Monday, October 6, 2014

Interview With Shauna Knight


 Shauna Aura Knight

An artist, author, and presenter, Shauna’s work is inspired by the mythic stories of heroes, of swords and magic, and of the darkness we each must overcome. She’s a fantasy artist and author of paranormal romance and urban fantasy including Werewolves in the Kitchen, A Winter Knight’s Vigil, and forthcoming A Fading Amaranth. Her mythic artwork and designs are used for magazine covers, book covers, and illustrations. She travels nationally offering intensive education in the transformative arts of community leadership, facilitation, and personal transformation, and is the author of numerous articles and books on those subjects. 


INTERVIEW WITH SHAUNA


What is the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done? 
I’ve helped build a pipe bomb, climbed through steam tunnels under a university, and pulled a twelve-inch piece of glass out of my hand from an art project gone wrong…but probably the biggest leap I have ever taken was when I divorced my first husband and moved out into the rural Ozarks in Missouri to live at a retreat center. I lived in a cabin with no running water and went from being a graphic design consultant in downtown Chicago to being a land maintenance grunt.

What adventure would you like to have that you haven’t done yet if money and skill were no problem?
Aside from visiting a few hundred of the British megaliths, I’d want to go to some of the megalithic sites and other archaeological sites located in more dangerous areas. Puma Punku, the pyramids, Naptha Playa, Takt-i-taqudis…lots of cool stuff out there.

Who are some of your favorite authors?  What commonality do you see in them? 
Emma Holly, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Angela Knight, Jory Strong, Anne McCaffrey, Guy Gavriel Kay, Janny Wurts. The first few write erotic paranormal romance, the rest write epic fantasy, but they all are masters of evoking a powerful world. Anne McCaffrey’s my favorite author, particularly her book Moreta.

If you could have a do-over life, what one thing would you do differently?  What would you do again?
There are definitely a couple of relationships I’d have ended sooner instead of trying to “fix” the unfixable. What I’d do again is rediscover dancing at a drum jam at the Renaissance Faire.

What is your all-time favorite movie?  TV show?
It would have to be a tie between Return of the Jedi and The Dark Crystal, but I’m also a big fan of a lot of 80’s fantasy movies. One of my favorite TV shows is Farscape.

If you could learn one new skill, fear and money no deterrent, what would it be?
Sword fighting and a martial art like Kung Fu.

If you had a million dollars to donate to any one charity, what would it be?
That’s a tough call! I’d likely go with an environmental charity, since the problems we’re creating in our environment are going to cause the diseases and social justice problems of the future.

What advice would you like to give to an aspiring writer?
Write. Write more. Find someone to read your work and give you feedback. Finish what you’re writing, and then submit it. You can’t get published if you don’t finish what you’re writing.

If you could live anywhere in the world you wanted to, where would it be? (Language is no barrier)
Probably the British Isles for a time; I’d love to go visit a lot of the megaliths like Stonehenge. I’m fascinated by what our ancient ancestors built out of stone!

What is a genre that you have not attempted that you would like to try?
I have written in pretty much every speculative fiction genre, I just haven’t had those stories published yet. I currently write paranormal romance and urban fantasy, but I’m working up some epic fantasy and sci-fi/space opera stories. I can’t wait to get those finished up!


Giveaway:
Comment about your favorite aspects of paranormal romance in order to win a free copy of Werewolves in the Kitchen or A Winter Knight’s Vigil.




Logline
After a hot, wild night with Jake and Kyle, Ellie finds herself in the dangerous world of shapeshifter magic. Will their love be enough?

Blurb
When Ellie moved to the SpiralStone retreat center to figure out her life, she expected peace, quiet, and spiritual practice. She had no idea that the two sexy men running the kitchen would seduce her…much less at the same time. Kyle and Jake turn out to be wilder than they seem and Ellie finds herself wrapped up in devastating magic. She must choose: stay with Jake and Kyle and risk who she has been, accepting the dangerous world of shapeshifters? Or leave them and risk madness, or worse?

Excerpt
“Do you want us to stop?” Jake murmured. Ellie shook her head, gasping when Kyle kissed her neck. Jake stroked her cheek and kissed her lips gently at first, and when she moaned he pulled her closer. Kyle lapped at her neck, nipping now, slipping his hands over her breasts, and Jake was making love to her mouth with deep velvet strokes of his tongue.

She moaned weakly feeling Kyle behind her, his hard heat rubbing against her buttocks, and felt Jake in front of her, pulling her close against his hips. Kyle slipped his fingers into her shirt to tease at her nipples, and she leaned back against him, bucking into his touch. Kyle drew the straps of her cami-top down even as Jake started dragging her shirt up.

She pulled back to breathe, and Jake stroked her cheek, nibbling at the other side of her neck. “Guys…I need a shower….”

Kyle chuckled, lifting his head. “Not like we haven’t been baking in our own juices; we can take care of that. Come with us.”

“Come with you?”

“To our room,” Jake whispered into her ear, and she moaned, closing her eyes. “Come on,” they urged, drawing her to the stairs.

“But…I…” Ellie shook her head. “Why now?” Kyle turned her to face him.

“We both wanted you, but we didn’t want to scare you.”

“I saw you watching us. Don’t you desire us?”

“Oh yes, but I thought you two were...that is…didn’t think you’d want….”

Kyle kissed her deeply. “I want you. Jake wants you. We’ve been trying not to crowd you, but well…”

“You didn’t seem to get our signals.” Jake sucked hard on her neck.

“I just thought you were being nice.”

“Oh we were being nice,” Kyle grinned. “We’re going to be nicer. Come on.”


To buy Werewolves in the Kitchen:
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/398121


5 comments:

Sarah J. McNeal said...

Shauna, I loved your interview. You've certainly lived a full life and, intuitively, I think you've learned some deeply spiritual lessons along the way.
I wish I had artistic ability. I like attempting it anyway, but I enjoy and appreciate the art of others like you. How rewarding it must be to create book covers.
You are so right about world building being such an important element when creating a fantasy story. Because the world is so different, making it believable is a priority. I am a fan of Avatar.
I'm so glad you agreed to do this interview for The Romance Room and I wish you continued success and happiness with all you do.

Unknown said...

Good excerpt and cover Shanuna. It sounds as if you have had an interesting life so far. I also would like to try my hand at sword fighting. good luck with your newest book.

Shauna Aura said...

Thanks very much for hosting me! I really enjoy doing interviews like this. They always make me think. :D

I do indeed enjoy doing my own covers; in fact, I've been designing book covers for books I haven't yet finished as a way to motivate myself.

As for swordfighting, I think that would be pretty cool to try! :)

tlryder said...

Great interview! I also love the cover art. It's so golden and sensual and mysterious. The title appeals to my quirky sense of humor, too.

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