Interview with Donna Grant

Jen: This week we’re pleased to welcome Donna Grant to Book Talk with J & J. Donna, will you please share a short bio with us?
Donna: Donna Grant is the award winning author of more than twenty novels spanning multiple genres of romance – Scottish Medieval, historical, dark fantasy, time travel, paranormal and erotic.

Donna was born and raised in Texas but loves to travel. Her adventures have taken her throughout the United States as well as Jamaica and Mexico. Growing up on the Texas/Louisiana border, Donna’s Cajun side of the family taught her the “spicy” side of life while her Texas roots gave her two-steppin’ and bareback riding.

Her childhood dream was to become a professional ballet dancer and study under the amazing Mikhail Baryshnikov. Though she never got to meet Baryshnikov, she did make it to New York City and performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Later, Donna’s love of the romance genre and the constant stories running through her head prompted her to sit down and write her first book. Once that book was complete, there was no turning back.

Donna sold her first book in November 2005 while displaced from Hurricane Rita, a storm that destroyed portions of the Texas Gulf Coast. Since then, Donna has sold novels and novellas to both electronic and print publishers. Her books include several complete series such as The Druid’s Glen, The Shields and The Royal Chronicles.

Despite the deadlines and her voracious reading, Donna still manages to keep up with her two young children, three cats and one long-haired Chihuahua. She’s blessed with a proud, supportive husband who’s learned to cook far more than frozen chicken nuggets.

Jen: Tell us about The Pleasure of His Bed and where it's available.
Donna: The Pleasure of His Bed is a historical erotic anthology featuring heroines as sex slaves. My novellas, Ties That Bind, is about a lustful, dominating queen who has the tables turned on her when she’s sold as a sex slave to the very man she was supposed to marry.

I had a lot of fun writing this novella and making up a fantasy world with powerful women and commanding men.

The book is available in all bookstores and online.

Jen: Describe your writing in three words.
Donna: Dark. Sexy. Sensual.

Jen: How do you approach your writing? Do you plot or go with the flow?
Donna: I get an idea, but before I start writing, I get an overall idea of the story and where my characters will end up. I never “see” the beginning of the book. My ideas usually start in the middle somewhere, and I get an idea of the ending. Then, when I sit down to write, I go with the flow.

Jen: What is it about the romance genre that appeals to you?
Donna: The Happily Ever After ending. Life is full of disappointments, which is why I love reading romance. You always know its going to end happily, regardless of the horrors the hero/heroine might go through.

Then there’s the love and family and relationships that romance talks about. It reinforces to need for all three in people’s lives.

Jen: Describe a typical writing day.
Donna: It begins at about 6 am when we get the kids up and get them ready for school. Once they’re dressed and fed, hubby takes them to school while I work out. After the workout, which is about 7:45-8:00 am, I sit down at my desk.

While I’m eating breakfast, I check emails, play on MySpace and Facebook for a bit. This is usually when the all-day emails with three of my writing buds begins. By 9 am I have the book opened and am writing in between emails to buds.

I’ll write 10 pages before lunch. After lunch I get in 10 more pages before I pick kids up from school. Once kids are home, its homework, their activities and dinner time.

Jen: Do you do anything special to celebrate a sale, new contract or release?
Donna: Oh, yes! For each sale, my husband buys me flowers, and for each New York sale, hubby brings home a bottle of champagne.

Jen: Is there a genre that you’d like to write?
Donna: I’m very happy writing in the historical/dark fantasy genre. Though I prefer to write historical (Medieval, Scottish, historical/paranormal and historical/dark fantasy), I recently branched out and wrote a couple of contemporary/paranormal books. One will be published as a Halloween book with Total-E-Bound and it’s titled Primal Heat.

Jen: Who has inspired you as an author?
Donna: So many authors have inspired me. Some by their books, some because I’ve come to know them personally, and some by seeing what they’ve gone through in their careers.

Jen: Do you have a favorite character or one that you identify most with? If so, how?
Donna: Usually, my favorite characters are the ones I’m writing at the moment, but all of them hold a special place in my heart. They are a part of me, just as I’m a part of them.

Jen: What has been your highlight of your career to this point?
Donna: In publishing, because there are so many lows (bad reviews, rejections) you celebrate all the highs. Each time I finish a book, I celebrate. Each time I get a contract, I celebrate. Each time I get a reader email, I celebrate.

My biggest highlight to date is selling to Kensington.

Jen: What's next for you?
Donna: I’ve got a lot that’s coming next. Right on the heels of The Pleasure of His Bed is my first release with Cobblestone Press, a historical paranormal, SHADOW MAGIC. It’s the first in a trilogy, and I’m so thrilled to see this book about to be released. The cover is to die for as well.

After that, in October, I’ll have my Halloween novella, PRIMAL HEAT out.

Then, at the in of November and March 2009, the sequels to my novella in The Pleasure of His Bed, TEMPTED and BOUND will release respectively in my fantasy series.

May 2009 will see my second Kensington Aphrodisia release, MUTUAL DESIRE, which features three novellas, one of which is my conclusion to my fantasy series. The collection also has a novella set in Scotland and one in the Amazon.
To see all my coming soon books, visit: www.donnagrant.com/coming_soon

Jen: Where can you be found on the web?
Donna: Lots of places.
Website – http://www.donnagrant.com/
Blog – www.donnagrant.com/blog
Myspace – www.myspace.com/donnagrant
Facebook (personal) - http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1372746155
Facebook (fan page) - http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Donna-Grant/27841130699
Aphrodisia Authors – http://www.aphrodisiaauthors.com/

Jen: Is there anything you would like to ask our readers?
Donna: Yes! Who’s your favorite author(s)?

Jen: Thank you Donna for joining us and providing our readers with a look into your writing. Donna will be stopping by to chat with y'all. So, answer her question or ask a question and you'll be entered in the drawing for an autographed copy of The Pleasure of His Bed and some goodies!

The contest will run through Friday, September 5 at 5:00 pm PDT. If you are not going to subscribe to get follow-up comments sent to your e-mail or will not stop back to see if you're a winner, please provide an e-mail address so we can contact you.