The Literary Vixen presents…
Joining us today is Emily Bex! Author of .
How long have you been writing?
I’ve only been writing fiction for 11 years. I had been working in marketing for a large international company for about 20 years, creating catalogs, sales brochures, sales promotions, and packaging design. A friend suggested that I write a novel since I wrote so much. She had been a fan-fiction writer in a group of other writers, always about vampires, and suggested I write about vampires. I think I responded with an eye-roll. She said, “No, really!” When she had been writing with her group (they all collaborated on stories, but they had an admin who called the shots), she had a character she wanted to include, but the admin always said no. “Write about him. I always wanted to see him come to life.” To be polite, I said, “Okay, well, tell me about him.” She said, “He’s a vampire I named Shade Valentino from Milan.”
Me, in my snarky voice, “Sooo… Valentino, as in the famous fashion designer, who lives in Milan, Italy’s fashion capital? I’m not seeing it.”
That ended the conversation, but a funny thing happened. A tiny seed was planted. In that marketing job, I got to travel internationally. I have visited Italy several times, and my favorite city in Italy is Florence. I loved the architecture, the food, the people, and the history. And without the real Medici family, there would be no Florence. You can’t walk two steps in Florence without stumbling over another piece of history about the Medici family. I wondered, “What if I made this Shade dude a Medici? He has a ready-made back story I can tap into and build upon.”
So, from that push from a friend, and a little manipulation of the original concept, the six-book Medici Warrior Series was born.
Do you have a writing quirk or ritual?
I write at night, in complete silence—no phone calls, TV, or people around. On rare occasions, I listen to specific music to get me in the emotional mindset to write a difficult scene. If I develop my characters fully, then I don’t write the book, they do. I’m like a stenographer, typing as fast as possible as they play out these scenes in my head. They will shut down if I try to force the story to fit my original outline, and it’s not the direction they want to go in. It’s not writer’s block, it’s me not listening to what the characters say. As soon as I let go of how I intended the story to go and let them take over, the writing flows again.
Where do you get your inspiration for your books?
Well, I already mentioned where I got my inspiration for Shade Medici. That series was about a powerful bunch of alpha males dominating a patriarchal culture. I wanted to flip the script completely when deciding where to go next. I felt like I had channeled enough testosterone. I tried to channel some feminine energy and write about women who controlled their culture, so I decided to write a story about witches. I had no clue about what the story would be. I was scrolling through Pinterest one day and saw this picture of a young woman with snow-white hair. I stopped scrolling and looked at her and knew immediately who she was. “There you are, the protagonist for my next book series! You shall henceforth be known as Eilish Bohannon.”
I’m a very visual writer. I write a lot of detail, describing everything I see in my head and what every character feels. I create storyboards on Pinterest for every character, every locale, and every house. I want to see it in my head as I write. Where are they in the house, what are they wearing, what’s the expression on their face? I think this is why my readers connect so profoundly to my characters. They aren’t one-dimensional characters created to deliver the dialogue. They feel like real people, and you are standing in the room with them as this drama plays out before your eyes.
What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
How freakin’ hard it is! I marvel at these authors who can crank out several books a year! As hard as writing is, promoting and marketing your book is ten times harder! Without a good PA to help you break through all the noise, your entire day would be spent on marketing, and you’d have no time to write.
What gave you that final push to press the publish button?
I’m not an Indie author. I have a small publisher. But since I had never written before and everything online I read about getting a publisher sounded like I had a better chance of winning the lottery, I decided to write the entire 6-book Medici Warrior Series in its entirety before approaching a publisher. (It took seven years!) I thought a publisher would be more inclined to accept my manuscript if they knew the entire series was already completed. In hindsight, I’m glad I did it that way because it allowed the publisher to schedule the books for release every six months instead of publishing book one and then waiting a year or longer for the next book.
However, I will say book 6 of The Medici Warriors has a controversial ending (but, as I mentioned, an ending the characters led me to.) When we were getting close to the release date of book 6, I called the publisher and asked them if we could delay the release and let me rewrite the ending. I was terrified of how my growing fanbase was going to react. My publisher said, “Trust your initial instincts. This ending fits the story, and your readers will get your message.” She was correct… as usual.
When writing a series, how do you keep things fresh for your readers and yourself?
Oh man, do you have any idea how hard it is to write a sex scene, then mix it up for another one, and another one, and another one? If anyone reading this interview has any unfulfilled fantasies, please send them my way! You might see them fleshed out in my next book! I told my sister, “This is like when you’ve been married a long time, and you’re trying to keep things fresh in the bedroom, but then one day, you look at each other, and you say, “Okay, well, we checked off everything in the Kama Sutra, now what?”
What do you hope your readers take away from your books?
That happily ever after doesn’t always look like what you expected. Life isn’t always perfect and rarely predictable, and that’s okay. It’s still beautiful and worth the ride.
