An Interview with Bianca D'Arc
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This month Bianca D'Arc has taken time out of her very busy schedule to talk with us about her new books, upcoming releases, and more! Thank you Bianca, for your time!
Question 1: You have proven to be an extremely prolific writer, with many frequent book releases this year alone. How long have you been writing? Bianca 1: It feels like I’ve been writing my entire life. I started writing as a teen and kept writing steadily, mostly for my own amusement, to the present day. Even when I’m working full-time, you can usually find me typing away late at night on my current WIP, just for fun. To answer your question in a more quantitative way… I’ve been writing erotic romance for the past two years. I started writing this specific genre after discovering ebooks. I tore through a hundred or more erotic romances and decided I’d probably found my niche. This was the kind of story I liked best and could never seem to find in paperbacks. I love futuristic and solid sci fi stories with a sexy edge. I also love epic fantasy where they don’t gloss over how the hero and heroine wind up “happily ever after.” Question 2: Your novels encompass a wide range of genres – Fantasy, Sci-fi, Paranormal. Do you have a particularly favorite genre to write in? (If so) What makes that genre your favorite? Are there any genres you haven’t yet tackled but would like to? Bianca 2: Right now I’d have to say my favorite sub-genre is sci fi/futuristic romance. That’s probably because of my science background and the fact I’ve always been a fan of sci fi. I ran a laboratory for a number of years early in my career, then changed paths when I hit grad school. I love the idea of what we humans might achieve in the future and how with all our advancements, the desire and need for love between us remains constant. I also enjoy paranormal romance because in my paranormal worlds, I always seem to have a bit of science in there to speculate on how these anomalies were created and continue to exist. Fantasy has also always been a favorite, since I first read Tolkien as a teen. Those are the main sub-genres I write in, but I tend to mix and match a bit. As for a genre I haven’t tried and would like to: I’d like to write more contemporary stories, but somehow I always end up putting in paranormal or fantasy elements. Maybe one of these days I’ll be able to write a straight contemporary and keep the psychics, shapeshifters and fantastical creatures safely tucked away… but don’t count on it. Question 3: Your website includes several fun extras for your readers, including puzzles, character profiles for each novel, and now movie trailers. Have the movie trailers been fun to make? Can we expect a trailer for each new release? Bianca 3: I hope so! I like doing the trailers, but they are a lot of work to get just right. I like finding things to make my site more fun and interesting for visitors, and welcome comments and suggestions. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed what I have up so far. I personally love puzzles, so I’ll probably continue to do them for each new cover. I want to try to expand a bit on the character profiles as well. I’m working on a journal, written “by” one of my characters that should be ready shortly, as a matter of fact. The little movies will come along as I have time to construct them. My site changes in little ways all the time, so stay tuned! Question 4: Your website is well-laid out, with an eye-pleasing design in a non-cluttered environment, making it easy for readers to find what they need on your site. Do you work on your website yourself? Bianca 4: I love hearing that! Yes, I do all my website stuff myself at this point. I write the code and do almost all the graphics. It’s a learning experience for me as I try to find the right balance between too much clutter and not enough information to keep folks entertained. Question 5: Where do you find inspiration for your stories? Bianca 5: All over the place. I’m a people-watcher. Sometimes I’ll see a guy at the mall who might inspire a scene in my mind, or I might see a couple walking along that does the same. Sometimes I just ask myself “what if?” and expand upon that, and sometimes it’s just daydreaming while I’m driving along the road that morphs into a scene and then into a full-blown story. Question 6: No matter the genre, your stories seem to share some much-appreciated commonalities: strong, alpha-male type leading men paired with gentle women with tremendous strength of character and a purity of the soul. Are these archetypes modeled after yourself or people in your own life or are they simply composites of the traits you admire? Bianca 6: I’d have to say they’re composites of the people in my own life who I admire. Many of my relatives served in the armed forces as officers, some