Interview with Urban Fantasy and Erotic Romance Author, Danielle Gavan, About Her New Book 'Possession is Nine Tenths- Ardeur'

Scribal Love Welcomes Danielle Gavan!


Danielle Gavan is a self-published author of Urban Fantasy and Erotic Romance. Her newest work Possession is Nine Tenths – Ardeur is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony eReader and Kobo Books. 

What is the name of your latest book? And how did you come up with the title?


My book is titled Possession is Nine Tenths – Ardeur. The title wasn’t something I consciously set about trying to figure out until I decided to write Ardeur’s story as a novel.  I had originally planned for it to be a short 2500 word submission for a contest until I did a bit of digging and found some unfavorable information about the publisher offering the prize. 
As the story grew and took on a life of its own the term possession is nine tenths was something that was floating around the back of my mind.  It was completely unrelated to the book but every time I sat down to write my thoughts drifted back to it and, it stuck. 


What is this book about?  And what genre is this book in?


PiNT – Ardeur is about a young woman who is possessed by a chaos demon for most of her life.  Once freed from the demon, she trades in one form of possession for another unless she can break the bond with the Angel of Death.  Freedom and love come to her in the form of a six foot four Werewolf with dimples and flashing hazel eyes.


At first I had thought this would be classed as Paranormal Romance but as time grew, the world building and characters grew more complex, I realized that what I was writing was actually Urban Fantasy.


Who is/are the main characters?  And why did you choose them?


Brody and Ardeur were an easy choice.  In mid-2008 I joined a role playing community and created a spunky blonde Canadian Necromancer.  She had a chip on her petite shoulders and attitude for miles.  The more her personality emerged, the more I knew her story had to be told.  Brody’s original name was Stone and he was a jaded Werewolf from Atlanta on the run from a past he wanted desperately to forget.  He was the creation of a wonderful woman, Rhonda Stone, who graciously allowed me to have him when I decided to write their story. The man in the story isn’t an exact replica of Stone, but he’s pretty darn close.


What is the coolest or best part about your book?  (Any Favorite scenes, the world-building etc..


Aside from the awesome fun I had building the world, there are actually two scenes in the book that are so closely tied for favorite that it’s hard to choose.  The first one is when Ardy busts into Rae’s office and finds Brody standing there.  Never having expected to truly find him again, when she touches him and finds that Brody is very real – her reaction is one of shock and awe.


The second scene is one where Ardeur and Brody have woken up after becoming mates.  She talks about their love being a thing of fairytales after he explains some of his family’s heritage and he makes a quip referencing Little Red Riding Hood. 


Do you have a favorite character in the book?  If so, why?


Aside from the obvious favorite, there are a few supporting characters that endeared themselves to me.  Of those, Christian tops the puppy pile.  He’s a Prince of Fae with a love for all things Angelic and designer.  One of the other characters tosses off her Louboutin’s at one point and his reaction had me laughing.


Is this book part of a series?  If so? What can we expect in future books?  


I started working on the second book in the series in June, 2010.  Possession is Nine Tenths – Cassiela will be the next installment in the series and it will be followed by Remiele.  Things are moving a little more slowly with this book due to family and work constraints.  I hope to have it finished and ready to go in early 2011.


If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?


Absolutely not.  Ardy and Brody’s story was told exactly as it needed to be and I wouldn’t change a single thing in it.


Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?


Time management skills. lol I wrote this book while working a full-time job, being mom to my two boys…maintaining our home and moving the entire family to two different cities in less than a month.  This year was a rough one in the Gavan home and writing was my solace.


Do you have a publisher?  And if so, why did you choose them?  


I do have a publisher, myself.  The original plan had been to find an agent and try to sell my book to a major publisher.  A few agents and editors requested partials or full manuscripts but they either didn’t love the story enough or didn’t think it was a good fit for them.  In the end, I chose to go the self-publishing route because I wanted the story out there for people to read and love as much as I do. 


If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?


A mentor?  Hmmm.  That’s a tough one.  My writing has been influenced by so many wonderful authors it’s hard to pin just one down.  The ones I keep going back to are Diana Gabaldon, Laurell K. Hamilton, JR Ward and Kelley Armstrong. 


What books are you reading now?  


I just finished reading two books, actually.  Tuatha Destiny: Destiny Found by another self-pubbed author and friend Jennifer Feuerstein is one and Vampire Vacation by C.J. Ellison. Both books are wonderful reads that I highly recommend and their authors are wonderful, talented women.


What are the current writing projects that you are working on?


There are a few things on my plate right now. As mentioned earlier - I’m working on Cassiela, the second book in the Possession is Nine Tenths series.  The other projects on my desk are for a blog that I’m a partner in with twelve other authors.  Everything Erotic launched on Kindle blogs on September 1, 2010 and has taken off like a shot.  My contributions include an erotic romance series titled The Erotic Adventures of Sidony Tassen.  I also co-write Tempted by Fate, another erotic romance series, with Heather Hughes.


Do you write full time?  If not, do you hope to do so one day?


I wish! Unfortunately, bills need to be paid and the day job serves its purpose.  For now. 


Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?


I know it sounds cliché and it’s been said time and again but – I’ve always loved to write.  A friend and I shared a heart shaped note pad in grade school.  We would each take a side of a page and fill it with as much of whatever story we were writing at that time and then pass the notebook back.  In high school I moved up to spiral notebooks and filled those with my loopy teenaged scrawl.  Now, I have a laptop that is my faithful sidekick and travels with me everywhere. 


Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?


Finding the time to sit down and do it has been my greatest challenge lately.  I also have to fight my inner editor a lot.  My writing is pretty clean and liner, in general, but when there’s a glaring problem that I know needs to be fixed or a hole that needs to be patched I get stuck.  I can’t move on until the issue has been resolved.  You could say it’s my personal form of writer’s block.


Do you have any advice for other writers seeking to get published for the first time?


Stick with it.  Be persistent but do what feels right to you for your work.  Self-publishing isn't for everyone.  Then again, neither is the traditional publishing route.  Do what works for you and be happy.


Thanks Danielle!


You can find Danielle Gavan on the web at:   
http://www.wix.com/daniellegavan/author-site 
The book is available for purchase in eBook format on Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony eReader, Apple iBooks and Diesel eBook Store.

It is also available in paperback on Amazon.com.