Author Interview with Dawna Raver

Join me in welcoming this week’s guest for the author interview is DAWNA RAVER!

Dawna is a smart ass by nature, writer by accident.

Dawna Raver didn’t always want to be a writer, but now the voices in her head won’t shut the f**k up and the stories keep coming.

The Indulging Series was her first new adult romance series, but she has a new football romance story, Touchback, coming March of 2021.

When she’s not spending time in her fantasy world, Dawna loves NFL football, reading all kinds of romance stories, and pretending she’s a top chef in the kitchen—even though experiments often lead to ordering out.

Oh, and fawning over her dogs and husband, sometimes in that order.

• What is the first book that made you cry?

• What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry?

Dawna: Authors attacking other authors and or plagiarism.

Elizabeth: Yes, the plagiarism is an alarming trend, especially when it’s an author committing it against another author!

• What are common traps for aspiring writers?

Dawna: Finishing their books then not understanding, or being unwilling, to hire a good cover artist and editor. These two services are the most important things to spend money on. No, Aunt Edith can’t be your editor unless, of course, she is an editor. Even then, I’d stay away from family members. Also, beta readers are not editors, and you shouldn’t expect them to be.

Elizabeth: Agree, I see so many books that have great blurbs but the covers are horrible, as if someone knows just enough about photoshop to be dangerous. Yes, hire professionals for editing and cover art, it’s a MUST!

• What comes first, the plot or the characters?

• Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?

• How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

Dawna: I have a word doc that has 57 ideas for stories and I have 3 stories I’ve started: one is a porn star/evangelist’s daughter romance. Another is a Rockstar romance. And the third is a martial arts romance.

Elizabeth: I use spiral bound, heavy notebooks for story ideas, because I can pick up the notebook and easily add info instead of writing it down on a piece of paper that will only get misplaced. Book ideas come to me in scenes and many times I’ll write out scenes longhand. They’ll be little glimpses into what’s happening that usually get expanded in the book and I usually go back to those initial impressions throughout the book.

And I’m dying to read the porn star/evangelist’s daughter’s romance.

• What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?

Dawna: I actually prefer writing the male character, which is why I always write dual pov stories.

Elizabeth: I also write dual POV. Great minds.

• What did you edit out of this book?

I edited out interactions with a character that is in my last full-length book that I published then unpublished. Touchback topped out at 120k word count when I finished and I cut out 10k. There were a few other interactions with other characters that I felt weren’t necessary. I also cut out a plotline that would have made Touchback an even bigger book. As it is, it’s about 110k word count.

Football was his first love. She’ll be his last.

Jett Taylor ruled the college gridiron for four years, winning the Best in College football trophy. Two years later, after one drunken mistake, he’s banished to the bench of the worst team in the American Football Alliance.

When Jett is presented with the opportunity to back up Thatcher Scott, the Tennessee Warriors’ future hall of fame, veteran QB, he leaves Cleveland without looking back. This time he won’t f**k up.

Johannah Thorne Scott worships her dad, and she’s committed to making sure he ends his football career on top. But life hasn’t always been kind to Johannah. Her ex blackmailed her with a sex tape, and now the hidden illness that killed her mother has come for her too.

When Johannah meets Jett, sparks fly. They try to stay faithful to promises made, but their attraction takes over and they start a secret affair. As Johannah’s illness begins to overwhelm her, she clings to her goals, jeopardizing everything, including her life.

But sometimes, goals seem closer than they are. And sometimes, you fumble before you ever get close.

• Do you Google yourself?

Dawna: I do but only to scout out pirated copies of my backlist. Currently, I’ve had more books pirated than I ever sold.

Elizabeth: I try to avoid is as I share my pen name with a porn star!!!

• What is your favorite childhood book?

• What do you do to get inside your character’s heads?

Honestly just writing. Then usually as soon as I think I’m done for the day, then minutes later I think of something else. Never fails.

• Describe yourself in three words.
• CRAZY
• INSANE
• BONKERS

• Name three of your favorite things.
• My husband. My dogs. Cooking.

• Name three of your least favorite things.
• Liars.
• Hypocrisy.
• Cleaning.

Thanks for stopping by Dawna, I loved having you. Please leave us a comment because we’ll be selecting one winner to receive an eBook copy of TOUCHBACK!

XOXO

Happy reading book lovers,

E