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Interview And Contest With Author Rowena Cherry

Posted under Contests, Interviews by Rachel on Monday 29 September 2008 at 11:00 am

Exclusive Bitten by Books

Interview with Author Rowena Cherry

A big welcome to our readers today! Be sure to read to the end of the interview to find out how to WIN one of the the great prizes being offered up today. The contest runs until 3:00 pm Eastern time tomorrow to give our east coast and international readers a chance to participate.

NOTE: this is not a fixed time event, the post just goes live at 11:00 am PDT. You can stop by any time during the day or evening and leave your questions and comments.

Interview:

Hi Rowena!

Welcome to Bitten by Books, we are excited to have you here today!

I would like to thank you taking the time to join us for the question and answer session with our readers. It has been very interesting to get to know more about you and what makes you tick as a writer! Readers, if you haven’t done so already please stop by and get your copy of Rowena’s latest release Knight’s Fork.

BBB: What do you find the most challenging aspect of writing?

RC: Sex scenes. I’ll elaborate. I imagine you want me to do that? Hmmm. Shall we take it as read that I’ve paid lip service to the most important, most wonderful and most romantic parts in–and of– any modern Romance novel?

I wonder how many ways a writer can describe male parts and a female parts. If anyone wishes to know, I believe that Charlee Boyett-Comp has a decent list of synonyms for genitalia on her website. http://www.windlegends.org I just looked and couldn’t find it, but I did find a link to the Sex Dictionary that had this listing: Anal Beads, Afterglow. If they were true to their alphabetical pretensions, the afterglow would have come before the anal beads. I digress.

I will digress further. Have you noticed that all males who come to your house to repair something, and even spacemen on TV, refer to every funny-looking object that has to fit into another object in order to work as a “male part”? Why?

Meanwhile, back at the sex scene… one challenge is to find something new and different to say about sex. And interesting! And believable!! Honestly, it amuses me most when I can rise to the challenge of writing good coitus interruptus.

In Forced Mate, the interruption was the heroine’s laughter. If you thought Forced Mate is a violent book, you were mistaken. Forced Mate, like all my titles, is a very appropriate chess term. In Insufficient Mating Material, the interruption was the arrival of a former lover, who caught an eyeful of the hero’s dangling splendor from behind and recognized him/them/it.

BBB: What is the most rewarding aspect of writing for you?

RC: This is going to sound egotistical, but it’s the truth. After all the writes, re-writes, proof-reading, editing, galley checking, it’s reading a random passage, and still giggling over what I wrote. I think humor is my strong suit.

Perhaps, though, I misunderstood the question. If compliments from readers count as an aspect of writing then that is far and away the most rewarding. Thank you!

BBB: What or who was your muse that got you started writing?

RC: Cheese, I think. I used to nibble cheese if I woke up the middle of the night. It almost infallibly sent me straight back to sleep, and quite often it gave me fantastic dreams. Tarrant-Arragon and Djinni (Jinny) came to life in a dream that recurred for almost a year before I decided it was too good a story to stay in my head.

BBB: What do you feel are the benefits of the new electronic readers such as Kindle to the environment?

RC: Insufficient Mating Material is available on Kindle. That’s about all I know about Kindle. As for electronic readers, I’ve heard that readers can store and carry around up to 50 books on a device not much larger or heavier than one hardback. That ought to save a lot of trees in theory. However, if forests aren’t being planted for a wood crop, I doubt that wild trees will be left to grow, so e-readers won’t help the environment. I’m passionate about trees. While I don’t hug or kiss them, I have been known to stroke them. I hate to see any of them cut down (or burnt). It’s a terrible irony that the legal term for destroying trees on a property for the purposes of building is “improving” the lot. We’ve lost far too many copses, woodlands, forests… but I’ve digressed.

BBB: What impact do electronic readers create on the bottom line for authors in the end? Do you feel they have a negative impact or positive, or no impact at all that you can see?

RC: I’m not an authority. It depends. If an author retains her electronic rights, self publishes the e-version of a book, and perhaps contracts with a vendor (such as http://www.ebookisle.net), she might get 60% of the sale price (as I do with the electronic version of Forced Mate). If a major publisher puts out e-books as well as print books, I understand that the author gets a very small royalty for either sale, even though there are far greater overheads for the publisher in paper, ink, glue, storage, shipping and so forth in printing and binding the physical book. Not to mention the cost of returns! I throughly appreciate the business case for electronic publishing. However, electronic publication is still relatively “wild west”. Piracy is a major problem for authors once their book is on the internet. Some authors are glad to give away one of their books free as a promotional tactic. Others can’t afford to do so. For instance, many debut authors may never be offered another contract if they don’t sell a decent percentage of their first print run. It’s increasingly hard to do.

A publisher has to cover costs, pay salaries, and make a profit. Sales is a way of keeping score. 50,000 readers might vote in some poll that a book is the best of the year, but if only 500 of them bought it, there may not be the sequel they’re all eagerly awaiting. It’s beyond me how a reader surfing the internet is supposed to know which “free” e-book being offered for sharing is stolen property, and which is being offered with the author’s consent. What I do know is that once you have an e-book on your desktop (regardless of whether or not you paid for it) the only legal way to “share” an e-book is to physically hand the Kindle or the laptop that contains the download to a friend or family member, in the same way that you would physically put a paperback book into a friend’s hand if you wanted to lend or give it to him or her.

BBB: Who among your characters is your favorite and why?

RC: Tarrant-Arragon. He was my “first love”. He was written as my ultimate alpha male hero. He is royal, arrogant, bad, witty, intelligent, devious, incredibly smart, a chess player, sexy, ruthless, compassionate, well-read, well-spoken, a warrior and a commander. Also, he is extremely good in bed. Anyway I spent twelve years dreaming about him. I feel some loyalty! (Tarrant-Arragon’s love story is Forced Mate). Mind you, if I were marooned on a tropical island, it would be Djetth (Jeth) aka Prince Djetthro-Jaso that I’d want watching my back.

BBB: Why is chess so important to you that you created a series around it?

RC: I’ll tell you a secret. I didn’t. Forced Mate was written as a stand alone. It is a spoof, and one cannot–IMHO–make a successful series out of a spoof. It would be like repeating a joke. With Forced Mate, I took what I considered to be every cliche and every stock situation in the sort of Historical Romance sometimes called a bodice ripper (where the heroine is abducted or ordered to marry a gorgeous stranger, and then they set out on a long and dangerous trip together). Then, I had fun. I made the abductor an alien god… like the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone, only with far richer potential for misunderstandings and cultural clashes. For instance, because radio waves take time to travel through space, Tarrant-Arragon has been watching Roger Moore era Bond movies and is under the impression that if he behaves like Roger Moore’s Bond, he will achieve similar sexual success in short order.

The chess was always there. At one time, Forced Mate had fifty-two chapters, and every chapter had an appropriate, chess-themed subtitle. My all time favorite Romance, Georgette Heyer’s These Old Shades, has a title for every chapter, which is where I got that idea. In Forced Mate, the virgin heroine adapts an Arabian-Nights tactic. Instead of telling the hero a series of stories to make sure she gets through the night intact, she plays chess with him. As a result, he becomes interested in what is between her ears.

When I was offered a contract by Dorchester, my friend and colleague Susan Grant told me that I needed some kind of “branding” on my new website. At the time, Susan (who was an Air Force pilot, and is now a commercial pilot of jumbo jets) was advertising her work as “aviation romance” which I thought was an incredibly cool idea. What did I have? I really had to scrape the barrel of my life to come up with something legitimate that had romantic possibilities, and that related to my book. Before too long, I realized that the obvious answer was right in front of me. Chess! Because of those 52 unused chapter headings, I had enough titles to last me a lifetime, if I wanted. And what could be sexier than “mating”?

BBB: Do you ever worry that some people won’t get your humor?

RC: Naahhh! Their loss. (As Grievous would say). In fact, “my humor” is a great deal more multi-faceted than those who skim my book might assume. There’s much more than bathrooms in my bag of tricks. There’s intellectual humor, wit, artistic mixing of metaphors, bathos, hyperbole, litotes (understatement) meiosis, irony, sarcasm…as well as puns of various degrees of sophistication. My books cost US $6.99; CAN $8.99; AUS $14.95, GBP 5.99 That’s a lot of money. It’s not such a bad value if you derive six to eight hours of amusement from one book, (even better, if –like at least two recent reviewers– you enjoy it so much that you read it again) but for readers who like to skim a book for the plot… I don’t “do” plot.

Here’s my plot: Boy meets girl. Girl has a problem with boy. Boy wants one thing. Girl wants something else. Assorted villains create problems. Boy and girl work together to thwart villains/save the day. The day (or the blood line, or the planet, or the tree) is saved. Boy and girl declare their intention to live happily ever after together. It’s the Who, the Why, and the How that interest me. I write novels of manners, and novels of character.

BBB: Can you tell us how many more books are planned for your current series and when we can expect the next one?

RC: I have it on good authority that three or four books is about the right length for a series. By that analysis, Knight’s Fork ought to be the last of this series, and I have said that it is the last of the “god-Princes of Tigron” aka “Mating Books”. Next, I’m planning “Forking” books, which I’m calling “The Daughters of Demetra”.

BBB: What genre would you classify your series?

RC: If I may begin on a negative, I would like to say what my series is not. Forced Mate, Insufficient Mating Material, and Knight’s Fork are not erotica. Not by my definition, anyway. Mating Net by Rowena Beaumont Cherry was classified as “spicy” by the publisher New Concepts Publishing, after they asked me to add 3,000 words of sex. It is “different”, because the person everyone assumes to be the villain marries and impregnates the heroine. Insufficient Mating Material is probably the “hottest” of the paperbacks. I was induced to venture a bit beyond my comfort zone, and when Djetth was provoked to swear, his expletives were not in the best possible taste. They probably rang true, though. He wasn’t a “Gosh-darn” kind of hunk My publisher calls my books “Futuristic”. I don’t really have a problem with that, although some people do because my books are set in 1994-1995. Speculative Romance would be a better label, but spec rom isn’t widely used. Insufficient Mating Material won an award or two as Fantasy, and I’m cool with that. As soft science fiction romance goes, Insufficient Mating Material was exceptionally soft. The rocketry, terraforming, and other whiz-bang stuff was very underdone.

With the greatest of respect –and thanks to Bitten By Books for welcoming my books to this site– I’m not comfortable under the wing of Paranormal. I think of Paranormal as like a big chicken, with a multi-colored assortment of light and dark chicks, a gosling, and a kitten or two crowded under her wings. There are New Age/Psychic elements in my books, such as runes, tarot, mind-reading, dowsing for lines of force, auras…. but I don’t think aliens and gods from outer space necessarily do well in competition with faeries and/or the undead.

BBB: What motivates you to write about aliens?

RC: The fact that I have been an alien (INS definition) or “Mainlander/foreigner/auslanderin” all my life, and also my peculiar morality. I don’t mind messing with the love lives of imaginary Darth Vader types, but it seems wrong to me to invent geographical countries that don’t exist (our knowledge of geography is bad enough as it is!) or –worse in my opinion–to describe the appearance and performance of real historical figures’ private parts. Gods from outer space are a perfect solution for me, which is why I’ve been writing about them since 1993.

BBB: How do you keep track of your characters and world building?

RC: So far, my detailed, interactive Family Tree is very helpful. http://www.rowenacherry.com/familytree/

BBB: What is your favorite paranormal book of all time?

RC: Vivian Vande Velde’s Dragon’s Bait. Favorite science fiction - Asimov’s The Gods Themselves.

BBB: What do you like to do in between all the time you spend writing?

RC: Apart from playing chess and doing jigsaws? Two years ago I had a binge of doing sudoki. At the moment, whenever I want a break, I play Reversi at the highest setting against the computer. I ought to get more exercise! Walking around the Detroit zoo is a lovely way to combine quality time with my family with outdoor exercise with research into wild genitalia (which I could potentially transplant onto an alien villain). Once at the zoo I saw a hippopotamus with an erection. Hippos have an independently moving, worm like appendage which behaves rather like a weedwacker when in the open. I infer that it is designed to tickle when deployed.

BBB: What did you do before you became a writer? Do you write full time?

RC: Before I married my husband, I was a teacher. Of English language, also English literature. And, occasionally, of History. Yes, I write full time.

BBB: Do you have any pearls of wisdom you would like to share with our readers here today?

RC: Gosh! Pearls. For readers? I don’t know about that. If any aspiring writers are reading this, I would say “secure your domain name before you become a public figure, or a spammer will buy it, keep writing down all your ideas, persist, network, and say thank you to everyone for every kindness.

To you, Rachel, and to all your readers, I’d like to say Thank You for giving me this interview, and for your interest in me and my books. I’ve had great fun already, and I’m looking forward to chatting with you all today! I’m giving away a special, extra box of Godiva Chocolates for the most interesting question or discussion started by a reader.

Readers, if you haven’t visited Rowena’s website, click here to check it out. You can also read reviews of her books here.

****************************************************

Questions and Contest: Now, I am going to open up the internet floor so to speak and let our readers ask Rowena some questions. Feel free to post as many questions or comments as you like. She will be popping in and out today and tomorrow to answer them.

Readers, here’s how to enter the contest. You can do one or all of these things, and each one will give an additional entry. One lucky participant will be chosen to win GODIVA CHOCOLATES in our random drawing. Then another participant could win some GODIVA CHOCOLATES for the most intriguing, witty, and interesting question or dialog with Rowena!

1. Ask the Rowena questions (ask as many questions as you like, but only two questions count towards entries). Your name will be entered for a chance to win the fabulous prize mentioned above. You can also start a stimulating discussion. Creative dialog counts.

2. SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter here on the right hand side of the site. This is for new subscribers only.

3. Post links to the interview here today at another blog or website and you will be given additional entries to win. You MUST post those links in one response here in this thread. The more places you post the event, the more entries you get, so spread the word!

4. Purchase a copy of ANY of Rowena Cherry’s awesome books and send us a copy of the receipt for your purchase to: racoo.smith @ gmail.com (no spaces) for an additional entry. You get an entry for each one you purchase. Check out her books here:
Books in the series in the order in which they should be read:
Forced Mate
Mating Net
Insufficient Mating Material
Knight’s Fork

5. Add us as your friend on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/bittenbybooks

Add us as your friend on Facebook: http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=614064436

6. Stumble, Digg or share the post with any social networking sites. There is a button right at the end of this post that says “Share” that you can use.

7. Twitter the URL for this event: http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=1277

8. Read the reviews at Bitten by Books of Rowena’s book here:

http://bittenbybooks.com/?page_id=58&book_author_id=Rowena%20Cherry

Then leave a meaningful comment that shows you read the review, not just a post that says “sounds good” or “nice review”, a couple of sentences would be great! Simply share your thoughts, ideas or opinions.

9. Add Rowena’s Blog to your blog roll or links page: http://www.rowenacherry.blogspot.com/

10. Add Bitten by Books to your blog roll or links page: http://bittenbybooks.com if you leave our link up permanently you will always be entered into our contests automatically. Just be sure to leave the link to where it is.

The contest will run through tomorrow 9/30/08 at 3:00 pm Eastern time to allow our East coast and international readers a chance to win too!

Be sure to include an email and name where we can contact you if you are a winner.

We will be awarding the Godiva Chocolates and announcing the winner to the Bitten by Books website this week.

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72 Comments »

Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 29, 2008 @ 11:14 am
I’m here, ready to answer questions, or simply chat.
Comment by Bridget — September 29, 2008 @ 11:52 am
We’ve posted your contest on Win A Book! No need to enter us in the contest though. Thanks!

Bridget
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 29, 2008 @ 11:55 am
Hi, Bridget,
How very kind of you to do so. Thank you! I dare say, if anyone from your site happens to be the winner, and would rather have a book than a $15 value box of Godiva chocolates, something can be worked out.

Rowena
Comment by Rachel — September 29, 2008 @ 11:55 am
Hi Rowena!

Thanks so much for being here today! I really enjoyed reading your interview as I posted it. Your sense of humor is very evident.

I have a question about your books. You have talked about all of the Mating Series, but do you have other books that you have written?
Comment by Rachel — September 29, 2008 @ 11:55 am
Thanks Bridget!
Pingback by Interview And Contest With Author Rowena Cherry Over At Bitten By Books « Lyda’s Poison Pen — September 29, 2008 @ 12:10 pm
[...] Interview and Contest with Author Rowena Cherry at Bitten by Books. [...]
Comment by Sandy — September 29, 2008 @ 12:59 pm
Thanks for coming, I just wonder what do you do when you have true writers block, do you sit back and bang your head against a wall or do you break away?
Comment by Sandy — September 29, 2008 @ 1:01 pm
What one thing would you change in any of your storylines if you could?
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 29, 2008 @ 1:01 pm
Rachel,

Thank you for asking. I see that you have listed the short, electronic ($2.50 priced) prequel MATING NET, as well as Forced Mate, Insufficient Mating Material, and Knight’s Fork.

I haven’t checked whether you have the Kindle link, but Insufficient Mating Material is available as a Kindle, for Kindle enthusiasts, as well as being the paperback (still in print).

Forced Mate is also available as an e-book ($6.00) from http://ebookisle.net so could be read on any computer anywhere in the world.

There are no others.

Rowena
Comment by Lyda — September 29, 2008 @ 1:27 pm
Hi Rowena,

So I got some questions for ya:

My husband’s guilty pleasure is anime, mine is chocolate chip cookies. What is yours?

AND

Do you believe in life on other planets???
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 29, 2008 @ 2:00 pm
Lyda,

Thank you for coming over and commenting.

Life on other planets? Absolutely. It seems incredibly arrogant (IMHO) to think that we’re “it”.

As for guilty pleasures… well, you’ve set the bar pretty low. I wonder what wicked indulgence of mine would compare with anime and cookies.

Would staying up late to play Reversi against the computer count?

LOL!

Rowena Cherry

Nice legs. Shame about the…morals.
!’Rhett about Electra, Knight’s Fork by Rowena Cherry
Comment by Poppy — September 29, 2008 @ 2:11 pm
Hi Rowena, I enjoy the puzzles on your website.
How old were you when you started playing chess?
Do you have a character in your series that you favor more than any other? If you do which one?
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 29, 2008 @ 2:32 pm
Poppy, Bridget, Lyda, Sandy, Rachel….

I’m offering prizes on three sites to people who comment today, so if you’d like to triple your chances of winning:

http://www.melissaschroeder.net/2008/09/29/todays-featured-author-rowena-cherry/#comment-2047

http://star-crossedromance.blogspot.com/2008/09/guest-rowena-cherry.html#links

But don’t forget to come back here:
http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=1277#comment-2758

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry
“Never ask a question if you don’t know the answer.”
~’Rhett, Knight’s Fork by Rowena Cherry
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 29, 2008 @ 2:39 pm
Sandy…

True writer’s block. What do I do?
I’m not a linear writer, so I’m not sure. If I’m uninspired, I might do some research, that almost always gives me something to write about, or I might go back to Ronald Tobias’s Twenty Master Plots to refresh my memory of what is supposed to be happening, or I might pass over the problem area and write a different sort of scene.

I do waste a lot of time and effort writing scenes that never get used!

I hope I’ve answered your question.

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry

“If at first you don’t succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.”
~Thor-quentin, Knight’s Fork
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 29, 2008 @ 2:45 pm
Sandy,

What one thing would I change in my storylines? Superb question.

Well… I wish I’d found a more competent mathematician to check my dates of births, deaths, and marriages when I originally published my family tree.
http://www.rowenacherry.com/familytree/

By the time I realized I’d made some seriously gross mistakes, I had the choice of being inconsistent (and changing the tree) or being nasty. I chose to be nasty.

Best wishes,

Rowena Cherry
“Is there anything that you’d like to tell me before I make a fool of myself?”
~’Rhett, Knight’s Fork by Rowena Cherry
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 29, 2008 @ 2:52 pm
Poppy,

Thank you for the questions. I think I was probably around 12 when I started playing chess.

My favorite character is Tarrant-Arragon. I wrote him to be the ultimate hero to end all heroes, and I spent twelve years dreaming about him every night (if I was lucky), and he was my first brain child, so I do feel some loyalty to him.

He’s tall, handsome, witty, morally questionable, immensely powerful, devious, intelligent, sexy, extremely good in bed, ruthless, compassionate, protective, and a leader. Hard to beat!

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry

“It’s hardly flattering to have my methods likened to the behavior of an ineffective tyrant.”
~ Tarrant-Arragon, Knight’s Fork
Comment by Shirley — September 29, 2008 @ 3:45 pm
Thanks for being here, Rowena, and thanks for hosting, Rachel! I couldn’t get away with saying “I don’t ‘do’ plot” in my writing classes. What a line! I’m intrigued by that and by the quotes following your best wishes, Rowena. Gotta grab me one of your books. Think I’ll start with Knight’s Fork - hopefully I’ll find it on the shelves tomorrow.
Comment by Rachel — September 29, 2008 @ 4:06 pm
I was going to say that, I am not sure I love any of my friends or family enough to hand over my Kindle or laptop to share my e-books (outside of my DH and he wouldn’t read the books). LOL call me selfish. but buy yer own!
Comment by Katie Bug — September 29, 2008 @ 4:13 pm
Hi Rowena! Glad you could stop by. Your books look wonderful. Tarrant-Arragon sounds verra nice. Hubba Hubba

Katie
Comment by Sue "Sunshine" Durkin — September 29, 2008 @ 4:25 pm
Hi, Rowena,

I was wondering if you felt uncomfortable when you first started writing the sex? I am a non-fiction writer who has something to say about that subject but I get embarrassed about it.

What prompted you to write this type of fiction?

Thank you,
Sue
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 29, 2008 @ 4:26 pm
Shirley,

Thank you so much. Let me know if–and where– you find Knight’s Fork.

Amazon.com jumped the gun, as usual, and has been shipping the book for the last two weeks. My publisher has it at a 30% discount, and someone told me that one can ignore the scary book club mentions.

http://tinyurl.com/Buy-KnightsFork

Or
http://www.dorchesterpub.com/Dorch/productdetail.cfm?product_ID=2215&L1=2

My goodness, I love tinyurl !!!!

Rachel, I really, really appreciate your comment. My philosophy is influenced by Orson Scott Card who teaches that there are 4 types of books (M.I C.E.)

My interpretation.
M= milieu = a book where the worldbuilding is the star… Anne McCaffrey’s Freedom’s Landing might be one example. Maybe Jean Ault’s Clan stories? Oooh. Oooh. Lord of the Rings (the book). The world is definitely the star in that.

I= idea. Where the premise or idea is the coolest thing about the book. Arguable, Asmiov’s “The Gods Themselves” would be an example.

C= Novels of character.

E= Events. Plot driven stories.

An author has to have the M+I+C+E but one of the four is usually dominant.

Apologies, everyone. I used to be a teacher, too. Shirley, if you think you cannot get away with it (but would secretly like to) start a class with the proposition, then blame me and ask the class to discuss.

Collegial hugs,

Rowena Cherry

“Never sleep with a lady only once, especially in the case of an older lady.”
~’Rhett, Knight’s Fork by Rowena Cherry
Comment by Sue "Sunshine" Durkin — September 29, 2008 @ 4:39 pm
I have tried twice to post a question at Melissa’s and it wouldn’t take so will ask it here.

Do you have a specific time and place you write? Where do you draw the inspiration for your subject and characters?

Thanks,
Sue
Comment by Sarai — September 29, 2008 @ 4:48 pm
lol, I love your plot. It reminds me of something I said once when I tried to sum up my favorite romantic plot How do you come up with your character names? or are they all cheese induced? ;P What other games have you been addicted to? I’ve been known to spend far too long playing spider solitaire, minesweeper, pinball, sudoku, and tetris with a side of mahjong myself
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 29, 2008 @ 4:50 pm
Hello, Sue

Congratulations on being one of the featured members on Shelagh’s Ning.com group.

You couldn’t post on Melissa’s? I think comments are moderated. Try again, because it’s definitely worth it for the prize.

I seem to spend all day at the computer…. Sometimes I start at 3 am.

As for inspiration, I do a lot of research. For instance, for ‘Rhett (a swordsman) I interviewed a sword master at a fencing school, read about ten books including auto biographies of Olympic fencers, lurked on the boards where university fencing teams post their accounts of their matches to pick up “voice” and “slang”.

Hope this answers your question satisfactorily,
Rowena Cherry

“Having sex multiple times on the first sleepover does not count as more than one “date.”
~ ‘Rhett, Knight’s Fork
Comment by Patricia — September 29, 2008 @ 6:41 pm
Hi Rowena

Besides Asimov do you have any other SF writers that you like? I would be especially interested in any contemporary SF authors you follow.

Loved the interview!
Comment by Elizabeth Ray — September 29, 2008 @ 7:20 pm
What is your favorite “nugget” that you’ve written? You know, the kind of thing that makes you say, “Dang, that’s good!” (I won’t limit you to one, of course.)
Comment by TarotByArwen — September 29, 2008 @ 8:28 pm
Just stopping by to tell Rowena good luck and good writing! Can’t wait to read Knight’s Fork!
Comment by Sarai — September 29, 2008 @ 8:46 pm
Right, you are evil. I had never played Reversi, but had heard of it and when you mentioned it I decided to check it out. Won my first game, lost the next three… It’s going to be a long night till I prove that, yes, I am smarter then a computer ;P Seducing innocents to the dark side… tsk, tsk, maybe we should start calling you Darth Sidious
Comment by Cherie J — September 29, 2008 @ 8:46 pm
Hi Rowena,

I would like to know what is your favorite and your least favorite parts of being a writer?
Comment by Cherie J — September 29, 2008 @ 8:51 pm
Oops! Just realized that part of my question was already asked so I will ask another. Here’s a fun one:

What breakfast cereal would you consider yourself most like and why?
Comment by Michelle B. — September 29, 2008 @ 9:19 pm
I agree with the reviewers on loving the Alpha males in Rowena’s books as well as the fun of watching the Djinn deal with the headstrong heroines especially when the situations that develop cause me to chuckle.
Comment by Michelle B. — September 29, 2008 @ 9:33 pm
Hello,
I posted this on myspace blog for the interview with Rowena Cherry & the contest:

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog&Mytoken=C8FE0A8D-A4F5-43F3-835E60729969D56919867437
Comment by Michelle B. — September 29, 2008 @ 9:34 pm
Rowena,

What author do you like to kick back with when you want to be transported to another world with hot spicy men and a bit of chuckle mixed in with the erotic and action scenes?
Comment by Michelle B. — September 29, 2008 @ 9:36 pm
Rowena,

One more question do you have further plans for this series and/or do you have a new series that you are cooking up in your head?
Comment by Lyda — September 29, 2008 @ 9:36 pm
If you had to pick one food and one beverage and that would be all that you ate every meal, every day for the rest of your life, what would it be? LOL
Comment by Minna — September 29, 2008 @ 10:53 pm
Just dropped by to say hi!
Comment by Ladytink_534 — September 30, 2008 @ 3:20 am
I might be too late but here are my questions:

Has any author, movie, music, etc. inspired your writing?

You mentioned that your humor is your strong suit. Do you have a favorite passage or something you’re particularly proud of writing?
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 30, 2008 @ 4:03 am
Good morning, everyone!

Sue “Sunshine” your question did post on Melissa’s site. I think the moderator had simply not been turned to the appropriate setting. I answered there.

Thank you for your comments on the excerpts, too.
http://www.melissaschroeder.net/

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry

“If you’ve made up your mind to impale someone, do it with conviction.”
~’Rhett, Knight’s Fork by Rowena Cherry
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 30, 2008 @ 5:11 am
Sarai,

Thank you for asking: “How do you come up with your character names? or are they all cheese induced? ;P What other games have you been addicted to? ”

Games, first… I don’t remember what I mentioned but I like chess, Reversi, sudoki, jigsaw puzzles, connect four, tic tac toe. There are some pretty good games on the Webkinz site!

As for character names, that is a really great question. The characters who are part of the royal family all have six names. One name is a “Djinn” name, and begins with Dj- (The D is silent)

I chose Dj- because it gave me a wide range of names beginning with J or G sounds: John, Jeff, James, Gerald, George etc.

There’s at least one “god” (or immortal, or hero) name from one of the dozens of mythologies. It might be misspelled, but it’s there, whether Kronos, Ra, Thor, Perspehone, Demetra, Caissa, Electra, Isis, Vulcan, Perseus, Jason etc.

I leave room to allege that some names may be gods from other planets. My premise is that my gods from outer space visited our planet, among many, and gave us Latin, Chess, myths and legends of gods and much more.

Often, there is a sovereign name, again from around the world and beyond. James, John, Juan, Ramses, Arthur, Pendragon, Malcolm, Helen, Julia, Genevieve, Justin.

There’s a body-of-water name (lake, sea, river) not necessarily from Earth: Aragon, Avon, Tarrant, Cam, Lucerne

That’s four. There might be recurring family favorite names, such as Djetthro.

The sixth name is my free choice.

And, they are all Djinnmagisters.

Many of the names I use are predictive either of how their story will unfold, which myth I’m retelling with their story, of some aspect of their character. Djetthro for instance has an echo of the farmer and inventor Jethro Tull (author of Horse Hoeing husbandry). Kronos was the god who castrated his father.

Most readers don’t notice, but that’s OK. There’s a lot of subliminal content in my books. I like to compare my stories to an onion. There are layers. I hope that it would be possible for readers to read my stories a second or third time, and still find (enjoy) something they missed on first reading.

The way the economy is, I like to give good value!

Thanks again for a really super question.

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry

“Never ask a question if you don’t know the answer.”
~’Rhett, Knight’s Fork by Rowena Cherry
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 30, 2008 @ 5:24 am
Patricia,

Thank you for your question, which I really appreciate, but which I’m going to parry.

If I were to list names of friends, colleagues or rivals, I’d probably forget someone… I’d be devastated if I left someone I admire off a list, and the omission suggested that I didn’t care for her work.

I try to never write or say anything that might be construed as negative about any of my colleagues’ work. Golden Rule!

It’s much easier to comment only on specific works that have influenced me over the years.

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry

“If you’ve made up your mind to impale someone, do it with conviction.”
~’Rhett, Knight’s Fork by Rowena Cherry
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 30, 2008 @ 5:31 am
Elizabeth,

Is this a nugget?

“If you’ve made up your mind to impale someone, do it with conviction.”
~’Rhett, Knight’s Fork by Rowena Cherry

I love this quote because “impale” has so many connotations, from simple swordplay, to sex, to snark, to winning a debate.

If you meant something else, please ask again! I’m sure Rachel won’t mind, because if I’ve misunderstood a question, you’ve a right to a follow up.

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry

“Here’s the problem. I am not the sexual equivalent of an espresso machine….”
~’Rhett to Electra, Knight’s Fork by Rowena Cherry
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 30, 2008 @ 5:32 am
TarotByArwen,

Thank you for visiting and for your kind comment.

Best wishes,

Rowena Cherry

“If you neglected to warn Djetth beforehand that you were going to shoot him down, Your Highness, he may consider you in breach of contract…”
~’Rhett, Insufficient Mating Material by Rowena Cherry
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 30, 2008 @ 5:38 am
Sarai,

The Darth names are great, aren’t they?! Sidious for insidious. Maul for, well, maul. Vader, I assume is invader?

Call me Darth Credible.

LOL. I am joking. What would you be?

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry

“Shoot the dead bodies if they move.”
~’Djetth, Insufficient Mating Material by Rowena Cherry
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 30, 2008 @ 5:48 am
Cherie J,

My answers may not be politically correct, but I don’t have time for equivocation.

My favorite part of being a writer? Of the things I have some control over: working with a talented editor who “gets it”.

Of the things I have no control over: unsolicited praise!

My least favorite part… Asking people to buy my book. That is soooo humiliating.

And, of the things I have no control over: A hurtful review.

Thanks for asking,

Rowena Cherry
“There’s no way to put this delicately…”
~Grievous, Knight’s Fork by Rowena Cherry
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 30, 2008 @ 5:51 am
Katie Bug,

Thank you very much indeed! Tarrant-Arragon (in Forced Mate) reacted with incredulity when someone called him “nice”.

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry

“If you neglected to warn Djetth beforehand that you were going to shoot him down, Your Highness, he may consider you in breach of contract…”
~’Rhett, Insufficient Mating Material by Rowena Cherry
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 30, 2008 @ 5:55 am
Cherie,

I have never thought of myself as a breakfast cereal.

“Snap, Crackle, and Pop!” leaps to mind. (Rice crispies).

I’m not sure I could say why. It would probably come down to my broad sense of humor.

If I were to give your idea more thought, I might say All-Bran because of the effect my writing has on some of my readers.

I’m going to stop there.

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry

“Don’t interfere with the test, or I’ll have to tie you up.”
~Djetth, Insufficient Mating Material by Rowena Cherry
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 30, 2008 @ 6:08 am
Hello, Michelle,

Thank you for posting on your blog, and for all your comments here!

As the lawyers I’ve known would say repeatedly during a deposition, “Asked and answered” regarding the invitation to name a favorite contemporary.

Knight’s Fork is supposed to be the end of the “god-Princes of Tigron” series. Until Henquist and Thor-quentin are older, there are no more “Princes”, only bastards.

I think I’d have problems with Amazon and other censored sites if I had a “god-bastards…” series.

The Emperor with the escape velocity problem isn’t a hugely romantic figure. I should like to write a “wrinkly” romance, because there are some older characters who deserve a Happy Ever After.

I do have a new series in the works, but it will be a spin off, like Knots Landing was a spin off of Dallas. Only… if I do it, it will be a great deal better than the average spin-off.

Best wishes,

Rowena Cherry
“Having sex multiple times on the first sleepover does not count as more than one “date”…”
~’Rhett, Knight’s Fork by Rowena Cherry
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 30, 2008 @ 6:10 am
Lyda,

One food? Avocado

One drink? Wine (I thought of saying Artichoke leaf tea, but wine is less trouble.)

Best wishes,

Rowena Cherry

Nice legs. Shame about the… morals.
~’Rhett about Electra, Knight’s Fork by Rowena Cherry
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 30, 2008 @ 6:11 am
Minna,

Hi!

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry
Comment by Pamela K. Kinney/Sapphire Phelan — September 30, 2008 @ 6:12 am
Hi, Rowena. I have a question. Will there be more in this series and how many books do you foresee for the series too? Thanks.
Comment by Lily Kwan — September 30, 2008 @ 6:26 am
What is your favorite food?
Comment by Lily Kwan — September 30, 2008 @ 6:27 am
I added you as a friend on Myspace and Facebook.
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 30, 2008 @ 6:29 am
Lady Tink,

I think we’re going 11 am to 11 am Pacific, so you’re fine.

Welcome. Thank you for your questions.

You ask: “Has any author, movie, music, etc. inspired your writing?”

Answer: Robert Browning, Georgette Heyer, George Orwell, Lord of the Rings (the book), Shakespeare, Asimov.

“You mentioned that your humor is your strong suit. Do you have a favorite passage or something you’re particularly proud of writing?”

Answer. Gosh. These scenes flash into my mind:

Grievous’s commentary on the thirty foot long phallus as they walk up the Cerne Giant (a real place in Dorset) in Forced Mate.

The kedgeree scene in Forced Mate.

The three-against-an armada in Insufficient Mating Material. (Not that that is at all funny.)
The duplicate bridge scene in Insufficient Mating Material.
The fish-bit-my-penis scene in Insufficient Mating Material.

Djohn Kronos’s interview with Helispeta’s grandfather in Mating Net. (I love that one! It’s not funny, exactly, but it is witty)

The “Sperm Wars” scene in Knight’s Fork.
The misunderstanding over the sweet peas in Knight’s Fork.
The cemetery scene in Knight’s Fork.

Thank you for asking!

best wishes,
Rowena Cherry

“Your Majesty, would you mind faking an orgasm while I watch, so I know what to expect…?”
~’Rhett, Knight’s Fork by Rowena Cherry
Comment by Lily Kwan — September 30, 2008 @ 6:31 am
I found the reviews of Rowena Cherry’s books to be very interesting. I too like dry British humor and puns. Also, the subtle eroticism and colorful characters sound very intriguing.
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 30, 2008 @ 6:32 am
Pamela/Sapphire,

Thank you for asking. Grin. If you were waiting for the series to end before buying/borrowing all the books, this is the time to buy them.

This series is finished. There may be spin offs, but Tarrant-Arragon and his two sisters are matched.

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry

“Is there anything you’d like to tell me, before I make a fool of myself?”
~’Rhett, Knight’s Fork by Rowena Cherry
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 30, 2008 @ 6:33 am
Lily,

Thank you for befriending me!

Favorite food? I like chilli, or tacos.

Rowena Cherry
What the blue starblazes does a wrathful god say to his seductress as a prelude to having his revenge on her?
~’Rhett, Knight’s Fork by Rowena Cherry
Comment by dorothy l — September 30, 2008 @ 7:06 am
how important do you think the art work on the cover of a book is in terms of selling the book?
Comment by Rachel — September 30, 2008 @ 7:41 am
LOL All Bran! I wondered what you would say to that. Smooth Move Roweena. he he
Comment by The Muse & Lady du Jour — September 30, 2008 @ 8:14 am
Out of much curiosity, as I am a true Holiday fan…Do your alien characters celebrate any earth(country)holidays? Or do they ones of their own which they celebrate?
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 30, 2008 @ 8:41 am
Dorothy,

Excellent question, and thank you for asking. It’s the cover art that catches the eye, isn’t it?

