Feature Author: Glenda Reynolds

Please welcome this week's feature author - Glenda Reynolds.  We have TWO special treats with her interview!  First, we are also joined by one of her characters who has agreed to answer some questions for us AND she her book, Goddess of the Moon: Mayan World of Vampires is free on Amazon today and tomorrow HERE.

Violet: What is your inspiration? What helps you get through writer's block?

Glenda: I find inspiration in the Bible, movies/TV series, and my music playlist. Usually if I’m stumped, a talk with a friend or my husband will spark ideas.

Violet: Do you listen to music when you write? Have a completely silent space?

Glenda: I do not listen to music while I write. I either like to sit against my headboard on the bed or sit and look out into my lush green backyard through the glass patio door while I write.

Violet: Who inspires you? What authors do you look up to? Why?

Glenda: Amanda Hocking and Stephenie Meyer inspire me. I look up to Stephenie Meyer because while she wrote some of the most popular paranormal romance books made into some fantastic movies, she incorporated her Christian beliefs into her writing: no sex before marriage, no bad language and no pornographic scenes. And yet her books still had plenty of romance in them and are accepted by a wide audience. Amanda Hocking also inspires me for the following reasons: her writing style is very basic and fluid; she made self-publishing look easy to do; she became successful even when people balked at her because she was self-published.

Violet: When did you first start writing? What genre do you prefer?

Glenda: I started writing in March 2010 just for fun at the office. I shared my writing with my coworker and her two young girls. I prefer the young adult genre.

Violet: If you had to choose another genre to write, what would it be? Why?

Glenda: It might be non-fiction / self-help. This is probably because I recently purchased a book from an author who talked about family estrangement. She mislead me into thinking that her book addressed that when in fact it was journal about her life: her midlife crisis, giving birth to 8 children, her misdiagnosis of being bipolar, her love of country music, and Bible scripture woven in. I would like to try to address family estrangement. Or I would like to do something like a devotional or an inspirational calendar, or combine both.

Violet: What is your favorite book (or who is your favorite author) and why?

Glenda: I have to say up front that I’m not a big reader; therefore, I don’t have a long list of authors. But Stephenie Meyer would have to top my list. Her writing style draws me in to where it is difficult to put her book down. It makes a love affair come to life inside of me. Her book Twilight, the first in the four book saga, is my favorite of them all. To me it has the most romance.  But my all time favorite book is the Bible for life. Love stories will fade away, but God’s word abides forever.

Violet: Do you have another job and if so what is it?

Glenda: I work at the home office of a Pizza Hut franchise for 15 stores. I work as an Administrative Assistance. That’s the title I usually tell people since I’m a receptionist / mail person / shipping person who sends the Pizza Huts office supplies when they need them. But I also order their food trucks (stuff to make pizza, pasta, beverages, wings) and analyze their paper work when it arrives at the office.

Violet: Tell about your first book and how long it took you to write the first draft?

Glenda: I’d say it took me a year and a half for the first draft since in the beginning it wasn’t a serious book project. My coworker urged me along in order to get fresh reading material. I had a fresh appreciation for the modern vampire after Twilight and the Vampire Diaries, especially with the Damon character. I wanted my character to have some kind of beginning, so I chose the Yucatan (since I love the lush green jungle) and to end up in old Florida. I chose the City of Coba since it has been largely unexcavated, and I liked the location. The story follows princess Melanna’s birth that is witnessed by a vampire named Tez. The queen makes Tez promise to protect her daughter before the queen dies. Wherever the princess is, Tez is always close by unnoticed until fate revealed him to her. Meanwhile a vampire queen named Zafrina has taken over the city of Coba and demands the ritual of human sacrifice. The king cowers and gives her what she wants, even if it means his own daughter. Melanna has to deal with an older sister who tries to have her killed. Melanna also discovers that she is the Prophesied One to lead Coba into battle against the vampires that have taken over. There are twists and turns; vampires that you love to hate; a plot that leaves you begging for more.

Violet: List all of your titles with a one sentence synopsis of each.

Glenda: 

Goddess of the Moon: Mayan World of Vampires Vol. 1

A YA kick-butt paranormal romance with a Mayan princess, who overcomes many obstacles to free her city from a blood thirsty vampire coven, gets a drop dead gorgeous vampire boyfriend, reconciles with her father, and meets up with a healing angel, but not without paying a great price.

The Cursed Leviathan (unpublished/currently writing) Vol. 2

The story continues with Melanna searching for Tez; the vampire pirate Captain Jon Devon and his cursed love Desiree pillage the Caribbean; and the Dark One wars with the Florida natives.

Violet: Who is your favorite character? Why?

Glenda: My favorite character is Tez since he was inspired by the Puerto Rican actor / singer Chayanne. Tez is the best and the worst in all of us but seeks to find redemption and a place in this world. He is dark, gorgeous, witty, and profound.

