Lisa Dawn Wadler - Strong Women, Alpha Males and Time Travel

Lisa Dawn Wadler began writing after reading yet another romance novel where the heroine needed a man to rescue her from physical harm. While a firm believer in the strong alpha-male hero in any story, she wondered what would happen if that hero met a woman who was able to take care of herself physically. Using her black belt experience in Tae Kwon Do and mixing in time travel, her multi-award winning Draig series was born. As our Author of the Day, Wadler tells us all about her latest book, Time of the Draig, which is a prequel to the other books in the series.

Please give us a short introduction to what Time of the Draig is about.

Time of the Draig is the true beginning to the Draig series as it creates the time travel mechanism used in every other Draig novel.

Samantha, our heroine, uses technology to create a "door in time”. Her initial goal is the combination of seeking to alter the past to change the dystopian future while preventing the military from using her discoveries for nefarious purposes. Landing in 11th century Scotland is a mistake.

Her “door” opens in front of Laird Faolan and he seeks to save her, mistakenly assuming she’s a prisoner of the soldiers in her company.

Tell us more about Samantha and Faolan - why do they make such a great couple?

Samantha is far too serious. With Faolan’s influence she learns to relax and appreciate the world around her. Admittedly, Faolan needs to place duty ahead of playtime. Together, they are complete.

Fate, destiny and responsibility are prominent themes in this book. Why did you take this approach?

While completely in favor of fated love with destiny taking control, every action has a repercussion.

Samantha is attempting to save her time using the technology placed in her care. To imagine having time travel at your fingertips should inspire responsibility to the greater good, even if your heart wants to argue.

Every romance novel needs conflict, an obstacle for the couple to overcome. In Time of the Draig that obstacle becomes extreme, time and the fate of the universe hang in the balance.

How much thought do you need to put into your time travel books when it comes to how modern characters might affect the future by making changes in the past?

Time of the Draig is truly the novel that investigates a modern character affecting the past and future. Samantha’s experiments with quantum mechanics creates the Draig clan. With that knowledge come her internal debate “did she do right”? Creating Samantha and her ethical conundrums was an exercise in thinking about impacts and consequences, more so than with any other character.

What is your secret to creating characters people fall in love with?

My inspiration is connecting two individuals with opposite skills and ways of viewing the world. Neither is wrong, yet neither is right. But together they can see more options and together they are complete. My husband and I are my inspiration. He sees the big picture and I’m the detail person. For example, when we’ve shopped for homes he sees the rehab potential and long-term resale while I look for usable closet space, our furniture working and how would we use the current space.

How does Time of the Draig connect with the other books in the series? Can they be read as standalones? In which order would you recommend readers read the series?

Each novel in the Draig series is a stand-alone book, though each does reference other books in the series by way of tales and legends from the clan’s history. Time of the Draig is the beginning, but the second book I wrote. (Yes, I write time travel out of order.) I am partial to order they were written - The Draig’s Woman, Time of the Draig, The Draig’s Wife and The Draig’s Choice (coming soon).

Samantha is a genius physicist and sports several black belts. Why did you create her character this way?

Samantha is almost a superhero in her on right! Only a genius physicist would have been able to create the time travel mechanism. All of my heroines have at least one black belt in martial arts. Why? Because I love strong woman who are able to save themselves. (Yes, I have my own black belt). But Samantha came to life as extraordinary and she developed the extreme physical abilities in place of personal relationships. One of my goals was to have her open up her heart, to make her emotions as strong as her body.

How much research did this book require from you to make the history and science "work”?

The beauty of a science fiction based event - time travel - is that you make up your own rules. Some research was done on dark matter. The more I read, the more it became obvious we know so little about what makes up a good portion of our universe. Dark matter became a fantastic premise to build upon with the technology named UNK005 - unknown object number 5. (yeah, I wonder what the other four are too)

Having grown up on Asimov and Bradbury, science fiction is simply taking a possibility and seeing what the characters do next. It’s never really about the science, but the fiction it creates.

Historically, some minor research. There’s a character in Time of the Draig who made a large impacts on the timeline prior to Samantha’s arrival. Without offering spoilers, let’s just say that this clan is quite unique compared to others.

How do you balance all of the demands of a successful writing career (writing, appearances, etc.) and the myriad personal life demands?

Balance doesn’t exist. I have a full-time career, a husband, two teenagers and a needy weimaraner. I steal time to write whenever possible and when the story is ready to flow.

Where do your ideas come from?

Inspiration strikes at odd times. As a sales representative who spends hours driving, windshield time is ideal for playing out thoughts and potential story lines. With the Draig Clan alive in my soul, their voices hint and whisper about characters ready to come to life. The trick is listening to what the want, what they need and when they will happen - meaning in what time period.

What are you working on right now?

I’m currently putting the final touches on The Draig’s Choice and plan on that book being available August 2018.

Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?

I love to post articles on strong women, martial arts and good reads.

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