Welcome my Next Guest Regina Paul! @reginapaul

I want to welcome Regina Paul. First I’d love you to introduce yourself.

Hi Barbara,

I'm happy to be here today. I live in Seattle, WA with my husband of twenty-seven years, and work in a busy hospital for my day job. I've been writing my entire life, and my first published piece was a poem when I was ten years old.

I write speculative romance fiction which basically means I love to mix genres. I write everything from sweet to erotic. When I'm not writing I love to read, color, go to powwows, create Native American beadwork, create paintings in the whimsey style, create digital art, and spend time with my husband, not necessarily in that order.

Tell us about your latest release.

My latest release is actually an adult coloring book called Pretty Mandalas. It has twenty-five mandalas for coloring. This is a relatively new venture for me, but I love drawing and creating mandalas, so I'm hoping my readers enjoy them as well!

Now I have a few questions for you – I have found readers do like to know fun things about us writers.

1.) Who is your favorite villain – it can be from a book (even one of yours), movie or TV show. And why?

My favorite villain is Zetara, the villain in my book Alien Deceptions. Why? I think because even though I wrote her, I had a hard time predicting what she was going to do in the book, she was constantly surprising me.

2.) Who is your favorite character out of your books? Why?

Honestly, I don't think I could pick a favorite character since I love all of my characters, but if I absolutely had to pick a favorite, for now it would Rain from my upcoming release The Last Jumper. Why? Because I can identify with him, he's Native American, was raised with Native American spiritual traditions and he's endured a lot of really difficult life experiences. I can relate to his emotional pain very well.

3.) What genre do you write? What made you pick that one?

Oh, man that's the thing I write in multiple genres because I can't just pick one, and I love to mix them. I have books that are Native American Romantic Suspense, Erotic Science Fiction, single partner, multiple partner and everything in between. About the only thing that is a sure thing is that most of my characters have Native American ancestry. I choose to write in multiple genres and to mix genres because my storylines just don't fit one genre by themselves.

4.) What are you working on now?

I'm working on polishing up a story I call The Last Jumper.  Here's the tentative blurb for your reading pleasure:

From the moment his family was murdered, Rain has been on a mission to kill or send back to hell as many demons as he can. To do so he has had to "jump" from one body to another, allowing him to live the equivalent of several lifetimes, and to follow humanity and the demons out into space. When Rain awakens, it is not in the place he fell asleep. It isn't even on the same planet, and there are no more Jumpers. He discovers that while he was sleeping the demons have been very busy.

Connor, Stephen, and Jessie are husbands and fathers. On a world where some men are able to procreate, quad relationships are the norm, and Jumpers are just a part of their ancient history, Rain is something of an anomaly. But maybe a welcome one. The three men take Rain home with them, and help him to recover, at least physically. It becomes clear though that Rain hasn't just been fighting demons outside himself, but ones from within as well.

Will these three men and their sons be able to help Rain heal? Love isn't part of the bargain for Rain or so he thinks, but bonding with Connor, Stephen, and Jesse may be the only thing that can save his new family and their world.

5.) What got you to start writing?

I've always loved telling and reading stories. I used to tell my friends and my younger brother stories. As I got older and began having my own ideas for stories (and believing I could do a better job than some of stories I was reading) I started writing them down. Eleven years ago I finished my second novel which became my erotic scifi romance Alien Deceptions.

6.) Where do you get your ideas from?

Everywhere you can think of. I got the idea for Alien Deceptions from a dream I had. Sometimes I get ideas from asking "what if?" about particular scenarios. Sometimes I get ideas from movies and TV shows, or books I've read. I've even got ideas from looking at photos online and asking myself about the people or animals in them.

7.) What would people who read your work be surprised to find out about you?

I'm actually a very outgoing person. My characters tend to be rather introverted, and I'm exactly the opposite!

8.) Do you have any special talents?

Besides writing, I create cover art for authors and edit books. I also paint mixed media paintings, create 3D digital art using a program called Daz Studio, and create Native American beaded jewelry. Also I occasionally I fiddle with photography as well.

