*so sorry, I had made a mistake. The giveaway is US & Canada Only! I’ve fixed it now!
I am so happy to have here today the author of one of my favorite series ever!
Let’s give a warm welcome to Sunny, author of the Monere series.Don;t forget to check out the awesome giveaway at the end of the post =)
Enjoy!
- When did you first start writing?
I think the very first time I tried to write a story was when I was 16 or 17, for an English 101 assignment in college. I wanted to write a short love story, but procrastinated until the last minute (which I had the bad habit of doing then) and gushed out 30 horribly written pages the night before the assignment was due. Needless to say, it totally sucked. Really cringe-worthy; part of why I thought I had no real writing talent, per se, outside of classroom stuff. Nothing, at least, that would allow me to write a publishable book. 
Before I forget, I wanted to invite readers to drop by my website at www.sunnyauthor.com. Lots of contests coming up this next week, with opportunity to win major prizes including a $100 Amazon Gift Card to launch my eSpecial MONA LISA THREE novella release tomorrow and my next novel, MONA LISA ECLIPSING, coming out April 5th.
- Have you always been interested in Romance?
Absolutely. I started reading as soon as I got my library card, somewhere around 7 or 8 years old. By age 9, I was walking one mile to the library by myself and carrying back an armload full of books each week. I think I stumbled across romance when I was 12 or 13 and was instantly smitten. An avid reader, I devoured a book every 1 or 2 days.
- What about in the Paranormal?
Paranormal came later, something I gradually got drawn into by following my favorite authors into that genre. I read a little SciFi—totally loved Anne McCaffrey—but romance was my bread-and-butter, nourish-the-soul everyday reading. It wasn’t until the last twelve years—5 or 6 years before wrote Mona Lisa Awakening—that I became a dedicated reader in the paranormal genre.
- Why writing Paranormal Romance?
Well, that just happened to be the story idea that really struck a chord within me. My husband, Da Chen, is an author, and we were tossing story ideas during a long 1-1/2 hour drive from New York to Connecticut we made weekly for our kids’ kungfu lessons (did that only for about one year before it became too much) in the summer of 2003. He came up with the idea about a supernatural race that originated from the moon. I tossed in a suggestion, further fleshing out the idea, he added to that, and so on and so forth. By the end of the trip, we had developed the basic framework of a possible young adult fantasy he was interested in writing—that was only one of many storylines we conceived during those long drives that year. But my husband never used the idea.
Two years later, when events precipitated me to once again try my hand at writing after a 4-day screenwriting seminar that taught me the nuts-and-bolts on how to write a story, this is the idea I used, not to write a screenplay but a romance novel that just happened to be paranormal, which then accidentally became an erotic paranormal romance.
- Were there any Books, Movies or Writers that have inspired you?
Yes, I loved Jayne Castle’s books (Jayne Anne Krentz’s pseudonym for her paranormal series); she’s one of my must-read authors that I followed from the Harlequin and Silhouette category romances I loved to read over into the paranormal genre. For me, once I found an author I adored, it didn’t matter what genre they wrote: everything I could lay my hands on of theirs, I would read, be it historical, western, or SciFi—as long as it had a strong main character and was imbued with rich emotion. Iris Johansen is another crossover author I followed, and Christine Feehan’s Carpathian series helped cement my love for the new genre. Once hooked, I discovered other influential authors like Anne Bishop and Laurell K. Hamilton.
- What is your favorite subject in the Paranormal Romance Realm?
Everything, for me, is always about love: finding it and keeping it; meeting hardships and overcoming them. The central component of love is what nourishes my soul and satisfies me. I don’t really have a favorite subject, per se, like vampires or werewolves. Just good writing is what matters to me.
- The sex scenes in your books are amazingly hot. Where do you get your inspiration?
I don’t know, LOL. All the hundreds or thousands of romances I read, I guess. It started out real tame—Harlequin and Silhouette category romances—
and then gradually got spicier as I delved into their Silhouette Desire line. I began with Nora Roberts and expanded to more sensual writers like Lori Foster and found I liked these stories even better. From there, I further expanded to authors like Robin Schone, Emma Holly, and Susan Johnson. The credit, or blame, goes to all these talented ladies :)
- Do you find it hard to write them?
Not at all. Actually, that was where my writing really took off. I hit the first love scene, expecting it to be something simple and brief, but instead it was like my pen—and imagination—took on a life of its own. The writing just flowed, and kept on flowing, and I was blushing while I was writing it; but I was also jazzed and excited because I knew it was good.
Favorites:
- Favorite Paranormal themed Movie? I know I’m dating myself but Ladyhawke, with Michelle Pfieffer.
- Favorite Paranormal themed TV Show? The Vampire Diaries. There—much more current :)
- Favorite Paranormal themed Book? My hands-down absolute favorite is The Host by Stephanie Meyer.
- Favorite Author? That’s hard because I have a lot of favorites. But I’ll say Lisa Kleypas.
- Favorite Paranormal Romance Author? That’s also hard to narrow down to just one, but Laurell K. Hamilton is at the top of the list.
- Favorite Genre that is NOT your own? Historical, I guess, if you count the paranormal and romance genre as “my own.”
- Favorite one of your Books? Still “The Host” by Stephanie Meyer. That book simply blew me away.
- Who is your favorite of your own characters? Hah! That would be Gryphon. Why? I’m not sure. Because he came first? I don’t know. I may be more like Mona Lisa than I thought.
- Which was the hardest to write?
