Today I'm joined by author Demelza Carlton to chat about her book series.
What
genre do you write and why?
I write…several, actually. Paranormal romance
and urban fantasy, because mermaids, dragons, angels and demons intrigue me,
especially in a modern, urban setting. But I've also written a romantic
suspense trilogy that borders on psychological suspense…because nothing's
straightforward in my Nightmares.
Tell us about your
latest book.
My latest release in the Mel Goes to Hell series is the third book, Mel Goes to Hell, and I'm soon to release the fourth one, To Hell and Back, which will be out on
the 1st February. The whole series is based on a crazy idea: what if
Lucifer fell for an angel, a brand-new temp sent to spy on him as he primes the
HELL Corporation to take over the corporate world?
The first book (Welcome to Hell) is just a short story – Melody Angel's job
interview, where she first meets Lucifer. The second book (See You in Hell) is the story of an office romance with a
difference…because Lucifer may have fallen hard, but sweet Mel isn't as
easygoing as she seems. And Luce isn't used to being refused.
In the third book, Mel Goes to Hell, the unthinkable happens – Mel follows Lucifer
into Hell itself and she's forced to fight her way through all the levels of
Hell as only she can. But it's not the Inferno of Dante's time – definitely
not. Some of the female demons, inspired by modern-day BDSM erotica books, have
redesigned their workspace and there's more wear and tear on the whips than
ever. Not to mention a punishment level that's been modelled on the Black
Friday sales…
The fourth book (To Hell and Back)…well, Persephone (Mel's cousin and a half-angel)
disappears, and the desperate archangels Michael and Raphael beg Mel to help
find the girl. The search takes Mel across the globe, from Australia to the UK
to Japan London
What's the best thing
about being a writer?
The
research and the freedom to take a project wherever and whenever you want. I've
explored old World War II ruins; spent time in a shooting range; explored
caves; gone whale watching, scuba diving and snorkelling; ventured behind the
scenes at a whisky distillery for a private tasting and tour…all in the name of
research. It's not all fieldwork, though – there's a lot of desktop and online
research, reading scientific papers and books and all. One day I might be
investigating particle physics for a concept I want to use in my Mel Goes to Hell series; another day I
might be standing on a harbour rock wall, dodging the spray from the storm
surge as I try to work out where the fishing boat harbour jetty was in the
1920s because no amount of Google maps and aerial photography can compare to
standing there where the events in a story happened.
Who
is you favorite character in your book and why?
In the Mel
Goes to Hell series? Ooh, that's really, really hard. I love Mel because
she's so sweet and yet so strong, she doesn't take orders from anyone – no, not
even the Lord of Hell himself. In the third book, Mel Goes to Hell, I had to write a chunk of the story from
Lucifer's perspective and I found I have a bit of a soft spot for the cheeky
devil. He's frustrating to write, because one minute he'll try to do something
right, and then the next minute he's stark naked and raising Hell as only
Lucifer can. He's a bad, bad man, but sometimes it's just bad luck – he's
notorious for it. I can't help but feel sorry for him, especially when he
really is trying to do the right thing by Mel. And he has no idea what he's
gotten into, either – for an angel to be able to resist the Lord of Hell for as
long as she has, there's quite a story to sweet Melody Angel. Oh, here I go
again…no, I won't spoil it for you.
How long did it take
you to write your book?
Most books take me between one and two months
to write, depending on the length. That's like doing National Novel Writing
Month every month I'm writing, really, as I can write 20,000 words in a good
week. But…with all the research a book involves, sometimes they can take longer
than expected. I'd rather delay a book by a few weeks to make sure I get all
the details right, before sending it to my editor to make sure I haven't
accidentally turned my hero into a gimp or misspelled his name.
The exception to all of this is my Nightmares Trilogy – those three books
have taken me twenty years to write. Good thing, too – I wouldn't even want to
read the first version of that book again, let alone share them with anyone
else!
Who designed
the cover?
Me, actually. I can show you dozens of examples
of why authors should never design their own covers – just from my portfolio –
but all that design practice DOES pay off. I engaged a graphic artist to do my
first cover and I've since learned that I can do better. Having a background in
photography helps – say I want a picture of a particular place, as most of my
books are set here in Western
Australia
Every time I start a new series, I
swear I'll engage a cover designer for this one…but graphics work is so
addictive sometimes that I end up doing the covers myself.
Did you learn
anything from writing your book that was unexpected?
Oh, absolutely. See, the whole Mel Goes to Hell series was inspired by
an unexpected briefcase a fellow train commuter shoved up my skirt. Really
unexpected and incredibly uncomfortable, too. I learned not to kill the man who
did it on a crowded train. Though if he ever does it again…I'm no angel, that's
for sure.
I've learned that cave photography needs a
high-powered torch and you spend a lot of time on your knees…after which stairs
are torture. That you're not supposed to smile while scuba diving – no, not
even at the cute shark you just photographed – because it breaks the seal on
your mask and it fills with water. That pearls can survive for thousands of
years and still look pretty. How to make mushroom risotto, and Lucifer's sinful
triple chocolate mousse cake that had even Mel's mouth watering. And some
people really, really hate Lucifer in my books because sympathy for the devil
is just…wrong. You can't help but be sympathetic to this sexy devil…
Where
can a reader purchase your book?
The Mel
Goes to Hell series is available…well, wherever you buy good books! All the
books are available in paperback and ebook format, at Amazon, Barnes and Noble,
Kobo, iBooks, Google Play…and a whole bundle of other places, too.
Links:
Welcome to Hell (#1)
Barnes and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/welcome-to-hell-demelza-carlton/1118739335?ean=2940045715829
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/411228
See You in Hell (#2)
Barnes and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/see-you-in-hell-demelza-carlton/1119109471?ean=2940045808255
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/425187
Mel Goes to Hell (#3)
Barnes and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mel-goes-to-hell-demelza-carlton/1120020137?ean=2940046058703
Google Play: http://play.google.com/store/books/details/Demelza_Carlton_Mel_Goes_to_Hell?id=Kq0YBAAAQBAJ
Smashwords:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/45556
To Hell and
Back (#4)
should be up for preorder very, very soon…so your best bet if you're after the
earliest news on that book is to sign up for my newsletter, which is where I
tell people first about release dates, free and discounted books. The link for
that is: http://eepurl.com/X_eUP
How do you
research your books?
I think I sort of answered this one already.
With a camera in one hand and an internet-ready device in the other. But when
I'm at a site…it's often with my eyes closed. The sounds and smells of a place
are important, the taste of things, especially when it's a character's first
time experiencing it…for one of my historical fiction books, I had to write
about a heroine's first taste of chocolate. I went through a whole packet of
Lindt to get that scene right. Not to mention one couple's first kiss…my poor
husband had to help me with that research.
What is your
work in progress? Tell us about it.
After finishing To Hell and Back, I started working on two books – the fifth book
about Mel and Luce, The Holiday From Hell,
and the last book in my suspense Nightmares
Trilogy – Afterlife of Alanna Miller.
Both very different books, as Mel and Luce's disastrous holiday in Western
Australia's south west is almost the complete opposite to the final episode of
Nathan and Caitlin's story as they struggle to put their lives back together
after her abduction, never knowing if they're safe or if the whole nightmare
will start again.
The reason I'm writing the two together is that
they take place in the same location at the same time – and in one scene, all
four of them are at Lake
Cave Margaret River
Afterlife of Alanna
Miller will be
released on 15th January, but The
Holiday From Hell won't be out until the end of March, or early April.
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