Thank you for joining me at Raven Corinn Carluk's website. My name is Dawné Dominique, and I'm a multi-published author, a retired managing editor, and a professional cover artist.
As far back as I can remember, I've always found the light of the moon soothing, almost healing in nature, in fact. The week leading up to a full moon, I become more creative, my thoughts are more organized, I write like a crazy woman, and create some of my best cover art. It could be because I’m a cancer and it's my sign, but I've often wondered whether other authors have similar "certain times of the month" in which the creative juices tend to flow more freely. I'd love to hear from you.
As you've probably guessed, I write about vampires. To me, they're very sensual, dark and extremely sexy. From the hype this genre has raised through recent movies and television shows, my view isn't singular. By introducing “erotica” into the creation of my novels, I'd initially panicked thinking that perhaps it would take away from the main premise of the series. However, this didn’t happen. I'd never tried my hand at the erotica genre before, as I was a straight-up fantasy author, but as I continued writing The First series, it was inevitable that the sex needed to be inserted in order to add further dimensions to my characters.
So how does one create a novel with a gripping plot, mixed with subplots, where the sex doesn’t become the main focus? You need to write strong characters, create underlying questions for your readers to ask themselves, and include scenery and events that places readers right into the action and, of course, good writing. But more importantly, I needed to create complex characters that you know shouldn't be together, but even in real life, love and lust is more powerful than logic. And hopefully, there's a full moon out. : )
Many erotica novels have crossed my desk as a managing editor. There's always the distinction of what is considered “porn” as opposed to “erotica”. For me, the two are quite simple to differentiate.
"Erotica" is based on the premise of romance between complex characters that when you read them, they are not destined to be together, which inevitably creates a compelling plot. As well, there must be sexual tension, and not the act.
“Porn” centralizes on characters where the sex is the main premise of the novel. It is a fine line to some, and a huge crater to others. For me, I write who I am, and as I don’t sugarcoat my life, my writing is also a reflection of my personality. The romance/love aspects in my novels are strong, the sex straightforward (no purple prose for this gal), but it’s the intricate plot(s) and sexual tension leading up to the main act(s) that I hope make my stories truly come alive.
So if you’re looking for a unique take on the vampire lore that includes fictional, mythological, and biblical facts blended together, erotic interludes, love lost and gained, blood, adventure, and some pretty nasty villains, I urge you to take a journey into The First series.
THE FIRST series by Dawné Dominique
Coming December 2012
About the Author:
Dawné Dominique is a multi-published author of paranormal romance and fantasy. Weaving tales of intrigue that include riveting characters and spellbinding plots, she takes great pleasure in immersing an unsuspecting reader into the worlds she created, refusing to let them go until that last page is read.
She embraces life with one simple rule:
“Everything in life happens for a reason, be it good or bad, and
it’s because of this we learn to never take anything for granted.”
