Frequently Asked Questions
Q: When is your next book coming out? A: Check my book list http://christinadodd.com/books.html and, of course, please accept my invitation to receive my newsletter. Q: What is your upcoming publishing schedule? A: March 2010 IN BED WITH THE DUKE (new historical!) Q: Will you write any more paranormals? A: Darkness Chosen, my first paranormal series, has reached its conclusion, and thank you to everyone who made it such a success! As you probably know, I’ve now started a spin-off series called the Chosen Ones. It’s set in the same world as Darkness Chosen (the real world that we know today), complete with the battle between good and evil, and a beloved character from the Darkness Chosen series as one of the main characters. Here’s the set-up: When the world was young, twins were born. One brought light to a dark world. The other, darkness and danger. Their powers could not be denied, and they gathered others around them, men and women destined to use their gifts for good or evil. Today, they walk the earth as the Chosen … and the ultimate battle is about to begin. — Christina Q: Your paranormals seem to be mostly modern with a touch of historical. Why is that? A: I read both historical and contemporary romance, I write both historical and contemporary romance, and I love both historical and contemporary romance. The paranormals are my chance to melt my two loves. — Christina Q: In MY FAIR TEMPTRESS, Michael is alive at the end of the book. When are you going to write his story? Are you going to write any more books in the Governess Brides series? A: Because so many of you have over and over asked for more historicals and more governess series books, I’ve written Michael’s story, IN BED WITH THE DUKE, scheduled to come out March 2010. It was so much fun to write, I already have another historical plotted, and that’s tentatively scheduled for March 2011. — Christina Q: Where do you get your ideas? I get ideas everywhere — from the news, movies, books, friends, songs. There are so many ideas and not enough time to write all the books I want to write. — Christina Q: How do you decide which stories to write? Let me tell you about how I conceived the idea for my paranormal series, the Chosen Ones. Like most of my ideas, it started when I wasn’t paying much attention to writing. Instead, I was watching the first season of Grey’s Anatomy on DVD. At the same time, I had left a thread dangling in the Darkness Chosen series. In the series, children who were abandoned and rejected by their parents had gifts of power, and my readers wanted to know why and how. Fueled by excitement, I began to wonder how I could create an ensemble cast of disparate characters forced together by circumstances beyond their control. What if they had been abandoned as infants and raised in difficult circumstances? What if they are drafted by a mysterious, ancient organization called the Chosen Ones who are the world’s last bulwark against evil? What if the worst happened, and the new, inexperienced Chosen are left alone to battle the devil and all his forces, save civilization … and decide who should change the toilet paper? Once I decided on the arc of the series, I developed characters of the Chosen Ones themselves, four men and three women, each with a unique and powerful gift — and I wondered who could possibly make these reckless, dangerous, embattled Chosen fall in love. At last I had all the ingredients of the stories I love to write — very human heroes and heroines riddled with flaws and unprepared for the challenges that face them, a powerful enemy, the ultimate battle to fight, and the kind of passionate, irresistible romance between one man and one woman that is the stuff of legend. For each of my stories, two or three or four ideas collide, there’s a blinding flash of light, and my heart races as I realize I have another wonderful book to write. — Christina Q: Can I get a list of your books listed in series order? A: Here’s a list you can print off and take to the bookstore!— Christina Q: How do you keep your ideas fresh and avoid traveling over well-worn territory? A: Story situations become clichés because they’re the tales people want to hear over and over. When I start a book, I try to think of the stories I’ve enjoyed, and use that as a basis for the plot, giving it my own twist and my own characters. The heart of romance remains the same whatever the story — one man and one woman overcome great conflict to achieve everlasting love. My goal is to remain true to that heart, and to tell the classic stories in my own voice. — Christina Q: What advice do you give aspiring writers? A: The best way to learn to write is to sit down and do it, of course, but I always advise writers to join Romance Writers of America, a non-profit organization of 9000 published and unpublished writers. They have chapters all over the US, a national conference that takes place in a different city every year and a monthly newsletter. I've been a member for eighteen years, and at the 2006 RWA National Conference in Atlanta, I was privileged to be the luncheon speaker and talk to twenty-two hundred writers Ciick here to see the photos and hear how I got started writing and eventually got published. To join RWA: http://www.rwanational.org — Christina
|
I was fascinated by the way the interns met, learned about each other and their jobs, and faced disasters, personal and professional. Because I loved the show so much, I analyzed why I cared so much for these characters — who were not always likeable — and rooted for them as they melded into a close-knit group of friends and colleagues. I realized it was because, as the series went on, they became family to each other, and family stories are what I love. 