Dangerous Hero Addict Support Group discussion

The Dangerous Hero Addict Support Group is thrilled to welcome bestselling author Zoe Archer for a three hour Getting to Know Session on Thursday, August 15th (4-7 pm Pacific/6-9 pm Central/7-10 pm Eastern). We are honored to have Ms. Archer on our group!



Biography:

Zoë Archer is an award-winning romance author who thinks there's nothing sexier than a man in tall boots and a waistcoat. As a child, she never dreamed about being the rescued princess, but wanted to kick butt right beside the hero. She now applies her master's degrees in Literature and Fiction to creating butt-kicking heroines and heroes in tall boots. She is the author of the acclaimed BLADES OF THE ROSE series and the paranormal historical romance series, THE HELLRAISERS. She and her husband, fellow romance author Nico Rosso, created the steampunk world of THE ETHER CHRONICLES together. Her new gritty Victorian romance series, NEMESIS, UNLIMITED, launched this Spring. Zoë and Nico live in Los Angeles.



Guidelines for Q&A Session:

1. Let’s remember that the author is giving us some of their valuable time, and treat them respectfully. No bashing, no slamming, no snarking. Any posts found to be disrespectful will be deleted.

2. Please remember that the best way to get questions answered is to ask them clearly, so the author understands exactly what it is you want to know.

3. Please ask your question in bold so that they stand out. All other chat should be kept in normal font.

4. If you have a question, check to make sure it hasn’t already been asked. We don’t want the author to have to repeat herself/himself and we don’t want you to feel like you’ve been ignored, either.

5. The winner of any books, bookmarks, or other items given away will be chosen by the author and any personal information should be exchanged in PMs. All decisions are final.

6. And the most important guideline of all - let’s have fun!

Ms. Archer is the author of the following books and series:

The Blades of the Rose:



The Hellraisers:



The Ether Chronicles:



Nemesis Unlimited:


8th Wing:


Standalones:





Her newest releases are:

This thread will be open on Wednesday, August 14th for members to post questions for Ms. Archer.

Ms. Archer will be on the group 4-7 Pacific/6-9 Central/7-10 pm Eastern time on Thursday, August 15th.




Thank you so much for joining us, Ms. Archer!

Thanks to the members who dropped in to say hi and chat with Ms. Archer!

The thread is officially open for members to post questions. Please remember to bold your questions to facilitate Ms. Archer's answering them.

Welcome to the DHASG, Zoe!

I'll start with a couple of questions.

I remember we chatted on an Amazon forum a few years ago about the lack of multicultural characters in mainstream romance, and you mentioned Catullus in the Blades of the Rose series. I was very excited. My question is, what his character just a natural development of the storyline, or did you deliberately choose to make one of the Blades of black African heritage?

My second question: Was it hard for you to write a story set in space? Did you have to do a lot of research, and/or what was your approach to crafting the world in your 8th Wing series?

Hi Ms Archer! Thanks for stopping by to chat with us.

How did you come up with the idea for the Hellraisers series?

Zoe, I am a well liberated Baby Boomer who loves romance, but Steam Punk for some reason is intimidating to me. What might you say to me to ease me off of the ledge of indecision?

Zoe, each of your covers are breath taking and so beautiful. How much say did you have in the picking of the covers?

Thank you so much for joining us! I just adore your stories. They're exciting, passionate, intriguing... You're a very talented writer!

What made you decide to go from series' like Blades of the Rose and The Ether Chronicles to a traditional historical romance series with Nemesis, Unlimited?

How do you develop characters who are essentially anti-heroes so that readers come to not hate but to actually like and sympathize with/root for them, like James Sherbourne (Whit)?

Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress wrote: "Welcome to the DHASG, Zoe!

I'll start with a couple of questions.

I remember we chatted on an Amazon forum a few years ago about the lack of multicultural characters in mainstream romance, and ..."

