Welcome YA Fantasy author, Dani-Lynn Alexander...



Hi Dani-Lynn! It's so great to have a fellow agency author visit with me. Wishing you all the best with your latest release! I am looking forward to catching up with you. Let's start with my questions...


1        What was your first job? Did you like or dislike it? Why?

          My first job was in my grandfather’s deli when I was twelve years old. I loved it. I started out stocking the shelves then gradually worked my way up to everything else. I loved the fast pace during the breakfast and lunch rushes, enjoyed getting to know everyone in my small town, but didn’t love going in at four in the morning.
         
                    Do you have a pet peeve? If so what is it?
         
          I have to be organized. If I don’t have everything organized, I can’t concentrate or focus on what I’m doing. Although sometimes I think I use my need for organization as an excuse to procrastinate.
         
                   Would you describe your style as shabby chic, timeless elegance, eclectic, country or ___­­­_?
          
          My style is pretty much comfortable. I love beat up jeans and soft sweatshirts with thick, soft socks. I keep fleece throws on all of the furniture and have wood floors with thick area rugs. I’m addicted to Teavana, peach tranquillity. I like everything in comfortable, earthy tones.

          Tell me about your book, Lost Princess, and where you got your inspiration for it?  

          Lost Princess is the second book in a young adult fantasy series called, Kingdom of Cymmera. The first book is Reluctant Prince. My inspiration for this series actually came from the hero. I knew he’d be a death dealer, though I didn’t know exactly what that was going to be at the time, and I’ve always had a fascination with other realms. Having the characters be able to travel between realms gave me the freedom to create an entirely new world, with its own rules, problems, and inhabitants—giant hounds and dragon.

         Who is your role model? Why?

          I’d have to say my role model is my husband. I’ve always been insecure, worrying about everything, second-guessing my decisions. My husband is nothing like that. When he decides something, he just moves ahead with it. If he wants something, he sets out to get it or accomplish it, and he usually does. When I decided to write my first book, I wasn’t sure what everyone would think, but my husband not only encouraged me to give it a shot, he went out and got me a computer (which I had no clue how to use) set it up for me, added Microsoft Word. Then, when I got published and decided to continue writing, he set me up an office in the house, with a desk he finished himself. That support has made all the difference to me.

           How much of your book is realistic?

         Not very much. Lol. Most of Lost Princess is set in an alternate realm with warriors, castles, and dragons. However, I like to think the relationship between Ryleigh and her younger sister, Mia, is realistic. It is also an important part of the story. Ryleigh is only seventeen years old, but she’s been looking after her younger sister most of her life. She tends to baby her way too much, but Mia is starting to rebel a bit.


           What are your ambitions for your writing career? 

         I would love to continue this series. I am also working on a series of romantic suspense novels that I’d love to see published. My goal is to one day be able to write full time.

8
          Share one fact about yourself that would surprise people. 

         I very rarely sleep. I work late into the night and get up early to get my middle guy off to school. Then there’s the occasional stop on facebook during the night to hang out for a little while. My schedule doesn’t allow much time for sleep, which is perfect for me.

Lost Princess
 Kingdom of Cymmera Book Two
By Dani-Lyn Alexander
 Release Kit

Blurb:
Ryleigh Donnovan’s life changed forever the day she met Jackson Maynard, a Death Dealer, and followed him home to the kingdom of Cymmera. Now she is trying to care for her sister while saving a realm she knows nothing about…

Jackson has reluctantly accepted the throne of Cymmera, in place of his father. But his world is in turmoil, the kingdom under constant threat of attack. Worse still, Jackson suspects there is a traitor among his court. A powerful prophet has suggested a way to protect the realm, but that solution may drive Jackson and Ryleigh apart forever…

When a magic relic goes missing, Ryleigh has no choice but to journey in search of it. When Jackson discovers Ryleigh is missing, he must make a choice that will either claim their destiny, or bring an end to the only home he’s ever known.

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Excerpt:

Blackness surrounded her, a physical weight pressing in on her from all sides. Heavy. Oppressive. The threat of suffocation loomed as the darkness crushed her. Pressure burned through her chest. There was no up or down, no right or left, nothing but the blackness of the void. A vacuum, sucking her in. She held on tighter, pressed her cheek against the dragon’s neck, and squeezed her eyes shut tight. The absolute entirety of the darkness too disorienting for her to bear. Millions of freezing needles pierced every inch of her exposed skin. Ice? She pulled her hands into the sweatshirt sleeves, used the hood to cover her face as best she could.
Kalayah faltered and tipped.
Ryleigh clutched the dragon’s neck in her arms and squeezed her legs tighter in a desperate attempt to hold on to the ice coated scales.
Kalayah tumbled.
Ryleigh’s grip slipped. Wind tore between her and Kalayah, ripping Ryleigh from the dragon’s back. Bile lurched into her throat, the dizzying effect turning her stomach. Nausea threatened. Then… Nothing. Weightlessness. She was floating in a sea of darkness. Pressure built against her closed eyes. She tried to force them open. Couldn’t. Oblivion encroached. Her tentative hold on reality slipped, and she lost the battle to hold onto consciousness.
Nightmares plagued her, visions of horrors too terrifying to contemplate. Monsters, torture, pain, fear, death. Her mind skipped from one image to the next, cringing before each new hallucination, desperate for escape. Her only hold on sanity the knowledge that the images were nothing more than horrendous dreams.
Fingers of mist crept into her mind. A slimy haze that felt…evil…and intelligent…but real. Different from the imagined evil that chased her across the landscape of her nightmares. The mist bored through her brain, sifted through her memories, crawled through her every thought.
She couldn’t fight it. Each time she tried to resist, tried to keep the mist from invading her mind, tried to force it away, it slipped from her grasp. Elusive. Insubstantial. She opened her eyes. Then prayed fervently for the blackness to reclaim her.

Bio:
Dani-Lyn Alexander lives on Long Island with her husband, three kids and three dogs. She loves spending time with her family, at the beach, the playground, or just about anywhere. In her spare time, which is rare, she enjoys reading and shopping—especially in book stores. Some of her favorite things include; Bernese Mountain Dogs, musicals, bubble baths and soft blankets. She’s an incurable insomniac and has an addiction to chocolate.
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3 comments

  1. Hi ladies! Dani-Lyn, your book sounds wonderful and I wish you all the best with it!

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  2. Thank you so much for having me and for sharing the release of Lost Princess, Rachel!

    ReplyDelete