• Character Interviews,  Science Fiction Romance

    Character Interview: Evan Sinclair #SFrom @EvaCaye #RLFblog

    Evan’s Ladies
    Eva Caye, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. We’re excited to
    interview your character, Prince Evan Sinclair, from the book Evan’s Ladies.
    Genre: science fiction romance
    Publisher: self
    Cover artist: self
    Length: 81,072 words
    Heat rating: warm with one controversial topic
    Tagline: What is Fate?
    Blurb:  Science, sex, sorrow,
    solidarity, scandal, sympathy, and sense deprivation are hallmarks of this add-on
    novel to the To Be Sinclair series!
    Prince Evan Sinclair may be a brilliant stargate scientist, but
    his love life has soared to incredible heights and plunged to unbelievable depths.
    Who will stay by his side forever?
    Is true love more than attraction? More than compatibility? More
    than fascination? More than friendship?
    These four novellas chronologically take place between Loyalty and Nobility, books six and seven of the To Be Sinclair series.
    Part I: The Cremian Dance
    Part II: Good Enough
    Part III: Breathe
    Part IV: Treasure Your Words
    Buy links:
    Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CX76ZC0
    What are your main characters’ names, ages, and occupations?
    Prince Evan Sinclair, 22, stargate scientist; Lady Nicole Knightley,
    23, environmental scientist; Lady Sara Bonnaire, 22, assistant to the Lord Protector
    of the Ducal Assembly; Lady Vivian Oberman, 21, artist; Lady Leah Redgrave, 26,
    teacher.

    Interview with Evan Sinclair

    Tell us about yourself.
    I am the youngest son of Emperor Victor and Empress Felice Sinclair.
    My fellow triplets Josef and Sophia and I were body-births, whereas our parents
    used gestation chambers for our first nine siblings. The benevolence and brilliance
    with which our progressive parents raised their Imperial Brood means my magnificent
    sibs are renowned for their wit, intelligence, and social skills. My identical twin
    Josef and our age-mate Stefan are so ingenious, however, that I always felt like
    a dunderhead next to them, so when Mother began training us up in her secret stargate
    science, I struggled to keep up.
    When my first long-time girlfriend dropped me because she had
    fallen in love with Stefan, who would have nothing to do with her for breaking my
    heart, I felt even more terribly outclassed by my sibs, all of whom had found incredibly
    smart, loyal, and remarkable mates. All I want is to find an honest, brilliant lady
    who loves me for myself, stays true to me, and can stand to live with the dangers
    of being an Imperial spouse.
    What do you think is your strongest point?
    I will do anything to make my lady happy. Our parents based our
    sexual education on a Manuvian sexology textbook, The Pleasure Centers of the Body, so I know I can always make a lady
    happy in bed. But when she longs for her former lifestyle, or feels as if I cannot
    give her the attention she needs, I will pull strings and bend over backwards to
    be what she needs. And sometimes it is still not enough!
    What was it like where you grew up?
    Built almost 400 years ago, some 100 years after Landfall, the
    Palace and its walled and force-shielded grounds were considered a miracle of engineering
    in the galaxy back then. The kings and emperors over the centuries ensured it became
    a virtually impregnable fortress, and the queens and empresses a comfortable and
    beautiful one, but growing up in luxury does not mean your life is complete, nor
    completely safe. The Rendelian Wars and Dalanov’s Coup meant Father grew up as the