I made a deliberate choice that Catullus was going to be a black Briton. There's so much diversity in England that it seemed kind of ridiculous to ignore how many different cultures and ethnicities exist even during historical time periods. There are few characters of color in historical romance (with a few notable exceptions by authors like Beverly Jenkins), and I wanted to address that. And since Catullus appears in all four Blades books, I really came to love him.

As for your second question--it wasn't difficult at all! I grew up watching Star Trek, Star Wars, and the original Battlestar Galactica, so writing a space opera romance had always been percolating in my head. The research consisted of strong world building. As my husband, fellow romance author Nico Rosso says, the world building for sci-fi/fantasy or paranormal has to be so strong, that the reader almost needs to believe that you found a bunch of books about this world and researched it, just like you might with historical novels.

Lacy wrote: "Hi Ms Archer! Thanks for stopping by to chat with us.

How did you come up with the idea for the Hellraisers series?"

There was once in England a group of noblemen who formed a group called the Hellfire Club. They gathered together and had wild parties (aka, orgies), and some even believed they practiced dark magic. This group really did exist. So I got to thinking: what if there was a group of aristocrats (and one wealthy commoner) who went by a similar name, but literally rose hell? What kind of men would they be? What would compel them to make a deal with the Devil, and how the heck could they be redeemed, if at all? From this series of questions, I thought about who the heroines might be, and what role they'd play in the midst of this madness. From that came the Hellraisers.

I'm so glad you gave us Catullus. I really appreciate Catullus as a character, although I love all the Blades. It's great to see diversity in books, which reflects what's already present in our world. And I absolutely love a genius hero!

I am a fellow sci-fi tv geek, so I definitely need to get started on the 8th Wing series. We really appreciate strong world-building, especially in paranormal/scif-fi/fantasy romance.

How did you get the idea for the Blades of the Rose series? What inspired you in the larger than life action sequences?

Sunny☼ wrote: " Zoe, I am a well liberated Baby Boomer who loves romance, but Steam Punk for some reason is intimidating to me. What might you say to me to ease me off of the ledge of indecision?"

Some steampunk is more tech-heavy than others, but steampunk romance always puts the emphasis on the relationship. It's essentially Victorian science fiction, so if you like historical romance, and you've watched television shows like "Wild, Wild West," you might be able to dip your toe into the steampunk pool. I can tell you that mine do have tech in them, but I always put the relationship first, and the tech never gets too complicated. That might be a good place to start. ;)

Sunny☼ wrote: " Zoe, each of your covers are breath taking and so beautiful. How much say did you have in the picking of the covers? "

I wish I could say I had total control, but the truth was, most authors have very little say in their covers, and I'm not an exception. I've just been really lucky in terms of my editors understanding my books and communicating their needs to the art departments, and then the art departments giving me incredible covers.

UniquelyMoi *Dhestiny* BlithelyBookish wrote: "Thank you so much for joining us! I just adore your stories. They're exciting, passionate, intriguing... You're a very talented writer!

What made you decide to go from series' like Blades of the R..."

Thanks so much!

I've always got different story ideas in my head, from historical paranormal, to sci-fi, to steampunk, and even to straight contemporary and dystopic futuristic. Years ago, my first two published romances were straight historicals, and I wanted to return to that world, but make it dark, gritty, action-filled and sexy.

Many authors have to keep reinventing themselves over the course of their careers in order to keep things fresh, so this was one of my many reinventions. I suspect there will be more... :)

Lacy wrote: "How do you develop characters who are essentially anti-heroes so that readers come to not hate but to actually like and sympathize with/root for them, like James Sherbourne (Whit)?"

That's the challenge! And precisely the reason why I decided to write the Hellraisers. I wanted to see just how dark and bad I could make a hero before making him completely irredeemable. The secret, I think, is in keeping some core of humanity, some want or desire that grounds them in relatable experience, so it's not just villainous hand-wringing, but needs and hopes that we can all relate to.

Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress wrote: "I'm so glad you gave us Catullus. I really appreciate Catullus as a character, although I love all the Blades. It's great to see diversity in books, which reflects what's already present in our wor..."

