Monday, November 13, 2017

Interview With Heather Dunn

Interview With Heather Dunn:


  1. Can you tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Heather Dunn, and I live in Middletown, RI. I was born and raised in California and have spent a majority of my life there. I moved to Rhode Island about 10 years ago, and have loved it since day 1. I was married, divorced, and then remarried last year at ComicCon to a man I went to high school with. We had lost contact for about 15 years, but Facebook brought us back together and now he lives in RI with me and we are celebrating a year of marriage on the 12th of November. I turn 34 on the 9th of November, and I started writing over a decade ago, but had put it aside when life got too hectic. I started again for fairly selfish reasons a few years ago (stressful relationship that I was trying to mentally escape without realizing it) and have been writing fairly diligently for a few years now. I also do photography and all of my book covers are of my own design with photos I have taken over the years. This last year has been a bit crazy, so I have put the computer aside more and more as life has gotten in the way, but I will be making a diligent effort to be back at the keyboard this winter. No pets or kids of my own, but I do have a lovely stepdaughter who turns 23 this year that I love to the moon and back. I also started a small business this fall called Sasshats, which centers around cosplay hats and fascinators, and I plan to expand that to larger costume pieces later next year.

2.  Can you tell us a little about your book?
RIPPLE is the first of eight books in the Rite of the Ivy Series, which is a story set in about a 40 day time span. At the story's center is a woman named Kiera Spero, the lost princess of a lost kingdom, who has hidden from the world for 6 years in a forest on the outskirts of the lands with only her wits, her skills and the protection of a humanoid creature to keep her safe. Her uncle, King Eryce (pronounced Err-ess), has not only destroyed her own kingdom, but also that of her grandfather and a third to create a larger landmass known as Rhonendar, and Kiera hides as best she can from her murderous uncle while taunting him under a pseudonym by killing his man when they set foot in her forest and threaten her home. The first book is all about decisions and building trust, and Kiera ultimately has to decide if she is ready to step out of the darkness and let her presence be known, but she isn't the only one with decisions to make. It's a story of love and loss and change, an adventure, a raw and graphic novel with sex and blood and few pulled punches that is all about staying true to yourself and doing what is right for you, even when the costs are high and you balk at the idea of being something bigger. I meant for this story to be inspirational, and Kiera is a determined woman in a world full of men that would see her fail or die. Her choice of allies becomes imperative as the story continues in book 2, PRIDE, which is also available on Amazon and will be running for free November 10-13th.

3. Using one sentence, can you describe Ripple?
The story of a woman who must decide if she wants to create change in her own life and the lives of others, or if she will continue to hide from a world that challenges her very existence.

4. How did you choose the genre you write in?
I have to say that writing Medieval Fiction felt like a natural choice because it gave me the chance to tell a story without having to describe anything factual as you draw from your own life experiences and tell a great tale of a being that never existed. In this genre, you sort of make it up as you go along, where your characters are of your own creation and every piece of your own experiences come forth in such a way that you end up telling your own life story, though it may be more the life you wish you could have. I feel like I can become a great architect, the wielder of a sword or the conjurer of magic simply because I want to, and I know that the simplicity of a world like that appeals to a very broad audience. The fun part about this genre is its limitless options as you create powers, landscapes, people and creatures and any number of intangible things that a reader can picture in their mind and make it their own. I find this genre to be incredibly powerful and very relatable, but also one that can be portrayed as extremely raw and gritty and real; I find that life doesn't have to make sense for the story to continue, and I certainly added a few twists and some unfairness into this world to keep things a little unexpected as the journey continues and the reader waits to see who will really win. 

5.  When did you know you wanted to write a book?
I have always been fairly creative, and have written short stories here and there for years, but they never seemed to have enough meat. then, about 12 years ago, I started writing a fantasy novel about a girl named Nicola and a brute of a beast named Darian; he is the only character that never changed in the entire time I have written, but when I first started, he was the idealized version of what I wanted in my life, and as my world fell apart around me, I stumbled upon someone very close to that idea. I had already started writing, but ended up stopping after 45 pages and put the book aside for a long while as I struggled through some very big changes in my world. It was while I was with Darian's real life counterpart that I realized that I wanted something more from my life, and I had been thinking about those 45 pages for the better part of a year when I finally bought myself a laptop, transferred the files and started typing. 1 month, 150 pages and some very cathartic soul searching on paper later, I had the basis for the entire series and a will to be on my own for the first time in my life. In escaping into a fictional world to ignore my own life I found the strength to do for myself what no one could do for me, and I knew then that I wanted to give this book a real name and a life of it's own. And that is how Ripple came to be, and how a book saved my life.

6. What is a usual writing day like for you, how is it structured?
This question makes me laugh because I write in spurts. When I was single, it was all I did. I saw friends intermittently, but work and writing were my total focus. I worked a lot, wrote a lot, and spent way too much time in my favorite café, often staying until close. I have since moved, changed jobs and have a totally different schedule, plus my husband and I now have similar work hours so I am currently struggling to find a way to schedule my writing time effectively. When I do write, I need the have headphones and music and total concentration, and I will sit for hours and type without editing. It really depends on my day, and I prefer to write in the afternoon and evening when I am awake and full of energy and feel my most creative, but I generally do like a consistent, scheduled time that is meant just for writing, and nothing else.

7.  Do you have a favorite spot to write?
There are a few, At first it was Starbucks at 6am, and the Newport location is 2 level, so I would hide in their loft for hours. Once I moved on my own, my favorite spot to write was a small café in Newport called Empire Tea and Coffee, specifically at their Memorial Avenue location just a block form my house. I had been going there since the place opened, and was a regular at least 4 times a week, but now that I have moved I need to find a new cozy space to sit and write and people watch while listening to Lindsey Sterling on repeat.

