her neck and said softly, "I've never met anyone as amazing as you."

"Mmm, right back at you." She turned her head and looked over her shoulder at him. "Promise me you'll do that again later."

He smiled, all fangs and mischievous lust. "Oh, you can count on it. I promise."

~My Review~

I loved this book! The All the King’s Men series is about a group of vampire warriors that fight the bad guys. Although it’s a little more complicated than that, there are varying degrees of vampires in the group. Vampires, along with half-vamps-half-humans who have unpredictable powers, but tend to go rogue without a support system.

Micah is the vampire hero of Rise of the Fallen and man does he have some dark issues he’s working through. But they’re relatable issues and I could sympathize with him. He’s also the guy no one wants to cross in All the King’s Men, the one everyone gives a wide berth because he’s just that volatile. Personally I enjoyed his hard-edge, friendless demeanor. His problems aren’t a manifestation of his current dilemma. They go way back. That helps build a complicated hero, which I love because that makes him more real.

Sam is the heroine and she is one tough, kick-ass, former military, chick that is a fantastic compliment to Micah’s alpha-ness. She’s packing heat in every situation, which is just damn cool! Yet, she is vulnerable and running from her ex-husband. Just goes to show that the toughest person has weaknesses and self-doubts.

The chemistry between Micah and Sam is explosive and the sex scene is something I won’t forget for a while. Hot and fantastically written…unlike my review! Ha! Has a great cast of characters and I’m eager to learn more about many of them. Traceon in particular. The final scene with him…holy-Micah-hell—my Road to Hell Micah, not Donya’s—I wanted more! I wouldn’t want to piss off Traceon!

I have no hesitation in recommending Rise of the Fallen to other readers! Great break-out book, Donya Lynne, and I look forward to reading more of your work.

~Contest~

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