Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Rayna Vause Interview and Giveaway

We have the Diva Rayna Vause here with other Diva's today! She has cruised by for an author interview and giveaway!


Would you like to start off by telling us a little bit about yourself?


Let me start by saying thank you to Vanessa for having me here today. My name is Rayna Vause. I also write M/M romance as R.A. Vaughn. I’m a huge fan of paranormal romance, which is why, regardless of which name I’m writing under, I always tend to have paranormal elements in my stories. When I take off my writer hat I’m a martial artist (currently a Kenpo Karate green belt), video game lover (Just starting Skyrim), Disney enthusiast, and a Pop Tart aficionado (The Pop Tart store on Amazon makes me happy).

During your writing career have you done anything embarrassing in the pursuit in getting published?

I honestly can’t recall any embarrassing moments in pursuit of publications  When I seriously started pursing a career in writing I joined RWA as well as a local chapter and one of the things they teach you early are some of the dos and don’ts of navigating your way through the publishing world. For instance, you don’t submit your book by slipping it under the bathroom stall wall to the editor in the neighboring stall. That’s an extreme example, but it has happened.

What is one thing about you that your readers would find surprising or never guess about you?

Hmmm…these types of questions are always tough for me since I generally consider myself pretty run of the mill.  People do tend to be surprised at the depth of my well of useless information. For example, did you know that, in the comic books, Princess Diana didn’t spin in a circle to become Wonder Woman. The spinning was strictly used for the television show.  That was a fact that I learned and retained while doing research for Amazon Heat, my latest release written with Melinda Leigh.  Wonder Woman is one of the inspirations behind the story.  At any rate, I’m like a sponge for that type of information. 

Can you tell us about your current work in progress, perhaps you could share a favorite fact or piece of fascinating information it?

At the moment, I have two works in progress. The first is the sequel to The Demon He Knows. In the Demon He Knows I introduced two characters Adrian, an angel, and LeLand, a demon and head of the Corporate South Board. This is their story.  It’s been a fun story to write. In the first story, I introduced that concept of angels and demons being corporatized and I’ve really enjoyed spending more time in that world and walking around the buildings opening doors to see what’s behind them.  The opening scene of this book is set in 1274 and I had the hardest time writing it simply because it was set in the past. I obsessed over that scene and even tried to avoid writing it because I was so concerned about messing up the few historical facts that I used.  I do have a tendency to nitpick over minutia at times.
My other work in progress is the second story in the Amazon series that I’m writing with Melinda Leigh.  This one is just as, if not more, action packed then the first story and we’re having a ball creating this world together.  Both Melinda and I are martial artists and in this story we actually get to use some of that knowledge since we have a couple of fight scenes, but we also mix in some fun paranormal elements.  The Amazons have a psychic link to nature, so on top of spears and arrows they also use trees, plants and animals  as weapons.

If you were to write yourself into one of your books or series which would it be, what role would you pick and why?

I think it might be fun to be a character in my Angel and Demon series. I’m might write myself in as one of the heroes closest friends. Because, I think my heroes would be pretty cool to hang out with. We have a lot of things in common, but then I do put little pieces of myself in all of my characters. It’s not an intentional thing, I’m just writing what I know. Plus, they have the ability to teleport, which I think would be so fun. Plus, more paranormal abilities are revealing themselves as I go such as the ability to conjure and control fire.  

What have you read and loved recently?

Honestly, I’ve been doing a lot a re-reading of some m/m romance lately. I recently re-read Bound by Nature by Cooper Davis. While I like vampire stories, I love werewolves and this is one of my favorites next to J.L Langley’s With or Without Series. What the two men in this story go through is just heartbreaking. I just love this book. I’ve also been re-reading Conquest and No Fear by S.J. Frost. I love, love, love rock star stories. M/M or M/F I just love them.  Toss in my other guilty pleasure of secret babies and I’m a happy camper. So if you ever come across a secret baby story that has a rock star hero in it please let me know.

How do you spend your down time between edits, deadlines, writing and creating new and fascinating books? Do have a favorite pastime or hobby to fill you spare time with?

I am an enormous video game fan. I will lose myself for days in Xbox heaven playing role playing games. Do you remember the pick-your-own-ending books? When I was a kid I used to love those types of books and I think that’s part of the appeal of video games for me. Games these days have such engaging storylines and playing the game allows me to be a part of the story.  Some of my favorite RPGs are the Fable series, the Dragon Age series, and the Assassin’s Creed series. I’m also a fan of games like The Sims, Tropico and the Lego games such as Lego Harry Potter.

How did you celebrate the publishing of your first book?