as special operators. They are leaders among men with strength of character and a sense of honor that you don’t find very often today. I admire that kind of man. They possess the intangible qualities that are so important – honor, loyalty, honesty, etc. As for my heroines, they’re the kind of woman I aspire to be. I guess you’d call me a “career woman.” I’ve done the executive thing and have dealt with high rollers and captains of industry. The one thing I’ve learned is that you don’t have to be a bitch to get ahead. You can still be a lady and manage to get your point across. I like female characters who retain their femininity while expressing their intellect and other abilities. I studied martial arts during most of my youth and know that small people can be mighty and those who can truly knock you flat on your ass don’t have to run around acting like they can. Question 7: Who are your favorite authors? Are there one or two in particular who have motivated your aspirations as a writer? Bianca 7: Suzanne Brockmann is one of my absolute favorites! I also really enjoy the SF&F of Elizabeth Moon, Margaret Weiss, and Barbara Hambly. I’d have to say the most influential on my life in general has been J.R.R. Tolkein. I first read his works when I was a young teen and from The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, my tastes ran to other SF&F as I grew up. I started reading romance in high school and just discovered ebooks about a year or two ago. Now I read ebooks almost exclusively and have so many favorite new authors I can’t even begin to name them all! Question 8: Your ‘Dragon Knights’ series has been an unequivocal hit with fans! How many books do you currently have planned for the series? Bianca 8: I’d planned to stop at four, but the storyline surprised me and I’d like to write a few more to resolve some of the over-arcing issues relating to the war and conflict between the lands. Book 4, Prince of Spies, introduces some amazing characters (the Jinn Brotherhood) that I just had to explore further, so I’m in the middle of writing Book 5 right now and have plans for one or two more after that. One of them may be a dimension-travel tale that lands a dragon-shifter or two in our dimension. Question 9: You have two different stories being released on October 31, 2006: Lords of the Were, and Phantom Desires which will be published in the anthology Vamprotica 2006. What can you tell us about these new books? Bianca 9: Lords of the Were is a full-length novel. It’s a contemporary paranormal ménage starring twin alpha werewolves who are the leaders of all werecreatures for their generation. Various other kinds of characters are involved, including a half-fey knight, a brooding vampire, magic users and a few other surprises. Phantom Desires is a novella and is also a contemporary paranormal, but this is the story of a vampire who finds his mate in an unexpected way. Seems a new owner has purchased a farm in the middle of nowhere. Just one problem, a vampire’s lair lies directly beneath her new home. She will either come to terms with the vampire…or die. Question 10: You’ve had quite a year, with several books being released very recently. Do you plan to take vacation time soon, or does your muse allow for such luxuries? Bianca 10: Well, I write pretty much all the time. Sometimes it flows more easily than others. It’s not like work for me. It’s something I love to do. If the muse hits, I just go with the flow. If not, well, I’m not going to push it. I’m considering letting things settle a bit so my schedule can be a little more manageable. I’m not certain how that’s going to work out yet, but we’ll see. Chances are, I’ll just keep chugging along. As long as people want to read my work and other folks want to publish it, I’ll keep writing it! Question 11: Can you give us some tidbits concerning what you are working on now? Bianca 11: I always have several things going at once. I recently started a sequel to Ezekiel. This is the story of his ‘brother’ Michael and it’s very hot. Michael and his executive officer, Leah, have to go undercover to infiltrate the jit’suku pirate stronghold and action, romance and love ensue. I’ve also been working on a prequel and a later story set in this same universe. I don’t have any target dates to finish any of this, or any publishers lined up, so it’ll coast along until inspiration strikes, I suppose. I’m also about half-way done with a sequel to Hara’s Legacy (coming next year from Samhain). It’s called Davin’s Quest and it follows the story of one of the aliens who is doing his best to understand humanity, and the phenomenon known as love. Question 12: Have you always known you wanted to be a writer? What career(s) did you have before you became a full-time writer? Bianca 12: Well, I’ve always written, even when I was working in other professions. I started