9.) What was the one piece of advice you received when you were an aspiring author that has stuck with you? Why?

Never stop writing regardless of what anyone tells you about your writing. It was the one piece of advice that stuck with me because there are those out there who will tear apart an aspiring author's book, and not in a nice way, but in ways that tear you down not just as a writer but as a person. I ran into a few in my early career, and I nearly stopped writing forever. It was only when I hooked up with other published authors who had also experienced this, and who encouraged me to keep going that I kept writing.

10.) If you could talk to any famous figure (present, past or fictional) who would it be and what would you talk about?

Black Elk. I've always been interested in how to fit Native Spiritual traditions into modern life, so I would be talking to this elder about that.

11.) What song would you say describes your life?

Don't worry, Be Happy.

12.) If you could come back as any animal – what would it be?

That's easy, a wolf.

Excerpt from Through a Dark Mirror by Regina Paul

“In the news tonight, several artifacts have been stolen from a Native American museum on the Warm Springs Reservation.”

Summer listened as the talk turned to the robbing of graves and how it was now a felony to do so. “Should’ve been made a felony from the get-go,” Summer said to herself.

The news moved from the topic of Indian artifacts, grave robbing, and recent thefts to the Iraq war, and that was when Summer flipped the channel again. Something light; I’ve had too much heavy stuff lately. She switched to the Disney Channel and watched as Cody and Zack got into trouble on The Suite Life.

She didn’t often have time for television, but when she did, she could usually be found watching one of the kids’ channels. The responsibilities of maintaining her shop were heavy enough without enlisting the help of nighttime television, although she enjoyed watching shows like Medium and Charmed. She found some of the newer episodes of Charmed to be rather hilarious, but missed the older ones where they’d stayed truer to the core of Wicca. Although everyone knew there was little there that could be termed reality.

Summer finished her dinner with the end of Zack and Cody’s antics, turned off the television via remote and decided to call it a night. It was only 9:00 pm, but she hadn’t slept well the night before, bent over her steering wheel and wondering how she was going to get some help. Leaving her cell phone back at her apartment was not the brightest thing she’d ever done.

She rinsed off her plate and glass in the kitchen and put them in the dishwasher. Preparing for bed was easy enough, what with the fact she had already changed into loose cotton pants and t-shirt. It was just a matter of settling in.

Summer turned on the bedside lamp, intending to read for a bit, and climbed underneath the comforter. It felt so soft against her skin, and the weight was just enough for her to burrow in and feel cozy. She picked up Dark Celebration, the latest in Christine Feehan’s Dark series, and prepared to be surprised at the turn the story was taking, only to fall asleep and fall into a dream.

Where was he? She wondered. She had been watching for him for hours while she worked on the wounded. Had he been wounded or killed? Her heart clenched at the thought; she wouldn’t be able to bear it if he had.

Her energy levels were waning, and she called on the Spirits to help her to replenish them. At the same time, she laid her palms on the ground, allowing the energy from the wound to drain into Mother Earth. With this action she felt the minute pain pass through her as well. She continued the song she’d been singing beneath her breath, and flushed the wound with fresh water once more before packing the opening in the man’s side with dried purple coneflower root to prevent infection, and wrapping it with clean elk skin.

She left the lodge, her eyes quickly scanning the horizon. Where was he?

A branch from a tree outside Summer’s window scraped across the glass, wrenching her from the strange dream. She sat up with a start, the book she’d been reading falling with a thump to the carpet.

Summer went over the dream in her mind. She knew a little about Native healing practices, but nothing with the amount of detail she’d felt herself having in the dream. Afraid the details would escape her if she waited until morning to write them down, and feeling they were somehow important, she pulled a spiral notebook from the bedside table drawer and began recording what she could remember. It was a technique her Aunt had taught her when she was small and having nightmares after her parents were killed. Her Aunt had explained that if she could remember her dreams and write them down, even the scary ones, that she could then begin trying to understand what they were telling her.

