Welcome, Ms. Simmons, to A Romance Review and to our interview. The readers and I, look forward to this talk about your books, and getting to know you on a more personal level.

Let us start off by telling, you the readers, a little about the newest voice to the paranormal romance field, D. N. Simmons, with short blurbs of her books, Desires Unleashed and Guilty Innocent.

Ms. Simmons is well on her way to setting the paranormal romance field on fire, with quality writing, erotic scenes, realistic characters, and sizzling plots! Both Desires Unleashed and Guilty Innocent has the winning combinations that pack a powerful punch!

Enter a world where humans and the supernatural live together in a tenuous co-existence, where neither side trusts the other. As darkness blankets the city, an unknown terror stalks the night searching for human victims. The government funded special police force (Supernatural Unit Investigation Team) better known as the S.U.I.T. division, has assigned two detectives to track down this mysterious threat. The detectives soon discover that this threat may be more than they can handle and they seek outside help from two unlikely candidates. Can the combined forces of four beings be enough to triumph in a deadly race against time?

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Even the guilty can be innocent...a heinous set-up leads to the arrest of a very powerful vampire. Now, those who know him best must risk their lives to discover the truth before it is too late.

Ms. Simmons, if you would be so kind as to tell the readers little about yourself and, what you do when you are not busy writing?

I was born and raised in Chicago, Il, When I'm not writing, I have a full-time job and I also attend classes part-time. On my free time, I love to read, swim, cook, roller skate and I really love to watch television. I'm a huge fan of martial arts, horror and action movies as well as Japanese animation. I also enjoy spending time with family and friends and chatting online.

Could you tell the readers how you came up with the premise for Guilty Innocent?

Ooh, that's easy. While writing Desires Unleashed, I came up with the plot for The Guilty Innocent. I wanted to really allow my other characters in the series to shine as well as introduce new characters to the readers. I also wanted to have my characters share the "Hero" role.

In the Knights of the Darkness Chronicles, there are many main characters. It's was my main focus when creating this series, I didn't want just one main character. And even though Natasha was telling the story, I wanted her to use her words to expose the other characters to the readers so that they all blossomed. For that to happen, There needed to be a murder and a suspect...enter our heroes.

Ms. Simmons, who is your great inspiration?

My greatest inspirations would have to be my mother and Anne Rice. My mother is a very strong and brave woman who always told me to be true to myself and work hard to achieve my dreams.

Anne Rice simply mesmerized me with her Vampire Chronicles. I've been writing short stories since the age of 11, but I wasn't much of a reader, until I came upon her books three years later. I am a true vampire fan and I fell in love with her vampire world instantly. I thought it was dark, romantic and dangerous in many ways.

Do you have any favorite scenes from Desires Unleashed and Guilty Innocent?

LOL. Oh yes! I have so many favorite scenes from each book and I hope that my readers have many favorite scenes as well.

What was the hardest scene to develop in Guilty Innocent?

Hmmm, very good question. The hardest scene would have to be the beginning. For me, the first paragraph, actually, the first few lines of each novel is the hardest to write. My main focus when beginning a novel is to grab the readers attention immediately. I like to use humor to have the reader relate to what's going on in the novel. Once I've established the first attention-grabbing lines, the rest of the story simply falls into place.

Do you have a special formulation or technique when you write?

Oh yes, as a writer you really do have to have a technique before starting a project. What I like to do is create an outline of events that I'd like to see take place in the novel. I sit back and think "oh, wouldn't it be cool if so and so did this?" then I add that into my outline. When I sit down to write the novel, I connect the series of events together along with the rest of the story. Though, sometimes, as I'm writing...I have changed my mind, or grown more attached to a particular character and the events that I wrote down on my outline become null and void. When that happens, I wing it then enhance the story during the numerous edits to make sure that the plot is consistent and clear as well as entertaining.

Ms. Simmons, what is the nicest thing another author said about you?

Ah, Nicholas Grabowsky (Bestselling author of Halloween Four and The Everborn) is a dear friend of mine and he told me that he really enjoyed my style of writing which really made me feel both humble and exhilarated.