Thanks, Lady Danielle!

Whit was a fascinating hero, because he was so dark and seemingly unredeemable, but as Lacy said, still a compelling hero who you wanted to read about. Good job!

Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress wrote: "How did you get the idea for the Blades of the Rose series? What inspired you in the larger than life action sequences?"

Growing up, I loved high adventure movies, especially films like the Indiana Jones series and Romancing the Stone. There's something about adventures in far away places that always struck my imagination. But I absolutely hated the female characters in these films. They whined, screamed, got into trouble by being stupid, and in general made everyone's life difficult. So I really wanted to address that by having high adventure stories where the heroines were just as capable and kick-ass as the heroes. Plus, I wanted to see settings outside of the United Kingdom, and the Blades series gave me an opportunity to do just that. So I have books set in Mongolia (Warrior), Greece (Scoundrel), the Canadian Rockies (Rebel), and England with a unique secret setting (Stranger).

They say to write the book you want to read. Well, these were books I wanted to read, but couldn't find on the shelf. So I wrote them!

I love those adventure movies, and I always wanted to read more romances like that, so thanks! That was going to be my next question, about what inspires you in writing heroines!

Which of your books was the hardest to write and why?

Zoe wrote: That's the challenge! And precisely the reason why I decided to write the Hellraisers. I wanted to see just how dark and bad I could make a hero before making him completely irredeemable. The secret, I think, is in keeping some core of humanity, some want or desire that grounds them in relatable experience, so it's not just villainous hand-wringing, but needs and hopes that we can all relate to.


You did an awesome job with his character! He was imperfect but very human and I went from really not liking or trusting him to respecting and sympathizing with him unexpectedly.

Zoe wrote: "Many authors have to keep reinventing themselves over the course of their careers in order to keep things fresh, so this was one of my many reinventions. I suspect there will be more... :) "

I'm thrilled to hear it, because everything you write is awesome.

Which of your Heroes is your favorite guilty pleasure Hero?

Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress wrote: "I love those adventure movies, and I always wanted to read more romances like that, so thanks! That was going to be my next question, about what inspires you in writing heroines!

Which of your books was the hardest to write and why?"

They each had their set of challenges, but I can tell you that Rebel was one of them, since it dealt with pretty weighty subject matter--specifically her widowhood and grieving process. Sinner's Heart was also challenging because I was wrapping up the series with one of the darkest characters, and had to keep readers engaged whether they'd read the previous two books or not.

Carole Ann wrote: "Which of your Heroes is your favorite guilty pleasure Hero?"

How do you define guilty pleasure?

UniquelyMoi *Dhestiny* BlithelyBookish wrote:
I'm thrilled to hear it, because everything you write is awesome. "

Aw, thanks! *blush*

Have you written, or thought about writing, Romantic Suspense?

UniquelyMoi *Dhestiny* BlithelyBookish wrote: "Have you written, or thought about writing, Romantic Suspense?"

Definitely! I also like to think that the Nemesis, Unlimited series is historical romantic suspense. But perhaps one day I'll write straight RS and see what kinds of trouble I can get into!

That makes me VERY happy! I loved Sweet Revenge, by the way!

How does it work writing with your husband? Do you write different parts of the story or collaborate on scenes together? Do you brainstorm most of your ideas together?

Zoe wrote: "UniquelyMoi *Dhestiny* BlithelyBookish wrote: "Have you written, or thought about writing, Romantic Suspense?"

Definitely! I also like to think that the Nemesis, Unlimited series is historical ro..."

I love romantic suspense, and historical is even better. The idea for Nemesis Unlimited is very interesting.

Which authors/books are your favorite? Has your taste in books changed since you started writing?

Your words are encouraging, the couple is the most important part of a romance. Here goes Zoe, thanks to you, I will try and your books are the top of my list.

Are you at all interested in seeing your books turned into films or television?

Nemesis, Unlimited series has all of it's release dates close together so that we can read the books one after the other over the next few months. This is unusual but very appreciated because I only read new release books with a few exceptions. Is this a new trend in general or something specific to your books?

