 Lex Valentine |
We’d like to welcome Lex Valentine to our interview blog this week. A very talented author, Lex joined us recently. Her works include the two sizzling shape shifter stories Mating and Runaways. She also has a short story in our sister site’s soon-to-be-release Weirdly 3 anthology.
Welcome, Lex.
FB: Mating and Runaways are two hot (and I do mean hot) shape shifter tales. What is it about shape shifters that makes you want to write about them?
Lex: I love that they can express their animalistic side. They scent their mates. They’re very possessive. They cut through all the crap to take what they want. They are earthy and unhampered by culture when it comes to sex and love and mates. As a writer, that type of character frees you and your imagination.
FB: Of the two heroes/brothers, do you have one you prefer over the other? Roul or Ranulf?
Lex: You know, I don’t prefer one more than the other. The reason is that despite the fact that they are twins, they are not identical nor are they alike in personality. There are some basic things that are the same – they’re both intelligent, loyal, ethical, driven men who feel strong emotion and aren’t afraid to show it. Roul the Alpha is bound by conventionality and is hampered by feelings of responsibility to his pack, his brother, and now his mate Morgan. Ran the Beta is more willing to do the unconventional, buck the system, be wild. Running away to New York with his mate Dante appeals to him. Even the fact that his mate is a vampire and not a werewolf speaks to the kind of man Ranulf is. For all that Morgan is a very capable woman who can best Roul on a number of fronts, she has a lot of ingrained fears, and she needs him. Roul is a man who needs to be needed. You just can’t choose between the Verlaine brothers.
 Mating by Lex Valentine |
FB: The two heroines are strong women in their own right. (They must be stand up to the males.) Do they share any traits with each other and/or you? (grin)
Lex: Both women are strong but in different ways. They also have one really important thing in common – inner fears. Dante is less confident than Morgan, but she’s not afraid to stand up to Roul. She’s breaking free of her family and discovering who she really is, spreading her wings for the first time. Morgan is a kick ass (literally) heroine but a lifetime of being a lone wolf has left her with some issues. Both women have a deep need to belong and be loved for who she truly is. Both long for a man who accepts her, protects her, but lets her fly free. I think every strong woman wants that for herself. I do find myself empathizing with both heroines in some ways. Dante wanting to run away from her family – sometimes my family drives me nuts, and I wish I could run away! LOL Morgan feels alone and isolated, a feeling I get sometimes because I spend so much time working.
FB: Do you relate more to any one of these four characters than any of the others?
Lex: Probably Roul. I’m responsible for my family. My DH has had issues. My kid has issues. I’m the one who has to be strong and make everything work, fix everything and keep things going. I feel the weight of my responsibilities for all my jobs very keenly. Like Roul, I just get tired and want a break away from it all. He enjoyed himself tremendously just being with Morgan in NYC without his life weighing him down. I wish I could do that.
FB: Do you prefer one of these stories over the other?
Lex: Runaways is an older story, and I love how they come together so quickly, but really Mating is such a tight story that I can’t help but like it more. I feel like it’s the best thing I’ve ever written.
FB: Do you write in other genres as well?
Lex: I do! I have a contemporary short story out and a contemporary Christmas story. I’ve just finished a ghost story. I have an urban fantasy in the works as well as a few more contemporary holiday stories coming. And I have my dark tale in Weirdly 3! That was a blast to write. I love dark, weird tales – not horror so much but strange Twilight Zone-ish stories. Writing Ain’t Nuthin’ But a Hellhound gave me the chance to do a piece without a HEA, without sex scenes, with some violence, and a very strong heroine who gains strength as the story moves along.
 Runaways by Lex Valentine |
FB: Will we see any of the characters from these books in any others?
Lex: I do have plans for a Watchers series of shorts based on Runaways and Mating. Watcher’s is the name of Morgan’s agency in Mating. I’ve been thinking of going back to tell Joey and Angel’s story. If you read Mating, you’ll know they are the empath team that Morgan sent to watch Ran and Dante. After that, perhaps Ran’s best friend Griffin’s story.
FB: Do you have anything else in the works?
Lex: I always do! My plate’s overflowing all the time! LOL I have a lot of commitments for other publishers that take me out to the end of the year. I’ve got 2 subs out currently, a novel due Nov 1 for my Tales series, three Christmas stories due, and a short contemporary piece for a new project due in January. I’ll probably start Watchers in January 2010.
Now for some fun questions:
FB: What about writing life/being an author took you by surprise?
Lex: The fact that I’ve been so driven since I started down the path to being published a year ago shocks me. I’ve always been sort of a procrastinator with stuff. I’m really driven with this though. Oh, and being a bestseller. Having two bestsellers with stars at ARe is amazing. I pinch myself everyday, I swear!
FB: Where did your journey as a writer begin?
Lex: As a kid I would write poetry and make up stories in my head. By my teens, I was writing constantly. In my twenties, I wrote a contemporary novel longhand and started building what is now the Darkworld, the world where most of my paranormal stories, including Mating and Runaways, is set.
FB: If you could be any man, living or dead, who would you want to be? Why?
Lex: Man? Richard Branson, hands down. The man is amazing. He’s always trying new things, always gives away money to charity and those who need it, always strives to work hard, play hard and enjoy life. He’s good to his employees and he owns Necker Island which I drool over. LOL
FB: Buffy, Sookie Stackhouse, or any one of the Charmed ones? Which these famous vampire/demon hunters do you share the most characteristics with? And what are the characteristics?
Lex: You’re gonna laugh, but it’s none of the above. I never got into Buffy. Sookie Stackhouse left me yawning. Couldn’t get into those books either. Charmed… I watched a few but it just didn’t grab me. I’m not a good TV watcher unless it’s CNN, Speed Channel, ESPN, TVG, Weather Channel. Anderson Cooper… rawr! You gotta love a man who comes from a background like his and who can laugh at himself on camera in front of the world. I adore him.
FB: Any last words? Um, for the interview, that is. (grin)
Lex: Well, fans should check my site for info on what I’m working on. Or they can come by Sunlight Sucks, my personal blog. I post Marcus Schenkenberg every Marcus Monday and babble about my life and friends. They are also welcome to follow me on Twitter where I’m lexvalentine or join Avoid Writer’s Hell, the writers Yahoo group led by Faith Bicknell-Brown. I’m always doing the writing exercises there so you get to see some of my mad genius in action.
Thanks for having me, Marci! It was a lot of fun!
To find out more about Lex, visit her website.
Freya’s Bower Books by Lex Valentine:
Mating by Lex Valentine |
Runaways by Lex Valentine |