In Monica L. Smith’s paranormal romance Skinwalkers: The Uprising (Major Key Publishing), worlds and creatures appear that will and have you on the edge of your seat. That’s the author’s goal: that’s entertainment.
Ashley, Gethambe and Lana are facing major life plot twists that will bring them together in unimaginable ways … and not all of them happy ones. Ashley’s staring divorce in the face. Gethambe, a half breed human and wolf, has a whole lot to prove to both himself and his pack. Lana, a half breed human and wolf with healing abilities, is trying to prove her loyalty to become Gethambe’s wife.
A life-and-death journey, battling archangels, winning over everyone; Gethambe has too much to worry about. At least his relationship is simple because it’s an arranged marriage. But then, Lana’s scent suddenly nauseates him while Ashley’s draws him in, and now even his heart is in jeopardy. Will he choose forbidden love? The author doesn’t tell us that answer, but she tells us much more in our fun interview below! Read the review here.
Q: Skinwalkers, in part, represents a shift in genre for you from urban erotic romance to more paranormal and women’s fiction. Why did you decide to switch gears?
A: I wouldn’t say that I moved away from Erotica. I still have some projects in the works that I haven’t completed. Erotica is, and always will be, one of my favorite genres to write.
However, I love writing and reading paranormal romance. It allows my imagination to run rampant and build worlds with exquisite creatures, living and thriving in environments that don’t sustain human life and possess unique abilities that advance life for their race. But somewhere within that story, they fall for the simple mortal being that twists their world beyond belief. And the significant part about paranormal is, there is no wrong or right to the story I create.
So, to sum it up, I didn’t necessarily switch gears; I just intertwined my two favorite genres.
Q: What is the basic storyline for Skinwalkers?
A: Skinwalkers has several elements intermingled into one storyline. We have the new Alpha-male coming of age and stepping into his leadership role. It’s not anything that is just handed down from father to son, but a position earned within his pack.
You also have the Alpha female who won the right to rule by her mate’s side. Lana was schooled for this position; she dominated her opponent in a battle and sacrificed her unborn first child as the elders dictated. But she is faced with the possibility of losing everything to an ordinary human who possesses extraordinary blood.
Then you have the one entity that swirls in like a tornado to rearrange pack traditions. Not knowing that she is the earthquake that made the mountains quake upon her arrival or the arrow shot by cupid to slay the Alpha male, she incorporates herself into a culture without judgment. Ashley is that unknown factor.
Q: Are there any particular themes or messages that carry through Skinwalkers?
A: I would say that the central theme in Skinwalkers is the heart recognizes no boundaries. As with the main character within this story, although his mate had been predestined, he knew from the beginning that something wasn’t right. She was strong, beautiful and intelligent, just not a woman that his heart truly desired.
Something as small as a scent turned his world upside down. However, he tried to do what was right by his pack; he still couldn’t deny the overwhelming feelings of what his heart wanted.
Q: Tell us about your three main characters and how you came up with them.
A: I have always loved the Alpha bad boy. A man who is possessive, extremely dominating, rude, but could be conquered by love. When I created Gethambe, I had him resemble everything I didn’t want in my relationship but everything that makes him hot and desirable to other women.
Ashley was a woman who had been broken. I wanted to create the classical female who hit a brick wall in her relationship and felt that love was just a forbidden fantasy. I wanted her to have everything except for the one thing most women desire; someone to call their own.
On the other hand, Lana was created because I adore when a story has that character that evolves from being cunning to becoming ruthless. I wanted to create that person who would rip out your heart and serve it to you for dinner, all with a smile on their face.
Q: What was the most challenging part of the book to write and why?
A: The most challenging part of writing Skinwalkers was morphing it from the original folklore. I was told that the Native American people believe that you only achieve the power of becoming a skinwalker by doing something like killing a child and offering them to a demonic entity. When discussing this over lunch with some of the girls I worked with, they were very sketchy about the details. They didn’t want to tell me much about it because speaking of it was sort of taboo to them.
What I did learn about skinwalkers I changed to make a much more enjoyable story.
Q: What do you hope readers will take away from this book?
A: I don’t want them to take anything away when reading Skinwalkers; I’m just hoping that they enjoyed the story. I want them to feel what I felt when I wrote it. I want my reader to cry, laugh, fall in love and get outraged at the things my characters do. I want them to enjoy becoming a part of the world I build and become connected to my characters.
I want them to enjoy this work of written entertainment.
Q: What is your next project?
A: I am currently working on several projects at this time: Queen of Southern Hospitality, Love Is Grey, The Jewel of Niila and A Hazel Moon.
Out of the books listed above, the only one that I have finished at least one book from the series is Queen of Southern Hospitality.
I enjoy writing multiple books at once because different things come to me at different times. I know that I could jot down specific ideas that may come to me, but I like to see them in writing. So, as soon as I can, I put those ideas into words so that I may come back later and rewrite or finish that thought.
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About Monica L. Smith:
Monica L. Smith lives a vast contrast in lifestyles. She has been working in the medical field since 1997, first as a Certified Nursing Assistant, then in 2005 as a Medication Aide and, since 2013, as a Licensed Practical Nurse. She was born in Louisville, Kentucky, where she received her diploma. She then moved to Maricopa, Arizona, with her husband and 3 out of 9 children.
When she isn’t working, she enjoys old-school television shows such as Perry Mason, Matlock, Forensic Files, and more currently, The First 48. Her creative side began to emerge when she tried her hand at writing. She published A Softer Side of Me, a book of 10 poems focusing on her “normal” but inspirational life, including her husband, children and career. It spent time as #1 in the poetry genre on Amazon.
But much like her character, there’s another side to Monica L. Smith, who has realized that she has a passion for urban erotic fiction. She enjoys writing what she calls “no-no” sensual sex scenes and while she does explore the dark side, she also firmly believes in writing about finding love and hopes to inspire women to find their balance between sexuality and true love.
She claims she may not actually do what she writes about, but she feels a connection to it and enjoys the thrill that drives her to see her stories through to their exciting climax and conclusion.
