Interview with novelist KH (Kate) LeMoyne

Today's fabulous guest is KH LeMoyne to talk about her book Return of the Legacy, The Portals of Destiny Book 1.

And not only is she talking about writing, she's giving away a $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Additionally, she'll choose two randomly drawn winners of the Dragon Rider’s Gift eBook (A Portal Tale), due for release May 1, 2012. So, I encourage you to follow the tour and comment where you can. The more you comment, the better your chances of winning!

Bio:
A former technology specialist, KH LeMoyne now writes romance fulltime with series in urban fantasy, high fantasy, and scifi/futuristic. She lives in Maryland with her wonderful husband and corgi. Much to her dismay, she rarely encounters supernatural beings other than on paper. Visit her website or blog.

Welcome to Reviews and Interviews, Kate. Please tell us about your current release.
Three magical dimensions…

Two mystical bloodlines…

One undeniable destiny.

Born a magical empath, Logan MacKenzie has spent his life protecting his family from discovery. Evil has found them anyway. What begins as Logan’s search for answers on Earth becomes a race for survival in the magical dimension of Loci.

The battle to save those he cares about will reveal his true lineage—the bloodline of the Makir, one half of a pair of sentinels chosen to guard the mystical portals between dimensions. The price of his acceptance: a love he never imagined possible and a heartbreaking choice.

Her family attacked, her home destroyed, and now stranded on Loci, Briallen of Tir Thar, descendant of a magical race, has only to summon the power within her to return to her own dimension—or so she had hoped. Unfortunately, her powers aren’t cooperating, and the sorcerer bent on her family’s destruction will stop at nothing to possess her.

Raised without knowledge of the portals, the Makir guardians, or her own destiny, Bri takes a leap of faith in an alliance with Logan. Embracing an uncertain power and accepting his goals as hers offers her the only way home. If they fail, the consequences of allowing the portals to fall to evil are unthinkable—the destruction of every magical dimension throughout space.

What inspired you to write this book?
I constructed the Return of the Legacy, the first in the Portals of Destiny series about magical siblings on the run, quite a few years ago. The premise is based on magic falling out of favor on earth and beings with magical power fleeing to new dimensions. Each sibling in the Portals series corresponded to a tarot card in a pack I owned. The actual development of the siblings and their powers evolved as I put the series arc together. The Makir, the sentinels who guard the portals between the magical dimensions, were a consequence of the world building and magic rules. They are the magical checks and balances for the power and threat of the portals. From there the first story evolved. There are five books planned to cover the mystery and threat from the portals.

What exciting story are you working on next?
Dragon Rider’s Gift (A Portal of Destiny Tale) is a spinoff story from the portals series. It involves the dragon riders who make a brief appearance in Return of the Legacy and their conflict with the evil mage. Roark of Nedres, his dragon Kraz, and the Princess of Fyrhall will do their part to battle black magic. This story is with my editor and due for release in spring of 2012

I’m currently writing Destiny’s Mark. It is an urban fantasy romance and the third in the Guardians of Eden series, targeted for release in late summer 2012.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I actually consider writers to be all people who write, whether for critique partners or for submission or just for their own personal journaling and pleasure. I considered myself an author when I submitted Return of the Legacy to Black Opal Books. That they sent me back an acceptance letter on Christmas Eve was just a really wonderful perk.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I write full-time. And while I work on some part of the writing business for eight to ten hours a day, I don’t always get to just write every day—except for the first draft. When I’m drafting a book, I’m pretty much non-stop, heads-down in the story for about four to six weeks. Then I start over with revisions, let it sit for a bit and then head back later for editing before I send it off to my critique partner and then my editor. During other times, I try to fit some small bit of writing in every day. That approach keeps me connected with my stories and doesn’t allow my creativity to drift away. Granted, every day isn’t always controllable, but small things help keep me on track. I used to carry a hand recorder with me in the car when I traveled back and forth hours to my son’s college. I also take a spiral notebook to the doctor’s office or appointments to jot scene thoughts or dialog snippets.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I’m so uninteresting. Once my butt is in the chair, I ignore everything and work with my characters and their worlds. But before I start, I always need a visual. For Return of the Legacy, I actually had the tarot cards thumb tacked to the cork board over my monitor and several fun crystals I’d collected in a dish on my desk. For Dragon Rider’s Gift, I had postcards of dragons I’ve collected through the years on the corkboard and several mythic calendars on the wall. And for Destiny’s Mark, I have a massage map on the board and a small scented oil collection where I can see (and smell) it. I love feeding the senses for writing!

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A doctor, a lawyer, a superhero. Yeah, my goals changed every week. See, I should have figured out I wanted to be a writer way back then because I can do all of this now in fiction. But I wasn’t that focused on my future. I wasn’t the person who knew they wanted to be a CPA and had their life planned. I have an incredible friend who was like that. I’ll admit I was envious of her conviction at the time, but I think things work out for a reason and my past adds many facets to my life as a writer.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Fictional escape is good for the heart and soul. I encourage everyone to pick up a good book, enjoy it, and share your findings with others!

Thanks, Kate. Great interview. You sound like you have a lot of fun with your writing.

Readers, don't forget to comment for a chance to win a book!