Joining me today in The Loft is author Daryl Devoré. Daryl writes hot romance with sexy heroes and strong heroines, and sweet romances with little to no heat. She loves to take long walks on her quiet country road or snowshoe across the back acres, and in the summer, kayak along the St. Lawrence River. She has touched a moon rock, a mammoth, and a meteorite. She’s been deep in the ocean in a submarine, flown high over Niagara Falls in a helicopter, and used the ladies' room in a royal palace. Life’s an adventure and she’s having fun living it! A resident of Canada, Daryl lives in an old farmhouse in Ontario with her husband and two cats.
Author Daryl Devoré
S: Good morning, Daryl! Thanks for joining me in The Loft.
You've now authored more than 20 books, so this question seems appropriate--What's love got to do with writing romance?
D: When I’m stuck on answering a question, I run to the old stand-by, what is the definition of romance? The first four definitions of romance were interesting, but I thought this one answered the question the best, "Romance is used to refer to novels about love affairs." If there is no love affair, then there is no romance. If I wanted to go all science nerdy, I could say it’s a symbiotic relationship. But I won’t do that.
S: I can get behind that explanation. Without love, you don't have romance.
Do you write in other genres?
D: Not yet. Someday, I am hoping to write a cozy mystery. I sort of have it plotted out. But that is way in the future. For the moment, I only write romance, but in the sub-genres of that group, I am all over the place.
S: Do you think romance books have become “too spicy?”
D: No. People have preferences, and they should be allowed to read what they want. Otherwise, it is censorship. And censorship is a very slippery path to be on. I look at it like this--if I don’t want to read a spicy hot book, I don’t. I don’t condemn the author or the genre. If I don’t feel like writing a spicy hot romance. I don’t. I have written several. Currently, I am having a blast writing a sweet medieval fantasy romance. Who knows what heat level I will write my next book in?
S: The concept of free will certainly plays into it. No one is forced to read spicy romance. They make that choice all on their own.
Critics say romance novels mislead readers about the reality of romance and in fact, give readers false expectations. Do you agree?
D: Critics say "they say" people shouldn’t, but no one ever says who “they” are. I certainly won’t listen to or take advice from an unknown source. Too many people have a hidden agenda and, in this day and age, I want to know where they are coming from.
S: What attracted you to your current partner?
D: Are you ready for this? Are you sitting down? I fell for him. We were in judo class, and he threw me. When the other males threw me, they slammed me into the tatami (mat). Being new to judo, I wasn’t great at my breakfall. Greg threw me but controlled my hit on the tatami. We’ve been married 40 years.
S: We have that in common. I tripped down some stairs and fell on my former husband. He had no choice but to catch me!
What would you like people to know about you?
D: First off, I’m female. By my name, people often assume I’m male. Daryl, which rhymes with Karl, is an old Celtic name and it is the female version. Secondly, may I make a shameless plug for my author group, Daryl Devore’s Musings? Lots of authors have newsletters. I don’t. I have an author group where I do cover reveals and excerpts and we chat and I tell funny stories and whatever else happens. The group is on Facebook and MeWe. It is the same group, just in two spots, because some people no longer wanted to use a certain social media site. Also, I will personally send a newsletter to your email addy if you would prefer that. I post about once a week on the social media sites but would only send a monthly newsletter. I don’t want to clutter your inbox. These are the three options and there is a free eBook for signing up:
MeWe - https://mewe.com/join/daryldevoresmusing
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/738845900663510
Email Newsletter – daryl.devore@yahoo.ca
S: What is the best/worst thing that has ever happened to you as a writer?
D: The best--Met a lot of amazing authors and have become friends. And I am multi-published, so I get to be snotty at a party and say I’m an author. I only do this when people are being really annoying.
S: Do you read reviews?
D: I only read the four to five-star reviews. I can use them for book promotion purposes. The others, I ignore. I know not everyone will like my book. But a non-author telling me how I should have written my book, I'm not gonna bother with that. Or someone telling me that my story would never happen in real life. It’s fiction, not real life. Have they never read sci-fi?
S: If you had to do it all over again, would you still choose to write books?
D: Yes, because writer is what I am. I was that kid in English class who, when the teacher assigned an essay, I got excited. All my classmates moaned and groaned. I never understood why. I love to write.
S: What’s the best advice you have ever been given?
D: There is also the question, "What’s the best advice I’ve ever given?" My answer is the same for both--Send the damn book in. And because I followed that advice, I got a publishing contract, and the rest is history. You can edit the life out of a book, so stop doing re-reads and just one more edit, and send the damn book in. An agent knows what they are looking for and can find it even in a book that might need a bit more work. If the agent rejects the manuscript, it isn’t necessarily because the book had four typos in it. It’s often more the fact that the book and the agent aren’t the right mix. And you are never going to know until you send the damn book in.
S: What inspired "A Voice in the Air?
D: I am the moderator of an online critique group. It used to be super active with chapters and critiques flying about daily. Now, it’s a step away from dead. So I am always trying things to get the new authors to take that step and submit something. I got the idea of a mini flash fiction. Once a month, I would post three-word prompts and three picture prompts. They only needed to choose one and write a maximum of 750 words based on the prompt. I posted a picture of a ruined castle. Sat down and pounded out 750 words in less than an hour. Looked up and said, “I think I just wrote the prologue to my next book.” Which at the time, I didn’t know I was about to write another book.
S: Is there anything special you would like people to know about "A Voice in the Air?"
D: I had so much fun writing this book. I just let my creativity fly. There are myths, legends, and fairy tales mixed in. Characters range from pixies to dragons. The main character is a strong female named Cadi who is helped in her quest by one bad-assed faerie named Aife. "A Voice in the Air" also caused the creation of my Long Ago series. I wrote "The Last Dragon" with the intention of it being the only medieval fantasy I ever wrote. "A Voice in the Air" happens after "The Last Dragon," with some recurring characters. I am currently writing the third book in the series. It doesn’t have a title yet, but so far there are two faeries, a prince, a legend, a love interest, a nasty imp, and a wyvern. And I’m only partway through chapter two!
S: That sounds like an entertaining book!
Daryl, it has been so much fun to chat with you today! If you'd like to learn more about Daryl and her books, please visit--
Thanks for letting me stop by and chat.
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