Could you describe to the readers what it felt like when you got your first book, Desires Unleashed: Knights of the Darkness Chronicles Book 1 published?

Well, I was extremely excited and very anxious for the world to view my work. I hoped that there would be many people out there that would enjoy the story that I had to tell. Being an avid reader of both vampire and shape-shifter novels, I've always felt that the things that I wanted to read more about, were missing. So I wrote the book that I'd always wanted to read and I hoped that the readers out there looking for the something new and exciting, would find my novels. It's what every author wants, really.

Ms. Simmons, do you have any special interests or causes you would like to share with the readers?

Only the golden rule which is to: "Treat people the way that you want to be treated." I think if we were to live by that rule, there would be much more understanding, tolerance and peace in the world, because no one wants to be treated badly.

You give the characters in your books such a realistic and personal feel to them. Did you model anyone from your books after someone you know personally?

LOL! Thank you so much. Ah, great question! I would have to say that all of my characters share my sense of humor. As far as their complete characterization goes, they were all created from my imagination. But I will say that Natasha has a little bit of me inside of her, but she, too, is still her own person.

How much background research went into Desires Unleashed and Guilty Innocent?

Well, at this point, not that much research has gone into those two books. However, the further I go into the series, I have to research more. My most important research topics would have to be the history of Chicago during the early 1900's, Greece and Egypt.

Ms. Simmons, what are your views in regards to sex in the romance field today?

It's good. *giggle* And so necessary in the romance genre. I believe that sex is a very special act that unites two people together, draws them closer to each other. It's an important step to really understanding your partner. The act of having sex helps each person discover a lot more about the other, what they enjoy, what makes them feel good...what doesn't. When two people have sex, they are sharing a lot more than their bodies which is why you can discover a lot about a person. Are they selfish? Do they really love you? Questions like that are answered. This is my view about sex in the real sense of the act. It is also the same when creating sex scenes in novels. I think that it is very important to have the characters express our everyday emotions concerning sex, especially in the romance genre. This is important, because you want it to be romantic, you want to entice and reader as well as make them smile as they read about these two people coming together in a heated union that deepens their relationship, making them one.

Ms. Simmons, will you try your hand at other genres?

Oh yes, most definitely. I already have several book ideas that have me very excited!

Can you tell the readers a little about your next book in the series, Royal Flush?

Well, I don't want to give too much away, that would just ruin all of my little surprises, (and there will be plenty!). But I will say this; The Royal Flush is going to be full of action, romance, eroticism, and humor. In the Royal Flush, you (the reader) are introduced to some of the richest people in the world. By the end of the first chapter, you'll realize that these new characters add a whole new meaning to the phrase; "Big Game Hunters".

If you could change one thing in the romance writing field for the better, what would it be?

I don't think I would change a thing. There are so many romance authors out there, many are up and coming and everyone has something wonderful and new to add to the genre. It really all depends on what you're looking for in a novel, but what you want is out there.

How can your fans reach you, Ms. Simmons?

I am very easily reachable. *giggle* My fans can email me through my official website at www.dnsimmons.com or they can contact me through my forum which is also accessible through my website.

Ms. Simmons, do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Keep writing. In this field, it is very easy to become discouraged. Be confident in your own abilities as a writer and your work, you're going to need that confidence to take the next step if you plan on pursuing a career in writing. Keep in mind that it is impossible to please everyone, but don't let that stop you from trying. There are many avenues that one can take to branch out into this field, but the amount of determination and effort has to be equally strong. Don't be afraid to go public with your work, if you truly believe that you have a story that you want to share with the world, don't hesitate, get it published, you owe it to yourself.

Ms. Simmons, are you already thinking about the fourth installment to this series?

As a matter of fact, the fourth installment, at least the rough draft is already complete. I will be starting book five after book three is released. I've gotta keep busy.

I would like to thank you Ms. Simmons, for sharing your talent and time with the readers of A Romance Review. I truly enjoyed reading both of your books and I am looking forward to the third book in the series, Royal Flush!