Interview with Urban Fantasy author Shawntelle Madison about her Coveted series

Today on The Reading Frenzy I'm happy to bring you a new author to me that I had the pleasure of meeting at a signing a few Saturdays ago.
So without further ado I bring you Shawntelle Madison.

                                   

                             

 And Due in 2014

Please welcome to The Reading Frenzy Shawntelle Madison whom I was fortunate to meet in person at a local bookstore signing.

It was a pleasure meeting you, it’s always fun for me to connect with new authors and especially fun to be able to help promote and spread the word about local authors.

Tell us a little about your new series Coveted?
How many books are planned and how are the books connected?

Hello! The Coveted series is the story of Natalya Stravinsky, a werewolf from South Toms River, NJ who has a little hoarding habit. With Christmas ornaments. There is a reason she likes to collect them though.  I do have other stories featuring secondary characters, but the series is mainly about her, her relationship with the pack leader Thorn Grantham, and how she is working to reunite with her pack after she was forced to leave. Nat’s story will conclude with Compelled, which will release in 2014. I do have plans for books with other secondary characters like Aggie (her first book came out this past May, Bitter Disenchantment) and Nick the wizard  (late 2014).

Your protagonist in your Coveted series is described as lovably neurotic.
Is she anything like you?
Where did the idea for Natalya and this series come?

To be honest, I do have my quirks. I grew up as a class clown and I’m a proud geek. I’m sure there are parts of Nat that are reflected in me, but not too many. I like to be tidy, but with kids I don’t take things to an extreme. The idea for the series came from a medical journal magazine. On the cover was an article about obsessive compulsive disorders. I took the time to read the article and learn about treatment plans, drugs, and more. I asked myself the question, like all authors do, what if. What if a werewolf had OCD? What kind of dynamics would come about when the wolf battles with the need for order? How would this affect someone’s placement in their pack? And from that Nat was born.

From a personal standpoint I love the paranormal/fantasy genre especially in the romance department.
What is it about this genre that inspires you enough to write in it?

I love to get into my character’s head and feel them. Feel their longing for love and companionship. It’s a universal feeling no matter who you are.  I love to read romance and experience that first kiss, experience the pain when they part, knowing I will get that happily ever after where they come back together.

Shawntelle do you see yourself ever writing in another genre?

Oh, yeah. I love writing. I’ve written books for teens and even dabbled with historical. I just need more spare time or I need to clone myself to get it all done.

Your bio says that you’re a web designer by day and a writer at night.
My day job is also in the designing business I work for a graphic design company that specializes in web and print design.
Is it your hope to one day be a full time writer.

I’d love to be a full-time writer someday. I’m lucky as an independent contractor, though. On some days I can completely focus on writing. When I schedule myself I can have the best of both worlds.

Shawntelle, for all the aspiring authors reading this. Do you think authors from publishing Mecca’s like New York have an advantage over authors like you from the Midwest?  

To be honest, I believe everyone has a fair shot. It’s all about the story. You could live in a hole right next to a publishing house, but if you don’t have characters readers can connect with, what good is your location?

Shawntelle, since I met you at a book signing I’m curious, what was the strangest thing that’s ever happened to you at an author event/signing?

The strangest thing.  Wow, that’s hard. I guess that’s hard to say since I write about hoarding werewolves. Ha! To be honest, nothing really strange has happened. Most of the strange, or funny stuff happens to others around me. I’ve seen authors at RT hold up huge signs to pass funny messages around, I’ve seen authors do the wave, too. Now that was pretty funny!

So Shawntelle since you have a day job why don’t you walk us through a typical day in the life of Shawntelle Madison.

On a typical day. I get before my kids and get them ready for school. Once the kids and husband are out the door, I get started on the day job. That means checking emails and clients. That takes a few hours usually since I usually need to answer questions and take care of tasks. When it comes to writing, I try to tackle that in the afternoon or at least by eleven. I try to write outside of the house when I can since my house can get distracting at times.

Shawntelle I also met your critique partner Jeannie Lin who writes historical fiction.
What exactly is a critique partner and how does this cooperative alliance benefit you?

I believe all writers need someone in this business who understands what they’re going through, no matter the genre. Whether it’s someone who reads your work and offers feedback, even if it’s bad or good, someone to vent to when you get a rejection, or even someone to call when you got an offer on a book you worked so hard to complete. The writing business is a stressful one and critique partners make the journey a lot easier to endure.

Shawtelle thank you so much for taking the time to answer some questions.
Good luck with the new series, when will we see the next novel?

My next release will be Bitten by Treachery, A Hadley Werewolves story, coming this fall. After that I have two additional releases planned into winter 2013 and spring 2014: Repossessed and Compelled.

Connect with Shawntelle Website - Facebook - Twitter