BMH: Tell us a little about yourself.

CBC: I’ve been married 38 years to my high school sweetheart, Tom. I am the mother of two grown sons, Pete and Mike, and the proud grandmother of Preston Alexander and Victoria Ashley. I am the willing house slave to five demanding felines who are holding me hostage and only allow me to leave to purchase food for them. I’m a native of Sarasota, Florida who grew up in Colquitt and Albany, Georgia, and now lives in the Midwest.

BMH: Which publishing methods do you use? Why?

CBC: I use electronic format. With traditional publishers, your book may stay on the shelf a few weeks or a month, then get yanked off, the cover stripped, and the guts of the novel thrown into a dumpster for some savvy flea market entrepreneur to sell. Either way, you don't get revenue from your book or garner any fans if the book is unavailable. The royalties for an e-book are much higher as well, even though you rarely receive an advance. But with an advance, you have to make back that money before you begin to see any profit. With an e-book, the income is more reliable.

BMH: How many published novels do you have?

CBC: Sixteen.

BMH: Why did you get into writing?

CBC: Because I love writing and I love having people read the tales.

BMH: You write dark fantasy. Why?

CBC: That’s the genre that appeals to me as a reader and there are so many varied subjects and topics from which to pull plot ideas. Folklore, urban legends, even strange items in the news can lead to a story that will take you to places you never dreamed you'd ever travel. The allure of dark fantasy is that there are no set rules to which you have to adhere so you are free to create what…and whomever…pleases you.

BMH: Which of your characters is your favorite, and why?

CBC: Kamerone Cree, the Prime Reaper from BloodWind, DarkWind, and EvilWind. He’s a sexy, take-charge, sexual animal, but he’s vulnerable when it comes to the woman he loves. He has his tender side and a humorous side even when he’s about to transition into a werewolf/vampire hybrid.

BMH: How do you get ideas for your books?

CBC: From a song melody that inspires the creative side of me, a photograph, a particular scene in a movie, a thrilling musical score from that movie, the sound of a word, a sight that catches my attention, a dream. The creativity comes from all manner of places and is the main reason I keep myself open to any and all possibilities.

BMH: How do you promote your books?

CBC: Primarily on the Internet, since they are all e-books. I visit review websites, reader and author websites to introduce my work and myself. I do interviews and have a promotional page on my website for those interested in doing interviews, reviews, and profiles to see what I have to offer.

BMH: What has given you the most return for your advertising dollars?

CBC: Without a doubt, hands down, the World Wide Web.

BMH: Do you attend writers' conferences? If so, do you see them as a big help in promotion?

CBC: Not as a general rule, no. I've attended a few and didn't find them to be of any help except as a social situation in which to meet fellow authors. I have done book signings at them as well as reader conferences and find that not be a particularly good avenue for promotion.

BMH: For new authors, what is the one thing they must do to promote themselves?

CBC: Get out and introduce yourself, whether it is locally at your hometown newspaper, radio station, etc., or via the Internet. The web is an ideal place for authors who are shy. The anonymity can help someone who would be too embarrassed to stand up and call attention to him/herself otherwise. Visit review and interview websites and offer yourself and your work. Take part in listservs so readers can get to know you. Gaining name recognition is vital to making a career in publishing.

BMH: What is your next release, and when can we expect to see it?

CBC: Actually, I had a book released just yesterday. The title is ShadowWind: The Shadowlord and it is the first book in a sword-and-sorcery romance trilogy. The one coming up after it is the second book in that series called ShadowWind: The Amazeen. You can look for it later this summer.

BMH: Who, or what, was the biggest influence in your writing career?

CBC: The riveting work of Rosemary Rogers from the books Sweet, Savage Love and Dark Fires. I know it is not politically correct to name yourself one of her fans at the moment since her earlier books seemed to glorify heroine-by-hero rape. Those of us who grew up in the late 60s don't seem to have the same feeling for her books as someone who grew up in the 80s…at least not those of us with whom I've discussed this issue. Unfortunately, her later works don't have the same fire and passion as the earlier ones and don't inspire me to create tortured heroes as I did when I first read her work.

BMH: What type of support do you receive from your family?

CBC: My husband brags about me every chance he gets and reads every book I write. My grown sons read all my books and they are likewise braggarts when it comes to my writing. The third generation – my grandson Preston – has been known to tell his friends what his Gramma does. I think the funniest thing I've heard lately was that one little 10-year-old called Preston a liar because 'nobody's Gramma writes books!'. Pacman (as we call him) took one of my novels to school in his backpack and gave it to the naysayer at recess. He also gave him one of my business cards with my website URL on it. I now have that little boy's mother as one of my biggest fans.

BMH: What's next for you?

CBC: Two other novels at the same time. I will also be starting a fourth this weekend.

Excerpt from Charlotte Boyett-Compo’s novel, ShadowWind: The Shadowlord:

Jaelan lay awake in the room Jubil had allotted to him. He was three doors down from the room where the women slept and, as they had all evening long, his thoughts returned to the evil that had once lurked in his world.

"I remember you, Ai-Hawa," he said aloud as he stared at the heavy beam overhead. "I remember you all too well."

With a curse, he sat up, throwing the covers from his legs. He reached up to rake a hand through his hair, gripping the black strands and pulling tightly in his frustration.

"I have never forgotten you. I remember that day as though it were yesterday."

The hellish day was burned into his memory as though a branding iron had been applied to his brain, searing the sights and sounds and sensations, the taste of his own blood on his lips, into the recollection that would be there for as long as he drew breath. Nightmares had sprang from that gruesome day and still slipped unbidden into his bed when he least expected them, nightmares that to this day had the power to make him tremble.

A shudder ran through his tall frame and he felt the familiar ache in his chest; it was an awareness that often left him moist of eye and barren of hope. For a Shadowlord, it was a dangerous condition that had to be kept hidden at all cost.

"Aye, I remember you but you don't remember me, do you, wench?" he whispered, dropping his hands to his thighs and balling them into fists.

He got up from the bed and moved to the window, pushing aside the curtain with the back of his hand. He blinked as lightning flared, driving a wedge of discomfort through his eyes, but he was not concerned. Storms exhilarated him, thrilled him to the core of his being. Had it been a bit warmer, he would have stripped and stepped out into the deluge, throwing his arms wide to the elements, flirting precariously with the jagged strings of fire that stepped down from the heavens.

"You are as beautiful now as you were then," he whispered, his gaze narrowing, "and just as dangerous."

He traced a crooked knuckle through the mist caused by his hot breath on the windowpane, drawing the ancient symbol for the wind.

"Ya-Bint-Al-Hawa," he whispered in his adopted tongue: The Daughter of the Wind.

A decision had to be made, he thought, as he lowered his hand to the windowsill. Plucking at a loose paint chip, he sighed, wishing he had not ventured to the caravansary this night. That spur of the moment choice might wind up costing him dearly.

"What you didn't know wouldn't have hurt you, Jaelan," he said aloud.

And one way or another he was going to be hurt, he thought as he turned back to the bed and flung himself on the lumpy mattress. Sleep, if it came at all, would be a long time arriving.

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