Guest paranormal romance author V.S. Nelson

Please welcome V.S. Nelson! 

WRITING SERIES – An interview with V.S.Nelson, the author of Sekhmet’s Guardians.

I am so thrilled to be here! I originally wanted to talk about my two new releases but on my way here someone on the train asked me what the difference was between writing a series and a romance novel with a happy ever after ending.

I have to admit I was taken a bit off guard as I never seriously gave it much thought until the question was put to me. I merely wrote what the Guardians and the other characters within my novels dictated to me.

Thinking back, I guess I have always viewed the books I have read as on-going. I was often disappointed at the end of a novel when I discovered there wasn’t anymore to be read. Most of the time, when the author did a fine job of portraying the characters and their story and after the characters managed to fight their way through all the ups and downs, the romantic couple, who you came to love, fulfilled their destiny and became a couple–end of story. Or is it?

Don’t you love it when characters in a book become real? I know I do. Why should their life end when they have finally found happiness? It just doesn’t make sense to me. Life continues as should the characters in a great novel. I guess that is why series or on going sagas continue; the author, the characters and the readers scream for more.

Let’s look back at some of the great sagas, trilogies and series like The Lord of the Rings, Twilight, or even Star Trek.  The characters alone had much more to tell than one simple story. Thankfully, the characters awakened something within the author and a series was born. I guess you could say the same is true with my series, Sekhmet’s Guardians.

When I first started writing Eternal Lovers, the first book in the series, I had no idea their story would continue on to a second book, much less eleven. I believed the story was about Jennifer, a young Native American woman in search of true love and Gabriel, an immortal from another world. The twists and turns those two took me on in their attempt to becoming a couple soon filled the pages. Several secondary characters came into play, each with a story to tell and a quest to be filled. There was no way, I could capture everything in one 500 page novel and so a series was born. After meeting the seven Ancients, I soon assumed I would be writing seven books for my band-of-brothers series, one for each of them.  I have sense stopped second guessing how long the series will go or how many books will actually be written. I allow them to set the pace, show me their stories and write as fast as I can in order to keep up with them.

I have often referred to the novels within the series as my night time soap opera. And in many ways, that is how I view the stories and the lives of the characters within the series. The hero and heroine from each novel continue on with their story as another primary couple take center stage in the next volume of the series—just like a night time soap.

            “Why not a day time soap?” someone asks from the audience.

            “Because there is way too much sex, blood and guts for the series to be GP,” I answer.

            I’ve never been found of books that leave too much to the imagination. I find old-Harlequin-type-stories, with behind-closed-door-sex, a bit on the boring side, I want my stories wither they be paranormal, fantasy or commercial fiction to be believable and cast with real events.  I’m getting a little side tracked here so let me go back to my thoughts on series. In reality, I now view every story I write as a potential series. I’m already 

BIO – Virginia S. Nelson writing as V.S. Nelson

After spending sixteen years living on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico and another twelve battling the heat, while teaching in the Middle East, Virginia S. Nelson, moved to Mesa, Arizona where she resides with the love of her life and her four pound Miniature Pincher, Anubis.

She joined three chapters of RWA sometime after she completed Eternal Lovers, convinced by others she should seek publication for a story which was originally written to make the voices in her head shut up. Guess what, it didn’t work.

What she thought, in the beginning, was a story about a young Native American woman mixed up with the Mafia turned out to be a story of Aliens, as old as the pyramids, living around the world, just like you and me. Of course, that little detail wasn’t revealed to Virginia until after the first draft of the manuscript was almost finished and her hero from book one, of what is now a series, smiled up at her in a dream. Following the directions she received from her hero in her dreams, a totally new version of Eternal Lovers was born. Her heroine, Jennifer, and the dynamics of her love story remained the same.

ETERNAL LOVERS is a contemporary, multi-plotted sensual love story of magic, secrets, and reincarnation where a married psychic Native American nearly loses her life when she clashes with a 5,000 year-old immortal alien at a rock star's lake estate near Chicago.

Twenty four year old Jennifer visits her best friend, who recently hooked up with a British rock star and is in the U.S. for the first time in almost two years. During a party at a lake estate near Chicago, Jennifer is frightened by a man’s cold dark stare and eventually flees his overwhelming presence, only to be thrown into death’s embrace when she is attacked by an immortal.

Not understanding Jennifer’s unusual abilities, her friends take her several hundred miles from where she went into shock, assuming they can remove her memories and all will be fine. Unfortunately, their plan doesn’t work. Jennifer falls deeper into death embrace.

It becomes evident Jennifer is more than just a Native American with psychic abilities. They soon discover she is half Selkie and her life essence resides within a wolf back in California. A hunt to find the wolf and bring her back to the lake estate begins. When Jennifer finally returns to her own body she learns the shocking truth about herself and those around her.

Born in New Tuat over five thousand years ago, Gabriel came to earth along with six others to hunt down and destroy his evil twin and his soulless followers who killed their races’ beloved king and see Earthlings as nothing more than a food source. Gabriel, ancient warrior in command of Guardians Incorporated, has long since turned cold and bitter towards love after losing the only woman he ever cared for. Then, he stumbles upon Jennifer, who is much more than she appears.

