Black & Paranormal: Featured Paranormal Author - N.D. Jones
Black & Paranormal is an ongoing series featuring paranormal writers of color.
I’m obsessed with paranormal books, hell I’m obsessed with all books. Black & Paranormal is an ongoing series featuring paranormal writers of color.
Most common shifter in your book(s)?
I’ve written eight books with shapeshifters. Four of those books include characters who can shift into a type of predatory cat—lion, tiger, panther. In the case of Special FBI Agent Assefa Berber the hero of my Death and Destiny paranormal romance trilogy, he shifts into a mythological Mngwa—a deadly, undefeated cat of legend. In Crimson Hunter, my reimagining of Red Riding Hood, the hero is a werewolf. Whereas, in A Queen’s Pride, I focus on an entire kingdom of lion shifters. While I’ve written two paranormal romance novels—Dragon Lore and Love: Isis and Osiris and Stones of Dracontias: The Bloodstone Dragon—with dragons who can shift into humans, most of my books have centered around land-based shifters instead of air or water shifters.
Most uncommon shifter in your book(s)?
In Of Deception and Divinity, the third novel in my Death and Destiny paranormal romance trilogy, I included an encantado, a dolphin shifter, as well as an Alaskan who could shift into a wolf and an orca. Apart from the orca and dolphin shifters, I haven’t explored water shifters in my novels. I would like to, though.
What’s the most expensive thing you’ve purchased for your writing career?
I spend most of my money on editing expenses. Having a high-quality editor is critical to every author’s writing career and professional development. I once read an article where the author noted that effective editing is invisible to readers whereas poor or unedited novels are not. Indeed, poor or unedited novels, regardless of the quality of the plot or characters, draw readers out of the story and makes for an unsatisfactory reading experience.
Cliffhanger or happily-ever-after?
All my romance novels conclude with a happily-ever-after. For me, that’s the rewarding part of a romance. The key, however, is for me to create characters and romantic relationships readers care about and want to see succeed. My goal, as a romance author, is to write a story and characters readers root for from the first page to the last one. Within a series, however, cliffhangers aren’t uncommon. Or rather, the couple’s happily-ever-after doesn’t occur in book one. Instead, they work for their happy ending throughout the series—earning their happiness because it was hard fought.
What book had the best or most satisfying ending?
The Gift of Second Chances, the third and final book in my Styles of Love series, is the longest book I’ve written. It is also my favorite book because it has the most satisfying ending. This was also the most emotionally difficult book to write. The novel follows the struggles of a couple to recover from the husband’s brief affair. Angie and Sean have been married twenty years, have three great children and wonderful careers. They love each other. Yet, Sean had an affair with a colleague, which is very common in the real world. He ends the affair and confesses to his wife. This is where the book begins. The novel isn’t about the affair but everything that happens in the aftermath of betrayal. No villains or perfect people but a hard- fought recovery from pain and guilt. Infidelity is a sensitive topic. Angie and Sean’s ending was so satisfying because they worked like hell for it.
Which character do you regret torturing the most?
Asha is the heroine of A Queen’s Pride, an urban fantasy shapeshifter novel. Asha at eighteen, when the novel opens, is the youngest heroine I’ve written. In this novel, she is literally tortured. I played with the negative/stereotypical damsel-in-distress trope. I put the poor girl through the ringer—physically and emotionally—a brutal coming of age story. I can’t say I regret the torture, because the story wouldn’t have turned out as well as it did without it, but I take no pleasure in hurting my characters.
What are you currently working on?
My first two published works were novellas for my Winged Warriors trilogy. I wrote the first two books ages ago. Instead of finishing the series, I began my Death and Destiny trilogy. Now, years later and with brand spankin’ new covers for the novella series, I’ve decided to write the third and last book. I’m still in the planning phase. But I hope to begin writing soon, so I can publish the book in the autumn and close out the Winged Warriors series.
You can follow and connect with N.D. Jones and fall into her complex worlds all over the internet. Her Social Media links are below:
Website: http://ndjonesparanormalpleasure.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/ndjonesparanormalromanceauthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ndjonesauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NDJonesAuthor
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ndjones001/
Readers’ Group: https://www.ndjonesparanormalpleasure.com/ndjonesnewsletter/
Amazon Profile Page: amazon.com/author/ndjones1
