Author Spotlight: Rosalie Stanton

Author Rosalie Stanton is here today to talk about her hot new paranormal romance Lost Wages of Sin.

Sin's work is never done... 

Ava should know. For nearly two thousand years, she’s worked for Lucifer himself, infecting the heart of man with greed wherever she goes. She wasn't prepared to fall in love, certainly not with an angel. And she definitely wasn't ready to experience her first broken heart after he breaks things off in the form of a Dear Jane letter. 

Now Ava has a problem. Lucifer believes she might have shared some of Hell’s secrets with her former lover, and her siblings face the possibility of being out of a job due to her indiscretion. Ava flees to the American South, hoping to slip off the radar, and is met by a longtime friend, a vampire named Dante. Granted, Ava doesn’t know he has been in love with her for centuries, and doesn’t understand why he won’t leave her alone no matter what comes after her. 

With Hell on her trail, Ava’s running short on friends. Meanwhile, she can’t ignore the suggestive looks Dante keeps sending her way. Something tells her it doesn’t take Hell to get things hot…

There’s a lot of chemistry between Ava and Dante in this excerpt from Lost Wages of Sin. Can you tell us a little about the inspiration for the book and the characters?

This story took off from the get-go and somewhat fell together as I got closer to the end. I obviously have a vampire complex but I am interested in expanding my horizons in terms of other creatures that go bump in the night. I also have a minor in religious studies and have entertained a slew of interesting ideas of stories over the past few years.

Ava was definitely a trickier character to form than Dante. I knew I wanted her to be from Hell, but something more elite than your run of the mill demon. Somehow, I landed on the concept of The Seven Deadly Sins and began forming my own mythology surrounding them, Hell, Lucifer, the full shebang. As for Dante, I love cocky vamps, so he was easy to visualize. I just needed to fill in the gaps regarding his relationship with Ava.

Tell us about your favorite scene in the book.

A little over halfway through the book, Ava leads Dante to a remote location to summon an angel, and has to call on a friend from Hell for instructions on how to do it. This scene was a blast to write, namely because I wasn’t writing the dialogue so much as keeping up with the characters as they spoke. It was more a fast-paced conversation I was told to dictate.

Lost Wages of Sin is the first book in your series Sinners and Saints. Give us a hint about your plans for future installments.

I didn’t set out to write a series. This was supposed to be a standalone book. However, the more I wrote, the more attached I became to the world. I also introduced a variety of supporting characters, many of whom would make entertaining subjects for their own story.

I’m a good ways through Book 2. It follows Ava’s sister, Luxi: the Sin of Lust. The tone is very different from Lost Wages of Sin, as the female leads of either book are in very different situations at the start. Ava is on the run in her story; Luxi is placed on an assignment she doesn’t understand. I’m doing my best to make it as independent a novel as possible. It’s a lot of fun, particularly as the world grows and more characters are thrown in. At the moment, I have three more books planned following this one, with the possibility of more thrown in. I don’t necessarily want to go through each of the Sins, but some of them lend themselves to more obvious use than others.

What draws you to writing paranormal romance?

When your world is set outside the box, when you have control over the rules, up to and including laws of death and annihilation, everything seems set on a much larger stage. At the same time, while the world is falling down around your characters, the core story concerns very familiar struggles: love, hope, desire, fear, anger, uncertainty, et cetera. I like worlds that defy explanation, where creativity is pushed to the limit. I like discovering my world as I write it, learning some of its rules through the eyes of my characters. I like being surprised.

As a kid, I was always fascinated with the “larger than life” stories. Star Wars was my first passion. Then I discovered Batman, Buffy, Harry Potter, the Sookie Stackhouse series, and though I love reading stories set in this world, exploring the unknown brings out in me a sense of adventure. I just love doing it.

That’s not to say I don’t enjoy writing other things. I actually thought I’d write more contemporary romances than anything once I began exploring publishing options. It seems, though, my muse is more content to stick with contemporary pieces as settings for novellas, but demands a larger scale for the longer stories.

In your bio you say you have a massive bad boy complex and love alpha males. What is it about bad boy alphas that makes you love to write about them?

It began with Han Solo. I don’t know what it is, to be honest. I suppose I just like the idea of the guy who’s damaged or dark or someone other than who you should want, and finding that one woman who gets under their skin. Han and Leia were my first truly obsessive relationship pairing. The same thing happened in Veronica Mars in the epic Veronica+Duncan or Veronica+Logan ‘ship wars. Me? Logan all the way, baby. He was damaged, entitled, ego-driven, a huge jackass, but throw Veronica into the picture and he melted like hot wax. I loved him. It’s a sickness.

To be fair, though, this only extends to the realm of fiction. My husband, Aaron, is the sweetest, nerdiest guy you’ll ever meet. He’s also my best friend. His dark side entails little more than going to a movie rated below 70% on Rotten Tomatoes. My mother heaved a huge sigh of relief with that one. She feared I’d run off with some hairy biker dude.

What are some of the writers and books that have inspired you?

There have been many, but let’s see if I can narrow it down. Aaron Sorkin continues to be a huge inspiration—his dialogue is brilliant. Anyone who has seen Social Network only caught a glimpse of his genius. Really, go watch any episode of the first four seasons of The West Wing. He is amazing.

When I was younger, I grabbed every Stephen King novel I could find. I also love Greg Iles (who lives in Natchez, MS, the setting of Lost Wages of Sin). JK Rowling is an obvious pick, not just for her world-building but in how she writes dialogue and infuses humor into her books. Writers who really inspire me now and make me think, “This makes me want to write!” as I’m reading their works are JA Saare, Sarah Ballance, Madelyn Ford, Mary Abshire, Marguerite Butler, and Lori Green.

The number one influence, though, has to be my aunt, Pamela Smith Hill. She has been encouraging me to write since I was little. Her books, Ghost Horses and A Voice From the Border, were among my favorites growing up.

One last question: Angel or Spike?

I’m honestly stunned you’d even ask.    

Note: I knew the answer, but who can resist any opportunity to post a pic of Spike? :)

Learn more about Rosalie Stanton at her website and blog.