Welcome
to Craving Erotic Romance Blogspot’s Scintillating Monday Interview.
Today
we’re presenting Author: Nena Duran!
1)
Have you always wanted to be an author? Yes, since I was a little
girl and read my first Grimm Fairy Tales. I was transported to all this
magnificent places with amazing characters. Later in junior high I discovered
Corin Tellado Secretos del Corazon. She was Spain’s version of Barbara
Cartland. I was a teen full of hormones and no one around me compared to the
guys I met through those stories. Talking about setting high standards!! (A
little side note: I went to Amazon and found Corin Tellado there!!) But the bug
really bit me after reading H.G. Wells Time Machine. I can say that this was
the turning point for me. After that, nothing but Sci-fi would satisfy my
hunger…until I found Sci-fi romance/erotica!!!
2) What genre(s) do you write? I
write Sci-fi (erotica) and Supernatural (erotica).
3) Have you ever self published? No, but I’m considering the
possibility.
4) Who or what inspired you to
write your first book? My love of everything Sci-fi especially shows like
Star Trek, Stargate, Firefly and Farscape. I wanted to be able to create my own
corner of the universe where the fantastical met science. My journey through
the twin galaxies has just begun and it’s turning into a very interesting
adventure. I hope more people join me as the Protectorate struggles to bring
peace. In the Kataru I’ve taken Sumerian history and laced it with fantasy in a
re-tale of supernatural beings torn apart by greed.
5) How many hours in a day might
you write? Week days I only reread and tweak things I’ve written during the
weekend. I work ten hours a day so it’s hard to come home at night and
concentrate. I don’t kid when I say my brain is completely fried by the end of
the day. Weekends I write for ten hours or so depending on what my hubby and I
have plan for the day. He’s a very patient man! Typing fast also helps and once
I’m in “the zone” things flow really fast.
6) Are you a plotter or a pantser? I’m very OCD and control freak so I
like to plan ahead. I’ve created an Excel table called “Plot Developer”. Each
book has a tab with the working title. They’re arranged by sequential order. The
table include names, physical descriptions, affiliations, weapons, role in
plot, etc. Sometimes though when I’m writing or sleeping a character speaks up
and tells me no, that’s not how it happened (they like to keep secrets from
me). One of the most annoying is Doyle (from the Kataru). He keeps popping up
insisting I write his story.
“Hey luv when are ya
gonna tell me story?” Doyle whispers in his toe curling Irish accent.
“Shut up Doyle, no
jodas.” I yell back in my annoyed Puerto Rican accent.
7)
Do you ever find yourself slipping away and becoming so immersed in your story
it affects how you relate to others? All the time! When I’m writing I
become part of the story. Sometimes I act out scenarios in my head not
realizing my facial expressions are running the gamut. Coworkers often ask me
if everything is okay. What can I say? I’m sad because a fictional character
died inside my head? Is like been possessed by all these people and the only
way to exorcised them is by writing them out of my life. A word of caution:
once their story’s been told, some may linger around because they still have
“unresolved issues.”
8) Are you in any of your books? Aspects of my personality are written
in every character (male and female). They do and say things I’d like to
sometimes. I think every author inserts themselves in their stories without
even realizing it. In real life I’m very outspoken and extroverted so it helps
when I’m writing about a strong female POV.
9) What do your friends and family
have to say about you writing? My son and daughter love it. My son designed
my logo and we’re planning to do a graphic novel based on the Protectorate Wars
in the future. My daughter and son-in-law help me set up my website. They’re
the ones who help me figure out the internet thingy. My husband is very
supportive. A couple of close friends know about my writing and they’re also
very encouraging and loving. I’m lucky that way.
10) Please
share an excerpt from your book that totally spoke to you when you put the
words down on paper.
From: Protectorate Wars book 2: Gigi
I called this scene “Gigi speech.” She stood in front of the entire
council and passionately defended her mate. I curled into a ball and cried like
a baby afterwards.
“Who the hell do you think you are to
question his allegiance? My mate is an honorable warrior, not a traitor hiding
in the shadows. His unselfish efforts aided the Protectorate and Pendo’rah
countless times. Where were you when he sacrificed himself to save the Q’alor?
Would you have taken the pain he endured without breaking, without losing your
soul? It’s easy to look down on people from your high perch. You think of
warriors as disposable things to throw away when they no longer work. You speak
of honor and loyalty yet you condemn those who fight to keep you safe. If not
for him, the Kreeh-nosh would’ve taken over my world and many more. While you
dined and feasted with your loved ones, he was strapped to machines and
tortured by T’zaal. While you lived in the lap of luxury, he endured pain and hunger
so you wouldn’t. What gives you the freaking right to cast insults at him or my
children? It’s you who has no honor, Lady Tril’cya. It’s you who desecrates
your daughter’s memory. Her sacrifice is rendered meaningless by your hateful
words. I’d rather die than live in a place where one is judged not by the
merits of their actions but by one’s appearance. You might see him as nothing
but grotesque, but that warrior you see standing before you has given more to
Pendo’rah than all of you combined. Even now he stands in front of you willing
to put his honor on the line for the sake of peace. My mate might not look like
the warrior he once was, but his loyalty is unshakable. I’ll tell you what he
isn’t. He isn’t a mindless beast programmed to serve the Kreeh-nosh. Our
children aren’t unclean. They’re the fruit of deep, real love. Don’t you ever disrespect
him like that again.”
11) Which actor/character(s) would play the
starring roles?
Briq/Bah-Troy –Tom
Hiddleston (because no one can play the tortured hero better).
Gigi Allen- A read
headed Elle Fanning (she had an ethereal quality about her that’s perfect.
Find Nena on-
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