The Dowry Bride by Shobhan Bantwal

The heroine of my debut book, THE DOWRY BRIDE, is a twenty-one year old bride. She’s smart but naïve at the beginning of the story. She learns one or two tough lessons in living as the story progresses.

What's her name?Megha.

Why did you pick that name?In Sanskrit, Megha means “cloud.” The reason I picked the name is because she feels her parents named her Megha since she cast a shadow over them rather late in their lives, when they were older and already had two girls. She was an unexpected baby. Besides, a girl in many Indian families is considered a burden, and hence a shadow or dark cloud.

Give us a brief description of how she looks.She’s tall, rather thin, with big brown eyes, a full mouth, and long hair that reaches her waist. She wears it in a single braid. She wears saris at all times because of the culture she’s raised in.

Is there anything unusual about her appearance?No particularly unusual, other than the fact that she’s taller than the average Indian woman.

Who does she love? Why?In the beginning she doesn’t love anyone, including the arranged marriage husband she’s been forced to marry. But later in the story, she falls in love with the man who shields her from her evil mother-in-law. She loves him (Kiran) because he has all the wonderful qualities she admires in a man – loyalty, bravery, and mostly, a kind and generous heart.

Does this person love her?Yes. He has always been in love with her, even when she was married to another man, but has never mentioned it to her because in an old-fashioned culture it is wrong to have anything to do with a married woman. Besides her husband is his own cousin. He can’t hurt his own family by declaring his feelings.

Tell us about her family.Megha’s father is retired and not in good health, which makes him cantankerous. Her mother is still quite young and beautiful, but she’s timid and totally under her husband’s thumb, so she can’t help Megha when she’s clearly in trouble. Megha’s two older sisters are well-settled in comfortable marriages even while Megha is a little girl because of the difference in their ages.

Where is she from?She is born and raised in Palgaum, a small (fictitious) town in southwestern India. She is also married to a man in the same town.

Does her hometown affect her behavior, thoughts and attitude?Yes, very much so. When she runs from her in-laws and her husband after she discovers their plot to kill her, she has no place to go, precisely because it is a small town and she will be easily found. Also later, when she and Kiran fall in love, she’s afraid to surrender to the sentiment because in a conservative town they will be discovered and bring shame upon their respective families. Her thoughts and behavior are directly affected by the small town atmosphere she’s been raised in.

What does she want out of life?
Most of all, she wants to be independent and have a career, and at the same time she wants a caring man in her life, marriage and family.

What's her biggest secret? (Only share if it isn't a spoiler in the story.)
She doesn’t really have one, until later, when she falls in love with her husband’s cousin.

Did you write more than one story about her?No. THE DOWRY BRIDE is the first and only story about Megha.

How would she describe you?She’d probably consider me a woman who’s too outspoken and too forward for her tastes. But she would probably envy my courage to do what I please, something she hasn’t learned to do.

Is there anything else about your heroine that we need to know? Feel free to share.Megha is good with words and has always dreamt about being a journalist. Her father won’t hear of her pursuing a career because in his old-fashioned world, women don’t need to work. They have to depend on their husbands for support. And Megha abhors the thought of being dependent on a man. But in her world she has no choice but to obey her father.

Please provide your website link.http://www.shobhanbantwal.com

What is the link to buy your book?http://tinyurl.com/24dlec

It was wonderful to meet her. Thank you for bringing her to meet us.Thank you for inviting me to share my heroine with you and your readers. I enjoyed creating Megha and love talking about her. This is the first time someone has specifically asked me so many interesting questions about her and her alone. I appreciate it.

Friday House by D K Gaston

From the novel: The Friday House by D. K. Gaston

Tell us about your heroine – the female lead in your book

She is a Special Agent with the FBI. She recently returned from a six month long medical leave. After surviving a brutal attack she has become clairvoyant. Before her visions appear, she suffers from a severe headache.

What’s her name?

Jamaica Kurtz

Why did you pick that name?

I wanted something that was a little different. I also wanted a name that would stand out. I’ve always liked visiting Jamaica and thought it would be a cool name for a character.

Give us a brief description of how she looks.

Dark caramel complexion

Shoulder length mop-thick black hair

Almond shaped eyes

Unique amber eyes almost like the color of a peach

Who does she love? Why?

She meets a New York homicide detective Raymond Kilgore and she is starting to fall in love with him. They met under dangerous circumstances and bonded as they worked together to resolve the stories conflict.

Does this person love her?

