SEELIE KAY: Postcards from The Ledge: This week in The Loft: Author D. S. Dehel

Joining me today in The Loft is fellow Extasy author, D. S. Dehel. D. S. writes contemporary, historical, paranormal, and erotic romance. A lover of literature, good food, and the Oxford comma, the award-winning author is retired from a 26-year career as an educator. She enjoys reading, traveling, being a mom to her four adult children, and spoiling her rather pampered feline, Mr. Darcy or her equally pampered pup, Jameson, and her slightly psychotic Australian Shepherd, Piper. D. S. adores literary allusions, writing sex scenes, and British men.

Author D. S. Dehel

S: Good morning, D. S. It seems every time I read your social media, you are traveling to another exotic place. Thanks for taking the time to join me today!

How do you determine the "heat level" of your stories?

D: Like most things in my writing, I determine very little. The characters do, and that holds true for the heat levels. Now, that probably sounds very odd to people who aren’t writers, but for me anyway, I know my characters are becoming fully fleshed out when they push back against my plot.

S: It is kind of amazing when the characters take over. I always feel like a medium when my character's words begin to flow through my fingers.

Book banning is back in the news and even some very popular romance authors' books are being removed from school libraries. How do you feel about this trend? How do we fight it?

D: As someone who spent over 25 years as an English teacher, book banning sets my teeth on edge. There’s a reason that authors like Ray Bradbury and George Orwell wrote novels about that topic, novels that are still read today. The people who feel the need to ban or heaven forbid, burn books are frightened of the ideas contained in the pages. And here’s the thing, ideas can’t be burned. Ultimately, they’ll fail, but those of us with sense have to fight back by requesting books that are banned and buying copies from those targeted authors.

S: I was really surprised when some popular romance writers were banned. But book banning seems like a futile move. These days, it's just as easy to get books from the local library or online. I'm convinced book banning increases sales.

Are you self-published or traditionally published? Why did you choose that path?

D: I’m small press traditionally published. Pragmatism made me make choose this path because I knew nothing about the process other than the vague descriptions I’d read in other places. I was certain, however, that it was more than write a book and then magic happens. Personally, I needed someone to hold my hand and guide me through the publishing process. There’s so very many moving parts, and I had no hope of muddling through on my own.

S: I'm with you. I had no understanding of the publishing process when I began, and now, I know I couldn't handle it on my own.

How do you get in the mood for writing?

D: Coffee, lots of coffee, and curling up in my favorite chair at my desk. To be honest, writing is more about discipline than being in the mood. You have to be ready for the muses to speak.

S: Have you ever shelved or thrown out a manuscript?

D: Yes, I actually have two that are shelved for the time being because they just weren’t ready for the proverbial prime time. I hope to go back and revise them in the not-too-distant future.

S: What inspired “Christmas Wrapping?"

D: Nostalgia would be the best way to describe it. Like Steph, I worked at a mall during the holidays in a men’s clothing store, though in 1986 instead of 1985. Couple this with my love for Rankin-Bass Christmas stop motion animation shows, especially the ones that explore the history of Santa, and you have the genesis of this story.

S: Is there anything special you would like people to know about “Christmas Wrapping?”

D: The best way to read it would be to put on some Wham! and your favorite Izod shirt. Pop that collar, turn on the bubble lights on your tree, and curl up to meet Nick and Steph. Hopefully, it takes you back or at least, to an eight-bit era with fabulous music.

Here's the blurb--

Totally wrap yourself in holiday magic.

Christmas 1985 promises to be dull for Steph Marshall, a computer whiz stuck in a dead-end mall job. Then two small strangers enter her life…and kidnap her as a present for their boss, Nick Claus. When she wakes under a Christmas tree, Steph is furious at her abductors and Nick. But she soon learns that Nick is not like his father, Kris Claus. He’s charming, funny, and most of all, kind to everyone he meets. She finds herself drawn to the Santa-in-Waiting.

But things at the North Pole aren’t like the songs describe. Not everyone is a jolly old elf. This world is too different from all she knows, full of magic and reindeer shifters, and to make things worse, Nick won’t stand up to his father and make the changes the North Pole needs. Can Steph help Nick break from tradition and be the Claus he’s meant to be? Or will Christmas morning come too soon?