I’m so excited that
Kathleen Cheney offered to stop by today and answer a few questions about her
novels, writing romance, and the fantasy genre.
Hi, Kathleen. DREAMING
DEATH, the first novel in your new Palace
of Dreams series, comes out February 2.
Can you tell us a little about how the fantasy aspects of the novel make
the main character’s romance particularly difficult? Does it also serve to
bring them together?
If
you've looked at the blurb for the book, the very format hints that there's a
romance in this book.
The
culture Mikael comes from forbids adults from interacting with children unless
necessary. Even then, it's supposed to be supervised. Among his people there are sensitives--people
who pick up the emotions of others--and it's well known that it's easier to
sway a child's mind than an adult's.
Shironne
Anjir, although she's seventeen and of marriageable age among her own people,
is still technically considered a child by his people. In addition, Mikael is a
broadcaster, a person who specializes
in pushing his will on others. The older players in this story have kept them
apart for years now to protect her.
But
we learn as we go through the book that there's an aspect of fate about this
whole relationship, and their talents dovetail together, giving them added
ability as a pair to hunt down killers, so in the end, they're put together
just to stop this one series of crimes....
Other than the main
characters, are there other romances in DREAMING DEATH? If so, do the fantasy
elements in the novel affect their relationship as well?
I can't resist that. In
the short story where Shironne first meets Colonel Cerradine ("Touching
the Dead", available free on my website
HERE ), he
also gets his first glimpse of her mother, Savelle Anjir. She's the wife of a
local politician, but he immediately sees that it's not a happy marriage. As
she's the half-sister of one of his closest friends, he interferes a bit ,
making her situation more bearable.
But by the time the
novel has started, Shironne's father is dead in less than noble circumstances
(stabbed by his mistress), and Savelle Anjir is a widow who has firm ideas how
she wants to live once she emerges from mourning. So….maybe there's something there.
That's all I'll say at this point.
In THE SHORES OF SPAIN,
the last novel in your Golden City series, your main characters are married.
How do the paranormal elements in your novel effect their situation and
relationship?
In
the third novel, some of the focus switches away from Oriana and Duilio to
Joaquim and Marina. Marina doesn't have nearly the talent for calling that her
sister does, but she can use her limited talent in a subtler way, to bind a man
to her. It's more protective than anything else, intended to keep other sereia
from swaying his will, but having that binding laid on him is vital for Joaquim when he falls under
the control of some sereia with evil intentions.
Okay. How about an easy
question? Open or closed-door sex, which do you prefer to write? Do you have
the same preference when reading?
Closed
door! I was talking to a writer friend
recently (who writes sex quite easily) and told her that my hands seem to
freeze over the keyboard when it comes to writing anything graphic. I suppose
it's my upbringing coming through, but I struggle to write much beyond mere
kissing!
I
read just about anything, although if there's not a lot of emotional depth to
the sex scene, I'm likely to skim over it. I'm really more interested in the
intimate feelings than the intimate actions. Also, if the sex simply sounds
painful or unappetizing, I'll pass. (I
can think of a lot of writers who write excellent sex scenes, by the way, ones
that carry a lot of emotions. And I will reread those a couple of times.)
Thank you so much
Kathleen! I can’t wait to get my hands on DEATH DREAMING!
Blurb:
Shironne
Anjir's status as a sensitive is both a gift and a curse. Her augmented senses
allow her to discover and feel things others can’t, but her talents come with a
price: a constant assault of emotions and sensations has left her blind.
Determined to use her abilities as best she can, Shironne works tirelessly as
an investigator for the Larossan army.
A
member of the royal family's guard, Mikael Lee also possesses an overwhelming
power—he dreams of the deaths of others, sometimes in vivid, shocking detail,
and sometimes in cryptic fragments and half-remembered images.
But
then a killer brings a reign of terror to the city, snuffing out his victims
with an arcane and deadly blood magic. Only Shironne can sense and interpret
Mikael’s dim, dark dreams of the murders. And what they find together will lead
them into a nightmare...
Bio:
J.
Kathleen Cheney taught mathematics ranging from 7th grade to Calculus, but gave
it all up for a chance to write stories. Her novella "Iron Shoes" was
a 2010 Nebula Award Finalist. Her novel,
The Golden City was a Finalist for
the 2014 Locus Awards (Best First Novel). Dreaming
Death will be the first in a new series, the Palace of Dreams Novels.
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