What inspired your latest book?
One of my
readers suggested she would enjoy reader a Goth Romance. I now call her my Muse’ lovingly I sat down to write a few ideas inspired by
this and Gothic Gates came to mind. I saw large Gothic Gates and a
mansion. Then the main male character and
his name, Dante’.
Gothic Gates
was ‘born’ and now it is up to seven books.
Three in the group are short stories.
What is your typical day like?
Well I am
awake before sunrise. I am a vivid
dreamer. Often my dreams are like films or they are about my books I am working
on with additional plot shifts, new characters, or evolution of the
characters. I record that information
immediately and head to a favorite watering hole a Starbuck’s I like. I spend about two hours recording into my
lap top the book or story information. Since
like most authors I am always working on something or a project.
My other
work begins around 8 a m with counseling on line for my clients and intuitive
readings along with guidance for their paths.
I do long distance energy work, remote viewing, and a lot of healing aid
to their souls.
I break around noon and head to exercise walk,
then meditate at a group of huge trees I love in my car and quiet my mind. This is a two hour period mid day. Sort of leaving one part of my day and work
and then preparing for writing again. I
do my edit work; re read ideas, play with the characters, collect artwork that
inspires me for my books and work on my Book Covers.
I also
design Book covers for other authors and banners for their pages. This diversion is actually aligned with my
writing flows and my love of art. I
also research during the afternoon. All
my books are set in real locations with real art, real architectural places and
historical time frames even though I write fiction.
I also set
the stories in grid ley lines that hold a frequency or energy that those that
are drawn to my books comment that they experience or ‘feel’. This is part of the feng shui work I do on
homes, grids, long distance locations or in person. Energy dowsing is something else I do and I
read grid history and past time frames too.
Evening is
dinner at a favorite soup and salad place where I might spend four to seven
hours in a large booth with WIFI on and working on my manuscripts, music on and
in the flow.
How much time do you spend promoting
your books? What works best for you?
About an
hour a day and I work with a PR gal too. I would sincerely advise all writers to
merely do that ‘write on’. Join clubs
for your genre and meet other authors. I
am in fan fiction and love meeting like minded folks into Twilight. I also find some of the best unpublished
authors there too. Just writing for the
sake of writing.
I find
though that once you decide to publish this takes on an entirely new stage. Moving from the ‘artist’ into the promotion,
the networking and the challenges of it all.
I like all of it. It allows me
to be assertive and go for what my vision is.
You do need to be thick skinned when you begin to put the work out there
and take it all in stride. Some mentions
are helpful some are not. Trust only the
input from others that your feel is respectful and helpful to your project. The rest take with a grain of salt.
I find the
best way on this is to get to know YOUR FANS those that are reading and buying
your books. Create a network of those
that support your efforts and are true to your books, characters and fall in
love with what you are writing. This
will be the Wind in your Sails.
Tell us about your hero. Give us one of his strengths and one of his
weaknesses.
Dante’. Well his name says it all. I wrote down his name when I began Gothic
Gates and what followed was Byron, Shelley. Three names all very significant in some
way to this character.
Dante is a
master mind chess player. He is a
strategist. He is also an immortal by
way of Alchemy. He is complex, very
deeply privately spiritual; he is also highly educated in the occult arts and
monastic solitude. He uses all of these
skills, gifts and intelligence to work within the shadows of his Board Meeting
group and his Goth Business Enterprise.
He helps to balance good and evil in regards to global power elite.
He is highly
romantic and has waited for this special love of his to surface in his
life. Since she has he must navigate
the fact she is not an immortal nor does she believe necessarily in past lives.
He is
extremely sensitive to her. I personally
marvel in writing the character the exchanges of this man as an archetype to
this woman he loves and waited for.
He is very
much ‘in control’ of his life and business and is a stabilizing force for her
own awakening into her own heart and her
soul. Who he is and what Goth is about
is part of how this relationship love unfolds.
He is also
very altruistic in his charities and global work to aid good causes.
Power rolls
off Dante’. He is English and French
and extremely wealthy.
Tell us about your heroine. Give us one of her strengths and one of her
weaknesses.
Samantha Devon Huntington is 27 years old, fiercely
independent woman, never been fully in love before and is a Midwest girl that
moved with her family to Northern California.
She graduated Stanford with a MBA.
She works as a consultant in high tech.
She is visiting her best friend in Paris, France that is her school mate
and wing girl in life. She is very much
salt of the earth, her family has a financial success and she works with her
own solid business and life ethics that are very middle of the life road. She is compassionate and caring of those less
fortunate. She is direct, honest, fire
personality and very grounded.
Dante’s mystery throws her off her usual balance, his power
that rolls off him and his extremely wealthy life style in Goth
Enterprises.
She is learning to trust him, open her own heart for love to
come in and stay true to who she is and how she is. She is not easy and he knows that and likes
that. He is a master mind though and
she is very smart too. They are
extremely well matched on sexual intimacy.
This is opening her up to her own body, her emotional rawness too and
this power. Most of all her strength is
her outspoken honesty.
