Romance at Heart Magazine Author Interview: Ravan Hart

Interview with Raven Hart:

Hi Raven. Thank you for doing this interview. I would like to welcome you to the Romance at Heart Interview and Author Grilling session. *bg* We are interested to find out as much about you as we possibly can, so lets get started...

- Please tell us about your latest book.

I write under Crymsyn R. Hart, and my latest book is called Immortal Desires.

The heroine, Amara, has been dreaming about a man that she knew in a past life. In these dreams, they were both vampires, but what rational person believes in vampires?

While trying to discover who has been haunting her dreams, one of her friends, Trevor, goes missing. He is also tied to her past life, and like her, was also a vampire. Amara returns home to look for Trevor at some of their old hangouts. In a graveyard, reliving old memories, Amara is confronted with the man that has been inflaming her dreams. After years of nightly visions she finally catches his name and how much he makes her realize that she wants him, no matter what their history. But before they can get reacquainted, a hunter tried to kill her, but Andrew saves her.

Andrew brings Amara back to his lair that he shares with another vampire, Crimson. This vampire is also from Amara’s past lives. The more she is around the vampire; the more Amara’s own hunger grows. She has to discover the plot of why the hunter is going after her and her friends, before he kills her. Time is important because her own urges are growing and she has to choose between Andrew and Simon, the dark intriguing vampire she has met.

What happens? Well the readers will have to find that out.

- What can we expect from you in the future?

Gods and Goblins, oh my! Is currently in the editing phase and should be out next year with Stardust.

I also have a vampire trilogy contracted with them as well. The release dates have yet to be set on those.

- How do we find out about you and your books?

You can find out about me and my books by either visiting my site, www.ravynhart.com. Or going to the StarDust Press site.

- How may readers contact you?

Readers can contact me via email at crymsyn@ravynhart.com

- Why did you decide to write romance novels?

Actually, I never wanted to write romance novels at first. The first stories that I wrote were horror with lots of gore. Then I decided to try my hand at Erotica and wrote a vampire trilogy that is combination of horror and erotica. Immortal Desires is actually the fourth book I wrote, but the first one to be published. I then decided to write Immortal Desires because it was a rewrite of my college thesis and a story I had written. When it was done, I realized it was a romance novel. The next book I wrote, Gods and Goblins, oh my!, I made a conscious decision to write romance. It has been a fun progression though. I still keep to my horror roots, but romance is much more entertaining to write.

- How much of your personality and life experiences are in your writing?

In Immortal Desires, some of the characters are based on my friends that I grew up with. They always kept bugging me to be immortalized. The main setting is also the town I grew up in. Many of the main character’s views are my own. With the rest of my writing, I have some works that are based on places I worked out of and others are pure fiction.

- Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you just go with the flow?

I just go with the flow. I work a Day Job so I have to write when I can. Normally that is on the way to work and on the way home from work while my husband drives. I write when I get home too, normally when I am watching television.

- What about your family, do they know not to bother you when you are writing - or are there constant interruptions?

My husband bugs me no matter what I am doing. Even if the Do Not Disturb sign is plastered on my head. He bugs me, but that is him and I love him for it.

- What do you do to relax and recharge your batteries?

To relax, I love to go see movies. I have a ton at home. I like most kind of movies, horror is my favorite. I love B movies. They are the best. I love to read and cross stitch. I play with my god Morrigaine, and when I can I go ghost hunting in the cemeteries and take pictures.

- What does your husband think of your writing?

My husband supports me even though I know he gets frustrated because he thinks my laptop is more important than him at times. He keeps telling me he is waiting for the millions to come pouring in so I can support him and he can buy all of his dream cars LOL!

- Please tell us about yourself (family, hobbies, education, etc.)

Well I am originally from Massachusetts. I went to college in Boston and got a degree in Creative Writing. I wanted to be a copy editor, but that never panned out. I now live in North Carolina, but was on my way to New Orleans when the apartment I had there fell through so I had a friend here that needed a roommate and poof! Four years later I am still here. It was a big culture shock from the North. About a month after I got here I met my husband who is also from Mass (go figure). I have two teenage brothers who live with my dad. I love cheesecake and think it should be proclaimed a god. I worked as a psychic for four and a half years and started right after I graduated highschool. I stopped doing readings only because I wanted to use my energy to write. Am I still psychic? You bet! If it’s dead, it talks to me. I know some people don’t believe in that, but everyone has their own views.

Currently, I’ve been married for two and a half years to a great man. I have a day job because something has to pay for the school loans and the mortgage. I’m obsessed with vampires, collect Living Dead Dolls, and am a Goth chick still at heart even if I can’t dress the part anymore.

- Fill in the blank favorites -

Dessert: Cheesecake (bowing down to the mighty cheesecake)
City: Boston
Season: Autumn
Type of Hero: I go for cute and sexy, and can fly. I like dark hair and dark eyes, hate the controlling types. I’m partial to Batman.
Type of Heroine: Well they can’t be perfect. No one is perfect, but they look good. I like to write about quirky women, but all of them seem to get into trouble. I go for Jeanne Grey from X-men.

- Do you have a favorite author? Favorite book?

My favorite book is called Making of a Monster by Gail Petersen.
Favorite author is L..A. Banks.

- Who are some of your other favorite authors to read?

I like to read books by Christopher Moore, Clive Barker, Jean Auel, Mercedes Lackey, Anne Rice, Karen E. Taylor, Nancy Kilpatrick, Nancy Collins, Lyndsey Sands, J.K. Rowling, Mary Janice Dickson, Charlene Harris, L.J. Smith, Christopher Golden, Stephen King, and many many more. I have 4 bookshelves filled.

- Who, if anyone, has influenced your writing?

My writing has been influenced by my grandparents. They have always encouraged me to keep on writing. Also by my High School English teacher. She was very supportive and kept me from giving up on what I wanted to do. I was the founder of the creative writing club that she oversaw.

- Which comes first, the story, the characters or the setting?

I get a sense of the characters first, and then I get the story. The setting is kinda there to go with the characters. Usually when I get an idea it hits me over the head like a ton of bricks and I have to write it down or I might forget it. But when the characters come first, they start to bug me until I sit down and begin to write their lives.

- Are you in control of your characters or do they control you?

I think that is a little bit of both. Sometimes I get to tell the characters what I want them to do, but usually the characters start doing things that I never had planned to them. So I make a compromise with them. As long as I can get to the desired ending of what I want, I don’t care if they through in a few strange things. Of course I have to fill in the holes they leave behind, but that is the fun part.

- Have you experienced writer's block---> If so, how did you work through it?

Oh yeah. I get writer’s block. It blocks me from doing anything. Normally to deal with it, I do everything I can to avoid it, even cleaning my refrigerator, doing the laundry, whatever I can not to stare at the blinking cursor or have my characters yawn and drum their fingers in the back of my brain. But once I get over the hump, I’m off and racing. Sometimes I have to relax and other times, just do something else and take a break.

- If you weren't writing, what would you be doing?

I would be going crazy or be back in the psychic business.

- Are there any words of encouragement for unpublished writers?

Keep Writing. It will happen to you. (yeah everyone has said it to me, but they were right). It took me ten years, but it finally happened.
It can happen to anyone.

Thank you Raven very much for taking the time with us and answering our questions. I really appreciate this interruption to your busy schedule. Good Luck, and we will be looking forward to the next delightful creation from your talented imagination!

Yours in good reading,
Rose!

Interview Review Coming Soon
Buy Raven's Books At StarDust Press