Violet: Who is your least favorite character? Why?

Glenda: My least favorite character would have to be Melanna’s sister, Eleuia. One of my relatives was the inspiration for this character. You could say it was therapy.

Violet: Which character was most difficult to write?

Glenda: I might have to say that Zafrina was difficult to write. How do you get into the mind of pure evil? What drives her besides blood lust?

Violet: What scenes are most difficult to write?

Glenda: The fighting scenes were difficult. It’s like choreographing a fight scene for the big screen except on a smaller scale in my head.

Violet: Do you see yourself in any of your characters?

Glenda: I think I see a bit of me in Melanna as far as dealing with a dysfunctional family

Violet:  Indie pub or trad pub?

Glenda: Indie pub for now. I’d like to become traditionally published since a writer gets more recognition that way: big stores carry your books and the publisher does some advertizing for you.

Violet: What is your favorite scene? Why?

Glenda: I think that the honeymoon is my favorite scene because it contains a twist and some passion.

Violet: Give a one sentence summary.

Glenda: Melanna awaits her fate in the honeymoon suite, plotting to put an end to the man behind the mask, but she ends up surrendering to him body and soul.

Violet:  If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?

Glenda: Maybe Amanda Hocking to ask her what has driven her to write so many stories even before she became famous and for her to tell me any other secrets about the writing industry that I haven’t discovered yet.

Violet: If you could take the place of one of your characters, which one would you choose and why?

Glenda: I would probably choose Xoco, a warrior woman of Coba who has an ordinary boyfriend. She has real attitude and knows how to handle herself. At least there are no complications with vampirism when you have an ordinary boyfriend.

Violet: If you could vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go and what would you do?

Glenda: I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii. I would like to hula dance and maybe visit some beautiful gardens and parks there.

Violet: What is your favorite TV show/movie from your childhood?  What is it now?

Glenda: I loved watching Lost in Space when I was a kid. I use to fantasize that Dr. Robinson would make a good father to me (I grew up without my father). Today it’s between Dancing with The Stars and Vampire Diaries.

Like what you read?  You can find more about Glenda here: http://glenda-reynolds.weebly.com

AND  for the promised feature.....here is an interview with Tez

What is your full name?

Tezcatli Uetzcayotl (Tez)

Where were you born/created?

The Northern Yucatan near Palenque. My immortal life began on my honeymoon when Zafrina and her Ancients decimated my village and murdered my bride. Zafrina was hoping that I’d be her companion. She made me drink from her and threw me over a high waterfall where my mortal life ended.

What would you say are your greatest strengths?  Weaknesses?

Strengths ~ power to affect plant life, compulsion, great muscular strength and speed, musically gifted on the flute, and the ability to call birds of prey with my cuff bracelet.

Weaknesses ~ I will burn up in the sun without my silver talisman

Who is your best friend and why?

Amoxtli, our priest of the Brotherhood of the Eagle, is my closest friend. He knows all about me and my history with the brotherhood.

If you could be anything other than Tez the vampire what would you be and why?

I would be Tez the mortal, father of many children, husband to a beautiful Mayan woman, farmer, and fisherman. I would live a fulfilling life, and when my time would come, my spirit will fly like the eagles.

If you could be any other character, who would you be and why?

I think I would make a better king Tetaneeka. I would like to think that I could be the kind of father to Melanna that she never had. She would’ve grown up knowing that she was loved instead of being cast off to be tended to by other people.  I would not have withheld my love from her because her mother died giving birth to her. Although I have always been there in the shadows watching over her, as her father I would’ve been there for her no matter what.

What is your favorite book and why?

“The Fall of Man and the Promise of the Great Spirit”. It’s a book that gives me hope and that prophesies about my beloved princess Melanna who becomes the Prophesied One who overthrows the reign of the vampire queen Zafrina.

If you could take a vacation anywhere, where would you go?

I think that I would enter the seventh heaven on a billowy cloud with Melanna and make passionate love with her until we are both spent.

What do you think of your author?

She calls herself the “accidental author”. For someone who never planned to be a writer, I say she does pretty good. I noticed that her style is very reserved, hence the honeymoon scene without the graphic detail. Although being a guy and a vampire, I don’t have a problem with such things, but I agree that “kid friendly” is a good thing. If anyone has a strong disagreement with me on this may find himself hanging from a tree in the garden with the words “Don’t mess with the author” written in blood on his chest.

If you were on Vampire Diaries Survivor, which character would win?  Who would be voted off first?

I think that Stephen would be voted off first. After all, I’m older and feed from sharks and jaguars. I am stronger when I feed from larger animals versus feeding from small humans. I think I would have a good chance to win, although Katerina is older than I am. But then she doesn’t possess any special gifts as a vampire. On the other hand the original vampires would be difficult to beat. But then they don’t have the Great Spirit to draw strength from or to be able to call on birds of prey to help.