8. Do you have a favorite food or drink you must have nearby when writing?
Coffee, tea, something warm to eat... Specifically an Aquidneck Honey Latte from Empire and one of their apple and brie sandwiches with honey mustard (and I add bacon, because everything is better with bacon). 

9.  If you were a super-hero, what powers would you have?
If I were a superhero, I would have the power of Voice: negotiate, soothe, calm and eliminate threats through the changing of thought processes by the power of reason/perspective. I would be called Devil's Advocate... and I would fly.

10.  What are writing projects are you currently working on?
Writing projects I am currently working on include Book 3 of the Rite of the Ivy Series and another book in the SciFi vein called The Runner. Set in modern times, The Runner is about a young woman named Chloe who ends up in a coma after a car accident, and after 6 months of boredom while she's trapped in her own mind, she astral projects her soul across the country in a dream that turns into a sort of nightmare. Her soul becomes intertwined with a man in Boston named Kyle, and when she finds that she can't break free from him, her whole world becomes about keeping him alive... and trying not to fall in love with him. Its a story of heart and sacrifice, and Chloe learns more about herself than she ever imagined as she watches Kyle use his powers and sees him change into the monster the military created when they injected him with ancient blood during World War 2. It's a race against time as they work to uncover who is out to kill Kyle, and Chloe has to make some hard decisions to ensure that doesn't happen because she's fairly certain that she'll die, too.


Books:





Ripple: The Rite of the Ivy Series: Book One

Welcome to Rhonendar.

Kiera Spero has haunted Baneswood in the Northeastern corner of the kingdom for six long years, her reign on that part of the map tight and controlled. Many enter; none leave. The white haired woman calling herself Bane and her companion of a completely different Race keep it clean of threats and soldiers, those trees her own little kingdom, complete with a ruined castle she calls home…

Eryce, the rightful king and conqueror of those lands, begs to differ.

The list of those lives Bane has taken are being taken as a personal slight against the King of Rhonendar, who had worked too hard to control the map where he once shared the right to rule with two other kings, though they and their castles have long since been decimated. Those lands are his, and this Bane must be hunted down and removed. She ranks very high on his list of Things to Destroy.

Kiera can feel the hot, sour breath of the King on her neck, and she does her best to keep her own little world safe for herself and the beast at her side, but all it takes is one encounter with a man from her past to jar her into considering a different path for her future. A ruthless killer of Men, Kiera does something that her Aeroyn companion, Darian, never expects.

She let’s someone live.

It is the best and worst decision she could have ever made.

Hope is kindled in the hearts of others as the rumor spreads that Kiera is alive, and one man in particular finds himself at her mercy in more ways than one. Ready or not, Kiera is suddenly faced with a choice: leave the home she has created and follow along on a path not her own, or stay in the woods with the being that has loved and protected her.

Either way, Kiera’s life has taken a turn, and her decisions start to cause ripples in the lives of those around her…

It is up to her if she wants to start making waves.







Pride: The Rite of the Ivy: Book 2            

Kiera Spero is still trying to wrap her head around all that has already happened while the path before her unfolds...

In less than two weeks, she has learned to love Connor in a way that makes her feel weak and strong at the same time, while Darian and Alyk trail her still, both harboring lingering feelings for the woman they would see become a Queen. She has stopped blood sharing with Darian completely, and her ability to heal quickly is waning after 6 years of being relatively invincible. But her powers haven't decreased, and only Henelce seems immune to her influence and her abilities, but even he knows that her path leads her toward the throne and unimaginable power. With her uncle still ruling, Kiera has to start making decisions as to where she really wants to end up: Does she really want to risk everything to pursue the crown, or would she rather live in obscurity with the man she loves and hope that Eryce never finds her?

Dark forces are at work to keep Kiera well away from the throne, and it's not long before the group of travelers is forced to face the first of many very real dangers they are headed directly toward as they cross the borders to the neighboring lands and are confronted by other members of Darian's race. His banishment becomes more of a problem the further they get into the lands he once called home, and Darian soon has leave Kiera to fight for his life in order to keep her, and a young female of his race, safe.

With Darian distracted, Alyk and Henelce follow Kiera further into the mountains as Connor searches out his stone, despite the Aeroyn's absence. But before the foursome can reach the cemetery, Sorveign has plans of his own to find Kiera and throws a wrench on the gears by inviting her to dine with him far, far away from where they are heading. Suspicious but curious, Kiera agrees, and she learns some hard truths about both her past and her future.

In the mean time, Tance has his own vendetta to fulfill as he decides to help Eryce to find his brother, and subsequently, Kiera. But the younger of the Fairaday boys finds himself in even more hot water as he ended up traveling with the dreaded Sukolai when Eryce sends them out to find Alyk, and expects Tance to follow them to the northern reaches of Rhonendar and the Runes of Obilio. With Tance's help, Eryce gets a much better idea of the friends Kiera is collecting, and the arrogant ruler of Rhonendar knows he is running out of time if he wants to catch Kiera before she can gain too many allies and stand a real chance of defeating him.

Will Kiera choose the path of the crown, or defy everyone and set out on her own? And will Connor follow her, no matter what? Their love is put through the first of it's true tests as Connor fulfills his quest for his missing stone, and Kiera gets a taste of just how fragile she really is when faced with one more surprise... one that might be her undoing.


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