I write beautiful, magical, sometimes funny, sometimes tragic escapes. When the real world beats you down, come on in. I’ve got you.
When my readers message me and say, “I’m on my eighth read,” or “I loaned my books to my mother/friend/sister, she won’t give them back! I had to repurchase them for myself,” then I know I got it right.
Are you working on anything at the present that you would like to share with me?
The final book of the Bohannon Witches, Rhiannon’s Revenge, is due for release in September, and a non-fiction “companion” book for the Bohannon Series is scheduled for release in December.
When I finished the Medici series, I thought I was finished with the vampires! I was, as I noted earlier, moving on to the witches. My Facebook was blowing up with cries for more vampires, more Medicis! I gave in and added a vampire to the Bohannon Witches Series and discovered that, dang, he did make the story better!
But you know what I still hear all the time on Facebook. More Medicis! So, in the immortal words of Dr. Seuss, ‘I thunk, and I thunk and turned on my thinker-upper’ and found a way to bring the two series together. The book I am currently writing is called “Wilder: The Bohannon’s Meet the Medicis. It’s in the early stages, and I don’t have any projections for when it will be ready.
What advice would you give to other authors?
First, write the story you want to read, some sage advice I received from Anne Rice. She said if you like the story, then chances are there are others out there who will like it too. (It’s up to you to identify your target audience and find a way to get the book in front of them.)
Secondly, if you’re writing because you think you’ll make a lot of money, step away from the computer and find another way to spend your time. It can be an expensive hobby.
Third, building a fan base is a marathon, not a race.
What is the one thing you want people to know about you and your books?
I have been a lifelong reader, and I love reading a book that speaks so deeply to my heart that when the final page is read, I hold the book to my chest in a tight hug because I just can’t let these characters go. I loved how the writer was able to draw me in, make me laugh, make me cry, and take me on a journey that left me so captivated by the story that when I would look up from the book, I’m surprised to find myself still sitting in my bed.
That is what I strive to create for myself and my readers: a world so vivid and experiences so real they feel like they have fallen into the pages and become a part of the story.
Thank you Emily Bex for chatting with me! I will include her information down below. Check out her books today!
~Synopsis~
Eilish Bohannon is the witch destined to lead the coven, but only if her older sister doesn’t kill her first.
Set in Charleston, SC, the Bohannons lead a coven whose legendary powers date back to ancient Ireland. In each generation, one witch is destined to rise to High Priestess. Oldest sister, Seraphina, is certain the role is hers and will do anything to ensure Eilish doesn’t interfere with her plans.
Even if it means getting rid of her baby sister for good.
If Eilish is to survive and claim her rightful role, she’ll need the support of her middle sister, Anya, and a lot of help in the form of a vampire named Ian Cross…who was seemingly placed right in her path by the goddess Rhiannon. Their attraction to each other is immediate. Searing. And, ultimately, forbidden, since no coven will follow a Priestess who has bonded with his kind.
On their quest to find the answers needed to stop Seraphina, they consult with one of the oldest members of the coven, a crone named Henwen, who presents them with another problem – a Bohannon grimoire exists and has been purposefully hidden. Eilish and Anya will need to find the book if they have any chance of survival…
…as it holds the power of the Bohannon coven and can only be controlled by the witch destined to own it.
This dark and imaginative paranormal story by International Bestselling Author Emily Bex has romance as hot as a steamy Charleston summer with a pinch of Wiccan magic, a little mystery, and a lot of murder.
~Synopsis~
When he met her, he knew how it would end.
Shade Medici, a warrior king and sole male heir to the dynasty, is expected to mate and produce an heir to secure the continuation of the Medici coven. He’s waited over five hundred years for the right mate, and when he meets Kate Reese, his attraction is more than primal – it’s merciless.
She’s also mortal.
Kate is fresh off a broken engagement and reluctant to open her heart, but her hesitations are no match for the unrelenting pursuits of the vampire king. Their passion for each other is searing…and not everyone is happy about it. Namely the ruling Council.
As they fight against deceit, treachery, and those who aim to see their love fail, Shade also struggles to control his impulses as Kate is immersed into his dark and dangerous world, but it’s imperative he prepare her for the changes that will be demanded of her should she choose to bind herself to him through the blood covenant. All that scorches and glitters isn’t gold, and she quickly learns that falling in love with a vampire comes at a hefty price:
It may just cost her everything.
Emily Bex is an avid lifelong reader and the international best-selling author of the epic six-book paranormal romance The Medici Warrior Series. As she says, “Why start small?” She worked for over twenty years in marketing, developing ad campaigns, catalogs, product launches, and promotional literature. She figured if she could write creatively about products, she could surely write something about these characters rattling around inside her brain. She currently lives in Virginia but has used her extensive love of foreign and domestic travel to create the backdrop for her characters to play out their
story.
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