Please welcome Author Sarah Daltry onto the Road to Hell. Sarah
Daltry is the author of The Quiver of a
Kiss. Other books written by Sarah Daltry are the upcoming Forget Me Not and More than a Job. Sarah
also wrote Bitter Fruits, which was
self-published but is in contract talks with a publisher now.
Now, it’s time to create a little hell and get to the good
stuff by revealing all of Sarah Daltry’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 Sarah Daltry…
~ ~ ~
GRACEN: Tell me three
things about yourself that we cannot find on the internet or in your bio?
SARAH: I love art and literature, but I am actually much
better at math; I am a serious trash talker when I am gaming; and I need to
travel several times a year to stay sane.
GRACEN: What hobbies and interests do you participate in when
you’re not writing?
SARAH: Traveling, gaming, hanging out with loved ones and my
cats, going to art museums, painting, thinking about painting, thinking about
writing, and watching terrible TV.
GRACEN: Do you have any writing quirks or certain things you
MUST have or do before beginning the writing process?
SARAH: No, but I don’t have a writing plan or process. I
write when I feel inspired. Some days, I will spend an entire day writing. Then
I could go a week without writing a word. I tend to be a binge writer.
GRACEN: If you were plotting to take over the world, how
would you do it?
SARAH: It would not be that hard anymore. Just give people
even more technology and distraction and they would not even notice!
GRACEN: If you could make one statement that the entire
planet would hear and remember, what would it be?
SARAH: There is enough cruelty in the world. Kindness is a
dying art but it is the only thing worth practicing.
GRACEN: What genre do
you write and why that genre?
SARAH: I write erotica and romance. I started by publishing a
bunch of old erotica I had written, which is not really like my writing now. It
is far smuttier than my more current work. My friends suggested I try
publishing it, so I did. I am now writing romance, and my romance tends to be
based on things that interest me, like mythology, art, companionship, passion.
I think we all need a little more love in our lives!
GRACEN: For those who are not yet familiar with The Quiver of a Kiss, can you please
give us some details about the book and/or series?
SARAH: This is a novella that retells the story of Helen of
Troy, but from her point of view. What makes it different is that it is erotic
romance, but there is no HEA. Helen never had that chance, given the misogyny
of the era. Still, I like to think that she found some happiness at some point
in her life, even with the sorrow that followed her.
GRACEN: Do you have
any new stories in the works and can you tell us a bit about it/them?
SARAH: Right now, I am primarily working on Immortal Star, which is the follow up to
Bitter Fruits. Although the first
book does not end on a cliffhanger, there are still plenty of things left to be
resolved. I’m not sure when Bitter Fruits
will be available again, but by the time it is, the second book will be ready
to go!
GRACEN: 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.
SARAH: Honest. Even though this series I am working on is
paranormal, it is really a love story and a coming of age story at the heart of
it. Vampires or not, the situation is not far from reality. The conflicts are
obviously exaggerated, but Nora is mostly learning how to be in love – and
helping others learn how to love and to forgive.
GRACEN: 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.
SARAH: I wanted to consider what it must have been like to
have been a woman in ancient Greece, using the mindset I have today. Helen had
the resources to be her own woman, but social pressures prevented it. I also
know we have heard about her as the “face that launched a thousand ships,” but
the story is always about Paris stealing her from Menelaus. As if she is
property. I wanted to explore what motivated her to fall in love when it would
bring about the ruin of an empire.
GRACEN: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever done in the
name of research?
SARAH: When you write erotica, there is a lot of “testing”
positions and trying to see what is possible! Because on paper, it sounds great
until you realize there is an arm in the way!
GRACEN: Of all your books, which character did you have the
most fun creating and why?
SARAH: Nora in Bitter
Fruits. Jayni is a sex addict in More
than a Job and that was hard for me to relate to personally. Helen of
Troy’s life is so far from my own that I was able to understand her desire for
individual freedom but I also found her complicated. Nora is just a regular
girl in irregular circumstances. She also has a good sense of humor and I like
having humor in my work.
