Meet the Author: Lyonne Riley

Lyonne writes spicy monster romance. You can find her at http://lyonneriley.com
IG: @lyonnerileyauthor Patreon: Patreon.com/LyonneRiley 

She's written many books, including Trollkin Lovers series (7 books,) My Minotaur Husband, DreamTogether series (2 books), Five Gifts for the Blacksmith's Wife, Vacationing with the Vampire in Hallow's Cove, The Monster Menagerie, Prince of Beasts, Programmed for Love

Tell us about The Orc’s Rage.
This is my first dark romance, and that was the prompt I had in mind when I wrote it: a morally dark hero, who is never redeemed (nor does he seek redemption), and a heroine does not try to change him, but learns to adapt to his way of life. I really wanted to explore captive/captor dynamics, and how a powerful hero falls for his powerless concubine. I really wanted to push myself at a prose level, and I think that's what I did with this book. It's new for me in a few ways—it's past tense and third person, both of which are not in my other works. It felt more suited to the dark fantasy tone of the book.
 
Share a favorite line from The Orc’s Rage.
“Kiya would never truly harm me,” she said, reaching for the cat’s head to pet him, to try to cool her blood. “Humans—and orcs—can harm in a way Kiya couldn’t dream of.”
 
Share a core memory that made you want to be writer.
When I was five or six, I wrote a story in a tiny notebook, then tore out the pages and stapled them together in a "book." I was so proud of it. My first book!
 
What was your favorite book as a kid?
I read a book that was probably too mature for me at age twelve called "The Unlikely Ones." It is a bizarre fantasy novel about a disabled girl who is so ugly she wears a mask, and all of her friends are similarly disabled animals. It was such a strange story with undercurrents of romance—and it was pretty steamy! I feel like that book really fueled my "weird" and showed me it could be acceptable in a published book, and my weird comes out in my work often.
 
What was your last five-star read?
I'm obsessed with Ursa Dax's Cowboy Colony books. They're just so cute, so funny, and I love the dynamic of a clueless himbo with a human trying to teach him her ways.
 
What finally made you decide to write a novel?
I wrote my first novel under this pen name as a response. I read a few orc romances and none of them really clicked with me, so I wanted to write one that provided what I was missing in the subgenre. I was really just doing it for fun, honestly, and I'm surprised that it took off.
 
What is the most challenging aspect of being an author for you?
Getting going with the muse. Sometimes she doesn't show up for me, and then I have to just put my head down and push through until I get to the end of a story. 
 
What is something you’ve learned along the way that might have changed how you wrote your first book?
I might have made it a big longer, as that's my biggest complaint about my novellas, and maybe softened the hero more. But I'm still really proud of that book and I love it.
 
What piece of advice do you have for a new author?
Don't publish your first book. Write a bunch of books, get feedback, find critique partners, hone your craft. And go into this for fun! It's not worth it unless it's fun for you.
 
What do you need to set the mood for writing?
I love sitting on my front porch in the sun. I do it as much as I can, even in the wintertime. When I'm inside, I love having a hot cappuccino in front of me.
 
What is something you’d like readers to know about you as a person?
I'm kind of a hermit! Though maybe a lot of writers are. I love living in a quiet place with lots of nature nearby.
 
How do you get past writer’s block or being stuck?
I hate to say it, but I just have to power through. Just start writing whatever dreck comes into my head, until I eventually find a nugget of goodness.
 
What are you working on right now?
My next book is an alien book! It's so fun and cozy, very different from The Orc's Rage.
 
When is your next book coming out?
My next book, MY OGRE HUSBAND, is coming May 23rd! This cozy, super steamy book follows Maddie, one of a hundred humans left on Earth, and Egorr, the ogre with a heart of gold, who takes her home with him for a trial marriage. But Maddie’s already failed at one trial marriage before—can they conquer her insecurities to be together? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F2JB9SWF
 
 When did your last book come out?
My last book was WINNING THE ORC'S HEART, an exciting adventure romance in my Trollkin Lovers series. Indiana Jones, but make it magical—and super steamy!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D3BMLF42