    sole Sinclair scion on the planet, with rabidly paranoid Sentinels and watchmen
    from the time he was six years old. We children were constantly prepared for potential
    disasters, including memorizing 37 scenarios to maintain Imperial leadership depending
    on which combinations of us survived the next devastating attack.
    Being surrounded by Sentinels meant it was nearly impossible
    for us to form outside friendships, for how many people really want professional,
    paranoid scrutiny of every facet of their lives by grim security men, just to be
    in our presence? Very few of my sibs developed strong friendships outside of their
    eventual spouses, so for the most part we grew up isolated in the Palace with each
    other as best friends.
    Sunday Family Night gatherings exemplified our parents’ determination
    to foster bonding between us, for we all knew we would be important in our oldest
    brother Zhaiden’s government someday. Although we were allowed our choice of careers,
    we used Family Nights to coordinate who would take over which social duties during
    the week, as well as to ask for or offer help on our personal projects. We could
    invite friends or lovers to Family Night, though we usually only did so if we felt
    they could handle it, for to be Sinclair means responsibility in our every word
    and action. Since most people do not live like that, witnessing our dedication to
    each other and the Empire could be rather intimidating to them.
    Until we were 20, the only way we traditionally found lovers
    was to meet them at balls, and Mother required the boys to introduce ladies to her
    before we could bed them in the Palace. We all complied, not simply because Mother
    was Empress and her word was law, but because she would also ask the ladies important
    questions such as whether they had a contraceptive implant. Even now I go through
    the process because the consequences of going against my parents’ rules would be
    severe. Even then, it’s sometimes not enough…
    What do you wish was different about your life?
    I wish I could walk around in public without the constant attention.
    Father upped our visible Sentinel details to six men when Anne, Stefan, Josef, and
    I mastered Mother’s ultra-secret stargate science, and that does not include our
    invisible outer perimeter details. We must give 26 hours notice to Sentinel Command
    for any excursions, which means we often go in groups. And it’s difficult to get
    to know people in such situations, especially because Sentinels only tell us about
    the more blatant assassination attempts on each other, so we naturally try to minimize
    our exposure for our subjects’ sake as well as our own.
    If you were given your fondest wish, what would it be?
    To have married my first fiancée.
    Describe a place of perfect refuge.
    I’m not certain I can. Even the Palace
    got bombed in such a way that the overhead force-shields were utterly destroyed.
    Sentinel Command is the most secure building on the planet, so I’ll go with that.
    What is your most important goal in life?
    To support the Empire of Sinclair Demesne in every way. Providing
    stargates to facilitate the spread of humanity throughout the galaxy garners the
    Empire vast sums of money, but helping my brothers with Sinclair Enterprises will
    lead to a revolution in starship technology, which will help us maintain our status
    as the preeminent Empire in the galaxy. And, all told, to support my extended family,
    since we are the interface between the Empire and the galaxy, protecting the Realm’s
    interests from both civil and interstellar wars.

