Interview with paranormal romance author R.W. Buxton

Novelist R.W. Buxton is here today to chat with me about his new paranormal romance, Capital Thirst.

During his virtual book tour, RW will be giving away a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too.

Welcome, R.W. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

I love a good paranormal read, something about the un-dead haunts the fringes of my mind. Mix in romance, love, loss, and you have a great story.

I voraciously read everything, fiction, and non-fiction but always find myself turning back to the darker stories. I’ve always wanted to write and the dream became a reality with Capital Thirst, and the remainder of the Erin Kingsly novels.

I spend most of my days designing and building websites, but my free time is devoted to my wife, family, and cats. Yes, three grown children and three cats. Things can be hectic.

For fun you might find me driving winding roads with the top down or out photographing nature.

Please share a little bit about your current release.
Capital Thirst is a paranormal romance based on Erin, a lonely female vampire with a horrific life story. She compensates by killing wealthy men intent on taking advantage of women. That is until she meets Gerry. He’s different and she finds herself drawn to him. Only her charms that usually have men swooning at her feet have no impact on him. She finds herself in uncharted territory.

Gerry, a widowed FBI agent is more concerned about leading a task force of local law enforcement agencies searching for a serial killer that is preying on DC’s rich and powerful, and raising his young daughter. A new romance is the furthest thing from his mind.

A chance meeting causes their worlds to collide in unexpected ways. Gerry faces questions he would rather not answer and Erin is forced to consider her past and actions that have led her to her current position.

What inspired you to write this book?
I love reading about the paranormal, creatures of the night. Of course, the majority of this ends up being paranormal romance. I wanted to write something that would be a little different. Not the damsel that falls in love with the sexy vampire, but a strong female vampire trying to find her way in life. Three hundred years is a long time to live hanging on to old anger and hatred.

I wanted to explore things like can we get over old wounds. Can people change their basic nature? Are people inherently evil? All while creating a romance between two unlikely people.

Also, I wanted to pay back something to the world. All the authors that have come before me and allowed me to escape into their worlds. I wanted to give that back to others.

Excerpt from Capital Thirst:

Lullaby

Erin placed Mary back in the crib. A sigh escaped her lips, and her arms hung limply at her sides. Erin felt her chest tighten. What could she do to change things? She was a vampire. There was no going back.

She was a killer. No matter how much she wanted to be a mother, she was nothing more than a vengeful killer, and she needed to remember that before she hurt someone.

Gerry touched her elbow then led the way downstairs.

“She was so comfortable with you. You must love children.”

“She’s beautiful. You’ve no idea how lucky you are. I would give my life to have a child.” Erin’s voice broke as she tried to speak.

Shocked, Gerry stopped and turned. “You’re young enough, nothing is stopping you.”

“Just this condition I have.” Now it was Erin’s turn to be sad. She fought back the tears.

“I need to go.” She needed to leave before tears ran down her cheeks. Her whole body ached for the chance to have a child, and she was denied that for eternity.

What exciting story are you working on next?
I’m working on the second book in the Erin Kingsly series. I’m excited to say their story continues. This is different from the first in that most of the story is from Gerry’s point of view. He finds himself struggling with his feelings for Erin. Question his core beliefs. But regardless of his questions he knows he loves her and will do anything to save her life. Oh yeah she’s missing and maybe already dead.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I don’t. I feel uncomfortable saying I’m an author. I say things like I’ve written a book but using the author word is intimidating. Tolkien was an author; Agatha Christie was an author. At best I think of myself as a writer. Maybe if I sold a bazilion copies and people said, “Oh there’s that Buxton guy, he’s an author,” I might start to think of myself in those terms. But honestly that’s not my goal. I want people to be entertained by my work and escape the realities of life just for a little while. Maybe even have them think a little about the underlying themes that run throughout the book. But until then I’m just a writer.

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 don’t write full-time, although that is a dream. Maybe when I retire. My days are spent developing websites. I guess you could say that’s writing just in another language for computers.

I try to write every day. Although when I’m editing something as I am now it’s far more challenging. I don’t enjoy that part nearly as much. Usually when I first get up around 4:00 I’ll do a little and then while I’m sitting at Starbucks before work, I’ll write some. I stopped writing at lunch because I would get too wrapped up and forget to start working again. I try to wrap up my evenings and fit more in. It’s much easier now since my children have either moved out or are off at college. Prior to that I would wait until they were in bed and then write.

 
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I dream about my characters. When I’m in the middle of a new novel I have vivid dreams about what they do, and conversations they have with each other and me. I’ll be honest some if it’s just crazy and doesn’t make any sense, but some ends up in my writing.

The characters become very real and have thoughts of their own I suppose.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A college history professor. I wanted to get a PhD in History. Of course, my parents thought I was crazy and they weren’t about to pay for that so I ended up being a programmer. I’m a firm believer in a strong liberal arts education. Even though I have a BS I tried to always fit in as many English and History classes as I could.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Be bold and pursue your dreams. Life slips away faster than we think. If you don’t grab your dream today it will be gone tomorrow.

Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Buy Links

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Thank you for being a guest on my blog!

a Rafflecopter giveaway