Please welcome Delynn Royer to Tongue in Cheek.
Bio:
Delynn Royer is the older, smarter, funnier, more ornery alter ego of author Donna Grove, who, as a young mother, published lighthearted historical romances with Harper Paperbacks. Her first book, A Touch of Camelot, won an RWA Golden Heart award. Since then, Delynn has kept busy working the dreaded day job and raising her two sons.
Now, however, her sons are grown and she has returned to her first love, writing. She's currently at work updating her backlist to be made available as e-books and penning a new romantic mystery series.
AQ: Thanks for agreeing to answer some interview questions
about yourself and your new book.
DR: Sure, Ava. I’m excited to be here!
AQ: So, what is your book about?
DR: A
Touch of Camelot is the first of my
backlist titles to be updated for e-readers. It’s a sensual, upbeat Western
historical romance with a Camelot twist. Here’s the blurb.
Set in Kansas and San Francisco, 1879. Guinevere Pierce was raised at the knee of one of he slickest con artists in the West, but can she con her way out of this one?
When Gwin and her kid brother Arthur become witnesses to murder and then targets themselves. there's no time for games. There's only time to run.
Cole Shepherd is a new Pinkerton detective. His first assignment? To escort the beautiful and deceptive Gwin Pierce and her brother across the country to testify.
When Gwin sets eyes on her Pinkerton escort, she's stunned. Cole's is the face that has haunted her romantic dreams since she was a girl. He's her Sir Lancelot, but now he's her captor. And he's leading them toward a trap that Gwin must convince him could cost them their lives.
AQ: Can you share an interesting behind the scenes tidbit
about your story?
DR: People ask where writers get their ideas. I wish I knew. One
thing that made this book fun to write was mixing a Camelot theme with the Old
West, but that’s not how it started.
About two chapters in, I decided the heroine’s name didn’t
feel right. She was Gwen then, and so I changed her to Gwin, which could be short
for Guinevere. I wondered why a mother would give her child such a beautiful
but tragic name, and the Camelot theme grew from there.
AQ: What is your favorite part of the story writing process?
DR: The moment when my characters start to come off the page,
when they begin to lead rather than follow. That’s when they show me where the
story is going, whether I planned it or not. So fun!
AQ: Writing can be such an isolated enterprise. Yet, I’m sure
there are people who have helped, guided or inspired you along the way to
becoming a published author. Could you tell us about one of them and how they
helped you?
DR: It took a village. A certain Pennwriters critique group comes
to mind, as do critique partners from RWA, including Ginny Aiken, Kathy DiSanto
(and you, Ava!). Without that support, I never would have had the gumption to
finish a manuscript. I must especially thank Karen Rose Smith for her generous support
and encouragement.
AQ: What are you working on now/next?
DR: A romantic mystery set in 1920s Manhattan. It’s about a
burned out homicide detective who teams up with a perky girl reporter to solve
the Central Park murder of a notorious bootlegger. It’s got dead bodies, snappy
dialogue, and a splash of romance.
AQ: I can testify to that!! It's wonderful!
Now on to the S.A.T. portion of the interview:
Fill in the blank –
If I were a villain, I would have __________ for minions to deliver my wrath
because _________. (And remember,
sea monkeys are already spoken for. Mostly)
DR: Automated phone systems because there’s no more evil
creature than a robot that prompts you to repeat yourself five times, then puts
you on hold for fifteen minutes, then brightly informs you that all lines are
busy and to try again later. Click.
Sea Monkeys are to ____________ as zombie stinkbugs are
to ________________.
DR: Unsuspecting aquariums
Innocent vacuum cleaner bags
And no, I don’t know what that means. :)
AQ: Please tell us where we can find out more about you and
where we can buy your books.
Thanks again for stopping in, Delynn!
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