1.
Heroes, Heroines, Villains. Which are your
favorite to write?
I find heroines
easier to write than heroes, because I’m a woman so it’s easier for me to
picture myself in another woman’s skin. My favorite characters to write are
villains, though. I love a good villain!
2.
Heroes.
How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or plain imagination create the
man you want every reader to love? Do they come before the plot or after you
have the idea for the story?
Usually I have an
idea for the story first, then the hero develops from that idea. My novellas
and short stories are all connected. A secondary character in a story will
often become the main character in the next story. My heroes come mostly from
my imagination, I don’t base them on real people. Once I have written the
story, I look for pictures that resemble the character I’ve created.
3.
Heroines.
How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or imagination create the woman
you want the reader to root for? Do they appear before the plot or after you have
the idea for the story?
When I have an idea
for a story, I usually imagine one of the characters first – sometimes it’s the
hero, sometimes the heroine. If I have imagined the hero first, his character
will influence how I create the heroine. She has to be right for the hero, but
there also needs to be an element of conflict. For example, in my story Music
for a Merman, the hero is a cop. I made the heroine into an eco warrior and
made him arrest her. If the heroine comes first, then she will grow from the
idea I had for the story. Again, heroines come from my imagination. I’ve never
based a hero or heroine on someone I know, though sometimes they have elements
of myself.
4.
Villains or villainesses or an antagonist,
since they don’t always have to be the bad guy or girl. They can be a person
opposed to the hero’s or heroine’s obtaining their goal. How do you choose one?
How do you make them human?
My Sea of Love series
is made up of three novellas, each one centred on a young shifter merman or
mermaid who falls in love with a human, in defiance of the laws of their
people. In the first two books the antagonists are the heroes’ fathers, the
elders of the merfolk community, who are conservative and opposed to their son
marrying a human woman. I made sure I explained their motivation – fear of
change, fear of losing their identity.
In the third book,
Mermaids Marry in Green, the villains are proper monsters – bloodthirsty,
cannibalistic red hags. Monsters are great fun to write. I intend to show more
of the hags’ character and motivation in future books, however, so they too
will become more “human”.
5.
What is
your latest release? Who is the hero, heroine and or the villain?
Love Comes in Many
Shapes is my first gay romance/menage story. It is included in the new BVS
anthology of LGBTQIA+ love stories, Rainbow Desire, on pre order sale only
$0.99 until the release date 1 October. It has two heroines, Bryony the shifter
mermaid, and Maia the witch. The antagonist is Ariel, Maia’s ex, a powerful
warlock. Maia and Bryony have run away together and are living the dream in Las
Vegas, but their relationship comes under strain when Ariel turns up.
6.
What are
you working on now?
I am writing another
short story for the next BVS anthology, “Dark Desire,” which is planned for
2022. A shifter mermaid teams up with a vampire to steal a magical jewel… with
unintended consequences. I have also just finished the
first draft of my next novel, “How to win a sea-witch.” I am hoping it will be
the first book in a new series, “Conjuring Love,” about time travelling witches
and warlocks.
7.
How can
people find you?
You can find me on
the following links:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/AliceRenaudAuthorRomance/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/alicerauthor
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18670218.Alice_Renaud
Bookbub:
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/alice-renaud
Amazon page:
https://www.amazon.com/Alice-Renaud/e/B07L52P17B
Website:
https://nomadauthors.com/alicerenaud/alicebooks.html
8.
Who are
your favorite authors? Your favourite book?
My favorite authors
are Tolkien, Ursula Le Guin, and Robin Hobb. My favorite book remains The Lord
of the Rings. It’s the book that made me want to become a writer.
