Candles by Studio 3B

Conversation with Author Gia Dawn

Hello Gia! Thank you for agreeing to be the first featured author for 2008. Your tag-line is just perfect for such an occassion: A New Dawn is Breaking... (Love it!) Are you ready for the new 2008 dawning?

I am up and running for 2008! Princess of Thieves releases this month, and I can give you a hint that the final in the series will come out later this year...shhhhhhhh. And I have a couple of darker romances in the planning stages for after the Dunmore Series is finished.




You are also the newest member of Books in the Spotlight and I have to say that it was indeed a pleasure to work with you on your two candle projects. As soon as I saw your very beautiful covers and read about your stories, I was very excited and could not wait to begin! Please tell us about your two books, Lord Demon's Delight, and Princess of Theives, for which your candles represent.

First of all, let me say how much I love love love the candles. I sent a pair to my editor for a Christmas present, and she cannot rave about them enough! (Author sucking up at its finest.) Now on to the stories...
The Demons of Dunmore series revolves around three fabulous bastard brothers, their two doting and meddling mothers, and a trio of the crankiest fairy-godmothers ever--Snapdragon, Pansy, and Rose. They are set in the kingdom of Westmyre, my version of medieval Europe, and are filled with tons of magic and mayhem with the heat definately turned up.
In Lord Demon's Delight, Lord Lewellyn, the eldest brother, meets the woman of his dreams when--in a completely uncharacteristic display of chivalry--he saves the lovely Jessaline from a horrid marriage of her equally horrid father's arranging. He only asks one thing in return, that she succumb to his every sensual demand! To his delight and ???, Jessaline does all that and more.
Allard, the second brother, meets his match in Princess of Thieves, when he is kidnapped by the rougish thief, Jo, and led into a world of ancient magic and hidden evils in the Lost Blue City buried long ago.
There is also a novella, Lady Strumpet, which introduces the enigmatic and outcast Wynn...a most unusual orphan who was taken in by Finella and Samantha--the mothers extroardinaire--when he was found wandering the streets as a child.




Please tell us all about your Demons of Dunmore Series as a whole ~ How it began and where it's headed.

I have always wanted to write romance. But I have follow up issues, and couldn't complete a manuscript for years. In March of 2006 I decided to quit my job as a massage therapist and give full time writing a chance. My husband (who is wonderful) said go for it. I had originally intended to complete a manuscript I had started several years ago, but then I discovered erotic romance and had to try my hand. Before long, Jessaline and Llewellyn from Lord Demon's Delight were hinting at all the fun and delicious things they wanted to do to each other. I was very happy to let them tell their story. Since I have sons...the brothers became inevitable. Allard, bastard brother number two is the hero for Princess of Thieves, and Graham (the baby, lolol) is telling me all about his lady love as we speak!





Where do you find inspiration for your stories?

Inspiration...that's a toughie. I never begin at the beginning of a work. I usually get some snippet of dialog or a piece of a scene, and I run with it from there. I never actually write the book in sequence, either. If I get stuck on a scene, I leave it and move onto another. What is impossible to write one day usually flows fine on another. That's a piece of advice I give to all aspiring authors.

You've stated that you've been a Romance fan since your teens and tried your hand at it, but did not really seem to get far until you discovered Erotic Romance. Do you think your inner "diva" was finally released with a hot passion for the Erotic?

I have always been drawn to the erotic. Other traditions and cultures treat it the act of making-love as a mystical journey to the heart of the divine, and believe that when we achieve ecstasy with our beloved, we are given a glimpse of heaven. Nice, huh? Sexuality is important for the health of relationships...and we women enjoy outside stimulation just as much as men. Although, I admit, I have to have the happily-ever-after! It doesn't seem like a romance without it, and first and foremost, I am a romance writer.




Do you now write full time?

Yes. We live fairly simply. We have a very small house in a very nice subdivision. My sons learned long ago that even though we don't have all the latest gadgets and games, most of their friends do. And I have been a mostly stay at home mom all their lives. When I did work, it was part-time and geared around their schedule so I could be there when they got home from school. They have always been the priorities. It's funny, when I decided to quit my job and begin to write full-time, I had no clue that I would end up writing on the road. My father became very ill that year and I spent weekends at my parents helping my mother care for him until his death this past spring. The writing became this amazing gift that I could squeeze in around all the other things in my life.




Who, if anyone, has had the most positive impact on your life and writing career?

My husband, without a doubt. And my father. He was my greatest fan. He lived long enough to know I had contracted the first book--and see my cover art!--but passed away a month before it was released. An amazing scholar himself, he said that of all the people he had met in his life, he'd never known a published author...that was so totally special for me.




I bet your Husband is your biggest fan! Tell us about your family.

I have been married to my college sweetheart for twenty-three years. We have two sons, both teenagers. One looks and acts just like his dad, and one looks and acts just like me! They are totally great and amazing young men, and I adore them shamelessly.




So, what does Erotic Author Gia Dawn find sexy?

Romance. The seduction, the symbiosis, the whole soul-mate ideal. Fantasy at its finest.




Most sinful indulgence?

Chocolate, and lots of it. Good champagne on festive occasions.




And of course the question that everyone is asked: What is the most surprising fact about you that your fans would be shocked to know?

That I wanted to be a belly-dancer, but started way too late. Before that, I wanted to be the next Barbara Streisand...of course, that was way before American Idol. And that I have a secret passion for horror novels and books about serial-killers. I just finished Hannibal Rising.




If you had a time machine at your disposal, where would you travel in time and why?

I like history in theory...don't know if I would want to see it up close and in person. The Virgo in me cringes at the thought of no running water, chapstick or toilet-paper. Not to mention the other unmentionables that make a woman's life more pleasant in the modern age. Mattresses not made of straw...air-conditioning...central heat. I am soft, I admit it freely. Not a camping diva. That said, I would love to see the world before the industrial age and I am as much an Anglophile as anyone.




What is your favorite way to relax after a hard day's work penning hot passionate love stories?

I have my favorite TV shows...Criminal Minds, Dexter, Numb3rs...see the serial killer pattern? I am alse a bit of a sci-fi geek. Love Stargate Atlantis (my youngest son is a Rodney in training) and still love James T. Kirk and Spock. My husband and I take ballroom dance lessons now and then.




Do you get a chance to meet or chat with any of your fans?

I am getting out in the world a bit. I have two booksignings coming up in February, you can check my website for details, and I will be at the Romantic Times Convention in Pittsburg this year. That is the most fun for me, when I feel that the hours of work are worth it. The rewards of planting my butt in front of the computer for months at a time.




So, what's new and exciting on the horizon from Gia Dawn that we all need to be on the lookout for?

Graham's story--no title yet, will come out later this year, and then I'm going back into real history. Roman Britain has always fascinated me. I also plan to explore some deeper human emotion. Loss and longing through the ages. Hmmmm...the Darker side of Dawn, what do you think?




Thank you so much Gia for spending time to chat and let us all get to know you and your work better. I wish you much success in 2008 and beyond!

Thank you, Jfay. Your candles are exquisite, and I can't wait to design the one for my next book!

 

 

Gia Dawn's Books in the Spotlight Features:

Lord Demon's Delight