Author Interview: Skhye Moncrief

The Basics
– Skhye Moncrief
– Brand: Fall in love beyond this reality…
– Genre(s): Paranormal (Light & Dark, Fantasy Romance)
– Publisher(s): The Wild Rose Press

To Other Authors

– What are the three MOST important pieces of advice you would give to a brand new author?

• 1. Never give up.

• 2. Decode the writing lingo you hear like stilted, contrived, etc.

• 3. Never look a gift horse in the mouth. I, personally, found something of value in everyone’s criticism. You just have to look for the gems. Or I studied geology way too long!

– What’s your favorite way to advertise?

• It’s too expensive—RT magazine. So, I go with elbow grease on the internet—contests, excerpts, blog features, etc. Even if you’re shy, you can do this. Lurk on writer/reader loops and jump on promo opportunities.

– What hard-knock lesson did the publishing world teach you (can be your own experience or someone else’s that you learned from)?

• To be patient. LOL. I so am NOT. I do everything half-arse backward.

For the Readers

– What are you reading, if anything, at the moment?

• SAY YOU’RE ONE OF THEM by Uwen Akpan. The writing is amazing. And it’s an incredible glimpse into African life. Or I studied anthropology longer than I studied geology! This happens to be the first book I saw on Oprah’s Reading List and read the excerpt… I ran to the store to buy a copy!

– Do you prefer ebooks or print for your reading pleasure?

• I love keeping my print books forever. You know. Up on my shelves where I can take them down and pet them. (Renee Note: I’m the same way.) But owning my e-reader is like being gifted an unfathomable amount of freedom to the one creature on this planet that despises change, stubborn humans. I have carpal tunnel and tinnitus in my wrists, fibromyalgia in my upper back and neck, and a 4 year old. Let’s just say one little gizmo in my purse is the only way I get to read anything anymore. I wouldn’t trade my e-Reader for anything. So, I’m reading all sorts of shorts I couldn’t read before e-Reader… Anyone listening, think William Wallace being disemboweled screaming “FREEDOM!” That was me fighting the change from paper to pixels. But then life was so pleasant thereafter.

– Name three of your all-time-favorite, read-them-over-and-over books.

• Bet you won’t guess these: MM Kaye’s THE FAR PAVILLIONS, Jennifer Roberson’s LADY OF THE GLEN, and James Axler’s DEATHLANDS. I know. A series is more than one. But I only read the first half dozen in the series and said the “f” word so much that I had to walk away from his books. 🙁 It just kept popping out like I was possessed. Isn’t it amazing how something so simple can become ingrained in one’s subconscious so easily?

Idle Curiosity Compels Me to Ask

– What inspired you to be a writer?

• Laugh. I can’t think of a thing. I ran like heck the opposite direction from the literature table during registration in college. In grad school, I still lurked elsewhere. I finally took to lit classes for research… My Druids and Time Guardians time travel. I thought since the Druids are renowned as bards/orators, I’d best get my facts straight. Anyway, world-building gives me a high. I get to use both my specialties, geology and bioarchaeology, when writing. (Renee Note: I LOVE world-building. It’s so fun to question why our society does things a certain way in order to create why a fictional society would do it different.)

– What do you do immediately after finishing a manuscript?

• I try to walk away like Stephen King advises. But I usually switch to synopsis mode and analyze the story’s plot. (Renee Note: Gotta write that synopsis while it’s still fresh… and then I walk away.)

– Do you talk to your characters or your muse or both?

• I curse at the computer. Honestly, I’ve studied human nature too long to blame my insufficient preparation (pantsing a tale) on things I’ve created and can modify to my liking. I enjoy being in control of my own little world where I can punish and reward characters. And I’ve never had a muse. I probably should have one after writing a romance for the Greek muse of writing, ANCIENT MUSINGS. LOL. But writing is all about control. And when I hit a point where I haven’t thought beyond where the madness dumps me, I just climb onto the elliptical. All that pumping blood and oxygen during a 50-minute session usually produces the next phase of a story. So, no discussions with characters or muse here…

Promo Section

~ Most Recent Release ~

My most recent release is a Time Guardian anthology, SACRILEGIOUS SEDUCTIONS, available only in print. It contains both the novel FORBIDDEN ETERNITY & the novella THE SPELL OF THE KILLING MOON Moon magic is so strong that sometimes the forbidden proves the only cure. Into a Native-American shape-shifting shaman? Cochise just might prove your cup of good medicine. If you’re more into were-wolf assassins, you won’t want to miss THE SPELL OF THE KILLING MOON. Two soul mates are about to crash and burn in medieval northern England because one must die so the other can live… ISBN: 1601546351 BUY NOW Blurb: FORBIDDEN ETERNITY: A woman Cochise despises is his only hope for a future. He must swallow his pride and protect Druidess Mairi from a man blackmailing her into breaking time-travel Code by kidnapping her sister. But Cochise’s presence tempts Mairi into risking her sister’s life by falling in love. A fairy hairball and a pack of Hell Hounds force the duo to hide on an astral plane where there is no resolution beyond facing their FORBIDDEN ETERNITY. THE SPELL OF THE KILLING MOON: Druid Elspeth is a were-assassin sent to medieval Cumberland to kill a renegade time guardian. She never expected to find him her soul mate. All she knows is she must stop Aidan Gordon from changing history. The sexy powerful knight proves too tempting to refuse. If his noble actions convince her he was wrongly accused, she will be forced to haunt the frenzied wood under THE SPELL OF THE KILLING MOON. Review: “The Spell of the Killing Moon offers the best of spine-tingling suspense. The setting is perfect… Moncrief’s ability to wield magic and emotion are without compare. Her words twist together emotions and visuals until you experience this tale as if the trap were set for you. Some lines blend a kind of poetic magic: “Moonlight wove a special kind of magic, a spell so vacillating that a person never knew if reality were anything other than a dream.” Darkness and premonitions and deadly intent fill these pages… a unique blend of mystic Medieval Gothic and romance…and a true blood-curdling thriller. 5 books” ~Snapdragon, LASR, voted LASR Best Book of the Week

~ Coming Soon ~

My next release is my most traditional romance of the Time-Guardian lot. Yes, I am guilty of straying outside the box. I hear that leaves the reader with a completely unpredictable adventure to experience. As for SWORDSONG, it’s most reminiscent of Karen Moning’s earlier series. I used to joke that my stories were Beauty & the Beast meets The Spiderwick Chronicles. SWORDSONG is neither of those… He’s arrived to help her create the perfect bride. Blurb: The most valiant Time Guardian is stuck in present-day Scotland with a bent time-travel key only she can repair. Duty requires he return to his time. His ticket home relies on a lonely woman haunted by more than apparitions. Her track record with men keeps her at a distance. And ghostly events keep pushing them closer together. Earning her trust will require the kind of patience only a valiant time guardian learns during his twenty years of apprenticeship. If time-travel duty, romance, and a bit of magic don’t help them realize their destiny resonates in mysterious fairy SWORDSONG, all known history could change. SWORDSONG will be available July 6, 2010.

Learn More
– Website http://skhyemoncrief.com or http://timeguardians.com
– Blog/Newsletter http://blog.skhyemoncrief.com
– Yahoo Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skhyemoncrief

Thanks, Skhye!!!