Shonda Brock and I have been working together for a long time and how it has flown by! We’ve had so much fun over the years. We knew we were destined to make a good creative team because we both were born on January 22nd. We also both appreciate wine, books, and yoga.

Shonda Brock served in the US Military before becoming a medical professional and a busy mom. Somehow, she manages to squeeze in some writing every now and then. She is also an indie author advocate, hosting Paranormal Author Interviews and some of the best writing contests on the web.

Her paranormal romance series, Eternal Traces, features powerful female characters, exotic locations, and fascinating historical references. Readers who like diverse romances layered with mysticism, pulse-pounding action, and a fair amount of blood will enjoy her books.

I’m thrilled to introduce you to Shonda. I’ll leave all her links at the end. Please leave your comments for her as well!

1. When did you get that first spark of the idea for Eternal Traces?

It was the prefect storm. I had a story brewing in the back of my mind, I was going through this Egyptian history craze and my oldest son came to me with the idea of self-publishing (he’s a writer too). All three hit at the same time, it made perfect sense for me to write Eternal Traces. Actually, it felt more like Eternal Traces demanded me to write her.

2. Your MC, Meryt Brownstone is a kick-ass woman. What about your time in the service, did you draw on as part of her personality?

I get that a lot, “Does the main character pull from your personality?” My answer is always the same. All the characters pull from my personality and my experiences, my failures, my success and odds & ends of people who have caught my eye over the years.

I think most writers walk around with about 5 or 6 people floating around in their minds. The real fun starts when the characters start to grow on their own and they are no longer driven by us, but develop themselves.

I will say this about Meryt; she started as a piece of me, but her life grew to be her own. (She’s pissed at me right now that I won’t spend more time with her story.)

3. Each of your characters is a reincarnation of a historical figure from ancient Egypt. How did you choose which historical figure to match each character (or vice versa)? How much research was involved?

Remember I said I was going through this Egyptian craze? Well it started with watching historical shows on ancient Egypt and when that wasn’t enough, I started reading and researching the period. So the characters were developed in their ancient forms first, and in my mind I couldn’t let their stories end. I kept wondering “What if?”…What if they lived today facing our politics and daily pressures of life? I wondered how they would fit in and would their desires and needs be the same. Yet the same time I kept wondering “what if” the historians got it wrong? Maybe they misread the intent in translations or misidentified a 3,000 year old mummy.

There was the birth of the storyline.

4. Your series is about love that endures lifetimes. Do you believe eternal love is possible? Is there only one true love for each of us?

After hours and hours of research and strangers reaching out to me as if I could answer their plaguing questions, I have come to the realization that there is more to life than just this one lifetime. I’m not saying everyone has lived multiple lives nor am I saying some can’t remember their past lives. What I am saying is there is truth and it is real to those who have remembered.

I believe sometimes things happen in our lives and it leaves an imprint that follows us throughout. So you ask me if I believe in eternal love, the answer is “Yes” and “Why shouldn’t I?”

5. You have a demanding job and a large family. How do you find time to write?

I rob Peter to pay Paul all the time.

I write whenever and wherever I can. I’m not very good with technology hence our business relationship (Christa and I), but I respect its powers. I carry an iPad with a keyboard and a iPhone everywhere I go. On longer trips, I carry a work computer and my personal laptop, and at home I have the traditional computer. I have a few programs that allow me to access my files anywhere and at anytime. And if that’s not enough, I carry a leather-bound notebook. I never know when an idea will hit.

6. What is it about vampires that made you want to write about them?

 I really don’t know. I think I need a therapist to dig into the corners of my mind for that answer. Something about a tortured soul intrigues me.

7. If you were offered the chance to become a vampire, would you? 

I don’t know. I’ve asked myself this same questions several times and the answer is always different. I guess I wonder were the myths end and the truths begin.

8. Do you feel like maybe you have lived a past life? What kind of person might you have been?

OMG, you are putting me on the spot…

Yes, I believe I’ve lived before. I’m not quite comfortable sharing what I know about my past life.

9. What has been your biggest book marketing challenge?

I ask this question all the time, “If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear the noise, did the tree make a sound when it fell?”

That is the challenge of selling a book in this broad market. If I introduce a new book to the market, how do readers know?

That’s where all the tips and tricks come into play, all in hopes to make a big enough sound to let readers and buyers know I’ve published a book.

10. When can we expect a new book from you?

From your lips to God’s ears I hope sooner verses later. Meryt is begging me to complete her story. Yet, I have the other characters that are tempting me with their stories. I keep writing short stories to ease the pain, but I know the prefect storm is about to hit again.

I loved your questions. You are “My It Girl.” You know me so well. I assume you make all your friends feel at home with your soul. Keep up the good work.

And…

Stay Inspired.

Love her! Thanks to Shonda for taking the time to answer all my nosy questions.

Links are below. Buy her books. Follow her blog and social media. Yes, do it!

Read the Eternal Traces Series

BOOK I: Talented cardiologist Meryt Brownstone doesn’t have the luxury of getting involved with people. As an ex-military officer who still works as an undercover mercenary for the U.S. government, this means personal drama is something Meryt can do without. But the solitude of her carefully orchestrated life is broken when Dr. Rene Daniels mysteriously appears. Drawn to her blood research, he joins her in the laboratory.

When she is called to duty on a secret mission in Sudan, the adventure begins. Old secrets as well as lost ones come to light. Soon Meryt is catapulted down a mysterious path—a bloody path she may have traveled before. Buy the Eternal Traces.

BOOK II: Meryt Brownstone remembers the agony and the weight of a promise from her past, as she faces death again at the hands of the same man who killed her 3,000 years ago, she is renewed with vengeance and vows this will not be her ending again.

Meryt is determined to destroy any dark angel, beast, or human that prevents her from completing her lethal mission. In the meantime, her passion and venomous rage catches the eye of another man whose sole mission is to break her nature and possess her body and souL.

Meryt faces a battle for not just her own life, but the life of the man she’s always loved, and this time she must learn that a promise made on death’s bed comes with a price that neither coin nor blood can pay. Buy Eternal Burns.

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