We managed to tear Felicity Heaton away from plotting with her collection of hunky heroes for a few minutes so she could answer some of our questions!
Kissed by a Dark Prince (Eternal Mates Romance Series Book 1)
Olivia thinks it’s her lucky night when a dangerously handsome unconscious fae ends up on her inspection table. He’s her chance to redeem herself with her employer, the demon-hunting organisation, Archangel. But when the tall, dark and deadly immortal warrior awakes, she gets much more than she bargained for…
Attacked by his enemy in the elf kingdom, the last thing Prince Loren expects when he comes around is a beautiful angel watching over him and medical technology of the mortal realm. Hazy from his injuries, all he can focus on is the pulse ticking in her throat and the sweet allure of her blood.
One single bite reveals she is his eternal mate, triggering a bond between them that will leave him weakened until it is completed… or broken, and pulling Olivia into the crossfire of his ancient feud.
To protect his people and his mate from the machinations of a madman, Loren must risk everything by working with Olivia at Archangel to find a way to break the bond blossoming between them.
But will Loren be strong enough to place duty before desire and give up the one thing he has waited millennia for and craves above all others—his eternal mate? And will Olivia be able to resist the incredible heat that burns between them and the temptation of her dark prince’s kiss?
Why did you decide to become a writer?
I wrote a little in school when I was a teenager because we had to write the opening chapter of a gothic horror and it really got my mind working, and my teacher liked mine so much that she read it out to the class. I wrote more for it, had a whole plan for the story, but then schoolwork took over and it fell to the wayside. I didn’t write until 2003 after that. I got really into writing fanfiction for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and was running my own fanfiction website for my stories. A friend who was writing the same genre as me convinced me to give writing something original with my own characters a go. I took a little convincing but I took the leap and really loved it. I began publishing my books back in 2006 after being with an e-publisher for a year. It was just something I came to naturally. I didn’t set out to be a writer. It just sort of evolved into my career. I was actually a full-time web developer throughout most of my years I was writing too, balancing both. I went full-time writer in 2011 and I still can’t believe this is my job!
Who/what are your writing inspirations?
It’s hard to say. I get inspired by anything. It could be a film, a piece of music, a song, something I hear, or just being out in the world and seeing something. I don’t really think any one person has inspired me to write or keep writing, to pursue this as a career and make a success of it. I’m naturally driven and creative, and when I do something, I put 110% of myself into it and work hard at it. I don’t look at a favourite author and feel I want to be like her/him. I want to be me.
What are your favorite genres to read?
Paranormal romance now. Whenever I get a moment to read, I will read paranormal romance. My TBR pile is huge! I don’t get much time to read because I have to be between writing/edits on my own books before I can read, and normally I fill that time with catching up with my day-to-day admin and marketing work, or projects like redesigning and rebuilding my website. I don’t read when I’m writing or editing one of my books because I don’t want to pick up another author’s style. I want to preserve my voice.
What do you hope readers take away most from your writing?
I hope they enjoy the stories and they come away with that warm fuzzy feeling that you get after reading a good romance, when you’re all relaxed and sated, and smiling in a sort of post-book haze. I just want to give readers books they want to read, which is why I write books I want to read. I want to provide an escape from daily life into fascinating new worlds with characters who will stay with them.
Who the favorite character of your’s that you’ve written and why?
I have a top ten for my heroes. Valentine, from the Prophecy Trilogy, always occupied the #1 spot until recently. He’s been usurped by characters I haven’t written romances for yet—Esher from my upcoming Guardians of Hades series, and Vail from my Eternal Mates series. I love them because they’re tortured, a little bit crazy, and very hot.
I really enjoyed writing Snow in my Vampire Erotic Theatre series too. Another tortured hero, and a huge favourite with my readers. I think Snow is the character who gave me the green light to write the heroes I really love writing, the messed up crazy ones who need a good woman to set them back on the right path and help them through their trials.
What is your writing style? Outliner/Planner or Seat of the Pantser?
I write outlines for all of my books, so I’m definitely in the plotter camp. My outlines are compiled from all the notes / scenes I’ve written down while working on other stories and then filling in the gaps. Sometimes, my outlines end up huge! The outline for Claimed by a Demon King, which is the second book in the Eternal Mates series, was around 25,000 words. That shows you how serious I am about plotting before writing. The outline was a quarter of the length of the first draft of the book! It really helps me work in any plot twists and misdirection if I plan it all out in advance.
You have a lot of different series and books. If someone hadn’t read any of your work, where would you recommend they start?
I would probably suggest starting with one of my series. I have three main series and the first book in each is actually free at the moment. The series in question are Vampire Erotic Theatre, which has 6 books and is complete, my Her Angel series, which is ongoing at 6 books right now, and my Vampires Realm series, which I’m about to write the next novel for. I have links for all the free first books in these series at: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/paranormal-romance-ebook-offers.php
If you’re looking for a new series you can leap into right at the beginning, I recently released the first book in my new Eternal Mates series, Kissed by a Dark Prince, and the second book, Claimed by a Demon King, comes out on February 22nd.
If someone wanted to become a writer, what tips would you give to them?
Study the craft. I think it was advice I gave to myself but I do recommend it to all writers. I’ve read some fantastic books on writing and I still make time to read books on writing now. They’ve all helped me in some way or another. I’m an advocate of putting in some reading time and doing exercises to improve your writing.
Vampires or Werewolves?
Vampires. I do like werewolves, but I will always come back to vampires. I’ve loved them since I was very very young.
As a paranormal writer, is the paranormal genre a favorite of yours in both TV/Movies and Books?
Not in both, no. I love paranormal romance in books, and paranormal in anime, and do like some of the paranormal style shows on TV like Dracula, The Vampire Diaries and Sleepy Hollow, and did like True Blood until recent seasons. But when it comes to movies, I’m more into science fiction and action films and I’m really into superheroes. I love anything Marvel / DC.
About Felicity Heaton:
Felicity Heaton is a USA Today and international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books. In her books she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons!
If you’re a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.
If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look at the new Eternal Mates series.
If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:
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