• Fantasy

    Fantasy: Glamourhai @msjessmahler | Interview #RLFblog #serial

    Jess Mahler, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. Let’s talk about
    your book, Glamourhai.
    Genre: Fantasy Romance
    Publisher: Self published
    Cover artist:
    Length: 80,000
    Heat rating: Moderate
    Tagline: He bartered his freedom to save his sister, and got
    more than he bargained for.
    Blurb:
    When the fae lord, Oeloeff, takes his sister, Mattin seeks out
    Countess Jahlene n’Erida, a fae noble who is Oeloff’s enemy, and begs her to help
    free his sister. In return for her help, he offers the only thing he has–himself.
    Lady Jahlene accepts Mattin’s offer, and he finds himself an initiate of a strange
    world where pain is pleasure, cruelty is love, and nothing is as it seems.
    Mattin hates being a slave, almost as much as he hates and fears
    the fae. But as he learns more about Jahlene, he finds himself drawn to her, and
    her sadistic pleasures. As they race to prepare their trap for Oeloff, Mattin fights
    to reconcile his desires with his fears. Until he makes a mistake that costs him
    everything…
    Buy links:
    Fantasy Romance Serial http://www.fantasyromanceserial.com
    What are your main characters’
    names, ages, and occupations?
    Mattin is a 22 year old human. He is Jahlene’s slave and personal
    attendent.
    Jahlene n’Erida is a 50 year old fae. She is the Countess of
    Erida.

    Interview

    Tell us about your story’s
    world. What is it like in this period or place?
    Glamourhai is set in an original fantasy world that is culturally
    a mash up of Germany during the
    Renaissance and colonial America.
    The empire that county
    Erida is part of is made up
    of humans and fae, but ruled entirely by the fae, who conquered the humans in what
    for most people is ancient history.
    The fae have a power called glamour that allows them to sense
    the emotions of people around them and to control people by taking over their will.
    They need to feed on emotions to power their glamour. And, as Mattin eventually
    observes, it’s a lot easy to create negative emotioins, like pain, fear and anger,
    than positive ones. Which has led to the development of some sadistic customs in
    fae culture.
    Most humans live ‘normal’ lives and try to avoid the fae as much
    as possible, but fae nobles have the right to take humans from their lands as slaves.
    Which is how Mattin gets into trouble…
    What inspired you to write
    this book?
    I got an image in my head one day, of a man, on his knees and
    utterly devastated. He had just failed and betrayed his Mistress, his love, and
    knew that what he had done was so horrible, she could never forgive him.
    Writing this story was really the process of discovering what
    had led up to that moment, and what happened after.
    Why do you write?
    Because I love too. I have stories in my head and I want to share
    them with the world.
    I also hope, in some small ways, to help change the world. I
    remember the authors who shaped my view of the world, from Lackey, whose books helped
    me see past my family’s rejection of homosexuality, to Heinlein, who challenged
    my ideas of what society is and can become, and many others. And I hope that in
    some small way, someone might read my books about a black fae woman, and a man who
    chooses to submit to her, and see the people around them a little bit differently.
    When you write, what things
    do you want close at hand? (Coffee, water, chocolate… pictures of gorgeous hunks
    for inspiration…?)
    Water and music. On good writing days, I’m listening to Blackmore’s
    Night, Voltaire, Trixie Pixie, Heather Dale and Rockapella. On bad writing days,
    I have a play list called ‘energizing’ that’s all songs to get my blood moving and
    help me get past the doldrums.
    When you’re not writing,
    what would we find you doing?
    Reading,
    playing with my kids, chatting on twitter, or taking long walks. I’m a homebody.
    Are you a plotter, or
    do you prefer to make it up on the spur of the moment?
    Somewhere in between. I actually start out writing a brief synopsis
    (about one page long) that covers most of the major plot points. Then I expand it,
    and expand it again, adding more details and subplots and scenes each time. About
    half way through I’ll have a dozen fully fleshed out scenes, and a whole bunch of
    “this happens, and then this happens, and then this person needs to do this,
    but I don’t know how yet…”
    So I guess you could say I’ve ‘plotted’ the bones of the story
    ahead of time, but I make up a whole bunch of stuff on the spur with each expansion.
    What’s your writing schedule
    like?
    Whenever time allows!
    Any advice for new authors?
    Keep writing, and watch out for Dunning-Kreuger. If you are a
    new writer and aren’t seeing lots of problems in your work, you don’t know enough
    to be a good writer.
    When an idea hits you,
    what do you do to capture it?
    I have a folder on my computer labelled ‘mason jar.’ New ideas
    get saved in there with as much detail as I can come up with—usually the one scene
    that caught my imagination and synopsis of anything else i’ve come up with.
    What other jobs have you
    held besides writing?
    I’ve worked in massage therapy, customer service, retail, freelance
    writing and been a house-spouse.
    What’s the best gift you
    ever received?
    It’s not the usual sort of gift, but after sending letters and
    phone calls for a few years, I was going to meet my biological family and spend
    a week with them. I got of the bus, and my mother and sister met me. I think we
    were all feeling awkward—I certainly was! And I wasn’t entirely sure that I wasn’t
    making a mistake. We went to dinner and as we were walking out of the restaurant
    we started—I don’t remember who started it or why, but suddenly we were all singing
    together, one of my favorite songs. In perfect harmony, no less. And I knew, just
    knew, that everything would be great. (I was right, too!)
    What kind of music do
    you listen to while driving? Same question when writing?
    Driving I usually listen to classic rock. Sometime folk, musicals
    or classical. Writing…I think I answered that already ;^)
    Do you play any musical
    instruments?
    Piano, but I’m horribly out of practice. I learned flute in school,
    but I’ve forgotten almost all of. I can still play a high C.
    Are you the eldest, middle,
    baby, or only child?
    I’m the eldest twice over. I’m the eldest of both my adoptive
    and biological families.
    What do you wish I had
    asked you?
    So what’s this I hear
    about a webserial?
    I’m doing a bit of an experiment and releasing the entire novel
    as a free webserial. The Glamourhai webserial began posting on Nov 1, and the book
    will be released on Dec 1. Anyone who wants can read the entire story for free—as
    long as they don’t mind waiting until June or July (and enduring multiple cliffhangers)
    to get to the ending.

    Please complete the sentences.

    I love pizza with chicken.
    I’m always ready for a good book.
    When I’m alone, I pace while working out the next road block
    in my story.
    You’d never be able to tell, but in my own way, I am very
    traditional.
    If I had a halo it would be hanging on a hook out of the way
    somewhere.
    If I could never read again I’d go crazy
    I can never watch horror movies because I’m a fraidy
    cat!

    Find Me Here

    Website: http://www.fantasyromanceserial.com