All of the characters in the Monère series where fairly easy for me to write, including the not-so-nice characters. I’d say I had the most difficult time with Lucinda, Prince Halcyon’s sister, when I was writing LUCINDA, DARKLY. It was hard because I was consciously trying to make her character and her voice different from Mona Lisa’s.
- What would you be if not a writer?
That’s easy. A family practice physician, which is what I’m trained to be. I practiced for 5 years before becoming a full-time mom. Becoming an author was quite accidental via the roundabout route of mother then stage mom then wife-of-an-author, finally to author herself. No one was more surprised than me when that happened.
- If you Could be a Paranormal Being, Who would you be?
I thought these last few questions would be easier, not harder! Hmmm, not a vampire because they have a taste for blood and killing. Not a werewolf for the same reason. Not a ghost because that kind of existence just plain sucks. If I had a choice, I’d choose to be someone like Wonder Woman, someone who’s powerful and wants to do good . . . yes, yes, I know I’m dating myself again.
Quickies:
- Vampires or Werewolves? A werewolf, if I had to choose.
- Monère Queens or Warrior Lords? A Monère Queen, definitely. All those luscious men—need I say more?
- Angels or Demons? Okay, my bad side must be showing. Demons.
- Reading or Writing? Oh, reading, for sure!
- Print or eBook? I used to be a die-hard print reader because that has been my habit for most of my life. But now have an iPhone (just got one!) and read mostly from there; I find it even better and more convenient than my Kindle, which I only got a couple of years ago. So I have to vote for eBook.
- Hardback or Paperback? Paperback.
- Pepsi or Coke? Coke—I’m a classic kind of gal.
- YA novels or Adult novels? Adult novels, although I’m fast becoming a fan of some YA authors and series, including Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Game” series.
- Library or Bookstore? Bookstore.
- The Movie or The Book? Also a tough choice. Book, as my first love, then Movie as a fabulous but secondary form of entertainment.
- PNR or UF? Urban Fantasy. I like the grittier edge to those novels.
- Romance or Action? Can I have both? That’s my true favorite: when they are combined together, like in Suzanne Brockmann’s stories.
- What is your favorite part of the writing process? Coming up with that first opening scene.
- What is your least favorite part? Writing on the days when the words are not flowing and each sentence feels like you’re trying to out obstinate teeth.
- The Monère series in your own words? It’s about a lonely, gifted woman, who by accident discovers others like her, and in doing so, finally finds what had always eluded her before—love.
- What is coming up next for you? My thoughts are turning next to Mona Lisa F—, the next book in the Monère series. I’ve named the series alphabetically: Mona Lisa A, B, C, D, and now E, which is MONA LISA ECLIPSING). Am trying to think of a title and am leaning toward MONA LISA FALLING, but would welcome any other suggestions.
- What are you working on right now? I’m helping edit my husband’s next novel and taking a breather before diving into the next Monère novel.
- Do you have any advice or tip to those like me that want to become a published Author someday?
Absolutely. Keep reading—that’s where it all started for me—and continue writing. Sometimes it takes maturity. Sometimes it’s just having the right concept or story or character enter your imagination and then things click and everything, including your writing, falls into place. Try different things. 
If something does not work for you, try something different. Since I wasn’t a natural storyteller, one of the crucial elements for me was attending Robert McGee’s 4-day screenwriting seminar to learn the simple principles of writing a story; he also wrote a book on writing craft you might want to check out.
Once a story idea sparks for you, build the world, establish the rules, set and define your characters, and then envision the first scene. Write it out and keep on going; don’t look back or stop. Once you finish, then you can go back and polish your manuscript to your heart’s content. There’s a Chinese saying that translates to: Swim the whole length in one breath. That’s what I strongly, strongly advise. You’ll find the story builds momentum that way and the characters start coming alive. If you stop to polish and re-polish the first couple of chapters, you lose momentum…and imagination.
- Anything you would like to say to your fans out there?
Hell, yes. You guys have been wonderful, truly wonderful—supportive and loving. Thanks for all the emails and postings on my website’s guestbook. Love reading the great feedback. A special shout out to two special fans, Janon Swink and Candace Clemons, whom I met at the “Authors After Dark” readers-and-writers conference. They, along with Mima, another author I met there, inspired me to write MONA LISA ECLIPSING. I dedicated the book to the three of them. So, as you see, my fans are very important to me and dear to my heart.
- Thanks so much for being here!
You are most welcome. Thank you for inviting me. I had a delightful time!
Find Sunny Online:
Website
Buy Sunny’s Books: Amazon.com | Barnes & Noble
Book Depository
Review:
My ARC Review of Mona Lisa Eclipsing
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Two years later, when events precipitated me to once again try my hand at writing after a 4-day screenwriting seminar that taught me the nuts-and-bolts on how to write a story, this is the idea I used, not to write a screenplay but a romance novel that just happened to be paranormal, which then accidentally became an erotic paranormal romance. 
and then gradually got spicier as I delved into their Silhouette Desire line. I began with Nora Roberts and expanded to more sensual writers like Lori Foster and found I liked these stories even better. From there, I further expanded to authors like Robin Schone, Emma Holly, and Susan Johnson. The credit, or blame, goes to all these talented ladies :) 
- Favorite one of your Books? Still “The Host” by Stephanie Meyer. That book simply blew me away.
- Romance or Action? Can I have both? That’s my true favorite: when they are combined together, like in Suzanne Brockmann’s stories. 
If something does not work for you, try something different. Since I wasn’t a natural storyteller, one of the crucial elements for me was attending Robert McGee’s 4-day screenwriting seminar to learn the simple principles of writing a story; he also wrote a book on writing craft you might want to check out. 