When history repeats itself, Gabriel must find a way to save Jennifer and the world before it is too late.

Eternal Lovers is the first volume of an epic tale of the women who fall hopelessly in love with the this group of immortal warriors.

Excerpt:

“Now, let’s start from the beginning, because heaven help me, I have no idea what just happened upstairs. All I know is, I was in the billiard room when Jennifer came running in, grabbed me and pulled me to the dance floor. She told me a wild story about being stalked by a pimp, describing you as her stalker… Then I look up and see your red eyes and fangs glaring at me… Can you explain any of this?”

“She called me a PIMP? A fucking PIMP? Of all things, a PIMP, I can’t believe she actually has the audacity to call me that.”

He sauntered across the room, paused then tipped up the bag. After draining it, he shook his head then turned back to him. “Really, a pimp?” 

Raphael smiled and nodded yes.

He stomped over and threw the empty bag of blood in the trash can with so much force the impact turned the can over. He plopped himself into a chair while running his fingers through the top of is hair; mumbling to himself more than talking to Raphael. What had he done?  And better yet why?

Raphael burst out in a roar of laughter.

Gabriel stood up, straightened his black Italian custom silk suit which had been tailored to fit his 6’8”, 280lb frame and glared back at him. “What is so fucking funny?”

“You… Gabe, my friend, look at your self. You’re a walking fucking disaster. Come on, lighten up. So the broad called you a pimp. Can’t you see the humor in it?”

“Not really.”

He lowered his head then burst into his own round of laughs. “Guess your right. I guess it is funny… sort of.

“Now that you’re done with the pimp shit, why don’t you tell me what happened?”

He took two deep breaths and started to reveal his thoughts on the night. After a couple of minutes he began to speak slowly concentrating on every word.

“I picked up the donors from Thomas’ club and we all drove over here together.”

Raphael smiled up at him. ”Okay, this is good, go on.”

“We came in the front door like party guests rather than coming through the back. I thought it might look better. You know people attending the party, especially with the women.”  

“Un huh, sounds like the right thing to do.” Raphael motioned with his hand for him to continue.

“When I first came in I smelled jasmine and orange blossoms, just like we use to on warm nights back in Egypt… Remember?”

“Yes, I remember.” Raphael continued to coach him on.

“Then all of a sudden, I felt like I was back, not a dream or a memory, but actually back in Memphis, walking along the temple gardens. Damn Raphael, I was holding her hand again. It was so FUCKING REAL!”

“All these years and you still mourn for her? I never knew… Hell, Gabe, it’s been what, almost six thousand years? Have you even had a lover since her? Man, it’s time, hell… its way past time… Maybe you should take comfort with one of the donors for a couple of nights.”

Had Raphael lost his mind? Shaking his head, he said, “Nah, not my thing, and I’m not finished. Let me get this out and maybe you can make some sort of sense of it, because I sure as hell can’t.”

“Okay, what happened next? Did you grab Jennifer because she was close… thinking she was … you know…?”

“No, No, No, it was nothing like that. I knew I didn’t want to see anymore so I closed my mind to the vision--if that’s what you want to call it. I realized the fragrance wasn’t coming from me or my thoughts. It was coming from the room. So using my senses I searched everyone in the room till I found where it was coming from. I finally pinpointed it--it was coming from her. At first, I just leaned back against the wall and watched her. I was trying to figure her out… She’s not immortal, but Goddess help me, she’s not mortal either. There is something totally different about her.”

“And what do you think that difference is?” Raphael asked still playing like a shrink.

“Hell, if I know! Anyway, while I was trying to figure it out, I noticed she was staring at me… Fuck, Raphael, she was checking me out… I could hear her mind examining everything about me, from my suit to my shades. She even thought I waxed my chest. Can you believe that?  She looked up and saw me looking at her. Our eyes met. I could feel her and I know she could feel me… For a moment, I thought there was some sort of recognition in those beautiful emerald green eyes of hers. Hell, I don’t know… Then she abruptly jumped up and headed for the bar. Before I knew it, I was standing at the bar behind her, taking in her fragrance. .. Fuck me! I smelled her hair like I was some wolf pup in heat. I don’t know if my fangs were showing or not, but I can tell you I was sporting one hell of hard on when she pushed me out of the way and yelled something at me… A few minutes later, I followed her so I could apologize for my rude behavior and then I saw her dancing with you... Man, I’m sorry, but the rage came on so fast… I nearly attacked you. I’m only glad it was you and you managed to pull me out of it… That’s it. I don’t know what else to tell you.”

Raphael rubbed his chin, like he was thinking hard about something, before replying. “Man, I don’t know what to say to that, but you did scare the shit out of her. I’ve spent a lot of time around Jennifer over the past 24 hours. She’s a really nice lady--for a human. She doesn’t seem the type who would fly off the handle unprovoked.”

“Let me ask you something, this girl… this Jennifer. Is she the Jennifer, Lance picked up at the airport?”

“One in the same… She is Alice’s best friend. Seems they went all through school together. If it wasn’t for her and her husband, Mick would have never met Ali….”

“SHE’S MARRIED!” he gasped.

Raphael nodded his head.

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