GRACEN: If you had the opportunity to meet just one of your
characters in real life, who would it be and why?
SARAH: Caleb from Bitter
Fruits. Because he is really hot in my mind! ;)
GRACEN: Which of your characters would you never want to meet
under any circumstance and why?
SARAH: Agamemnon in The
Quiver of a Kiss (and mythology). He was an arrogant ass.
GRACEN: If you were
interviewing yourself, what is the one question you would ask yourself and
please give us the answer to that question?
SARAH: I would ask myself the meaning of life! But I have no
idea what it is! I think Douglas Adams said it was 42, right?
GRACEN: Thanks so much
for joining us, Sarah! It’s been a treat
getting to know you better!
Website: http://sarahdaltry.com
Any other links/sites you wish to offer readers so they can
find you on the world wide web, such as buy links for other books, Facebook,
Myspace, Twitter, etc.
Facebook fan page for the book: https://www.facebook.com/BitterFruits?fref=ts
BLURB:
This is the story you were never told about
Helen of Troy, the face that launched a thousand ships. A bargaining chip for
her father and brothers, Helen learned of seduction and lust but was denied
love until one of her suitors, a young Odysseus, showed her a world she had
always imagined. Despite her wishes, however, she is married to Menelaus and
her fate is decided for her. That is until a young man from Troy named Paris
ignites in her a desire she cannot control. Together, they will test the power
of the gods and give in to passion that will lead them to be remembered
throughout history.
EXCERPT:
Father
cuts the wings from the bird after he shoots it from the sky. “Helen, my
daughter, this is the price of flight. One must always remember that birds,
although they are meant to fly, do not have the ability to stop an arrow.” The
warning is noted, although he pretends it is not inherent in his teachings. He
removes his arrow and cooks the remainder of the bird’s body, feeding half to
each of my brothers. As the woman, I am given fruit instead. Father has brought
me a pomegranate tonight, the most forbidden of fruits for a girl of my age.
The pomegranate is a symbol of Persephone, whose will was said to endanger
girls and to strike fear into the hearts of fathers. Due to my father’s
ignorance of the ways of girls and women, he does not realize his error.
My
brothers are regaling Father with tales of their conquests. Castor, at
eighteen, has bedded more women in Sparta than I knew lived within the city
walls. They flock to him, fools for his looks and charm. I am sometimes led to
blush when they talk of him as if they do not know I am around; I have heard
intimate details of my brother that I would be happier not knowing. Pollux has
not been lazy in the act of lovemaking, but his mind is always on battle. He is
forever scheming, strategizing; he sees a future Sparta that is famed through
the continent and he sees himself leading it. I am amazed at the way the two
speak of their adventures in the same manner, as if women and warriors are one
and the same, to be treated with the same pride or indifference depending on
how well they have fulfilled their roles. My brothers forget my presence, as
they always do. Father enjoys living vicariously through his sons, as age has
limited his virility both in the bedroom and on the field. Although they are my
twins, my brothers have been granted immeasurable freedoms of which I can only
dream.
Soon,
the fire burns low and the three fall asleep. I walk to the forest’s edge, the
odor of olive trees filling my lungs. I think of afternoons practicing my
skills with Phoebe, wrestling naked in the palaestra. Her breasts had grown
heavy and our matches frequently turned to exploration of the most sensual
parts of ourselves. Her fingers opened me up and led me to a discovery of a
secret joy. I know one day I will experience more of this, but for now, my
pleasures have been limited to those provided by my friend. If Father and my
brothers knew just how much knowledge I had gained through my training, they
may fear their stories had corrupted me. Since those pleasant afternoons,
Phoebe has shared her treasures multiple times with Castor. Now he is the one
reaching between her legs to tease a smile from her. I must admit I feel envy,
but not of him. I never imagined Phoebe would be all for me; I am instead
jealous of the ways in which she has grown while I have remained a child.
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