my career in a laboratory, then went to grad school for something completely different. I worked as an executive in Manhattan for a number of years, until burn-out struck in a big way. Since then I’ve been working as a consultant for large companies and writing most of the time. Making my own schedule and working from home finally allowed me the freedom to submit my work for publication and the rest, as they say, is history. Question 13: What advice would you give an aspiring writer? Bianca 13: Write, write and write some more! Also, read a lot. I learn a lot from reading and from observing successful writers. Writing organizations like RWA (Romance Writers of America) can be very helpful if you’ve got a supportive local group, so checking them out is probably a good idea. But the main thing is to write. Question 14: Out of the books you’ve written, do you have a favorite book or a favorite character? Bianca 14: I have a few favorites… I really love Lars from Maiden Flight, probably because he’s the strong, silent type. He doesn’t get a lot of dialog in the book, but he’s such a powerful presence in the background. I also really love Prince Nico from Prince of Spies (he makes appearances in Border Lair and The Ice Dragon). As for non-human characters, I absolutely love Tor, the Ice Dragon. He’s mighty, but vulnerable and maybe as he grows up over the next books, I might give him a dragon girlfriend of his own. I also really love the female juvenile dragon I’ve been writing in Book 5 of Dragon Knights. Her name is Jenet and she’s so steadfastly loyal, even in the face of her knight’s stupidity. You just have to love her patience and her willingness to forgive. Question 15: You have quite an impressive list of hobbies and interests: martial arts, playing the guitar, shopping, painting, skiing, and road trips. With as many books as you write, when do you find time for them all? Bianca 15: I travel a lot and shop everywhere I go. I play my guitar whenever time permits, but I have to admit, some of my other favorite pastimes have given way to my writing habit just lately. I’m currently setting up a new studio for my artistic hobbies including painting and sculpting. When it’s done I plan to spend quite a bit of time there, creating to my heart’s content, but right now I just don’t have enough space for all my interests, though I do try to keep up. Question 16: You list painting as one of your hobbies. Can we expect to see your own artwork on the cover of one of your novels some day? Bianca 16: Well, some of my digital “art” is already gracing the covers of One & Only, Rare Vintage, Ezekiel, Phantom Desires and Warrior’s Heart. Some of my publishers have been kind enough to let me try my hand at creating covers and I’ve been steadily learning more and more about “painting” with pixels. I’d also love to do some down and dirty old fashioned, painted art for a cover someday, but don’t have anything in the works right now. Question 17: What single word would you use to describe yourself? What single word would your friends & family use to describe you? Bianca 17: Eclectic. What would friends call me? Probably a little crazy. Question 18: You have such an engaging personality in your chats, and in your communications with fans in your Yahoo Group. Are you just as outgoing in person? Bianca 18: Wow! That’s so nice of you to say! I really hope I’m as outgoing as you think I am. I do tend to talk a lot and love to talk to strangers. I really like learning about different people and where they’re coming from. I’m a people-watcher by nature and talking to folks from different places and backgrounds is probably a natural extension of that. Question 19: Bianca, thank you so much for your time. For our last question, please tell us anything more you’d like to share with your fans that we haven’t already asked. Bianca 19: I’d just like to thank you for taking the time to interview me. It really means a lot. I’m still at the stage of my writing “career” where I’m sort of amazed that people really read and enjoy my books. I’m flattered, honored and humbled by the outpouring of friendship, enthusiasm and acceptance I feel daily from the people I’ve met through my books. Thank you all and thanks especially to Jennifer for conducting this interview. Please visit Bianca's website and find out even more about her wonderful books! Read reviews of Bianca's books: Dragon Knights Book 1: Maiden Flight Dragon Knights Book 2: Border Lair Dragon Knights Book 3: The Ice Dragon Brotherhood of Blood: Tales of the Vampire Book 1: One & Only Brotherhood of Blood: Tales of the Vampire Book 2: Rare Vintage Lords of the Were (coming soon!) - The book will be released October 31 from Samhain Publishing Phantom Desires in the anthology Vamprotica 2006 (coming soon!) - The book will be released October 31 from Lady Aibell Press Interviewed by
Jennifer |