Hello Lovelies! Today I have a Q&A for you guys from the lovely Evi Rhodes! She is a new-to-me author and maybe one for you too! Hopefully, through this Q&A you guys will get to meet her and be introduced to her books!
About the Books:
This is a steamy paranormal romance/urban fantasy series featuring vampires, werewolves, paranormal academy, kick-ass heroine and alpha hero.
Please note, the first book in the series is more of a traditional, sexy paranormal romance, but the second book heats up even more with the appearance of a secondary love interest resulting in a reverse harem.
A Warrior’s Promise Series deals with themes and struggles outside of your typical paranormal romance including varied sexual preferences, physical, mental and sexual abuse, addictions, interracial relationships all happening alongside a raging battle between good and evil.
Synopsis:
WICKED NIGHT
Follow the journey of a strong, independent, yet caring woman as she navigates the supernatural world she is thrust into. Gwen steps out of a dysfunctional family life and into a world filled with danger she never realized lives at every turn, fiery passion, and a love that is ever binding. How will she handle her strange new surroundings as well as the man with the intense and overbearing personality who threatens to destroy the emotional barriers around her heart? Wicked, the next in line to become the vampire king, is caught off guard when he grudgingly agrees to take on a charge, something he never wanted to do. He is unsure how to handle the fierce and vibrant woman with the unsettling green eyes. It doesn’t take long for them to clash, but will it end passionately or burn down around them?
Author Q&A:
Q: Why did you write your book?
A: I wrote this series because I wanted to tell a story of not just female strength, but what we can accomplish when we do not let prejudices stand in our way. I wanted the readers to have to accept, forgive and grow along with the heroine, hero and so many others.
I also wanted my readers to shrug off the old ideal of what a loving, healthy relationship looks like.
I feel there are many ways to love and be in a healthy relationship including multiple partners, LGBTQ and of course, what many consider to be traditional. I wanted people to broaden their minds as to what it means to have a life partner.
I wanted to show that. for much of our life we live in either the far left, or far right way of thinking, but what would happen if you were forced to walk with one foot on either side of the line? Our heroine, hero and those that surround them are not all good or all evil. Of course, this all takes place in a supernatural environment which allows for unusual circumstances, problems and questions that keep the reader thinking.
Q: Why do you think readers will care about this book?
A: A Warrior’s Promise Series deals with themes and struggles outside of your typical paranormal romance including varied sexual preferences, physical, mental and sexual abuse, addictions, interracial relationships all happening alongside a raging battle between good and evil.
Q: Where did you get the inspiration for the story and characters?
A: My inspiration is all the strong, yet loving, understanding and inspirational women I have grown up knowing. I wanted to create a heroine people can fall in love with, want to follow but with whom they might not always agree. I want readers to laugh, cry and get angry with my characters. perhaps seeing a little of themselves in the process.
I asked myself the question, why is it that a woman who is strong has to be seen as hard and ruthless when there are so many layers to a woman? In A Warrior’s Promise Series, the reader follows Gwen as she learns to grow up quickly but manages to still learn to love and forgive freely.
Q: How did you come up with ideas for your books?
A: The ideas for my work come from all around me; my friends, family and even strangers. Everyone has a story to tell in whole or in part that I feel needs to be shared. On the other hand at times ideas just come to me and I ask myself where did that come from and don’t have an answer. Mostly, I wanted to give a voice to those that wouldn’t normally share their private stories with the world by sharing them in a way that they wouldn’t feel their life was on display. In giving these people’s stories that voice, I feel that my characters come alive for my readers.
Q: What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?
A: Even from a young age I would polish off a novel a week loving the ability to lose myself in the story and would find myself daydreaming of writing a story of my own. I stopped writing for a long time to pursue my lifelong dream of being an Olympian on a more serious level. I train with some of the best in the world, which required all my time. It was only after I had to give up that dream, for a variety of reasons, that I picked writing back up. It not only served as a passion to devote myself to, but it was also a form of therapy as I felt as if I no longer had a purpose. Frankly, it was as though the world was passing me by and I was stuck standing still, as if I was lost among everyone else’s normal day-to-day. This is a feeling many suffer when they are so hyper-focused on a single task and it comes to an end; athletes of all kinds seem to be extremely prone to this due to the nature of how they dedicate every moment of their day to their sport.
Q: If you could be one of the characters from any of your books, who would it be and why?
A: I would want to be Gwen; even though when we first meet her she seems weak and immature. Once you get to know her you realize this behaviour stems from the time she is young and that she has had to hide her true self behind an arrogant dismissive mask to protect herself. In reality, she is a pretty wonderful selfless character. And as an author there is a little bit of you in all your characters, yet I find myself relating to her and her growth arc. Besides who wouldn’t want to end up with the hot lead character?
Q: If you were the casting director for the film version of your novel, who would play your leading roles?
A: Oh wow wouldn’t it be fun to choose! I think I would pick Theo James to be Wicked, Ruby Rose as Gwen, Ryan Reynolds as Craze, Jared Leto as Kayden
Q: When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step?
A: I think I’m no different than every other author who at some point has been skeptical to make the leap and have your work published. The very idea of it being viewed, reviewed and judged by the world is certainly unnerving. I first decided to submit my work early 2018 and there are two people that contributed to me making the final leap from dreaming about publishing to actually doing it. The first one is my very best friend who encouraged me every step of the way, her confidence and appreciation for what I had written gave me hope that the dream could be real. The second person that helped me take the final step was my Uncle; he is a horror writer himself and although my work was not his genre of choice, he said, “girl you are a writer, let’s get that straight. Now if we can only get you to say it with less words.” And although I did laugh hard, he was also the first person to rip my work apart and yet in this profound way helped me see that
criticism wasn’t bad. It is simply how we all learn to improve. From that day forward I made the decision to publish my story.
Q: Do you outline your books or just start writing?
A: I have a generic outline of what I want to have happen. I have my characters very well
conceptualized, as well as where I want them to start and where I want their story to finish, but the rest of the story is all flow. I let the characters tell me what should happen next, what would their character do next? What would they say next? I found that if I created a strict timeline my writing became too mechanical and didn’t have the same connection with the characters lifelike and unpredictable natures.
Q: Do you have any hobbies and does the knowledge you’ve gained from these carry over into your characters or the plot of your books?
A: Yes, most definitely. I have always ridden horses and have a number of animals; I’ve consistently worked out including CrossFit and boxing, as well as dabbled in many other activities for fun or relaxation. I pull many descriptions for my scenes from my real life experiences. As well as I wanted my characters to feel as real as possible, and I find the best way to understand something is to try it for yourself.
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about what it was like to write a series?
A: A series I feel is a little different than a single book for the simple fact that you have to have short-term goals and a long-term plan for all your characters that stretches a vast period of time. And although I do allow my work to flow, I have to know what struggles and triumphs I want each of my characters to face, as well as what thought-provoking issues I want to bring up along the way. It’s also tricky to balance the ability to give the readers enough that they feel they have come along on the journey so far and are left feeling satisfied yet leaving just enough intrigue to keep them wanting to see what happens next. It is also difficult to make sure you don’t have any of those pesky inconsistencies with characters, scenes, or plots; pages and pages of notes is a
definite must.
Connect With the Author:
Connect with Canadian author Evi Rhodes on Goodreads, Instagram, Facebook and read her author bio on her website!
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