He’s falling in love with Jamaica. She is unlike any woman he has ever met.

Tell us about her family

Jamaica’s parents are alive though they have a strained relationship with her. Her parents are scientists and wanted Jamaica to follow in their footsteps. When she earned several scholarships and picked a college and curriculum that her parents did not approve of, they cut her off.

Her father is American; her mother British. Jamaica has duel citizenships.

Where is she from?

Jamaica was born in Los Angeles (or so she believes).

Does her hometown affect her behavior, thoughts and attitude?

It was not so much her hometown but more of her living conditions at home. Groomed to become a doctor by her parents, she was deprived a lot of things other children have experiences. She was home schooled until she went off to college. Her friends (they few she had) was handpicked by her parents.

When she went off to college, she developed a sense of humor, made friends and began to experience life late in life. It affected her dealings with men and she never maintained a relationship for longer than a couple of months.

What does she want out of life?

She surviving her attack and gaining her clairvoyant abilities, all Jamaica has wanted was to be normal again.

What’s her biggest secret?

Her clairvoyant ability and she also blames herself for the death of her partner.

Did you write more than one story about her?

Jamaica first appeared in my first novel XIII as a minor character. It was in that novel she is attacked and put into a coma.

How would she describe you?

She would describe me as a big teddy bear. (But don’t tell my wife.)

The Draconis and the Stallion by Laura Elliott

Tell us about your heroine --- the female lead in your book.

She has red eyes, flame resistant skin, a spiked tail, and she can breathe fire. Need I say more?

Wing is a sentinel – a border guardian between the human and Draconis world. That’s her people, the Draconis. They are the evolved descendents of dragons, forced to live in an alternate dimension to escape the centuries of butchery by humans.

It’s her job to keep the species separate to prevent more violence, and maybe someday, help pave the way to unite the two.

What's her name?

Codename is Wing, real name is Annie – but don’t tell anyone. She only lets people she trusts know her real name.

Why did you pick that name?

Wing sometimes imagines she can fly, the feel of wind in her face, the current underneath her, just like her ancestors. The only problem is that evolution took care of the wings, but it didn’t take away the desire to soar.

Give us a brief description of how she looks.

She looks human, for the most part. Her facial features have a reptilian look, almost predatory. It helps her intimidate humans. She’s wiry and athletic – she has to be to do her job, as a border guardian. Chasing demons and escaped psychopaths is a great workout.

She has a long, whip-like tail with dozens of tiny spikes (it’s hell on the bed sheets). When Wing goes out in public, she wears long trench coats and wraps her tail around her waist, spikes out of course.

Is there anything unusual about her appearance?

You could say that. Her spiked tail is her best weapon, and her red eyes glow when she’s aroused.

Who does she love? Why?

She loves a human warrior who goes by the codename Stallion. She makes quite a few jokes at his expense for having such a crappy codename. He’s the first person to accept her as she is and not try to put her in a freak show or sell her to a research study. Plus, he makes one heck of a partner when it comes to catching the bad guys.

Does this person love her?

You bet he does. He’s never seen anything like her and that’s saying a lot. He’s a demon hunter. They met on a case of mistaken identity.

Tell us about her family.

She comes from a long line of border guardians, trained from birth to take her parents place as soldier and sentinel. She’s never actually lived in the realm of her people, the Draconis. She was born and raised among humans but never found acceptance among them.

Where is she from?
America. The FBI puts up with her existence because she keeps the bad things out of this dimension. And she pays her taxes.

Does her hometown affect her behavior, thoughts and attitude?

Not really. She likes humans, likes living on Earth but she’s never felt like she had a home. She walks among them in hiding, never able to show her true nature out of fear for her life. All she really wants is acceptance, maybe even love.

What does she want out of life?

A place to call home, love, and family. She might be able to breathe fire but in the end, she’s not all that different from the rest of us.

What's her biggest secret? (Only share if it isn't a spoiler in the story.)

Her biggest secret – she’s afraid to spend the rest of her life alone, alienated from the world.

Did you write more than one story about her?

Not yet, more of her adventures will come soon.

How would she describe you?

As her torturer. I put her through hell, making her run for days on end with only scraps to eat, driven to catch demons and child-killers.

Is there anything else about your heroine that we need to know? Feel free to share.
She loves to watch Oprah.

Please provide your website link.

http://laelliott.com

http://www.myspace.com/lauraelliott1

What is the link to buy your book?
http://www.eternalpress.com.au/

It was wonderful to meet her. Thank you for bringing her to meet us.