Charlotte Boyett-Compo's Author Interview

Posted on June 7th, 2011

Welcome Author Charlotte Boyett-Compo

Deviant Divas: Five words which describe you?

Charlotte Boyett-Compo: Inventive, Compulsive, Sensitive, Hardworking, Intuitive

Deviant Divas: What elements do you incorporate into your stories?

Charlotte Boyett-Compo: Above all else there must be an undying love between the hero and heroine. The heroine can't be one of those frail too-stupid-to-live types more concerned with her hair than her hero. The hero can't be all aggressive, uncompromising, arrogant male. He must have a wide streak of human frailty in him even if he doesn't realize it until his lady points it out to him. There must be action. There MUST be a real story with real perimeters and not those that are so fantastical a reader has trouble believing it. The world building has to be precise, believable, and interesting. The secondary characters must have depth and not just be there as filler. Enough sex to let the reader see the hero and heroine are enjoying their time together. A few fantasy creations to surprise and please. Suspense, twists and turns a reader just won't see coming, a bit of pathos thrown in to tear the eye, and a satisfactory ending that will have the reader sigh with pleasure when the story ends but wish there were a few more pages to have read.

Deviant Divas: Do you feel electronic publishing will over run printing in the future?

Charlotte Boyett-Compo: Perhaps in the far distance future but I don't see it doing that in my lifetime.

Deviant Divas: Which story in the past you have written stands out for you and why?

Charlotte Boyett-Compo: I believe the DemonWind novels which began with BloodWind. Prime Reaper Kamerone Cree was my first Reaper and I thoroughly enjoyed telling his tale. I also loved Varaidan Cree. Those two are my most fascinating Alpha males. When they met, it was a true pleasure to write.

Deviant Divas: How long does it take for you to finish a story?

Charlotte Boyett-Compo: That depends. Before my husband's death in 2009, it took about three months for me to write, edit and present a novel for contract, half that time for a short story or novella. Now, I tend to be a bit more methodical with my writing. I am more precise with it and I imagine a book will take me six months to a year from now onward.

Deviant Divas: As an author you have written in about every genre. Which genre do you prefer over the others?

Charlotte Boyett-Compo: I prefer dark fantasy because it encompasses a plethora of sins. You can incorporate SF, fantasy, paranormal/supernatural, magic, world building, and fashion creatures such as my three varieties of Reaper: Lupine, Hell-Hound and Panthera as well as my NightWinds, Shadowlords, and Dragans. There are more avenues in dark fantasy than I have yet to travel and I am looking forward to making the journey.

Deviant Divas: Do you ever regret killing off a character?

Charlotte Boyett-Compo: Only once but it was pivotal to the story and had to be done. I received dozens of protest letters but at least those who wrote to me about the character's death and were so passionate about it understood the necessity. They didn't like it but they understood.

Deviant Divas: The genre of erotica is it outdated or over rated?

Charlotte Boyett-Compo: I believe it has been overdone to the point of becoming a cliché. Every writer thinks they can write erotica but a lot of what I'm reading are nothing more than erotic scenes tossed in for the prurient interest of the die-hard erotica reader and it shows. Unless the love scene actually has a reason to be there, has something to say about the relationship, a discriminating reader can tell it's just filler. I find it altogether distracting to read scene after scene after scene that has no meaning other than to show how many ways a man and woman can get the nasty on.

Deviant Divas: Which story was the beginning of your writing career?

Charlotte Boyett-Compo: The Keeper of the Wind....later the title became WindKeeper...was the first mass market paperback to be published.

Deviant Divas: Any authors your reading?

Charlotte Boyett-Compo: I never miss the books of John Sandford, Dennis Lehane, David Wiltse, Michael Connelly, Dean Koontz, John Saul, John Grisham, Andrew Greeley, Christine Feehan, JR Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Kresley Cole.

List of place were your readers can find you:

Charlotte Boyett-Compo Official Website: http://www.windlegends.org
I am the founder of IWOFA (Infinite Worlds of Fantasy Authors) http://www.iwofa.net

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/windlegends and http://www.facebook.com/ReaperNovels

Thank you for the opportunity to give our readers some insight behind the author. We wish you much success and don't be a stranger.