Summer smiled fondly as she recalled her Aunt, gone for four years now. Her dreams had become more rich and detailed once she’d started writing them down. In time, the nightmares had faded away with the understanding she’d gained from recognizing the symbols within her dreams and what they meant to her personally.

However, she’d never had a dream where she appeared to be someone else and possessed knowledge that she did not have in waking life. She’d heard of reincarnation, of course, and didn’t discount the possibility, but since she’d never experienced anything that had led her to believe she had lived before, she’d filed away the information as a possibility not applicable to her.

Suddenly, the landline in the living room began ringing insistently. Summer threw back the covers and got up to check the caller ID. She glanced at the clock and saw it was 10:30 pm. Who could be calling at this hour? The few friends she had, and her many business contacts, knew better than to call her after 9:00 pm. When the phone rang twice more, she raced into the living room.

The caller ID screen on her wireless was blank, giving her no clue as to who it might be. Figuring whoever was on the other end was blocking their number, she hesitated before finally picking it up.

“Hello?”

Summer could hear someone breathing harshly on the other end, but the person didn’t respond. “Hello?” she repeated firmly, in case it was someone hard of hearing. This time someone answered her, but the language wasn’t English. The voice sounded like shoes walking over gravel, and there was a static sounding over it when the voice spoke.

 “I think you have the wrong number,” she said. Since the person wasn’t speaking English, clearly someone had dialed wrong. She had hung up and turned to go back to bed when the phone began ringing again.

When the caller ID was again blank, she turned off the ringer and made her way back to the bedroom, resigned to a crank caller. If the second call was from someone she knew, they could just leave a message on her voicemail.

Yawning loudly and stretching up on her toes before twisting from side to side, Summer heard her spine crack and laughed. The sound echoed eerily, startling her. While the building was old, it was odd that anything would echo, as though the rooms were empty.

The glow from her bedside lamp spilled into the living area, casting shadows on the walls and windows.

Her eyes glanced over to the bay windows in the south of the room. A chill raced up her spine when for a second, an image seemed to appear in the glass, and it was not a pleasant one. Whatever it was seemed to be nothing more than skin hanging off of a skeleton and glowing red eyes.

Summer put one hand to her throat, backing up. It can’t be real! she thought. The figure almost seemed to loom from the glass and enter the room. Her throat closed on a scream, but then she blinked, and the image disappeared.

She sprinted to the different light switches around the room and turned them all on before she felt like she could walk up to the glass and look out. Nothing. The parking lot beneath her two-story apartment and shop was empty, but well lit as usual. No one was walking around, and her Benz appeared unharmed by the illusion she’d seen.

The vision on top of the dream and the strange phone call had rattled her. What does it all mean, if anything? Were the incidences even related?

          For the first time, she was uncomfortable and didn’t feel safe in her own home. Summer wrapped herself up in a hug, for once wishing that she didn’t live alone. Maybe it was time to get a roommate…

Bio:

Regina Paul lives in Seattle, WA with her husband of twenty-three years. A long time resident of the Pacific Northwest, she cannot imagine living anywhere else, although she would love to see more of the world, particularly Hawaii, Greece, Australia, and New Zealand, not necessarily in that order. 

Regina has several books available which include No Place to Run, A Gift From Home, Lilly's Choice, Lilly's Christmas Surprise, Destiny's Choices, Destiny's Holiday, Through a Dark Mirror, and Frost, Flame and Flower. Regina calls her writing speculative romance because she writes across genres and heat levels depending on her mood.

When Regina is not writing, she enjoys spending time with her husband, reading m/m paranormal romance, which is her all time favorite, writing, painting, creating Native American beadwork and  3D art. 

Regina loves to hear from readers, so please feel free to e-mail her anytime at regina@reginapaul.com

Regina's Links:

Website: http://www.reginapaul.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/reginapaul

Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/Fans-of-Speculative-Romance-Author-Regina-Paul-306979599320/

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