    About the Author

    A health crisis inspired Eva Caye to become an obsessive writer,
    completing eight books in her To Be Sinclair series before she could afford an editor.
    She published Dignity in August 2012, with the projected release of her 8th book
    Nobility in late June 2013. She laughingly refers to Evan’s Ladies as Book 6.5,
    an ‘add-on’ book to the series since it consists of four novellas. The other seven
    books are full novels, though most have ‘Easter egg’ short stories as bonuses for
    the reader.
    The To Be Sinclair series is set some 600 years in the future
    and covers the lives and loves of the greatest ruling family in the galaxy. Her
    current works-in-progress are a finale to the series, and two prequels set in the
    TBS universe about 100 years in the future.
    Eva lives with her incredibly supportive husband and two lovely
    mutts in a tiny, century-old farmhouse in Louisville,
    Kentucky.

    Find Me Here

    Website: http://www.evacaye.com
  • RLF Gems

    RLF Gems: Blog Stats for May 2013 #RLFblog

    RLF Gems 
    In May, Romance Lives Forever had 23 posts in a 31 day month.
    Here are the top posts (judging by page views). There was a two-way tie for
    first place, including my post about Marketing for Romance Writers Marketing
    Summer Camp plans, and a three-way tie
    for fifth. Those posts were within one page view of each other.
    1. Vicki Batman
    1. Kayelle Allen
    2. Emerald
    3. Eva Caye
    4. Charlie Cochet
    5. Kendall McKenna
    5. Taylor
    Brooks
    5. Synithia Williams
    Honorable mention: Angela Kay Austin
    Authors who guest with us are promoted on Facebook, via
    Triberr to thousands of potential readers, are featured front page in the daily
    Romance Lives Forever Paper.li ezine,
    and the blog has its own hashtag (#rlfblog) on Twitter. This year, we also
    created the Booklover’s Guide to Romance
    Lives Forever
    with links to guest authors’ books and social media. It is
    110 pages crammed full of who to follow and what to read. The FAQ page provides
    updated downloads of optional interview questions, and a guide to the blog. You
    can also grab our button to promote your visit. Your cover can be featured on
    the blog for a small fee. Check out our advertising
    link for more information.
    My thanks to all who took part this month. You made Romance
    Lives Forever a great place to discover new books and authors.
    Other participants this month in alphabetical order by first
    name are:

    Ana Blaze, E Ayers, Eden
    Summers, Elise VanCise, Elodie Parkes, Jean Joachim, Jennifer France, Jill
    Elaine Hughes, Katya Armock, Kitty Barton, Melinda Dozier, MJ O’Shea, Mona
    Karel, ST Bende
  • Science Fiction Romance

    Scifi Romance: Loyalty @EvaCaye #RLFblog #SciFi

    Loyalty 

    Eva Caye, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. Let’s talk about
    your book, Loyalty.
    Genre: Science fiction romance
    Publisher: self
    Cover artist: self
    Length: 169,200 words / estimated 478 pages
    Heat rating: book – warm; Easter egg – fairly explicit
    Tagline: The cost of being Imperial
    Blurb: The dangers of being Imperial mean Princess Anne, Prince
    Brian, and Prince Christian must set aside their petty differences to support each
    other through thick and thin. As they struggle to find compatible mates, security
    issues come to the fore!
    Lord Andrés Encino, for example. As honorable as a man can get,
    he nevertheless represents true danger to Anne simply because he has a photographic
    memory, and she is the principal heiress to Empress Felice Sinclair’s ultra-secret
    stargate science. Anne sets aside her fears to pursue an intimate relationship with
    the immensely talented designer, which means her Sentinel Lieutenant brother Brian
    must also investigate all the Encino family secrets that could lead to security
    breaches.
    As Service Lieutenant Prince Christian Sinclair battles his own
    insecurities, hoping to find a lady who could withstand the Imperial social scene,
    his ship is called upon to investigate the sudden disappearance of the Stargate
    Fleet, including Mother, Anne, and brother Josef. Their travails expand dramatically
    as the Imperial Family copes with the consequences of the Crandon Stargate Fleet
    Battle and the persistent attempts of the Atticans to either capture or destroy
    all stargate scientists!
    What is the cost of being Imperial, in isolation and friendship
    and love? And how can they find partners willing to live with the security requirements
    needed to maintain not only their own safety, but that of the Empire?
    Buy links:
    Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Loyalty-To-Be-Sinclair-ebook/dp/B00CLDM3MW/ and 
    What are your main characters’ names, ages, and occupations?
    Sentinel Lieutenant Prince Brian Sinclair, 24; Service Lieutenant Prince Christian
    Sinclair, 23 ; Princess Anne Sinclair, 22
    To Be Sinclair series