When my first book came out, my friends sent me a bouquet of chocolate covered strawberries to celebrate and then we got together for a celebratory dinner.  I also bought myself a t-shirt and ball cap that had my book cover printed on it and I had a laminated posted of my cover made up.

I love author stalking. Do you have any 2012 convention plans? Where can fans stalk you?

I’m going to be making a couple appearances this year. I’ll be at:
Liberty States Fiction Writers & Readers Conference -March 17th - - Iselin, NJ
Romantic Times Booklovers Convention – April 11-15 – Chicago, IL
RWA – July 25-28 – Anaheim, CA.

What has been your favorite scene to write and why?

One of my favorite scenes to write is in an unpublished manuscript that I have left sitting on the back burner for a while.  At the start of the book is a fight scene (I love writing action) between a crazed vampire and one of my heroes. My hero is not a fighter at all.  At the time I wrote this scene I had just taken a women’s self defense class so I decided to employ some of these techniques in the fight. Some of the moves I wanted to write I hadn’t actually tried I’d just watched them being performed.  So, in order to realistically write the scene, Melinda and I got together so that I could try the techniques. After that session I was able to go home and bring the scene to life and accurately write not just the maneuvers but also about characters excitement in having a move work successfully. That is a very cool feeling.  I’ll have to clean a few things off my plate then I think I’ll revisit that story. 

Rayna is giving away 2 eBooks, so giveaway is open to my International followers as well as my US gals. The pics will direct you to the goodreads.com info if you click it! To enter just comment below with email address. I will announce the winners Sunday February 12, 2012. 


16 comments:

  1. Thanks for the fun post and giveaway! I've read such awesome things about Amazon Heat, I've had it on my wishlist. It's awesome when an author has real world experience about the things they write about. Those scenes (especially fight scenes) *pop* and I feel like there's a movie in my head as I read!

    Congrats on your releases!

    efender1(at)gmail(dot)com

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  2. I would love to read Amazon Heat. Please enter me in contest. Tore923@aol.com

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  3. Hi Erin,

    Thanks so much! Amazon Heat was a fun story to write. Just like you have a movie in your head when you read I have on e in my head as I write. The more I understand about what I'm writing the more vivid the movie. I hope you enjoy the book!

    Hi Tore,

    Thanks so much for stopping in.

    Rayna

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  4. Hey Vanessa!! I totally added your button to my fellow naughty girls list!! What a great giveaway!! Rayna,
    Both books look amazing! Amazon Heat looks especially yummy though!!
    viajeradelmar@aol.com

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  5. Great post and both books found great. Thanks for the chance.

    mythic021@gmail.com

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  6. Thanks Nikki and Vanessa,

    Logan and Elizabeth are a great couple, but then I biased. LOL!

    Thanks for stopping by.

    Rayna

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  7. Wonderful books that I would love to read. I have heard so many things that are good about them..*s* I've put them on my gotta have list for sure.
    Thank you for the giveaway!

    Darcy
    pommawolf @hotmail.com

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  8. Thanks Darcy! I hope you enjoy them. Appreciate you stopping in.

    Rayna

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  9. I have seen Amazon Heat and wanted to read it. This is the first time seeing The Demon He Knows. I would like to read both of these. Thanks for the giveaway.

    Rachel V
    pefrw(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  10. Hi Rachel,

    Thanks for stopping in. The Demon He Knows is actually the first in a m/m series I'm writing. I'm actively editing book two and Melinda and I are already half way through book took of the Amazon Heat series. I hope you them if you do read them and I always enjoy hearing what people think of the stories.

    Rayna

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  11. Decisions, decisions. They both look like great book. Can't wait to read both. Something to look forward to.

    lareynolds0316@gmail.com

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  12. I'd be happy with either book, they look good.
    Thanks for the chance to win.
    luvfuzzzeeefaces at yahoo dot com

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  13. I would love to read either book. I'm hoping to go to the Liberty State Conference. Really must get my butt in gear and register. It's coming up fast.
    thanks for the giveaway!

    beckerjo at verizon dot net

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  14. Hi Julianne and RRE,

    Thanks for stopping in and saying hello. I hope you enjoy both books. Should you read them please let me know what you think.

    JoAnna,

    Please do register. It's going to be a really fun time and we have a ton of stuff to give to our attendees. I'll just say the publishers have been very nice to us this year.

    Best,

    Rayna

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  15. I would love to read either book! They sound very interesting!!

    Thank for the giveaway!!
    samantha
    samanthadacier @gmail.com

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  16. I read the review of The Demon He Loves and that is the one I want. I love m/m stories like these :)
    sstogner1 at gmail dot com

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