How do you keep a balance between writing characters who resonate with you on a personal level, and making each character distinctive and unique from the others you have written?

Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress wrote: "How does it work writing with your husband? Do you write different parts of the story or collaborate on scenes together? Do you brainstorm most of your ideas together?"

I write all the books myself, however, he and I plot out the books together, and he also is my critique partner/beta reader. He's very integral to my creative process, because without him, my books would mostly be people sitting around, talking. There wouldn't be much plot!

Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress wrote: "Which authors/books are your favorite? Has your taste in books changed since you started writing?"

Some of my favorite romance authors include Julie Anne Long, Tessa Dare, Joanna Bourne, Shana Abé, and Meredith Duran. I wish Judith Ivory would write again, because she was the first romance author I read where I realized how intelligent and nuanced romance could really be. For me, the most important part is the voice of the author, but also the power dynamics between the hero and the heroine. I really dislike it when the hero has all the power and the heroine is a complete naif.

When I was younger, I read authors like Judith McNaught, Jude Devereaux, and Mary Jo Putney.

Lacy wrote: "Are you at all interested in seeing your books turned into films or television?"

Oh, I'd love that, but knowing the industry as I do (I grew up and live in Los Angeles), I know that it would be too expensive for any of my books to be adapted into film. Alas.

Sunny☼ wrote: "Nemesis, Unlimited series has all of it's release dates close together so that we can read the books one after the other over the next few months. This is unusual but very appreciated because I on..."

I don't have any control over it, but it's something that the publishers have opted to do. It's not unique to my books, since I've read several series where the books were released either in successive months or close together in order to keep readers engaged. Do you think the strategy works?

Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress wrote: "How do you keep a balance between writing characters who resonate with you on a personal level, and making each character distinctive and unique from the others you have written?"

That's the $10,000 question, isn't it! I do try to imbue all my characters with aspects that resonate with me, especially my heroines, but the trick is to find a way to make them unique. Some of the heroines start out as kick ass, and others grow into their kick-assedness (*g*), so we get to see their development. I also try to give each of them a unique job or interest to keep them fresh for both the reader and for me.

Hi Zoe!

Thanks for spending time with us. I've always wanted to write, but frankly I'm just too lazy - lol. It got me to thinking though...do you wrote your books out long-hand or do you use a computer? Also, do you have outlines written up before you write a book? I've always wondered how authors of series' keep all their facts straight.

Who is your favorite fictional character of all time? What do you like so much about that character?

Have you been inspired by fictional characters in movies and books?

Kim wrote: "Hi Zoe!

Thanks for spending time with us. I've always wanted to write, but frankly I'm just too lazy - lol. It got me to thinking though...do you wrote your books out long-hand or do you use a com..."

I definitely use a computer, and outline like crazy ahead of time. That doesn't mean I absolutely must stick to the outline--I often deviate as the plot or characters dictate--but it gives me a solid idea as to where I'm going and what needs to happen, especially with all the action in my books.

Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress wrote: "Who is your favorite fictional character of all time? What do you like so much about that character?

Have you been inspired by fictional characters in movies and books?"

Probably Indiana Jones--that globe-trotting, hat-wearing, whip-wielding, sexy as heck archaeologist. I liked that he could, and did, fail sometimes, but always came back to save the day. Han Solo is another character I enjoyed. I do love a good scoundrel.

The odd thing is that I don't have a particular weakness for Harrison Ford, just the scoundrels he's played. That grin!

Hehe. You know I feel the same way about Harrison Ford. Absolutely love Indiana Jones and Han Solo, but I can't call myself a big fan of the actor himself.

I wanted to be Indiana Jones growing up (except not particularly interested in archeology).

Have you ever had to throw out most of what you had written in a manuscript and go back to the drawing board? How does that feel and how can you get past that possessive desire to hang onto what you've written, even if you know it's not working well?

How old were you when you started reading romances? Do you remember the first romance that totally captured your imagination?