Interview with Rayka Mennen and Giveaway - October 11, 2011

Please welcome Rayka Mennen to The Qwillery. Rayka is the author of the Enchanted Destiny series from Entangled Publishing.

TQ:  What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

Rayka:  When I am writing an intense scene, I have to plunk myself on the couch in the living room, in the most uncomfortable position you could possible sit in, with my laptop. I just can’t seem to get the rhythm in my very nice study with a beautiful view of the backyard, palms trees and all. Irritates my family to no end because I’m always shushing someone. Why, they ask, can’t you sit in your study, where no one is allowed to enter but you? I’m a writer, I say. I’m allowed strange quirks.

TQ:  Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Rayka:  A hybrid – whatever you want to call that – plotpants? I do make a basic outline and then, it’s like a Thanksgiving sale—free for all where my characters just sort of guide me along. It makes for tedious revisions, I can tell you. Why? Because my characters don’t always understand scene and sequel and plot points and just want to do what they want to do.

TQ:  What inspired you to write the Enchanted Destiny series?

Rayka:  A little of bit of everything. Sometimes I can pinpoint where my ideas came from but most times, something will occur to me, and I’ll start a series of what-if questions in my mind as I’m driving to work. And then by the time I realize this is a story line with good novel or novella potential, I can’t remember what set off the idea in the first place.

TQ:  What sort of research did you do for the series?

Rayka:  This one was pretty simple. I mostly looked over some witch lore and Wiccan sites. Because it’s a novella, I had to be careful not to make the world so complicated that there were more questions than answers at the end.

TQ:  Describe Enchanted Destiny (Enchanted Destiny 1) in 140 characters or less.

Rayka:  Kat’s soul mate appears on her horizon, just before her 25th birthday. She must join with him by her birthday, or she will lose her powers.

TQ:  Why did you set Enchanted Destiny in Chicago, Illinois?

Rayka:  I wrote this book many moons ago. I was living in Chicago at the time—very close to the area where I set the book. It’s a quaint little neighborhood in the middle of the city and I used to jog past the townhomes. One evening, I noticed several had Halloween decorations up, lights on inside. They looked so cozy and wholesome and I thought- ha, what if a witch lived here? What if Kat lived here?

TQ:  Without giving anything away, what is/are your favorite scene(s) in Enchanted Destiny?

Rayka:  You know, I find my favorite scenes change with the times—my mood, where I am in my own life journey. But for Enchanted Destiny, I think the one I like most is Jake’s vision of the future.

TQ:  In Enchanted Destiny, who was the most difficult character to write and why? The easiest and why?

Rayka:  Jake was easy. Red-blooded male, incredulous about all this magic stuff. Kat was harder. She’s a smart, independent woman with a business and pretty incredible powers. I had to make her accept her destiny without looking weak. I think at one point, my long-suffering editor pointed out Kat was a little too perfect. Ack! We write what we want to be, yes?

TQ:  How many books are planned for the series?

Rayka:  Two more after this one – Enchanted Desire, coming out in December from Entangled Publishing; and the yet unnamed, Book 3.

TQ:  What's next?

Rayka:  I am so excited about the cover for the sequel—Enchanted Desire.  http://www.raykamennen.com/?page_id=92 When I saw the cover for Enchanted Destiny, I loved it. When Heather Howland sent me the cover for Desire, I wasn’t sure I wanted to look. Could she really produce two terrific covers, I wondered? I shouldn’t have doubted. Beautiful! After this, because Book 3 in this series is already written, I’m going back to my eagle shape shifter book, polishing it up for the 75th time, before I sent it out to find a home.

TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery

Rayka:  Thanks for hosting me—loved your questions.


About the Enchanted Destiny Series

Enchanted Destiny
Enchanted Destiny 1
Paranormal Romance Novella
(Entangled Publishing, October 2011)

Kat never believed she’d fall victim to her family’s stories about destined soul mates—she makes her own fate, thank you very much. When she walks by a construction site and admires the same sexy architect for the zillionth time in a week, the last thing she expects is to be slammed by a vision of his death.

Which activates the spell that will change their lives forever.

Jake is a single dad with a singular focus—create a stable life for him and his son. His ex-wife cured him of any desire to fall in love, but when an intriguing woman saves him from what should’ve been a deadly accident, he can’t shake his fascination. Too bad she’s crazy, claiming she’s a witch and that they’re soul mates—not exactly the “stable life” he had in mind.

Kat’s destiny comes with a deadline. If they don’t fall in love by her twenty-fifth birthday—a mere three weeks away—Jake will never find the peace he seeks and Kat will lose her magic forever.

Amazon : Barnes & Noble : BooksOnBoard : Diesel : Powell's Books

Cover for
Enchanted Desire
Enchanted Destiny 2

About Rayka

If Rayka Mennen has failed to see the little fairies dancing under the toadstools, it’s because she wasn’t looking hard enough. She writes romance because she believes. She writes for the sheer joy of creating and sometimes, in the process, discovers new worlds and friends. Be it in the country seat of the saturnine Duke, or in the slightly off center world of the reluctant contemporary witch, the humdrum existence of the forty something single mom, the fantasy realm of seers and mages, or the deadly double‐life of the secret agent, Rayka offers every reader something to tickle their fancy, to fuel their daydreams, or inspire their own fantasy.

Rayka's Links

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter


The Giveaway

THE RULES

What:  One commenter will win an ebook of Enchanted Destiny (Enchanted Destiny 1) from Entangled Publishing.

How:  Leave a comment.

You may receive additional entries by:

1)  Being a Follower of The Qwillery.

2)  Mentioning the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter. Even if you mention the giveaway on both, you will get only one additional entry. You get only one additional entry even if you mention the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter multiple times.

3)  Mentioning the giveaway on your on blog or website. It must be your own blog or website; not a website that belongs to someone else or a site where giveaways, contests, etc. are posted.

There are a total of 4 entries you may receive: Comment (1 entry), Follower (+1 entry), Facebook and/or Twitter (+ 1 entry), and personal blog/website mention (+1 entry). This is subject to change again in the future for future giveaways.

Please leave links for Facebook, Twitter, or blog/website mentions. In addition please leave a way to contact you.

Who and When: The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm US Eastern Time on Tuesday, October 18, 2011. Void where prohibited by law. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.

*Giveaway rules are subject to change.*