Reading For Fun: Interview with OIBF Attending Author D.A. Roach!

I am beyond excited to welcome author D.A. Roach to Reading For Fun. She will be attending OIBF on October 19-22, 2017 in Springfield, MO. and I can’t wait to see her again! Hello D.A. Roach, thank you for joining us today. I thought we would begin by getting to know more about you.

Thank you for having me. I’ve enjoyed meeting you and getting to know you better, the more we interact with each other. I’m thrilled to have this invitation.

What or who inspired you to go into writing?

My dental hygienist. She asked where our family was headed on vacation and I told her Gatlinburg, TN to visit these people who we met thirty years ago and became our life-long friends. I told her the story of how our lives came together and she set her instruments down and said, “You have got to write that down to pay homage to those people. The story is amazing and deserves to be told.”

I decided to give it a try and wrote it as a short story, had a friend edit it, and used Createspace to self-publish it. People read and enjoyed it and I enjoyed the process of writing. Tricia, the dental hygienist, probably had no idea that she created a monster in the chair that day!

How many books do you currently have available?

6. Trusting Strangers is the short story on amazon. I also have 2 stories in anthologies (Detours in our Destinations and 13, and Anthology of Dark Fiction and Horror) and 3 novels published with Limitless Publishing (Rarity, Between the Bleeding Willows (Book 1 of the Demon Hunters series) and Within the Darkest Hollows (Book 2 of the Demon Hunters series)

Which of your books/ series are you most proud of and why?

The Demon Hunters series. It was a total challenge as I had never written Paranormal before. The characters were completely made up as well as the lore and plot. The characters really came to life and took over the story, I honestly am just along for the ride as they seem to control where the story goes. But it’s a fun story to write and I hope, for readers, that it’s fun to read.

Do you have a favorite quote from one of your books? If so, could you share it with us and explain why?

“I’m really sorry you got pulled into all of this. Probably best to keep your distance from me because I’m not sure it’s over yet.” He opened the door and headed out without looking back. – Rarity I am not the best with full on quotes, which is ironic because I have a notebook of favorite quotes, I collect them like I collect rocks from each of my vacations. I’m much better at scenes and overall interactions than one liners. This line is probably my favorite because Jay is going through so much emotional turmoil and he’s pushing Brogan away. Makes me sad for him, that he doesn’t want her to help him through this time, but when you are going through something as life changing and emotional as he is, you don’t think much about other people, you’re just trying to figure out the next day, hour, minute.

13: An Anthology of Horror and Dark Fiction you released in October had quite a few creepy stories. Could you please tell us a little about your story, Anesthesia?

I predominantly read and write YA and I attempted to make Anesthesia YA but I ended up flipping into the NA zone to make it more thrilling. Anesthesia is about a girl about to graduate from college and is preparing to start anew with a new career and new look. She has worked hard to save her money to afford a breast reduction as she has grown to hate her large assets, attracting guys only interested in physical relationships. She puts in her notice at work and tells them that she’ll be moving across country to start a new job. This news is not welcomed by all and the true nature and motives of some will be revealed.

Could you tell us a little bit about your Demon Hunters series? ****Your Demon Hunter Series is fantastic, especially a really hot Clan Leader by the name of Killian****

The Demon Hunters series is about a girl, Cassidy, who has recently lost the two most important people in her life. She’s graduated from high school but feeling lost and disconnected from life. He boyfriend was wearing her grandmother’s ring when he died in a car crash near an abandoned cemetery and unfortunately, it was unrecovered from the crash site. Cassidy goes to the site to look for the ring and hears someone call her dead boyfriend’s name. She goes to investigate and finds two shadowy figures running through the cemetery. When they reach the two willows, they vanish. Cassidy goes to investigate and ends up falling through a gate to the Demon Realm.

She wakes in the compound of the Demon Hunters, a clan tasked with keeping the balance between good and evil, hunting the demons that try to break through to the Human Realm. The Hunters are unsure how she crossed as no mortal has ever managed to do so without magic.

The series is about Cassidy trying to find her place amongst the Demon Hunters and the Clans struggle to fight the uprising evil and the new demons that are raging against them.

Are you currently working on another book, if so can you share a little something about it? Is it YA, NA, Adult? What genre?

I’m finishing book 3 in the series (that will be the last book). I also am reworking a YA drama series that I had previously written entitled J+P series. It’s about a girl heading off to college and meeting a new group of fun and supportive friends (and a guy that catches her interest). The more she is around them and gets to know them, the more she realizes that she came from an unhealthy home of emotional and verbal abuse. As she feels herself getting stronger and understanding what real love is and feels like, her family pulls the strings tight and threatens to again, take control of her life and decisions. There will be at least 4 books in the series.

~~Now for a little FuN!~~

Who is your favorite author?

I’d have to say Rebecca Donovan.

Do you have a favorite book that you come back to time and time again?

The Breathing Series by Rebecca Donovan. She created a beautiful love story, amazing boyfriend and example of unconditional love, and strong story of abuse and its effects on someone. I laughed, I cried, I picked my jaw up off the ground as I read this series.

If you could go one place, where would you go and why?

California. I went to the Half Moon Bay and San Francisco area a few years ago and fell in love. The temperature was mild, people were nice, lots of skateboarders, ocean, mountains…I honestly wish I could live there.

Twilight or Hunger Games?

Twilight! It was the first huge book I read, first series I read, and it jump started my love of reading. The love story was great, the characters were vivid, and Stephanie Meyer created her own modern fairy tale.

Would you please share something quirky about yourself that most people wouldn't know?

I am petrified of teeth. In the mouth…no problem, but if you have a loose tooth or some horror movie does something with teeth – I have to shut my eyes and ears. It totally freaks me out. I am fine at the dentist but I blame one of the Saw movies for creating that fear.

One last question...it needs to be a good one…

Who is your most favorite celebrity hunk? What do you find so smexy about him?

I’m going for Joseph Morgan aka Klaus Mikaelson from The Originals. He’s easy on the eyes but the true winning factor is his charisma, intensity, range of emotions, and good humor off screen.

Thank you so much for taking time from your busy schedule to share your thoughts and work with us. I can’t wait to see you at OIBF!!