Dissent is the 2nd book in the Love Vanquishes All series. How many books do you have planned for the series?
My standalone historical series features only Black heroines from different historical periods and none of the heroines play a subservient role. Yes, Dissent is the 2nd book. I’ve plans for four. I’d like to pen more but I’ll have to see how my stamina holds up as I also write a science fiction romance series for a small press. I have more books planned for that series. Gotta block out the time.
What
do you think makes a great story?
I
think a great story needs an involved, multi-layered plot with
believable conflict. Look, I adore romance books but if the plot
centers only on what’s going on between the main couple, I get
bored. No one lives in a bubble of constant sex. At least, I don’t.
I can only write so many cozy, love scenes. I also have a limit as to
how many I can take reading in a book (unless it’s pure erotica
then I know why the Robo-Sex is there; that’s what the genre is
about) before I find myself nodding off. After the fifth,
simultaneous, Big O scene, between the hero and heroine, I’m
checking out. Sex can be written lots of ways but after a time, no
matter how hot, it becomes mechanical and laughable. Sorry.
Which
writers/books inspired you when writing this
series?
The
writers of “Old School” romance and Beverly Jenkins inspired me.
I like the grandeur of the historical romances from the last century.
But I wanted to see a Black heroine as the main character who was not
a concubine or a bed wench. I wanted her engaging in the same things
the default heroine was engaging in. I wanted her to be the main
attraction. I wanted her in an opulent setting, in opulent clothing.
And if her role called for her to lounge around eating bon-bons... So
be it. I knew it was possible. There is a plethora of regular and
high-born Black females, from ages past, who’d make terrific
heroines, who did not have slavery in their background. There are
centuries of history that attest to that. A writer only flip open a
few history books and do research.
What
are your ambitions for your writing career? Full time? Part time?
I
write full-time now but I do not let my dream become a nightmare. I
love what I do but I know when to take a break. Also, after reading
my work, I’d like a reader to say, “That was a good romance.”
Not, “that was a good multicultural romance.”
When
did you decide to become a writer?
I’ve
always written stories but I didn’t do it seriously until my day
job was off-shored 12 years ago. I did contract work (which I hated)
to pay the bills after the “secure” 9-to-5 tanked. I devoted time
each day to my writing to assuage the anger I felt after my
department was dumped after its 20 + years of service. Oh, I’ve
lived by the seat of my pants since the “purge” and the contract
gigs, and things can still get hairy at times, but I’ve realized
nothing is “secure” and I have decided to stick to living my
dream.
The
most challenging thing was getting the titles and formal forms of
address correct for the characters. French royalty and aristocracy
had distinct ways of being addressed. My undergrad degree is in
French Civilization so I was familiar with the country’s history,
and the societal stratification of the era (the Renaissance) in which
I’d set my story. The same for African nobility. The bibliography I
provide in the book confirms that the African elite from various
nations visited Europe during the Renaissance. I’d had several
African Studies courses but they were mostly general surveys. So, I
had to dig deeper. Africa is a vast CONTINENT not ONE country so I
had to narrow down my area of concentration for the book. My heroine,
and her family, are Wolof aristocracy from the then Jolof Kingdom of
West Africa.
From
my studies, I knew different cultures, peoples, kingdoms had always
mingled, married, mated and had done business with one another. So,
why not write about that? Why not depict three, disparate monarchies
doing business the old-fashioned way - through marriage, espionage,
betrayal and an exchange of goods. Doing business with some
shattering consequences for all involved. Toss in some religious,
personal and racial conflict. A bit of murder. Voila! Instant
historical romance. Just without the traditionally expected main
characters acting the traditionally expected way.
What
do you like to do when not writing?
I
exercise. I like to cook. When I can, I walk long distances. You must
move around because in this business, your backside will get bigger
and become stuck to the couch if you let it. I am a 70s-movie junkie
and a public television junkie too (POLDARK, past and present. Sigh).
I listen to NPR and I read ebooks. But I do enjoy holding a paperback
or hard back book.
How
can readers discover more about you and your work?
They
can visit my website: http://www.pjdeanwriter.weebly.com;
my blog if they are brave: http://wwwdiverseviews.blogspot.com
(that’s not a typo; there is no period after www); my Amazon Author
page, http://www.amazon.com/author/pjdean;
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PJDeanwriter;
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PJ-Deans-Fan-Page