Today I am thrilled to welcome the wonderful Stephanie Draven to A Journey of Books to promote the upcoming release of POISONED KISSES. Want a little romance? Looking for a little fantasy to spice up your reading? POISONED KISSES is the book you're looking for. It got my blood pounding from the first page and kept me reading all the way through.
When I encounter a really good book, I'm usually a little curious about the author that wrote it. A huge thanks to Ms. Draven for answering some questions that I posed her. Discussing her writing and her writing style, Ms. Draven gives us a little bit of insight into her world.
From Goodreads:
Daughter of the war god Ares, Kyra had been born into darkness—a darkness she'd vowed to annihilate. Just as she'd destroy the notorious Greek arms dealer Marco Kaisiris for feeding the bloodlust she despised. She'd use her nymph's carnal powers to seduce him, then slay him. But Kyra wasn't prepared for Marco's secret weapon.
For millennia Kyra had avoided mortal men, but she couldn't resist Marco's magnetism, his raw sexuality. Time and again his sculpted body took her to heights to which only the gods soared. That he was a shape-shifting hydra she could forgive, but not his one fatal flaw—his poisoned blood could kill her. Kyra had fallen for the only being who could destroy her…. Yet how could she spend eternity without him?
What was your inspiration for writing POISONED KISSES?
I’d have to say that it was Homer’s
Odyssey. Before you guffaw, let me explain! Here we have a quintessentially male story about one dude’s journey to return from a war he never wanted to fight in the first place. There’s lots of good reasons to root for Odysseus, including his abiding love for his wife Penelope. But along his series of adventures, he meets the nymph Calypso, who saves his life and takes him in. He becomes her lover, and in some versions of the story, has children with her. But in the end, she has to let him go.
I always found that to be profoundly sad, and wondered what the Greeks were trying to tell us. Was it a warning that women who get involved in adulterous affairs would suffer? I don’t think so. It has more to do with the fact that for the Greeks, nymphs represented everything they feared about the natural woman. She was powerful, she was independent, she was lustful and alluring. If not closeted away with her weaving like good little Penelope at the loom, women would naturally devolve into...bad girls.
So when I decided to write
Poisoned Kisses, I wanted to write a story about a very bad girl who, nonetheless, deserves love. Enter Kyra, my dark nymph of the underworld, whose tough exterior hides a deep vulnerability, and a soft heart.
Do you come across any snags or any roadblocks when writing it?
My biggest roadblock is that I chose a hero who is an arms dealer and I know nothing about weapons. I’m fortunate enough to have some close friends and relatives who are gun experts, otherwise I would’ve been completely lost.
What is your favorite aspect of POISONED KISSES?
I got to play with issues of identity. Both Marco and Kyra can take on the appearance of other people. They use their powers to fool one another several times. But when they both know what it's like to be known for themselves--truly known--they must let down all their defenses and disguises and figure out who they really are.
How are fans responding to your book?
The book doesn’t officially release until October 1st, but so far, so good!
What is it that you love about mythology?
Mythology are stories that we all share. Mythology is a cultural unifier that not only gives us a common understanding of our roots, but also tells us a great deal about our deepest fears and highest aspirations. I like to ask myself, ‘What chord did this story strike with the ancients that made people repeat it again and again, even before such stories were written down.’
Do you have a favorite myth? Something that seems to stick with you? Mine is a fairly obvious one - the story of Medusa; it's just such a sad story.
I’ve always had a special fondness for the story of Psyche and Cupid because it’s an ancient romance. It has all the elements! It’s also one of the few ancient myths that follows the journey of the heroine, not the hero.
As an aside, I should mention that like you, I also have a soft spot for Medusa, which is why I wrote the novella that appears at the back of
Poisoned Kisses. It’s entitled
Midnight Medusa, and re-imagines the gorgon myth. It’s actually the story that kicked off the
Mythica series in the first place!
What is your writing routine like? Do you do anything special to warm up, cool down or keep the story going?
I understand my fundamental strengths and weaknesses. I’m not a good writer; but I fancy myself as a good re-writer. Because of that, I try to get a first draft as fast as I can, knowing that I’ll go back and fix it later.
With your busy schedule, you must have some wonderful time management tricks. Care to share?
Oh, this is a terrible time to ask me that because all my time management tricks are failing me! I used to be the most organized person in any room. I had my Christmas shopping done months ahead, with plenty of time to sent out cards and bake special treats. My house was sparkly. Menus were planned, work was always complete before the deadline...but at the moment, its all chaos!
Our readers always like to know, what kind of books do you read or what authors do you like to read?
I love books that challenge me to think differently about something. I love controversial romances. I love edgy erotica and speculative fiction. I also love historical fiction. This probably accounts for my strange and eclectic list of favorite authors, including George R. R. Martin in fantasy, Margaret George in historical fiction, Laura Kinsale in romance, Megan Hart in erotica, and so on. (I want to name so many more, but the list would get very unwieldy.)