She must learn to trust what she is feeling, open her eyes to
the past she touches into when she is with Dante’, and come into her true
self. She is a strong female and will go
through an awakening with this rare love relationship. He is her Twin soul mate love. A divine match this is in so many ways she is
yet to discover.
What genres are you drawn to as a
reader?
Fiction, Romance, Enchantment, Goth,
Historical Romance, Myths, Fantasy, and Vampire/Immortal and Dimensional
realities complicated sub plots, classical books, Regency Romance Good
Supernatural books and of course Fairy Tales.
I also enjoy Fan Fiction.
GOTHIC GATES
Chapter 1
Gothic Mansion Doors
It seemed a frightening
eternity that I just stood there facing the huge carved mansion door. I considered just leaving the parcel there
dashing back down the drive way to the safety of my car parked outside the
Gothic Gates. Not only was this place
like something out of a New Orleans horror story but it could be in England or
any other part of the world that had a misty bog creeping up around the
grounds. I did not dare to look over my
shoulder and was about to bolt when I heard footfalls coming to the front
door. I squared my shoulders with
holding the business card in hand with the package. I stood there facing the door to see who ever
I was going to pass this off to.
The door opened with a blast
of this parties music thundering into my ear drums circling my mind deadening
out my own thoughts. Something else
enveloped me as I felt dizzy with it all.
There stood a tall man with a masquerade painted mask on his face. I wondered for a second too long before
speaking. Chills ran up my spine as I
cleared my throat.
“Excuse me, I have a delivery
for ‘Dante’
Total silence.
“Excuse me, can you just sign
for this? Do you speak English?”
I stood there stumbling
holding the package wondering how to get this done. The house staff person spoke, maybe he
was a guest?
“Yes, I speak the Queen’s
English. Well, you will need to come in
and take this to him. Do you have some identification or business card with
you?”
He had an English accent with
perfect diction as I fumbled the card my hand was shaking. It is frightening to stand there in front of
someone wearing a mask. You never know
what is going on with who the person is or hiding their face. He took my courier card handing it back to me
promptly. “You will need to give this to
him in person yourself. That is how this
normally works. Let me show you to the
office.”
I was relieved to have that
done with and followed in the man wearing the mask. The party was in full swing with what I could see in the main room all wearing
elegant Gothic clothing and it showed like designer fashions. Masks were on all the guest I could see. He never gave me his name but directed me to
a room near the foyer that I assumed was the office where the host of the event
would be found. I looked inside as he
waived me to enter.
“Excuse me, where is Dante’?
“What is your name, the card
merely named the Courier Services? You
do have a name?”
“Ah, yes, of course,
Sam.” I could barely get my name out and
worse of all I gave him my shortened name.
I was not thinking clearly.
“Sam, you don’t look like a
Sam? I assume Samantha and your last
name is?”
“Yes of course, it is
Samantha Devon Huntington.” There I got
my name out. I looked around the office
realizing it had costumes along with ornate masquerade masks. I wondered were the office desk was.
“You sound like you may have
‘breeding’ in you. So you do have a
formal first name along with a middle name and family name. Do I know your family?”
“Why would you know my
family, I don’t even know who you are? I
am doing my friend a favor by dropping off the music tracks for this party that
were sent from the London Music Studio, Akashic-Records. Did I make a mistake, I can leave and see if
this was to go elsewhere?” Somehow my
fire kicked in as his attitude was beginning to irritate me. The rich and these parties that are Gothic in
nature were the rage all over England now and Europe. The house fit perfectly for this kind of
theme evening. I wondered to myself how
much this mansion rented out for this night’s event.
“Well, pick out something to
wear, plenty to choose from plus a mask.
All the guests hide their identity.
I will show you where he is then.”
He left the room. I was standing there again in shock. I was not getting into a costume to just
deliver this package. Who did he think
he was? The door opened and a woman
walked in about to look for something.
“Hello dearie, what is the
problem, can I help you find something, you seem lost?”
I took in a deep breath
feeling foolish standing there holding the package of music. “Well I am a courier delivery and was just
let in and he told me to pick out a costume to deliver the package to the
host. Really this is not what I had in
mind and it was to just deliver this.’ I
began rambling and felt out of place.
“It’s ok, the host has his
ways. Look let me help you dearie. Now what do you have on under your
clothes? Any sexy lingerie’?” She began rummaging through things grabbing
this and that.
I began to unbutton my blouse
realizing I was on some kind of ride to just get through this. Get the job done. Under my blouse I forgot I had on a black
long waisted strapless bra. She saw it
and smiled. I was really just numb with
this entire event.
“Good, that will work
perfectly. We are all wearing black, it
is so Goth you know.” Next thing I knew
she asked me to take off my Levi’s kicking off my shoes she searched for a tight
fitting slinky skirt. Slit up one long
side of it reminding me to slide off my panties.
“What do you mean take off my
panties? I just came to deliver this
package.”
Author R.M. Simone:
