Author Interview – Mistral Dawn – Taken By The Huntsman and Bound By The Summer Prince

It is my pleasure to interview fellow author Mistral Dawn about her books Taken By The Huntsman (which I am currently reading and loving), and her soon to be released Bound By The Summer Prince.  When it is released I will bring you a taste to tantalize you.

Short author bio:

Mistral Dawn is a thirty-something gal who has lived on both coasts of the US, but somehow never in the middle. She currently resides in the Southeast US, with her kitty cats (please spay or neuter! :-)).  Bound By The Summer Prince is the second novel in the series she started with Taken By The Huntsman, and she has ideas for several more novels and short-stories in the series.

Book Synopsis:

Taken By The Huntsman:

 

Discarded and ignored by those around her for most of her life, Cassie is a lonely human woman struggling to find her place in the world and meaning in her life. Cadeyrn is the Erlking, the leader of the Wild Hunt, a hundreds of thousands of years old Fae who has always known his purpose. He has spent his entire long existence tracking the criminals of Fairie and punishing them for their crimes.
While hunting for the murderer of a child who has escaped to Earth Cadeyrn comes across Cassie and realizes that she is the one that the great mother goddess has designated as his soul mate. He kidnaps her and takes her to his fortress in Fairie to protect her from his many enemies. He knows she will be angry and that he’ll have to work to earn her trust, but he finds his task to be even more challenging than he had thought it would be due to Cassie’s difficulty in opening her heart.
Will Cadeyrn be able to convince Cassie that the bond between them is real and earn her love?

Bound By The Summer Prince:

 The Summer Court is in an uproar.  The king has just been executed for unpardonable crimes, and the queen is prostrate with grief over his loss. This leaves the Summer kingdom bereft of true leadership; a problem which is compounded by the fact that the laws of Fairie require balance to be maintained by having a male and a female ruler for both Season Courts at all times. Uaine, the Summer prince, is the only one who can put things right, but he is without a mate.  Knowing that he must take a bride quickly, for the sake of his people, even though he is struggling with his own feelings of pain and anger over his father’s treachery, he goes for a walk in a forest near the palace to try to clear his head and determine how best to choose a female to rule beside him.

While walking Uaine discovers a human female running loose in Fairie, which is against the most basic tenets of Fae law.  Furious at one more problem he must deal with, he takes her prisoner and locks her in the dungeon; only to discover later that she is his soul-mate.  The magical bond between them means they are meant to be together forever, but humans can’t feel the magic of Fairie. Will Uaine be able to win her heart and convince her that she can trust him to keep her safe from all the dangers of Fairie…including himself?

Roni is a human con woman and petty thief.  Having run afoul of the local crime syndicate in the city where she is staying, she finds herself running for her life. Trouble is no stranger to her, but when she falls through a hole in a wall and finds herself in a world with carnivorous trees and rocks that eat people she realizes she may have found more of it than she can deal with. Rescued/arrested by the prince of the Summer Court, it doesn’t take long for her to formulate a plan to use him to get herself home.  Unfortunately for her, she soon finds that her heart, which she had thought long ago turned to stone, has begun to feel the love she has been playing at.  Will she be able to overcome a lifetime of caution and allow herself to follow her heart?  Can a criminal love a cop?

What inspired you to write this book?

Taken By The Huntsman came about because I had a dream (I’ll leave the details to your imagination 😉 ) after having a debate with an online friend about the nature of consent, and what society should and should not accept in terms of other people’s behavior. My friend and I differed rather violently on this matter and I went to bed thinking about it.

When I woke up, I had the idea for my first novel. Another friend of mine said the idea sounded interesting, so I wrote the first couple of chapters and sent them to her asking if she was bored yet. She was kind enough to say that she wasn’t bored and would like to read the rest of the story, so I wrote it. 🙂 As I was writing Taken By The Huntsman, various characters came and informed me that they also have stories to tell, so I’ll be writing those too. 🙂

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

I’ve noticed that so many people in our society subscribe to a frightful number of “givens.” There’s no specific message I’m trying to convey to my readers, I’m a novelist not a preacher 😉 , but I hope that when people read my books it will make them examine their “givens.” Maybe they’ll change their minds, maybe they won’t, but I hope they will at least think about what they believe and why.

Did you hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?

I have a couple of totally awesome beta readers who have been kind enough to help me edit. I couldn’t have done it without you Michaela, Gabe, and Sherry!!! 🙂

What have you learned during your self-publishing journey?

Something I’ve learned, and was very surprised by, is how supportive and helpful the indie author community is of each other. There are exceptions, of course, but by and large, most of the authors I’ve met are extremely generous with their time, advice, and assistance. It’s difficult for indie authors to compete with the big publishing houses and their marketing machines, so many have realized that we do far better working together in a collaboration, instead of trying “defend our turf” and compete with each other too. Individually, we are just small, mostly unknown authors and our books get lost in a veritable sea of books; but together, when we unite our voices, we can make ourselves heard over the din of other advertising.

Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?

My books are available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo, and Smashwords 🙂

How are readers/reviewers reacting to your book?

So far the reactions to and reviews of Taken By The Huntsman have been mostly very positive. There have been a few criticisms, but by and large, most people who read my book seem to enjoy it. 🙂

Have you published anything else?

I will be publishing my second novel, Bound By The Summer Prince, on or before 2/28/2015! 🙂

What’s next for you? / What is your next project?

Once Bound By The Summer Prince has been released, I’ll be working on a short story that goes along with it; and then I’ll be working on my third novel, which will be about the Winter Court king and his human soul-mate. 🙂

Tell us your latest news.

Bound By The Summer Prince will be out in less than a week!!!!!!! 🙂

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

Thank you so much for reading my book!! I appreciate the fact that you’ve given your time and your money to experience my work; it humbles me that you have been willing to do so. I value all of your feedback, both good and bad, because it can only make me a better writer and help me create a better product for you to enjoy. So thank you, as far as I’m concerned you’re totally awesome! 🙂
LINKS

Amazon US:  http://www.amazon.com/Taken-Huntsman-Mistral-Dawn-ebook/dp/B00NGANG5C/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Taken-Huntsman-Mistral-Dawn-ebook/dp/B00NGANG5C/

Contact information:

Website/Blog: http://mistralkdawn.blogspot.com/

Facebook:        https://www.facebook.com/MistralKDawn

Twitter:           https://twitter.com/MistralKDawn

Amazon Author: http://www.amazon.com/Mistral-Dawn/e/B00NGXETSM/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1