As a general rule, the importance of cover art depends on who the author is, and how prolific she is. If she is prolific, or if she is a bestseller her books may always be on a store shelf. Readers will look for her name. Within reason the cover art won’t make such a great difference.

I’m not prolific. Knight’s Fork will probably be in Barnes and Noble for the next six weeks, after that, the covers will be stripped and returned to Dorchester for a refund, and all my wit and wisdom will be pulped.

Therefore, I need all the help I can get, and I hope that my cover will stand out on the shelves, that not a lot of other authors who are close to me (alphabetically) also have black covers, and that the model is showing just the right amount of chest to be tasteful yet intriguing.

At least he is lying in a puddle, so his nudity looks less gratuitous than if he appeared to be striding around in an alien ice desert.

I didn’t think that the paperback Forced Mate cover was a great draw. If the choice of light blue was supposed to be a subliminal guide to the sensual content… well, it was a cool blue!

The colors of Insufficient Mating Material were lovely. The “From Here To Eternity” scene was a shock to me.

What do you think, Dorothy? And, hey… if you see Knight’s Fork in the supermarket or in a bookstore, would you do me a huge favor and turn the book so the cover shows?

Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry
“If at first you don’t succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.”
~Thor-quentin, Knight’s Fork
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 30, 2008 @ 8:56 am
The Muse and Lady Du Jour

Happy Rosh Hashanah to you, if happiness is an appropriate wish for the day.

The only events I’ve shown my alien royal family celebrating are Matings and funerals and virgins’ balls.

There are regular orgies of state (which are not shown in progress) in Knight’s Fork.

Most of our holidays have to do with religion or successful rebellion, if I may generalize without being tasteless. My ruling royal god-Princes probably wouldn’t celebrate such events.

So, the short answer is “no”, whether I should do so is worth thinking about.

Best wishes,

Rowena Cherry
“We can listen to their radio, watch their TV, even tap phones, but we can’t avoid using the Royal Mail!”
~’Rhett, Knight’s Fork by Rowena Cherry
Comment by Sarai — September 30, 2008 @ 9:57 am
hmm… Darth Tenacious maybe (’course if you flip that around it’s rather like Tenacious D… oh well ;P ) You know, I always thought Vader was pretty literal. It’s Dutch for father (it’s spelled the same way, though I’m fairly certain it’s not said the same way). When I figured that one out it finally convinced me that George Lucas wasn’t just flying by the seat of his pants through the first movies
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 30, 2008 @ 10:14 am
Sarai,

OH! Vader is “father”? In German, Der Vater is father. Since you bring up the subject of pronunication, it is pronounced Farter, which amuses me no end.

Children call their fathers “Varti” as an affectionate nickname. (Farty).

Mothers are “Mutter” or “Mutti”.
Grandfathers are “Opa” (I may not have that quite right) which is the warcry my swordmaster utters as he thrusts his fencing foil into his opponent.

I think, Lucas may have been flying by the seat of his pants if that is what he was driving at. Darth Farter would get very little respect, don’t you think?

What a super conversation!

Rowena Cherry

“If you’ve made up your mind to impale someone, do it with conviction.”
~’Rhett, Knight’s Fork by Rowena Cherry
Comment by Sarai — September 30, 2008 @ 11:04 am
I think in Dutch vader is supposed to be pronounced vaa-der (at least according to my phrase book) so it’s not quite as bad as German in that respect I think George Lucas was trying to be too clever by half with parts of the first movies, though I’m rather glad he at least chose a name from a language that doesn’t turn Darth Vader into Darth Farter ;P
Comment by Rachel — September 30, 2008 @ 12:52 pm
Oh I don’t know, Darther Farter has a certain galactic je ne sais pas about it.
Comment by Sarai — September 30, 2008 @ 12:55 pm
lol
Comment by Rowena Cherry — September 30, 2008 @ 3:45 pm
Je ne sais quoi! (I don’t what… in other words, a certain something that I cannot quite define)

This has been wonderful, Rachel. I have thoroughly enjoyed myself.

The best question from my perspective was the one about how I came up with the character names… but I’m not sure how long this feature runs by your timing.

I nipped out in the last couple of hours to see whether Knight’s Fork was in my local Barnes and Noble (on Telegraph and Maple). It is. I autographed the copies.

Thank you all very much. I will be back to see who won the chocs.

Hugs,

Rowena Cherry
Comment by Constance Key — October 1, 2008 @ 9:20 am
Rowena always has the best looking aliens!
Best, Constance
Comment by Rowena Cherry — October 2, 2008 @ 10:37 am
Hello, Constance.

Thank you!

Rowena
Comment by Rowena Cherry — October 3, 2008 @ 3:33 pm
Sarai is my winner for asking the best question (it was the one about how I allocated names to my characters).

Tomorrow, I shop for chocs!

Congratulations, Sarai.

Rowena Cherry
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/2425.Rowena_Cherry_answers_
Comment by Rachel — October 5, 2008 @ 12:18 pm
Congratulations to Elizabeth R. and Sarai for being the winners of the Godiva Chocolates in this contest! Please check your email for instructions on how to claim your prize!
Comment by TarotByArwen — October 5, 2008 @ 8:42 pm
Congratulations!