    Interview

    What is the most important thing you do for your career now,
    as compared to when you first started writing?
    I constantly research and edit. At first I just wanted to get
    the major actions and dialogue down, but now I continuously edit for consistency,
    grammar, and fleshing out the scenes with pertinent information, such as burn therapies.
    What do you enjoy most about writing?
    I never know where it will take me. Sometimes I feel like I am
    accessing a portal to a parallel future dimension in which my characters live. I
    spy upon them and let the visions gather until I have to write the scene. Then I
    ‘watch’ the scenes in my head and whisper to the characters, questions like, “What
    are you feeling? Why did you do that?” In some respects, it’s a god-like power
    of omniscience, but in other respects I cannot change things; they will act out
    the scenes until I write what THEY do and think. I know the overall plot before
    I start, but otherwise I am simply their scribe
    What is your work ethic when it comes to writing?
    Get it down, rewrite, explore every angle, put yourself in your
    character’s position to understand him or her thoroughly, then research the hell
    out of everything. And then send it to the beta readers, rewrite if they make significant
    suggestions, send it to the editor, rewrite according to her suggestions, back to
    the editor for a final check, and one final edit.
    How do you cope with stress as an author?
    Although I write all the time, it’s my passion so I suffer very
    little stress, no matter how focused I get. Most of my stress comes from beating
    myself up when I find another inconsistency I missed the first hundred times I edited!
    I have wrist phones and shuttle ports, so when I find a wristphone or a shuttleport,
    I go nuts until it is uploaded to Amazon or Smashwords one more time.
    Do things your family or friends do ever end up in a book?
    Absolutely! I include a ton of personal experiences, mostly my
    own, but I do not hesitate to include others.
    Which of your books would you recommend to someone who doesn’t
    normally read your genre, and why?
    I wrote Dignity for
    many reasons, but overall I wanted it to be a book that would entice romance readers
    into reading science fiction. I wanted to see more great female scientists in literature,
    so naturally she had to fall in love and learn how to deal with emotions she’s never
    experienced before!
    What kind of books do you read when taking a break from your
    own writing?
    I usually read non-fiction, but I have so many interests it would
    be hard to narrow them down. I would say my personal library has about 20% spiritual
    or religious books, for I was a ‘seeker’ for many years.
    What do you think is the future of traditional publishing?
    Traditional publishing will always exist until every e-reader
    can be charged with solar power and have books downloaded directly via satellite.
    Many of my family members live where internet access is impossible without satellite
    dishes.
    Do you plan to branch out into other genres?
    Absolutely. The To Be Sinclair series does not have ‘aliens’,
    though there are life-forms on many planets, so I have some ‘alien contact’ synopses
    in my Books to Write folder. I have about 25 items in my Working Files folder, at
    least a third of which are non-fiction, though some will end up as articles, blog
    posts, and short stories instead of books.
    What was the proudest moment of your life so far?
    My first five-star review, which I wrote about here: http://www.evacaye.com/my-first-five-star-review/.
    Turning away from the lowest point in my life to become an obsessive author, and
    then sending my first book to my first reviewer and getting a five-star review was
    like winning an Oscar for a debut performance.
    What do you like to do when you’re bored?
    I’m never bored. There’s too much to do and learn! I suffer major
    depressive disorder, which is characterized by real physical symptoms, like lack
    of energy, inability to perceive your surroundings, I could go on and on. When I
    have energy, I garden or clean or do something fun; when I have no energy, which
    is the usual state of affairs, I write or do research online or crochet, just to
    feel like I’m being productive.
    If you were a color, what color would you be?
    Indigo.
    Please underline which statement is more like you:
    “I am a vacation spa because I am laid back and relaxed.”
    “I am a ten-countries in ten-days tour vacation, because
    I do things as fast as possible.”
    Eva Caye

    Please complete the sentences

    I love pizza with fresh veggies.
    I’m always ready for a chat on Facebook.
    When I’m alone, I am either reading, writing, or sleeping.
    You’d never be able to tell, but I’m a pretty good tarot reader.
    If I had a halo it would be shaped
    like the headdress of Nefertiti
    .
    If I could travel in time, I’d save the Library of
    Alexandria and see
    what the future will be like in 1000 years
    .
    I can never stop reading spiritual books because I
    believe miracles are simply a science we don’t understand yet, though a few people
    have passed along some good ‘clues’ along the way
    .

    Previous Books

    The To Be Sinclair
    series: Dignity; Majesty; Fealty; Royalty;
    Dynasty.

    Books Coming Soon

    Evan’s Ladies (an add-on
    novel to the series, consisting of four novellas, expected May 20, 2013); Nobility (summer 2013); a finale the title
    of which I will not divulge until its publication, and two series prequels tentatively
    titled Enter the Goddess and Undying Dawn.

    Find Me Here

    Website: http://www.evacaye.com