Are you working on any other projects currently?
I just finished up a third novella for the
Mythica series entitled
Siren Song. It should be out this winter. Later next year my novel about a mind-controlling minotaur in love will be coming out with Harlequin Nocturne. I still don’t have a title for that one yet. I’m told
Seduction of the Minotaur is already taken.
Anything else you'd like to share with our readers?
I’d just like to thank everyone for reading, and to let them know that I’m hosting a
virtual launch celebration for
Poisoned Kisses in which I’m giving away books and other free goodies. I’d love for folks to participate!
Stephanie Draven is currently a denizen of Baltimore, that city of ravens and purple night skies. She lives there with her favorite nocturnal creatures–three scheming cats and a deliciously wicked husband. And when she is not busy with dark domestic rituals, she writes her books.
Stephanie has always been a storyteller. In elementary school, she channeled Scheherazade, weaving a series of stories to charm children into sitting with her each day at the lunch table. When she was a little older, Stephanie scared all the girls at her sleepovers with ghost stories.
She should have known she was born to hold an audience in her thrall, but Stephanie resisted her writerly urges and graduated from college with a B.A. in Government. Then she went to Law School, where she learned how to convincingly tell the tallest tales of all!
A longtime lover of ancient lore, Stephanie enjoys re-imagining myths for the modern age. She doesn’t believe that true love is ever simple or without struggle so her work tends to explore the sacred within the profane, the light under the loss and the virtue hidden in vice. She counts it amongst her greatest pleasures when, from her books, her readers learn something new about the world or about themselves. Stephanie also writes historical fiction as Stephanie Dray and has a series of forthcoming novels from Berkley Books featuring Cleopatra’s daughter.
Find Stephanie Draven online:
Website //
Facebook //
Goodreads //
Twitter //
Blog
Other blogs in the tour include:
9/9/2010 - http://www.cafeofdreamsbookreviews.com - Cafe of Dreams
9/10/2010 - http://mindingspot.blogspot.com - Minding Spot
9/11/2010 - http://longlivechicklit.wordpress.com - Long Live the Lit
9/12/2010 - http://www.masoncanyon.blogspot.com - Thoughts in Progress
9/15/2010 - http://mybookaddictionandmore.wordpress.com - My Book Addiction and More!
9/16/2010 - http://cheekyreads.blogspot.com - Cheeky Reads
9/17/2010 - http://www.accessromance.com/blog/ - Access Romance
9/17/2010 - http://www.romancejunkies.com - Romance Junkies
9/18/2010 - http://www.cherrymischievous.com - Cherry Mischievous
9/19/2010 - http://cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com - Cheryl's Book Nook
9/20/2010 - http://dearauthor.com - Dear Author
9/21/2010 - http://fallingofftheshelf.blogspot.com - Falling Off The Shelf
9/23/2010 - http://myfoolishwisdom.blogspot.com - Book Junkie
9/24/2010 - http://www.eclecticbooklover.com - The Eclectic Book Lover
9/27/2010 - http://www.paranormalromanceblog.com - Paranormal Romance Blog
9/28/2010 - http://myoverstuffedbookshelf.blogspot.com - My Overstuffed Bookshelf
9/29/2010 - http://bittenbybooks.com - Bitten By Books
9/30/2010 - http://jmomfinds.amoores.com- Found Not Lost
10/1/2010 - http://romancedivas.com - Romance Divas
10/2/2010 - http://BecksBookPicks.blogspot.com - Beck's Book Picks
10/4/2010 - http://patricias-vampire-notes.blogspot.com - Patricia's Vampire Notes
10/5/2010 - http://annavivian.blogspot.com - Anna's Book Blog
10/6/2010 - http://www.dirtysexybooks.com - Dirty Sexy Books
10/6/2010 - http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com - Drey's Library
10/7/2010 - http://bridget3420.blogspot.com - Readaholic
10/7/2010 - http://www.vauxhallvixens.blogspot.com - Vauxhall Vixens
10/8/2010 - http://www.bookwenches.com - Book Wenches
10/12/2010 - http://www.longandshortreviews.com - Long and Short Reviews
10/13/2010 - http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com - Drey's Library
10/13/2010 - http://coffeetimeromance.com/CoffeeThoughts - Coffee Time Romance & More
10/16/2010 - http://www.pinkheartsociety.blogspot.com - Pink Heart Society
10/17/2010 - http://www.romancingthepage.com - Romancing The Page
10/23/2010 - http://myreadingroom-crystal.blogspot.com - My Reading Room
10/27/2010 - http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com - Drey's Library
. Apparently it must be my lucky month because she's back with a little bit of information about the scenery and majesty of China.
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Ready for my giveaway?
